[Starcraft Remastered] Now Live!

Roe

Blizzard is remastering Starcraft in glorious 4k.



Fire up Starcraft again with your friends as you relive the blockbuster RTS with several new features such as:

Widescreen UHD support for up to 4K

New illustrations to "enhance storytelling" in the campaign missions

"Advanced matchmaking"

"Full connectivity" to Blizzard's online network

Cloud saves for campaign progress, custom-made maps, keybinds, and replays

Eight new languages in addition to the five that came with the original

The game is now Live! You can download the game on the Blizzard Launcher.

Prisca

Looks very promising. I'd be in it for the single-player primarily due to my nostalgic childhood.

Uselesswarrior

You should announce this thread in the Starcraft 2 thread if you want to redirect people in here.

Uselesswarrior

Interview with the devs over at Team Liquid, http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/brood-war/520464-an-interview-with-the-devs-of-starcraft-remastered

3clipse

oh my god

yes

Variable

Very exciting. I wonder if the resuscitated bw scene in Korea will even consider switching over.

KetBra

Yeah this looks cool

The interview on TL indicates that the Blizzard guys definitely know not to fuck with things

KoopahTroopah

Looks very good. I bet Day9 is shitting his pants.

3clipse

KoopahTroopah wrote: »

Looks very good. I bet Day9 is shitting his pants.

https://twitter.com/day9tv/status/845874612143476738

https://twitter.com/day9tv/status/845880486979239936

You could say that.

Roe

If anything Diablo 2 remastered should be next, after all they did tease it in the job openings.

urahonky

This makes me so excited! I will buy this day 1.

DCAarmus

Wow! I love their commitment to retaining the style and character of the original as much as possible, which is where a lot of "HD Remasters" fail. If their next project is Diablo 2 Remastered, Blizzard could be the end of me.

Mandres

Cool, I'd play this. I never did get into SC2 but the nostalgia of the original is irresistible.

Lord_Asmodeus

Roe wrote: »

If anything Diablo 2 remastered should be next, after all they did tease it in the job openings.

Could they also "remaster" Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 to change their shitty stories

*grumble grumble is salty*

But yeah I'm excited for this, I own both SC1 and Broodwar and still play them sometimes, having a visually updated version will be really nice

Konphujun

I think one of the best choices blizzard has made with this is putting up the original Starcraft + Brood War completely for free, and if the article I read was accurate, making them compatible with the remastered edition. They've said the replays from BW 1.16 (current version) will be compatible with the remaster, so it seems legit at a glance.

Dark Raven X

Aw, I was hoping a remaster meant putting it all into the SCII engine, newly rendered CGI, all that good stuff. This is still rad.

Invictus

Dark Raven X wrote: »

Aw, I was hoping a remaster meant putting it all into the SCII engine, newly rendered CGI, all that good stuff. This is still rad.

They can't replicate all of the same phenomena in the SC2 engine; if the pathing, for example, were updated to SC2 it would change balance a lot: dragoons and goliaths would become tons better, for example.

kime

Invictus wrote: »

Dark Raven X wrote: »

Aw, I was hoping a remaster meant putting it all into the SCII engine, newly rendered CGI, all that good stuff. This is still rad.

They can't replicate all of the same phenomena in the SC2 engine; if the pathing, for example, were updated to SC2 it would change balance a lot: dragoons and goliaths would become tons better, for example.

Part of what a lot of people like about Brood War is the mechanics, due to the engine. So using the SC2 engine would leave many people dissatisfied.

see317

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

Roe wrote: »

If anything Diablo 2 remastered should be next, after all they did tease it in the job openings.

Could they also "remaster" Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 to change their shitty stories

*grumble grumble is salty*

But yeah I'm excited for this, I own both SC1 and Broodwar and still play them sometimes, having a visually updated version will be really nice

I mean, that was kind of what they did with adventure mode in Diablo 3.
Completely remove the story, let people kill demons, get loot, kill demons with bigger numbers.

TheStig

Korean announcers wouldn't have anything to freak out about when someone got their dragoon to move in a straight line if they just ported it to the SC2 engine.

Sterica

RIP SC2

Enigmedic

Bobkins Flymo wrote: »

RIP SC2

this ^

While Starcraft 2 was pretty neat when it first came out, the balance pendulum has swung pretty hard for all the races at different times. And while I like some of the new characters enough, I don't really care about any of them. Also, screw Illidan and Kerrigan having the same damned story. Pretty much the whole zerg and protoss campaign had me going "but why?" the whole time. The terran campaign was at least passable I guess. The one character I did want to know what happens with was Niadra, and she didn't even get a mention. I realize they could make her some kind of force in sc3, but I'm skeptical that sc3 will even happen.

Ive played through the sc2 campaigns like 1.5 times each, but I've played sc and bw campaigns sooooo many times each. Hell I've played through schezar's scavengers more times than the sc2 campaigns. SC2 just doesn't quite scratch the itch, despite it still being a decent game. Though I was still very hyped after wings of liberty, so I guess they did a pretty good job there. I feel like I only got legacy of the void because I had played everything else. I started playing guild wars 2 again instead of really playing after the lotv campaign, so I don't think they really did a great job there.

Golden Yak

Booo.

Remake it in the SC2 engine.

Boo.

Dhalphir

Golden Yak wrote: »

Booo.

Remake it in the SC2 engine.

Boo.

Terrible, terrible idea.

There is no way to remake Brood War in Starcraft 2's engine. If you did, it would not be Brood War.

Duke 2.0

Remake it in the SC2 engine, perfectly replicate Brood War pathing and restrict selection to 12 units

Dhalphir

Duke 2.0 wrote: »

Remake it in the SC2 engine, perfectly replicate Brood War pathing and restrict selection to 12 units

At that point what are you gaining by putting it in the SC2 engine? The updated graphics look just as good as SC2 does.

Dark Raven X

Dhalphir wrote: »

Duke 2.0 wrote: »

Remake it in the SC2 engine, perfectly replicate Brood War pathing and restrict selection to 12 units

At that point what are you gaining by putting it in the SC2 engine? The updated graphics look just as good as SC2 does.

whu. Unless the trailer doesn't reflect the final product, the remaster is just an uprez of the original sprite artwork, not 3D models. This is probably a personal preference thing? SC2 looks fantastic, and I'd love to have had the original campaigns in this art style.

Zek

This is very specifically made for the Brood War competitive scene - those guys wouldn't play it without all the old engine quirks and UI limitations. They don't want a full remake at all.

Keep in mind this is the "Classic Games" team, they also maintain WC3 and D2. So this is more of a preservation initiative rather than a remake for casual fans. It's not my personal preference (I prefer remakes) but it's cool that they're doing it.

KetBra

Using uprezed sprites is a selling feature, not a detriment, to most people who really love BW

Also, I imagine it would make it much harder to replicate BW's quirks

Dhalphir

The entire point is not to change Brood War. Moving from sprites to 3D models would massively change unit silhouettes and pathing, which is a huge part of the overall game feel. You'd also have to go through and meticulously recreate every single quirk of the original game's engine. Mutalisks would have to stack and spread in exactly the same way. Dragoons and Goliaths would have to be intentionally designed to have bad pathing. That kind of thing.

Redesigning Brood War into SC2's engine would alienate a huge portion of the current BW community, but would not actually gain you many customers from the other side of things, so you defeat the entire purpose of the remake by doing that.

Golden Yak

Dhalphir wrote: »

Golden Yak wrote: »

Booo.

Remake it in the SC2 engine.

Boo.

Terrible, terrible idea.

There is no way to remake Brood War in Starcraft 2's engine. If you did, it would not be Brood War.

Boo.

Was also briefly hopeful upon seeing this was that they would re-do all the cinematics with their current level of cinematic power. That probably won't happen, but it would be rad if they did.

Variable

Have they said if they're adding in observing stuff from sc2?

Dhalphir

Variable wrote: »

Have they said if they're adding in observing stuff from sc2?

That question was asked in the TeamLiquid interview, I don't think they specifically addressed it, but they DID address the fact that one of the most important things about Brood War is that, unlike Starcraft 2, observers in BW do NOT have a complete picture of the game, and that the shoutcasters for BW were very adamant that the lack of information increased suspense and excitement overall. So, at the very least, they're aware.

Which I agree with, wholeheartedly.

In Starcraft 2 it's super clear, as an observer, who is ahead and who is behind, and by how much. Once a game reaches a certain point, comebacks are nearly impossible and you know the game is over ten minutes before it actually ends.

In BW, those same advantages and disadvantages exist, and it's just as hard to come back from behind, but it's much more difficult for observers to actually identify who is ahead and who is behind, which keeps the game much more exciting overall.

Lord_Asmodeus

Dhalphir wrote: »

Variable wrote: »

Have they said if they're adding in observing stuff from sc2?

That question was asked in the TeamLiquid interview, I don't think they specifically addressed it, but they DID address the fact that one of the most important things about Brood War is that, unlike Starcraft 2, observers in BW do NOT have a complete picture of the game, and that the shoutcasters for BW were very adamant that the lack of information increased suspense and excitement overall. So, at the very least, they're aware.

Which I agree with, wholeheartedly.

In Starcraft 2 it's super clear, as an observer, who is ahead and who is behind, and by how much. Once a game reaches a certain point, comebacks are nearly impossible and you know the game is over ten minutes before it actually ends.

In BW, those same advantages and disadvantages exist, and it's just as hard to come back from behind, but it's much more difficult for observers to actually identify who is ahead and who is behind, which keeps the game much more exciting overall.

I see where you're coming from, but that sort of observer knowledge is a thing in a lot of very suspenseful sports

Variable

Yeah I don't totally agree, and beyond that you can turn it off. I'd be fine with them adding the option.

Just today I was sure maru lost a game he ended up winning because I didn't know he was making a liberator til it was on screen so I completely get it, I just think there's room for having the info as well. And also that the casters should avoid mentioning supply but that's its own thing

Dhalphir

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

Dhalphir wrote: »

Variable wrote: »

Have they said if they're adding in observing stuff from sc2?

That question was asked in the TeamLiquid interview, I don't think they specifically addressed it, but they DID address the fact that one of the most important things about Brood War is that, unlike Starcraft 2, observers in BW do NOT have a complete picture of the game, and that the shoutcasters for BW were very adamant that the lack of information increased suspense and excitement overall. So, at the very least, they're aware.

Which I agree with, wholeheartedly.

In Starcraft 2 it's super clear, as an observer, who is ahead and who is behind, and by how much. Once a game reaches a certain point, comebacks are nearly impossible and you know the game is over ten minutes before it actually ends.

In BW, those same advantages and disadvantages exist, and it's just as hard to come back from behind, but it's much more difficult for observers to actually identify who is ahead and who is behind, which keeps the game much more exciting overall.

I see where you're coming from, but that sort of observer knowledge is a thing in a lot of very suspenseful sports

But that sort of knowledge, in those games, does not allow you to predict what will happen next.

For example, a team being ahead by 20 pts in a basketball game is a commanding lead, and makes them more likely to win the actual game, but it doesn't actually make scoring the next bucket any more or less likely than if it was an even game.

If you tune into an NBA game and the Spurs are up 20 over the Cavs with 5 minutes to play, you can be pretty confident the Spurs are going to win, but that lead doesn't make one team more or less likely to score next.

Whereas in Starcraft, having, say, an extra 40 supply of army means that not only are you leading the game, but you also gain further advantage just by leading. As an observer, you can also use that information to predict how each individual event in the game will go. It completely removes the suspense before a battle, because the audience knows who is going to win the battle before it happens.

Brood War works exactly the same way, but in Brood War, the observers often can't precisely pinpoint the moment at which you gain that unstoppable advantage, which keeps things in suspense a lot longer.

Dhalphir

Variable wrote: »

Yeah I don't totally agree, and beyond that you can turn it off. I'd be fine with them adding the option.

Just today I was sure maru lost a game he ended up winning because I didn't know he was making a liberator til it was on screen so I completely get it, I just think there's room for having the info as well. And also that the casters should avoid mentioning supply but that's its own thing

Well, turning it off isn't really an option when you're watching a broadcast.

3clipse

Dark Raven X wrote: »

Dhalphir wrote: »

Duke 2.0 wrote: »

Remake it in the SC2 engine, perfectly replicate Brood War pathing and restrict selection to 12 units

At that point what are you gaining by putting it in the SC2 engine? The updated graphics look just as good as SC2 does.

whu. Unless the trailer doesn't reflect the final product, the remaster is just an uprez of the original sprite artwork, not 3D models. This is probably a personal preference thing? SC2 looks fantastic, and I'd love to have had the original campaigns in this art style.

I guess it's a style thing, I think the remade BW looks a lot nicer than SC2's 3D. The 3D models are not going to age well, the pixel models will pretty much always look good from a stylistic point of view.

PMAvers

Most importantly... will the Carbot Starcrafts mod be ported to it?

Duke 2.0

Carbot releases a video with increased resolution marine animation

transcending the resolution limitation of vectors

Uselesswarrior

3clipse wrote: »

Dark Raven X wrote: »

Dhalphir wrote: »

Duke 2.0 wrote: »

Remake it in the SC2 engine, perfectly replicate Brood War pathing and restrict selection to 12 units

At that point what are you gaining by putting it in the SC2 engine? The updated graphics look just as good as SC2 does.

whu. Unless the trailer doesn't reflect the final product, the remaster is just an uprez of the original sprite artwork, not 3D models. This is probably a personal preference thing? SC2 looks fantastic, and I'd love to have had the original campaigns in this art style.

I guess it's a style thing, I think the remade BW looks a lot nicer than SC2's 3D. The 3D models are not going to age well, the pixel models will pretty much always look good from a stylistic point of view.

I think Blizzards artist consistently pull off good work regardless of sprites vs 3D. I still think Warcraft 3 is a good looking game.