StarCraft II
Developers | |
---|---|
Blizzard Entertainment | |
Release dates | |
Windows | July 27, 2010 |
macOS (OS X) | July 27, 2010 |
Reception | |
Metacritic | 93 |
IGDB | 89 |
Taxonomy | |
Microtransactions | Cosmetic |
Series | StarCraft |
StarCraft | |
---|---|
StarCraft | 1998 |
StarCraft II | 2010 |
General information
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | ||||
Battle.net | Requires online authentication. |
- All versions require Battle.net DRM, as well as periodic online re-authentication every 30 days.[1]
- Free Starter Edition is also available, although this edition cannot be played offline.[1]
Version differences
Starter Edition
The StarCraft II Starter Edition is a free but limited version of StarCraft II.
- Only the first five missions of the Terran campaign are available, as well as the first four missions of the Zerg campaign. Two challenge missions are available as well.
- Custom non-ranked multiplayer and AI battles are available with all three races.
- The entire Arcade mode is available. Custom maps can be created with the Editor, but not published.
- All achievements and progress carry over to the full version.
Starting from November 14, 2017, StarCraft II has gone free-to-play. Contents which are available for free:
- The original Wings of Liberty campaign.
- Ranked multiplayer ladder.
- Current and upcoming Co-op Commanders.
DLC and expansion packs
Name | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Heart of the Swarm | Standalone. Can be bought from the Battle.net store. | |
Legacy of the Void | Standalone. Can be bought from the Battle.net store. | |
Nova Covert Ops Mission pack 1 | ||
Nova Covert Ops Mission pack 2 | ||
Nova Covert Ops Mission pack 3 |
Essential improvements
Mods
StarCraft Mass Recall
- StarCraft Mass Recall is a fan remake of the original StarCraft with the Brood War expansion in StarCraft II's engine.
Online
Starcraft II code is optimized to run in 2 cores. If playing online matches in a cpu with multiples cores, is recommended setting the game to run in only 2. You can set it going on manager task, right clicking in the game and enabling only 2 cores.(affinity)
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\StarCraft II\Accounts\ |
macOS (OS X) |
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\StarCraft II\Accounts\ |
macOS (OS X) | ~/Library/Application Support/Blizzard/StarCraft II/Accounts/ |
Default StarCraft II folder
- There are also shortcuts in the StarCraft II folder that are named as account character names that you've already logged into from that computer, that link directly to that account's folder. This is handy for quick access to replays.
- Local files are stored under
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\StarCraft II\Accounts\
- This folder contains:
- Variables.txt - Stores several of your personal settings
- Hotkey folder - Contains a file for each set of custom hotkeys you may have created up
- Another folder that contains replays, saved games, screenshots and other locally saved data
- The game is typically installed under
C:\Program Files (x86)\StarCraft II\
, where you can find:
- StarCraft II Editor
- StarCraft II Public Test - only used when a patch is in public testing
- Under the Support folder, the Repair.exe tool that will repair file corruption - try this before reinstalling, it may save time
- Other folders containing the game files, crash logs, and so on.
Video
Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | |||
Multi-monitor | |||
Ultra-widescreen | Locked to 16:9. | ||
4K Ultra HD | May need to change resolution in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\StarCraft II\Variables.txt |
||
Field of view (FOV) | |||
Windowed | |||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | Called "Fullscreen (Windowed)" in-game. | ||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | |||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | |||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | |||
60 FPS and 120+ FPS | |||
High dynamic range display (HDR) | See the glossary page for potential alternatives. | ||
Color blind mode | Enable under Options, Gameplay. |
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | ||
Mouse acceleration | No mouse acceleration. | |
Mouse sensitivity | ||
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Controller | ||
Controller support |
Controller types |
---|
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | ||
Surround sound | Will use Windows's channel count. | |
Subtitles | Unit phrases are not included. | |
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost | Can be enabled or disabled. |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | US, EU, and SEA | |||
Traditional Chinese | ||||
Simplified Chinese | ||||
French | ||||
German | ||||
Italian | ||||
Korean | ||||
Polish | ||||
Brazilian Portuguese | ||||
Russian | ||||
Spanish | ||||
Latin American Spanish |
Network
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
LAN play | Use StarFriend. | ||
Online play |
- Starter edition includes access to a limited co-op multiplayer mode.[2]
Connection types
Type | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
Matchmaking | ||
Peer-to-peer | ||
Dedicated | ||
Self-hosting | ||
Direct IP |
Ports
Protocol | Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
---|---|
TCP | 1119, 6113, 1120, 80, 3724 |
UDP | 1119, 6113, 1120, 80, 3724 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed
Unable to download game data from Blizzard's servers
Disable Windows' firewall[citation needed] |
---|
|
Jumping/jittery/lost mouse cursor (OS X)
There are a ton of threads that boil down to it being a problem with mouse acceleration screwing up when there is a high CPU load. The problem with turning mouse acceleration off is that StarCraft will turn it back on, even if you disable the option for OS mouse control override.
The solution is a program available here. This program turns off mouse acceleration in StarCraft II after the game boots.
Trouble installing game
If you receive an error similar to "The file <name of file>
could not be written", follow this guide.
Run as administrator[3] |
---|
1) Right click the installer and choose Run as administrator (skip this step if using Windows XP). 2) Choose the installation options. 3) Once it begins installing, minimize the installer until the installation is completed. |
Language Pack Issues
Language Pack Issues[citation needed] |
---|
If upon logging into Battle.net you receive the error dialogue "You need an authorized language pack from blizzard entertainment to use this language" use the following instructions to modify 1) Locate
2) Open In each of those lines insert your language code after the equals sign as follows: {| class="wikitable" |- ! Region !! Code |- | '''Americas''' || |- | American English || enUS |- | Latin American Spanish || esMX |- | Brazilian Portuguese || ptBR |- | '''Europe''' || |- | German || deDE |- | European English || enGB |- | European Spanish || esES |- | French || frFR |- | Italian || itIT |- | Polish || plPL |- | Portuguese || ptPT |- | Russian || ruRU |- | '''Korea''' || |- | Korean || koKR |- | '''Taiwan''' || |- | Traditional Chinese || zhTW |- | '''Southeast Asia & Australia/New Zealand''' || |- | Southeast Asia English || enSG |}
3) Save the file and start the game to test.
Restart the game and attempt to login, this will automatically create a new variables.txt file and often fixes the issue although this method may require you to reset any customizations you have made to graphic, audio or control settings (your hotkeys are stored separately and are safe). If you need to reference your previous settings you can use the backup you made of variables.txt. |
Deletion of the variables.txt file and re-creation should also resolve any issues with Region Limited licenses that have recently upgraded to Region Unlimited licenses.
Non-Steam Game Overlay
- Some people have noted issues using StarCraft II with Steam, saying that upon leaving the Steam overlay, any commands issued would become waypointed instead of directly done and the game would act as if the Shift key was being held down.
This has been found to be as a result of the default Steam shortcut to enter the overlay - Shift + Tab, which makes StarCraft II assume the shift key is being held down. When the overlay is exited, the game does not note the lifting of the shift key, and assumes that the shift key is still being held, thus creating this issue. This can be fixed by changing the Steam shortcut to another key/key combination, such as Insert, Home or Insert+Home.
Alternative Non-Steam Game Overlay
Non-Steam Game Overlay[citation needed] |
---|
Notes
|
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 9 |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Windows | |||
macOS (OS X) |
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum[4] | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | XP, Vista (latest service pack) | 7, 8, 10 64-bit (latest service pack) |
Processor (CPU) | Intel Core 2 Duo AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ |
Intel Core i5 Series Processor or better AMD FX Series Processor or better |
System memory (RAM) | 2 GB | 4 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 30 GB | |
Video card (GPU) | Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT Intel HD Graphics 3000 128 MB of VRAM | Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 AMD Radeon HD 7790 1024 MB of VRAM |
- Support for Windows XP and Windows Vista will be dropped some time in 2017. The game will no longer run on these versions after this change.[5]
macOS (OS X) | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 10.9.5 (Latest Version) | 10.11 (Latest Version) |
Processor (CPU) | Intel Core 2 Duo | Intel Core i5 or better |
System memory (RAM) | 4 GB | 8 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 30 GB | |
Video card (GPU) | Nvidia GeForce GT 330M ATI Radeon HD 4670 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M AMD Radeon HD 6970 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Blizzard Support - Playing StarCraft II Offline - last accessed on 2018-08-27
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/3s93ub/lotv_isnt_required_to_play_coop_missions/
- ↑ WON'T INSTALL -- "CAN'T WRITE <SOME FILE>" - StarCraft II Forums
- ↑ StarCraft II System Requirements - Battle.net
- ↑ Ending Support for Windows XP and Vista - StarCraft II Forums