Preview by Starcraft Wiki |
Heart of the Swarm is a sequel to Wings of Liberty. Taking place in 2506, it focuses on Sarah Kerrigan and the development of a zerg empire.Kerrigan is no longer considered the Queen of Blades. Questions remain about why Kerrigan is no longer with Jim Raynor and whether her transformation has given her new purpose. More will be seen of the Kel-Morian Combine and Umojan Protectorate.During the Invasion of Char, the zerg were recalled to Char, and were in route aboard leviathans when Kerrigan was deinfested. The broods aboard the leviathans died or scattered over the Koprulu Sector, according to Izsha.And the (temporary) absence of a leader for the Swarm opened way to rogue/dissident brood mothers, such as Za'gara.Following the battle, Kerrigan was transformed into a human form but still has some infested elements (such as her "dreadlocks") leaving open the question of how infested is she, and whether she had her original personality back. Kerrigan was taken by Jim Raynor and Valerian Mengsk to a lab while she tried to reform the Zerg Swarm in order to topple Arcturus Mengsk.
A Terran Dominion task force led by Nova Terra attacked the lab, seeking Kerrigan. Raynor was also there, fighting and attempting to protect Kerrigan. Meanwhile, General Horace Warfield's forces are attempting to purge Char.One of Kerrigan's goals is to reunify and enhance the swarm before dealing with Arcturus Mengsk. She has to make hard choices over the course of the campaign—she's on the run in a sense and will have to defend against herself against other races due to her past as the Queen of Blades.She is amnesic, and unsure of her place in regards to her subordinates..
More emphasis will be placed on mission cutscenes than Wings of Liberty in regards to conveying backstory, such as information about the zerg.Location-wise, Heart of the Swarm is intended to show more exotic locales than the ones featured in Wings of Liberty—no "farm areas" for instance. Ideas for locations include gas giants, frozen and hot worlds, places where the zerg were first formed and Dominion labs.Concept art shown at BlizzCon 2010 depicts a (number of) jungle settings.
There will be new multiplayer units for each of the three playable races. As of October 2011, Blizzard has shown some of the new artwork. Blizzard is planning on new units or major fixes to existing units.The development team intends to create mutations of popular units from StarCraft lore that allow the player to feel that they're mutating and evolving your Swarm. Creatures seen, but never previously controlled are intended to be playable as well Units may be removed from multiplayer and replaced. Not all races will be given equal treatment in regards to unit additions/removals. It is Blizzard's intention to enhance the uniqueness of each playable species in regards to gameplay and to avoid redundancy.
According to Dustin Browder, the terrans have "enough stuff already" and as such, it is difficult to know what to do with them. Terrans are more flexible in multiplayer than the zerg or protoss and the team doesn't want to add units/unit properties that increase this trend.Still, Blizzard is planning on de-nerfing the reaper. At BlizzCon 2011, three new terran units were revealed—the warhound, the shredder and the battle hellion.Notable changes will be made to the thor and battlecruiser as well.
At BlizzCon 2011, the viper and swarm host were added to the Swarm, while the overseer was confirmed to be removed from multiplayer.Prior to this, numerous ideas have been tossed around—the lurker is a possibility but has not been confirmed and a different unit may be created to take the role the lurker once had. At BlizzCon 2010, the infested bunker was touted as a possible campaign unit. Concept art indicates the presence of another new zerg unit.Browder is open to the idea of the defiler being playable in the campaign, but is more reserved about the devourer.Significant changes will be made to ultralisks and banelings as well.
The protoss will gain three new units—the oracle, the replicant and the tempest,while the mothership and carrier will be removed from multiplayer games. The nexus will gain new abilities as well.
Heart of the Swarm is expected to have about 20 missions, and in much of the world will be priced as an expansion. It will require an installed version of Wings of Liberty to play. The campaign operates similarly to an RPG, in which Kerrigan is focused on increasing her personal power through mutations. Zerg armies protect her as she garners this power. The greater her power, the more zerg she's able to control. Like Wings of Liberty, the player will be presented with choices as to which missions to carry out and which units to get, but such choices won't be based on cash. Both the missions and their objectives are intended to be quite different from the ones featured in Wings of Liberty. She will instead worry about evolving the Swarm.Kerrigan can increase her stats in a manner similar to Warcraft III, but not to the same extent.
According to Dustin Browder "Kerrigan will appear on almost every map in Heart of the Swarm. Unlike Raynor, Kerrigan is a creature of power that leads her army from the front, smashing aside siege tanks and destroying battlecruisers with her psionic abilities. And unlike Wings of Liberty, the mission isn’t over if she dies. Kerrigan will be able to revive at the nearest hatchery if she is killed, allowing you to use her aggressively against your enemies."
Kerrigan initially starts out looking very human and armed with a gun, though she can control zerg forces. The player can choose one of four "battle focus" for Kerrigan before each mission. Each battle focus allows Kerrigan to have a certain set of special abilities.
The campaign will feature a branched storyline structure.Each planet will give access to multiple missions. Three missions are called War for the Brood, Silence their Cries and Shoot the Messenger.The set pieces will alter in accordance with planet and the results of missions. It is intended that the missions strike a balance in regards to foes, with terrans, zerg, and protoss getting equal limelight.Browder expects that it will take the average player 20 or fewer hours to complete the campaign. Many hybrids will appear in the campaign as opponents to Kerrigan.
The missions of the game are intended to have a different feel than those in Wings of Liberty. In the first game of the trilogy, the zerg were rarely engaged directly and instead, it was about Raynor side-stepping them while completing his objectives. In Heart of the Swarm, the missions are more offensive in nature, such as preventing anyone from escaping an invaded planet.
Mini-missions will be available when a unit split is available. The mission will allow the player to use both types of units, enabling the player to make an educated choice by the end of it. There are 14 or so short skirmishes far from the standard missions. In one example, zerglings can be upgraded into raptors by absorbing the genetics of leaping creatures, while the alternative is to listen to a queen on a remote world who has developed swarmlings.This is a change from the old mutagen system of evolution, which developers felt was too similar to the system of upgrades in Wings of Liberty.
During the campaign, players can use the Destruction of Worlds mechanic to add a planet's resources to the Swarm's own resources.This evolves the swarm, not individual units. Old brood mothers will contact Kerrigan, wanting to rejoin the Swarm. Izsha will identify worlds to destroy, each of which gives a benefit. For instance, one might enable drones to harvest more minerals, or give overlords more control.\On the subject of worlds, several exotic ones will feature, driving home how the zerg use the harsh conditions of worlds to further their own evolution. It is intended that character lines will be altered slightly based on context—not new scenes, but ones that will be contextually appropriate.
Blizzard does not expect to release Heart of the Swarm in 2011. As of March 2011 Dustin Browder expected Heart of the Swarm to finish development in approximately one year.As of July 2011, the first part of the campaign (including cutscenes) has been completed.
Trailer |
0 comments:
Post a Comment