SC2 Q&A Batch 25

Does the Nomad have all the abilities an SCV has? (Of course it has its own abilities, but it would be interesting to know if you can at least temporarily replace lost SCVs with Nomads in a game.)

No, Nomads will not have the abilities of a SCV. The buildings a Nomad will be able to build, will be unique to the Nomad unit. And you cant gather resources with a Nomad.

How will damage against Protoss Shields be calculated with the new damage bonus system?

Protoss shields will take up the characteristics of their normal armor type. For example, if a Protoss Zealot with light armor gets shot by a Terran Ghost with plus light armor damage, the Zealots shields will also take that light armor bonus damage. On the same note, if a Protoss Colossus were to be hit by a Protoss Stalker with bonus damage towards armored unit, the shields would also take that additional damage.

Artwork and rumors about SCII have shown Terran cities like Augustgrad. Will Starcraft 2 contain building doodads as seen in the original artwork (ie. skyscapers, homes, etc)?

Yes, many of the original iconic doodads will be recreated for StarCraft II.

Can the shadow ops contain "one nuke and one drop pod" or "any 2 of nukes and drop pods"?

Currently, the Shadow Ops can contain both a nuke and a drop pod at the same time, but will not be able to contain two of one type within a single Shadow Ops building. Drop pods can be loaded with 12 infantry units of the players choosing. On certain maps, a fast expanding SCV drop pod strategy may prove highly effective.

Will the native resolution of Starcraft 2 be widescreen or 4:3?

The plan is to have both of those resolutions supported, along with everything between 5:4 and 16:9. Larger screens will have slightly more viewable range than a smaller screen, but from our tests, the differences will be very minor.

SC2 Q&A Batch 24

Will there be a way for fan sites to parse replays uploaded to their website so they can pull information such as race, player names, map, etc.?

Exact details have not been finalized, but we do plan to create a much more robust way of being able to search and share replays in game.

The Soul Hunter was considered a good counter unit against the Zerg; why did you remove the Soul Hunter from StarCraft II?

There were a couple of reasons, but one of the more important ones is that it was difficult to make it easily readable in big battles when the Soul Hunter had upgraded. Another reason is that this unit was way too targeted against the Zerg, since they have so many low hit point units, as opposed to other factions.

Has the Merc Haven been removed since the Reaper is built from the Barracks? If so, whats replacing it (if anything)?

The Merc Haven has been brought back in for the current build. It currently needs a Factory as a prerequisite, and is a prerequisite building to build Reapers from the Barracks.

Will "Unlockable Content" be included with the game, such as Art Packs, Secret Maps and Missions, Extra Units, and Special Sounds and Movies?

We are exploring the possibility of having various types of art unlockables, which may include some in-game decals.

Is it possible to build Phase Cannons, turn them into energy and then move them across the map to your opponents base or an expansion, redeploying them using a Phase Prism?

Yes, this tactic will be possible.

How does a Zerg Overlord fly?

To fly, the Zerg Overlord uses gas sacs (filled with helium) combined with a weak telekinetic psi-ability for lift and motive power

SC2 Q&A Batch 23

Will the Campaign have as many videos as the original Starcraft?

There will be several more in-game cutscenes, which are at a much higher quality than the original StarCraft pre-rendered movies. And while StarCraft II's single player will likely feature a few less pre-rendered movies, they will be much longer and more epic than anything seen in the original StarCraft.

Is the ghost unit going to be able to use the EMP Shockwave and -within short time interval- the Nuclear Strike as well?

Currently, there is no restriction to when you can follow up a special ability with another, as long as there are available energy points.

Will the Ghost's EMP affect building shields and energy?

Yes, the Ghosts EMP ability currently affects both building and unit shields, as well as casters energy. It is important to note that there is a possibility the Ghost may lose its EMP ability due to balance.

Will there be some sort of wall structure in StarCraft, for any of the races?

Aside from building current structures close to each other to form walls, such as a line of Terran Supply Depots, no, there will not be walls that can be built. On the other hand, there will be some new wall structures in the single player mode and these doodads can also be accessed in the map editor.

Will the game feature a mechanic similar to Warcraft 3 where if a selection of units contains more than one unit type then the whole selection will move at the speed of the slowest unit to maintain cohesion?

No, units in the same selection will not move at the same speeds. The slower units will need to be micromanaged by the players to keep up with the larger group.

SC2 Q&A Batch 22

Will you finally be able to mix and match terrain types instead of being stuck on jungle, twilight, etc?

[Dustin Browder] Yes terrain texture is mixable now. Also tilesets are also mixable. [Brett Wood] Essentially, you can define your own tileset in the editor, something that wasnt really supported even in Warcraft III.

Will the new StarCraft II Map Editor support text coloring, unit coloring, player "12" (i.e. neutral player) units?

[Dustin Browder] Yes, all of these features will be supported.

Will maps be larger than 256x256?

[Brett Wood] The maximum map size will still be 256x256, and we have no plans to increase that.

Will the new map editor support locking maps? People hate losing credit for a map.

[Dustin Browder] Yes, we are planning to support this feature. We hope that this feature will give the modding community more incentive to create their own original maps.

Will the new map editor support "square" terrain building as well?

[Dustin Browder] Yes. In the editor, users can adjust the footprint of buildings to whatever shape and size they like.