Posted by dOoBiX on February 15th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – Patch 1.2.1
General
Matchmaking has been updated to better match players queuing with pre-made teams in 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 brackets.
Bug Fixes
General
Fixed an issue where the title of a conversation window was scaling rather than truncating.
Fixed an issue where the Match History score screen was displaying “Null” for the map info for all games played before Patch 1.2.
Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause players to be improperly disconnected from a game.
(Mac) Fixed an issue that would cause the Control key to become stuck when holding Control and minimizing the game window, then going back to the game window and attempting to use Control+1 to create a control group.
Maps
Fixed an issue with foliage that would die and become visible through the fog of war when a player spawned as zerg.
StarCraft II Editor
Fixed an issue where copied-and-pasted units were not set to the correct height in-game.
Fixed an issue where the table view scroll-bar position was reset when switching objects.
Fixed an issue where secondary sort priorities were not working properly. Model name is now the secondary sort so that models are listed in alphabetical order after being sorted by the mod they are contained in.
Yes, the big patch we’ve been waiting a long time for is finally out! This patch 1.2.0 has tons of changes to StarCraft II, and Battle.net too, including: Battle.net chat channels, Master League, and stalemate detection. We have been able to test this patch on the PTR server, but now it is finally released for the normal servers. You can check out the patch notes below in the spoiler, and get on SC2 and start playing!
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – Patch 1.2.0 – Show ▼
General
Battle.net Chat Channels have been added! Players can now join others in both public and private channels.
Added in-game chat bar command to whisper to other players. Using the “/w” command will open up a list of available friends, party members, chat channels, and other players within your current game.
Added Battle.net option to auto-join previous private channels.
Added Battle.net option to prevent chat channel text from appearing in in-game chat display.
A new Master League has been added! This league now represents the highest tier of players.
Customizable Hotkey Support has been added.
Stalemate Detection has been added. This will end the game in a tie for all remaining players if no players have income, production, or destroyed structures for three consecutive minutes. A countdown timer will now appear when the game detects this scenario.
An Extreme graphics option is now available. Players can now configure screen space ambient occlusion.
Additional Improvements and Changes
Several help dialogue and tech tree improvements have been made:
In-game help is now available in Battle.net.
The help dialog’s tech tree has been improved.
Unit information in the help dialog now displays abilities and upgrades.
Several Save/Replay File dialogue improvements have been made:
Added ability to sort replays and saved games by name and date.
Added ability to right-click and rename a replay or saved game from within the game interface.
Added a new tab for auto-saved games and unsaved replays.
Added an option to permanently save all replays. Checking this option will mark all unsaved replays as being saved.
Added visibility for where replays and saved games are being saved to.
Added a “Show in Folder” button which will open the location where a replay or saved game is stored on your computer.
Camera following behavior for observers and replays has been improved.
The System Alert panel has been moved to the top of the screen and the duration of most system alerts has been reduced.
Mouse buttons can now be bound to the Push-To-Talk hotkey.
A hotkey indicator option has been added to show the primary hotkey on top of command buttons.
When selecting a Vespene geyser, the number of current harvesters will be displayed in the info panel.
Added an option to disable any error sounds. The Response Sounds checkbox now controls whether unit-specific audio is used for error sounds instead of a generic buzz.
Added Game UI layout per-map overrides. Map makers can now use custom UI layout files to create new UI or override existing game UI.
Added a toggle button to the in-game replay panel to Show or Hide the timeline/duration information.
Added hotkey to Pause/Resume game for both single player and multiplayer (Pause/Break key).
Balance
GENERAL
Players can no longer block off ramps with two 2×2 buildings.
PROTOSS
Hallucination research time decreased from 110 to 80.
Observer
Cost decreased from 50/100 to 25/75.
Phoenix
Build time decreased from 45 to 35.
Void Ray
Now deals 20% more damage to massive targets.
Flux Vanes speed upgrade removed.
TERRAN
SCV
Repairing SCVs now assume the same threat priority as the unit they’re repairing.
SCV construction movement has been made more consistent.
StarCraft II Editor Improvements
Map locale management has been added.
Further editor tips and hints have been added.
New trigger functions, actions, and events have been added:
New trigger functions:
Verify Bank – used to verify that a bank’s signature is intact.
New trigger actions:
Bank Option – used to change options for banks including adding a signature.
Remove Inventory Item – used to instantly remove a requested item from an inventory.
Set Visibility Type Of Text Tag – used to control whether fog or black mask hides the tag.
New trigger events:
Mouse Moved – sent in response to the mouse being moved in the game world.
New unit properties have been added:
Carried Minerals, Carried Vespene, Carried Terrazine, and Carried Custom Resource.
Bounty (XP) – used to grant experience when a unit is killed.
New Effect Used event property has been added: Life, Shields, and Energy changed.
Copy/paste support has been added to the upgrade editor.
Behaviors can now be replaced by either the shortest duration (the original method) or by farthest distance.
Behavior abilities can now properly charge the player using the ability instead of always charging the owner.
Right clicking an item in an inventory will now have the icon appear immediately next to the cursor.
Font Style Files can now be added to Mods and Maps using the FontStyleFileArray field in GameUIData. Existing styles can have their individual attributes overridden or entirely new styles can be added.
UI Layout files can now be added to Mods and Maps using the CustomLayoutFileArray filed in GameUIData. Most existing frames can be modified or overridden and entirely new templates can be added which can be created from the Dialog system within the Editor.
Attributes and values can now be hidden in the game lobby and can be configured through Game Variants.
The mouse wheel now scrolls the control under the cursor.
Copied doodads now retain their height offset.
Attribute and Veterancy behaviors now normalize vitals when new levels are applied.
Mouse clicks & highlights are now allowed while in relative camera mode.
Edit boxes are now available for trigger dialogs.
The game will now properly find custom imported files within mods.
Maps can now depend on even more mods.
Dialog Items can now be hooked up from already existing frames within a created Panel.
Change Focus commands are now available in the Trigger module View menu for switching input focus directly to different areas.
The water editor layout has been improved.
Effect offsets can now optionally contain a Z component.
Added a new type of Dialog Item called Panel. Panels are containers for other dialog items to help with grouping and hierarchy.
Added new UI to insert text tags for data references, unit info, and hotkeys.
Added an effect range to the effect ability to restrict how far away the effect can be placed. This will allow effects to behave like the Stalker Blink effect.
Added a behavior flag to suppress fidgeting.
Added a new stalemate melee option to determine whether the stalemate detection checking is enforced.
Added a new “Creator” player to effects. It will be set to the player issuing an order if available.
Added a new type of item that can use an effect ability.
Added a validator that checks to see if a unit can path to a point.
Added a validator that checks if there is a cliff between two points.
Added MinimapRenderPriority to CActorUnit and MinimapRenderPriorityList to CActorGlobalConfig. This allows custom map makers to define the render priorities of units on the minimap.
Added a Locale sub-menu in the Mod menu for changing the active text locale for the current document.
Added a Mod Info dialog in the Mod menu for more easily changing mod name and description text.
Added a Modify Locales dialog (also in Locale sub-menu) for adding or removing text locales.
Added an Editor Tips dialog in the Help menu (and optionally on start up) with tips for using the editor effectively.
Bug Fixes
Gameplay
General
All diagonal ramps are now the same with regards to unbuildable locations at the bottom of the ramps.
Critter health bars are now hidden unless highlighted or selected (if status bars are set to show when units are selected).
Orders can no longer be canceled by clicking on the info panel in challenges before the challenge begins.
Text tags are now paused when the game is paused.
Autocast state for abilities will now reset to the default state when unit ownership is permanently changed.
Autocast repair will now charge the player requesting autocast functionality.
Repair will now clear its autocast state if the owning player leaves the game.
Harvest orders no longer end if an order is queued while waiting to return cargo.
Harvesting units no longer avoid enemy units.
Hold position units no longer automatically move out of the way when placing a building.
Enemy units no longer show passive buttons in the command card.
Missiles are no longer affected by Vortex.
Actors with a large number of create events no longer crash the map.
Fixed an issue where cliff jumping units were able to traverse unpathable terrain.
Fixed an issue with units trying to get out of the way so buildings can be constructed.
Fixed an issue with harvesting units bypassing force fields.
Fixed an issue where melee units were unable to attack a colossus when it was on a cliff.
Fixed an issue where larva would not wander around.
Fixed an issues where loading a saved Challenge could improperly overwrite the best score.
Fixed an issue with animation stutters when flying units are separating.
Fixed an issue where units could push opposing units when they shouldn’t have been able to.
Added “Detector” text to the info panel for units which can detect cloaked or burrowed units.
Added combat reveal tinting to help show that combat reveal units cannot be hit.
Protoss
Protoss structures can no longer be powered without a power source if constructed while powered by a Warp Prism under the effects of Neural Parasite.
Mass Recall can no longer target larva or eggs.
Fixed an issue where units that were picked up by a Graviton Beam would still block pathing on the ground.
Fixed an issue where a Zealot could burn its Charge cooldown without actually moving.
Terran
Changed the position of the Select Builder button on Terran buildings, and changed the hotkey to Q.
SCVs can no longer continue construction on a building from inside an adjacent bunker.
Fixed nuke dot not being visible all the time.
Fixed an issue where you could see an enemy MULE drop pod in some cases where you didn’t have vision of the target location.
Fixed an issue where a Medivac would be able to continue healing a unit that was stuck in a Graviton Beam if the Medivac had started healing the unit before it was picked up by the Graviton Beam.
Fixed an issue where a Thor would continue to channel 250mm Strike Cannons on an uplifted Terran building if it lifted off at just the right time.
Fixed an issue where a Thor could get stuck channeling if a player queued up multiple targets for 250mm Strike Cannons.
Fixed an issue where SCVs could continue repairing at a short range even though the structure they were repairing was blocked by Force Fields.
Zerg
Creep will now spread evenly in all directions.
The Burrow and Cancel Neural Parasite buttons have been moved on the command card.
Fixed an issue with Ultralisk unable to attack a row of sensor towers.
StarCraft II Editor
The “For Each Real” and “For Each Integer” actions will now correctly execute once when the starting and ending bounds are equal while the increment is also zero.
Items dropped from an inventory will now use their default height when dropped.
The View Script command will now view library scripts if the library list has focus.
Carried and equipped item behaviors and weapons are now restored properly when a unit is revived.
Publish dialog now updates storage information after removing a published file in the Managed Published window.
Dropdowns now correctly select items as you type using partial matching.
Standard dependencies can no longer be modified in the Dependencies dialog (only added or removed).
Camera following can no longer be disabled via hotkeys if it was requested via triggers.
Fixed an issue with editing stylized text values when using system locales other than English.
Fixed an issue with Veterancy experience share filters.
Fixed an issue when editing mover data where values were not being saved correctly.
Fixed an issue that prevented certain changes to angle values.
Fixed an issue where selection circles would drop when a flying unit was over a cliff.
Fixed an issue where the scroll bar for tree views could disappear.
Fixed an issue where triggers setting the mouse relative could result in the mouse being stuck in relative move mode.
Fixed an issue where setting the color of a dialog item of type label wasn’t working.
Fixed a crash that could occur while editing upgrade values.
Fixed text truncation with Set Text actor message.
Fixed display of ability command links in the Overview Manager.
Fixed many areas where English text was displayed instead of localized text.
Fixed a crash when destroying a persistent effect.
Posted by dOoBiX on December 22nd, 2010 at 10:31 pm
If you still have not tried out StarCraft II, you may now rejoice because Blizzard has released the StarCraft II Demo for everyone to download, free of charge. It has no time limit and does not expire. This demo lets you play the first three missions of single player, and also has a skirmish mode against a computer opponent.
Posted by dOoBiX on December 10th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
The Public Test Region has been out for about a week now, and I guess Blizzard has decided to undo a few things they’ve changed, such as the fungal growth and bunker build time changes. Other than those small undoes, this patch includes a bunch of bug fixes. The full patch note is below:
Several changes have been made to the PTR:
• Sound effects will no longer pop or cut off if buildings are rapidly selected.
• Fixed a display issue so the number of harvesters on a Vespene Geyser node will now increment correctly for all occasions.
• Using ALT-F4 during the opening cinematic will no longer crash the game.
• Fixed an issue where the auto-detection system was defaulting graphics to a lower resolution than recommended.
• Fixed a frequent Out of Memory crash for 32-bit OS systems on the PTR.
• Fixed a case where public chat channels wouldn’t show up on the list.
• Added a drop-down selector to switch channel instances.
• Chat channel throttles have been adjusted to allow for a more natural chatting experience.
• Bunker build time has been reverted to the original 35 seconds.
• Fungal Growth has been reverted to the previous functionality and can once again target air units.
• Holding down a key will once again issue multiple orders.
SCBuildOrder is not only faster than Evolution Chamber, but it can also optimize the build orders for all three races: Protoss, Zerg, and Terran. So if you want to know the fastest build order to get a certain unit out, you should try this program out. One more thing – there may be some errors or unfinished coding because it’s not the final version yet, so you should always check the official site to download the latest versions.
Blizzard has released a pretty big StarCraft II patch today – version 1.2.0 PTR. This includes many game changes, bug fixes, and new features. One of the most wanted features since SC2 came out is now available: Chat rooms! Unit/building hotkeys are now customizable, and there is an Extreme graphics option which is higher than Ultra. Check the spoiler below for the entire patch notes:
— Players can now join others in both public and private channels.
— Added in-game chat bar command to whisper to other players. Using the /w command will pop up an auto-complete list which includes: friends, party members, chat channels, and other players within your current game.
• Added a Battle.net option to auto-join previous private channels.
• Added a Battle.net option to prevent chat channel text from appearing in the in-game chat display.
Custom Maps
• Map makers can now use custom UI layout files to create new UI or override existing game UI.
Gameplay
• Stalemate Detection has been added:
— The game will end in a tie for all remaining players if no players have income, production, or destroyed any structures for three consecutive minutes.
— A countdown timer will now appear when the game detects this scenario.
• Several help dialogue and tech tree improvements have been made:
— In-game help is now available in Battle.net.
— The help dialog’s tech tree has been improved.
— Unit information in the help dialog now displays abilities and upgrades.
• Selecting different units in quick succession will now fade out existing replies to play the most recent reply.
• When selecting a Vespene Geyser, the number of current harvesters will be displayed in the info panel.
Graphics
• An Extreme graphics option has been added:
— Players can now configure screen space ambient occlusion.
— Unit information in the help dialog now displays abilities and upgrades.
Interface
• Customizable Hotkey Support has been added.
• Mouse buttons can now be bound to the Push-To-Talk hotkey.
• System Alert panel has been moved to the top of the screen – duration of most system alerts has been reduced.
Added a hotkey to Pause/Resume game for both single-player and multiplayer (Pause/Break key).
• Added a toggle button to the in-game replay panel to show or hide duration information.
• Added a hotkey indicator option to show the primary hotkey on top of command buttons.
• Added an option to disable any error sounds. The Response Sounds checkbox now controls whether unit-specific audio is used for error sounds instead of a generic buzz.
Leagues and Ladders
• A new Master League has been added.
— This league now represents the highest tier of ladder players.
Replays
• Several Save/Replay File dialogue improvements have been made:
— Prints current directory name above file list.
— Added sort order icons to Name and Date columns.
— Added the ability to rename.
— Added filters for Autosave and Unsaved.
— Added an option to permanently save all replays. Checking this option will mark all unsaved replays as being saved.
• Camera following behavior for observers and replays has been improved.
Balance
• PROTOSS
— Hallucination research time decreased from 110 to 80.
— Observer
Cost decreased from 50/100 to 25/75.
— Phoenix
Build time decreased from 45 to 35.
— Void Ray
Now deals 20% more damage to massive targets.
Flux Vanes speed upgrade removed.
• TERRAN
— Bunker
Build time decreased from 35 to 30.
This is only a temporary change for the patch 1.2.0 PTR.
— SCV
Repairing SCVs now assume the same threat priority as the unit they’re repairing.
SCV construction movement made more consistent.
• ZERG
— Infestor
Fungal Growth no longer affects air units.
StarCraft II Editor
• Map locale management has been added.
• Further editor tips and hints have been added.
• Copy/Paste support has been added to the upgrade editor.
• Modifed the Locales dialog (also in the Locale sub-menu) for adding or removing text locales.
• Locale sub-menu is now available in Map/Mod menu for changing the active text locale for the current document.
• The game will now properly find custom imported files within mods.
• Maps can now depend on even more mods.
• Mod Info dialog is now available from the Mod menu for more easily changing mod name and description text.
• Change Focus commands are now available in the Trigger module View menu for switching input focus directly to different areas.
• Font Style Files can now be added to Mods and Maps using the FontStyleFileArray field in GameUIData. Existing styles can have their individual attributes overridden or entirely new styles can be added.
• UI Layout files can now be added to Mods and Maps using the CustomLayoutFileArray filed in GameUIData. Most existing frames can be modified or overridden and entirely new templates can be added, which can be created from the Dialog system within the Editor.
• Dialog Items can now be hooked up from already existing frames within a created Panel.
• Attributes and values can now be hidden in the game lobby, configured through Game Variants.
• Editor Tips dialog in the Help menu (and optionally on start up) improved with tips for using the editor effectively.
• Created a new type of Dialog Item called Panel. Panels are containers for other dialog items to help with grouping and hierarchy.
• The water editor layout has been improved.
• The mouse wheel now scrolls the control under the cursor.
• Copied doodads now retain their height offset.
• Effect offsets can now optionally contain a Z component.
• Attribute and Veterancy behaviors now normalize vitals when new levels are applied.
• Mouse clicks and highlights are now allowed while in relative camera mode.
• Edit boxes are now available for trigger dialogs.
• Right clicking an item in an inventory will now have the icon appear immediately next to the cursor.
• Behaviors can now be replaced by either the shortest duration (the original method) or by farthest distance.
• Behavior abilities can now properly charge the player using the ability instead of always charging the owner.
• New trigger action have been added:
— Set Visibility Type Of Text Tag, used to control whether fog or black mask hides the tag.
— Remove Inventory Item, used to instantly remove a requested item from an inventory.
— Bank Option, used to change options for banks including adding a signature
— Bounty (XP), used to grant experience when a unit is killed.
• New trigger function: Verify Bank, used to verify that a bank’s signature is intact.
• New trigger event: Mouse Moved, sent in response to the mouse being moved in the game world.
• New Effect Used event property: Life, Shields, and Energy changed.
• Added new UI to insert text tags for data references, unit info, and hotkeys.
• Added an effect range to the effect ability to restrict how far away the effect can be placed. This will allow effects to behave like the Stalker Blink effect.
• Added a behavior flag to suppress fidgeting.
• Added a new stalemate melee option to determine whether the stalemate detection checking is enforced.
• Added a new “Creator” player to effects. It will be set to the player issuing an order if available.
• Added a new type of item that can use an effect ability.
• Added a validator that checks to see if a unit can path to a point.
• Added a validator that checks if there is a cliff between two points.
• Added MinimapRenderPriority to CActorUnit and MinimapRenderPriorityList to CActorGlobalConfig. This allows custom map makers to define the render priorities of units on the minimap.
Bug Fixes
General
• Harvest orders will no longer end if an order is queued while waiting to return cargo.
• Harvesting units no longer avoid enemy units.
• Fixed an issue with units trying to get out of the way so buildings can be constructed.
• Hold position units no longer automatically move out of the way when placing a building.
• Fixed an issue with harvesting units bypassing force fields.
• Fixed an issue where melee units were unable to attack a colossus when it was on a cliff.
• Fixed an issue where larva would not wander around.
• Fixed an issue where loading a saved challenge could improperly overwrite the best score.
• Fixed an issue where animation stutters when flying units are separating.
• Added “Detector” text to the info panel for units which can detect cloaked or burrowed units.
• Added combat reveal tinting to help show that combat reveal units cannot be hit. All diagonal ramps are now the same with regards to unbuildable locations at the bottom of the ramps.
• Enemy units no longer show passive buttons in the command card.
• Critter health bars are now hidden unless highlighted or selected (if status bars are set to show when units are selected).
• Orders can no longer be canceled by clicking on the info panel in challenges before the challenge begins.
• Missiles are no longer affected by Vortex.
• Autocast repair will now charge the player requesting autocast functionality.
• Autocast state for abilities is reset to the default state when unit ownership is permanently changed.
• Repair will now clear its autocast state if the owning player leaves the game.
• Actors with a large number of create events no longer crash the map.
• Text tags are now paused when the game is paused.
Protoss
• Protoss structures can no longer be powered without a power source if constructed while powered by a Warp Prism under the effects of Neural Parasite.
• Mass Recall can no longer target larva or eggs.
• Fixed an issue where units that were picked up by a Graviton Beam would still block pathing on the ground.
• Fixed an issue where a Zealot could burn his Charge cooldown without actually moving.
Terran
• Changed the position of the Select Builder button on Terran buildings, and changed the hotkey to Q.
• Fixed nuke dot not being visible all the time.
• Fixed an issue where you could see an enemy MULE drop pod in some cases where you didn’t have vision of the target location.
• Fixed an issue where a Medivac would be able to continue healing a unit that was stuck in a Graviton Beam if the Medivac had started healing the unit before it was picked up by the Graviton Beam.
• Fixed an issue where a Thor would continue to channel 250mm Strike Cannons on an uplifted terran building if it lifted off at just the right time.
• Fixed an issue where a Thor could get stuck channeling if a player queued up multiple targets for 250mm Strike Cannons.
Zerg
• The Ultralisk’s arc-shaped damage area is now centered at the front of the Ultralisk instead of at its center.
• Fixed an issue with the Ultralisk being unable to attack a row of sensor towers.
• The Burrow and Cancel Neural Parasite buttons have been moved on the command card.
• Creep will now spread evenly in all directions.
• Fixed an issue where Larva could produce units by holding down hotkeys.
StarCraft II Editor
• The “For Each Real” and “For Each Integer” actions will now correctly execute once when the starting and ending bounds are equal while the increment is also zero.
• Standard dependencies can no longer be modified in the Dependencies dialog (only added or removed).
• Publish dialog now updates storage information after removing a published file in the Managed Published window.
• The View Script command will now view library scripts if the library list has focus.
• Dropdowns now correctly select items as you type using partial matching.
• Fixed an issue with editing stylized text values when using system locales other than English.
• Fixed an issue when editing mover data where values were not being saved correctly.
• Fixed an issue that prevented certain changes to angle values.
• Fixed an issue where the scroll bar for tree views could disappear.
• Fixed an issue where triggers setting the mouse relative could result in the mouse being stuck in relative move mode.
• Fixed an issue where setting the color of a dialog item of type label wasn’t working.
• Fixed text truncation with Set Text actor message.
• Fixed a crash that could occur while editing upgrade values.
• Fixed display of ability command links in the Overview Manager.
• Fixed many areas where English text was displayed instead of localized text.
• Fixed an issue where selection circles would drop when a flying unit was over a cliff.
• Veterancy experience share filters have been fixed.
• Carried and equipped item behaviors and weapons are now restored properly when a unit is revived.
• Items dropped from an inventory will now use their default height when dropped.
• Fixed a crash when destroying a persistent effect.
• Camera following can no longer be disabled via hotkeys if it was requested via triggers.
Note that this patch is only for testing in the Public Test Region right now, which is a completely different server from what we were normally playing on. To play in the PTR, you need to run the “StarCraft II Public Test” shortcut icon, and you will need to create a new character. Running the regular StarCraft II shortcut icon will just bring you to your normal server that you’ve been playing on, which is still v1.1.3 as of this post’s time.
Posted by dOoBiX on November 23rd, 2010 at 2:08 am
Check out HuskyStarcraft’s Banelings song, a parody of Baby by Justin Bieber. I must say that this video was pretty well made. Thanks for the tip Elliot Yoon!
Posted by dOoBiX on November 15th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
BlizzTV is a lightweight open source content aggregator made by Blizzard fans. You can use this to stream the latest game (i.e. StarCraft II) videos, vods, feeds, and events on your desktop. It’s only in beta version right now, and we should expect more features in later versions.
According to DragonDefonce from Teamliquid.net, StarCraft 2 patch v1.1.3 has come out in the Korean and SEA servers. We should expect the update in the US server later today.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – Patch 1.1.3
General
New game categories have been added to filter Tower Defense and Tug of War custom maps.
Balance
TERRAN
Thor
This unit will now prioritize attacking ground combat units over Medivacs.
Bug Fixes
Fixed a desync that could occur when trying to watch replays that had a dependency on bank files.