StarCraft II beta sign-ups open

Walrus Pete

Thanks for the heads-up, Peewi! <3

august

The registration program works kind of randomly. I'm assuming it's just getting slammed right now. I got through in about 4 tries.

Fuga

North America will be the first region to begin beta testing, and other regions will follow afterward in phases.

Arkan

metaghost wrote: »

Anyone know if there's a way to indicate that one is able to Beta on either OSX or Windows?

Blizzard games have always been released on both mac OSes and Windows at the same time, if that's what you're asking.

august

Arkan wrote: »

metaghost wrote: »

Anyone know if there's a way to indicate that one is able to Beta on either OSX or Windows?

Blizzard games have always been released on both mac OSes and Windows at the same time, if that's what you're asking.

He's asking if you can say that you can run the betta on both windows or mac to increase the chances of getting in.

I'm assuming no as each battle.net is slaved to one set of hardware data. You'd need two accounts, one for each machine.

Fuga

Q. StarCraft II opt-ins are now available through Battle.net. Does the opt-in process mean that the start of the StarCraft II beta is imminent?

A. We’re getting closer and closer to the start of our closed beta with each week that passes. Several months ago, we expanded our internal testing of the game to the entire company, and we’ve made significant progress since then. We’re looking forward to inviting external testers into the process soon, which is why we’re starting sign-ups now.

Q. What aspects of the game will be available for testing in this beta?

A. 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.

Q. Will we be able to try the new Battle.net during this beta?

A. You’ll be connecting to and playing on the new Battle.net in the StarCraft II beta, and you’ll definitely have a chance to play around with a few of the new features -- but what you’ll see in the beta is really only a taste of what’s to come.

Q. What updates and changes have you made to the game recently?

A. We’re constantly tweaking the gameplay and balance, and we will be all throughout the beta process, but perhaps the most visible changes have been made to the zerg. Our art team has done a polishing and iteration pass on many of the zerg unit models and structures, so players can look forward to seeing a lot more detail there. Compared to the versions you’ve seen before, the zerg units and bases now look a lot slimier and more sinister.

We’re also really looking forward to seeing testers try out the new gameplay mechanics we’ve introduced to each race, like the proton charge for the protoss and the MULE for the terrans that allow them to harvest minerals faster. The zerg also have a spawn larvae ability that gives them a new way to expand their production. We’re hoping these abilities increase the strategic tension for players and force some tough tactical decisions when managing economies and micromanaging battles.

Q. Which regions can join the StarCraft II beta test?

A. Our plan is to include multiple regions and countries in the StarCraft II beta-testing process. We’ll be starting with a North American beta, where testers from the United States and Canada, as well as Australia and New Zealand will be able to join. We’ll then phase in testers in other regions such as Korea, Taiwan, and Europe as soon as we’re able to set up in those areas.

Q. Why aren’t you running StarCraft II beta simultaneously in all regions?

A. It’s more efficient from a development standpoint to phase in each region one at a time. A big part of the beta test involves setting up new hardware and networking infrastructure, which is not a trivial process. If we set up one region at a time, we can more quickly address any issues we run into at the start, and take the lessons we learn from that experience to establish a smoother setup experience for the next region.

We can also implement all sorts of gameplay and balance changes, view the results, and react to what we’ve observed much more quickly in a single test environment, as opposed to getting bogged down trying to push those changes out across several test environments. Once the major issues are ironed out, we can expand the testing to additional regions. Going region by region will also put us in a better position to test localized versions of the beta.

Q. Will testers be allowed to write about the beta? Take screenshots and videos?

A. Yes! Beta testers will be free to write about their experiences playing the beta as well as take screenshots or videos. We’re really looking forward to getting the game into players’ hands so we can hear their feedback, since that will help propel us into the final stages of development and balancing. We’ve been working hard on StarCraft II, and we can’t wait to finally be able to hear what everyone has to say about it.

go blizzard!

maximumzero

Can I opt-in for both Operating systems?

I was gonna opt-in my iMac and then switch over to Windows 7 via boot camp and opt-in there as well when I get home from work tonight.

Camui

I always been in a ton of betas but I have never been in any blizzard betas ever. =(

SkutSkut

I squealed like a little girl. I hope I get it, but then I don't, cause it'd be all I do all day.

Arkan

maximumzero wrote: »

Can I opt-in for both Operating systems?

I was gonna opt-in my iMac and then switch over to Windows 7 via boot camp and opt-in there as well when I get home from work tonight.

You would need two battle.net accounts.

Frosty

Yea on a related note, I'm loving this revamped Battle.net. Definately has that trademark Blizzard polish

maximumzero

Arkan wrote: »

maximumzero wrote: »

Can I opt-in for both Operating systems?

I was gonna opt-in my iMac and then switch over to Windows 7 via boot camp and opt-in there as well when I get home from work tonight.

You would need two battle.net accounts.

Gotcha, I guess I'll opt-in for the Mac then, as I don't boot into windows other than L4D & TF2, which I've been slacking off of lately anyways.

august

Man, I registered my Starcraft key then parused their on-line store. The prices are even worse than at retail. $40 for WC3 = Frozen Throne? No thanks.

metaghost

august wrote: »

Arkan wrote: »

metaghost wrote: »

Anyone know if there's a way to indicate that one is able to Beta on either OSX or Windows?

Blizzard games have always been released on both mac OSes and Windows at the same time, if that's what you're asking.

He's asking if you can say that you can run the betta on both windows or mac to increase the chances of getting in.

I'm assuming no as each battle.net is slaved to one set of hardware data. You'd need two accounts, one for each machine.

Yah, similarly to maximumzero, I was asking because while I've opted via OSX, I also run Vista through Bootcamp for various other things so I thought I might be able to check a box somewhere saying as such. That's how it was for some other beta I can't recall.

Oh well, no big deal.

S0up

Odd, the spec reader only read 2.5 gigs of ram from my machine... I have 4. I didn't think Vista's superfetch completely hid the remaining ram.

mastman

oh thank god, the beta opt in, how it was before, was so lame. This is so much better.

McAllen

Whoa that was fast, I just got in! This is beta's awesome!

How do you

Spoiler:

I'm just practicing my reaction until I actually get into the beta.

DarkPrimus

I want a beta sign-up for the new Staredit so I can get a head-start on learning how to make sweet maps.

The_Scarab

In. But only because the first 30 seconds of the beta will be the only time when I'll be playing SC2 online and being competitive. Heck, I doubt even that.

Dusda

Awesome, registered. I like how painless the system specifications app was. Much better than those pages of drop down lists.

Arkan

I wonder if the map editor will be included. And if so, how long it will take before a tower defense/DoTA ripoff is made.

Handsome Costanza

I want a remake of those old school sniper CTF maps where you could hide behind trees to avoid detection.

Fuga

Oh god it's going to be so awesome beating newbs who haven't got even the basic idea of SC!

Frem

They most definitely need someone to check how "minimum" their minimum system requirements are. Yes. That person will be me.

Dangerisk

Fuga wrote: »

Oh god it's going to be so awesome beating newbs who haven't got even the basic idea of SC!

^___^ this amuses me

Lemming

Danger be nice

SkutSkut

I can't wait to start playing, and my first match get steamrolled 2 minutes in by a korean.

Fuga

Dangerisk wrote: »

Fuga wrote: »

Oh god it's going to be so awesome beating newbs who haven't got even the basic idea of SC!

^___^ this amuses me

they're going to be like
D---
so even i'll be good!

august

Hey does someone know a way to get the Starcraft menu colors not to look all wrong? I'm running the latest version with the latest drivers for my card.

Monsty

Thanks for the heads-up.

Only big game I've ever been in the beta for was Asheron's Call. Here's hoping!

Xaquin

How can you tell if you've opted in?

Do they send you an e-mail or something?

august

The utility says you have, then it sends you to your battle.net page showing what you're opted in for.

ChewyWaffles

Woot, opted in. I suck at RTS's, so they need people like me to see how newb-friendly their games are.

Spoiler:

right?

maximumzero

I suck at most RTS, but I'd love to give Starcraft a try because I don't really do too poorly in Single Player.

Here's hoping I get a Diablo III invite 'tho.



Oddly enough the app says my CPU speed is 3.06Ghz but the actual webpage lists it as 2.86Ghz. Glitch?

KalTorak

maximumzero wrote: »

I suck at most RTS, but I'd love to give Starcraft a try because I don't really do too poorly in Single Player.

Here's hoping I get a Diablo III invite 'tho.



Oddly enough the app says my CPU speed is 3.06Ghz but the actual webpage lists it as 2.86Ghz. Glitch?

That's...quite a hard drive you've got there.

Enns

So every time I'm try to send the opt-in data it says my internet connection is balls. Anyone else having that problem?

august

Yeah. Just keep trying.

Fizban140

I hope my 1.8 ghz processor can make the cut, and my 6800 GT. I hope they pick mine to see how it runs on the low end specs.

FightTest

maximumzero wrote: »

Oddly enough the app says my CPU speed is 3.06Ghz but the actual webpage lists it as 2.86Ghz. Glitch?

My desktop is OC'd to 3.2Ghz but it showed up as 2.9 or something. So I assume it's just on their end.

cyphr

Here's hoping they need a box with an Intel Core i7 920, 6GB RAM, 700GB HD, and Radeon HD4870 1GB, running Windows 7 to help out in the beta