Starcraft 2 released!!!

[BMF]

Hi all!!!

So Starcraft 2 is finally here.....is anyone playing it...is anyone around? Thought this might be the game to bring us all back together?

I remember a few of us were looking to get this game...

thoughts or ramblings anyone?

[DethAdder]

I had many a reservation on how it would turn out, especially after the not so impressive early screens and such. Man, was I wrong.

I can't think of another RTS that has such an epic story and campaign. Top notch work. The gameplay is instantly familiar for SC vets, yet different and dynamic enough to be appealing all over again. Some of the new units are pretty cool too. Kind of a mix of old and new, but even some of the old units work a little differently or have a new trick.

In the campaign in between missions you go back aboard your flagship for some interaction, story and to buy upgrades and do research. It works well. Oh, and the campaign is pretty lengthy at 29 missions(26 needed 3 optional and a hidden one).

The bad part I would say is the use of battlenet as DRM sort of. You can only do the campaign and challenges offline. Skirmishes, which for me is the longevity of these type games, has to be done on battlenet, even against just AI. There is a cool utility out I'm using the Allin1 Launcher, which lets you setup and launch straight into Skirmish games without connecting to battlenet.

Out of all the new games they are pricing at $60, this one is closer to being worth it than any other.

Oh yea, I almost forgot. Instead of a demo they got like a guest pass thing where you can play campaign and MP and such. It last for 7 hours or 14 days whichever comes first. Though if oyu got into the campaign like me those 7 hours are gone in the first sitting

[BMF]

Nice...you buy it or torrent it? I've got the torrent running atm...seeders are slowing me down...i will buy it but cant afford to just yet, so the torrent version will have to suffice...but in any case it sounds like i'll be using pirate cracks to play the legit version anyway.

Illegal software cracks once again make legally bought game useable huh? LOL

will they ever learn.

[DethAdder]

I can't afford it right now that is for sure. I hope to get it sometime, cause I would like to be able to save my challenge achievements and such. All that is saved online though.

I think I found a new spectator sport though. I decided to check out a few vids of some SC2 matches. Man they can get exciting, especially with a good commentator. A lot more fun to watch than Soccer, golf, or baseball .
I also learned just how much I would really suck at MP. Always playing SP on the original and now 2 I never really thought to do things like building a bunch of Warpgates and such cause it was never needed.
Just after a few matches though I changed how I played protoss and moved up two levels on playing against AI right quick like. Hotkeys and a huge saturation of resource gatherers are key to getting up fast and I had to learn to use my abilities by hotkeys a lot better.

Some of the new cool things fro protoss is the crono boost from the nexus. Gives a 20% boost for so many seconds to the production of whatever building you put it on. Keep spamming that on research buildings can make a big difference. Other thing I like is the transport unit can convert to a floating proxy pylon and back. With the gateways now able to morph to warpgates, you can warp in units from them anywhere you have power on the ground. Therefore being able to stick up a movable proxy pylon, say right behind someones base just out of their site can be huge. Or I like to launch my attack with one of those guys trailing so I can warp in reinforcements right behind the frontlines the entire time. They really did add in a bunch of new strats and such with the new units and abilities.
I would still absolutely suck at MP against anybody but noobs, but I might actually get good enough to be in some of the lower tier ladders. I'll just have to wait to afford the game to try it, and then I'd probably try it among friends before random online matches.

[BMF]

Hope fully we can play against eack other with the torrent version. I wonder if it's on Gamerranger?

I havent played for so long i can hardley remember anything....

Oh btw...so all three races are playable...not just the terrans?

[DethAdder]

So far the only way to play is through battlenet. No LAN and stuck with only playing in your own region. Supposedly the region thing will be opened up, there is plenty of people complaining on the official forums about it. I am just unsure of how that RealID thing they got going works. How would they get your real name unless you tell them? How could they prove you even give real info? At one point they were trying to use it for their forums and so many raised hell they backed off, but supposedly it's still used somehow for battlenet, so until I know the details I will steer clear of giving them any information.

Btw: That map I was talking about modifying; It was done in ten minutes. The new editor is just as easy or easier to use than the original's.

[BMF]

Nice! Well ive got it downloaded but i gotta work again tonight, so i wont fir it up yet..dont want to get into it till i can put a few hours into it.

[DethAdder]

I've worked my way from the easy AI through normal and beating Hard pretty good. Just tried to 1 on 1 very hard and got dispatched. I thought the AI was the same and they were just getting boosted resources, but it was actually microing an scv like a human trying to spy my base and distract my zealots. I was surprised, plus he distracted me long enough to push a marauder rush I wasn't ready for . It was a lot fun though and I still see plenty of room for my macro to improve.

[BMF]

Nice! So brad didnt code this AI then huh...LOL

that was one thing about the original AI..it was none to intelligent and just relied on brute force to overwhelm you...im getting some chores out the way so i can play today..looking forward to some challenging AI.

Nik..Piz...you got the game if your lurking about there?????