StarCraft II

So, I’ve been playing StarCraft ever since my friend Yves introduced me to it sometime in 2000 or 2001. We both had the same iBook model (12-inch, the first white one, 500 MHz G3), and StarCraft had this glorious feature called “Spawning” where you could install (spawn) it on as many computers as you wanted using the same serial number, and then play a LAN game together. The spawned installations didn’t require a CD to start, but were limited to play only multiplayer games hosted by the “mother installation” with the same serial number. Good enough for us!

I didn’t realize how popular this game had already become, not to mention how popular it will remain! And I didn’t think I would learn to love it just as much as other people do, because I knew I wasn’t good with RTS games, but boy was I wrong!

Then, in 2007, StarCraft II was announced. And it seemed to take forever for Blizzard to release it. But hey, they could take as long as they pleased, because no matter the development time and money of StarCraft II, it would be selling like cold refreshing lemonade on a hot summers day, once released.

Joystiq.com has reported on leaked details and progress along the way, starting with the announcement in 2007 and ending (well, never really ending, but you can’t report on details and progress once the game is out, can you?) in 2010. I would have linked to all these posts during those three years, but never got around to doing so. Anyway, thanks Joystiq.com!

So, did I buy it when it came out? You bet I did. And it was good (compared to another game that had been in development for over 12 years and isn’t nearly as good, I just bought that one to tell my kids one day: “Yes, I owned it”, and to support the folks who finally got it done and made it become reality).

I bought it, but… (and I deserve many slaps in the face for this) only played about 5 rounds of it. And only the first single player mission. Yeah.

Many circumstances and lack of motivation and nostalgia for the original prevented me from getting into StarCraft II. But hey, maybe now during my vacation I can finally find some time for it. Anyway, if you are looking for a great game in this slow-release-month, go get it! You don’t even have to leave your chair, it’s available as digital download.

StarCraft now working again!

Nevermind my other post. I downloaded the StarCraft 1.15.3 Patch again through macgamefiles, and although it leads you to the exact same file on the exact same Blizzard FTP server, miracoulously it worked this time. Opened it, copied everything over, double-clicked StarCraft, tadaaa! The good times are back.

Find the patch for Brood War here, and the patch for StarCraft without Brood War here (is there even anybody out there who hasn’t got Brood War? StarCraft without Brood War is like pie without… uhm… cream? OK not a good reference. How about salad without dressing? Spaghetti without carbonara? Bread without jam? Man I’m getting hungry.)

StarCraft 1.15.3 Update

As some of you know, their has been an issue with StarCraft and new MacBook Pros with Mac OS X 10.5 and new iMacs (or was it even all 10.5 users? I don’t remember. Doesn’t matter anyway.)

So on my MacBook Pro 15″ 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo, StarCraft would not work. You open it, the Startup Options screen appears, you hit OK, but then it closes again, with no error message what so ever. Blizzard has noticed this. And now their out with a new update. Woohoo!

Thanks to this article from the good folks at MacTechNews.de, I was informed quickly and downloaded the update. But it’s no use, because it does not open.

Whatever error -4960 is, I don’t like it. I tried downloading it again, same issue.

Solution, anyone?