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Home StarCraft updates

StarCraft II might add something original in an expansion pack

1:17 PM on 08.29.2008, Brad Nicholson 33 comments

StarCraft II might add something original in an expansion pack photo
     StarCraft

Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce recently sat down with VG247 and talked a bit about the potential of a fourth race in StarCraft II. Pearce points out that the development team talked about a fourth race early in development, but decided that adding one in would squash some of the new ideas that Blizzard wanted to implement with the game.

We talked about the possibility of a fourth race early on, but we felt like we had a finite amount of great ideas and wanted to make sure we focused all the cool, best ideas on the existing three races rather than diluting those ideas across four races

Earlier in the discussion, Pearce said that Blizzard doesn’t “have the resources or time to add a fourth race to the launch” of StarCraft II, but doesn’t rule out the possibility of having one in an expansion pack. In fact, he was sure that another race is a “feature that’ll come up for discussion” whenever Blizzard decides to roll one out.

Personally, I think StarCraft II is the epitome of playing it safe. I’m not seeing anything truly remarkable from Blizzard from this title, and I am slightly disappointed. I never really got into the original game, but I would be more willing to check out StarCraft II if I saw something exciting like a new race tossed into the mix.


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MotoRobo's Avatar
MotoRobo at 08/29/2008 13:24
I'm glad they (for now atleast) are keeping it to three races. The Zerg especially should've developed since the last game. Me'n friends talked about a potential hybrid race, playable Xel'naga, or two human factions (which would be boring). A sudden new race or group of retconned importance has a great liability to be lame. If Blizzard puts a new race in the inevitable expansion it'll be the largest expansion they've done or have a smaller set of buildings+units like the Naga.
xe-cute's Avatar
xe-cute at 08/29/2008 13:27
My two biggest gaming mistakes in life was I never checked out Starcraft or Diablo.


I honestly do not know how it happened and regret I missed them somehow.
Phantom Spaceman's Avatar
Phantom Spaceman at 08/29/2008 13:33
A decade since the first one came out, and they still only include a new race in an expansion.
Black Mage Slim's Avatar
Black Mage Slim at 08/29/2008 13:37
Well seeing how well balanced Starcraft is compared to Warcraft 3 I'm glad that they are sticking with the three races for now. Only if they could keep the balance of Starcraft, which is one of the most balanced games since Rock Paper Scissors, with four races in Starcraft 2, would I want to see another race added. Until then I will be content with three.

Hell if Blizz said, "Hey! We're just rereleasing Starcraft with much better graphics but everything will be the same and we're charging $50 for it!" I would still buy it, because I love Starcraft.
Char Aznable's Avatar
Char Aznable at 08/29/2008 13:38
xe-cute, it's never too late. The game holds up surprisingly well, and tons of people still play it on battle.net ever day. Give it a shot, you can probably find the SC war chest for pretty cheap. I got it for around $30 in like 1999.

I hope the SCII campaign deals with the hybrids, because that was something I never knew about until I saw the secret level on Youtube then tried it for myself.
whormongr's Avatar
whormongr at 08/29/2008 14:00
the fourth race should be Asian/Pacific Islander
MajinFro's Avatar
MajinFro at 08/29/2008 14:11
any self respecting SC fan is glad that Blizzard is keeping at 3 races instead of mucking up the balance with 4. There is really no race to add in the Canon that would not be lame too.
Cypher's Avatar
Cypher at 08/29/2008 14:29
I've yet to read a post by Brad Nicholson that doesn't irk me in some way. :/
Edarios's Avatar
Edarios at 08/29/2008 14:32
4th race will be pandaren
RestingSound's Avatar
RestingSound at 08/29/2008 14:33
I'm with MajinFro. Three races are all thats needed. I am excited for an expansion to the story in SCII more than anything else. There is no reason for them to risk jumping the shark.
randombullseye's Avatar
randombullseye at 08/29/2008 14:39
They already did Starcraft 3D with four races. It was called Warcraft III.
Miike's Avatar
Miike at 08/29/2008 15:00
I think using the words "playing it safe" is misleading

SC has always been about balance. Blizzard's product mantra has always been about polish.

Those two go hand in hand to make a great game.

Given the pace they work at, the polish and balance would have been adversely affected by adding of a fourth race.

It think it's an excellent decision for a game company. They know they can do it, they just know that they won't be able to complete it in their imposed time frame.

From our point of view now, we see "oh it's only new graphics", because we can't play it ATM. The truth is there a completely new balance in the game. This is only something you discover when you play it. Also, there is a whole new story line.

The truth is, they are taking a big risk by just announcing SC2 because SC1 was so popular (and still is). Anything less than blizzard's best will be met with ire and internet rage.

A fourth race sounds cool, but i don't want it in the game unless there is balance on the whole.
Char Aznable's Avatar
Char Aznable at 08/29/2008 15:04
Blizzard has also said that many things would be in the campaign that are not available in the multiplayer (for reasons of balance, among other things). There may very well be a fourth race hidden in there, for all we know at this point.
Narishma's Avatar
Narishma at 08/29/2008 15:38
I, for one, am glad they aren't adding a new race. Look how that worked for CnC...
Ellipson's Avatar
Ellipson at 08/29/2008 16:03
I don't want SCII to end up like the 40k RTS; yeah, races everywhere. Who honestly still plays it?

More is not necessarily better. A balanced, deep RTS with a good background will shine without adding in unnecessary extra races. The whole last paragraph of your article makes me think you'd drop SCII in 2-3 months even if they did add another race. Brood War "only" added a couple units to each race and completely changed the way the game was played online.

More is not better. Better is better.
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 08/29/2008 16:45
Yeah, screw the new race man. It always takes them around 3-5 years to balance things with 3 races, just release the game with the normal 3 and maybe work on the 4th to release in an upcoming expansion pack 2-3 years from now.
PerfectSpade's Avatar
PerfectSpade at 08/29/2008 16:49
I wish they do add another the race in the future but scII will be good enough for me when it comes out.
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 08/29/2008 17:27
Shit, we're forgetting the most important requirement:

WE MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS
Linkoman's Avatar
Linkoman at 08/29/2008 17:29
@ellioson: hey i still play the 40k RTS! it has a much diffrent feel then starcraft (which is what i grew up on) and im definatly excited for both starcraft 2 and Dawn of War 2
Jace101's Avatar
Jace101 at 08/29/2008 17:46
@Progessor Pew
It's sad that I actually hear the voice from the game when I read that.
Char Aznable's Avatar
Char Aznable at 08/29/2008 17:55
I'm with you, Jace101. Add-on complete.
Superfluous Moniker's Avatar
Superfluous Moniker at 08/29/2008 18:28
@ Pew
But first we require additional vespane gas!
dark_inchworm's Avatar
dark_inchworm at 08/29/2008 20:17
flamebait
Noah's Avatar
Noah at 08/30/2008 00:03
The 4th race should be all of the characters from Rock'N'Roll Racing
microwavefood's Avatar
microwavefood at 08/30/2008 01:21
I still play starcraft occasionally on hamachi, which is the only way to play it if you have friends readily able to play a quick game. I am in no ways an expert but I know the strategies and theory from watching english commentaries on youtube, which I watch quite often.

I'm glad they are sticking to 3 races for now. If they were gonna add a 4th race in an expansion they better make sure all 4 races are balanced. Honestly starcraft is just such a perfect game if you like great depth and gaps in skill lvls, from newbie - pro. Its a game based on micromanagement / macromanagement and having a huge library of build orders to deal with every kind of situation. These things are what makes the korean pro gamers so fun to watch.

seriously chess 2.0 lol.
Starcraft is the only pc game I will play... I'm gonna go play pixel junk monsters, I love tower games.
Ratcliff's Avatar
Ratcliff at 08/30/2008 04:43
Damn pew, I hear that in my head wen ever I look at it...

No third race, I just want them to continue the story!
Who the hell is Duran?
laggikoN's Avatar
laggikoN at 08/30/2008 06:03
Playing it safe!? If you add a race to the perfect rts, you get Warcraft3, it´s already been tried.
You do know that starcraft is still, after 10 or so years, the biggest competetive game in atleast korea, and probably the world since korea is such a big part of the scene.
Blizz is already making all the money they need on wow and with starcraft2 they're probably mostly trying to please the fans and create a game so well-balanced it will be played for over 10 more years.
Jetsetlemming's Avatar
Jetsetlemming at 08/30/2008 09:20
@Motorobo

I dunno, Lords of Destruction was pretty goddamn huge, in terms of additional content.


I'm most likely not gonna be buying this. I've never been a big fan of strategy games outside X-com, and Starcraft is no exception. I own SC1, and I've played maybe twenty minutes total online ever.
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