ursustas
04-06-2010, 12:17 PM
Blizzard worlds are always fantastically in-depth and with Starcraft II soon to be released I have begun revisiting the 'official' lore and fluff to ensure that I get the most complete experience from the game. Since I was researching to ensure that I had everything, I thought it worth listing it all here (some info sourced from Wikipedia) .. missing the items in italic.
If you are just starting out, I suggest you order a copy of the novel compendium "The Starcraft Archive" so it can be shipping while you game .. but most importantly grab the game box-set "Starcraft Battle Chest" and play through the original game and expansion .. you may find it easier to simply order off the blizzard online store (http://us.blizzard.com/store/) (where you can instantly download electronic copies of the game).
Install Starcraft then Broodwar then jump on battle.net and it will automatically patch you to the latest copy of the game. Play through the Starcraft then the Broodwar campaigns then read the archive novels. You will have an excellent foundation to the game, but if you want to delve deep then follow the resources below. I strongly encourage people to not pirate these resources to support those (aka. Blizzard) who put the effort into this rich and wonderful world and encourage them to do it again .. however some of the items such as the addons and magazine short stories are simply rare/impossible to find .. I have heard rumours that they are available on popular torrent sites if you google a little)
Games/Expansions/Addons:
Starcraft
Broodwar (blizzard expansion)
Insurrection (blizzard authorized add-on)
Retribution (blizzard authorized add-on)
Starcraft Ghost (announced but not released .. possibly/hopefully after diablo3)
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (Beta and Pre-Ordered)
Also the 'Starcraft Battle Chest' contains: Starcraft and Broodwar.
Ebooks:
StarCraft: Uprising (e-book)
Novels:
StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade
StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga
StarCraft: Speed of Darkness
StarCraft: Queen of Blades
StarCraft: I, Mengsk
StarCraft Ghost: Nova
StarCraft Ghost: Spectres (announced but not released)
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga - Firstborn
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga - Shadow Hunters
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga - Twilight
Also 'The StarCraft Archive' contains: Uprising, Liberty's Crusade, Shadow of the Xel'Naga and Speed of Darkness.
Magazine short stories:
StarCraft: Revelations (Amazing Stories magazine)
StarCraft: Hybrid (Amazing Stories magazine)
StarCraft graphic novels:
StarCraft Frontline: Volume 1
StarCraft Frontline: Volume 2
Ghost Academy (announced but not released)
Web resources:
http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/games/sc/
http://www.starcraft2.com/
If you are just starting out, I suggest you order a copy of the novel compendium "The Starcraft Archive" so it can be shipping while you game .. but most importantly grab the game box-set "Starcraft Battle Chest" and play through the original game and expansion .. you may find it easier to simply order off the blizzard online store (http://us.blizzard.com/store/) (where you can instantly download electronic copies of the game).
Install Starcraft then Broodwar then jump on battle.net and it will automatically patch you to the latest copy of the game. Play through the Starcraft then the Broodwar campaigns then read the archive novels. You will have an excellent foundation to the game, but if you want to delve deep then follow the resources below. I strongly encourage people to not pirate these resources to support those (aka. Blizzard) who put the effort into this rich and wonderful world and encourage them to do it again .. however some of the items such as the addons and magazine short stories are simply rare/impossible to find .. I have heard rumours that they are available on popular torrent sites if you google a little)
Games/Expansions/Addons:
Starcraft
Broodwar (blizzard expansion)
Insurrection (blizzard authorized add-on)
Retribution (blizzard authorized add-on)
Starcraft Ghost (announced but not released .. possibly/hopefully after diablo3)
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (Beta and Pre-Ordered)
Also the 'Starcraft Battle Chest' contains: Starcraft and Broodwar.
Ebooks:
StarCraft: Uprising (e-book)
Novels:
StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade
StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga
StarCraft: Speed of Darkness
StarCraft: Queen of Blades
StarCraft: I, Mengsk
StarCraft Ghost: Nova
StarCraft Ghost: Spectres (announced but not released)
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga - Firstborn
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga - Shadow Hunters
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga - Twilight
Also 'The StarCraft Archive' contains: Uprising, Liberty's Crusade, Shadow of the Xel'Naga and Speed of Darkness.
Magazine short stories:
StarCraft: Revelations (Amazing Stories magazine)
StarCraft: Hybrid (Amazing Stories magazine)
StarCraft graphic novels:
StarCraft Frontline: Volume 1
StarCraft Frontline: Volume 2
Ghost Academy (announced but not released)
Web resources:
http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/games/sc/
http://www.starcraft2.com/