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Starcraft II 4.11.0 Patch Notes

December 26, 2019 by

Arcturus gets his own co-op and so much more

GENERAL

  • New Co-op Commander and Announcer: Arcturus Mengsk
    • Control the battle with an iron fist as Arcturus Mengsk, the newest Co-Op Commander for StarCraft II.
    • Feed an endless stream of cheap troopers into the meat grinder, softening your enemies for your Royal Guard to go in for the kill.
    • Learn more in our blog.
  • A new Winter Announcer is now available.
  • 16 Nation Wars 2019 team Portraits were added into the Nation Wars 2019 Complete Bundle available for purchase through Matcherino website.
  • MMR is now revealed on the loading screen for Master and Grandmaster players in 1v1 ladder games.
  • Account Management link has been added to the log in screen.
  • Queue up with DeepMind feature is going to be shut down with this patch.
  • Balance test tab is going to be disabled.

CO-OP MISSIONS

  • Brutal+ difficulties have been added to Co-op. These create random mutation challenges of increasing levels of difficulty. The Retry Brutal+ setting allows players to attempt a failed challenge on the same map against the same enemy unit composition. Brutal+1 can be queued with any level 15 commander through matchmaking. Brutal+2 through Brutal+6, and the Try Again setting, can only be played with a premade group.
  • Co-op players on Hard difficulty will now play at Faster game speed in order to better match with Brutal players.
  • The Ultralisk’s Frenzied ability no longer blocks mind control effects in Co-op.
  • Ultralisks may now walk over Zerglings, Banelings, Locusts, and Broodlings in Co-op.

VERSUS

  • Balance Update
    • Terran
      • Battlecruiser
        • Tactical Jump now stuns and puts the Battlecruiser into a 1 second vulnerability phase before it teleports. In this state, the Battlecruiser can be damaged, but Tactical Jump may not be canceled.
        • Yamato Cannon will no longer cancel itself if a target enters a transport or becomes cloaked/burrowed. Instead, the Yamato Cannon will miss, and the ability will go on cooldown.
        • Fixed an issue that if a Battlecruiser used shift to queue several commands which included Tactical Jump, it would be immune to Abduct or Interference Matrix as if it was using Tactical Jump during that time.
        • Fixed an issue where the Raven’s Interference Matrix and the Viper’s Abduct were causing the Battlecruiser’s Tactical Jump to go on cooldown.
        • Fixed an issue that displayed the opponent’s Battlecruiser’s locations on the minimap after using Tactical Jump.
      • Hellion/Hellbat
        • Infernal Pre-Igniter research cost decreased from 150/150 to 100/100.
      • Liberator
        • Advanced Ballistics upgrade moved from the Starport Tech Lab to the Fusion Core.
        • Advanced Ballistics upgrade now increases the range of Liberators in Defender Mode by 3, down from 4.
      • Medivac
        • Moved the Rapid Re-Ignition System upgrade from the Starport Tech Lab to the Fusion Core.
        • In addition to reducing the Medivac’s Ignite Afterburners cooldown by 5 seconds, this upgrade will also increase the Medivac’s base movement speed from 3.5 to 4.13. However, this upgrade will not affect Medivac’s movement speed during the Ignite Afterburners effect.
      • M.U.L.E.
        • Duration remains at 64 seconds.Developer Comment: Since there are some situations where the mule duration decrease could return less minerals than before, we want to revert the mule’s duration to their original 64 second value.
        • M.U.L.E.’s now always attempt to spawn on the side of minerals closest to a town hall.
      • Raven
        • Interference Matrix energy cost increased from 50 energy to 75 energy.
        • Interference Matrix duration increased from 8 seconds to 11 seconds.
        • Raven movement speed increased from 3.85 to 4.13.
        • Fixed an issue where splash damage will not properly apply to units affected by Anti-Armor missile.
      • Thor
        • High Impact Payload damage decreased from 40 (+15 vs Massive) to 25 (+10 vs Massive).
        • High Impact Payload weapon cooldown decreased from 1.7 to 0.9.
    • Zerg
      • Brood Lord
        • Broodling leash range decreased from 12 to 9.
      • Creep
        • Active Creep Tumors may no longer be canceled.
      • Infestor
        • Removed the Infested Terran ability.
        • New Ability: Microbial Shroud
          • Creates a shroud that obscures ground units below, reducing the damage they take from air units by 50%. Lasts 11 seconds. Energy cost: 100.
          • Cast range: 9.
          • Radius: 3.
        • New upgrade found on the Infestation Pit: Evolve Microbial Shroud
          • Requirement: Hive.
          • Research cost: 150/150.
          • Research duration: 79 seconds.
        • Updated visual effects and sounds for Microbial Shroud
        • Neural Parasite range decreased from 9 to 8.
        • Neural Parasite can no longer target Heroic units.
      • Lurker
        • Lurker Den build time decreased from 86 seconds to 57 seconds.
        • Lurker range decreased from 9 to 8.
        • New Upgrade found on the Lurker Den: Seismic Spines
          • Increases the Lurker’s range from 8 to 10.
          • Requirement: Hive.
          • Research cost: 150/150.
          • Research duration: 57 seconds.
        • Increased research duration of Adaptive Talons from 54 seconds to 57 seconds.
        • Lurkers affected by Blinding Cloud will now only fire to melee range.
      • Nydus Network
        • Nydus Worm cost increased from 50/50 to 75/75.
        • Summon Nydus Worm ability cooldown increased from 0 to 14.
        • Nydus Network and Nydus Worm initial unload delay increased from 0.18 to 0.36.
        • Nydus Network and Nydus Worm load period increased from 0.09 to 0.18.
        • Nydus Network and Nydus Worm unload period increased from 0.18 to 0.36.
      • Overlord
        • Pneumatized Carapace research cost increased from 75/75 to 100/100.
    • Protoss
      • Adept
        • Resonating Glaives reworked. Instead of increasing attack speed of the Adept by 45%, it will increase the attack speed of the Adept by 60% for 6 seconds after a completed Psionic Transfer.
      • Mothership
        • Time Warp now affects air units in addition to ground units and buildings.
        • Time Warp delay reduces from 3.57 seconds to 1.79 seconds.
        • Gains the Heroic Tag. Neural Parasite can no longer target Heroic units.
        • Fixed an issue where beam-type weapons didn’t get slowed in the Mothership’s Time Warp.
      • Observer
        • Observer movement speed decreased from 3.01 to 2.63.
        • Gravitic Boosters upgrade now increases movement speed by 1.31, down from 1.51.
      • Oracle, Sentry, Void Ray
        • Fixed an issue where beam attacks could deal more damage than intended.
      • Tempest
        • Kinetic Overload (anti-air) range decreased from 15 to 14.
        • Health increased from 150 to 200.
        • Shields decreased from 125 to 100.
      • Void Ray
        • New upgrade found on the Fleet Beacon: Flux Vanes
        • Increases the Void Ray’s movement speed from 3.5 to 4.65.
        • Increases the Void Ray’s acceleration from 2.8 to 3.76.
        • After the upgrade, the Prismatic Alignment ability will still reduce the Void Ray’s movement speed to 2.625.
        • Research cost: 100/100.
        • Research duration: 57 seconds.
        • Fixed an issue after getting the Flux Vanes upgrade where the Void Ray’s acceleration didn’t get reduced while using Prismatic Alignment.
      • Zealot
        • The Charge upgrade no longer provides Zealots with +8 damage on impact. Instead, it increases Zealot movement speed from 3.15 to 4.72, up from 4.13.
  • Maps
    • Introducing a new map mechanic:
      • Acceleration Zone Generators
        • Increases movement speed of ground and air units within the generated field by 35%.
    • Changed the color of Inhibitor Zones and Time Warp bubbles from green to red. Acceleration Zone Generators will be green.
    • Inhibitor Zone Generator minimap icons updated from green to red. Acceleration Zone Generator minimap icons will be green.
    • The center of Inhibitor and Acceleration Zone Generators are now pathable. The art was updated to reflect this.
    • Concord LE
      • Lighting status updated.
    • Eternal Empire LE
      • Fixed an issue where players could not build on certain gas geysers.
      • Fixed and issue where units could clip into rock doodads and become hidden.
    • Nightshade LE
      • Adjusted some mineral and gas locations at the natural, third, and fourth bases.
      • Updated some doodads at certain locations.
      • Updated the map so that units and structures are brighter and easier to see.
    • Winter’s Gate LE & Turbo Cruise ’84 LE
      • The center of the Inhibitor Zone Generators were changed to be pathable. Maps were updated to maintain the original pathing around the Inhibitor Zone Generators.
    • World of Sleepers LE
      • Changed the Rich Vespene Geysers to normal Vespene Geysers.
    • Zen LE
      • Changed the pathing near the Reaper paths so that Reapers can path properly.
      • Changed the location of the reduced mineral field and updated the pathing on the map to allow Terran players to wall off the natural base with 1 Command Center and 2 Supply Depots.
      • Fixed the heights of certain rooftops on doodad structures.
      • Updated grass and rock textures in the middle of the map.

BUG FIXES

Campaign

  • Legacy of the Void
    • Kerrigan’s Queens no longer attempt to place creep tumors incorrectly during the first epilogue mission.
  • Nova Covert Ops
    • Hunter-Seeker Missiles from Ravens with Special Ordinance equipped now deal splash damage.

Co-op Missions

  • General
    • Missions will now properly pick a map or commander victory line at random.
    • Amon’s Brood Queens should no longer autocast Ensnare on structures.
  • Commanders
    • Han & Horner
      • Fixed several of Han’s buildings to display her Junker adjutant.
    • Karax
      • Chrono Beam can no longer be cast on Kerrigan’s resource pickups.
    • Kerrigan
      • Omega Worms can no longer prevent defeat for Kerrigan’s ally.
      • Raptor strain Zerglings should no longer occasionally launch themselves from Nydus Worms at great speed.
    • Stetmann
      • Fixed an issue where Jumping Mecha Baneling could overkill units.
      • The game performance should be much improved while large numbers of Stetellites exist on the map.
      • Mecha Drone hotkeys can now be set.
      • Mecha Banelings now count towards Zagara’s Baneling & Scourge statistic.
      • Gary now obeys the laws of air units.
    • Tychus
      • Tychus players can no longer gain access to additional outlaws earlier than intended.
    • Vorazun
      • Void Thrashers now properly spawn when Vorazun uses Time Stop before or as they are spawning.
      • Fixed an issue that caused some heroic units to not benefit from Vorazun’s Time Stop Haste mastery.
    • Zagara
      • Damage dealt by Mecha Banelings now properly count towards Zagara’s Baneling & Scourge score.
    • Zeratul
      • The Artifact will move itself if its spawn location becomes unpathable.
      • Zeratul now properly unloads when dropped on top of large units.
      • Fixed an issue that caused Void Templars to fail to do damage while blinking.
      • Xel’Naga Watchers are now correctly affected by sight limiting mutators regardless of Artifacts collected.
  • Mission
    • Malwarfare
      • Fixed an issue that could cause a Suppression Tower’s minimap icon to persist indefinitely.
      • Fixed an issue that could cause air units to path poorly near the players’ main base.
    • Minor Evacuation
      • The Eradicator’s Rail Gun can no longer hit targets behind it.
    • Mist Opportunities
      • Harvesting Bots should no longer occasionally wander off.
      • Fixed an issue that could cause the bonus objectives to become invisible.
    • Oblivion Express
      • Damage is no longer sometimes ignored when attacking multiple train cars.
    • Scythe of Amon
      • New units spawned from Void Rifts are now properly affected by Polarity mutator.
      • Larva and Eggs will no longer die when a nearby Hatchery, Lair, or Hive is destroyed.
    • Temple of the Past
      • Fixed an issue that could cause the bonus objectives to become invisible.
    • Void Launch
      • Leviathans, Motherships, or Lokis now properly spawn in the final shuttle wave.
  • Mutators
    • Bonus AI terminals no longer become hostile to players with the Polarity mutator selected.
    • Amon’s Dehaka no longer transforms while the Transmutation mutator is active.
    • Void Rift minimap icons should no longer appear very small on Low settings.
    • Purifier Beams should now respect the same areas that other mutators avoid.
    • The Concussive Attacks mutator no longer affects Frenzied targets.

Collection

  • The Visual indicator for the cooldown of the Ihan-Rii Disruptor’s Purifier Nova ability now appears, and the cooldown animation now appears as intended.
  • The correct upgrade animation now appears when selecting an upgrade from the Cybernetics Core with the Forged skin applied.

User Interface

  • Portrait borders on the versus loading screen should now display your league on the race you are playing as instead of your highest league across all races.
  • Fixed a few issues where Console skins could appear as unintended in game and replays.
  • The multiple burrow icons in the help menu for Zerglings no longer appear in game.
  • The Custom lobby has been updated to prevent the screenshot button from overlapping map details text.

Filed Under: Other Games, Starcraft 2 Tagged With:

Starcraft 2 Crashing on Mac

June 22, 2017 by

UPDATE: Patch 3.1.5.1 has now been released which fixes the issue.

Have you installed patch 3.1.5 and now find your Starcraft 2 install is crashing a few seconds after logging in? Well you’re not alone.

A thread on the Blizzard forums shows a long list of people experiencing the same thing. So hunker down for a further patch – hopefully it hits soon. We at least know that Blizzard have acknowledged the issue.

If you’ve found a workaround, post it in comments. Suggesting that the PC version is used is not a workaround.

Filed Under: Starcraft 2

Starcraft 2 South East Asia Region: Casual Player Graveyard?

May 10, 2014 by

I’m getting a little frustrated with my Starcraft playing experience. I’ve been playing on the South East Asia the past couple of years, and have noticed it’s harder and harder to get a ranked match or versus AI game via the Matchmaking option. Then, over the past three months, I’ve been unable to get a single match pop for me.

I initially didn’t think much of it and got into custom games versus AI, but in my SC2 achievement hunt I’ve been trying to play more ranked or unranked matches. I’ve tried different times, different days, all with the same result:

StarCraft_II 2

StarCraft_II

A couple of times I’ve left matchmaking running and gotten involved in doing something else, come back to my computer and seen search times of 100 minutes plus. Sure, I’m not in a clan, but surely it’s not that unusual for a casual player to be after some games via the Matchmaking interface? I looked at transferring regions, but all progress and achieves are lost.

Would love SEA region players to comment: why the lack of activity?

Filed Under: General News, Starcraft 2

Starcraft 2.08 Full Patch Notes

May 8, 2013 by

Starcraft 2.07 Patch Notes

Quite a few bug fixes this patch, read on for the full 2.08 patch notes:

STARCRAFT II PATCH 2.0.8

GENERAL

  • The “Damaged Units Only” status bar option now applies only to life, shields, and energy. All other status bars behave as if “Always” is selected.
  • Custom observer interface files are now read from the “My Documents/StarCraft II/Interfaces” location rather than account specific locations.
  • The Idle Worker button now plays a subtle glow animation while active.
  • The Regions button on the Login Screen is now visible at the password entry step. Upon selecting a region, players will be logged out to account entry with the proper region selected.
  • A confirmation dialog now displays for players attempting to login to regions running a newer version of StarCraft II than their current version, rather than automatically closing the game client and patching up to the newest version.
  • Replay files now contain additional game information and statistics for data analysis. (Stay tuned for further instructions on how to utilize this data in an upcoming blog post on the StarCraft II Community Site.)

BATTLE.NET

  • Recover Game UI no longer shows any events after the “Game Ended” event. For 1v1 matches, it is no longer possible to accidentally recover the game after one of the players has already been defeated.
  • “Internet Cafe” has been added to the list of Group categories.
  • Lobby countdown timers have been reduced from 10 seconds to 3 seconds for “Recover Game” and “Watch with Others” game lobbies.
  • The order for “Most Recent” and “Highest Rank” in the “Sort by” dropdown menu on the Profile > Ladder > Career Summary page has been switched.
  • The “Career” heading on the Profile Summary page has been renamed to “Statistics”, and “Total Career Games” has been renamed to “Games Played This Season” to more accurately reflect the data being displayed.

EDITOR

  • A new “Show Game Start Countdown” option has been added to the Game Options window in the Map>Map Options menu. Enabling this option will display the 3-2-1 countdown timer that was added in Patch 2.0.4 for the Take Command and Recover Game features. This option is disabled by default.

BUG FIXES

  • General
    • Fixed many text and sound localization issues throughout the game for all languages.
    • Fixed many keyboard layout and hotkey issues across all languages.
    • Fixed multiple crashes that could occur when utilizing the Take Command feature.
    • Fixed an issue in which multiplayer replays could not be re-paused if a player left the game while it was paused.
    • The Watch Replay Solo button is now properly disabled upon completing a game of StarCraft Master.
    • Replays no longer always play Terran music. Music for observers will now always match the race of the last player in the lobby. (In a future patch, this will be further addressed to play a random selection of music from all races for observers.)
    • Fixed an issue that affected the accuracy of APM calculation. Additional changes to APM calculations will be coming in a future patch.
    • Cloud saves are now properly created when exiting completely out of the client from Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm campaigns.
    • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when launching a Challenge mission after playing an Arcade game with an unusual dependency configuration.
    • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when closing StarCraft II.
    • Fixed an issue in which the “Waiting for Players” dialog could occasionally appear on the loading screen and drop players from the game.
    • The “Pauses Remaining” counter is now consistent with how many Pauses are available.
    • Fixed a number of streaming failures that could occur when streaming and repairing certain game archives.
    • Video subtitles use the locale found in the Text Language field rather than the Speech and Movie Language field in the Options > Language menu.
    • Training Mode maps are now properly categorized in the Match History page as Versus AI games rather than 1v1.
    • Stage 1 Training Mode Help Menu now properly states that Reapers can be trained from the Barracks.
    • Fixed multiple issues which caused Reduced Violence mode to display red blood.
    • Fixed an issue which caused text glow to display improperly.
    • Fixed a number of outdated loading screen tips.
    • Lighting now behaves consistently for the Razer Marauder keyboard, Spectre mouse, and Banshee headset.
    • Fixed a rare crash that could occur with particles made using the StarCraft II Art Tools Beta.
  • Heart of the Swarm Campaign
    • The following achievements no longer restart their tracking progress when playing across multiple missions: Smoking Corpses, Leaping Death, Get a Grip, Unchained, Shifted Priorities, Where the Wild Things Are, So Many Banelings!, Worker Rush, and Surprise!, FFA Gladiator, and Free-for-All Crusher.
    • The Monster Smash achievement progress bar is no longer set to zero when loading a save or checkpoint.
    • Fixed a graphical issue that could occur during the control room cutscene for the “Back in the Saddle” mission.
    • Fixed a graphical issue that could occur when alt-tabbing out of StarCraft II from the Travel screen.
    • Fixed a number of animation issues for Kerrigan and Raynor “Lab Rat” mission debriefing scene.
    • Fixed a number of streaming failures that could occur when traveling to Skygeirr Station before the “Infested” mission.
    • Fixed a number of icon image display issues on the Kerrigan upgrades screen.
    • The correct campaign progress is now displayed on the Heart of the Swarm campaign select screen after beating the campaign and logging in from a different machine.
  • Battle.net
    • Fixed and clarified multiple unfriendly strings, error messages, and text input bugs that could occur when performing various operations on Battle.net.
    • Fixed many display and navigation issues that could occur when performing various operations on Battle.net.
    • The “Watch with Others” and “Recover Game” features are now properly disabled for Offline Mode.
    • Fixed an issue which occasionally caused players to enter a locked state if they were dropped from a match and selected “Watch Replay as Party”.
    • Fixed an issue in which the Save Replay button appeared active but was non-functional after navigating back to the Score Screen from the Map Info page.
    • Fixed a number of sound issues that could occur when repeatedly interacting with a replay timeline.
    • Clan entries are now properly removed from the Groups list when a player is removed from a clan while in-game.
    • The Create, Edit, and Delete buttons now display properly when navigating directly to a clan’s News tab.
    • It is now possible to invite non-friends from the “Players Near You” list to a Group or Clan.
    • Spam clicking the Leave Clan button no longer opens multiple confirmation windows.
    • Fixed a display issue that could occur when banning and unbanning a player from a Group.
    • A scrollbar is now created in the Edit Info window for a Group or Clan populated with enough text that scrolling is required.
    • Maximized Group windows are now properly unmaximized upon double-clicking on the window header.
    • The Groups list is now sorted alphabetically rather than by online member count.
    • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when the maximum number of player slots were filled for certain Arcade games.
    • Fixed an issue in which review text for Arcade games could become distorted.
    • The review screen for Arcade games now properly displays character portraits rather than the default SC2 logo.
    • Closing the Game Info screen for Arcade games can no longer cause closed chat windows to reopen.
    • Fixed an issue in which the dropdown menu on the Profile > Ladder > Friends page always defaulted to 4v4 Arranged.
    • Bonus pools no longer display negative values if the system clock is set to a time in the past.
    • Chat window sizes are now preserved when closed and reopened.
    • Fixed a display issue that could occur for players who are ranked in 15 or more teams.
    • Fixed an issue in which creating an offline custom game occasionally caused players to  enter a locked state.
    • Fixed an issue that could cause dropdown menus to become disabled on the Custom Games, Browse, and Open Games tabs.
    • Fixed an issue in which 3vAI placement matches could occasionally become stuck at 2 matches remaining.
    • Active Live Event banners no longer cause the Kerrigan or Planets backgrounds to pop in and out when transitioning to and from the Home Page.
    • Fixed an issue in which the Rewards screen could occasionally show incorrect information for the selected tab.
    • The Social bar can no longer overlap UI buttons during the Credits.
    • Players can no longer become stuck in an infinite loop when launching and quitting out of the Tutorial.
    • Rank frames now display around non-friend character portraits.
    • Frame rate performance has been improved when mousing over or scrolling through a populated Match History.
  • Gameplay and Races
    • General
      • Fixed a display issue in which Worker Status UI could cover town hall status bars in very high resolutions.
      • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when attacking an AI base.
    • Terran
      • It is no longer possible for SCVs to be left inside of a vespene geyser after canceling an under-construction Refinery.
      • The Collector’s Edition Thor wireframe is now displays properly.
    • Protoss
      • The Void Ray’s Prismatic Alignment ability now plays a sound effect when activated.
      • The Mothership’s Time Warp ability now plays a dissipation sound effect.
    • Zerg
      • Fixed an issue that caused uprooted Spine Crawlers to occasionally appear rooted.
      • Creep Tumors being created from an existing Creep Tumor can no longer be attacked before they are visible.
      • Zerg eggs no longer play extraneous sound effects when units hatch.
  • Graphics
    • Impact effects can no longer change location when units are turned quickly.
    • The Oracle’s Pulsar Beam can no longer extend behind the Oracle when attacking large targets.
    • Fixed a graphics crash that could occur in a variety of map loading scenarios.
    • Fixed a rare graphics crash that could occur when playing certain Arcade games.
  • Editor
    • General
      • Fixed many localization issues across all languages.
      • Publishing a 1-player map with the “Hide Battle.net Lobby” option enabled no longer prevents users from playing that map in the Arcade.
    • Terrain Module
      • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when using the Undo/Redo operations while modifying water cells.
    • Data Module
      • Simultaneously modifying the cost of multiple units no longer causes a crash.
      • Switching between Categories (such as Units or Combat) in a Behaviors (Buff type) Modification table now occurs more quickly.
  • Mac
    • General
      • Macs using Nvidia GTX 680MX graphics cards now default to max resolution and Ultra graphic settings rather than low resolution and Medium graphic settings.
      • Anti-aliasing now works correctly.
    • Editor
      • Changing Language and Text settings in the Mac editor no longer causes a crash.

 

Filed Under: Other Games, Starcraft 2 Tagged With:

Starcraft 2 Achievements: Zergling Rush

March 18, 2013 by

Zergling Rush Achievement

Zergling Rush Achievement in the bag

I thought I’d share some solutions to some of the SC2 achievements I’ve finally nailed down. This week I’ll start with:

Zergling Rush Achievement

You have 255 seconds (4 minutes and 15 seconds) to morph in 20 Zerglings. It’s pretty easy once you get the order right and I can confirm I got the achievement by:

1. Have the five drones you start with immediately start collecting minerals (which is the default now anyway)

2. Once you hit 200 minerals build a Spawn Pool -leave the remaining 5 drones to collect minerals

3. Once you have 100 minerals morph an Overlord

4. Once your Spawn Pool has been created, morph Zerglings as soon as each larvae spawns

5. Done – with a few seconds to spare.

Hope that helps and post in comments alternate strategies if you like!

 

Filed Under: Starcraft 2 Tagged With:

Starcraft 2 Patch 2.05 Notes

March 6, 2013 by

swtor-patch-incoming-banner

Blizzard have had a busy 24 hours rolling out patches, including what is likely to be the last one for SC2 prior to Heart of the Swarm. This is more of a bug fix patch than anything else, but here are the Patch 2.05 notes in full:

GENERAL

  • Global Play is now live.
    • Players can now easily switch between regions via the new “Regions” button on the StarCraft II login screen.
    • Your game language and user interface will not change when you change regions.
    • Your character profiles and ladder data are unique to each region.
    • When your region’s game servers are undergoing maintenance, you may be able to play in a different region that is not down for maintenance.
    • For more information, please visit our Global Play FAQ on our support site.

BUG FIXES

  • General
    • StarCraft II will no longer download upcoming patch data while the game is running.
    • Fixed an issue where players would be unable to change their language if patch data was not 100% downloaded via the game launcher.
    • Fixed several issues causing the game to turn unresponsive when pausing and leaving the game in various states.
    • Fixed an issue that would cause the game to run low on video memory.
    • Fixed a desync that could occur between Mac and PC if an AI was scouted with a cloaked unit.
    • Fixed a crash that could occur in rare situations when force-quitting StarCraft II.
    • Fixed a number of crashes that could occur when viewing and rewinding replays.
    • Fixed an issue where players could not hear voice chat when using the FMod provider.
    • The language selection dropdown should no longer display an incorrect language.
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when playing some Arcade games when using a custom hotkey profile.
    • Fixed a countdown display issue when utilizing the Take Command feature in the Korean and Taiwanese game clients.
  • Battle.net
    • It is now possible to properly un-bookmark Arcade maps from outside of the Bookmark page.
    • Fixed a number of issues related to the “only officers will be shown” warning text reserved for Groups with large rosters.
    • Clans and Groups rosters are no longer sorted in reverse order.
    • Clans and Groups are now defined properly in chat when typing in a game.
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when creating a Clan or Group using certain combinations of special characters.
    • Fixed a display issue that could occur when scrolling down a large Group roster list.
    • It is now possible to use special characters in Clan and Group names.
    • It is now possible to use spaces in the names of groups in the Russian game client.
    • Fixed an issue for players in Korean or Taiwanese game clients who were unable to add Battle Tag friends in certain situations.
  • Editor
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when double-clicking an .SC2Map file while the editor was downloading required dependencies.
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SC2: Vengeance Trailer

February 27, 2013 by

The time until the launch of Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm draws ever closer, and with it comes the trailer build up. This one’s called Vengeance and it’s another pretty piece:

Are you an SC2 player? If you are let us know what you’re most looking forward to with the expansion.

Filed Under: General News, Other Games, Starcraft 2 Tagged With: ,

Starcraft 2: Full Patch 2.04 Notes

February 19, 2013 by

sc2Wow – I knew Blizzard were doing some major overhauls of SC2 prior to Heart of the Swarm, but this patch brings some pretty huge changes indeed, particularly in regard to user interface.

Read on for all the details, but if you own the game definitely log in, download the patch and see how much things have changed.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Patch 2.0.4

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty patch 2.0.4 is now live! This major patch brings a number of exciting new systems and improvements to Wings of Liberty while paving the way for the release of our Heart of the Swarm expansion on March 12. Please read the full patch notes below.

GENERAL

All-New Menu Screens

The User Interface layout, art, and graphic style have been completely revamped.

Players are now one click away from any major screen in the User Interface.
Many redundant screens and game modes have been eliminated.

Clans and Groups

Anyone can now create or join a Clan and participate in private clan chat, post news on Clan affairs, and more. Clan tags are pre-pended to character names of all players who join a Clan.
Groups are for players who want to associate casually and in larger numbers. Joining a Group is a way for players to interact with others who share common interests. Players are allowed to join many different groups.
Players who have used their free character name change will receive an additional one.

Exciting New Replay Features

Watch with Others: Players can now watch replays with others in the same game.
Take Command: Players watching a replay together can also opt to “Take Command” of the replay and assume control of selected player armies.
Recover Game: Players can now choose trecover from a game that may have ended prematurely due to disconnection, input loss, or other abnormal causes.

Improved Score Screen and Statistics

Performance tab now tracks gameplay stats such as Average Unspent Resources, Time Supply Capped, Workers Created, and APM.
New buttons allow players to “Play Again” or “Watch Replay Solo” directly from the post-game Score Screen.
Additional Race and Map Report statistics pages in the Ladders section of the Player Profile:
Race Report: Tracks number of games played and win/loss ratios for every race matchup.
Map Report: Tracks number of games played and win/loss ratios on every ladder map.
Player Profile now shows all wins and losses for all leagues.

Global Play and Language Selection

Players will soon have the freedom to select any game region to connect to and play.
Global Play will be enabled in the coming weeks. Please see our Global Play FAQ.
Players can now select among different languages in StarCraft II.
Speech and Movie Language options added to the Options > Language menu.
Text Language added to the Options > Language menu.

New Matchmaking Options

Three options have been added to the Matchmaking Screen to help newer players make a more gradual transition from single-player to multiplayer.
Training Mode allows players to work their way up from basic StarCraft gameplay skills to great challenges.
Versus AI Mode is a reworking of the previous Coop Versus AI Mode in Wings of Liberty.
Players can now utilize the matchmaking system to challenge an AI opponent that scales in difficulty.
The new matchmaking AI can accommodate a wide variety of skill levels and play styles.
Unranked Play allows players to engage in matchmaking and find games vs. other players without the pressures of the ranking system.
For more details on these new features, please see our Ways to Play video overview.

All-New AI Enhancements

The overall AI play experienced has been greatly enhanced.
In a custom game, players can now elect for an AI player to follow a specific build order, such as Full Rush, Timing Attack, Straight to Air, and more.
AI players will now report key information back to their player allies, such as when they are scouting, attacking, expanding, and retreating.
Additional AI improvements, including the ability to issue specific commands to AI partners, will be coming in Heart of the Swarm.

Players Near You

Players Near You identifies and displays other players on your local network, making it easier to locate, chat with, friend, and play together.
This feature can be disabled in the Options > Social menu.
Game Privacy options
No Build Order: Selecting this option in the Custom Game lobby hides the build order from being displayed in the Score Screen.
No Match History: Selecting this option hides the game from the player’s Match History.
New Enable Group Sounds option in the Options > Sound menu produces additional sounds for groups of units performing the same activity, such as Marine marches, mech ground-shaking, and more.
The Help Section has been revised and updated.

USER INTERFACE

In-Game UI Improvements

New waypoint and targeting confirmation icons have been added.
The Menu and Help buttons are now located above the command card alongside the Social button.
The Achievements and Message Log menus are now accessible via the Main Menu.
New Select Army Units button is located next to the Idle Worker and Select all Warp Gates buttons. These buttons are now all consolidated together in the UI above the minimap.
Decal art has been refreshed and now appears brighter and more visible in-game.
New Victory Fanfare sequences now play when a players is victorious at the end of a game.
New Unit Life Bar settings have been added to the Gameplay section of the Options menu:
Targeting: Shows friendly units when targeting a beneficial ability and enemy units when targeting a harmful ability.
Damaged: Only show for units with less than their maximum life, energy, or shields.
New UI options have been added to aid newer players in various gameplay functions. These can be toggled in the Options > Controls menu:
Display Team Colored Life Bar: Displays unit life bars using team color.
Always Show Worker Status: Displays the current and ideal number of workers above harvestable vespene geysers and town halls.
Enable Simple Command Card: Displays a more simplified view of the command card.
Show Current Order Indicator: Displays an indicator on the terrain when units are issued a movement or attack command.
Select All Larvae: Selecting a single larva will select all larvas attached to the same Hatchery.
Enable Enemy Unit Selection: Allows the player to select units that can’t be controlled such as neutral and enemy units.
The maximum numbers of players that can be in a party has been raised to 16.
All maps that appear in the Custom Games section can now utilize the same Game Info pages (Overview, How to Play, Patch Notes, Reviews) that Arcade games received with Patch 1.5.0.
New Copy Link buttons have been added, which automatically copy certain links tthe clipboard, allowing players to share them with others via clickable links in chat or on the web. When clicked, these links will navigate to the in-game page.

Observer Mode Improvements

Leaderboard

Added two new tabs:
Structures Tab (hotkey T): This panel shows the structures owned by each player.
Upgrades Tab (hotkey G): This panel shows the upgrades researched by each player.
Clicking on an icon in the Units/Structures/Production tabs will now center the camera on that unit. Continued clicks will cycle through all units of that type.

Minimap

Attacked units now flash white for observers.
Nuclear Launch and Nydus Canals now create pings on the minimap for Observers viewing Everyone.
Versus Mode Side Toggle (Hotkey CTRL-X)
Added a hotkey to flip sides that player names appear in the Observer UI when watching a Versus Mode 1v1 game.

Customizable Observer UI

Brand new SC2Interface mod support has been added, which enables casters and observers to watch games of StarCraft II using a completely custom user interface. This gives production crews a new set of powerful tools to create even more epic broadcast experiences.
For more information on how to use this feature, please see this thread in our User Interface forums.
Players who have blocked communication with others are now also prohibited from initiating chat with those they have blocked.

EDITOR

General

A new preload Info dialog has been added for defining game data, asset files, and banks to be preloaded in-game. This is accessible from the Map/Mod menus in all modules.
Added color preferences for text preview display.
The Arcade Info dialog has been renamed tBattle.net Info. This info is now available for non-arcade maps as well.

New SC2Interface files:

Mods can now optionally be saved as SC2Interface files as long as they don’t have any data which affects gameplay.
Mod gameplay/interface status can be checked using the Mod > Mod Status window.
New Export Locales and Import Locales commands have been added. These are available under the Map/Mod > Locales sub-menu. These can be used to export and import localized text to and from text files.
The Dependency dialog now includes a display of the full dependency chain resulting from the requested dependencies. Dependency reference checking and validation now accounts for the full chain properly in all cases.
The Dependency dialog now issues a warning when Multi mods are used in conjunction with Story mods. These are designed to be mutually exclusive and could cause a variety of problems in game when combined.
Added toolbar button size preference.

AI Module

A new Attack Wave Graphs window is now available from the Data menu, for visualizing attack wave cost/supplies vs. time.

Cutscene Module

Added Cutscene Frames. Cutscene frames are dialog items you can play a cutscene in.

New Properties have been added:

Animation Element:
Right-Aligned: Animations can now specify that they always end at the end of the block.
Weight: The blend value for this animation block.
Director Node:
Reverb: The reverb to set while playing back the cutscene.
Auto Destroy on End: When disabled, the cutscene will not be destroyed when it ends, but instead it will pause on the final frame.
Sound Node:
Non-Seeking: If enabled, causes the sound to not change its current time when the current time jumps.
Speaker Mix: You can now set and animate the speaker mix values.
Fade Node
Priority: Allows you to specify the priority level of a fade when multiple scenes attempt to control fade.
Terrain is now automatically imported when starting the Cutscene Module.
Active Light Nodes will now search for a light suffixed with “_Low” if graphics options are set to Medium or Low.
New icons added for all node types!
Added a new “Time Follows Edits” mode under the edit menu that causes the timeline cursor to always follow the edited block.

Sound Improvements:

Added Sound Group Nodes: These folder-like nodes allow you to add sound nodes to them then set properties for all sounds inside the group at once.
Volume and pitch properties are now treated as multipliers instead of absolute values.
Setting sound index t-1 now causes it to pick a new variation each time it plays.
Sounds now properly fade out after their blocks end.
Sounds can now specify Active Shots.
Value changes that represent less than 0.1% of a difference no longer create new keys in auto key mode.
You can now add multiple cutscene filters when playing back a cutscene.
Cutscenes are now played back in Replays.

Data Module

Added the Data Navigator Window. This new window visualizes how objects are linked to one another.
Each tab in the Data Module now remembers its own view mode.
Model Preview Panes now animate with the model’s default animation, making effects easier to identify.
New data types have been added: Herd, Herd Node
User Type fields defining user links can optionally specify a required user type
Added a new Select in Palette command.
Added F2 support for renaming objects.
“Show Advanced Values” is now “Show Basic Field Labels”. Instead of hiding advanced fields, it adds “(Basic)” to the name of basic fields and sorts them to the top.
Fixed size arrays are now edited as one control for each array entry rather than using a list-based UI.
“Show Default Values” is now “Sort Fields By Source”. Instead of hiding default values, it will sort values in the order: Active Document, User Mod, Blizzard Mod, Core Mod.
Added field hint tooltips to dropdowns for enum type fields.
Structure sub-fields now properly display composite field hint tooltips.
Many new field hints added for Abilities, Actors, Effects, and Units.

Overview Manager

Added a new Jump To Instances command in the context menu for jumping from function definition to corresponding calls.
Added a new Show Global Links Only option in the View menu for seeing global trigger elements directly in the Used By links.

Terrain Module

A new Diamond region shape has been added.
A new Diagonal Selection option has been added in the Tools menu for selecting objects and terrain along the diagonal grid.
A new View option has been added for displaying normal/upgraded creep, under View > Show Terrain > Show Creep Upgraded.
Units marked as Initially Hidden will use an alpha fade effect in the editor display.
Palette existing objects lists now include a Group filter and column, and context menus for Add To Group and Remove From Group.
The Water palette now includes a Height slider for adjusting the height of the current water template.
No Fly Zones now have three color states: Normal (no overlap), Overlap (hard radii overlap), and Warning (only soft radii overlap). For best pathing performance, avoid the Warning state.
Foliage density maximum reduced to 2.0 per cell. Anything larger than this significantly impacts game performance.
Added “Force Occlusion Hide” to placed doodads, which forces doodads to be transparent if units are behind it.

Trigger Module

Added a Preview button for previewing sounds directly from parameter dialog.
A View History Navigation option, including Back and Forward commands, is now available from View > History sub-menu.
A new Explorer view has been added for seeing global elements referenced by the currently selected element, available under View > Show Explorer.
A new Smart group display has been added, which opens a second group only when an element is explicitly viewed via double-click or View Selection command. This is toggled under View > Show Groups.
Libraries defined in the active document are now shown in the Triggers list rather than the Libraries list. The Libraries list will only contain read-only dependency libraries.
Elements can now be dragged and dropped from one library to another. This will include updating all usage of those elements in the active document.
A new view option has been added for setting default input focus on search fields vs. lists, available under View > View Options > Default focus On Search Fields.

BUG FIXES

General

Fixed a crash that would occur when StarCraft II is run with low disk space.
Fixed an error that occasionally occurred when queuing for a match if a disconnection occurred in the previous game.
It is no longer possible to build Creep Tumors on top of lowered Supply Depots.
Fixed an issue preventing Zerglings, Roaches, and Ultralisks from autocasting Unburrow when an enemy Colossus was near.
Fixed an issue where Hallucinated units would not play Hallucination death animations when playing in Reduced Violence mode.

Battle.net

It is no longer possible for duplicate versions of the same Arcade game to display in the Top Rated dropdown filter.
Fixed a display issue with the scroll bar on the Replays page.
Fixed a display issue that could occur when viewing Patch Notes for an Arcade game.
Arcade games played through Fun or Not now appear properly in the Match History and Recently Played lists.
Clicking Create Game in the Single-player Vs. AI menu while a map is downloading no longer causes the game t enter a state where it is unable to launch any maps.
Fixed an issue causing a player’s online status tbe set to Available when it was changed from Away to Busy.
Fixed issues with some displays that could occur when viewing Arcade Game Info pages while queuing up for matchmaking games.
Fixed an issue causing the race selection buttons on 3vAI queues to occasionally change to names of colors.

Editor

General

Automatic backups for documents saved as component lists will now properly save multiple backup files.
Tutorial game variant will not be changed when other variants are added or removed.
Fixed various issues with downloading dependency data from Battle.net when opening a document.
Fixed issues with team settings in variants for maps with a large number of players.
Fixed an issue where the editor could crash if the user’s build was not completely downloaded.

Cutscene Module

Fixed several issues related to Undo/Redo.
Fixed several issues related to element linking.
You can now place or move objects at height zero if there is no terrain visible.
Actors with conversation nodes will now animate when not in view, allowing dialog to play at the correct time.
Active Light elements no longer change the light one frame late.
You can now chain together bookmark jumps.
You can no longer use non-Ascii characters in Cutscene Names or Bookmark Names.
You can no longer rename the (Previewer) scene.
Scenes with very large linking webs should now load much faster.
Fixed a bug where models would sometimes continue to draw when switching cutscenes.
Editing curve values should now preserve custom curve tangents.
Previewing from other modules will now set the Cutscene Module back to the (Previewer) scene.

Terrain Module

Painted pathing visibility is now properly tied to visibility of the Pathing layer.
Distance measurement now accounts for ramps properly.

Trigger Module

Eliminated excessive delays when modifying functions which are heavily used in the document.
Comments can now be moved/pasted into switch cases.
Ability Commands using Any or All sub-types will now show all possible parameter values.
Unit trigger events now properly handle using a unit array element for the unit parameter.
Last Created functions now return an empty value if the last creation failed, rather than the result of the previous creation.
Invalid effect ids will no longer be treated as “any effect” in events.
Data conversations with choices will now run properly in game, as long as cinematic mode is enabled.
Fixed an out of memory crash that could occur when adding a region to itself using triggers.
It is now possible to copy triggers across libraries inside the same mod.

Data Module

Ability and Weapon Arc data values now accept 360 as values.

Mac

General

Targeting arrow reticules now display properly when shaders are set to low.
Fixed an issue with “Disable OS Keyboard Shortcuts” and the mouse cursor.
Fixed an issue with resolution options being limited on Thunderbolt displays.

Editor

Points in the Curve Editor can now properly be deleted.
Placing keys in the Curve Editor are now being created correctly.
Text labels are no longer clipped in the Curve Editor.
Fixed an issue involving Vertices and Primitives on the status bar.
Fixed a crash that could occasionally occur when attempting to publish a map.
Fixed an issue involving setting up multi-dimensional arrays in the Trigger Module.
The mouse cursor is now visible in the viewpoint windows.
Fixed an issue with the status bar overlapping text when using the Regions or Cameras layer in the Terrain Module.
Improved Retina hardware compatibility.
CMD + Tilde will now switch between multiple editor windows.

Filed Under: General News, Starcraft 2 Tagged With:

SC2: Heart Of The Swarm – Ways To Play Vid

February 8, 2013 by

You can tell it’s getting close to a Blizzard game launch, as the videos start coming in thick and fast. In this case it’s StarCraft II: Heart Of The Swarm, and the latest release is a 6-minute plus overview of the changes to the types of gameplay on offer in the expansion.

And the changes are pretty significant, with some of them, like the introduction of levelling, are causing a huge amount of debate already. Have a look at the vid:

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the changes coming with Heart Of The Swarm, so sound off in comments.

Also don’t forget there’s a local launch event for HOTS.

Filed Under: General News, Other Games, Starcraft 2 Tagged With:

StarCraft II: Heart Of The Swarm Melbourne Launch Event

February 5, 2013 by

Heart of the Swarm Melbourne Launch EventTo coincide with the 12th March launch of SC2’s first expansion, Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard Entertainment have announced a local launch event.

Melbourne scores the guernsey, with some fun planned for Federation Square on the evening of March 11th. The details:

MELBOURNE – FEDERATION SQUARE
MARCH 11TH – 8 PM TO MIDNIGHT (AEDT)

Cnr. Swanston Street & Flinders Street
Melbourne VIC 3000View map

EVENT DETAILS

The Swarm’s global invasion begins in Australia! Join the Zerg rush to Federation Square in the heart of the city of Melbourne, Victoria. From 8 PM AEDT on Monday, March 11, you can be part of the excitement in person or via the live stream!

ACTIVITIES

  • Heart of the Swarm matches featuring top pro-gamers
  • Q&A with members of the StarCraft II development team
  • Cosplay Competition

EVENT SCHEDULE

  • 8:00 P.M.

    • Event kicks off at Federation Square

  • MIDNIGHT

    • Stage activities end

    • StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm available for pick up (final EB Games sales receipt required)

    • Blizzard autograph table opensNOTE: One copy of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm autographed per person

So there you have it: will you be going? If you are and would like to snap some pics or cover the event more fully, drop us a line. You can check out the official launch website here.

Filed Under: General News, Other Games, Starcraft 2 Tagged With:

Oceanic Soap Box: What’s Got You Excited?

January 25, 2013 by

oceanic-soap-box

Most people are back into the swing of day-to-day activities after the Xmas / New Year period, and that well and truly includes games developers. There’s been some great announcements already this year, not least of which is the release of the opening cinematic for Starcraft 2’s first expansion, Heart of the Swarm. If you haven’t seen it already, here it is:

Here’s where you come in: what games have you excited for this year? For me Heart of the Swarm is one, Marvel Heroes another and the upcoming Sim City release has me drooling as well. What about you?

Filed Under: General News, Other Games, Starcraft 2 Tagged With: