Difference between revisions of "Starcraft II"
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== E-Sport == | == E-Sport == | ||
| − | [[File: | + | [[File:gslfinal.jpeg|thumb|Crowd of the 2009 GSL Finals]]Designed from the ground up for the purpose of being played professionally, Starcraft II is one of the most popular e-sports in the world. Garnering support from it's predecessor's fanbase (Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War), which was only hugely popular in South Korea and mildly so elsewhere, Starcraft II has found much more success in Europe and the Americas. <ref> [http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/South_Korean_SC2_scene] http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/South_Korean_SC2_scene</ref> Tournaments (both offline and online) are featured everyday with major tournaments boasting prize pools of $150,000+. <ref> [http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Premier_Tournaments] http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Premier_Tournaments </ref> |
Revision as of 22:35, 12 October 2012
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is a real-time strategy game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the sequel to the original Starcraft series and the first game of the Starcraft II trilogy. Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm and Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void are the other two unreleased titles in the series. [1]
Just like in the original Starcraft, players must collect resources, build structures, and train units with which to crush their opponents. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty features a campaign (single player) mode, online multiplayer, and an editor for custom map makers. The game has received high praise from critics and players alike and is currently considered one of the most popular "e-sport" titles in the world. [2]
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm is currently in closed beta. [3]
Gameplay
In typical RTS fashion, Starcraft II is a game of strategy, mechanics, and unit control. The very best players are able to do well at all three.
Macro
Players start out with a central command structure (Command Center for Terran, Hatchery for Zerg, Nexus for Protoss) and a small group of harvesting units and must expand their presence by gathering "minerals" and "vespene gas". Building structures and training additional units costs one or both of these resources. Players must also obtain supply in order to be able to support more units and trying to create more units without enough supply is known as a "supply block" within the community. Creating units, buildings, and supply as well as minimizing the idling time of harvesting units and structure build queues is known as "Macro" and is the primary indicator of a good player. [4]
Micro
Players must also control their units effectively in order to maximize their impact on the battlefield. This is known as "Micro" in the community and is essential for victory, especially at the highest levels of play. The Starcraft II interface gives players a few ways to do this well. First, players may "hotkey" units to a key on their keyboard (individually or in groups) to make selecting units quicker (the alternative being dragging a box around the units with the mouse). Second, players can "hotkey" abilities in the same way reducing the time it takes for units to use spells or switch battle modes while in the fray. Positioning is very important and units that do not have spells typically benefit from being moved while fighting. Kiting, spreading, and maximizing the amount of "arch" you have over your opponent are examples of this (arch referring to the surface area of your attacking units compared to your opponents). Because skirmishes in Starcraft II are over in a matter of seconds, doing all of these quickly and correctly is very challenging. [5]
Strategy
Strategy plays a roll as well in Starcraft II. Scouting what your opponent is doing, creating units that are effective against their unit composition, baiting him/her out of position, hiding important tech, expanding to additional resources quickly, or sacrificing tech/economy for an all-or-nothing push are all examples of strategy. Many strategies focus on a quick and heavy investment in tech, economy, or units (in some cases 2 of the 3 but never all). Maps often play a role in deciding what strategy to use. Features like the placement of cliffs, wideness of ramps, distance from opponent, amount of airspace, and number of paths to your opponent should all be considered. Some strategies are also better suited towards a particular player. For instance, player's with good Micro may favor technical "All-Ins" where success is solely based upon unit control and execution. Due to the amount of units, the array of maps (which are ever-changing), and the 9 possible racial match-ups, understanding Starcraft II strategy takes problem solving, critical thinking, and many logged games of experience.
E-Sport
Designed from the ground up for the purpose of being played professionally, Starcraft II is one of the most popular e-sports in the world. Garnering support from it's predecessor's fanbase (Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War), which was only hugely popular in South Korea and mildly so elsewhere, Starcraft II has found much more success in Europe and the Americas. [6] Tournaments (both offline and online) are featured everyday with major tournaments boasting prize pools of $150,000+. [7]
References
- ↑ [1] http://www.shacknews.com/article/55267/starcraft-2-now-a-trilogy
- ↑ [2] http://www.gamespot.com/news/starcraft-ii-the-making-of-an-e-sport-6302329
- ↑ [3]http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/7157306
- ↑ [4] http://www.squidoo.com/starcraft-2-strategy-micro-macro
- ↑ [5] http://www.squidoo.com/starcraft-2-strategy-micro-macro
- ↑ [6] http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/South_Korean_SC2_scene
- ↑ [7] http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Premier_Tournaments
