Here is a copy of the WarCraft III Fansite chat held in October 11
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Hi All!

Thanks all, we will be starting in less than 5 minutes.

Can everyone please begin sending your questions, we are about to begin.

We're ready to begin. Tonight we have Rob Pardo and Jay Patel answering questions about Warcraft III.

When will we be learning more about what the fifth race will be?

We will be announcing the 5th (and last) race in January Issue of Computer Games Magazine. It should be hitting the stores in late December.

Will humans have flying machines of any kind?

We just created a new flying unit for the Human side recently. Its called the Dwarf Gyrocopter. We are still playing around with it though, so it may still change within the game.

Will formations be possible or just cluster grouping?

Units will automatically fall into formation when you group select them similar to Age of Empires. This way, units will stay together and not become strung out across the map as they move.

Can neutral units be taunted and drawn out of position by a single unit?

All units will have an auto-acquire mode where they will attack enemy units within range. You will not be able to lure them too far away though, as they will return to their starting position after a short chase.

What do the unit attributes mean?

Only Heroes have attributes. Strength, Agility and Intelligence. Each one affects the hero's combat, movement and spell casting abilities. As the Hero raises levels, these attributes will increase and make the Hero more powerful.

What different types of terrain do you anticipate using in the game? About how many?

We have not decided on how many tilesets we will create for WarIII yet, but we currently have 3. A forest grassland (with snow areas), A desert scape (with Lava) and one that corresponds to the Fifth race's homeland =P

How will undead start off in the game?

The undead start with a Necromancer unit. The necromancer will cast summoning spells (long casting time) that will create structures. These structures will in turn enable the units within the Undead Tech-tree

Will there be rescuable units?

There will be rescuable units within the single-player campaign, and also on special multi-player maps. You will also be able to purchase neutral mercenary units from some neutral structures

Are you going to be adding any camera angle changes or zoom functions?

We will allow people to zoom furthur IN, but will not allow people to zoom furthur out then the default camera. In an RTS game, people will play at the furthest zoom level, so we want to set a good default camera for people to play at.

Are there any interior maps planned?

Yes, we plan to do interior tilesets similar to the installation tileset in StarCraft.

Is the placement of attribute points automatic?

Depending on the Hero "type" (Warlord, Paladin, etc) their attributes will increase automatically with level. The player will not get to adjust them manually. At higher levels the differences will become rather dramatic as spell caster heroes have intelligence values and fighting heroes have much higher strength scores

Are hero units going to have inventory slots?

Heroes will have an inventory. Currently they have the ability to hold 4 items, but we will be balancing this number as we play the game.

Do you have any plans for any special Warcraft III programs on your web page, like the screenshot of the week?

We have not determined a schedule or what we will put up exactl, but the Diablo II SSOTW was so well received that we definitely intend to create some special programs for the Website that will be specific to Warcraft III.

You mentioned before that Ogres will be in the game. How will they be included?

Ogres are not planned to be in a player controlled army, but they will make an appearance. Their storyline is not core to the War3 campaign, but you will learn what happened to them.

Do you have plans to do a world-wide release like you did with Diablo II?

The worldwide release of Diablo II was incredibly successful and we are looking long and hard at how it would fit into the Warcraft III schedule. Basically, if it makes the game's launch more meaningful and better for our players, we want to try and make it happen.

Will you be able to modify Warcraft III?

You will be able to create 3D maps in our map editor. You will be able to use triggers and create scripts within each map. In addition, you will be able to use your own skins, sounds, etc within the game.

When can we expect to see a preview of the Burning Legion?

We are not working on the Demon units as of yet, but you WILL get to see the fifth unannounced race revealed in a January cover story of Computer Games Magazine.

Is there any possibility of carrying over units such as heroes from one game to the next?

In the single-player campaign the Heroes will be core to the gameplay and the storyline, so you will carry them onwards throughout the campaign. In multiplayer, you will start each game from scratch.

Will there be a cow level in Warcraft III?

While cows are not as essential to the core sensabilities of the Warcraft universe as it is to the Diablo world, sheep do have along and storied history in Azeroth. Only time will tell...

What graphics API are you supporting?

We are supporting Direct3D and OpenGL. We are not supporting Glide.

Will there be a collector's edition?

The acceptance and interest in the Diablo II Collector's Edition was fantastic and we will definitely consider creating something special for our core Warcraft fans.

Will allied races be able to trade?

We are planning on adding quite a bit to the alliance options to Warcraft 3. We will allow resource trading and are exploring other ways that players can help one another in game. For example, you "might" be able to control each other's units, and trade units

Do you have any idea what the system requirements will be?

It is important to us to make our games playable on as broad a range of machines as possible, and we do not see Warcraft III as an exception. While we do not have exact system specifications at this time, we are very aware that not everyone has the absolute latest high-end machine.

Will environmental and 3D positional sounds be supported?

We will support environmental sounds. 3D sounds doesn't make as much sense with our chosen camera view in-game, so I doubt we will support 3D sounds.

Will Warcraft III include any Warcraft Adventures material?

We will be including characters and storyline from Warcraft Adventures into the campaign for Warcraft III. We will not be using any of the artwork, sounds or cinematic animations.

Will a 3D accelerator be required?

We are striving to support software rendering within the game, but it is quite possible that this will be impossible and we will require a 3D Card to play the game.

When will you release details on a public beta?

It is far too early to know when a beta will occur, but we have found public betas to be incredibly useful and will undoubtedly do one for Warcraft III.

Will there be any map rotation?

The player will not be able to rotate the camera manually, but there will be in-game cinematics and spell effects that will feature camera movement including rotation of camera.

How many CD's will Warcraft III require?

There is really know way to know the number of CDs required yet, but as details become available we will post them on the Warcraft III section of our website at www.blizzard.com.. er - hehe - no way to know :)

Have you determined unit caps?

The unit cap within WarCraft 3 will be much smaller then StarCraft but we do not have an established cap yet. This will be decided over time as we play the game internally.

How many players can be in a multiplayer game?

Multiplayer testing will determine the exact number of players in a multiplayer game, but it will be more than 8.

Would inventory items show on the character on screen, on the portrait, or both?

Inventory items will not be reflected on the actual unit art. Items will be buttons within the user interface that the player will press to activate item effects.

Will there be spawning?

While we certainly want to support people being able to try the game out before they buy it, it is also too early to nail down whether we will use traditional spawning to accomplish this or not.

Will the magic units have more than two powerful spells? If so, what range can we expect?

Spell Caster units will have up to 3 spells to cast, while Heroes will have up to 5 unique spells/abilities to choose from.

Do you plan to have a simultaneous Macintosh / PC release?

The launch of Diablo II on the Macintish was our fastest to date and it is the goal of our Macintosh teams to keep the PC and Mac releases as close in time as possible.

Will you release an MPQ creation program?

At this time we have no plans to release a stand-alone MPQ creation utility.

How do Giants fit in?

Giants are a unit "category". For example, the Tauren Chieftain and Undead Abomination are considered "Giants" and therefore will be affected by certain spells and effects differently.

Will an individual be able to make their own in-game cinematics?

Yes, you will be able to create movies within the game engine to tell YOUR Warcraft story.

Does the Arch Mage still learn Meteor Storm, and Ice Shock?

The current spells for the Arch-Mage are Fireball, Blizzard, Mass Teleport, and Time Stop. Knowing product development, I'm sure they will change a few more times still ;)

Are there any plans to port a Linux version?

We are currently developing Warcraft II for the PC and Macintosh and have no plans for versions on other operating systems.

Will there be protection from magic/ranged attack spells?

There will be many spells in the game that are considered defensive. Some spells outright counter all spells, some will offer protection to a particular type of magic. Oh -- by the way -- we are ALSO working on Warcraft III on the PC and Mac :)

Are you doing anything to address people that intentionally disconnect to avoid a loss?

Yes! The network model we are using for WarCraft 3 will allows us to appropriately assign losses to disconnecters in ladder games on our Battle.Net servers.

farfromlosin' was banned by Bridenbecker (For being rude, insensitive, and just downright mean.).

Will flying units need to land for attack?

Most Air units will have ranged attacks and will not need to land to attack ground units. We are experimenting with a melee air unit that does land to attack ground units.

Do any spells change the environment?

We will have many spells that temporarily morphs the ground for effect. We also plan on some other spells that have a more permanent effect on the environment.

Will the grid/range system be the same as Starcraft?

Combat in WarCraft 3 is not matrix based like in StarCraft.

What is your favorite race?

The new unannounced race, of course ;) Yeah, they rule!!! I especially like the...(CENSORED)

Can you choose who leads and who follows, like in Starcraft?

Yes, you will be able to assign units a follow command similar to StarCraft.

What current spells does the sorceress have, and what are the effects?

The Sorceress has: Slow - Slows unit movement and attack speed. Mind bomb - target unit takes damage whenever a spell is cast. Summon Water Elemental - gives the player a Water Elemental.

How many heroes are in the Alliance?

There are 5 designed heroes (Paladin, Arch-Mage, Crusader, Ranger, Mountain King) for the Alliance at this time. We are still working on a sixth hero for them and have yet to come to an agreement on who he is.

Last question gang!

So, what is the latest on the release date?

We are currently planning on releasing WarCraft 3 in the second-half of 2001. Cross your fingers =)

Thanks to everyone for coming out to the Warcraft III chat! We will be having another Warcraft III chat in about 8 weeks. See you on Battle.net!

There will be a Diablo II Expansion chat within the next two weeks, so get your Devilish questions ready!

Goodbye everyone. Can't wait to read all the new info on all your web sites =)