[PC] StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm out!

[denoginizer]

How are people finding the performance of this game - especially those with less than bleeding edge gaming rigs? I've noticed the stated minimum system requirements are very low, but I'm skeptical.

My desktop is right at the minimum spec.  P4 3.0/ 1 gig of RAM/ ATI X800 512MB

The game took over an hour to install and is unplayable even at the lowest settings.

I'm pretty sure more RAM would allow me to at least play on that machine. But I have just decided to play on our laptop instead.  The only problem is my wife uses that laptop quite a bit.   

[Caine]

older system here:
amd 64 x2 @4400 (dual core)
2 gb ram
win7 x64
1900x 512mb.

runs ok at medium details @1680x1050 with no distracting stuttering or lag in game (so far).  i tried lowering the res to get around the 2 minutes to load a level, but the game doesn't adjust the physical resolution to fit the monitor, so i end up with a windowed effect, and that's more distracting than the lag. 

it wouldn't be considered a good setup for competitive mp, but i don't think i'll miss it much.  i haven't got the korean's affinity for mp skill.

[leo8877]

I wish I could leave work and go home and play starcraft 

[CeeKay]

I wish I could leave work and go home and play starcraft 

I may be firing up something else tonight.... I really can't say anything else 

[Blackjack]

i haven't got the korean's affinity for mp skill.

Hey, I'm part Korean and I have zero affinity for Starcraft 1/2 mp skill. It really doesn't run in our ethnic blood lines.  I fondly remember helping a visiting Korean uncle snare copies of Diablo and Starcraft at Best Buy in summer 1998 to take home to a cousin who was a PC gamer. I wonder sometimes if he is out there on battle.net now among the masses. 

[Destructor]

I wish I could leave work and go home and play starcraft 

I may be firing up something else tonight.... I really can't say anything else 

Because you know you'll be too busy playing Minecraft to think about SC2.

[Caine]

i haven't got the korean's affinity for mp skill.

Hey, I'm part Korean and I have zero affinity for Starcraft 1/2 mp skill. It really doesn't run in our ethnic blood lines.  I fondly remember helping a visiting Korean uncle snare copies of Diablo and Starcraft at Best Buy in summer 1998 to take home to a cousin who was a PC gamer. I wonder sometimes if he is out there on battle.net now among the masses. 

no offense intended BJ.    comparing myself to the best players in the world is like comparing CoD K/D ratios with hark.  i call it a good day when i get over 1:1.  translated to SC2 terms, that would be like living more than 5 minutes against some of the people who already dominate the game.  

[CeeKay]

I wish I could leave work and go home and play starcraft 

I may be firing up something else tonight.... I really can't say anything else 

Because you know you'll be too busy playing Minecraft to think about SC2.

LIl, actually I didn't fire up minecraft at all last night other than to play around with streaming it to Justin.tv.

[drifter]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

[leo8877]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

Heh, yeah I noticed that too.

[leo8877]

SPOILERS regarding the Dr. Ariel Hanson storyline:

Spoiler for Hiden:

It looks like regardless of what path you choose, you can play the other side from the past mission selections on the Bridge.  I don't know if you can collect the extra research points, but it appears that you can.  Achievements, too.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Dell XPS M170 Laptop
2Ghz Processor (doesn't meet minimum)
2GB of RAM
6600 GT Mobile (minimum spec)

This machine can run everything on the lowest settings smoothly.  It isn't the prettiest, but it isn't bad.  

[EddieA]

I have an AMD Athlon XP 3500+, 1 GB of RAM, and a GeForce 8500 GT and it runs pretty well on low settings.  It keeps telling me I'm running out of pooled page memory, the loads are pretty long, and it occasionally pauses for a second or two.  I wouldn't want to play multiplayer with it, but it works fine for single player.

[Daehawk]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

Heh, yeah I noticed that too.

That IS a Night Elf girl. You can also see her in some maps on top of a building. You should see some of the portraits I can choose. I have a Tauren Marine haha and a Diablo Marine among others.

[CeeKay]

running it OK on my dinky little rig 

[LoneStarSpur]

I have absolutely zero interest in this game, but the commercial for it is bad ass.

[USMC Kato]

Great game so far and runs smooth on my system.  The main character (Raynor) talks like/reminds me of John Marston from Red Dead Redemption.

[jersoc]

terran up the night 

[JayDee]

I have an AMD Athlon XP 3500+, 1 GB of RAM, and a GeForce 8500 GT and it runs pretty well on low settings.  It keeps telling me I'm running out of pooled page memory, the loads are pretty long, and it occasionally pauses for a second or two.  I wouldn't want to play multiplayer with it, but it works fine for single player.

I had the EXACT same problem starting on mission three and increasing my pooled page memory size fixed it for me and that message has not returned since.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2226129_size-paging-file-windows-xp.html

[CeeKay]

Great game so far and runs smooth on my system.  The main character (Raynor) talks like/reminds me of John Marston from Red Dead Redemption.

the moment NIgel West Dickens shows up I'm deleting the game 

[Jag]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

I noticed that too. Now I'm looking for Blizzard Easter Eggs all over the place. Obviously the Vikings game in the Cantina, but what else?

[Blackjack]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

I noticed that too. Now I'm looking for Blizzard Easter Eggs all over the place. Obviously the Vikings game in the Cantina, but what else?

Surely someone in SC2 has got to say "Stay a while... and listen!" 

[leo8877]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

I noticed that too. Now I'm looking for Blizzard Easter Eggs all over the place. Obviously the Vikings game in the Cantina, but what else?

In the very first level there's a Gas Station with a rotation sign at the top that says "Toshi".  There's also a bunch of ads that are clearly inspired by the iPod ads, but for Marines with guns.

I haven't heard Deckard Cain yet, but I do hear a lot of familiar Blizzard and VG in general voice chars.

[leo8877]

Even though there are complaints about the beginning missions being retread of the first game, I have found that most missions have new mechanics that are fresh, at least to me.  I rather enjoy the base building in SC, where WC3 did not have as many base building missions because of the whole hero thing.

[baelthazar]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

Heh, yeah I noticed that too.

That IS a Night Elf girl. You can also see her in some maps on top of a building. You should see some of the portraits I can choose. I have a Tauren Marine haha and a Diablo Marine among others.

Good question - How do you choose different pictures?

[leo8877]

Anyone else notice the dancing girl in the Cantina does the Night Elf booty shake.

Heh, yeah I noticed that too.

That IS a Night Elf girl. You can also see her in some maps on top of a building. You should see some of the portraits I can choose. I have a Tauren Marine haha and a Diablo Marine among others.

Good question - How do you choose different pictures?

Right click on you icon and there's an option to change iirc

[Pharaoh]

I love this game. Ya its still Starcraft 1, but the amount of polish and care that went into every piece of it are just mind numbingly good.

Tons to do as well. Can't wait to play more this weekend.

[KePoW]

Even though there are complaints about the beginning missions being retread of the first game, I have found that most missions have new mechanics that are fresh, at least to me.  I rather enjoy the base building in SC, where WC3 did not have as many base building missions because of the whole hero thing.

I actually prefer WC3 in that regard... I wish SC2 kept the hero system.  In Starcraft it just seems like there is so much to manage, each side has like 20+ different units.

[MaxSteele]

Evidently Blizzard didn't put a frame rate lock on the menu system, and people who are letting their systems sit at the main menu are getting their graphics cards fried.

http://www.geek.com/articles/games/starcraft-ii-menu-screen-are-overheating-pcs-20100729/

Follow the instructions in that article to fix the problem before you blow up your system.

[CeeKay]

Holy cow  . Thanks for the heads up!

[Blackjack]

I'm perplexed how something like that never came up during all the beta and alpha and gamma ray testing. Were people just too excited to play to ever sit at their menu screens?   Hopefully an update's in the works. I mean, they've got 1 million people on bnet every night it seems, might as well use the service to upload this fix.

[denoginizer]

Evidently Blizzard didn't put a frame rate lock on the menu system, and people who are letting their systems sit at the main menu are getting their graphics cards fried.

Ahh the pleasures of PC gaming...

[Blackjack]

Evidently Blizzard didn't put a frame rate lock on the menu system, and people who are letting their systems sit at the main menu are getting their graphics cards fried.

Ahh the pleasures of PC gaming...

Unlike, say, the Red Ring of Death, eh?  

[CeeKay]

At least with the pc we can fix it ourselves without waiting for a patch. If it had been an issue with a console version we'd be stuck waiting for them to patch it. Kirstie Alley bless notepad!

[denoginizer]

At least with the pc we can fix it ourselves without waiting for a patch. If it had been an issue with a console version we'd be stuck waiting for them to patch it. Kirstie Alley bless notepad!

I guess if you are one of the people who patrol gaming forums.  Many people won't know about this and could get their card fried just by sitting at the main menu until they actually do patch it.

[CeeKay]

At least with the pc we can fix it ourselves without waiting for a patch. If it had been an issue with a console version we'd be stuck waiting for them to patch it. Kirstie Alley bless notepad!

I guess if you are one of the people who patrol gaming forums.  Many people won't know about this and could get their card fried just by sitting at the main menu until they actually do patch it.

good point.  I imagine blizzard will have a patch out quickly since it's a small change.

[vizionblind]

patch enables AA in the game

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/ATICat107aBetaDriver.aspx

[jersoc]

finished all the zeratul missions. spoilers for the last one

Spoiler for Hiden:

man, what an awesome mission. I managed to get the 250 extra one and fell shy of the 750 by about 200 :|. I think my mistake was focusing too much on turrets and just need more units. coloussi seemed like the key. if anyone has any other hints please let me know. all those missions were pretty fun to play too.

the story is a bit interesting, but the twist with kerrigan being the savior wasn't all that exciting. i think we sorta knew something was up with her already. i haven't beat the game yet, but whatever the outcome I hope the expansions aren't simply the same thing from a different perspective. I hope they build on whatever outcome happens. Guess I'll have to see if that's possible though. Only about 4 more to go if the 26 I see floating around is right

[PR_GMR]

Good Jeebus, I've FINALLY downloaded the game and I'm now installing!!!! 

After three days of downloading the game client in spurts (that Blizzard downloader has issues!), I will be playing shortly. 

[JayDee]

I just bought 1GB of cheap RAM to bring my total to 2GB, and now my aging machine is running this without a sweat. RAM is key!