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StarCraftWire.net and IncGamers have posted a collection of new information about the upcoming StarCraft II gleaned from posts on Blizzard Entertainment's official forums. Blizzard rep answers include discussion of the Zerg Baneling unit, Battle Report release dates, and uncertainty about the inclusion of a LAN play option in StarCraft II.

From StarCraftWire.net:

Are Banelings going to be visible? Because the only way i see them to be effective is if theyre cloaked.
Banelings are visible and still very effective. When they are grouped with Zerglings, it is hard to focus fire several Banelings approaching at the same time. Even one Baneling getting through can be devastating to mass Marine armies or groups of Zealots.
Burrowed Banelings are also like mines, deadly when used as an ambush on unsuspecting forces.

But Banelings splash damage doesn't hurt your own units right?
No, it doesn't hurt your own units.

Blizzard Community Manager Kevin Yu took part in a Q&A session with StarCraft fans, including IncGamers' StarCraft network site, StarcraftWire, answering questions about the game's balance and individual unit statistics.

However, when it came to the LAN issue, Yu was unable to confirm or deny its inclusion in the RTS sequel. The reply does not exclude the possibility that network play will be included, but seeing as the company already decided to exclude the feature from its other anticipated sequel, Diablo III, it's likely that the StarCraft II development team will go the same route.

There are a number of possible reasons for Blizzard not to include LAN multiplayer; from piracy concerns to the fact that a game played on a Local Area Network would make Blizzard's Battle.net service miss out on ad revenue.

StarCraftWire.net: SC II Q&As

IncGamers: Starcraft II LAN Missing In Action?

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