Official PC Gamers Topic V3

[Reconite]

 

I have to confess I don't "get" Starcraft 2 perhaps I am missing the reason why it is so good because I am not a big fan of online multiplayer ?  I am not dissing the game I am sure those that do enjoy Starcraft consider it the best game ever but for me it just looks like a bog standard RTS and it doesn't even look that "good" either (give me World In Conflict any day of the week).

I guess people just had really low standards for a mainstream PC RTS after Command and Conquer 4's failure (so it made it seem like SC2 is the best RTS ever made or something). Especially since it's the seventh generation of video gaming (read: destroyer of PC franchises). I was never that much of a StarCraft fan, can't wait for Diablo III though.

 

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is still my favourite RTS, I was actually just playing it earlier. Objective 2 for the mission I was on was "Destroy all Nod forces" and GOD DAMN THAT ONE INVISIBLE THINGY going around the map took me way too long to find. Frustrating at times but still f*cking awesome.

Edited July 28, 2010 by Reconite

[OverTheBelow]

I have to confess I don't "get" Starcraft 2 perhaps I am missing the reason why it is so good because I am not a big fan of online multiplayer ? I am not dissing the game I am sure those that do enjoy Starcraft consider it the best game ever but for me it just looks like a bog standard RTS and it doesn't even look that "good" either (give me World In Conflict any day of the week).

 

Anyway I hope those that have Starcraft 2 are enjoying the game and when you come up for air have a look at this article :-

It is really good. Well balanced, fun and the graphics are some of the best I've seen on an RTS; particularly in the cutscenes the people look very realistic.

[DML]

 

I have to confess I don't "get" Starcraft 2 perhaps I am missing the reason why it is so good because I am not a big fan of online multiplayer ?

StarCraft is just another space/futuristic RTS game, but done very well. It's of a similar theme and gameplay setup to Dark Reign (an under-rated game IMO).

 

I don't play much of the true-online multiplayer of it or any RTS game...mostly either single player or coop multiplayer. Mind you, Blizzard did screw up the LAN play options...by not including any. All local multiplayer must be done through Battle.net (they've done a bit of a Rockstar there).

Edited July 28, 2010 by DML

[ilya]

Was part of that 800k pre-order figure, with the CE. But as I realised that I didn't really give a sh*t about any of the extras, except for the 'dogtag', I cancelled and bought the regular version instead.

 

Hope it sells very well, because, while not being the best RTS ever like some are hyping it, it does indeed do the series justice, unlike other recent RTS disgraces. Yeah, no LAN is a major, possibly game-breaking downside for those that use it (e.g. S. Korea ), with it being Blizzard's intention of forcing the expansion of Battle.net for all MP. With no chatrooms and region-locking, we'll see how that goes... Though, again, all I care about online is solo 1v1 and, judging from an unhealthy amount of time on the beta, it's smooth sailing for that.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Supreme.

[[SM]CJZera]

I totally didn't see SC2 coming... I still remember I used to be on a Starcraft forum by the time they announced... gotta try and get me a copy of it anytime soon

Edited July 28, 2010 by [SM]CJZera

[ilya]

I've two guest passes (codes), that allow you to download the client and play for 7 hours, if anyone's interested..

 

Edit: Done and done.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2010 by Supreme.

[baptiste]

I got the collectors edition. Blizzard know their sh*t, that edition is serious business. Installing now, I doubt I'll have time to play it tonight, I could, but I most likely wouldnt sleep.

 

I'll see how it is tomorrow.

 

@Reconite, its been out a day, why the instant hate? You play it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GTA3Freak-2001]

I think you will find not all SCII owners get it for its online multiplayer, like me I just enjoy the campaign and story side of things and I am unlikely to even touch the online stuff! As others have said sure it is another RTS set in Space but its done extremely well and with polish as is the usual with Blizzard's stuff, the attention to detail with the lore is what I think the key is with all of Blizzard's work.

[Reconite]

@Reconite, its been out a day, why the instant hate? You play it?

Who said I was hating it? I haven't even played it so I don't think I have any right to hate it at this moment. I'm just saying that I've never been that much of a StarCraft fan.

[NinjaWJ]

do any of u recommend SC2? i was thinkin bout getting it. I liked the old Starcraft and Broodwar. i really like RTS games but im not a huge multiplayer gamer on any of them. do u guys think i should get this?

[GTA3Freak-2001]

Yeah totally if you liked the old game and expansion for its single player then there would be something wrong with you if you didn't enjoy SC2, everything is there, the awesome music, awesome cinematics, its like if Starcraft the original was made today. Its got everything that was great about the original without feeling like a rehash.

[mkey82]

But how come there's no AA? Don't get me wrong, I don't really care, but this is the first non-ported A game release as far as I can recall that doesn't have antialiasing.

[baptiste]

@Reconite, its been out a day, why the instant hate? You play it?

Who said I was hating it? I haven't even played it so I don't think I have any right to hate it at this moment. I'm just saying that I've never been that much of a StarCraft fan.

Idk, pretty much said it was a game of extremly low-standards.

[Reconite]

Idk, pretty much said it was a game of extremly low-standards.

Nah, I meant that because C&C4 was so bad everyone lowered their standards for SC2 so now it seems like the best RTS ever made, that's not to say it's bad but I doubt it's that good.

[CharmingCharlie]

 

But how come there's no AA? Don't get me wrong, I don't really care, but this is the first non-ported A game release as far as I can recall that doesn't have antialiasing.

Yeah I raised an eyebrow or 2 at that, I mean if we can't get a dedicated PC developer to support something as basic as AA on the PC how the hell are we to expect multiplatform developers to do it ? Apparently if you have Nvidia hardware you can force AA via the driver control panel (not acceptable in my books). However ATI users are left out in the cold, this is what ATI had to say about the whole thing :-

 

 

AMD constantly strives to deliver great gaming experiences for our customers and the upcoming launch of Starcraft II is no exception. Blizzard's focus on incredible game play for all, means that gamers using ATI Radeon™ products can enjoy smooth HD gameplay and industry leading image quality with our current generation of ATI Radeon products as well as many of our past generation cards.

 

In discussions during the development of StarCraft II, Blizzard indicated that they would not initially include options to set levels of in-game anti-aliasing ("AA”). This meant that support for AA within StarCraft II would only be made possible by including it in the driver, an approach that could significantly impact performance. Some third party reviews of the Starcraft II beta echo our concerns that AA can cause gameplay impairment. In these reviews, the third parties found that 4x AA led to a reduction in fps rendering at lower screen resolutions, which only became more noticeable at larger resolutions. After evaluating our options, our engineering team opted not to provide AA support for StarCraft II within the Catalyst Control Center, even though the competition has included AA support in their driver at launch.

 

We are committed to making AA perform at an acceptable level before we release it to our customers. We will continue to work with Blizzard on this matter and hope to offer our customers an acceptable AA solution at a later date.

source

 

I don't mean to belittle Starcraft 2 and the lack of AA is a relatively "minor" thing but it is the principle of it. This game should have had AA it was done by a PC developer and for them to not implement is surprising to say the least.

[OverTheBelow]

 

But how come there's no AA? Don't get me wrong, I don't really care, but this is the first non-ported A game release as far as I can recall that doesn't have antialiasing.

Yeah I raised an eyebrow or 2 at that, I mean if we can't get a dedicated PC developer to support something as basic as AA on the PC how the hell are we to expect multiplatform developers to do it ? Apparently if you have Nvidia hardware you can force AA via the driver control panel (not acceptable in my books). However ATI users are left out in the cold, this is what ATI had to say about the whole thing :-

 

 

AMD constantly strives to deliver great gaming experiences for our customers and the upcoming launch of Starcraft II is no exception. Blizzard's focus on incredible game play for all, means that gamers using ATI Radeon™ products can enjoy smooth HD gameplay and industry leading image quality with our current generation of ATI Radeon products as well as many of our past generation cards.

 

In discussions during the development of StarCraft II, Blizzard indicated that they would not initially include options to set levels of in-game anti-aliasing ("AA”). This meant that support for AA within StarCraft II would only be made possible by including it in the driver, an approach that could significantly impact performance. Some third party reviews of the Starcraft II beta echo our concerns that AA can cause gameplay impairment. In these reviews, the third parties found that 4x AA led to a reduction in fps rendering at lower screen resolutions, which only became more noticeable at larger resolutions. After evaluating our options, our engineering team opted not to provide AA support for StarCraft II within the Catalyst Control Center, even though the competition has included AA support in their driver at launch.

 

We are committed to making AA perform at an acceptable level before we release it to our customers. We will continue to work with Blizzard on this matter and hope to offer our customers an acceptable AA solution at a later date.

source

 

I don't mean to belittle Starcraft 2 and the lack of AA is a relatively "minor" thing but it is the principle of it. This game should have had AA it was done by a PC developer and for them to not implement is surprising to say the least.

I was surprised too but to be honest it's not as noticeable as say, GTA4 with no AA. I have no idea why, but GTA 4 looks like a complete mess without it when compared to SC2.

 

 

To those who are only interested in the single player, although it is a 1000000% improvement over the first one (huge production values it seems), you MUST try some of the 'Use Map Settings' maps on multiplayer. Games like Turret Defence (create turrets along a line to stop enemies), Bounds (use the zergling to get through a track of explosions) and potentially diablo 3-based maps are just not worthy of missing. The map editor is extremely capable on this game.

Edited July 29, 2010 by OverTheBelow

[Creed Bratton]

Is there solo game mode like in Warcraft 3 where I can just create a game against CPU? I doubt I'll get the game any time soon but if I do I don't care about online multiplayer.

[OverTheBelow]

Is there solo game mode like in Warcraft 3 where I can just create a game against CPU? I doubt I'll get the game any time soon but if I do I don't care about online multiplayer.

Yes there is.

[baptiste]

I havnt tried the multi yet, and while I know its the main show, I think it must be noted that the extreme diversity in singleplayer is bloody awesome. They include all these little funky games mechanics everytime which really switch it up, its great.

[mkey82]

Blizzard indicated that they would not initially include options to set levels of in-game anti-aliasing ("AA”)

Well, that's my point, they haven't included it. And ATI has shown their neglect when it comes to hacking their drivers in the past (like with Batman for instance).

 

Proof of lazy coding if you ask me, if R* was publishing this game we would all be breathing down their necks by now.

[DML]

Proof of lazy coding if you ask me, if R* was publishing this game we would all be breathing down their necks by now.

It's either lazy programming or just prioritizing on a tight deadline. The only reason Rockstar Games would be whipped by us is because they are no-good console whores. At least Blizzard bother and know how to make neat, clean PC games (even when they may miss a few features such as LAN play and AA).

[mkey82]

Yeah, it's like if they missed a few features like keyboard and mouse support. Stuff like that makes PC gaming what it is.

[Reconite]

I don't agree that AA is actually that important a feature for PC games to have to be comparing it to a mouse and keyboard. Anti-Aliasing is not the staple of PC gaming, it's just a minor graphics upgrade to smooth the jaggies. It seems like you guys are just nitpicking.

 

The lack of LAN is a totally understandable thing to bitch about, though. I wonder if they'll pull that sh*t with Diablo 3.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Reconite

[mkey82]

Well, maybe I was referencing LAN more specifically, no? AA may not be that important, but it's definitively stuff that defines PC gaming, as I already stated above.

[OverTheBelow]

The lack of LAN is a totally understandable thing to bitch about, though. I wonder if they'll pull that sh*t with Diablo 3.

I have a feeling they'll patch it in eventually, seeing as how many people have LAN parties with the first Starcraft.

[Creed Bratton]

ATI released a hotfix for 10.7 drivers adding support for Starcraft 2 AA through CCC

[OverTheBelow]

 

ATI released a hotfix for 10.7 drivers adding support for Starcraft 2 AA through CCC

Didn't they say they 'opted out' of that?

[Creed Bratton]

 

ATI released a hotfix for 10.7 drivers adding support for Starcraft 2 AA through CCC

Didn't they say they 'opted out' of that?

F*ck if I know I'm just a messenger

[mkey82]

No, they said they are working on it. Which only gave some Nvidia fanboys more crap to gloat about. Now I guess they had their mouths shut air tight hehe

[oldage]

I really hope DICE gets BF3 right (more like BF2, not BC2).

does anyone know if it'll be on consoles? because then there's a high chance it'll hold the game "back"...no? (unless DICE takes their time and develop a seperate console version)