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[plutoknight]

What? So even if i go buy HotS at a game store, i still have to download the whole thing? What's the point then to buy the DVD?

Well, the DVD supposedly installs both WoL/HotS if you don't have either of them installed, but...so far it seems to be DOWNLOADING that, too.

I was hoping it would be more like Mists' installer, which actually installs...from this thing called a DVD...World of Warcraft up until patch 5.0.

-_-;.

To give you an idea of how slow this is: I'm at .3% (Yes, POINT 3%) after about 15 minutes.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Woot, amazon shipped my order, now I just got to wait a couple days.

 

[Lime]

Draft's post reminded me of these

Heavy Metal Starcraft is best Starcraft!

Not to shit on Starcraft 2 style though, I love that too

Oh man that nostalgia bomb. The manuals were amazing to sift through and let your imagination run wild - it really gave depth and texture to the simplistic pixels one saw on the PC monitor back then:

 

[Harlock]

http://eu.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/7629778/Heart_of_the_Swarm_League_Percentages-11_03_2013

Heart of the Swarm League Percentages

Wings of Liberty

Heart of the Swarm

While it appears to display an equal distribution of skill level across the board, we found that the current system brought about scenarios in which Bronze encompassed a skill range that was too broad to be meaningful, while Gold was too narrow. As a result, the lowest ranked players in Bronze often tended to be far removed from the skill level of those at the top, or even the middle of the league. As such, we're going to alter the population percentages for Bronze, Silver, and Gold leagues in order to equalize these skill gaps, and help each feel more meaningful.

By trimming Bronze league down to 8%, we're hoping to establish it as a space for newer players who are still exploring the game's ins and outs.

 

[Lord Griegous]

Woot, amazon shipped my order, now I just got to wait a couple days.

Same here! Can't wait.

 

[celebi23]

It's out for delivery Today is going to be awesome

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

Managed to snag a CE from Best Buy. They didn't have any copies of the game out in the open, normal or CE. Just pre-order cards still (the local BB is one of the worse ones I've been in.) Had to ask, but then a girl brought one out from the back for me.

Gonna keep it sealed for now to see if Amazon gets anymore in stock, in which case I'll return the one I have and order with all my credit from there. Otherwise I'll just open it if Amazon doesn't get any by the time the return period is up.

Not in as big a hurry to play as I'm sure some of you are. Though I might get tempted and just open it anyway :<

 

[Majine]

Being a gold league player just got less prestigious (^^, and bronze got more embarassing.

 

[Harlock]

But is a good change. Bronze league become really entry level and people go more fast to silver, feeling less frustrated.

 

[zashga]

After all, that's where the money is and that is where Blizzard now plays. They aren't the cool studio cranking out kind of violent, heavy metal inspired Heavy Metal fantasy and sci-fi. They are the humongous corporate conglomerate carefully cultivating the most valuable set of IPs in gaming.

I want to believe that Metzen is just in over his head and surrounded by people who are afraid to disagree with him, but this makes too much sense. Now I'm depressed. Thanks a lot!

 

[Draft]

....

No? Have you ever played any other RTS ever? Try picking up World in Conflict or Homeworld 1 for strategy games with much, much, much more stellar writing and storytelling.

Or just SC/BW lol.

 

[Yoshichan]

tired... and it's only 4pm ._.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Blizzard fans are far too story critical. It's still best in class of its genre.

Seeing as how most people who play Blizzard games don't touch other games in the genre, it's understandable that you would be completely and utterly wrong.

 

[Zzoram]

....

No? Have you ever played any other RTS ever? Try picking up World in Conflict or Homeworld 1 for strategy games with much, much, much more stellar writing and storytelling.

SC2 has best in class campaign level design variety and gameplay fun, but no longer best in class story telling I agree.

 

[RadixNegative2]

Oh man that nostalgia bomb. The manuals were amazing to sift through and let your imagination run wild - it really gave depth and texture to the simplistic pixels one saw on the PC monitor back then:

This is the best. THIS IS THE BEST! ITS SO METAL!

Also while we're at it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD_4V8mPv8w

 

[plutoknight]

SC2 has best in class campaign level design variety and gameplay fun, but no longer best in class story telling I agree.

This is the best way to sum it up, I think. I couldn't care much about the SCII: WoL story. But the missions themselves were incredibly fun. The gameplay trumps the story for me, in this case.

 

[greatnorthern]

This is the best way to sum it up, I think. I couldn't care much about the SCII: WoL story. But the missions themselves were incredibly fun. The gameplay trumps the story for me, in this case.

So, those who have played a good amount of HotS SP - can we say the same thing again? I'm really curious as to whether the SP has retained its level of quality and mission variety.

 

[mr. puppy]

goddamn multiplayer 1v1 is so fun right now. there aren't a million assholes stealing korean builds and people are actually doing something in the first 5 minutes. and as a terran player, i have a bunch of new early game raiding options that make it even more fun to play the race.

 

[Danj]

You can have it download the expansion while you're away. All you need is the CD-Key.

OK, so what do I need to do to do this? I already put the CD-key into my battle.net account.

 

[V_Arnold]

OK, so what do I need to do to do this? I already put the CD-key into my battle.net account.

Just start the WOL client?

 

[duckroll]

I can't believe we're at a point where Starcraft's story revolves around "the dark one". Seriously. The Starcraft I remember was about war, failed diplomacy, and bad choices. Starcraft II seems to be about cheesy teen fantasy transplanted onto Starcraft lore. Lulz.

 

[Zzoram]

Seems like even with the DVD in the drive it just downloads the install. Not sure how to make it use the DVD to be faster.

 

[zoukka]

I can't believe we're at a point where Starcraft's story revolves around "the dark one". Seriously. The Starcraft I remember was about war, failed diplomacy, and bad choices. Starcraft II seems to be about cheesy teen fantasy transplanted onto Starcraft lore. Lulz.

WoL already destroyed everything. I don't care about what happens with the story at this point.

 

[Robin64]

So now I should feel even worse for being in Bronze? Yay!

 

[plutoknight]

Just start the WOL client?

If it operates similar to how WoW did during Mists' launch (which I'm pretty sure it does), you just open the launcher and go away.

(6GB remaining..getting 200kb/s. Well, I'll see you guys in a week.)

 

[codhand]

worth it for Single Player only?

 

[Zzoram]

So now I should feel even worse for being in Bronze? Yay!

It's also easier than ever to get out of Bronze. Anyone who uses even some keyboard hotkeys and reads how to do 1 standard opening build for each race should be able to pass Bronze.

At the bottom 8%, it's probably going to be all mouse-only players.

 

[duckroll]

WoL already destroyed everything. I don't care about what happens with the story at this point.

HotS definitely feels like "the sequel to WoL" in that respect. Lol.

 

[Zzoram]

worth it for Single Player only?

Did you play the whole WoL campaign and enjoy it? If so, yes. You can replay it on different difficulties and try to get all the campaign achievements. There are also still arcade maps you can play that are fun and don't require you to be good at SC2 at all like Starjewelled or Gem TD.

I beat the WoL campaign on Normal, Hard and Brutal and got every achievement except the last arcade machine one (it was a schmup minigame). It was really fun and I probably spent like 30 hours doing that. HotS will offer something similar I imagine.

I don't play much multiplayer SC2 these days but HotS was still a no brainer for me.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

I can't believe we're at a point where Starcraft's story revolves around "the dark one". Seriously. The Starcraft I remember was about war, failed diplomacy, and bad choices. Starcraft II seems to be about cheesy teen fantasy transplanted onto Starcraft lore. Lulz.

That's not even the worst of it. The entire plot twist surrounding the Zerg and the Overmind's true intention is pretty much pulled straight out of Warcraft, with the "Dark One" and his "totally way more evil than the original bad guys" force giving off some pretty strong Burning Legion vibes.

They not only completely changed the tone of the story and altered some major aspects of various characters (and an entire race), but did it in almost the exact same way they already did it to Warcraft. It's lazy and boring.

 

[The Lamonster]

Game that's awesome because of the gameplay? GAF fills up the OT bitching about how much the story sucks.

 

[Haunted]

I can't believe we're at a point where Starcraft's story revolves around "the dark one". Seriously. The Starcraft I remember was about war, failed diplomacy, and bad choices. Starcraft II seems to be about cheesy teen fantasy transplanted onto Starcraft lore. Lulz.

Chris Metzen on writing: "like riding a bike"

 

[codhand]

Did you play the whole WoL campaign and enjoy it? If so, yes. You can replay it on different difficulties and try to get all the campaign achievements. There are also still arcade maps you can play that are fun and don't require you to be good at SC2 at all like Starjewelled or Gem TD.

WoL was the best srpg campaign I've ever played, but it took me two years to get around to beating it, so maybe I will hold off on this.

 

[ultron87]

It is sad that the awesome Protoss missions in WoL were also the horrible harbinger of the stupid story.

 

[Bisnic]

That's not even the worst of it. The entire plot twist surrounding the Zerg and the Overmind's true intention is pretty much pulled straight out of Warcraft, with the "Dark One" and his "totally way more evil than the original bad guys" force giving off some pretty strong Burning Legion vibes.

They not only completely changed the tone of the story and altered some major aspects of various characters (and an entire race), but did it in almost the exact same way they already did it to Warcraft. It's lazy and boring.

It's like Warcraft in space! I feel like i've heard this before, years ago...

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Game that's awesome because of the gameplay? GAF fills up the OT bitching about how much the story sucks.

I don't think anyone is doubting that Starcraft has strong gameplay, especially after that terrifically designed WoL campaign. If that were the case we'd have another Diablo III on our hands, which I don't think is an issue here.

 

[duckroll]

That's not even the worst of it. The entire plot twist surrounding the Zerg and the Overmind's true intention is pretty much pulled straight out of Warcraft, with the "Dark One" and his "totally way more evil than the original bad guys" force giving off some pretty strong Burning Legion vibes.

They not only completely changed the tone of the story and altered some major aspects of various characters (and an entire race), but did it in almost the exact same way they already did it to Warcraft. It's lazy and boring.

"The Dark One" = Diablo

Protoss = Angels

Zerg = Demons

Zeratul = Tyrael

Terran = Humans

 

[Willectro]

WoL already destroyed everything. I don't care about what happens with the story at this point.

I can't believe people play Blizz games for the story these days.

 

[Zzoram]

Game that's awesome because of the gameplay? GAF fills up the OT bitching about how much the story sucks.

lol ya, it's a game first, gameplay is the most important thing, and SC2 has that nailed down solid.

 

[Danj]

OK, so what do I need to do to do this? I already put the CD-key into my battle.net account.

Just start the WOL client?

I did that, but all it did was optimize my game files. How do I make it download the HOTS content?

 

[Lime]

I can't believe we're at a point where Starcraft's story revolves around "the dark one". Seriously. The Starcraft I remember was about war, failed diplomacy, and bad choices. Starcraft II seems to be about cheesy teen fantasy transplanted onto Starcraft lore. Lulz.

I think this interview with Chris Metzen partly explains the "evolution":

PCG: Aside from, you know, life, are there any particular works that are inspiring you now? Like, you looked at them and immediately went all artistic He-Man? &#8220;I have the pooooower &#8211; to create!&#8221;

CM: It&#8217;s a constant stream. I mean, I still probably spend just as much on comics as when I was 12. That&#8217;s been a consistent burn all my life. But &#8211; and this is gonna sound really funny &#8211; I&#8217;ve been doubling down on animation lately. I really consume cartoons. I mean, I&#8217;ve got kids now, and it&#8217;s a thing we can do to kind of jam. My rugrats are peripherally interested in the stuff I loved as a kid, but it doesn&#8217;t necessarily translate one-to-one. But some of it really does. So to have my kids and re-look at these ideas, it&#8217;s like &#8220;I totally get that.&#8221; So instead of my peers and brothers at Blizzard &#8211; I know what they all think &#8211; but looking through the eyes of little kids has been totally eye-opening.

 

[V_Arnold]

I did that, but all it did was optimize my game files. How do I make it download the HOTS content?

If you went through a 6,2gb patch, you can start playing HOTS.
If you did not, you cant click PLAY button, but have to continue patching.

So start again and see if you can click on play. If you can, you are ready.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Kids really do ruin everything.

 

[plutoknight]

I did that, but all it did was optimize my game files. How do I make it download the HOTS content?

Wait until its done optimizing -- although, it's possible if you've played SCII a lot recently that you already have the data and don't need to do anything except the optimization.

 

[farnham]

Still not shipped wut

 

[Draft]

SC2 is not really much cheesier than SC1, which is basically a WH40k Black Library novel made into a game. Cheese that's dark and broody and filled with blood and betrayal is harder to notice. It's also, to me and I suspect a lot of the general gaming demographic, more entertaining than cheese that's filled with noble heroes, misunderstood villains and the ultimate triumph of good over evil just in time for the end credits.

 

[sixghost]

Boy I sure don't give a shit about Starcraft lore or the story in these games. Blizzard is hamming it up as hard as possible right out of the gate.

I shit you not, within 3 minutes of starting the game Raynor says to Kerrigan "Don't you give up on us Sarah. 'Cuz I never gave up on you," as the door dramatically closes. 6:5 odds that at some point Raynor says, with zero irony, something about becoming a monster as a result of fighting one

 

[duckroll]

WoL was the best srpg campaign I've ever played, but it took me two years to get around to beating it, so maybe I will hold off on this.

See, I definitely remember the WoL campaign being really fun, and really cool to play. Something about HotS's campaign isn't impressing me in the same way yet, and after Diablo 3, I'm starting to question whether I imagined WoL's campaign quality. >_<

I think one thing which annoys me about the HotS missions so far is that I feel they basically tell you exactly how to play them, with voice overs and highlights on the screen and so on, and as long as you follow exactly what is said, you basically can't lose. It feels like autogaming and I hate that. It also feels like I'm just interacting with a storybook, rather than playing a game with actual options. Most of the time I don't see any variation in terms of strategy.

Played about 7 missions so far. I'm actually looking forward to replaying some of the previous missions for missed achievements because they sound more challenging than the actual mission objections (including the bonus objectives which I always get). I'm not even looking for a hard game here, since I'm not that good with RTS games anyway, I just don't want to feel like I'm following exact instructions all the time.

 

[Lime]

Game that's awesome because of the gameplay? GAF fills up the OT bitching about how much the story sucks.

Then why even have expensive cutscenes, voice actors, camera direction, etc. when the story is "irrelevant" when assessing the singleplayer game's quality?

But like I said, the original SC/BW had a story that didn't suck complete balls, so of course people are going to talk about the story aspects of SC2. SC1/BW wasn't particularly good or well-written, but it sure as hell wasn't the retarded shit we see today.

 

[Jackben]

@Starcraft II 'love' story:

Fuck you Raynor, Fenix was a bro.