# Starcraft II Official Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 25, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902 "2010-07-25T01:13:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/81 "2010-07-31T00:59:19Z")
I’m in starcraft battlenet as well. You can add me as a friend with the details I posted above. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/82 "2010-07-31T01:23:53Z")
Selene, go ahead and sign in to starcraft and IM me. not sure if yo cna hear me on vent ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/83 "2010-07-31T01:54:55Z")
Selene, not sure if you can here me on vent. We’re in starcraft lobby waiting for ye 🙂 Send me na IM through battlenet ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/84 "2010-07-31T02:06:42Z")
Still waiting Selene. I see you on the vent server, but I guess you can’t hear me. Add me as a friend (Kinthalis code 775) and im me. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/85 "2010-07-31T03:48:42Z")
Well, that was fun, Kinthalis. Good Games. I just watched the replays, and we were neck and neck in the second game until about 3/4 of the way in. I think if you had a second Barracks, you would have beaten me. Sorry you couldn’t get in Selene, that would have been fun with 3 people. If anyone wants to add me as a friend and play, I’m #261, Amblydoper. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/86 "2010-07-31T17:16:32Z")
Not sure what to think about this game so far. I really liked SC1, but I wasn’t a competitive player so I hardly played online at all. The main draw to me was the single player campaign. So far it’s excellent and engrossing. But I’m having a hell of a time controlling this game. I’m not sure what the deal is, but I can’t get the “mouse to the edge of the screen to scroll” thing down for SC2. I have two monitors and the scrolling when I mouse to the edge of the screen with the second monitor is a very big problem. The mouse will go past the edge of the screen and pop up somewhere completely new, often times scrolling my screen quickly right then up or down. By the time I get control and reposition my screen where I was before I even tried to scroll, five or six seconds have gone by. It’s a complete nightmare. That and I’ve had the game crash four times in five hours. For as much fun as I’ve had, this game has been a total disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/87 "2010-07-31T22:27:54Z")
Try scrolling using the mini-map instead (left-click on the minimap to instantly jump to that area, or left-click and drag to scroll your view around the map). Also, when I play in fullscreen mode, the game doesn’t allow my mouse to jump into my 2nd monitor. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/88 "2010-07-31T22:46:42Z")
It runs on my dual screens in maximized windowed mode without jumping over to the other monitor too. Dunno what’s up there. The upgrades in the campaign mode seem pretty bipolar. Either they’re absolutely useless or insanely OP. Makes me wonder what the earliest versions of the unit balance looked like. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/89 "2010-07-31T23:05:55Z")
To be clear, the cursor doesn’t go all the way into the second monitor, just far enough that it disappears off my screen (and no farther). But even that little bit can throw me off and send the screen flying in a direction I don’t intend. I’ll try the minimap method, but I’m not sure I like the idea of not having my cursor on the active play area. Maybe I’ll get used to it though, thanks. The game crashed another 3 times today in an hour. Looks like this is a known issue with Macs and 10.6.4 and certain nVidia graphics cards. Somehow, I don’t feel any better learning that. Makes me feel like maybe they should have play tested the game a bit more than 5 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/90 "2010-07-31T23:08:07Z")
It’s the nvidia drivers. They’re bad. Windows Vista had the same problem. It isn’t the game. ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/91 "2010-08-01T00:26:19Z")
nVidia’s drivers are notoriously unreliable. I’m using drivers that are a year and a half old, simply because there’s no guarantee that any particular version won’t screw up some of my games…it can take several hours to go through all the various iterations to find the best ones of the bunch. That said, there -is- a memory leak in SC2’s campaign mode. Play it for a few hours straight and it’ll eventually collapse on a loading screen. I’ve been binging heavily enough to have run into this a couple times 😃 As for scrolling the game view, the edge of the screen scroll is something to be avoided anyway, as it pulls your cursor off of where you’re working. It’s worth the bother to get used to the mouse 3 scroll - hold the button down, move mouse, screen scrolls and cursor stays right where it was. As an added perk, it gives you finer control over the scroll. ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/92 "2010-08-01T00:38:46Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > The upgrades in the campaign mode seem pretty bipolar. Either they’re absolutely useless or insanely OP. Makes me wonder what the earliest versions of the unit balance looked like. I’m not sure I’d classify any of the upgrades as ‘useless’ aside from the point of what unit they’re upgrading. A larger area effect and a huge chunk of armor makes the Firebat much, much better at what it does…but it’s still a firebat and a little too niche to begin with. There’s a reason nobody used them in SC1 and that they got cut in multiplayer. The wraith is so wholly outclassed by the banshee or viking that its upgrades are moot. The siege tank’s upgrades are definitely a bit over the top, though. Sure, it’s going to be the backbone of the Terran force either way, but giving them enough punch to one-shot most units is a bit much…or at least it felt like it before I started on Brutal 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/93 "2010-08-01T01:01:29Z")
> [@](#): > > o be clear, the cursor doesn’t go all the way into the second monitor, just far enough that it disappears off my screen (and no farther). But even that little bit can throw me off and send the screen flying in a direction I don’t intend. I’ll try the minimap method, but I’m not sure I like the idea of not having my cursor on the active play area. Maybe I’ll get used to it though, thanks. I had kind of a similar problem. I had to go through a whole bunch of graphics setting before I found one that put the edges of the screen on the edge of the screen. I am playing on what is ultimately much smaller screen size than I prefer, but ultimately since I havn’t played it bigger, I don’t have anything better to be used to. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/94 "2010-08-01T04:09:23Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > I hear the challenge modes are better suited to getting you ready for Multi-player than the single player, which really is a different ball of wax. I’m not deep into the challenge modes yet, but this seems true. I was a bit abashed to find myself barely scraping by the first on my first try (and I have a decent amount of multi experience) I liken them to chess puzzles. They are fun, plus each clearly has a point to teach you. They require some decent micro as well. I’m still working on getting gold for even the early missions; even with good strats you need to micro a bit to keep units alive and achieve gold. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/95 "2010-08-01T15:54:29Z")
Boy, after months watching expert play on YouTube, it is readily apparent that I lack anything near that skill level, and should probably avoid multiplayer play unless there’s a ‘worse than noob’ division. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/96 "2010-08-01T16:54:11Z")
It’s called the copper league. It’s full of people who’ve never used a mouse before. Seriously, if you’re really that bad, you’re going to lose your first 10 matches and then you’ll be ranked against people just as bad and you’ll have a great time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/97 "2010-08-01T21:03:18Z")
> [@](#): > > A larger area effect and a huge chunk of armor makes the Firebat much, much better at what it does…but it’s still a firebat and a little too niche to begin with. There’s a reason nobody used them in SC1 and that they got cut in multiplayer. Nobody used them in SC1? News to me; I always put a 'bat or two in each bunker, if I was up against Protoss or Zerg. They made 'lings completely irrelevant. That said, though, given that they were always, always, always in bunkers, I’m not sure an armor upgrade would make much difference. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/98 "2010-08-01T21:53:18Z")
The problem with that is most people would just run their speed 'lings passed your bunker and into your mineral line. That’s why people do a wall-in with their depots and barracks with marines behind it. Way more effective. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/99 "2010-08-01T22:27:08Z")
I dunno, it always seemed to me that a bunker with two each Firebats and Marines in it could stop an unlimited number of rushing zerglings without letting any past. But of course you also do the depot chokepoint thing, too, since it makes it easier and there’s really no reason not to. ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902/100 "2010-08-02T00:51:00Z")
The root problem with bunkering firebats is that, while it makes the bunker a little sturdier against melee attacks, it substantially reduces effectiveness against everything else, including melee attacks against targets that aren’t right next to the bunker. Then there’s the firebat’s problem in general, which is that once army sizes scale up sufficiently, plain old marines do a better job of stopping the melee attackers than firebats do. With their focused, rapid fire, in a large enough force, marines mow down targets faster than firebats can, because the 'bats have to jockey around into position to shoot, and only the front line can attack. Plus, if you really want AOE damage, there’s always the Terran trump card of siege tanks, which crush anything and everything on the ground. The Hellion does the flamethrowing trick much better. Far larger area of effect, enough speed to kite around melee attackers or dart into worker lines, no gas cost, and a large damage boost on top of it. A nasty little unit that can cause serious fits for Zerg in the early & mid game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starcraft-ii-official-thread/547902.md?page=6)