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I think in this interview Blizzard shows a dedication and regard for the community that we were all missing. Releasing the old bw for free and basically selling the HD version as a skin with full backwards compatibility (actually the same client) is probably the best move they could do to revitalize the community. I don't care that it's also the best move for their purse. If the result is going to be like what's promised, then they deserve it.

I like how they don't just vamp up the presentation (the level of details of which is considerable btw.) and compatibility but also address bugs like the weapon sprite limit and quirky pathing (while differentiating which bugs are now accepted as part of the gameplay and which ones are just annoying). In addition, their efforts to merge the different services (add anti-hack, include popular addons, link to battle.net 2.0) and include the new possibilities (better matchmaking) while retaining classic features (chat channels) simply deserves praise. They really put thought into this. I wouldn't have thought it possible anymore after years, almost decades of nothing but disappointment.

tl;dr I'm totally hyped for SC:R.

As for UMS mapping: Hard to say what is going to be true since there's no mention of these things yet. I assume many of the advanced mapping techniques (EUDs, blends, etc.) will need adjustment or maybe even outright impossible, probably some tools will break or have limited usability. However I'm confident, that it will still be possible to make custom maps, and that with the second wind of this update tools will be fixed or new ones will emerge (ChkDraft) and that our smart people will find new mapping tricks to replace the old ones.
That's my hope, at least. In the end we'll have to wait and see. In any case I see this as a chance for SEN to regain some relevance. But we probably need to solve our technical problems for that to happen.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Mar 26 2017, 1:55 pm by NudeRaider. Reason: making clear the link is a quote

Not at all encouraged by the graphics changes. I won't hold my breath for custom content either, given how poorly they've handled their last releases since the first game and how aggressively they've destroyed modding in sc2. That sc1 relies heavily on memory hacking and the remaster is on b.ent and probably the same crc system other casc titles use I have serious doubts you'll even see button mods.

How can you not like the graphics changes? They're lovingly detailed, retain the old style and most units are instantly recognizable. In essence, they are the same, but better.

However I'll admit that certain units don't stand out as much anymore. Siege Tanks, Vultures and Marines lack the clear distinction from the background. But that's really a small complaint for a handful of assets that pales in comparison of all the goodness.

OP it blows my mind why you don't link to the actual main source: nvm just saw the date

Called it yall!!

Really excited for the future of SCBW. But also really scared for the future of UMS because they haven't said JACK about UMS support, or even recognised the UMS community at all. Hopefully extended blends aren't gonna be too messed up. From what I could tell the retouched terrain still looked very similar, so it's possible extended blends may still look neat. I think it's amazing that HD and non-HD gamers can play each other. Like wow, that sounds like it must have taken a lot of coding to pull off right without any desyncs or what not.

Really excited.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Mar 26 2017, 12:11 pm by Oh_Man.

Ya really cool. But if you think about it, it probably doesn't involve much in the way of code changes. SCs graphics are sprites and terrain tiles. You change graphics mode -> the game just links to another image.
The engine already works in discrete frames per second, so timing should be pretty straightforward as well.

See, that is interesting to hear, because it seems to me that that should theoretically, if Blizz gives us the tools, open up even MORE mapping capabilities for us. Imagine if we could load up our own custom graphics, like if we wanted a medieval themed map, we could do so, all by just swapping sprites and what not.

Now that you mention it... Ya, the angle of the unit shadows isn't consistent and sometimes missing (corsair), some shadows the units cast on their own image are missing, and some lights have no bloom.
Now I can't unsee. Hope those are under the "unfinished" category, they were mentioning in the interview, and will get fixed for release.

Isn't that what modders were already doing the whole time? But yeah they now can creade HD content.

Yeah but that was modding tech not mapping. It seems like the functionality is there to allow this to happen without needing to use a different exe.

I'm not an expert on modding, but didn't the changes always happen in the mpq and the new .exe was just a convenient way to deliver the new content without needing to patch the mpq?

In any case, I'd imagine the new content would have to be delievered externally somehow, rather than it'd be possible to include the assets into the map file. And unless the map is enough, it would be considered modding.

Ya graphical changes we could just replace our mpqs. We did not do this because, well, it would have been replacing our mpqs LMAO. But yeah we have been doing this for decades now. You only need an exe when you did memory edits which iskatumesk mentions as button edits. Depending on how much sc has changed we will not be able to do any of these. Chances are they are ditching a whole lot of formats and stuff, mpq has for sure been ditched.

If mpq has been ditched then SCMDraft will cease to function.

Its 100% sure that lots of features of the current maps are obsolete for this reboot, but maybe we get something new in return (There's not too much information about it). Still I'm kind of happy to see bw its getting some attention back.

What I hope is that, as SC and BW will be released as totally free, along with the people getting the NEW SHINY HD Starcraft, we may revitalize the modding community and the SC1 community in general.

Of course, updating FireGraft for it will be hell, and who knows how the flingy, sprites, and images dats will be modified. FIX IT ALL FOR US PLEASE

Posting here for posterity: I will pay farty for this. And not just in minerals.

Cant we get Ahli or Devlin to use their connections to get someone for an interview about shit we care about?

Good news everyone! I may get an IAMA with the dev team of SC Remastered on Reddit started. If it happens I'll let everyone know

There are a lot of questions I'd like to ask them, please keep us updated.