![shaftwhores only by [EXE]dann](/files/avatars/2007/51852-shaftwhore.gif "shaftwhores only by [EXE]dann"){kind=small}
For those of you who aren't lucky enough to be in beta yet, here's my view of the beta so far:
- The naming system is great. You get a main name, that can be anything, and an identifier name (that isn't displayed) which can be used to verify an identity, or for adding to friends lists.
- Graphics are absolutely stunning at highest detail, and the requirements for lowest settings are absurdly low. Some animations/graphics aren't done yet. Many units (especially zerg) still suffer from visibility issues, and this is exponentially worse in mirror matchups. This also makes it so streams need to be much better quality in order to see what is going on.
- Sound/music is true to the original, but with a new twist. Not a fan of the female voice for the Zerg announcer, but there are still some sounds that need work, and there's no way to know how much is final.
- Ladder/placement/matchmaking system works very well. Actual elo system with bronze/copper/silver/gold/platinum/pro divisions! Pro division and tournament support are not in beta yet.
- Replays have nearly full FP support. You don't see the actual mouse positions, but you see the screen move to where it is in real time, and you see all unit selection/mouse clicks. Additionally, there are now about a dozen overlays you can turn on that show all sorts of info like unit count, APM, how the player has invested in tech/econ/army, resources, etc.. All of this, and replays are NO bigger than standard SC replays!
- Gameplay is impressively balanced. When it first came out, there were a LOT of complaints, but now that there are working builds, almost every "X IS OP" cry is gone. There are a few units that could use improvement, but there isn't anything that is really overpowered right now. It's actually impressive how balanced this is for a beta. The game itself feels very much like SC, but somewhat different. Overall, the speed of the game feels 25-50% faster than SC. =X
- The novice league is played at Fast gameplay speed (instead of fastest) and you can only play on novice maps. Novice maps are identical to regular maps (almost every map has a regular and novice version), but the chokepoint to your natural expansion has a 2000HP rock in front of it. No rushing, no scouting. Works VERY well.
- Netcode seems solid, but beta is split between regions, so we can't test how it holds up internationally. Hoping that changes soon, as it would be extremely gay if it stays this way.
- Macro mechanics have easily made up for MBS/automine, and it might even be a little HARDER to macro now. D=
All in all, SC2 beta is amazingly good. Invites are still going out randomly in each phase, so it's not too late to sign up. Expect SC2 to kill SC and WC3.
- The naming system is great. You get a main name, that can be anything, and an identifier name (that isn't displayed) which can be used to verify an identity, or for adding to friends lists.
- Graphics are absolutely stunning at highest detail, and the requirements for lowest settings are absurdly low. Some animations/graphics aren't done yet. Many units (especially zerg) still suffer from visibility issues, and this is exponentially worse in mirror matchups. This also makes it so streams need to be much better quality in order to see what is going on.
- Sound/music is true to the original, but with a new twist. Not a fan of the female voice for the Zerg announcer, but there are still some sounds that need work, and there's no way to know how much is final.
- Ladder/placement/matchmaking system works very well. Actual elo system with bronze/copper/silver/gold/platinum/pro divisions! Pro division and tournament support are not in beta yet.
- Replays have nearly full FP support. You don't see the actual mouse positions, but you see the screen move to where it is in real time, and you see all unit selection/mouse clicks. Additionally, there are now about a dozen overlays you can turn on that show all sorts of info like unit count, APM, how the player has invested in tech/econ/army, resources, etc.. All of this, and replays are NO bigger than standard SC replays!
- Gameplay is impressively balanced. When it first came out, there were a LOT of complaints, but now that there are working builds, almost every "X IS OP" cry is gone. There are a few units that could use improvement, but there isn't anything that is really overpowered right now. It's actually impressive how balanced this is for a beta. The game itself feels very much like SC, but somewhat different. Overall, the speed of the game feels 25-50% faster than SC. =X
- The novice league is played at Fast gameplay speed (instead of fastest) and you can only play on novice maps. Novice maps are identical to regular maps (almost every map has a regular and novice version), but the chokepoint to your natural expansion has a 2000HP rock in front of it. No rushing, no scouting. Works VERY well.
- Netcode seems solid, but beta is split between regions, so we can't test how it holds up internationally. Hoping that changes soon, as it would be extremely gay if it stays this way.
- Macro mechanics have easily made up for MBS/automine, and it might even be a little HARDER to macro now. D=
All in all, SC2 beta is amazingly good. Invites are still going out randomly in each phase, so it's not too late to sign up. Expect SC2 to kill SC and WC3.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | |
Edited by Demiurge at 22:47 CST, 24 February 2010 - 24848 Hits
mkeiy
