StarCraft Universe Reduced to 12-Player, Ranking
The Starcraft Universe mod for StarCraft 2 will not be a MMORPG after all.
The StarCraft 2 mod project formerly known as World of StarCraft has resumed after a short pause while team leader Ryan Winzen visited Blizzard to meet the StarCraft 2 development team. The mod is now renamed as Starcraft Universe (SCU) and will not be a full-fledged MMORPG as originally planned.
The mod first caught the media's attention when a pre-alpha trailer was removed from YouTube based on a cease and desist notice sent in by Activision. Overall Blizzard didn't have any desires to nuke the project; instead, it was merely protecting its trademarks (Blizzard already owns World of StarCraft). Surprisingly Blizzard wants to see the mod's full completion, but as with all other non-Blizzard mods, there will be limitations.
"SCU's focus is recreating multiplayer raid battle experiences similar to World of Warcraft," reads the mod's FAQ. "Starcraft Universe will be released in a series of StarCraft 2 custom maps and published officially in Battle.net. The objective of this game is to experience dungeon raiding in StarCraft 2. These levels will be fun, exciting and very challenging."
The mod will offer the following list of features:
- A wide variety of monsters, bosses and character classes. SCU classes include: Infantry, Special-Ops, Demolition and many others.
- A game save system. These maps will allows players to create, save and load existing characters (a unique function uncommon to custom Starcraft maps).
- Hundreds of customizable weapons, runes and equipment to choose from. They can be acquired as loot or bought in shops.
- Multiplayer experience. These maps allow (and encourages) up to twelve players in one match.
Note the last feature which reveals a twelve-player limitation. Also missing from the game will be the character "leveling" aspect using in typical MMORPGs. Instead, character progression will be accomplished by gaining loot dropped by fallen enemies, acquiring minerals that can be used to purchase weapons and armor, assigning allocation-points obtained by killing bosses, and ranking up by killing raid bosses. These will help players in customizing and boosting their character stats.
Additionally, SCU will not have a customized storyline, nor are there plans to implement a storyline in the future. Instead, the mod will be designed to reincarnate past battles from StarCraft, StarCraft 2 and StarCraft fictional books. "Right now, we are focused with creating one working solid map," the team said. "Once we have that published and polished, we will then begin working on more SCU maps."
Currently there is no set release date for Starcraft Universe, so stay tuned.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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rhino13 Wait so, does this mean that the poor lone developer is working and now Blizard has handed him a spec for what he has to do?!?Reply -
ChromeTusk Looking forward to these maps. Perhaps it can pave the way for a resurrection of SC:Ghost.Reply -
Ragnar-Kon hoofheartedAs a StarGate fan (sci-fi television series), this naming causes me confusion.Funny you should mention that, because the only reason why I originally played Starcraft 1 back in.. 1998?.. was because I was a huge fan of the original StarGate movie and thought the game was based on the movie. Of course I quickly realized I was wrong, but I still loved Starcraft.Reply
Wait so, does this mean that the poor lone developer is working and now Blizard has handed him a spec for what he has to do?!?
Maybe... but I doubt it. -
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No what he "has" to do, but maybe now he knows a little more of what Blizz wants to do with the franchise, so he doesn't do those things before them ;D
Cheers! -
therabiddeer Why are people saying that hes not creating what he originally had planned? From what I can see, everything is still the same as before its just a different name.Reply -
nexus9113 What are you people ranting about with "So Blizz is telling him how to make this" and "Blizz is crushing his dream"?Reply
The purpose of the cease and desist was 2 part:
1) They own the copyright to the name "World of Starcraft" and it isn't legal for him to use it.
2) They wanted to find out how he was making this title, and that it wasn't being made on another game engine, or one of his own design.
This was already stated in a previous press release from Blizzard a while back. They encourage fan mods and custom map makers to use the tool sets to their fullest. They were just protecting their IP.