StarCraft: Nova Covert Ops Mission Pack 2 Now Available

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not played through the first Mission Pack, you will find spoilers in the following blog, as well as some mild spoilers for Mission Pack 2. You have been warned!

In the first mission pack, Nova awakened in a strange facility owned by the Defenders of Man with no recollection of her last mission . . . or of being wanted for terrorist strikes against the Dominion.

Through much effort, she infiltrated a Defenders of Man base beneath Tarsonis City and learned of their next move: a staged zerg attack on Tyrador IX. Using psi-emitters, the Defenders of Man plan to draw zerg to strike the civilian world, with the goal of rousing fear and dissent against Emperor Valerian. Now, only Nova and her Covert Ops team can stop them.

Mission Pack 2 picks up where the last one ended. You’ll carry over the weapons and upgrades you earned in the previous missions and earn even more. You’ll take control of Liberators and Goliaths and grant them enhanced technology, such as self-repair and cloaking. These enhancements will be of vital importance as your determined enemies will be stronger than ever before.

In Nova Covert Ops, we’ve crafted new worlds and environments for players who want to explore more of the StarCraft universe. The first mission takes place on the resort planet of Tyrador IX, a popular tourist destination known for relaxation that is now under threat of annihilation.

Nova Covert Ops: Mission Pack 2 is launching in North America on August 2. If you haven’t already, head over to the Battle.net Shop to unlock the entire campaign.

• The second mission pack for Nova Covert Ops is now available!
  • Players who have purchased Mission Pack 2 or the entire Mission Bundle now have access to the next three Nova Covert Ops missions.
  • Access the new missions by selecting Campaign > Nova Covert Ops.
  • For more information, please check out our blog.
• Performance improvements have been made across many different parts of the StarCraft II user interface, including the Custom Games and Arcade map listings and Arcade browse.

• Terrain Module
  • Transform Manipulators have made their way from the Cutscene Module to the Terrain Module:
    • You can now translate, scale, and rotate placed objects using manipulators.
    • You can now perform transforms in world space and local space.
    • There are new menu items in the Tools menu to select manipulator type and space.
    • New toolbar buttons have been added.
  • The Enable Drag to Move in Selection Mode option has been added to the Tools menu. If this is disabled, you will not be able to move objects while in selection mode.
• Cutscene Module
  • Transforms can now be performed in local space using manipulators.
• Command Profiles
  • Command profiles for hotkey configurations have been added to the Editor.
  • When you open the Editor for the first, you will be prompted to select a command profile for keybind configurations.  There are two options:
    • Classic: settings unchanged from previous Editor versions. New features assigned to unused hotkeys only.
    • Modern: hotkeys have been changed to match common 3D applications.
  • Your current profile can be changed from File > Configure Controls.
• Selection Details Overlay
  • A new Selection Details floating window has been added to the Terrain Module.
  • Along with the selection description already seen in the status bar, this window will also include a detailed breakdown of resource and supply totals for all selected units.
  • This window may be accessed from View > View Selection > Show Selection Details (Shift + K).

• Fixed an issue where party invites would sometimes fail to appear if a player had just completed a game.
• Fixed an issue where ping values were being truncated in the Options > Language and Region > Preferred Game Server dropdown menu.

• General
  • Fixed an issue where an incorrect loading screen could be displayed when using the Play Again button for certain Campaign missions.
  • Fixed an issue where certain Zerg units were not displaying properly in the Zerg tech tree.
  • Fixed an issue where Mission Objectives were sometimes not displaying properly.
  • In the Help menu, 3D models are now displayed properly on certain Campaign missions.
• Nova Covert Ops
  • Fixed various doodad issues on maps across all missions.
  • In The Escape, fixed an issue where enemy Ghosts would not properly engage with Nova when she is within their detection cones on certain difficulty levels.
  • In The Escape, the Delta Ghost has now consistent Armor with the other Ghosts.
  • In The Escape, fixed an issue where Burrow Flame Turrets had a detector symbol and were shown on the minimap.
  • Fixed an issue where Nova’s hero panel border could disappear.
  • In Sudden Strike, Defilers now have consistent Armor with other Zerg ground units.
  • Fixed a number of issues where Nova’s death could cause the Enemy Intelligence mission to end in failure.
  • In Enemy Intelligence, units guarding the final beacon now properly engage with Zerg units.
  • Fixed a number of display issues with the Siege Tank in the Enemy Intelligence tech tree menu.
  • Nova’s portrait now properly plays her talking animation in Enemy Intelligence.
  • Fixed a number of pathing issues in Enemy Intelligence.
  • Medics have been removed from in the final wave of Dominion enemies in Enemy Intelligence.
  • In Enemy Intelligence, a minimap icon now properly displays when Nova is defeated.
• Wings of Liberty Campaign
  • The in-game Armory Upgrade tooltip is now consistent with The Vanadium Plating research description.
  • Fixed an issue where the new mission tag did not properly appear on the mission selection icon.
• Heart of the Swarm Campaign
  • Fixed an issue where Kerrigan’s levels could be sometimes lost when using the Heart of the Swarm Master Archives.
• Legacy of the Void Campaign
  • In The Host, Warp Gates, Warp Stargates, and Warp Robotics Facility in The Host now have properly reduced build times with the Warp Harmonization upgrade.
  • In The Host, the Adept now regenerates shield at a proper rate.
  • In Salvation, the Purifier Tempest now has a properly reduced build time with the Warp Harmonization upgrade.

• General
  • Fixed an issue where explosion-based attacks of certain Terran units could leave unintended effects at the point of impact.
  • Fixed an issue where Zerg units spawned from Larva sometimes left a placeholder model.
• Commanders
  • Abathur
    • Swarm Host Locusts now gain the Biomass buff properly when auto-spawned.
    • The Symbiote’s Shell is now properly displayed in the unit info panel when cast on the Brutalisk and Leviathan.
  • Kerrigan
    • The Malignant Creep attack speed multiplier upgrade now works properly for both players’ units.
  • Vorazun
    • Fixed an issue where using Time Stop and killing certain units would play a longer than intended death animation.
• Maps
  • Fixed an issue on The Vermillion Problem where Zerg air units could fly unintentionally close to the ground.

• Fixed a display issue with Arcade lobbies.
• The Ladder tab on the Score Screen now properly updates if a player is promoted to Grandmaster.
• Fixed an issue where text could extend outside of the Search field.
• Emotes will now properly display when using multiple nested parenthesizes.
• Fixed an issue where an Arcade game could be improperly loaded with Extension Mods.
• A game paused by both a player and a referee simultaneously will now resume upon a single unpause.

• Several model, texture, and animation issues have been fixed in Warcraft 3 mod.