Remember that StarCraft 2 mod developed by Ryan Winzen called World of StarCraft? It caused a little fuss at the beginning of 2011, enough so that it had to be renamed to StarCraft Universe and verified that it wasn't going to exist outside Blizzard's own retail game. Now over two years later, it's still in development, and has turned to Kickstarter for funding so that developer Upheaval Arts can go into open beta testing. The team is looking to generate $80,000 USD by Tuesday, September 10.
"We've reached a point where KickStarter is the final bastion of hope to continue the production of StarCraft Universe," the team states. "We've worked tirelessly since 2011 to produce this awesome mod, but we can't complete this without the support of those who share in our vision. We so desperately want to bring this thing to life on a grand scale, so please check out our KickStarter video and support page, and help us reach our goals!"
MORE: 10 Fun, Cheap Stream Games for a Rainy Day
There are eighteen tiers spanning from $5 Private to $8,000 General, the latter of which allows backers to help in the creation of a main character which guides the StarCraft Universe storyline, help design a boss fight, design a weapon and more. The $5,000 Brigadier General backer gets to accompany the team to BlizzCon 2013, and the $5,000 Major General gets permanent ad space on the StarCraft Universe website.
The team said the $80,000 will be used to launch a public multiplayer test (open beta) which will include an opening and closing story-based act. If the team reaches $100,000, they will add a third playable race, the Zerg -- Terran and Protoss are currently the only two offered). The goals after that include a MOBA-style PvP element, a middle second act that will help flesh out the story, and more.
"StarCraft Universe tells a story set in an alternate reality, where the ending of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has a grim conclusion for Kerrigan," reads the description. "Without the Queen of Blades to stop the hybrid’s assault, the Protoss are overwhelmed and defeated. In this reality, what would the survivors of these shattered worlds do? StarCraft Universe tells this story."
Unlike the base game (which is required to play this mod), StarCraft Universe features a third-person perspective. The focus of the game is to have a team of players/friends creating/customizing their own hero character which they use to battle together through enemy forces and powerful bosses. Each race has four classes apiece including Marine, Ghost, Medic and Firebat for Terrans, and Zealot, Dark Templar, Preserver and High Templar for the Protoss.
Each character can be customized upon creation and its progress will be saved permanently until it is deleted by the player. The mod promises hundreds of customizable weapons, combat modifiers and equipment variations to choose from, single and multiplayer experiences, a unique allocation ability system allowing the possibility of hundreds of unique builds per class, and so on. The cutscenes will be fully voice acted, providing a premium experience.
For more information about the Kickstarter project, head here.
