Description of SC2 beta

This little description for those too unlucky to get into the beta or for those too dumb to figure out the beta or too scared of viruses. (Got 2 trying to find all the legit links to DL everything that was needed for the crack but luckily I got rid of them.)

*** I played on the cracked version of SC2 Beta, so I don't know if anything is actually different between beta and beta crack so don't ***** at me if something isn't correct in reference to the beta. The only thing I think is mainly different than the beta however is the AI intelligence. The computers in the crack are complete fail pumping out a whopping 1 zealot in the first 10 minutes of the game. ***

From Beginning to the End:​

First off, a player is going to notice one main thing with SC2B. The graphics look like **** and that's because all of the graphics are turned all the way down to their lowest. When I turned the graphics up to Ultra it crashed the game, lol... At least for me (I've got a pretty decent computer.) the game was laggy as hell. Not unbearably, but badly. It wasn't so much like b.net lag it sort of just felt like my computer was moving too slow. The cursor and boxing lagged for the units and such. After a few games I finally figured out how to place what I felt about that. The game was nowhere near as crisp and clear cut as SC1 or SCBW. Hopefully this will get changed so that everything doesn't seem to be moving way slower than it should or what we're used to. SC fans may get extremely irritated about this since we are all used to fast paced and quick moving units and games.

The next thing the player might notice would be the fact that the entire map is revealed to them from the beginning of the game. Terrain wise at least. The player is able to see how the map is laid out from the very beginning destroying the age old response to a 1v1 loss, "I didn't know how the map was." The player still has to scout for their enemies so the basic ideas of where the map start points are is still necessary. Hopefully the SC2 map editor will allow the players to make the maps with fog of war like SC1 and SCBW.

~Player's Unit AI~​

The AI for the player's units is okay but still very sketchy. When enemies get close to the units, the units will chase after them if they run, but only to a certain point. I didn't test this out in depth, but it seems that luring enemy units into traps of mass units has become harder. The players unit will only run for what looks like 3-5 inches (Actual 3-5 inches of screen.) from where they were before turning back. It's possible though that the units will keep pursuing the enemy unit if they are attacked or if they are able to attack the unit once and then the enemy unit continues to run. Either way, this eliminates the stupid problem with units running all the way into enemy bases and ruining your plans. If the enemy unit disappears however and the player's unit is around other enemy units or structures it will stay and attack those instead.

Moving units stuck in groups has become easier as well, but new problems arise from that. When a unit is selected in the middle of a group the rest of the units will move out of their way automatically then back into their original spots. But this makes me wonder if such things as...well damn no more medics walls... I guess high templar walls will work. Will the enemy units run through the wall as the unattacking High Templars move from their paths to allow them to pass? I don’t know, can't test that theory out. Workers still float through things when they are told to mine.

~Spacing~​

I don't know if it's just me, but the spacing of buildings is somewhat difficult to adhere too. I was having trouble placing pylons in a row and such. I also found out that it's incredibly hard to place buildings quickly in some cases due to the cursor and screen lag. (It's hard to make small movements and the graphics lag a bit in some cases like with boxing to select units and placing buildings.) Something that made me sad being a former Protoss player was the fact that probes cannot fit between pylons anymore, making the quick double row of pylons to quickly expand for gateways and up supplies just got ended. Well I suppose you could just put more space between the pylons, but still. D: Makes me sad. Lol

~Terran Advantage~ ​

Call me biased if you want, but I honestly think Terran is a bit stacked at the moment. The Terrans can simply mass huge amounts of marines very quickly. The Terran command center can be upgraded to something (Forget the name) where it is able to both scan (50 energy) and attach something to a supply depot giving it another 8 supply for a completely free 50 energy. So that means another 100 minerals can go to massing an extra 8 marines (Possibly at double the speed with the barracks add on.) before they need to build another supply depot. Maybe I’m not looking at it correctly, but it seems a little cheap. I’d say a good Terran player could mass a crap ton of marines really quickly and possibly end the game in a jiffy if they wanted too. Perhaps they could also add 50 minerals to the 50 energy cost to add the 8 supply so that the Terran isn’t pretty much building an extra supply depot for free.

~Area Attacks/Abilities~​

All abilities that are area based such as the Terran scan and nuke, the Protoss storm, and the Zerg ensnare all have icons that show the area of which they will be. This is freaking good, I love it. Makes life so much easier to know exactly where scan is going to be, and the area of which a nuke is going to actually hit compared to muscle memory and guessing. Even some ranged units like a sieged tank has a perimeter of where it can attack, which is also helpful is placing your units for defense or offense.

***I’ll update this later and put more into it, it’s 4 a.m. and my girls begging me to come over. xD Happy gaming.*** ​

 

If your computer struggles with StarCraft 2 and you didn't do something completely wrong then you most certainly do not have a decent computer.

Also, even though I just skimmed in three seconds, I saw that you think the Terran's are advantaged. Just so you know: you're THE only one to think that. Everyone else either says Protoss or Zerg and that's a sign of a fairly balanced game. Needless to say, I completely disagree with you Your points come entirely from theorycrafting. What you mistake for imbalances is just racial uniqueness that is countered by the other race's strengths. Oh and Marines are incredibly weak. If you mass them and your opponent dies, he was a noob and that's nothing to brag about.

The supply depot comment is especially bad. That skill is not only underpowered, it's generally considered useless except when someone is in your base destroying your supply depots. You are far better off by calling down some MULES.

What league are you in?

 

In before thread lock?

 

Yeah, we dont promote or talk about pirated stuff in this forum sorry mate.

 

well good news indeed!

 

Oh, he played the crack beta? Why do we care what he thinks then since we can try out everything he has?

What a waste of time.

 

By "we" you must be the few who are in the beta. Cause a lot of us still can not legally access the beta. SO we can't try out everythnig he has unless we play a cracked version. And I'm not wiling to play a cracked version of the beta. Blizzard is one of the few software companies I respect. So I'll do the right thing and be a nice patient little monkey and wait for retail. Just liek the millions of others who can't play beta and are patiently waiting for beta.

 

I actually reported this thread when it was first posted (because of the hacking reference), but it has yet to be shut down. I'd be very surprised if the Mods let this one go.

Moderators, where are yous?

@ Takaim

I appreciate the fact that you spent a considerable amount of time writing up a detailed analysis, but it's a strict policy on these forums that we don't discuss anything illegal. That would include any observations that you have made as a result of the aforementionned illegal activity.

 

thx for telling me that. I'm so happy to know that my laptop is s***

jk, I already knew my laptop isnt that good, its 4 years old after all


but sucks im still stuck with it for about another 2 years unless something happens to it.

 

@the8thark: The point was, if you want to see what the cracked beta is like ... play the cracked beta. No need to get the information second hand.

 

Exactly. And many people refuse to do this too. The moral issue I guess. Let others crack it and do the immoral thing

 

Immoral? Whhhaaaaaaaat?

 

Immoral is a matter of contention. ILLEGAL, however...

 

Despite the flawed way you got a hold of your copy, and how it can be frowned upon...as a Beta tester I personally found this as one of the most misleading types of so called descriptions.

Results may vary...but the game runs perfectly fine for me...and I'll use the same comment as the OP saying I too have a decent computer.

Giving a description is best left to being general...not sharing your personal opinion of how the balance is or the pros and cons...but the overall feel and how it will play.

Some things you noted in there such as how unit pathing works was worth noting, but other comments like how the games macro works show you don't understand how the game is supposed to be played.

To give readers a better idea...the 3 races all have an Macro Ability to use...and as quoted from Blizzard directly, it's not when to use it, but how.


Terran: You can ether choose to use energy to make mules, which for a short time gather minerals very fast. You can opt to scan the enemy's location(s), or you can opt to upgrade a supply depot to hold more food. These all cost energy hence time...so you can't indulge in them all...it just doesn't work that way.

Protoss: You choose which buildings you want to cast your Ability on to speed up unit production, or speed up a building upgrading/researching an ability.

Zerg: You opt to use your energy to spawn more Larva from the hatcherys, make creep tumors to expand creep(which all zerg ground units get a speed boost on) or - the ability to heal. I play the Zerg, and I must admit they have a different feel then how to use the energy. This is in part due to the fact even if you spam all game 'spawn more larvaa' you gain energy fast enough to the point you will indeed have enough to use your other 2 abilities will continuing to spawn larva. (I've yet to test it exactly, but maybe takes 3-4 larva spawns before you can mutli task with the spare energy) So for Zerg...its' more along the lines of how many Queens do you want on the field of play. Naturally it comes to 1 per base...but as more strategies become apparent, players may bring them into the fight to heal say....and Ultralisk.

Key Note on spawn Larva:
You can't spam Spawn Larva on one hatchery at a time...you cast it for 25 energy, and it sets up eggs on the hatchery that hatch in time into larva, once that happens you may cast the ability again. So while the eggs are on the hatchery, the ability can not be used on it.

 

Yeah so by your descriptions the 3 marco abilities are not balanced.

Terran - You can only pick one of the options you listed at one time. Sounds fair.
Protoss. You can only pick one building to affect at one time. Sounds fair.
Zerg -

So by your definition you don't have to choose between which of the abilities you want to spend your energy on. And that is very unbalanced. Since the other 2 races have to make that hard choice. I think the Zerg should have to make that hard choice too.

 

Quite a topic to debate, I assure you.

You may have read too much into it. It takes still a good while to get that excess of energy. It probably takes 3-4 Spawn Larva's before you get enough to do multi tasks.

Also, you forget that the terran and protoss only lose that ability if the Nexus/Command Center is destroyed.

Zerg lose that if their Queen is killed.

Do you know how easy it is to kill a queen over a Hatchery/Nexus/Command center? Fairly easy I assure you. As well it's not with out cost...Primarily at the start of the game where a queen costs 2 food and 150 minerals and is a MUST to have out to keep up with the unit production.

Might I also add the only reason for Fast expand in this game is for gas, and in the Zergs case, you make another queen to have setting up another hatchery for more units.

You can't spam Spawn Larva on one hatchery at a time...you cast it for 25 energy, and it sets up eggs on the hatchery that hatch in time into larva, once that happens you may cast the ability again.

 

Yes much harder to kill a nexus/CC. But a queen is much cheaper to build and is actually mobile. And is easily replaceable if killed. And you can have way more then one per hatchery as you said in another topic. And you can have extra larve on each of your hatcheries at the same time + the left over queens using the other of their abilities.

So I still think it's unbalanced. But only a little OP'd. SO only minor tweaking would be needed to get it balanced again.

 

Didn't you just say you hadn't played the beta?

 

@ Thark:

Umm actually no, again, as a Zerg player I tell you it is crippling early game to lose your queen for 2 reasons.

1) While it is dead you have no additional Larva's coming out hence your unit production is dashed to hell and back.

2) The food cost while nothing horrify, the minerals on the other had can add up in early game. 150 minerals is 3 more drones for resources, 6 zerglings or 2 roaches essentially.

Yes I did mention you can have more then 1 per hatchery, but unless your tricky strat calls for it, you WONT see more then 1 Queen per hatchery until earliest mid-late game- it's just not sensible to use resources like that.

@Deckard

Who are you talking about meow...err, now?

 

Actually what the OP said about SC2 graphics is misleading. My computer is 3 years old and when I first played the game it auto-selected everything at Ultra Setting and my FPS is quite high and I FRAPS too with a steady 60fps. I don't know what he's talking about saying "first graphics will suck" because my first time the graphics was set to Ultra and the game runs smoothly I also have a below average computer, not a "decent" one.