StarCraft II Beta Update - 2/25/10

[Knightshade Dragon]

For those playing the home game:


StarCraft II Beta - Patch 1 (version 0.3.0.14093)

BALANCE CHANGES

TERRAN
Viking
The armor value for this unit in Fighter Mode has decreased from 1 to 0.
The damage done by this unit in Fighter Mode has changed from 6 (+8 armored) to 10 (+4 armored).

Reaper
The damage done from D-8 Charges has decreased from 40 to 30.
The delay between attacks for D-8 Charges has decreased from 2.5 to 1.8.

Orbital Command
The build time for this upgrade has decreased from 50 to 35.


PROTOSS
Observer
Gravitic Boosters: The cost of this research has decreased from 150 minerals and 150 vespene gas to 100 minerals and 100 vespene gas.

High Templar
Phase Shift: This ability has been removed from the game.
New ability: Feedback - Drains all energy from the target unit and causes damage equal to the amount of energy drained.

Colossus
The building pathing radius for this unit has decreased from .75 to .5625.

Mothership
Vortex: The energy cost of this ability has increased from 75 to 100.
Vortex: The target radius of this ability has decreased from 3.0 to 2.5.
Temporal Rift: This ability has been removed from the game.
Wormhole Transit: This ability has been removed from the game.
New ability: Mass Recall - Teleports all of the player's units in the target area to the Mothership.

Nexus
Chrono Boost can no longer target allies.

Gateway
The build time of this building has increased from 50 to 65.


ZERG
Infestor
Fungal Growth: The damage done by this ability has decreased from 48 to 36.
Fungal Growth: This ability now prevents affected units from burrowing.
Neural Parasite: Functionality changed - The Infestor now channels this spell, which lasts 10 seconds or until the Infestor is destroyed. You can now target all units with this ability.
Terran Infestation: The ability’s energy cost has reduced from 50 to 25 and Infested Terrans now spawn 1 at a time.

BUG FIXES

Addressed an issue causing people to receive an “Internal Battle.net Error” message with their game client.
Muting your microphone will no longer cause your microphone to be turned off in the operating system once the program has exited.
Please note that the voice chat functionality has only partially been implemented. There are many known issues with voice chat that we expect to address in a future patch.
The “Medium” graphical settings were reconfigured to work better on appropriate machines. The video settings “auto-detect” functionality has been reset as a result.
Added a frame rate limiter to the game menus to prevent some graphics cards from running at higher frame rates than necessary.

[ROTC1983]

I wish I was in the beta...

[Goldchamp]

Me too 

[CeeKay]

the latest changes:

Terran:

Banshee:


Cloak: This ability no longer requires Fusion Core to research.

Barracks:


The build time for this building has decreased from 65 to 60.

Factory:


The build time for this building has decreased from 65 to 60.

Reactor:


The build time for this building has decreased from 40 to 25.

Reaper:


The build time for this unit has increased from 30 to 40.
Nitro Boost: The build time for this upgrade has increased from 90 to 100.

Starport:


The build time for this building has decreased from 55 to 50.

Tech Lab:


The build time for this building has decreased from 30 to 25.

Protoss:

Mothership:


The build time for this unit has increased from 120 to 160.
The food cost of this unit has increased from 6 to 8.
The number of shots fired by this unit has decreased from 8 to 6.
The shield of this unit has decreased from 400 to 350.
The health of this unit has decreased from 400 to 350.
The acceleration of this unit has decreased from 1.3125 to 0.3125.
The deceleration of this unit has increased from 0 to 1.

Nexus:


Chrono Boost: The duration of this ability has decreased from 30 to 20.

Zerg:

Corruptor:


The damage done by this unit has increased from 12 (+8 massive) to 12 (+10 massive)

[CeeKay]

new update:

Balance Changes:

Terran:


Engineering Bay:

Infantry Armor: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
Infantry Weapons: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.


Armory:

Vehicle Plating: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
Vehicle Weapons: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
Ship Plating: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.
Ship Weapons: The time required for each upgrade has been reduced by 30 seconds, decreasing each upgrade time from 190/220/250 seconds to 160/190/220 seconds.

Protoss:


Zealot:

The maximum shield capacity of this unit has been decreased from 60 to 50.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed a bug where the Infestor's Neural Parasite ability could cause Reapers to lose the ability to move.
Fixed an issue that could use an incorrect HDR format on some ATI cards.
Fixed a crash that could happen on some ATI cards.

[CeeKay]

Beta 6 patch notes

General
You can now report misconduct or block communication with a player after completion of a game by right-clicking on the offending player's name in the score screen and choosing Report Abuse or Block Communication.
You can now view any player's profile after completion of a game by right-clicking on their name in the score screen and choosing View Profile.
Updated unit and ability tooltips to be accurate in all regions.
Improved the visibility of units on zerg creep.
Improved the visibility of team colors for protoss units using warp-in to help distinguish between multiple protoss players.
Improved the system that handles promotion and relegation between Leagues.
Improved the Favored functionality to more accurately portray Even matches and display properly in the score screen.
Improved 2v2 arranged team matchmaking so games are found more quickly.
Improved replay functionality so missing maps will be downloaded from Battle.net when you view a replay.
Korea: Improved the logic for the age gate functionality.

Balance Changes

GENERAL
Pathing has been improved so units can now properly block ramps and choke points.
Made a change to how zerg creep affects doodads, such as trees, to prevent players from seeing the starting location of zerg players through the fog of war.

TERRAN
Viking
Cost changed from 125 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 75 Vespene Gas.
Ghost
Cost changed from 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 150 Vespene Gas.
EMP Round radius decreased from 3 to 2.
Factory
Cost decreased from 200 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas to 150 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.
Tech Lab
Cost decreased from 50 Minerals and 50 Vespene Gas to 50 Minerals and 25 Vespene Gas.
Reactor
Build time increased from 25 seconds to 50 seconds.
SCV
Life decreased from 60 to 45.
Bunker
Build time decreased from 40 seconds to 30 seconds.
Marine
Build time increased from 20 seconds to 25 seconds.

PROTOSS
Colossus
Thermal Lances damage decreased from 23 to 20.
Observer
Cost increased from 25 Minerals and 75 Vespene Gas to 50 Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas.
Build time increased from 33 seconds to 40 seconds.
Stalker
Particle Disruptors damage increased from 8 (+6 Armored) to 10 (+4 Armored).
Weapon upgrade damage decreased from +1 (+1 Armored) to +1 (+0 Armored).
Dark Templar
Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.
High Templar
Armor type changed from Biological-Psionic to Biological-Psionic-Light.
Dark Shrine
Build time increased from 80 seconds to 100 seconds.
Cost increased from 100 Minerals and 200 Vespene Gas to 100 Minerals and 250 Vespene Gas.

ZERG
Baneling
Volatile Burst damage increased from 15 (+20 Light) to 20 (+15 Light).
Roach
Burrowed regeneration rate decreased from 10 to 5.
Upgraded burrowed regeneration bonus decreased from +20 to +10.

Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue affecting the incorrect assignment of arranged teams to certain Leagues.
Fixed an issue affecting random teams that caused no points being awarded on wins and too many points being removed on losses in certain situations.
Fixed an issue involving the Bonus Pool display on the Quick Match and Leagues & Ladders pages.
Korean client: Fixed an issue affecting the ability for Korean players to properly view profiles. They can now see their League ranking on their profile page.
Fixed an intermittent UI crash on game shutdown.
Polish client: Fixed a crash which would happen any time a "Player is no longer being revealed!" message was displayed.

[CeeKay]

     Terran:

        * Banshee

              o The health has been increased from 130 to 140.

        * Missile Turret

              o The damage has been changed from 7+7 armored to 12.

        * Thor

              o Anti-Air damage has been decreased from 10+6 light to 8+4 light.
              o Anti-Air attack now deals splash damage in a 0.5 radius.

    Protoss:

        * High Templar

              o The Psi Storm radius has been decreased from 2 to 1.5.

        * Photon Cannon

              o Life and Shield values have been increased from 125/125 to 150/150.

    Zerg:

        * Broodlord

              o Damage has been decreased from 25 to 20.

        * Roach

              o Organic Carapace no longer grants bonus regeneration to unburrowed roaches.

        * Spine Crawler

              o Damage has been increased from 20+10 armored to 25+5 armored.
              o Attack period decreased from 2.2 to 1.6.

        * Spore Crawler

              o The cost has been decreased from 100 to 75.

    Bug Fixes:

        * Fixed an issue in which players would desync when matched against others with certain CPUs.

[CeeKay]

patch 9:

    General

  # The StarCraft II Editor is now available!

        * Players will now be able to begin creating trigger maps in preparation for map publishing which will be made available in an upcoming beta patch.

  # Achievements & Decals are now live!

        * Players will now be able to earn achievements, browse the list of available achievements, and view achievements earned by friends.
        * Players will be able to highlight favorite achievements in their Showcase.
        * Earning certain achievements will unlock portrait and decal rewards.

  # The updated Homepage now includes a Recent Broadcasts panel and a News & Community panel.
  # A new Match History page is now available which will allow players to browse and filter their last 1,000 games played.
  # A new Community page is now available which features an in-game version of RSS news feeds.
  # A new Friends-of-Friends feature has been added, which allows players to easily find and connect with more real life friends on Battle.net through existing friends.
  # Additional friends’ presence details are now available from the Friends’ list.
  # Improvements have been made on the Voice Chat system in game - Please use the new voice chat and provide feedback via the StarCraft II beta forums.
  # The score screen now features a new graph tab.
  # The art for many parts of the user interface has been updated.
  # Hotkey templates have been added.
  # In the gameplay options menu select from standard name based hotkeys for right and left-handed players, grid based hotkeys for right, and left-handed players, and classic StarCraft keys.
  # Several hotkeys have been changed to avoid conflicts with the "Select All Warpgates" UI button:

        * The Set Worker Rally Point has been changed from W to R.
        * Build Sensor Tower has been changed from W to N.
        * Terran Infantry Weapons have been changed from W to E.
        * Terran Vehicle Weapons have been changed from W to E.
        * Weapon Refit has been changed from W to R.
        * Burrow has been changed from W to R.
        * Spawn Larva has been changed from R to V.
        * Neural Parasite has been changed from R to E.

    Balance Changes

  # Terran

  # Marauder

        * Concussive Shells research cost decreased from 100/100 80 seconds to 50/50 60 seconds.

  # Protoss

  # Immortal

        * Build time increased from 40 to 55.

  # Zerg

  # Infested Terran

        * Damage increased from 5 to 8.
        * Speed decreased from 1.5 to 0.9375.

  # Queen

        * Speed off creep decreased from 1.5 to 0.938. (Speed on creep unchanged.)

  # Spine Crawler

        * Attack period decreased from 1.6 to 1.85.

  # Infestor

        * Neural Parasite range increased from 7 to 9.
        * Fungal Growth projectile removed; Units in the target area are now instantly hit.

    Maps

  # We’ve made a change to the (2)ScrapStation map to make the natural expansion easier to defend.
  # New maps have been added to the ladder rotation while others have been removed as follows:

    1v1

  # Added (2)IncinerationZone

    2v2

  # Removed (4)LostTemple
  # Removed (4)Metalopolis
  # Added (4)AridWastes
  # Added (4)Coalition
  # Added (4)Decena
  # Added (4)ScorchedHaven

    1v1 (Novice)

  # Removed (4)NoviceKulasRavine

    2v2 (Novice)

  # Removed (4)NoviceKulasRavine
  # Removed (4)NoviceShakurasPlateau
  # Added (4)NoviceDecena
  # Added (4)NoviceScorchedHaven
  # Added (4)NoviceTwilightFortress

[Turtle]

And apparently, the update puts players into an infinite loop of patching, and the b.net servers were taken down.

[Thin_J]

And apparently, the update puts players into an infinite loop of patching, and the b.net servers were taken down.

I believe they've fixed that, and the battle.net servers were down for a wipe anyway. They were going to be down even if there hadn't been a patch issue.

That said, the patch has also broken the game. It introduced a bug where canceling a unit as zerg does not cost you the larva you used to start spawning it. That larva reappears, but the whole time that larva is morphing into the other unit before it's canceled the hatchery continues producing new larva. People have of course figured out how to exploit this to something like a 12 zergling rush inside of two minutes.

Incredibly broken. I'll be avoiding the beta until they fix it.

[Turtle]

Yeah... I played a few games and I remembered why I stopped playing these kind of RTS games and went with dawn of war 2.

I got a comment in one of my 5 unranked practice matches, as the guy rushed stuff into my base before I could figure out what units to build that this wasn't simcity when I told him I was still learning the very basics.

Compared to DoW2, SC2 is SimCity.  You spend more time managing piddling little details like managing workers and building crap that there's very little interesting fighting.  To me, that's a huge step backwards in RTS design and I'm sad DoW2 didn't take off as well, because I fear SC2 is going to spawn another generation of rehashes in the RTS world (one that's already hurting from the focus on consoles).

Seeing all those units clustered together made me long for a single Space Marine scout squad or toss a grenade on those blobs.

[Blackjack]

South Korea had just about under 49 million population according to some 2008 estimates. So I figure if Blizzard sells about 20 million copies in my homeland, then they're really not going to care if you, me, and a few others here think Starcraft 2 is an "old" RTS.  

I think Blizzard has reached the point Stephen King reached sometime in the late 1980s when he used to joke that people said he could "publish his laundry list" and it would become a bestseller. And unlike Stevie, they can spend millions and millions of dollars on development and take 10-15 years to develop a sequel. It must feel weird when people leave Blizzard and have to work in a "normal" game dev environment without those luxuries.

I've played all sorts of RTSs I'd have loved to have seen reached Starcraft or even the original Command & Conquer's sales levels (including practically everything Relic has ever done) but it's a different market than in 1997. I'm sure SC2 will sell gazillions in Asia, and like mad here on the Blizzard name alone but I really am curious too if there's as much of a PC RTS market here in North America or Europe as there was 12-15 years ago.

I'm skeptical you'll see a bunch of clones, cause companies (not named Activision Blizzard or Bioware EA) simply don't have that kind of cash to burn on wannabe clones anymore, imho.

The only thing I'm excited about in SC2 right now are the screenshots that show a prominent auto-matching option for co-op games versus computer players. That, I'm looking forward to.  

[denoginizer]

I have been frustrated by getting my ass kicked in the beta too.  I just don't have the time or inclination to perfect my build orders, learn counters, and memorize hot keys like when I was in college and playing the original Starcraft with my housemates.  To be good at this game you have to practice alot and treat it like an action game instead of an RTS.  I am looking forward to the campaign and co-op comp stomps once the retail version comes out though.

[TheMissingLink]

Yeah... I played a few games and I remembered why I stopped playing these kind of RTS games and went with dawn of war 2.

I got a comment in one of my 5 unranked practice matches, as the guy rushed stuff into my base before I could figure out what units to build that this wasn't simcity when I told him I was still learning the very basics.

Compared to DoW2, SC2 is SimCity.  You spend more time managing piddling little details like managing workers and building crap that there's very little interesting fighting.  To me, that's a huge step backwards in RTS design and I'm sad DoW2 didn't take off as well, because I fear SC2 is going to spawn another generation of rehashes in the RTS world (one that's already hurting from the focus on consoles).

Seeing all those units clustered together made me long for a single Space Marine scout squad or toss a grenade on those blobs.

You know, having been out of RTS games for YEARS, with a new gaming rig, I've played the demo of DoW2 and this alpha.

These two games are totally different beasts. I know I sent you a friend invite, Turtle - do you still play DoW2 very much? Was thinking of jumping in with DoW2 even with the MP having a deep learning curve (apparently).

[Turtle]

Two different beasts indeed.

In SC2 the learning curve, I'd argue, is probably more steep as you not only have to learn how to fight with the units you make, but also how to make everything in the first place.

In DoW2, you focus on the fighting, so the learning curve is how best to use the units, abilities, and terrain.  It's steep because you have to control your units in a more detailed way than most RTS games, and a single squad means a lot.  But, I like it because the fighting starts right away and it's less common to cripple yourself by building the wrong thing.

Oh, and that's one thing DoW2 has over SC2 in spades, the maps.  SC2's maps are bland as dirt, they have to be due to the nature of the game.  DoW2 has all sorts of interesting parts to it, but what's even better is those interesting looking objects all factor into gameplay as cover, obstacles, and stuff to be blown up.  Although, I suppose the players themselves add interesting objects to SC2 maps with all the buildings you place.

Anyway, I got your friend request TML.  I should show up as Turtle in steam friends, but in GFWL i'm PicTurtle.  On Bnet I'm Vertrucio.turtle.  ChrisGrenard, Lordnine, and I play DoW2 late in the day, often around 7-9PM Pacific Time.  We're also trying out SC2 although I haven't had much time to do so besides 4 learner games (which didn't help much with learning).