There was nothing wrong with the way the original StarCraft explosions functioned. Shoot a unit, blow it up, it dies. The same way, every time, but at least it was dead.
It didn’t matter if the thing was on a hill, in the air, in a stream – blow it up, it dies. The same way, every time.
This was, and has been, a staple of the RTS genre for many years now. The focus is always far more on the mechanics of game play and the dynamics of the armies involved than on the nitty-gritty of explosions.
The trouble, of course, is Half-Life 2, and other games of it its ilk. With gravity guns in hand and accurately modeled physics kicking around on screen, gamers suddenly became aware of a whole new reality – one that closely matched actual reality.
Things have never really been the same since. Gamers have come to expect a certain standard of physical realism from a game, even if that realism is significantly exaggerated, as in Red Faction: Guerrilla, or mind-bogglingly exaggerated, as in Crackdown. Gravity is supposed to function properly. Objects are supposed to bounce properly. If an object is on a hill, it should tend downward unless held in place. If an object can fly, it should do so only when under power – gravity is a law, darn it!
As a result of both gaming technology and gamers expectations, “real” physics have made their way from being the province of only FPS and simulator games to all games, in all genres.
Enter Blizzard, stage left.
The first StarCraft came at a time when such physics were impossible, but such is not the case now. As a result, Blizzard has acquired a license to use the Havok physics engine in StarCraft II, which will, if used properly, allow the death animation of every unit in the game, and in particular mechanized units, the ability to be unique.
The fact is that the Havok middle wear can be tweaked as much or as little as Blizzard would like. The game could ship with simple explosions, which looked shiny and new, but that followed pre-scripted sequence each time they blow up. Blow up a Banshee once, and it will blow up the same way every time.
Or…
Blizzard could make it so that every explosion was unique, adapted to the situation and followed the laws of physics. A fight on a hill or cliff would result in a far different aftermath than one in a forest. It would give the game another shot of gritty realism, and another point for Blizzard to hype pre-release.
The actual implementation of this will likely lie somewhere in the middle of the road. An option for “explosion realism” would be great to see in the graphics tab of StarCraft II, but more than likely Blizzard will settle on an average which is both attainable by low-end machines and still looks decent on the high-end variety. Blizzard is nothing if not broad-minded, a trait which has contributed significantly to their continued success.
It’s just that blowing stuff up is fun.
