StarCraft (video game)
StarCraft (SC) is a real-time strategy computer game produced by Blizzard Entertainment in 1998. The game is similar to Blizzard's previous hit Warcraft II, but has a science fiction setting. The game was heavily edited during the development process to steer the game away from being simply "Warcraft in Space", and eventually the entire game engine had to be gutted and redeveloped to allow the developers to actually acheive the results they were after. The main storyline of the game revolves around a war between three galactic species: the Protoss (a race of humanoid religious warriors), the Zerg (insect-like aliens who share a hive mind) and the Terrans (human colonists from Earth). It was initially released for Windows, later for Macintosh and the N64.
StarCraft was the best selling computer game in 1998. In that same year Blizzard released an expansion pack called StarCraft: Brood War. Recently, Blizzard has announced a third person shooter, StarCraft: Ghost that will be released sometime in 2004 or 2005.
StarCraft
| Release | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X and N64 |
| Developer | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Publisher | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Genre | RTS |
| Predecessor | WarCraft II |
| Expansion | StarCraft: Brood War |
| Influences | Starship Troopers, Aliens, Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40,000 |
| Gameplay | Galactic war between 3 asymmetric species |
| Official site | StarCraft@Blizzard |
General information
Warcraft II, while advanced for its time, featured what many gamers believed to be a weakness in that, apart from a few minor (but significant, balance-wise) differences in available spells and the cost of upgrades, the game's two races were exactly the same mechanically, with only graphical differences. StarCraft improved upon this by incorporating three races, Protoss, Zerg and Terran, instead of two, and by revamping the unit rosters to include unique technologies and units in all three factions.
The game also includes multiplayer gaming on Blizzard's own Internet gaming service Battle.net. One can play against opponents all over the world free of any charge beyond the original purchase of the game and local Internet access fees. Many fans enjoy playing in groups against the computer in skirmish games -- the AI is considered to be weak compared to a good player, but decent early game performance can make it an enjoyable opponent for more casual players, and fans also enjoy creating unfair maps giving the computer an advantage which can be extremely hard to beat. A couple of years after the release of the game Blizzard also released several free maps on the "insane" level.
An expansion pack called Brood War was released in 1998. The expansion provides several new units for each race (which were influential enough to dramatically change the gameplay) and a whole new set of scenarios which continue where the StarCraft scenarios left off. Most people who still play use this expansion and agree that it changed the game significantly for the better, although a few stick to the so-called "vanilla" game.
Playing StarCraft
The multiplayer game
Usually the game is played by one player against another over the Internet or a LAN. The game is usually won by destroying all of the opponent's buildings, although other, less commonly played game types also exist. Such a game, with reasonably experienced players (played at highest game speed), typically lasts between 8 and 60 minutes, the average being about 15 minutes. Traditionally the game does not end with the utter annihilation of one party. Instead, the losing player, when he does not see any chance of winning, sends the message "gg" (good game) and leaves the game.
Like most computer strategy games, the game is centered on resources. Resources are needed to construct units and buildings and better units require more resources. In order to win, the players need to balance between quickly expanding to the resource locations to gather as many resources as possible, defending those locations against the enemy, and preventing the enemy from gathering them for themselves. In StarCraft there are two kinds of resources: minerals (needed for all units) and Vespene gas (needed for some advanced units and upgrades). Minerals appear as blue crystalline formations protruding from the ground and are 'harvested' by drones, SCVs, or probes, while Vespene gas appear as green clouds forming above geysers. Vespene gas, unlike mineral crystals, can only be harvested after a refinery building is constructed over the geyser.
There is a limited amount of resources at each location, and only a limited amount of resources can be gathered in a specific time frame from one location. Depending on what race the players choose, one player might need to expand to considerably more resource locations in order to win the game (while of course also being better suited to do so).
Whether an action is good or not is judged by its cost-effectiveness, meaning the player's own costs/wins compared to those of the opponent. Also, the player cannot create an infinite number of units. Each unit has a "supply/support" rating that adds to a pool. If this amount exceeds 200, the player can no longer create units. Smaller, weaker units use one supply whereas larger ones, like nuclear missiles, can use up to eight.
Mastering StarCraft
Many StarCraft players recognize three skills essential to becoming a good player: micro-management, macro-management and multi-tasking.
- Micromanagement refers to unit control, especially in battle. Having this skill means to attack only when it's cost-effective, retreat fast enough in case you see it's not (effectively doing more damage with fewer units), while preventing the enemy from doing the same. It requires knowledge of the units, their shooting range, speed, abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
- Macromanagement means to keep your economy running, expanding at the right moments to the best locations, picking the right upgrades, building towards and producing the right units in time, spying on the enemy, predicting his moves and, hopefully, outsmarting him. It requires knowledge about the tech-trees (for prerequisites) and the map (where to defend, where to attack, where to expand).
- Multitasking refers to being able to do many things at the same time. StarCraft enables the player to use a variety of shortcuts to jump to a specific position on the map and give fast orders. Having this skill means, for example, to defend and attack at the same time, while not neglecting your micro-management and still working efficiently towards your long-term goals. If the opponent is confident, he might try to distract you with something, usually drops, for you to take care of in order to 'steal your time'.
Sometimes Actions Per Minute (or APM) is used as a quantitative indicator of one's ability to micro- and macromanage. Having a high APM rating does not necessarily mean that one is a skilled, or even decent player; a high APM rating instead indicates a fast, active player. A player's APM rating is determined by calculating the average number of actions that a player performs during each minute beyond the first 80 seconds of a game. An action in StarCraft is defined as selecting a unit or building, giving an order to a unit or building, or designating a target for an order (for example, ordering a marine to attack a supply depot would be three separate actions). Professional gamers, such as those in South Korea, have been known to achieve average APM ratings of over 300, and peak APM ratings, such as during a battle, of over 500 (8.33 actions per second). The computer program BWChart allows StarCraft players to easily determine their APM ratings.
A typical game
Even though new tricks and tactics are still being discovered despite the game's age, it is possible to outline what usually happens in a 'one-on-one' between experienced players.
The map and thus the resource locations are known to both players, however the players are placed in the map at one of the possible spawn points randomly (if the map is set to have Random Start Locations), not knowing where the enemy started off. Everything out of the sight radius of their units is black, everything that once was but now isn't in the sight radius will be shown grayed out in the last known status - this effect is known as the fog of war. Each player starts with some resource collecting units and the structure to build more of them, right next to a resource location.
The players start collecting resources immediately. Any Zerg player, being the only one to start with a movable unit not capable of collecting resources, will most likely start scouting (looking for the enemy) right from the start. The other races will wait a minute or two before sending one of their resource collectors to scout for them, so they won't lose resources in the crucial beginning. Scouting is crucial to keep informed about the enemy's threats and weaknesses.
About the time the player started scouting, he will also start building the structures he needs for his first goals. Those could be defending his base against opponent attacks, preparing for an early attack of chosen units himself and/or expanding his base. Each tactic has its strengths and weaknesses, which is why it's important for the player to act on the information gained through scouting. It's also why the player will try to kill or scare away the scouts of the opponent when he gets the chance. Scouting remains important during the whole game. Players will position cheap, cloaked and/or fast units at crucial positions in the map.
If the player chose to do some early attacks, then he will start doing that after 4 or 5 minutes. There are several known tactics for early attacks and how to best protect oneself against them. When two gosu (skilled players) play against each other, early attacks are not just a huge threat to the defender, but also for the attacker. That's because the attacker wasn't able to use the resources for collecting more of them, and mistakes in the early game matter a lot. Those 8 minute games, mentioned when describing the game duration, usually are the result of a very successful or unsuccessful outcome in an early attack.
If both players survive the first 10 minutes, the players start the battle for space. The players generally will try to get as many resource locations as possible to 'out-resource' the opponent, and 'starve' him by trying to prevent him from doing the same. The players start this quest with the handicap or the advantage of the early game. During this part of the game, the players will stock up their army and try to weaken their enemy by smaller and bigger attacks on resource locations, tech-buildings (structures required for upgrades and advanced units) and buildings necessary to build more units.
During the rest of the game both players will try to get resource domination. A considerable resource control advantage can still be broken by finding weaknesses in the opponent's strategy, doing a 'come-back'. A simple example of this is to build a lot of air units, when the opponent has little anti-air defense, because he concentrated on building a lot of anti-ground. Sooner or later one player will start dominating the game, winning more and more ground. There's an upper limit to the time it takes, because there is a limited amount of resources on the map - long games are rare as small advantages tend to increase over time.
In a typical ending the stronger player rushes towards the other player's main base. The losing player tries to delay the attacker in order to collect his troops for defense. The attacker will push the defender to the outskirt of the base, still with enough troops to defeat the enemy on his own ground. The defender, having almost no troops left and the opponent's army at the outskirts of his main base, surrenders. However often players surrender before a huge attack happens, because they realize they won't be able to get a resource advantage anymore.
An alternative ending is where the weaker, socially challenged player crashes the enemy StarCraft clients, possibly with a cryptic message such as "attack hover incomplete", due to security issues present (as of October, 2004) in StarCraft. There are also other alternatives, such as freezing the other clients while sending rude messages to them.
StarCraft culture
Popularity
In the early 2000s, the game received an explosive popularity among South Korean online gamers, to the point of being (somewhat exaggeratedly) referred to as the national sport of South Korea by some avid gamers.
Even as of 2004, StarCraft is probably still one of the most popular online games in the world, as shown by the German multi-gaming clan pro-Gaming (in German). However, as of 2004, most active StarCraft players come from South Korea.
The game itself has its own culture, similar to Slashdot's and other Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) communities.
In South Korea, StarCraft professional gamers, such as SlayerS_`BoxeR`, [[[NC]YellOw]], and Nal_rA are celebrities: their games are broadcast over several television channels such as MBC Game, Ongamenet, and iTV. While a select few have become moderately wealthy through this (for example, one highly successful player, known in-game as [Red]NaDa, signed a 3 year, ~$500,000 contract in 2004), and some can earn a decent to good living from TV-contracts, sponsoring and tournament prizes, the lower-echelon pro players tend to subsist on relatively small wages. Many pro gamers play StarCraft pretty much every waking hour in order to maintain preparation for the highly competitive leagues. Superior StarCraft and Warcraft III players are called gosu, a Korean word meaning "highly skilled". South Korea seems to be an example of how e-sports can have a similar position as physical sports in a society.
Also of note is the semi-infamous Operation CWAL(Can't Wait Any Longer). More than just a simple cheat to decrease unit build time, Operation CWAL formed in 1997, as a writers group, in the StarCraft Suggestions Forum in an attempt to "liberate" a final copy of StarCraft, which was obviously completed despite numerous delays on the part of Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard Entertainment has gone as far as to give special thanks to this group in the manual for StarCraft, as well as including their name as a code in the game.
While not incredibly active today, Operation CWAL still remains one of Blizzard Entertainment's oldest and most loyal fan groups. Older, and far more grouchy these days, many CWALers lie in wait for any information regarding the, obviously imminent, release of StarCraft 2.
Influence
Because of its vast popularity, StarCraft has become extremely influential in the computer and video gaming fields. In the years immediately following its release, it was considered by many to be the bar against which new real-time strategy games were measured. Several terms now widely used in computer gaming in reference to other games are directly derived from StarCraft: rush (popularized by the term "Zerg rush") and zerging.
Novels and eBooks
StarCraft even became an inspiration for the creation of official novels and eBooks (which were generally not especially well-received by fans), such as:
- StarCraft: Uprising (2000) ISBN B00005AS12 (eBook only)
- StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade (2001) ISBN 0671041487
- StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga (2001) ISBN 0671041495
- StarCraft: Speed of Darkness (2002) ISBN 0671041509
and many others written by fans (fanfictions).
Custom scenarios
The game comes with a campaign/map editor (practically a "Game Creation System" in itself) called StarEdit. StarEdit has many features, including a trigger system that allows one to make radical changes to the way that map works, readily giving gamers the ability to create custom map scenarios. Literally hundreds of custom scenarios are created everyday, giving the game an incredibly refreshing variety. The StarCraft map-making community has also constructed additional editors or functionalities that grant the user even more power to modify the game.
Scenarios are created with entirely different sets of rules, objectives, and units. More popular user created scenarios include Turret Defense, Sunken Defense, Nightmare RPG, and the ubiquitous Tower Defense. Many real-world events, including World War I, World War II and the American Civil War, have also been used as a base for StarCraft maps.
It is estimated that the popularity of special scenario Starcraft maps (or "custom" maps) among the general worldwide populace often exceeds that of the regular game, especially during peak traffic hours. The popularity of custom maps is not limited, however, to only online gaming. Because StarEdit allows the map maker to "link together" several maps, single player "campaigns" (which are long scenarios played out over several maps, hence the name "campaign") have become prominent in the community. Popularized by the revolutionary Antioch Chronicles, many campaigns even come with "MODs" that feature new "heroes" (ie. the map makers create new art files to be imported in to StarCraft, thus creating completely new units and characters - something StarEdit alone could never do). Popular player-made campaigns include Campaign Creation's Legacy of the Confederation, Life of a Marine, The Antioch Chronicles, and StarCraft.org's official campaigns: The Shifters and Fields of Ash.
Replays, RWAs, and VODs
StarCraft enables the player to record a game and save it as a replay, which can then be viewed with any other copy of StarCraft, displaying the entire course of the game. As of 2004, there are many websites that host replays of players with different skill levels, though pro-level replays are relatively rarely released, for reasons of team secrecy and pro-league policy.
The RWAtools are a set of freeware tools that create valid replay files, additionally containing an Ogg audio stream. They allow gamers to comment their own games while they play them and comment replays of other players. During replay the commentary is kept in sync with the game. This can be particularly interesting for people new to the game, who can learn from more experienced players pointing out things about a replay they would not have seen on their own. Also, those replays can be quite fun to watch, if the commentator did a good job.
Lasgo's Observer Pack contains, beside other things, a tool that allows you to see the results of the recorded player's actions as if you played yourself (except the mouse pointer and the selection boxes).
VODs (from "Video On Demand") are videos that show the screen of a commentator (or sometimes player) during a (usually) pro-level game. They are (legally or not) available from a variety of websites, and are ripped from Korean television or internet streams. They usually come in the ASF video file format for Windows Media Player, which plays them with seeking disabled, or in the WMV format. Because they are compressed with an MPEG-4 codec and the file size needs to be small, there is a significant quality loss in comparison to watching a replay. VODs are usually accompanied by enthusiastic announcing from the Korean commentators, and the occasional crowd shot.
Notable Players
Lim Yohwan (SlayerS_`BoxeR`) (Terran)
Known to Koreans as the "Terran Emperor", Boxer is definitely the most popular Starcraft player in Korea, even having a DVD of his best games released. He is also probably the most successful, having won the [World Cyber Games] (WCG) twice and having won the OnGameNet Starleague (OSL) twice. He came to fame by dominating the professional Starcraft scene as a Terran player at a time when Terran was considered relatively weak, and innovated heavily, most notably making much more effective use of the Terran Dropship unit than had been achieved in the past. Boxer is particularly known for his superb micro (unit control) and his highly creative and original play, and was not so good at the macro (economic management) side of the game, which resulted in a gradual loss of dominance as other players improved at a faster pace. Today, while no longer the top player, Boxer is still going strong (having spent much effort improving his macro), and has even made it to the finals of the most recent OSL (as of November 2004).
Guillaume Patry (X'Ds-Grrrr...) (Protoss)
Canadian player Grrrr... was easily the number one player in the world for some time in the era before professional gaming fully took off in Korea, and played successfully in Korea for some time before fading from the scene as new players surpassed his skill.
Kim Dong-Soo (Garimto) (Protoss)
The only other player to win the OSL twice, Garimto was notable for succeeding even during Boxer's height of dominance. He also innovated heavily with Protoss build-orders, making frequent use of "hidden" tech buildings and other tricks.
Hong Jinho ([N.C]...Yellow) (Zerg)
The most successful Zerg player over the long term, Yellow, the "Storm Zerg", is known for his aggressive play, and for his rivalry with Boxer (who is usually on the winning end, at least when it comes to important finals).
Park Jung Suk ([Oops]Reach) (Protoss)
Reach, the "Standard Protoss" is the Protoss player who has been most consistent in the long term, beating Boxer in an OSL final near the height of his dominance, and generally placing well in tournaments. As his nickname suggests, he is generally known for his standard/solid/safe style of play, with strong macro and use of Psi Storm, although he has been leaning away from this slightly in recent times due to changes in the playing style of the other races.
Lee Yunyeol ([Red]NaDa) (Terran)
The "Machine Terran", Nada succeeded Boxer as the number one ranked player, Nada also achieved the highest peak KeSPA rank ever (estimated, as the ranking system was rescaled at one point). He is known for having incredible macro, with the ability to rapidly conjure up a large tank army seemingly from nowhere. His focus in gameplay tends to be more defensive in the early game, concentrating on building up a large force while skillfully harassing the opponent, rather than directly attacking them, with a massive strike being launched at precisely the right time.
Choi Yeon Sung (IloveOOv) (Terran)
The current number one ranked player (succeeding Nada), Oov's macro is even better than Nada's, leading to him being jokingly known as the "Cheater Terran" in Korea. He is also somewhat more aggressive than Nada and seems to have a more varied playstyle, and possibly a somewhat better strategic grasp of the game, which may account for his greater current success. Oov has won the MBCGame Starleague (MSL) three times in succession, an amazing feat, but has yet to win an OSL.
Other Notable Players
Zerg:
Gorush
Julyzerg
Chojja
H.O.T.-Forever
Protoss:
Nal_Ra
Kingdom
Terran:
The Marine
Xellos
Silent_Control
StarCraft in space
On the United States space shuttle mission STS-96, occurring in May-June 1999, astronaut Daniel T. Barry, who enjoys playing StarCraft, brought a copy of the game along with him. [1]
Story
The coming of the Zerg and Protoss
In the beginning you discover that it is the year 2499. A Terran outpost on the edge of known space, named Chau Sara, is attacked by a technologically-advanced race known as the Protoss. The Terran Confederacy fears that Mar Sara is next and scrambles their defenses. At the same time, an insectoid alien known as the Zerg slowly begin to spread across the surface of Mar Sara.
Downfall of the Confederacy
A small group of troops is sent to seek out a local Marshall, named Jim Raynor, to help relocate the colonists. Raynor despises the Confederacy, and after destroying an infested installation to save a colony he is sent to prison. However, Arcturus Mengsk, who leads the Rebel group Sons of Korhal, frees him. They evacuate the planet and flee to the Second Moon of Antiga Prime, where a gorup of people are ready to rebel against the Confederacy. While they're on the planet they meet up with Sarah Kerrigan, Mengsk's second-in-command. Also while they're there, the ship Norad II, flagship of Confederate general Edmund Duke, is shot down by the Zerg. They rescue the ship and convince him to join the Sons of Korhal. He helps them bring down the Confederate homeworld of Tarsonis and to defeat the Protoss in battle. To get rid of the Confederacy once and for all they plant a psi-emitter on the planet, a device capable of attracting the Zerg. The Zerg bear down on the planet and destroy the Confederacy. Mengsk then unites the Terrans and forms the Terran Dominion, crowning himself as Emperor. However, Mengsk abandons Kerrigan, leaving her behind to let the Zerg have her. In response, Raynor breaks away from the Sons of Korhal, now known as the Dominion.
Rise of a New Power
Meanwhile, the Zerg Overmind is protecting a "new creation," to be born from an egg. The Zerg travel to the planet Char and protect the egg. When it hatches an infested form of Kerrigan emerges, now working to serve the Zerg. Kerrigan soon discovers that the Protoss are on Char. Tassadar is leading these forces, and Kerrigan challenges him to a fight. However, Tassadar summons an illusion, which serves as a distraction so that the Protoss can flaunt their new weapon, the Dark Templar, capable of killing a Zerg Cerebrate. The Dark Templar Zeratul kills Zasz, but when Zasz is killed the Overmind learns the secrets of the Protoss, including the location of the homeworld of the Protoss, Aiur. The Zerg then travel to Aiur to obtain a Khaydrian Crystal. They set this upon the ground of a Xel'Naga temple. The Overmind is then able to manifest itself upon this ground, establishing Zerg dominance of Aiur.
Betrayal of the Conclave
Meanwhile, the Protoss known as Fenix flees to the colony of Antioch to defend against a Zerg attack. While there you quickly discover that Tassadar has deserted the Protoss Conclave. He was drawn to Char by Kerrigan's psionic signature, and there met Zeratul, one of the banished Dark Templar. Tassadar says that Zeratul told him that killing Cerebrates is the key to bringing down the Zerg. After they slay the Cerebrate is it immediately reincarnated. Tassadar quickly notes that the only way to kill a Zerg Cerebrate is to use Dark Templar. Fenix then leads an attack against the Zerg and is nearly killed. His crippled body was recovered and placed in a Dragoon exoskeleton so that he may fight again. The Conclave, led by Aldaris, then seek to track down Tassadar and arrest him for his treason. Apparently the treason was not being right about the Cerebrate, which was reincarnated. When they find Tassadar it is found that he has aligned with the Terran Jim Raynor. Tassadar says that he will submit himself once he proves that the Dark Templar indeed can bring down the Cerebrates. The Conclave agrees and Tassadar seeks out Zeratul. He is found with a group of Dark Templar. Fenix soon sides with Tassadar and Zeratul. However, it is soon discovered that the Conclave has betrayed them, and they take out a key Conclave base. However, Tassadar cannot bare the Protoss fighting each other and submits himself to the Conclave. Raynor and Fenix then team up and free Tassadar. Zeratul moves in and eliminates two cerebrates guarding the Overmind so that they may stage their final assault.
Assault on the Overmind
In a final climactic battle, Raynor and his forces, Fenix, Tassadar, and Zeratul team up to defeat the Overmind. Also, in a suprising move, Aldaris apoligizes for his actions against Tassadar. An immense battle takes place, and finally, in the end, Tassadar realizes that he must sacrifice himself. He takes his personal Carrier, the Gantrithor, channels Dark Templar energy through it, and rams it into the Overmind. The Overmind is killed, but Tassadar is taken with it.
But the threat does not die with the Overmind, for another is poised to take this opportunity to come to power themself...