StarCraft II Q&A batches/15

With the return of the Firebat (for testing) and improvements made to both the Ghosts and Medics, there are a lot of exciting changes being tested for the Terran faction! Also for October, keep checking back to find out our new Monthly Discussion Topic.

Chat with the Devs: The Terran Starport will no longer transform into a Starbase. 

Again, give devs and me a w00t! if you are enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 15---

1) Can an upgraded command center be salvaged? Does it lose its mobility when upgraded to a surveillance station?

No, the command center cannot be salvaged, nor can it lift off after it is upgraded to a Surveillance Station (allows the use of the Comsat ability).

2) In Starcraft 1, when you cancel a nuclear launch that is in progress, you lose the warhead. Will Starcraft II make any changes to this setback?

Currently, if you cancel the nuke while it is firing, you will still lose the nuke. This outcome has not yet been finalized and may be changed in the final version.

3) Can a Ghost be equipped with both a Nuke and Drop Pod simultaneously?

Yes, any Ghost can launch either a Nuke or a Drop Pod, making the Ghost highly effective at responding to multiple battle circumstances.

4) Will "caster" units, such as the Protoss High Templar, have a regular attack, like Tassadar had in SC1, or will they only be able to attack through their spells?

Currently, there are no plans to give the High Templar a physical attack, though High Templar Story Characters will have additional abilities beyond that of the standard unit. At the moment, the High Templar is one of best support units in the game, with the ability to cast a devastating Psi Storm or choke off crucial areas of the map with the force field ability. Once youve used up its energy, no worries, convert it into an Archon with another Templar.

5) Can Marines be Stimmed while in a bunker? What about a Ghosts snipe ability?

In the current build, abilities cannot be activated while inside a bunker, but you can activate abilities before entering a bunker. For example, if you activate Stim Pack on a few Marines, then enter a bunker, they will attack at the higher rate of fire from inside the bunker. The Stim Pack effects will still wear off as normal though.

Follow-ups
Two of the reasons we don't currently allow special abilities in bunkers is that it would make the interface quite messy and it would be overpowered for certain abilities.

As far as interface, players would have to be able to access all special abilities from the bunker UI, which could mean the possibility of many, many abilities (for instance if you had a Medic, Marine, Ghost, and Firebat in the bunker).

The Bunker would also be overpowered for units like the Medic (would it be able to heal while in the Bunker? which would be OP) or the Ghost (sniping, launching nukes, and drop pods, from inside the Bunker).

During much testing, the Developers realized that the Starports ability to transform into a Starbase was not very essential in the gameplay of the Terrans and was also leaving several tech lab add ons scattered across the map. At the moment, the Starports ability to transform into a Starbase has been taken out of the game, thus to produce advanced units, the Starport will need the appropriate tech lab add-on, similar to the original StarCraft.

What happens to a unit if a high templar's force field is placed over the unit? Does it push it to a side? does it get trapped inside?

Units will get trapped under the force field, making it a great trapping ability to use against high threat units.