May 6, 2008 6:00 AM1UP.com has posted a new preview of Blizzard Entertainment's upcoming StarCraft II. Based on the experiences of two editors who battled against one another using an early version of the game, the article offers a player's perspective of the changes coming to the popular RTS franchise.Milky: Back in the day I would play online and always pick "random" as my race. That's how confident I was in my grasp of each race's tech tree. But this time around, I truly believe that anyone who picks the Terrans has their work cut out for them. Terrans of old at least had a fairly easy-to-manage grid, even though building 50 supply depots was a mess no matter where you put 'em. Now, with the new, highly detailed 3D graphics, organizing a Terran base is a headache. Big buildings, which look totally cool, often don't have any function of their own, but enhance whatever they're attached to. It'll take some getting used to, and no matter how I laid things out, it always still seemed like a mess. But the multiple rally points, depending on race, and the new automated commands, like being able to set SCVs to auto-repair if in the vicinity of damaged units, are life-savers. Jeff: Yes, auto-repair is cool! One of those small ideas you wonder how you lived without previously. Same with the multiple rally points -- that one I'm surprised hasn't showed up in other RTS games that I know of. Terrans have always had problems of sprawl and unwieldiness, but, hey, at least now the supply depots have some functionality and strategic importance to them rather than just being lumps hogging up valuable map space. I will say that not only is it to be expected that you're not confident in all the races yet, it's also, obviously, a very good thing that you aren't, because it points to just how much Blizzard's changed and added, even for a veteran like yourself.Head over to the link provided below to read the rest of the preview.1UP.com: StarCraft II PreviewBlizzard EntertainmentStarCraft II
