Remember StarCraft Universe? The mod was called the "Starcraft MMO" that kicked up a brief fuss in 2011 but was smoothed out, eventually, with Blizzard's blessings. Ryan Winzen, the project's creative director, is happy to share news that SCU: Chronicles of Fate is now available, and will be going out over Battle.net.
Originally called World of Starcraft, StarCraft Universe is a mod designed to deliver multiplayer raids such as those found in World of Warcraft. (Update: Although Winzen has just informed us that the current release is singleplayer only, "to ensure all the core systems work properly." Multiplayer instances supporting five to 10 players will come later.)
It's a game mod, so you'll need StarCraft 2 to play it. The mods are released as a series of custom maps published on Battle.Net. For gameplay, StarCraft Universe offers eight playable classes and advanced character customization, plus mounted vehicle combat. StarCraft Universe features its own custom physics engine, built by DarkRevenant, known as the author of the "Mafia" mod for StarCraft 2.
Winzen, in an email, said that no one working on StarCraft Universe has met face-to-face, yet. This is the product of a group of dedicated modders working remotely. There are more than 40 custom player and NPC models, with professional voice actors working from a script edited by two team members. (Michael Gough, who voiced Deckard Cain in the Diablo series, can be heard in SCU, as can Danielle McRae, who voices Karma in League of Legends.) The game even has its own music composed by David Orr, the composer for Castle Crashers' soundtrack.
Enjoy the trailer above, and if you want to know more about StarCraft Universe, and see a list of everyone who worked on this project, see the link.
StarCraft Universe [Upheaval Arts]