ATOMCROMS

La semana pasada varios medios de comunicación y fansites tuvieron la oportunidad de visitar la sede central de Blizzard en Irvine para asistir a un nuevo evento de prensa organizado por Blizzard. Una vez finalizado el NDA (non-disclosure agreement) que impedía publicar información hasta hoy lunes, ya están apareciendo las primeras novedades que allí se anunciaron.

De lo que he leído por las diferentes webs se puede extraer lo siguiente:

- Battle.net será gratuito pero se está estudiando añadir servicios de valor añadido que tendrán un pequeño coste.
- No se tiene previsto dar soporte para jugar en LAN.
- La asociación de Blizzard con GOM es un movimiento para introducirse en los e-Sports.
- El modo de observador está claramente orientado para los e-Sports, con estadísticas detalladas de la partida en juego.
- Las repeticiones contienen información completa sobre las estadísticas del juego.
- No habrá port para consolas.
- En el modo historia habrá unas 30 misiones, y cada expansión será tan grande como la campaña del juego original.
- Se ha eliminado el límite de selección de unidades.
- Ya se han publicado los árboles tecnológicos oficiales para las tres razas.
- Hay disponibles nuevos renders de unidades, capturas de pantalla y vídeos de juego.

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Q u o t e:
I think the reasons starcraft has lasted so long as a game and community are because:

1) Well designed and fun to play game.

2) Free battle.net - Having a place where gamers can come together and play the game 24/7 helps to foster a bolster and lively community.

3) Continued support for the game even after 11 years, they still patch it when it needs a patch.

4) Pro-Starcraft gaming. This is a big deal to serious starcraft players or to anyone that enjoys competition. These games are fun to watch and makes casual players want to play the game.

5) Lan support. - Lan parties are fun.

If you take away LAN support you will still have the 4 other pillars for a strong starcraft community. Plus if LAN support helps rid battle.net of hackers, cheaters and piracy because the network traffic is harder to decipher then all the better. That only strengthens the spirit of fair competition on battle.net.

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The first 4 pillars are ALL being made better.

1) Development time for StarCraft II have far exceeded the original StarCraft in both the standard of quality and duration, to ensure the highest in quality RTS experience we can possibly create.

2) Not only is it free to play online for people who purchase the game, Battle.net 2.0 is designed with the new generation of online community and eSports in mind.

3) As long as there are people playing our games, we will continue to support them, and we have continued with this tradition with our legacy titles like the original StarCraft.

4) StarCraft II was created with eSports as a cornerstone in design philosophy. StarCraft evolved into an eSport.

5) Map Editor will be better than any we have ever released.

and:

6) ??? - will have to wait and see :)

For me personally- I loved LAN parties, but the direction in which Battle.net is headed, I would always choose to play on Battle.net > 99% of the time and even if for whatever reason I did decide to lug my computer to a friend's house in this day of age (<1%),>

[ Post edited by Karune ]

Q u o t e:

That's his point. Even if you do lug your "beast" around, he is saying that battle.net will clearly have better abilities than regular LAN.

I for one have full faith in Blizzard, and though I do disagree with taking LAN out as a whole, I do feel that in the end whatever they provide as an alternative will not only suffice, but make things all the better.

Ye of little faith shall perish.

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As mentioned by Rob Pardo in interviews, piracy is a serious problem and often times tie in closely with LAN. At the end of the day, we want the best for the community and fans that support our games, and having chunk of the community pirate the game actually hurts the community.

1) Pirated servers splinter the community instead of consolidating all players who love to play the game. Battle.net will bring players together in skirmishes, ladder play, custom games, and allow everyone the opportunity to share a common experience.

2) More people on Battle.net means more even more resources devoted to evolving this online platform to cater to further community building and new ways to enjoy the game online. World of Warcraft is a great example of a game that has evolved beyond anyone's imagination since their Day 1 and will continue to do so to better the player experience for as long as players support the title. The original StarCraft is an even better example of how 11 years later, players still love and play this title, and we will continue to support and evolve it with patches.

We would not take out LAN if we did not feel we could offer players something better.

If I were to buy StarCraft II or any other title, I know the money I spent would be going to supporting that title. Personally, I would be upset that others were freeloading while others are legitimately supporting a title that has great potential and goals of making this title have 'long legs.'

If you like a song a lot, buy it, and that artist will only come out with more awesome songs for you. If you like a game, buy it, and we will promise to constantly work to make the player experience better at every corner we can.

Support the causes you believe in (This is applicable to all things, not just gaming).
Don't be a leech to society, innovation, and further awesome creations.

Es un nuevo vídeo creado por MooN que recoge algunas de las mejores jugadas de StarCraft realizadas por progamers de todos los tiempos.



Enlace: Noticia, Descarga Epic Moments of Starcraft by MooN, Epic Moments of Starcraft by MooN en YouTube

Hoy se juega la última jornada de esta ronda.

La retransmisión de las partidas de StarCraft está previsto que de comienzo a las 11 CEST y podrá seguirse a través de GomTV.

* June 28, PDT(PST+1) 02:00 - Averatec-Intel Classic Season 3 Ro.16

Game #1	Jaedong(Z) Hwaseung OZ	VS	Much(P) CJ ENTUS
Game #2	Violet(P) KTF MagicNs		Effort(Z) CJ ENTUS

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Map order : A Garden of GOD - A Ridge of Heartbreak - Outsider

Hoy se retransmiten las partidas programadas para el día 19 y que se aplazaron una semana debido a cambios imprevistos en los horarios de los jugadores y de la estación emisora.

Está previsto que la retransmisión empiece a las 15h CEST con los comentarios en inglés de Nick "Tasteless" Plott y Super "Daniel" Man Lee.

* June 26, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Valor Tournament Quarter Final

Game #1	Idra(T) USA	VS	CaStro(Z) Peru
Game #2	Brat_ok(T) Russia		ret(Z) Netherlands
Game #3	Strelok(T) Ukraine		Fenix(T) Peru
Game #4	Mondragon(Z) Germany		aoOa(T) Russia

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Round of 8's first map : Colosseum II - Loser selects next map.
* Valor tournament official maps :
Destination, Neo Medusa, Colosseum II, Heartbreak Ridge, Outsider

Hoy se juega una nueva jornada de la ronda 16.

La retransmisión de las partidas de StarCraft está previsto que de comienzo a las 11 CEST y podrá seguirse a través de GomTV.

Los comentarios en inglés estarán a cargo de Nick "Tasteless" Plott y Super "Daniel" Man Lee.

* June 21, PDT(PST+1) 02:00 - Averatec-Intel Classic Season 3 Ro.16

Game #1	MVP(T) Woongjin Stars	VS	Berserker(T) CJ ENTUS
Game #2	Tempest(P) KTF MagicNs		Mensol(Z) Woongjin Stars

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Map order : A Garden of GOD - A Ridge of Heartbreak - Outsider

Aunque Blizzard todavía no lo ha publicado en la web oficial de StarCraft II, ya se puede ver el tercer informe de batalla: Zerg vs Protoss.

Mientras esperamos la versión oficial en HD podemos ver las que se han colgado en Youtube y Viddler.



Enlace: StarCraft 2 Battle Report 3 : Zerg vs. Protoss (Youtube, Viddler)

Actualización (22 de junio de 2009)

Ya está disponible en la web de SC2 el tercer informe de batalla.

Informe de batalla #3
Mapa: Scrapyard
Enfrentamiento: Yeon-Ho Lee(Z) vs David Kim(P)
Comentaristas: Dustin Browder, Robert Simpson
http://www.starcraft2.com/features/battlereports/3.xml

Ya se ha publicado el horario y los mapas previstos para las partidas que se jugarán en las próximas dos jornadas de la Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009.

La retransmisión de las partidas de WarCraft III dará comienzo a las 15h CEST y contará con los comentarios en inglés de Yoan "Tod" Merlo y Kevin "Rotterdam" Van Der Kooi.

* June 18, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009
Quarter Final(Full League)

Game #1	TeD(Undead) China	VS	HoT(Night Elf) Ukraine
Game #2	Sky(Human) China		FoV(Undead) South Korea

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Game #1 Map order : Twisted Meadows - Terenas Stand - Ancient Isle
* Game #2 Map order : Echo Isles - Ancient Isle - Twisted Meadows

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* June 20, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009
Quarter Final(Full League)

Game #1	Grubby(Orc) Netherlands	VS	Infi(Human) China
Game #2	Moon(Night Elf) South Korea		Lyn(Orc) South Korea

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Game #1 Map order : Echo Isles - Turtle Rock - Twisted Meadows
* Game #2 Map order : Melting Valley - Ancient Isle - Twisted Meadows

Hoy se disputa una nueva jornada de la Averatec-Intel Classic Season 3.

La retransmisión de las partidas de StarCraft está previsto que de comienzo a las 11 CEST y podrá seguirse a través de GomTV.

Los comentarios en inglés estarán a cargo de Nick "Tasteless" Plott y Super "Daniel" Man Lee.

* June 14, PDT(PST+1) 02:00 - Averatec-Intel Classic Season 3 Ro.16

Game #1	Flash(T) KTF MagicNs	VS	HoeJJa(Z) KTF MagicNs
Game #2	Shuttle(P) STX SOUL		Hwasin(T) STX SOUL

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Map order : A Garden of GOD - A Ridge of Heartbreak - Outsider

Nueva jornada de este torneo de StarCraft en el que participan los mejores jugadores no Coreanos.

Está previsto que la retransmisión empiece a las 15h CEST con los comentarios en inglés de Nick "Tasteless" Plott y Super "Daniel" Man Lee.

* June 12, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Valor Tournament Ro.16

Game #1	XiaOzI(Z) Canada	CaStro(Z) Peru
Game #2	ret(Z) Netherlands	Tidy(P) Canada
Game #3	Target(P) Canada	Fenix(T) Peru
Game #4	HoRRoR(T) Germany	aoOa(T) Russia

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Round of 16's first map : Outsider - Loser selects next map.
* Valor tournament official maps :
Destination, Neo Medusa, Colosseum II, Heartbreak Ridge, Outsider

Hoy se disputa una nueva jornada de la Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009 y está previsto que el próximo sábado se celebre la siguiente.

La retransmisión de las partidas de WarCraft III dará comienzo a las 15h CEST y contará con los comentarios en inglés de Yoan "Tod" Merlo y Kevin "Rotterdam" Van Der Kooi.

El horario para las dos jornadas es el siguiente:

* June 11, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009 Quarter Final(Full League)

Game #1	Sky(Human) China	VS	HoT(Night Elf) Ukraine
Game #2	TeD(Undead) China		FoV(Undead) South Korea

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Game #1 Map order : Twisted Meadows - Melting Valley - Terenas Stand
* Game #2 Map order : Twisted Meadows - Turtle Rock - Echo Isles

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* June 13, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009
Quarter Final(Full League)

Game #1	Grubby(Orc) Netherlands	VS	Lyn(Orc) South Korea
Game #2	Moon(Night Elf) South Korea		Infi(Human) China

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Game #1 Map order : Terenas Stand - Melting Valley - Twisted Meadows
* Game #2 Map order : Twisted Meadows - Echo Isles - Terenas Stand

En la pasada E3 Blizzard aceptó entrar en el libro Guinness de los records con World of WarCraft como el MMORPG con más subscriptores, y StarCraft por ser el juego de estrategia más vendido mundialmente.


Mike Morhaime(izda.) y Paul Sams(dcha.)

Blizzard Entertainment’s Mike Morhaime and Paul Sams accepted the records for World of Warcraft for the Most Popular MMORPG with a total of 11.6 million subscribers and Starcraft for being the Best Selling Strategy Game for a PC, selling 9.5 million copies worldwide.

Una vez finalizadas las partidas de la ronda 32, hoy se disputa la primera jornada de la ronda 16.

La retransmisión de las partidas de StarCraft podrá seguirse a través de GomTV y está previsto que de comienzo a las 11 CEST.

Los comentarios en inglés estarán a cargo de Nick "Tasteless" Plott y Super "Daniel" Man Lee.

* June 7, PDT(PST+1) 02:00 - Averatec-Intel Classic Season 3 Ro.16

Game #1	Baby(T) Wemade FOX	VS	skyhigh(T) CJ ENTUS
Game #2	GoojiLa(P) STX SOUL		July(Z) STX SOUL

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Map order : A Garden of GOD - A Ridge of Heartbreak - Outsider

Segundo día de competición de este torneo de WarCraft III que se juega online. La retransmisón del evento está previsto que de comienzo a las 15h CEST.

Las partidas de WarCraft III estarán comentadas en inglés por Yoan "Tod" Merlo y Kevin "Rotterdam" Van Der Kooi.

* June 6, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009 Full League

Game #1	Grubby(Orc) Netherlands	VS	Moon(Night Elf) South Korea
Game #2	Lyn(Orc) South Korea		Infi(Human) China

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Game #1 Map order : Ancient Isle - Melting Valley - Turtle Rock
* Game #2 Map order : Melting Valley - Twisted Meadows - Turtle Rock

A partir de la ronda 16 del torneo, GOMtv inicia la retransmisión de las partidas de StarCraft que está previsto se disputen los viernes a las 15h CEST.

Los comentarios en inglés estarán a cargo de Nick "Tasteless" Plott y Super "Daniel" Man Lee.

La jornada de hoy comenzará con una partida de exibición entre ToSsGirL y Strelok.

* June 5, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Valor Tournament Ro.16

SPECIAL	ToSsGirL(T) South Korea	VS	Strelok(T) Ukraine
Game #1	DinOt(Z) Chile		Strelok(T) Ukraine
Game #2	Idra(T) USA		Tarson(T) Poland
Game #3	BRAT_OK(T) Russia		CrayOn(Z) USA
Game #4	Mondragon(Z) Germany		LzGaMeR(Z) USA

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Round of 16's first map : Outsider - Loser selects next map.
* Valor tournament official maps :
Destination, Neo Medusa, Colosseum II, Heartbreak Ridge, Outsider

A las 15h CEST dará comienzo la primera jornada de este torneo, autorizado por Blizzard y organizado y patrocinado por GOMtv.

Las partidas de WarCraft III estarán comentadas por Yoan "Tod" Merlo y Kevin "Rotterdam" Van Der Kooi.

* June 4, PDT(PST+1) 06:00 - Norton AntiVirus GOMtv World Invitational 2009 Full League

Game #1	HoT(Night Elf) Ukraine	VS	FoV(Undead) South Korea
Game #2	Sky(Human) China		TeD(Undead) China

* "Best-of-three" for each game
* Game #1 Map order : Turtle Rock - Echo Isles - Ancient Isle
* Game #2 Map order : Echo Isles - Twisted Meadows - Ancient Isle

Del día 1 al día 4 de junio se celebra la E3 2009 y, aprovechando el tirón mediático de esta feria con la que en estos últimos tiempos Activisión Blizzard no parece entenderse muy bien, Mike Morhaime, presidente y co-fundador de Blizzard, participó ayer en una rueda de prensa en la que, entre otros, hizo el siguiente anuncio que recoge Gamespot:

There will be a Starcraft II beta test later this summer, and Morhaime offers to get anyone in attendance into the program. Morhaime expects to launch Starcraft II by the end of the year, though also notes that it will only ship once the game is done.