Official Starcraft 2 Thread

umm this is slightly off topic sorry but I've been playing Total Annihilation on my netbook recently and Im amazed at how well its stood the test of time...I mean ive not played starcraft 2 but does it do half the stuff this game does? TA has true line of sight, physics to determine fire based on elevation, gravity and wind. small hills, massive hills, ridges, forests, everything effects the vehicles movement, gun fire, defense, attack.. the physics determine if projectiles hit and how much damage close by units recieve, they determine the flight of the aircraft etc etc. The original starcraft did none of this but I loved that game (moreso than TA actually) . just wish these games like starcraft 2 used features that were in this 14 year old game (it actually still looks pretty good as well)..supreme commander did but that was rubbish.

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Originally Posted by senorgotti

1 vs 1 match making is pretty solid, but the team ones are less so. Too many variables to get a perfect skill matching when it's 4 vs 4.

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I'm not expecting perfect, but paired up with others at least in my bracket(or close to) would be nice. I know I'm not that great. I don't need to be stomped in the ground by platinum players repeatedly.

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Originally Posted by Schmunkel98

Has anyone figured out the matchmaking system on SC2 yet? I don't see how my fellow bronze and silver teammates get consistently matched up with nothing but gold and above players. Last night, for example, we played in a 4v4 versus two guys that had masters ratings and two that were platinum.

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Battle.net uses a "hidden" matchmaking ranking (MMR) system to match you against people of similar skill levels. This MMR ranking system is unrelated to the Bronze / Silver / Gold / Plat / Diamond / Etc league system, which is based on points and bonus pool points. MMR is much more sensitive to your recent streak of wins/losses, and is used to match you against people of similar skill levels.

Because these two ranking systems (MMR and leagues) are unrelated to each other, it is entirely possible for strong-performing Bronze/Silver players to play people in higher leagues if they have been on a winning streak, or for higher league players to play opponents in lower leagues if they have been on a losing streak.

The reason that your Bronze / Silver 2v2 teams have been playing against Gold/Plat teams is because your team(s) have been performing particularly well lately. Your MMR is much higher than the typical MMR of most Bronze / Silver league teams.

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Originally Posted by Schmunkel98

How are we supposed to compete in the bronze league if we rarely play bronze or even silver level players?

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You're not expected to compete in the Bronze league. Your MMR rating puts you up there with most Gold / Plat league teams, so that is who you are playing against.

Battle.net determines your league by looking at your MMR over time. Keep playing and winning against gold / plat level players, and you will eventually be promoted to Gold / Plat league rankings.

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Originally Posted by Schmunkel98

I have not seen anything official from Blizzard(and I doubt we ever will) on how this thing works. I have the sneaky suspicion that it attempts to find people of similar rank for about 3 seconds and then proceeds to just find whoever.

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There is no official statement from Blizzard, nor will there be. Once they "officially" reveal the algorithm used for matchmaking, people will immediately try to game the system and find loopholes to abuse.

All of the information that I have was pulled from Battle.net forum posts, mostly from computer programmers / developers familiar with programming matchmaking algorithms. They know enough about how computerized matchmaking work, so they can just observe the behavior of a matchmaking system and make some pretty good guesses as to how the inner mechanics work.

And yes, Battle.net will first look for people within a certain range of your MMR ranking. Any potential matches are tested for network connectivity, to make sure that the two of you have a reliable enough internet connection for smooth gameplay. If it doesn't find anyone after a set time has passed, it widens the MMR range. Rinse, repeat until it matches you.

*Checks if the game is $20 yet*... Nope. Lemme know. :)

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Originally Posted by Adaman

*Checks if the game is $20 yet*... Nope. Lemme know. :)

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This is a Blizzard game. It won't be $20 until 2025. Even then it is doubtful.

Played a bunch of 1 v 1's last night. Out of the 5 games 4 of my opponents were Protoss. I only had to win one game to get put back in silver. Didn't used to have problems with silver level players, but most players seem to have gotten better. All the people I played 4 gated so I really need to work on countering that without killing my mid game economy.

Yes, people have definitely gotten better. Protoss 4-gate is exceptionally popular, and exceptionally strong. Just about every TvP game I play (I'm Terran) involves a 4-gate.

If you're playing Terran, it's not that hard to defend. Once you scout the 4-gate, then 3-Rax and put up a bunker at your front door. The Protoss will push at around 45-50 food. Repel the 4-gate with 4 SCV's backing up the bunkers and repairing them.

A failed 4 gate already damages their economy. The resources they spent on a (useless) army are resources that they could have spent building economy or teching up instead.

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Originally Posted by kent1146

Yes, people have definitely gotten better. Protoss 4-gate is exceptionally popular, and exceptionally strong. Just about every TvP game I play (I'm Terran) involves a 4-gate.

If you're playing Terran, it's not that hard to defend. Once you scout the 4-gate, then 3-Rax and put up a bunker at your front door. The Protoss will push at around 45-50 food. Repel the 4-gate with 4 SCV's backing up the bunkers and repairing them.

A failed 4 gate already damages their economy. The resources they spent on a (useless) army are resources that they could have spent building economy or teching up instead.

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I'm a Protoss player so countering the 4 gate usually involves the same but with more sentries. The best luck I have had is waiting for the attack and isolating their army with forcefields as they try to make it up the ramp. Need to find a better solution because I'm not a big fan of being defensive. Day 9 has video about dealing with 4 gate PvP, so hopefully that helps as well.

Mothership rush.

What could possibly go wrong?

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Originally Posted by kent1146

Mothership rush.

What could possibly go wrong?

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Ha ha. I can't imagine doing that in a ladder match.
Add me in SC2 when you get a chance. username: Slacks code: 702

For those of you waiting on a price drop, the game is $40 on Amazon today.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/50263

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Originally Posted by Kamakazie

For those of you waiting on a price drop, the game is $40 on Amazon today.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/50263

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It won't get any cheaper than that. The Diablo battle chest is still $40 on the Blizzard site. I figured most people who were interested in Starcraft already have it anyway.

IGN started a pro league, and it's actually good. Decent production with good commentators. Link below is everyone's favorite Zerg playa Idra. Commentary sounds like the Yahtzee Zero Punctuation review guy.
http://www.ign.com/ipl/starcraft2/ma...ra-fnaticfenix

These videos are funny. Lots of failed cheese and people nuking their own units. Link below is a series called the Litterbox which is a bunch of snippets from sc2 games where someone makes a horrible mistake. Little SC2 knowledge required to enjoy the vids. The commentators do the clips in kind of a Wipeout (TV show) style. Episode 4 features a guy trying to Protoss canon rush the wrong base spawn point. Canon rushes are stupid as it is but the least you can do is scout first.

http://www.youtube.com/user/CatsPaja.../0/8jdRMfmhpgc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pjWw...D9374BF20A3ADA
The stalemate in this one had me at a pretty good LOL. These are so awesome.

MLG live event semi? finals. Idra(Zerg) vs MC (Protoss) LIVE NOW. top Korean player vs. American
http://www.teamliquid.net/video/stre...G_Columbus_Red

over. Idra you jackass