Personally I feel having it based on any account that posts a few moments after being created is a bad idea. It's entirely plausible someone might lerk for a while before making an account, then see something that particularly interests them and wants to comment, registers, goes to post and... gets instantly blocked or whatever?
Well the funny thing is I hadn't posted my race skin idea anywhere except in a private chat with a friend on Skype, and I doubt Blizzard's eyes are THAT extensive ;P
I believe Traysent said on this very forum when there was discussion about using Heroes of the Storm content in SC2 he basically said as long as nobody sets out to recreate Heroes of the Storm as a mod for StarCraft 2 they're fine with it. I'd imagine it would be something similar with Co-op - as long as you're not setting out to make a mod that plays exactly like Co-op mode, you'll probably be ok...
Slightly related: Prior to the last BlizzCon I was considering making a mod with the idea of Race skins as a kind of proof of concept suggestion to Blizzard. And what do they announce at BlizzCon? Racial unit skins x)
A random thought here with the Raptorling. Is it the cliffjumping or the leaping at enemies that is more overpowered? Perhaps try giving it one or the other but not both?
There was also a concept of a Black Ops Siege Tank in the same pic as the Marine and at the panel they talked about Nova's forces looking and playing different. I've attached a screenshot I took of the Stream after finding nowhere had uploaded a pic of this. Though not shown in the screenshot I think they also talked about possibly having the Black Ops Siege Tank hover (though hadn't decided at that point)
That said from the screenshots on the Nova page on Battle.net it looks like there's also new art assets in the form of interface as a new briefing screen is shown. It's also possible we will get new storymode models as well depending on how the in game cinematics are rendered.
So I went to have a look at some of the Co-op stuff added in the latest patch and found something interesting. In unit placement in the Terrain editor there is now an additional race listed above Neutral: Infested Terran.
It doesn't have any units listed under it but would seem to support the idea that Stukov is coming sooner rather than later. Also poses some questions: Why not just have it under Zerg? Makes me wonder if Stukov will have his own console and/or advisor voices? If a custom console is part of the case it makes me wonder/hope for a Tal'darim console for Alarak perhaps?
Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. But I thought I'd share with you guys :D
I wonder if this might be of help to you Filcher: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ACommanderIsYou
It's basically a summary of common types of race and faction gameplay in strategy games, I thought perhaps it could be handy for conceptualizing the different factions/give you some inspiration :)
(I wrote this before Arcane posted but I don't have time to edit it, sorry if it goes over the same ground)
@Mozared: Go
I don't see how these campaigns are any more or less optional than the main expansion content. Buying ANYTHING is optional and unlike the main campaign this is more of a side-story so while it will expand/continue some of the story it isn't quite as cliff-hanger-ish as each pack will be it's own story. I never said it didn't add anything to the story but it's ultimately no different than buying the next book in a series (or perhaps more accurately in this case buying a side-story novella that fleshes out a given character - Nova and Valerian in this case)
From a multiplayer perspective (not one I admittedly view from - I'm very much a singleplayer player) Nova Covert ops adds a portrait and an optional unit skin.
I'm sure someone might bring up the post release missions from StarCraft 1, however a major difference here I feel is that those did not have new voice acting or cutscenes, nor new unit artwork, (also worth nothing several of the Enslavers missions even re-used maps from cut missions in StarCraft 1)
You bring up monetizing mods and yes that would be a great thing to happen and hopefully will. Fan campaigns may even be better (for a certain value of better of course) than the Blizzard made campaigns, however as modders do generally make these things in their spare time it will take much longer as they also have to make a living as opposed to Blizzard made maps which are by their very nature being made by people who do this for a living. Official free content is great but would take a similar amount of time as a fan made map as it would be made when the people involved are not busy working on other content they'll actually sell.
So if that means paying money to get more singleplayer content (which as I say is my main source of enjoyment in StarCraft) and support a company that has given me countless hours of fun I'm happy to do so.
I honestly do not see how any of the other content I spoke of is anything less than optional to a player for the reasons I've already stated. They give no advantage against other players in multiplayer and while I'm sure deep analyzing might mean one paid commander might prove better for a given mission due to their specific combination of tech and abilities that's not the same as the type of DLC that is essentially an 'I win' button.
All of that aside, as others have said already the economy is in a very different place now, not to mention making games is also much more expensive now, so even before you include profits (which any company in the world will want, this does not make them evil) there's more work and more people that need to be paid for. To be frank we're probably still paying less per person than the creatives working on the games deserve for their work and this idea that people and companies who make games should just get a pittance for their work disgusts me.
I suppose ultimately the proof will be in how long SC2 remains supported with new content beyond Void's release window.
That's the major thing I can see DLC supporting over the old model. It may also be worth considering the known DLC content collectively. Right now we don't know the prices of commanders or unit skins (something talked about at BlizzCon that seems likely to also be DLC to me) are, but it is quite likely there is a lot of overlap between those working on Co-op Commanders/Missions, Singleplayer Mission Packs and Unit Skins. The money from these various DLCs quite likely will support each other - I doubt they'll ringfence money from New Commanders for example and not let that money be used for the other two types of DLC in the same way money from Nova Covert Ops and any other mission packs may well also help pay for new Co-op Commanders and Unit Skins.
Also for those who feel the prices are too much I would suggest looking at Heroes of the Storm's example. It has bundles that work out cheaper overall and frequently has sales for a selection of heroes, skins etc. In fact right now till the end of the year there's 50% off everything. I would not be at all surprised if going forward there will be similar things done for SC2 DLC content, especially when there's more of it out there. Kinda like how on Steam if you can't/don't want to buy something for full price it will inevitably come on sale sooner or later.
Ultimately of course all this stuff IS optional. Unit skins will be purely aesthetic, not having a given commander does not greatly disadvantage the average player in co-op and the Nova Mission packs are singleplayer only and the multiplayer content of it is purely aesthetic in nature.
While I've not seen the datamined stuff pointing to the order mentioned in the first post myself, I suspect there will be a Zerg commander before another Protoss one, simply to maintain race balance. It's worth noting there are already references to Stukov as a commander in the files since launch, there's even a dummied out Stukov revival trigger in the AlliedCommanders mod so my guess would be perhaps it will be Horner>Stukov>Alarak>Etc
That said I'm hoping for Stukov and/or Dehaka (I can't pick which I'd like first... both have potential for very different type of Zerg armies) myself.
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Personally I feel having it based on any account that posts a few moments after being created is a bad idea. It's entirely plausible someone might lerk for a while before making an account, then see something that particularly interests them and wants to comment, registers, goes to post and... gets instantly blocked or whatever?
0
@QueenGambit: Go
Well the funny thing is I hadn't posted my race skin idea anywhere except in a private chat with a friend on Skype, and I doubt Blizzard's eyes are THAT extensive ;P
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I believe Traysent said on this very forum when there was discussion about using Heroes of the Storm content in SC2 he basically said as long as nobody sets out to recreate Heroes of the Storm as a mod for StarCraft 2 they're fine with it. I'd imagine it would be something similar with Co-op - as long as you're not setting out to make a mod that plays exactly like Co-op mode, you'll probably be ok...
Slightly related: Prior to the last BlizzCon I was considering making a mod with the idea of Race skins as a kind of proof of concept suggestion to Blizzard. And what do they announce at BlizzCon? Racial unit skins x)
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@FatCatTrap: Go
Heh that was quite the fun little story trip, thanks! :D
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@Scbroodsc2: Go
Thanks :)
Though I was thinking angel (which is ironic as I have a star on my own hehe)
When I have some more free time I might drop in the heroes model for Abathur with Karax and Swann (or just the storymode model...)
Merry Christmas all
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Just something quick to have up while it's still Christmas. Alarak is being a bit of a Grinch.
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@StringStorm: Go
They all sound neat! Though just a (hopefully) helpful comment: I actually think your Stalker voice sounds closer to Zeratul.
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A random thought here with the Raptorling. Is it the cliffjumping or the leaping at enemies that is more overpowered? Perhaps try giving it one or the other but not both?
0
@SoulFilcher: Go
There was also a concept of a Black Ops Siege Tank in the same pic as the Marine and at the panel they talked about Nova's forces looking and playing different. I've attached a screenshot I took of the Stream after finding nowhere had uploaded a pic of this. Though not shown in the screenshot I think they also talked about possibly having the Black Ops Siege Tank hover (though hadn't decided at that point)
That said from the screenshots on the Nova page on Battle.net it looks like there's also new art assets in the form of interface as a new briefing screen is shown. It's also possible we will get new storymode models as well depending on how the in game cinematics are rendered.
0
@SoulFilcher: Go
Naturally ;)
And yeah the thought had occured to me regarding being a paid commander too.
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So I went to have a look at some of the Co-op stuff added in the latest patch and found something interesting. In unit placement in the Terrain editor there is now an additional race listed above Neutral: Infested Terran.
It doesn't have any units listed under it but would seem to support the idea that Stukov is coming sooner rather than later. Also poses some questions: Why not just have it under Zerg? Makes me wonder if Stukov will have his own console and/or advisor voices? If a custom console is part of the case it makes me wonder/hope for a Tal'darim console for Alarak perhaps?
Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. But I thought I'd share with you guys :D
0
I wonder if this might be of help to you Filcher:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ACommanderIsYou
It's basically a summary of common types of race and faction gameplay in strategy games, I thought perhaps it could be handy for conceptualizing the different factions/give you some inspiration :)
0
(I wrote this before Arcane posted but I don't have time to edit it, sorry if it goes over the same ground) @Mozared: Go
I don't see how these campaigns are any more or less optional than the main expansion content. Buying ANYTHING is optional and unlike the main campaign this is more of a side-story so while it will expand/continue some of the story it isn't quite as cliff-hanger-ish as each pack will be it's own story. I never said it didn't add anything to the story but it's ultimately no different than buying the next book in a series (or perhaps more accurately in this case buying a side-story novella that fleshes out a given character - Nova and Valerian in this case)
From a multiplayer perspective (not one I admittedly view from - I'm very much a singleplayer player) Nova Covert ops adds a portrait and an optional unit skin.
I'm sure someone might bring up the post release missions from StarCraft 1, however a major difference here I feel is that those did not have new voice acting or cutscenes, nor new unit artwork, (also worth nothing several of the Enslavers missions even re-used maps from cut missions in StarCraft 1)
You bring up monetizing mods and yes that would be a great thing to happen and hopefully will. Fan campaigns may even be better (for a certain value of better of course) than the Blizzard made campaigns, however as modders do generally make these things in their spare time it will take much longer as they also have to make a living as opposed to Blizzard made maps which are by their very nature being made by people who do this for a living. Official free content is great but would take a similar amount of time as a fan made map as it would be made when the people involved are not busy working on other content they'll actually sell.
So if that means paying money to get more singleplayer content (which as I say is my main source of enjoyment in StarCraft) and support a company that has given me countless hours of fun I'm happy to do so.
I honestly do not see how any of the other content I spoke of is anything less than optional to a player for the reasons I've already stated. They give no advantage against other players in multiplayer and while I'm sure deep analyzing might mean one paid commander might prove better for a given mission due to their specific combination of tech and abilities that's not the same as the type of DLC that is essentially an 'I win' button.
All of that aside, as others have said already the economy is in a very different place now, not to mention making games is also much more expensive now, so even before you include profits (which any company in the world will want, this does not make them evil) there's more work and more people that need to be paid for. To be frank we're probably still paying less per person than the creatives working on the games deserve for their work and this idea that people and companies who make games should just get a pittance for their work disgusts me.
0
@Mozared: Go
I suppose ultimately the proof will be in how long SC2 remains supported with new content beyond Void's release window.
That's the major thing I can see DLC supporting over the old model. It may also be worth considering the known DLC content collectively. Right now we don't know the prices of commanders or unit skins (something talked about at BlizzCon that seems likely to also be DLC to me) are, but it is quite likely there is a lot of overlap between those working on Co-op Commanders/Missions, Singleplayer Mission Packs and Unit Skins. The money from these various DLCs quite likely will support each other - I doubt they'll ringfence money from New Commanders for example and not let that money be used for the other two types of DLC in the same way money from Nova Covert Ops and any other mission packs may well also help pay for new Co-op Commanders and Unit Skins.
Also for those who feel the prices are too much I would suggest looking at Heroes of the Storm's example. It has bundles that work out cheaper overall and frequently has sales for a selection of heroes, skins etc. In fact right now till the end of the year there's 50% off everything. I would not be at all surprised if going forward there will be similar things done for SC2 DLC content, especially when there's more of it out there. Kinda like how on Steam if you can't/don't want to buy something for full price it will inevitably come on sale sooner or later.
Ultimately of course all this stuff IS optional. Unit skins will be purely aesthetic, not having a given commander does not greatly disadvantage the average player in co-op and the Nova Mission packs are singleplayer only and the multiplayer content of it is purely aesthetic in nature.
0
@MaskedImposter: Go
While I've not seen the datamined stuff pointing to the order mentioned in the first post myself, I suspect there will be a Zerg commander before another Protoss one, simply to maintain race balance. It's worth noting there are already references to Stukov as a commander in the files since launch, there's even a dummied out Stukov revival trigger in the AlliedCommanders mod so my guess would be perhaps it will be Horner>Stukov>Alarak>Etc
That said I'm hoping for Stukov and/or Dehaka (I can't pick which I'd like first... both have potential for very different type of Zerg armies) myself.