StarCraft II Beta Signups Open

motang writes "StarCraftWire reports that Blizzard has started taking beta sign-ups for StarCraft II. Quoting: 'Interested parties must simply visit their Battle.net profile page, choose to opt-in for the beta, and re-submit their current system specs by way of a small downloadable piece of software.' Blizzard's Chris Sigaty said in an interview, 'As with previous betas for our real-time strategy games, the StarCraft II beta test will be multiplayer only, and players will have access to all three races — terrans, protoss, and zerg — and all of their units. We'll include a selection of multiplayer maps, but they won't necessarily include all of the maps that will be in the final version of the game. We're making some great progress on the single-player campaign, but we don't plan to do a public beta since we want to keep the story under wraps until the game's out.'"

I signed up yesterday

[orclevegam]

I signed up for this yesterday but so far haven't received any notification. My guess is Blizzard will just select from the pool of everyone that applies, possibly selecting based on hardware specs for a wide variety of system configs.

Patience, young Padawan

[Y2KDragon]

Give them time. I'm sure they're going to pull from a large enough group to get newer and older systems as well. Various hardware and OS configurations need to be tested to be sure of getting a good cross section. If they just opened up the sign-ups, the testing will likely start sometime in the next month or so.

Re:I signed up yesterday

[ScytheBlade1]

You'll notice that this is an opt-in for future game betas. It's much more likely, knowing Blizzard, that you or anyone else will not get any notification for weeks at best.

I wouldn't worry about not getting a notice. It isn't SC2 specific. The title is misleading, but SC2 will be the next beta we see, so it "fits."

Re:

[Niris]

I chuckled at the statement that summer doesn't start for another 1-1/2 months :p Then again, I'm from the deserts in western America. We're already hitting over 105Â days :p

Back into the Internet Lexicon...

[GPLDAN]

I was beginning to feel old when I used the term "Zerg Rush" to describe anything involving lots of people swarming to get at something. By younger IT colleagues would roll their eyes at the "old man" with his dated terms.

Now there will be a new generation of geeks who will learn the power of the Zerg...

Re:

[conspirator57]

unless the zerg got nerfed :p

Re:

[orclevegam]

I once had an argument with one of my friends (big Zerg fan) that a "Zerg Rush" wasn't anything specific to the Zerg, simply the only tactic you can reasonably use with them. I resolved the argument by performing a Zealot Rush and wiping out his piddling Zerg base. Antaro Adun!

Re:

[redJag]

Well of course Zerg Rush is specific to the Zerg.. it has the word Zerg in it! Rushing is a more general word that describes forsaking "teching" and building up an economy to get out units as fast as possible and try to catch your opponent with his pants down. The Zerg Rush is so well known because they are the fastest, but less so than in previous patches.

Re:

[orclevegam]

Noob. 1) Zerg rush isn't the only tactic available to the Zerg. 2) The name originates from creating as many cheap zergling as you can and sending them as early as you can in hopes of surprising your enemy.

Try re-reading my post, you fail at reading comprehension. All the Zerg have is a cheap early advantage, once you get to a longer running game with higher tech trees the Zerg can easily be wiped out because any of the other races more expensive units are more than a match for even the most powerful of the Zerg units. The only hope for Zerg is an early win with overwhelming numbers, hence Zerg Rush. You can however perform a rush with any race, it's just usually better to invest those early resources in buil

Re:

[BlitzTech]

Tell me, if Protoss and Terran are clearly superior to Zerg, then why do all of these professional Starcraft players [wikipedia.org] choose Zerg? Maybe because the differences in races are better exploitable by different players with different strategies? Claiming that the Zerg are terrible because they only have cheap units shows that you have never played a decent Zerg player.

And if you wiped him with 3 zealots, then he is not a good example of a Zerg player. Decent players can fend off 3 zealots with 11 drones.

Re:

[orclevegam]

I never said they were terrible, just that a successful Zerg game relies on a early victory. Once you've reached the higher levels of the tech trees the Zerg can no longer compete against the other two races. The Zerg can easily defeat one of the other races if they pump out enough units early on and their opponent has been focusing on climbing the tech tree rather than also pumping out their cheaper low level units.

Being that it was early in the game and he was focusing on building out his basic infrastr

Re:

[BlitzTech]

Watch some of the pro replays. There are people worlds better than your friend, than you, than me, and than most people you encounter online. Your blanket statement is patently false, as evidenced by these replays. Zerg can survive and win late game.

Re:

[the_B0fh]

pointers to where you can find these replays? thanks

Re:

[BlitzTech]

Google Starleague [wikipedia.org] and some combination of replay, download, watch, and finals. There are a number hosted on youtube; I've never found a good single source for the replays. There is commentary in Korean, and occasional shots of the fans, but the games are well covered and those guys are amazingly good at SC.

Re:Back into the Internet Lexicon...

[toad3k]

Your understanding of the game is poor.

Zerg do not have to win early. In fact if left alone, a zerg will expand twice as fast as the other races, culminating in wave after wave of hundreds of units. They may have weaker units, but their unit production is so much faster that it greatly affects their resource production. They also have much more nimble units and the ability to cross the map meaning they can hold these expansions with relatively small forces.

It is obvious you stopped playing 8 years ago, and the game has advanced so far you simply can't even conceive of it. I'm not saying that to insult you, but it is true. Neither you or your newbie friend would be able to win a single game in 20 against even the worst players on iccup.

Re:

[orclevegam]

I think it's been closer to 7 years, and I've got no idea what iccup is (did they replace battle.net?). Unless they nerfed protoss badly in addition to buffing the Zerg I'd still stand a pretty good chance against most players, I doubt they've done anything too drastic like removing protos carriers so fundamentally the game should still be the same. I assume if the Zerg can hold their own in a long running game they've been given something more powerful than a mutalisk (probably the most powerful Zerg unit

Re:

[orclevegam]

My statement still stands. I'd still stand a good chance against most players, as most players are not at the level of competition gamers. Just because you can have your ass handed to you by someone that makes a living playing the game doesn't mean you suck, it just means they're very very good. Professional level players are probably less than 10% of all the players out there. Also, I never claimed to be a bad ass player, just that I could stand up to most players (IE average players).

Re:

[Cornflake917]

You would stand a good chance against most players 7 years ago. Now? Not so much. I think the acronym APM didn't even exist 7 years ago.

Re:

[toad3k]

Carriers are nearly worthless against zerg, they can be plagued and ensnared, they can be scourged, and hydras can be dark swarmed making them invulnerable for a considerable amount of time. They are expensive investments and while you are producing them your ground forces stand a good chance of being overwhelmed.

Honestly you sound like I would have a year ago. I suggest you make an account on iccup, patch up your broodwar (or download a non legit copy on iccup), use their anti hack launcher and proceed t

Re:

[Bobfrankly1]

Try re-reading my post, you fail at reading comprehension.

You fail at Starcraft comprehension. Most Zerg players only play to the rush aspect of Zerg. You would seem to fall into this category. However, the Zerg are very capable of lasting even the longest battles. One way is using the queen to put an eye out into enemy forces and a defiler's spell to slowly leech away health. The terrans and protoss may have simple brute strength at the top of thier tech trees, but the Zerg can be even more rewarding once you learn how to play to their strengths.

Man, I'm reachi

Re:

[orclevegam]

I've found the best use for Zerg is to capture one using a dark archon and then just build lurkers, they're really the most useful unit the Zerg have. If I can last long enough to have my carrier fleet built and a dark archon it's pretty much all over as I'll go capture the other two races and combine the best of all of them. On defense a wall of lurkers, followed by photon cannons, and backed by seige tanks will stop almost anything, particularly with a cloaked carrier fleet hanging above it. On offense th

Re:

[Bobfrankly1]

I loved watching my friend's teleport in a fleet of carriers, and watching them fall rather quickly, even though they had full shields, their armor had been reduced to rubble by my defilers that were burrowed a short distance from his base. Of course, this all depends on the player making sure his army targets the carriers, and not the drones (interceptors?) flying out of them.

Re:

[Bobfrankly1]

Guardians are also pretty useful, but they have to have cover against air attacks, and the brood war air to air mixed with a squad of hydras is prety effective. Guardians outreach turrets making them awesome for base decimation and ground unit thinning.

Re:

[Picticon]

Granted, it has been quite a few years since I played, but I loved using zerg to pwn carrier rush noobs like you. Defilers + dark swarm + hydras + lurkers. I think dark swarm was one of the least understood abilities in the game. But once someone figured it out, it was quite powerful against the "air only" tactics.

Re:

[space_jake]

Three defilers and a dozen or so hydralisks can toast a carrier rush. Dark Swam + Plague.

Re:

[Vohar]

A 'rush' is not Zerg-specific, but a 'Zerg rush' in a game actually involving Zerg, definitely is. The term has become gamer slang for any kind of mindless rush in other games, but in Starcraft rushing with Zealots is not a Zerg.

kind of but oversimplified

[BitterAndDrunk]

Typically "zerg rush" involved either a 9 pool or 6 pool (amount of pop you had; 9 pools were typically dropped prior to your second overlord)

This impacted your economy significantly, since you're working from one hatchery instead of 2 in the early game, and didn't go fast gas.

There were other strats that were valid; 'ling massing vs zealots were pretty effective prior to the first forge upgrade, and were very synergistic with mutalisk follow-ups to finish off the 'toss player.

ZOMG ke ke ke ke ke...

[circletimessquare]

never doubt the power of korean gamer alliterative laughter either

Re:

[qoncept]

Yeah. When I hear someone reference a video game in real life, I think "old."

Re:

[Reapy]

I'm going to date myself more.

Rushing... I think the term actually came back from Warcraft 2 via kali. The term first got coined on shlonglor's famous war 2 page when the medium resource 7 grunt/footman rush was introduced. It was just called "Grunt Rush", and involved building no town hall but instead making 7 grunts, then immediate proceeding to your opponent and beating them with their pants down.

The strat worked because at the time each start spot was tied to your color, so you knew just where a person

Not just Starcraft 2

[FLEABttn]

It's worth noting that this beta signup also allows you to opt into Diablo and Warcraft universe beta testing as well.

Re:

[AlamedaStone]

Squeeee!!!!!!!

I heartily endorse this event or product.

Need a Blizzard game signed up w/ your account

[LiquidFire_HK]

It should be noted that in order to sign up for the beta, you apparently need to have at least one Blizzard game CD-key signed up with your battle.net account. Otherwise you get this message:

You need to have at least one Blizzard Entertainment game attached to your account in order to set up your beta profile.

Re:

[hansamurai]

Just merge with your WoW account... are you saying you never played World of Warcraft?!

Re:

[LiquidFire_HK]

I have, but it says WoW account merging is US only.

Re:

[xactoguy]

By "US only" they mean North America (or possibly the Americas) ... which still may or may not help you (I'm Canadian and merged my account just fine).

Re:

[LiquidFire_HK]

Thanks for the tip. But alas, no; I'm in Europe.

Coming Soon!
The World of Warcraft account merge process is not yet available in your region.

Re:

[ScytheBlade1]

They've stated that the beta won't start until the EU region can merge their accounts properly. It's in TFA, iirc.

Re:

[DarthVain]

You will also have to download and run an application on your computer.

So no, you can't complete this beta sign up at work like I just tried to do.

Buggers.

Re:

[LiquidFire_HK]

It probably looks at your hardware configuration, since they'll want a good varied mixture of testing hardware, so it would not be a good idea to run it on your work machine anyway.

Re:

[pdbaby]

I assume the GP is, like me, using Linux at work. I ran into the same thing. Oh well, at least they have a Mac client I can run at home :-)

Re:

[Niris]

There goes my signing up *grrr* One of the perils of Linux

Re:

[The_Myth]

I am in Australia and have two WOW accounts merged into the one Battle.Net account. Along with my D1, D2 and D2:LOD keys.

I think the US means WOW US Servers.

Re:

[LiquidFire_HK]

I think the US means WOW US Servers.

It does mean that, yes. I should have been clearer in my post. (And it will be available for the other regional servers in the future as you can see in the rest of the thread)

Re:

[AioKits]

Just merge with your WoW account... are you saying you never played World of Warcraft?!

What is this...World of Warcraft...of which you speak? Is it popular? I hope it doesn't have gold farming that ruined my Legend of the Red Dragon experience. *hide*

Re:

[Jaysyn]

Never have, but I do have a legal Warcraft II disc somewhere, did that game have a key? I can't remember.

Re:

[LiquidFire_HK]

Sorry, it won't work.

The following games are supported at this time: StarCraft, StarCraft Battle Chest, StarCraft + Extension, Warcraft III, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Warcraft III + Extension, Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, Diablo II + Extension

And World of Warcraft, though only for American accounts for now.

Re:Need a Blizzard game signed up w/ your account

[ukyoCE]

On the plus side, that means if you create a separate b.net account for each cd-key (and oh boy do I have a lot of em) you increase your chances of getting into the beta.

Re:

[MindStalker]

Any reason you have a lot of em? And can I have some? :)

Re:

[ukyoCE]

Heh...I really *should* give em away since I already have a beta SC2 key from Blizzcon last year :)

Why do I have so many?
WC2, WC2 battle chest (to get TCPIP multiplayer), WC3, Diablo2, D2 expansion, SC2, SC2 expansion. Most of those games are X2 keys because I got a copy for my wife (girlfriend at the time) to play with me a bit.

In addition, 6 WOW accounts between us (including ~4 expansion keys). This is due to dual-boxing and Recruit-a-Friend accounts, plus a botched RAF signup that they wouldn't refund

Re:

[the_B0fh]

Wouldn't it be better to get your wife in on the beta with you? :)

Or are you just another typical slashdot user who claims to have a girlfriend/wife?

Re:

[Dyinobal]

once the beta starts he'll be getting a divorce.

Re:

[ukyoCE]

She went to Blizzcon too, but I can't pretend she's as into the nerdy games as I am. Might sell her SC2 key on ebay to buy clothes/furniture ;)

Re:

[pdbaby]

...SC2, SC2 expansion

Ah HA! So that's why you have so many CD Keys. You're from the future, no doubt a history student from the year 3045 coming back to play SC2 beta so you can compare and contrast it with the retail version. But I'm on to you!

Re:

[ukyoCE]

Addendum: I'd much rather hear that they multiply beta chances by the number of games on your account, as I don't relish the idea of having 12 different battle.net accounts to keep track of.

Especially if they complete their plans to compete with Steam and offer buddy-list/chat functionality through battle.net accounts.

Re:

[Just Justin]

Yeah but I'm sure that increases your odds about as much as buying 20 lotto tickets instead of 1 does.

Late

[twidarkling]

This game's about 5 years too late for me to care anymore. I played the living snot out of Starcraft. Hell, the map editor was amazing. Friend and I made a damned hockey map. Now? Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, Supreme commander Forged Alliance, those are the games. StarCraft II will sell no matter how good or bad it is, just because it's Blizzard. But same 3 races? Sorry, Bliz, but my cash will stay mine this time.

Re:

[Jeez01]

IMO C&C RA3, SupCom all were disappointing none of them had the storyline that SC had which is why the game is so remembered.

Re:Late

[khellendros1984]

Are you kidding? Starcraft is remembered more for its multiplayer than for its story.

Re:

[ouimetch]

The reason Starcraft's multiplayer is so well renoun is because of the near perfect level of balance it had. It was so near perfect in fact that a thriving competitive market(most notably in Korea) was formed as a result of it.

Re:Late

[VeNoM0619]

The reason Starcraft's multiplayer is so well renoun is because of the near perfect level of balance it had.

Which kept getting updated and updated and updated... every Blizzard game has "balancing fixes" with each update. Starcraft has had plenty of updates as well. Sure, it's nice they try to keep the game balanced over time, but after a while it's like "how are they changing the gameplay this time? what are they going to nerf?" Too many of one character (or too many victories from one class) to them means it's overpowered and needs adjustment, because it's not a 50/50 split.

Re:Late

[timster]

That's OK. Go is thousands of years old and they keep changing the komi.

Re:

[Ryandav]

Man I wish I had mod points...

++insightful

Re:

[bar-agent]

Too many of one character (or too many victories from one class) to them means it's overpowered and needs adjustment, because it's not a 50/50 split.

You mean a 33 1/3, 33 1/3, 33 1/3 split.

HTH.

Re:

[Mitreya]

Are you kidding? Starcraft is remembered more for its multiplayer than for its story.

Perhaps by you. I have played multi-player SC, but except for the fact that it was fun I can't remember anything else.
But I'll remember the story for a long time. Heck, my laptop's name is Tassadar!

Re:

[ouimetch]

I am personally glad that Blizzard decided to put a lot of extra time into this game. The longer the better in my opinion. Too many gaming sequels have been short changed because of a such a rush to get a product out there while the market is still hot(first one that comes to mind is Halo 2).

Starcraft 2 is going to be an excellent sequel because of the fact that they are not rushing it.

Re:

[jandrese]

I wanted to like C&C3 and RA3, but both of them used the same network code that doesn't seem to understand how to go through my NAT box, making online play impossible. I still don't understand how a game released in 2008 can be foiled by NAT, I mean it seems like the sort of thing the developers might have considered when making the game... Their online help is a total joke too. The diagnostic tools are from Ultima Online (which uses, as best I can tell, completely different net code) and they don't

Re:

[Bobfrankly1]

Forged Alliance! Woot! Nothing like that moment when your Commander goes up in a flash of white mushroom cloud!

At least Blizzard isn't just rendering the same units in 3-D, they're coming up with some interesting looking new units. The protoss have a War of the Worlds looking Stalker unit, and the Terrans have a transforming Land/Air unit that could be alot of fun.

Re:

[twidarkling]

Actually, since Blizzard only has 3 IPs, or 2.5, if you wanna consider Starcraft an offshoot of Warcraft, Blizzard should care that I don't care. If there's going to be 10 years between installments, they need to bring something new to the table. The same 3 races with the same basic attributes are not something new. People will just find equivalents to the old units, and the game will feel much like the first, with prettier graphics. You know the first bit of excitement I had over SCII? The April Fool's Day

Re:

[Cornflake917]

Have you played DIII and SC2? Do you know what the games will be like when they are released? No? Then stop making assumptions and shut up.

For the record, Blizzard games never brought any thing new to the table. They take established concepts and refine them until the game is fun and balanced. You contradict yourself by saying you were their core audience, and then bash their games which haven't even entered public beta yet.

Re:

[nobdoor]

It's better to adhere to tried and true game mechanics than drastically change the gameplay just for the sake of change. The game is called Starcraft2. It should retain the core mechanics of its predecessor because it's a sequel. My case in point is Dawn of War 2. Relic has alienated its core audience by making a game that doesn't resemble its successful predecessor. I consider DoW2 a sequel to DoW only in name. It should have been called something else, because its completely different from what came

Re:

[brkello]

Yeah, and you and your tiny minority can go play other games while the rest of us millions have fun. But let's be honest, you are going to end up buying them anyways. Even if Starcraft was just a graphical update (which it isn't), it would be fun to play a modern version. Blizzard makes quality/polished games. Either you like them or you have bad taste (or you liked bnetd).

Well..

[hom3chuk]

I'll definitely screw up with exams this month. Definitely. God bless Blizzard.

Starcraft II in beta...

[andytrevino]

Well, there goes the remainder of my academic career. For Aiur!!

Re:

[KingPin27]

ADUN KALIFOS! FOR ADUN!

Beta Codes

[AAMP31B]

If you have the cards from Blizzcon or the World Wide Invitational you can use those for this beta too. Just use mine so once invites start going out should be getting mine.

Web site down _already_?!

[node159]

Wow, I think thats the fastest slashdot'ing I have ever seen...

Re:

[AAMP31B]

I had problem getting to the site also, I had to go to "us.battle.net" instead of "www.battle.net" was kinda weird.

Re:

[PetriBORG]

I had that problem the first time I tried it, I just closed it and relaunched it... It then uploaded w/o problem.

No Linux?

[SEWilco]

No Linux, no interest. I won't make my machines susceptible to zerg infection in order to play.

Re:

[MooseMuffin]

Yea, Blizzard is in for a big surprise if they think they'll ever be a successful company without officially supporting linux. /eyeroll

Re:

[AaxelB]

Well, some number of us would certainly be happier if they shipped a linux version. They've always been about making the best product they can (and making scads of money in the meanwhile, of course), and it could be worth their while, though it's hard to estimate how many linux users would buy it.

That said, there's no point complaining, so I'm hoping to get it working in Wine, or else I'll throw a spare hard drive in my desktop and install Windows.

Re:

[Yvan256]

On the other hand, I've heard they try to make their games run fine under WINE.

Re:

[castironpigeon]

This is because:
1. Every geek in the universe plays at least one Blizzard game and Linux geeks are no exception.
2. Blizzard games take so long to make they're technologically obsolete before they are released.

UNIX though

[LanMan04]

They've got UNIX covered though, that works for me.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/unix.html [apple.com]

"Leopard is an Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product, conforming to the SUSv3 and POSIX 1003.1 specifications for the C API, Shell Utilities, and Threads. Since Leopard can compile and run all your existing UNIX code, you can deploy it in environments that demand full conformance -- complete with hooks to maintain compatibility with existing software."

Tagged as "kekeke"

[hom3chuk]

Really related one tag.

Are there riots in Korea ?

[linzeal]

Seriously, I am more scared of South Korea going ballistic over Starcraft 2 than North Korea having the technical aptitude to get an ICBM together.

Re:

[RazorSharp]

I think we should just give free copies of SC 2 to every North Korean citizen along with a computer capable of running it. If it catches on like it SC 1 did in S. Korea, then the whole country would lose all ambitions outside of professional Starcraft. Give Kim Jong-Il a copy.

System Specs Error

[PHPNerd]

I had to close Firefox to get the systems specifications application to send the info correctly. One Firefox was closed I re-ran the app. and it worked great.

Great service from Blizzard!

[Aggrajag]

I registered my old Starcraft cd-key from 1998 for the first time and was really surprised when a) it actually worked b) I could download a whole new installer with Brood War included. I had a similar surprise when I registered my old Half-Life cd-key with Steam and got all the HL1 based games for free.

Re:

[Jeff321]

Brood Wars did not have a CD Key, so congrats, you get both! It's nice that Blizzard is creating a digital library of your games and moving away from CD checks. They've patched CD checking out of (almost) all their old games.

Re:

[mdm-adph]

Blizzard and Steam -- two companies that seem to have digital distribution understood.

I'm looking at you, EA and, well, everything else. Get on the fucking ball.

Re:

[Aggrajag]

Just register a Battle.net account. There you can enter the cd-key and get a download link.

https://us.battle.net/ [battle.net]

Nooooo, what are you doing!!

[Mister_Stoopid]

More publicity = less chance of getting in... Let's try to keep this just between us, ok guys?

Linux?

[lordmetroid]

They got a version for the Mac architecture... Yet no binaries that would run on GNU/Linux, bad bad bad Blizzard! You think I am going to buy a game I can't play?

Starcraft 2 finally

[wareze]

well im gonna sign up but is there anyone else that can't wait till it comes up... been waiting for a long time for this to comeoutt..... GO TERRANS

Re:

[DarthVain]

Unless 3D realms just went belly up... oh wait...

Re:

[Ender Wiggin 77]

I don't recall being invited to a DNF beta program.