Starcraft II

[Tengen]

Starcraft is definitely intense. After several years of (sporadic) playing, I'm still pretty weak. My fiancee and I occasionally play LAN games against computer opponents and I still marvel at how much I'd have to learn to be a good player. I'm not the gamer I used to be, so I don't even entertain thoughts of becoming much stronger.

I don't even want to think about Starcraft II, but I'll probably check it out at some point as I inevitably play every game Blizzard releases.

[Phelan]

I've always been mediocre at RTSes. I sometimes know the tactics and strategies pretty well, but I'm too slow. I'm a mediocre player at best, except at Multiwinia, where I'm a medium player. I made top 50 on one gametype.

[rubin427]

It will be interesting to see if their implementation of game replays in SC2 make the game close to being a perfect information game during review.

I don't mind hidden information during the game. Fog of war is an important game mechanic. But after the match, I want to be able to see exactly how I inevitably lost.

There are no "hero units" like in WC3, are there? That was annoying.

Not that it matters, there's about zero chance my computer meets minimum requirements.

[Solomon]

It will be interesting to see if their implementation of game replays in SC2 make the game close to being a perfect information game during review.

I don't mind hidden information during the game. Fog of war is an important game mechanic. But after the match, I want to be able to see exactly how I inevitably lost.

There are no "hero units" like in WC3, are there? That was annoying.

Not that it matters, there's about zero chance my computer meets minimum requirements.

Nope, no hero units. Also, the game replay functionality is mind-blowing. You can even toggle a "Player Camera" mode that actually shows you what the player you're observing was looking at and clicking on throughout the game (which can be a bit nauseating if you're watching a player who has very high APM and only looks at one part of a map for less than a second or two). And of course, tons of statistics available at your disposal, so with all these features yes I think the reviewing implementation is very much near perfect information. I analyze my own replays and find so many mistakes, reminds me of my 20k days in Go whenever I would review and find so many mistakes.

[Jedo]

Just finished my ranking matches and got put in silver league, which is fine for me.Is it true they're shutting down the beta soon? Only two weeks till I get home and buy a new comp...

[Solomon]

Just finished my ranking matches and got put in silver league, which is fine for me.Is it true they're shutting down the beta soon? Only two weeks till I get home and buy a new comp...

I've read rumors that it'll shut down at the end of May, but no official word on it. I think the WC3 beta shut down 1 month before its release, so if they do the same for SC2 then it should be till late June.

[Violence]

I love Starcraft even though I suck at it, I'm going to enjoy watching broadcasts of SCII when they start doing it.

[Jonas]

Maybe we can arrange some kind of L19 Starcraft-Clan or something

If anyone is interested I'd like to play a warcraft 3 match, too (like AT or 1on1).

[ketchup]

That Nal.Ra show is amazing. Glad team liquid is translating it. Gonna have to marathon it today!

[Li Kao]

Maybe we can arrange some kind of L19 Starcraft-Clan or something

We already have the reverse. There is a #teamliquid channel on KGS.
And if this forum gets a social group feature like GD.com, I'll recreate the TL group.

I'm in SC2 beta too, but haven't played much since my comp barely able to play it.

[Jonas]

That Nal.Ra show is amazing. Glad team liquid is translating it. Gonna have to marathon it today!

Watched all released episodes yesterday and after EP6 I immediately preordered SC2
I followed the SC-Pro Scene a while back when I used to play WC3 very itensivly but I never actually played SC (besides some LAN-Partys etc.) hope I can get the hang of SC2.
Is "Hyung Joon becomes a pro" worth watching?

[Solomon]

Is "Hyung Joon becomes a pro" worth watching?

I thought it was...decent. The main reason I didn't enjoy it as much as Nal_rA's show is that Nal_rA's quest to return to the pro scene just feels a lot more authentic and real than Hyung Joon's quest to become one because of Nal_rA's background. Hyung Joon, on the other hand, is already a huge celebrity in Korea as a singer, so there's little motivation for him to work hard and train as diligently as Nal_rA to accomplish his goal. For Hyung Joon, it's just something for him to do on the side. For Nal_rA, it's his life.

[Jedo]

Maybe we can arrange some kind of L19 Starcraft-Clan or something

Yes, an L19 clan would be awesome. Once the actual game hits we should all share info for grudge matches

[Jonas]

Is "Hyung Joon becomes a pro" worth watching?

I thought it was...decent. The main reason I didn't enjoy it as much as Nal_rA's show is that Nal_rA's quest to return to the pro scene just feels a lot more authentic and real than Hyung Joon's quest to become one because of Nal_rA's background. Hyung Joon, on the other hand, is already a huge celebrity in Korea as a singer, so there's little motivation for him to work hard and train as diligently as Nal_rA to accomplish his goal. For Hyung Joon, it's just something for him to do on the side. For Nal_rA, it's his life.

Okay I've watched the first two episodes and so far I've to agree. Hyung Joon doesnt act very authentic, seems like he doesnt want to become a progamer because he really likes the game but only because of PR-reasons.
Hope Episode 7 will get subbed very soon : ) Or maybe I should watch it without subs...

And there is another happy message: I've got my SC2 Betakey this morning I've a very important exam the day after tomorrow so I guess I'll start playing some games on weekend or next week. I'm not a total RTS-Noob (as mentioned in previous post) but I havent played starcraft on battle.net. Do you guys have any tips or suggestions which race I should start with? After watching Nal_rA I would prefer playing Toss but I dont know if this is a good race for beginners. Are there any tutorial videos (for build etc.) out there?

[Solomon]

Is "Hyung Joon becomes a pro" worth watching?

I thought it was...decent. The main reason I didn't enjoy it as much as Nal_rA's show is that Nal_rA's quest to return to the pro scene just feels a lot more authentic and real than Hyung Joon's quest to become one because of Nal_rA's background. Hyung Joon, on the other hand, is already a huge celebrity in Korea as a singer, so there's little motivation for him to work hard and train as diligently as Nal_rA to accomplish his goal. For Hyung Joon, it's just something for him to do on the side. For Nal_rA, it's his life.

Okay I've watched the first two episodes and so far I've to agree. Hyung Joon doesnt act very authentic, seems like he doesnt want to become a progamer because he really likes the game but only because of PR-reasons.
Hope Episode 7 will get subbed very soon : ) Or maybe I should watch it without subs...

And there is another happy message: I've got my SC2 Betakey this morning I've a very important exam the day after tomorrow so I guess I'll start playing some games on weekend or next week. I'm not a total RTS-Noob (as mentioned in previous post) but I havent played starcraft on battle.net. Do you guys have any tips or suggestions which race I should start with? After watching Nal_rA I would prefer playing Toss but I dont know if this is a good race for beginners. Are there any tutorial videos (for build etc.) out there?

Cool . The general consensus I've heard is that Protoss and Terran are more beginner-friendly than Zerg, mostly because managing the Queen isn't as simple as Chrono Boosting buildings (Protoss) or launching MULEs (Terran). You also have to be concerned about controlling parts of the map with the creep, but I think the biggest factor should be just finding the race you're most comfortable with. Get the hang of that race after about 40-50 games (Isn't there a Starcraft proverb, lose your first 50 games quickly? ) and then try the other races to make sure you know how they work and the multitude of features and pros/cons about them. I'm a Protoss player, but that's because I've been using Protoss since SC1 way back.

Regarding videos, there are definitely a handful. The one I really enjoyed that I think is great for beginners is the "I Suck at Starcraft" videos; not a very great title for the show, but I've found the content of the video to be excellent. Here is the first video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92Rv-s-7rNk - the guy who does the video is definitely not a beginner, iirc he is a mid-Platinum player. I also enjoy HDStarcraft and HuskyStarcraft's commentary videos, they are actually hosting an invitational right now and commentating together: http://www.youtube.com/user/huskystarcraft?blend=1&ob=4

And finally, TL has a wiki which I always refer back to from time to time: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Main_Page

I've been a bit busy recently with exams, but I do play online from time to time - so if you find me, we should play . Believe me, I am also not very good right now and still in the transition from SC1 to 2. My handle is "Tenuki.sente".