It’s that time of the week again. Another Q&A batch from Karune, Blizzard’s RTS community manager / superstar, has been
posted on Battle.net.
First up, an explosive “Chat with Devs” section that puts the rest of the answers to shame:
Chat with Devs: The Thor has been the unit that just hasnt quite fit in, in terms of role, but it might have found its own little place it can call home. After the Devs tried out several things with the Thor, including making it a super unit, they have now decided to have it replace the Cobra, as the heavy and air unit counter. Additionally, they may be adding a new mechanic, in which the Thor will need to be killed twice, once to make it immobilized, due to its large size, and then the second time to kill it for good. When immobilized, the Thor will still be able to fire at ground and air units. Additionally, while the Thor is immobilized, a SCV can repair it back to full health, having it regain mobility.
A lot has changed since we’ve
last heard of the Thor. Back then, the Thor’s role overlapped too much with other Terran units, and the devs considered changing it radically or even cutting it completely from the game. In the same Q&A batch, the Cobra had also undergone an important change - the Protoss Statis Orb’s old slowing weapon was given to it - which left its old role, as a “heavy and air unit counter”, unoccupied.
It looks like the Thor will now function as a super-heavy, hard hitting mech that is hard to take down. While it will likely be relatively slow, once it gets to a position, the enemies of the Terran will have a hard time budging it - perhaps even more so if it ends up getting its “extra life” as a heavy turret.
On to the Q&A:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
We have a feeling this is going to change again. Currently, to build
Reapers, the Terran player has to build a
Barracks, then a
Factory, and then a
Merc Haven to be able to recruit Reapers from the
Barracks.
4. 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.
5. 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.
We already knew that. In fact, we knew MORE about the Phase Cannons from the previously given answer:
5) Will phase cannons dissipate if they travel outside influence of pylon matrix?
No, phase cannons will not be destroyed if they travel outside of pylon power. However, phase cannons caught outside of pylon power will still be able to move but will also be stuck in energy form. They cannot redeploy until they are back in range of pylon power. Also, while in energy form, phase cannons have no shields and are extremely vulnerable to enemy fire.
6. 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.
Well, we’re glad they cleared that up.
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From the Starcraft 2 Blog.