July 20, 2009, a number of individuals from various websites and organizations visited Blizzard HQ in Irvine, CA for a press release regarding the single-player version of StarCraft II. The amount of events for the day's schedule were very small, to allow those present the maximum amount of time to review the single-player game. Rather than showing a new Battle Report at the beginning of the day's events, as was done at the previous press event, the representatives were given a brief overview of the single-player mode so that those present could jump right into the game without confusion and make the most out of the day's game-play.
In addition, the following video offers a closer look at the portraits shown in the preceding video:
The following is an FAQ from Blizzard about the Wings of Liberty single player mode:
Q: Can you give me an overview of StarCraft II's single player campaign? A: The single-player campaign of StarCraft II will focus the adventures of Jim Raynor, the terran hero from the original StarCraft. Fresh off the events of Brood War and the fall of the Confederacy, Arcturus Mengsk has established a tyrannical government called the New Dominion to rule over the terran colonies. Raynor has spent the past few years as an outlaw resisting the rule of the Dominion, and plotting revenge against Mengsk for his treachery. In the meantime, Kerrigan has resurfaced along with her Zerg brood, sweeping across the galaxy and destroying life on planets in her path.
Players will begin the game on the planet of Mar Sara, taking the role of Raynor as he begins a series of mercenary missions. As players complete missions, they'll earn new units to expand Raynor's Raiders, as well as currency which they can use to customize their armies. Some of the units that players will use in the campaign are unique to single-player. Classic units like the firebat and wraith, and unique units like the diamondback tank, will become unlocked as the campaign progresses.
Q: Can you offer more details about customization of your army in-game? A: The credits earned from completing each mission can be used to buy the services of mercenary units that players can use in battle. Mercenaries are more powerful versions of standard units in the game; as a basic example, Kel'Morian mercenary marines have higher armor and damage output than a regular marine. Any skilled mercenaries that players opt to unlock can be built from the merc haven structure within each mission.
Additionally, players can opt to buy technology upgrades for their units. Examples of the campaign-specific technology upgrades that might be available for purchase include improved bunkers with a gun turret, and upgraded flamethrowers for firebats to attack a wider radius.
Between the ability to purchase mercenaries and special technologies, the campaign offers players the ability to customize their armies to suit their playing style and better tackle the challenges within the missions.
Q: What can you tell me about the missions in-game?
A: As players make their way through the campaign, they'll interact with a number of different non-player characters (NPCs) who will offer a variety of different missions. In many cases, you'll have choices from a few different NPCs at the same time. Some of these missions will advance the main storyline, while others lead players down pathways that present interesting, peripheral storylines. At some points, player choice can even affect the resolution of a side-plot. Players will be able to view detailed briefings that detail the objectives of the mission, show how many credits are rewarded for completion, and determine which new unit, if any, is unlocked by taking on the mission.
More than 25 missions will be available in the campaign, and each of these missions is being designed to offer unique gameplay experiences and objectives to keep the gameplay fresh. To detail just a couple of examples, one mission will have players roving around a map to intercept and rob Dominion cargo trains moving along different railroad tracks. Another mission will take place in a volcanically unstable area €“ lava will periodically flood the lower elevations of the map, requiring players to be extra careful in their mining operations and troop movement.
Optional research objectives are also designed into many of the missions. These could involve exploring maps to find lost Protoss artifacts, or hidden Zerg chrysalis as a couple of examples. When players collect enough of these research objects over the course of a few missions, they can earn upgrades and improvements for their units that carry over for the rest of the campaign.
Q: I've heard about a €œstory-mode€ aspect to StarCraft II €“ can you tell me more about that? A: In between each mission, players will be able to explore various sets within the game. These include the bar on Mar Sara, and the Hyperion battlecruiser that acts as Raynor's flagship. Players can point and click on different characters in these environments to converse with them, and get additional story background. These conversations are fully voice-acted, and the characters and sets are animated with intricate detail from within the game engine.
There will also be interactive objects in the sets €“ clicking on these can also provide extra background story. Television sets, for example, will show news reports that detail happenings around the galaxy. There are also console units, such as the one in the armory on board the Hyperion that allows players to access the tech purchase interface, or the star map on the bridge of the Hyperion where players can examine and choose from various mission briefings. The purpose of the story-mode is to bring players even closer to the characters in the game and offer added story telling elements for those players who wish to immerse themselves in the game's epic plot.
Intro:
In short, the single-player campaign looks amazing. The basic game-play is the player acting as Raynor on the Hyperion and interacting with his Raiders. The first mission starts with the Terran basic unit, the Marine. Each additional mission expands the player's tech tree by offering technology to build new units. This is one of the single-player campaign's first aspects that gives the player an infinite amount of replayability. Throughout the campaign, there will be times when the player will be given a choice between several missions. The order in which you perform missions will affect how your strategy works in future missions, depending on the technology you have gained access to. When players are given multiple missions to choose from, many missions will remain for a certain amount of time, although there may be times in which a player must make a critical decision between two missions, and the technology offered by the unchosen mission will be lost to the player for the remainder of that particular campaign.
When starting a new campaign, the player can choose between four difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard and Insane. According to the afternoon Q&A with Dustin Browder and Chris Sigaty, the differences between difficulty levels goes beyond the intensity of the computer AI. A harder mode of difficulty also gives the enemy forces additional units and even a handicap such as a boost in the damage and armor ratings of enemy units.
Cinematic - Public Enemy The new campaign begins with Raynor in JoeyRay's Bar. On the TV there is a news report of Emperor Arcturus Mengsk concerning the construction of Holo Boards, large hologram generators with the emperor's hologram broadcasting a speech meant to bolster the morale of the colonists on Mar Sara. Mengsk appears slightly younger than his appearance in an artwork depicting him with an unknown female ghost. However, his appearance in-game fits better than the artwork, as his actual age is 44 years old. Raynor finds out from a hologram of the Terran Adjutant that the Dominion has taken over a local colony on Mar Sara, taking all of their credits and equipment to benefit the greater good of humanity, which becomes the basis for the first mission of the game.
Mission: Liberation Day (Mar Sara) New Tech: Marines Mission Objective: Save the colony from the Dominion. Reward: $50,000
Click on screenshot thumbs for high-res.
Hercules-class Dropship - "In case of a water landing, you may be used as a flotation device."
This mission begins with seven Marines dropped from a Dropship, which flies off-screen after unloading your Marines. For this mission and others, once in a while the game will pause itself in order to provide the player with a small tutorial, with Raynor speaking through a pop-up window in-game. The objective of this mission is to liberate a colony from the Dominion forces that are oppressing them. As you send your Marines down the pathway, there are a lot of dynamic doodads that carry on their business despite your presence. In this mission taking place near a mining colony, there are numerous cranes collecting rock from large piles, rotating, and then dropping them into nearby trucks. After dispatching some resistance from Dominion Marines, your small group reaches a small settlement, with a Holo Board placed right on the side of the road, displaying the emperor's morale-boosting announcement.
Dominion Holo Board on Mar Sara
Once your Marines destroy the Holo Board, you engage more Dominion Marines within the settlement. As the Marines battle it out, civilians duck down or run for cover, either down the street or into nearby buildings. At one point during the mission, Raynor's forces receive backup as several Drop Pods land, unloading additional Marines.
Raynor sends back-up.
Upon reaching the Dominion defenses surrounding the colony's center of operations, Raynor motivates the civilians to stand up for themselves, who group together without player control and assault the base along with your forces, throwing fire bombs resembling Molotov Cocktails. When the colony has been saved from the Dominion, the Adjutant advises that Raynor is now free to take the credits and resources from the colony, but Raynor refuses, as his concern was the well-being of the people.
After some inspiring words from Raynor, the people are ready to fight!
Achievements: Backwater Liberator: Complete "Liberation Day" Flawless Liberation: Complete €œLiberation Day€ on Normal Difficulty without letting any civilians die Backwater Speed Run: Complete €œLiberation Day€ on Hard Difficulty in under 3 minutes.
Cinematic - Old Times Back at JoeyRay's Bar, Raynor returns to celebrate with another drink. With Raynor sitting at the bar with his back to the door, he hears the door open, and footsteps indicating someone approaching him from behind. Raynor grabs his pistol and spins to point it at the figure behind him, only to discovers it's his old buddy, Tychus Findlay, from the Heaven's Devils. Raynor was surprised to see Tychus, since last he heard, Tychus had been locked up with no hope of getting released. As they talk about Raynor's rebellion, the issue of a lack of money comes up, to which Tychus offers some assistance, since there are groups out there paying good money for alien artifacts. See StarCraft: Legacy's BlizzCon 2008 Gameplay Panel article for more in-depth information & videos about the things Tychus and Raynor discuss.
After the exchange between Jim and Tychus, the player can once again look around the area of JoeyRay's Bar. At this point there is a new news articles, entitled "Raynor's Raiders: Evolution of Revolution," written by Mike Liberty. Also present is a Heaven's Devils poster, with Raynor there in the center of the group. There is another picture as well of a destroyed Viking. Clicking on the TV reveals to the player another news clip, discussing the lack of effectiveness of the Holo Boards, which were meant to boost morale of the fringe world colonies.
Mission: The Dig (Mar Sara) Mission Objective: Sieze the alien artifact Reward: $50,000 New Tech: Medic
The Dig introduces the player to the first tier of the Terran base: the Command Center, Refinery, Supply Depot and Barracks, although the Tech Lab is the only add-on available. Raynor's forces are provided with a Command Center and several SCVs to begin collecting resources and build up a sizeable attack force to break through the Dominion defenses and retrieve the alien artifact.
Achievements: Artifact Hunter: Complete €œThe Dig€ Revolutionary: Complete all objectives for €œThe Dig€ Flawless Throwdown: Complete €œThe Dig€ on Normal Difficulty without losing a unit. Quick Throwdown: Complete €œThe Dig€ on Hard Difficulty in under 7 min
Once back at JoeyRay's Bar, the player is open to view the various objects around the bar. To the side, there's a jukebox. Tychus expresses his dislike for the jukebox, but Raynor doesn't share that feeling, and admits that he'll be taking it with them when they leave. The jukebox plays four different tunes, with each click by the player initiating another song. The order of the songs is set, so that on the fifth click, the jukebox will turn off. Another click will turn the jukebox on again, playing the first song again until clicked again. All of the tunes sound like old country songs, which is probably the reason that Tychus didn't care for the jukebox, although Raynor seems to enjoy them enough.
When clicking on Tychus, a new exchange begins, with Jim asking Tychus about his employment. Tychus explains that he's been working for the Moebius Foundation. Jim is surprised, since the Moebius Foundation, at least in the past, was a very credible organization. However, Tychus explains that with the emperor's declaration making all alien artifacts illegal, they've turned to other means in order to get what they want.
Mission: Zero-Hour (Mar Sara) Mission Objective: Hold until extraction Reward: $70,000 New Tech: Bunker
Raynor and Findlay were discussing their departure when they're given a warning of Zerg presence on the planet. Far from a simple planetary departure, now Raynor's Raiders on Mar Sara need to hold out until Matt Horner and the Hyperion can rescue them. This mission truly embodies the evolution of StarCraft II from the original StarCraft and its expansion, Brood War. Similar to the early mission in StarCraft called Desperate Alliance, the player must build up their defenses and survive for the specified time period against the continuous Zerg attacks threatening your base. Although building up your defenses is your main priority, it is also open to the player to build up a sizable force of Marines and Medics to assault the nearby Zerg bases.
Throughout the mission, you're given alerts about local colonists trapped by the Zerg, needing rescue. When a group of colonists, or rather, Marines, are rescued, they will transfer to player control. After assaulting one of the two main Zerg bases, there is a strange sight in the upper section of the map, almost out of view. There, a Tauren Marine stands. However, as you bring your forces closer, he walks up toward a small shack, appropriately named a Tauren Outhouse and goes inside, disappearing for the remainder of the mission. An important bit of information to note, is that in the similar mission from the original StarCraft , the threat of the Zerg attacks ceased if the player was able to eliminate the Zerg bases. However, in this mission, that is not the case. Continually falling throughout the mission are Zerg sacs, similar to the Terran Drop Pods, providing additional Zerg reinforcements. Even in an early mission such as this, strategy is important, because even if the Zerg base is falling at the gauss rifles of your Marines, a sizeable force can arise from elsewhere on the map and assault your base unexpectedly.
All seems peaceful... for now.
As the time limit reaches zero, an enormous wave of Zerg rush toward your base as more Zerg sacs fall from the sky, this time with many of them dropping inside the perimeter of your base. When the time limit expires, salvation arrives in the form of the Hyperion. The player loses control of their view as it automatically shifts the view and zooms in on the Hyperion and you watch an in-game cinematic. The Hyperion flies toward the center of your base, with multiple laser batteries raining fire on the Zerg, while your remaining forces on the ground, if any, continue to hold their ground.
Achievements: Up and Away: Complete €œZero Hour€ Zero Hour: Complete all objectives for €œZero Hour€ Hold the Line: Complete €œZero Hour€ on Normal Difficulty without losing a building The Best Defense: Kill all enemy buildings on €œZero Hour€ on Hard Difficulty
Cinematic - Escape from Mar Sara
Hyperion charging forward!
After the player continues on from viewing the mission statistics, a cinematic begins, as seen from the demonstration of the Gameplay Panel at BlizzCon 2008.
The Hyperion:
The Hyperion, Jim Raynor's Battlecruiser, is the setting for the vast majority of the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty single player story mode. So far it is made up of the cantina, armory, lab and bridge:
Cantina:
The Hyperion Cantina
Here the player is introduced to Graven Hill, who is the guy you turn to in order to purchase the services of mercenary units for missions. Graven introduces himself, and describes how his services work. When a player purchases the services of mercenaries, an elite group of hardened soldiers, they will be available for the respective price of their regularly buildable counterparts from the Merc Compound for every future mission. However, if your mercenaries die before the end of a mission, they may no longer be available for the duration of that mission, depending on the details of the contract you make. Regardless of the contract limitations, if you lose your mercenaries during a mission, they will be available to be called from the Merc Compound again for the next mission. Initially, the player is available to purchase the services of Kel'Morian Mercenaries.
Kel'Morian Mercenaries: Force: 4 Elite Marines Contract: Once per mission Trained From: Merc Compound Cost: $35,000
Graven Hill
Within the duration of the press event demo, two other sets of mercenaries were available to the player:
Devil Dogs: Force: 4 Elite Firebats Contract: Once per mission Trained From: Merc Compound Cost: $40,000
Hammer Securities: Force: 4 Elite Marauders Contract: Once per mission Trained From: Merc Compound Cost: $40,000
Despite the rushed departure from Mar Sara, Raynor was true to his word, and took the jukebox with him. It's strapped to a small roof overhang, and works just like it did back at JoeyRay's. Also available to view within the cantina is a TV, currently showing a news report. Emperor Mengsk makes a formal announcement regarding the formerly-retired Horace Warfield taking command of the Dominion forces.
Would you trust Raynor? I do. He kept his men alive from the Zerg and still had time to save the jukebox.
Armory:
The armory is where the player can find Rory Swann, the chief engineer aboard the Hyperion. Meeting with Swann will allow the player to view their current available technology, and purchase upgrades. On the Technology Board, there are seven columns, each column corresponding to the type of technology or the faction that it was obtained from. The seven columns are labeled as: Base, Infantry, Vehicles, Starships, Mid-Tech, Ghost-Spectre, and Dominion.
The Technology Board. See all those empty spaces? Most will be filled by the time you reach the end of the campaign.
Currently, each unit or building is given two available upgrades or abilities, unlocked once the respective technology has been obtained. Each upgrade costs valuable credits to purchase, so one must be a careful spender so that only the most useful upgrades are bought to custom build forces that work best with the player's favored strategies. The available upgrades are listed as such:
Hellion: +1 damage per second for 3 seconds // 40% Movement speed
Lab:
The Hyperion Science Lab
The lab is a new area in the Hyperion that hasn't been revealed to the public until now. Here we are introduced to Stedman, who's in charge of the science labs. Stedman can be best described as your extreme science geek: early twenties, skinny, with thick glasses and numerous cans of energy drinks strapped to his person. As the head of the science labs, he regularly performs experiments in order to aid Raynor's forces, but needs help in obtaining the data necessary. By viewing the computer monitor in the lab, you can view a list of bonus objectives within missions, that, if accomplished, will yield additional upgrades to your forces, such as bonus weapon damage or improved armor for your forces. Some research projects, such as the Zerg Evolution Research, can be completed within a single mission, while others, such as the Protoss Shields Research, will be completed over the course of several missions. Initially, there are two available research objectives:
Protoss Shields Research: Objective: Find 12 Protoss Relics Reward: +1 Armor for All Vehicles
Within the duration of the press event demo, one other Research for the Lab was available:
Zerg Mutation Research: Objective: Kill 2 Brutalisks Reward: Viral Munitions: All Vehicles Gain Bonus Weapon Damage
Side Note: The Brutalisk is a new Zerg hero unit of gigantic proportions, walking on several spiny legs with large scythe-arms similar to that of a Hydralisk.
Bridge:
The bridge of the Hyperion is where the player, as Raynor, will choose their next mission. Matt Horner and Tychus Findlay are stationed here at the moment, and you can talk with them to learn new information in between missions. In their initial exchange, Horner is a little disgusted at the thought of Tychus remaining in his Marine combat suit while on the bridge and asks him why he is still inside. Tychus replies that he was given help in escaping prison, and until his debts are repaid, he will be locked within the suit. No mention is made of who assisted in his escape.
The Bridge of the Hyperion
At this point two mission choices are provided for you or rather for Raynor. Matt Horner alerts you to a distress call from a Dr. Ariel Hanson from the colony of Agria. The Zerg have arrived on the fringe world with no support or evacuation provided by the Dominion. The colony will inevitably be overrun by the Zerg and without help the colonists will have no escape. Tychus Findlay with no concern for the fringe world colonists is more concerned with money and advises Raynor to accept a mission to steal an artifact from a Protoss base.
Before continuing to the next mission here is the information regarding the other locations for the player to visit within the Hyperion:
For this single-player demonstration players were only allowed to play two missions into campaign upon reaching the Hyperion. By choosing The Evacuation of Agria mission you would unlock the Outbreak mission opon its completion. The Mining Your Own Business mission however was unlocked by doing the first mission from the Hyperion. As such the possible chain of missions were limited to:
-> The Evacuation of Agria -> Outbreak
-> The Evacuation of Agria -> Tooth and Nail
-> The Evacuation of Agria -> Mining Your Own Business
-> Tooth and Nail -> Mining Your Own Business
-> Tooth and Nail -> The Evacuation of Agria
However rather than restarting a new campaign after the second mission it was possible for those at the press event to return to a manually-saved or auto-saved point of the game and play a different order of missions rather than starting a new campaign from the beginning and replaying the same three missions before making it back to the Hyperion. During normal activity the game would perform an auto-save every few minutes and the game could be reloaded to any of those points in time from the Load options. Whether the auto-save will remain this way to the final product is unknown at this point.
The first two missions available to Raynor are The Evacuation of Agria and Tooth and Nail. Neither of these missions are time-critical and will still be available for a time if not chosen. However careful thought must still be taken by the player since the technology gained from this first mission's choice may make a difference in how your strategy will need to adjust for the next mission. The following is the information for these first two missions:
Mission: The Evacuation of Agria (Agria)
Mission Objective: Evacuate the Agria Colony Bonus Objective: Harvest Chrysalis DNA Reward: $60000 New Technology: Firebat
This rescue mission takes Raynor's Raiders to the lush planet of Agria a planet of paradise conditions until the Zerg arrived threatening to infest the planet and kill anyone in their path. The colonists were able to secure an evacuation area with a Starport to transport themselves off the planet. However with the Zerg running through the area the road between the main settlement and the evacuation area is far too dangerous to travel without armed escort. Your main objective is to safely escort 50 civilians to the evacuation area. Starting with three Firebats and a Medic your small group must fight through several groups of Zerg to reach the main settlement. Once there command is shifted over so that Raynor can begin building a base to send out additional escort forces. Not long after your arrival the first transport truck arrives and begins loading ten civilians. An announcement is made regarding the transport vehicle leaving and a number of your forces will be required to help protect the truck. If the truck happens to be destroyed the ten civilians will appear and continue their trek to the evacuation area. If any of the civilians are killed along the way additional transport vehicles will be necessary to reach the 50 civilian quota.
The Zerg won't make this escort mission easy and will attack the evacuation party at three different points on the road where pathways cross the main road. Multitasking is very important in this mission in order to continue maintaining your base and building additional forces along with carefully watching the current transport vehicle and building up stationary defensive points along the roadway. With each trip to the evacuation area the Zerg attacks grow in intensity so advance preparation will be necessary in the few minutes between transport vehicles. Also if you've been keeping track of the optional Lab Research assignments you will discover that this area contains the four Zerg chrysalis necessary to complete your Zerg Evolution Research. Some of the Chrysalises are not far from the road but others will require you to split your forces from their escort mission to travel through the jungle risking attacks from the Zerg in order to find them. After a Chrysalis is found an SCV is necessary to extract the DNA from it.
Once the 50 civilians have made it safely to the evacuation area your mission will be declared a success and Dr. Ariel Hanson will be joining your crew aboard the Hyperion. Although more money could be made with other missions Raynor undoubtedly feels better helping out these folks.
Achievements: Agria Evacuated: Complete "The Evacuation of Agria€ Man of Science: Complete all objectives for "The Evacuation of Agria€ Safe Evacuation: All colonists must survive. One Way of Doing It: Destroy all Zerg bases on "hard" difficulty.
Mission: Tooth and Nail (Monlyth)
Mission Objective: Seize the Alien Artifact Bonus Objective: Find Protoss Relics Reward: $80000 New Technology: Maurader
Learning of a new alien artifact from his contacts at the Moebius Foundation Tychus Findlay offered this mission to steal it from a group of Tal'darim Protoss on the planet of Monlyth the same group of Protoss enslaved by Ulrezaj's sundrop in the Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters. Tychus reassures Raynor that these Protoss aren't his friends in order to ease his conscience about attacking the same people as some of his most trusted allies. Before the mission begins you find out that you're not the only unwelcome visitors to the area. The Zerg have landed in the area and have already begun an assault on the western end of the Protoss base. By starting on a secluded side to the south of the Tal'darim base it will be far easier to reach the artifact without hitting heavy resistance. However your forces cannot linger too long because the Zerg forces will eventually overrun the Protoss base and will claim the artifact for their queen.
Fighting through the Protoss defenses.
The quickest way through this mission would be to take the trail south of the Protoss base facing minimal defenses in reaching the artifact. However another way is to combat the Zerg and remove them from being a distraction from your main objective. Fighting through a group of Spine Crawlers your forces can head west to destroy the Zerg base or head east and assault the Protoss from the main entrance. One must note that although the Zerg base may be destroyed the Zerg will not disappear. As in the mission Zero-Hour Zerg sacs continue falling from the sky throughout this mission replenishing the Zerg numbers even after the hatchery has been destroyed. If a player chooses to risk extra battles and search the map 4 of the 12 Protoss Relics necessary to complete the Protoss Shields Research objective can be found.
A Protoss Relic just asking to be liberated. It's not stealing when it's in the name of science!
Regardless of the path taken the object of your desire hovers over a small base on a circular paved island. As the first unit approaches the artifact whether Terran or Zerg two walls appear blocking the two bridges prevent your forces inside from escaping and those on the outside from gaining entrance. Four tall statues known as Stone Zealots come to life attacking the forces within the perimeter of the island with laser beams coming out of their eyes. After defeating the stone giants Raynor calls for a Dropship to pick up the artifact. With the artifact successfully in the Raiders' grasp a window pops up with Kerrigan revealing herself. Whether she's in direct contact with Raynor or talking to her self isn't for certain yet but she's mildly annoyed in underestimating Raynor. She forgot how resourceful he is but that she wouldn't be making that mistake twice. Before leaving Kerrigan adds "Time's running out... for all of us."
Achievements: Queen's Gambit: Complete "Tooth and Nail" You Weren't Using That?: Complete all objectives for "Tooth and Nail" Swift and Deadly: Complete the mission within 20 minutes on "hard" difficulty Photon Phobia: Do not destroy any Photon Cannons on "hard" difficulty
The following two missions Outbreak and Mining Your Own Business are unlocked upon the completion of either The Evacuation of Agria or Tooth and Nail:
Mission: Outbreak (Meinhoff)
Mission Objective: Clear out all mutated nesting structures. Bonus Objective: Harvest chrysalis DNA Reward: $90000 New Technology: Hellion
In the mission opened up after The Evacuation of AgriaOutbreak breathes a fresh perspective into the a theme seen in many other genres: fending off waves of mutated humans and struggling for survival. Raynor is tasked with a mission to contain the threat of the infestation outbreak. To do so Raynor's Raiders must destroy all of the nesting structures that are scattered throughout the area. The mission begins with setting up your base in the middle of the infestation zone setting up your defenses and locating the nearest nesting grounds that will release scores of the infested at night. Half of this mission's challenge lies during the day balancing base defenses and building up your forces while seeking out the numerous infested nesting grounds and destroying them to thin out their numbers.
Infested Terrans hide during the day...
As darkness sets in and the night cycle approaches you're alerted to quickly retreat your forces back into the safety of the perimeter as countless waves of infested humans start to encroach upon your base from all directions. The battles can get hectic as you continually try to beef up your defenses depending on the situation at each access point into the base. Based upon the technology gained at this point of the campaign strategies will vary between players in their means to defend themselves from this menacing threat. Helpful upgrades for this mission include the upgraded Bunkers which can gain auto-turrets and/or hold six infantry units versus four. Being able to better defend the base and keep more soldiers alive resources were put into better use in increasing the number of forces for the next daylight assault. As the mission progresses the nightly raids will begin to decrease in intensity as more of the nesting grounds are destroyed during the day. Most of the nesting structures are grouped together and easy to kill but the difficulty lies in finding all of the nests which are numerous and scattered out the map. Once all of the nesting structures have been taken out Raynor's Raiders will have survived another grueling mission.
This mission showcases a new mechanic to the RTS genre which brings the level of single player missions and custom maps to new heights: the dynamic day/night cycling system. The changes between day and night flow beautifully and although the scenery is noticeably darker at night it was never to difficult to see what was going on within the lit areas of Raynor's base. As with the other mission encountered within the single player demonstration it is definitely apparent that Blizzard is breaking the mold with StarCraft II making every mission unique on its own right and not adhering to the typical RTS strategy of simply building your base and destroying the opposing forces. As the campaign is revealed fully upon the release of Wings of Liberty the full extent of unique gameplay will undoubtedly impress all StarCraft fans both old and new.
Achievements:
Doctor in the House: Complete "Outbreak" Still Time to Operate: Complete all objectives for "Outbreak" Quick Containment: Finish the mission before three nights on "hard" difficulty The Night Shift: Destroy 10 buildings at night
A mining mission commissioned by a Gabriel Tosh this mission takes Raynor's Raiders to Redstone III a volcanically active and very dangerous planet that houses a significant amount of mineral resources. You€™re tasked with gathering the rare yellow mineral deposits that sit atop a very active volcanic region. Under normal circumstances a simple mining mission would be easy even with interference from enemy forces. However this mission adds another aspect to the mix with a dynamic environment that's deadly to the unwary player. The Raiders' starting base is on the main ground level with all of the mineral patches lying on the lower ground levels throughout the map. Every five minutes the ground begins shaking pillars of earth rise and fall in various areas and finally lava rises from the ground covering the lower ground level of the terrain. Any units or buildings caught on the ground level are destroyed within seconds. Any flying units or buildings will be safe from rising lava. After some time the lava subsides and mining can resume on the low-lying mineral patches. After the first lava surge a timer is added to the player's screen which gives warning of the next lava surge to come.
Quick! Head to high ground!
Hopefully everyone made it in time. If not they're extra crispy right about now.
The interesting factor that comes into play here is the constant balance of the number of combat units you€™ll need to fend off the lightly populated Zerg foes since your're pulling your minerals from the same pool of resources you need to collect a certain amount of to achieve victory conditions. Gaining Reapers in this mission are a great addition to Raynor's forces with their ability to jump from level to level. Also their attacks work well against light-armored Zerg and in addition with mines were a force to be reckoned with against the majority of the Zerg faced in this mission. One Zerg unit in particular that the Reapers were not effective against was the Brutalisk. In order to achieve the Zerg Mutation Research bonus this was the first of two Brutalisks to be killed. The Brutalisk was an intimidating sight a Zerg warrior standing taller than an Ultralisk and appeared to be a mix of a Hydralisk and a Zergling in a form similar to the new Zerg Queen. Its strong armor was too tough for a Reaper's attack. However it was not resistant to a flooding surge of molten lava. A player can avoid a head-on fight with the beast but using the quick Reapers to lure the Brutalisk onto the lower ground as the countdown for another lava surge approaches. As the lava surge arrives the Reapers can easily jump to higher ground escaping the fiery death that spells doom for the Zerg juggernaut. Another bonus objective in this mission is to rescue local miners that have become stranded due to the extreme conditions and relentless Zerg attacks. Surely they will be grateful for their rescue.
An additional point of note on the lava world terrain is the addition of a new critter: the Lava Crab. In this mission small groups of lava crabs would congregate near the ramps between higher and lower ground. Normally they would wander about at the lower section of the ramp. When the time came for a lava surge the Lava Crabs would scurry up the ramp to a safe spot and burrow into the ground. When the lava surge receded they would unburrow and wander about at the bottom of the ramp again. The Lava Crabs were peaceful creatures and didn't bother the Terran invaders not even if attacked. It's likely that these lavaworld crustaceans will also be seen on other lavaworld missions" as well as many more new creatures native to the worlds visited in StarCraft II.
Achievements:
Mined Out: Complete ""Mining Your Own Business"" Red Lobster: Complete all objectives for ""Mining Your Own Business"" Big Game Hunter: Kill the Brutalisk Working Overtime: Finish the mission in under 15 minutes on hard difficulty
Bridge:
After the completion of the second mission after boarding the Hyperion" the game would end. Those at the press event were then able to reload their campaign from a saved point or replay the campaign over from the beginning. If you were to go back to the Hyperion before the fourth or fifth missions there is a computer aboard the Bridge that allowed you to look at your current progress throughout the campaign. Achievements can be reviewed and previously played missions can be replayed. While many achievements require a certain difficulty level to unlock a player can replay the mission at a different difficulty in order to meet the requirements for achievements missed on the first time through the mission. When replaying a mission it's unclear whether the player will be able to utilize all of their current technology or only the technology they had access to when they originally played the particular mission.
Final Thoughts and the Future of StarCraft II:
At 6pm the press event had come to completion and the representatives left with the near impossible task of keeping all of this information secret for an entire month. Why was it so hard to keep silent? Simply put StarCraft II is shaping up to become an even greater RTS than its predecessor. The multiplayer has gained new and improved aspects of racial balance between the Terran Zerg and Protoss; and the single-player is establishing itself as a unique campaign-style with nearly unlimited replayability. Due to the dynamic missions no longer will the single-player campaign consist of hiding behind your defenses until massing an unstoppable force of the most powerful units available to you. With the new campaign style each time you play through the campaign can be a different experience selecting harder difficulty levels taking different mission choices and facing each challenge with a different line-up of units and different upgrades allowing new strategies and gameplay far beyond the capabilities of StarCraft and its expansion Brood War.
At the upcoming BlizzCon 2009 more than twenty thousand attendees will have a chance to play the StarCraft II demo being given a taste of either the single-player campaign or the multiplayer experience. Regardless of whether the demo proves to be single or multiplayer StarCraft fans will surely be impressed eagerly awaiting any news of the arrival of the StarCraft II beta. For those who aren't able to make it to BlizzCon this year make sure to check out StarCraft: Legacy's coverage of BlizzCon 2009. And as the StarCraft II development continues toward the release of Wings of Liberty and all of Blizzard's continued development within the StarCraft universe be sure to keep current on all news by visiting StarCraft: Legacy.
This is a StarCraft: Legacy (http://sclegacy.com/) feature event article.
