StarCraft II

[K9]

Medics are incredibly awesome and it's a crime that the entire single player game is based around it; people are going to be bitter as hell when they play multiplayer and don't have them. They even automatically move out of fire if they're being attacked!

I'm up to the last mission and there are definitely a couple of missions that were more easily done with mass Air


What research/upgrades did people get? Science vessels are basically medics for vehicles and paired up with a blob of vikings and banshees they seem pretty awesome. I'm really not missing the raven at all. Perdition turrets are fun, and really handy at points, as is the psi disruptor (slows all units). Although I haven't had the chance to try the mind-control one, but if it only controls a single unit that seems pretty useless. Tech Reactor is  Auto Refineries are  Spectre perma-cloak is 

Mercs seem pretty useless, I forget I have them. I've upgraded medic, marine, and golliath so far but still have 200k banked for things that come next.

The marauder upgrades are pretty good, and the siege tank ones pay off in later missions. A lot of the rest are pretty blah. The only upgrade panel I have maxed out is the building one, because there isn't really a bad or useless upgrade in there.

As a not for completionists, make sure to go back and redo the alternate missions before the end of the game. There's three missions where you get a choice of two options


Also for 26/26 missions completed you need to do the secret mission


Overall the missions have been really good, all the ones where you don't have a base have been really fun. The only annoying or dull mission was one where the enemy didn't feel like a threat, but completing objectives was just a massive hassle, as anything outside the base died quick.

[kildorn]

Mind Control is any number of units, only does what you click (not automated defense)

At one point during a very silly mission, I had about 12 ultralisks defending my bunker lines.

And I pretty much did everything in the latter missions with turtled up base and banshee raids on objectives.

[K9]

Ah ok, I couldn't really tell that from the little information graphic. Good to know, I may give it a play whenever I replay the campaign. The psi-disruptor is also pretty cool, most stuff dies before it gets in range of the bunkers when used in tandem with bunker range and siege tanks.

[Ingmar]

Apparently there's a potential video card frying issue with the menu screens:

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/28/blizzard-confirms-starcraft-ii-overheating-bug.aspx

Pretty easy fix in there and I expect they'll patch it.

EDIT: It strikes me as something that most modern cards wouldn't be susceptible to but you never know I guess.

[fuser]

Something interesting poking around the SC2 site. To view friends profiles it redirects to a url:

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/profile/xxxxxx/1/character/

Where xxxxxx is represented by a unique ID. This ID so far has been incremental based upon account creation date and doesn't seem to be padded or hashed.

Mine's in the 200k range (created launch night ~1am ADT there were 69 regional battle.net games running at the time), a friend that setup his character account is around 800k seems possible to track sales.

[waffel]

Can someone explain to me why this game is popping so many e-boners across the internet. People are talking like its the best video game ever created.

I don't understand. Its an RTS game just like all other RTS games before it. Perfect a build, micro everything possible, hope your opponent picked something you can beat.

Does it offer anything new to RTS games besides pretty graphics?

[Astorax]

Can someone explain to me why this game is popping so many e-boners across the internet. People are talking like its the best video game ever created.

I don't understand. Its an RTS game just like all other RTS games before it. Perfect a build, micro everything possible, hope your opponent picked something you can beat.

Does it offer anything new to RTS games besides pretty graphics?

IMO it does what Blizzard does best.

Takes the genre as it stands at the time of the game release, and makes it incredibly slick, well put together, with an easy to use UI.  They don't innovate so much as purify a genre down to what makes it really good.  They didn't have to innovate, and in fact, if they had, they'd have had a failure on their hands.  So from that sense, if you didn't really worship SC1, then you won't worship SC2.

What it DOES do better than most, is be built upon a fairly impressively powerful platform which appears to be really easy to use/mod.  That's what's exciting to me as a programmer...is finding out what comes next on the mod scene.

[Ingmar]

Can someone explain to me why this game is popping so many e-boners across the internet. People are talking like its the best video game ever created.

I don't understand. Its an RTS game just like all other RTS games before it. Perfect a build, micro everything possible, hope your opponent picked something you can beat.

Does it offer anything new to RTS games besides pretty graphics?

I feel like I should direct you to your own response to Azazel in the Alien Swarm thread. It's updated Starcraft, why does it need to be anything more?

EDIT: Maybe you tricked me like he tricked you - was this supposed to be green?

[Lantyssa]

He's trying to understand why "updated Starcraft" seems to mean "Second Coming" to a lot of people.

[Ratman_tf]

Can someone explain to me why this game is popping so many e-boners across the internet. People are talking like its the best video game ever created.

I don't understand. Its an RTS game just like all other RTS games before it. Perfect a build, micro everything possible, hope your opponent picked something you can beat.

Does it offer anything new to RTS games besides pretty graphics?

IMO it does what Blizzard does best.

Takes the genre as it stands at the time of the game release, and makes it incredibly slick, well put together, with an easy to use UI.  They don't innovate so much as purify a genre down to what makes it really good.  They didn't have to innovate, and in fact, if they had, they'd have had a failure on their hands.  So from that sense, if you didn't really worship SC1, then you won't worship SC2.

What it DOES do better than most, is be built upon a fairly impressively powerful platform which appears to be really easy to use/mod.  That's what's exciting to me as a programmer...is finding out what comes next on the mod scene.

One other thing Starcraft brings is three races that play very differently, and yet are relativley balanced. Most other RTSes have units that are simply reskins of identical units.

[kildorn]

random players just don't GET co-op games. Sigh.

The AI will pick a target and throw everything at it. You need to assist friendlies when they do this ><

[fuser]

The AI will pick a target and throw everything at it. You need to assist friendlies when they do this ><

Been playing a bit of co-op with a friend and this doesn't happen all the time. They will probe your defenses well and try to exploit any holes, if not they move on to your partner and try the same. I had a stronghold defense on a game where they threw the first rush against me and lost 25% of the rush before backing off regrouping and doing the same to my partner.

But yeah in principle you have to help a partner out as the attacks are generally combined. I have had a lot of luck baiting an attacking force with soft targets on lower AI levels too 

[kildorn]

I just had one that went about 20 minutes with neither of my allies building more than 2 siege tanks or battlecruisers (no seriously, NOT A SINGLE MARINE WAS MADE), while my roach army skirmished with the AI and chased them off.

Finally, my army got trapped and wiped out, and my allies still hadn't built a damned thing ><

[Pezzle]

Finished the game. 

It is StarCraft.  The game is polished.  My game only crashed once.  There were no major bugs with finishing missions or upgrades.  Still, it is only StarCraft.  A decent game, but not an exceptional one.  The new aspects are at best a mild improvement.  It being a typical RTS the plot is laughable.  While some of the novelties are entertaining they cannot make up for the very average feel of this game.  Increased micro seems like a penalty, not an exciting new feature.  While the graphics are better they are hardly captivating. 

Twelve years for an expansion pack?  Meh.

[Morfiend]

I started playing it tonight. After playing DoW, it felt surprisingly dated. Honestly, the in between missions parts are my favorite. I will second the "Blizzard should just make movies" comment.

[Ironwood]

Apparently there's a potential video card frying issue with the menu screens:

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/28/blizzard-confirms-starcraft-ii-overheating-bug.aspx

Pretty easy fix in there and I expect they'll patch it.

EDIT: It strikes me as something that most modern cards wouldn't be susceptible to but you never know I guess.

This explains a LOT.

[Ratman_tf]

I started playing it tonight. After playing DoW, it felt surprisingly dated. Honestly, the in between missions parts are my favorite. I will second the "Blizzard should just make movies" comment.

See, I liked DoW, but not for it's RTS aspects. I'm glad Blizz stuck with the SC/WC formula.

[Mosesandstick]

Currently 96 at metacritic. Really that good? (or lolgamingmedia?)

[jakonovski]

I've been itching to play SC2, but yesterday was the hottest day in Finland's recorded history, and it's been like that for three weeks now. So I have absolutely no energy left after work (no AC in this pos building), but I'm doing my best to complete at least one mission per day.

I really want to get into the multiplayer once the autumn rains start, but the ragequitting will probably cut years from my life expectation.

[kildorn]

Currently 96 at metacritic. Really that good? (or lolgamingmedia?)

It's good for what it wants to be. As much as I love the CoH idea of RTS (cover, unit tactics, retreat button and focus on territory control and forced spreading out to hold), SC2 is pretty much the pinnacle of what it's trying to do (the children of dune2), and it's fun for it.

The matchmaking on bnet is also pretty wonderful for whatever you want to do. I can find coop games very easily (I really dislike competitive starcraft. I just don't want to micro that much)

I'd say it rates really high, and most of the complaints (mine included) are basically "it's not a different game I'd like to play" instead of rating it on what it's trying to be.

[Ingmar]

The writing and especially the voice acting are unfortunately not as good as they could/should be. Dr. Whatshername is especially bad. Game is fun as hell, though.

[Lantyssa]

When can we start spoilers?  I have questions about various things I've heard.

[kildorn]

When can we start spoilers?  I have questions about various things I've heard.

Just throw them in spoiler tags? Dunno, we were chattering a bit about them earlier, but nothing end game destroying.

[Rasix]

When can we start spoilers?  I have questions about various things I've heard.

Spoiler tags please.  I'm on the last mission, but the game's been out only 3 days.

[Trippy]

Which is plenty of time to have finished. Heck there's even an achievement for finishing the campaign on Normal in less than 8 hours (Hurry Up: It's Raid Night).

[Rasix]

Well yah and it is an RTS of all things.  But I'm trying to be nice here.

[Ingmar]

Seconded on spoiler tags, I still have like half the game to go (blame actual raid nights).

[Paelos]

I don't know what mission I'm on, but if you spoil things for me! 

But yeah, tags would be nice.

[Ratman_tf]

I'm taking it about a mission or two a day, plus skirmish AI and challenge modes.

[K9]

The challenge modes are interesting. The beginner terran and zerg ones I can do, but the beginner protoss one I cannot get better than bronze.

[naum]

The challenge modes are interesting. The beginner terran and zerg ones I can do, but the beginner protoss one I cannot get better than bronze.

Figured they would be easier (at least the initial ones) than I expected.

Of course, my click-fu is pathetic these days…

[Ratman_tf]

The challenge modes are interesting. The beginner terran and zerg ones I can do, but the beginner protoss one I cannot get better than bronze.

I've scored bronzes and a couple of silvers. I barely squeaked a bronze out of Expert: Opening Gambit. I plan to go back and try for golds once I've finished them all, but I have no clue how to do any better at Opening Gambit. 

[K9]

Just build aggressively I think. I missed gold by about 40s because I was waiting for a ghost to spawn. Be aggressive with your building and expanding, you'll be gas capped quickly building the siege tanks and the ghosts.

I one-shot the Terran beginner on on Gold, since the unit comps were easy hard counters, the first build a base one was also dead easy, managed that without loosing a single building or unit, just play patiently. The protoss one remains tough though. The Espionage and the kill lots of stuff in 3 minuntes using only hotkeys one are pretty simple too. The one where you only have sentries and high templar though seems like an exercise in frustration.

The challenge modes are a bit wierd. After being touted as "getting you ready for multiplayer" they sort of do and sort of don't. Learning counters is good, and learning to wall off is good, but several of them encourage you to turtle like mad, and in a real game you'd get eaten alive.

[Ratman_tf]

The challenge modes are a bit wierd. After being touted as "getting you ready for multiplayer" they sort of do and sort of don't. Learning counters is good, and learning to wall off is good, but several of them encourage you to turtle like mad, and in a real game you'd get eaten alive.

I don't think any offline training could properly prepare someone for multiplayer. The challenges are encouraging me to build faster and learn the hotkeys, which I appreciate.

[sinij]

My impressions so far:

a. New Bnet2 is deep fried shit warped in bacon - looks good, but you don't really want to bite in.
b. Ladder/Multiplayer - a step down from SC:BW, it isn't as enjoyable as it should be.
c. Singleplayer - saving grace of the game, extremely well done.