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Characters, sounds, interface, and more available for cross-franchise modding.
By Kyle Orland
Some of the Warcraft III models now officially available to Starcraft II modders
Your cross-franchise Blizzard fan fiction idea just got a little more real with the recent announcement that Blizzard is making a large selection of art, sound, and game assets from Warcraft III available for use by modders in Starcraft II. Interested modders now have access to new and original models for the four Warcraft III races, "as well as doodads, structures, spell effects, ambient sounds, music, and custom user interfaces for each race," according to Blizzard's announcement post.
The assets are currently available for early access in Starcraft II's public test realm, which requires a separate free account to access. After the test, the content will be made available to the public, with the most interesting cross-game mods and Warcraft recreations highlighted by Blizzard in an online "Memories of War" collection.
"We are so excited to see what our community is going to make that we wanted to give you a head start," Blizzard wrote. "We’d love to see anything from screenshots of epic battles, single-player missions recreated from your favorite game, mini-games using the new assets, or anything in-between. However you want to celebrate, we want to see it."
First released back in 2002, Warcraft III and its eventual expansions have enjoyed an extended lifespan thanks to a dedicated modding community, even though Starcraft gets more real-time strategy attention from Blizzard these days. Warcraft III's"Defense of the Ancients" mod famously kick-started the entire multiplayer online battle arena genre and eventually led to the creation of Dota 2 after an acquisition by Valve.
The Starcraft modding community hasn't exactly been sitting around waiting for Blizzard to officially acknowledge its Warcraft heritage, though. Mods such as Warcraft: Armies of Azeroth and Warcraft: Alliance and Horde have already sought to revive the classic game using new models and custom maps built on top of the Starcraft II engine.
By Kyle Orland
Some of the Warcraft III models now officially available to Starcraft II modders
Your cross-franchise Blizzard fan fiction idea just got a little more real with the recent announcement that Blizzard is making a large selection of art, sound, and game assets from Warcraft III available for use by modders in Starcraft II. Interested modders now have access to new and original models for the four Warcraft III races, "as well as doodads, structures, spell effects, ambient sounds, music, and custom user interfaces for each race," according to Blizzard's announcement post.
The assets are currently available for early access in Starcraft II's public test realm, which requires a separate free account to access. After the test, the content will be made available to the public, with the most interesting cross-game mods and Warcraft recreations highlighted by Blizzard in an online "Memories of War" collection.
"We are so excited to see what our community is going to make that we wanted to give you a head start," Blizzard wrote. "We’d love to see anything from screenshots of epic battles, single-player missions recreated from your favorite game, mini-games using the new assets, or anything in-between. However you want to celebrate, we want to see it."
First released back in 2002, Warcraft III and its eventual expansions have enjoyed an extended lifespan thanks to a dedicated modding community, even though Starcraft gets more real-time strategy attention from Blizzard these days. Warcraft III's"Defense of the Ancients" mod famously kick-started the entire multiplayer online battle arena genre and eventually led to the creation of Dota 2 after an acquisition by Valve.
The Starcraft modding community hasn't exactly been sitting around waiting for Blizzard to officially acknowledge its Warcraft heritage, though. Mods such as Warcraft: Armies of Azeroth and Warcraft: Alliance and Horde have already sought to revive the classic game using new models and custom maps built on top of the Starcraft II engine.