Razer Sponsors insomnia40 StarCraft 2 Tournament

This month insomnia40 will take place at Newbury racecourse here in the UK. The Insomnia events are the UK’s largest LAN event and hugely popular among UK gamers. IncGamers was at the last event, Insomnia 30 (see report, video coverage and pre-event video trailer). and it was a great weekend of gaming.

At Insomnia 40 Razer will be offering up the Razer Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse, the Razer Maurauder StarCraft II Gaming Keyboard and the Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset among other prizes.

Also, TotalBiscuit, the Cynical Brit, will be at insomnia40 providing all with the latest up to date information on the Starcraft 2 tournament, including video coverage of the tournament and live casting of the tournament finals (see his Youtube videos).

If you are int he UK then we urge you to head along to the Insomnia 40 event.

Protoss

After a humbling loss at war with the Zerg, the technologically advanced and psionic-potent Protoss were forced to break their rigid traditions and seek change, for it was the only way for them to survive. With new ways of fighting, and old weapons unearthed, they use any advantage to reclaim their lost homeworld from their vicious enemy. Not a prolific race by nature, the Protoss employ a 'quality over quantity' philosophy, using various robotic and psychic enhancements to overcome their natural limits. With their psionic abilities, they are unparalleled when faced individually and yet slow to recover from any devastating loss - where the enemy can recover easily, the Protoss are at a disadvantage. Above all, their most feared force is their space fleet, capable of annihilating enemies with no regard to race or number

The Terran Campaign

The story gets pick-up on Mar Sara, the famous Marshall Jim Raynor is currently planning on getting control of Mar Sara from the Dominion. His arch-enemy Arthur Mengsk, leader of the Dominion, outlawed him, he was forced to flee into the desert of Mar Sara while his Hyperion orbits the planet. On his battle against the dominion, a friend Thycus broke out of the dominion prison, he offers him an artifact hunt on different planets. By selling the Xel’Naga artifacts on the black-market, Jim Raynor can fund his war against the Dominion. Jim Raynor possesses a Battle cruiser called the Hyperion. After each mission you can interact in four different rooms around the Hyperion:

The armory – Where you can spend credits on upgrading your units with special skills and attributes. You can enhance buildings as well with fortified features.

The Bridge – In the bridge you can see the mission archives where you can find all the missions you have accomplished plus cinematic movies, you can replay any mission you would like if you want to get all the achievements. The Star Map is also present at the bridge; from there you can select your next missions.

The Cantina – Is a recreation zone for the personal, you can watch the news and recruit mercenaries which are used in your missions, certain trophies from missions are hanged around the cantina also you have a silly arcade game you can play.

The Laboratory – is split up in to two branches, the Protoss and the Zerg. In missions if you complete the secondary objectives, you gain Protoss or Zerg research points. You can use your research points to combine Terran with Protoss and Zerg technology. For example, you can research the technology of teleporting canisters of Vespene Gas, no SCVs are needed to gather and you can place refineries all over the map.

Patch 1.0.1 Now Live

Our first patch for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is now live. This small patch addresses a few technical issues and makes some server-side optimizations; however, there are a couple of changes worth mentioning which are detailed in the official patch notes below.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty -- Patch 1.0.1

To get the latest news and interact with the community, visit our StarCraft II website. Be sure to check out our Game Guide for an in-depth look at StarCraft II gameplay. We wish you all the best on your journeys through the embattled Koprulu Sector!

Bug Fixes


* Campaign saves have been optimized.

* Fixed an issue with sound not playing on some 7.1 systems.

Comm-Link Online

Whether you have limited StarCraft experience or you were sitting comfortably atop the Diamond league in beta, you need to read about and check out our all-new game guide. There you’ll find pages of helpful tips and tricks for navigating through Battle.net, StarCraft II gameplay, and the systems of the Koprulu Sector. We’ll regularly be expanding on these guides too, as was noted when we introduced a new section this week: What is StarCraft II?

If you fancy yourself a competitor, be sure to swing by our Leagues and Ladders FAQ for clarification on some common questions. If you have additional concerns, head to our Multiplayer and eSports forum so that we can address them in upcoming blogs. We’ve even put together an overview of character profiles so you know how your successes on the battlefield can be tracked, as well as some information on how to get the most out of Battle.net and Real ID.

Nuclear Launch Detected

We’re overjoyed by the turnout at our global midnight launch events. If you didn’t catch the size and scope of the release parties, check out all the spicy images we’ve gathered from folks the world over. Hey, there’s a nice little video too! While you’re at it, you can read all about the celebration we had at our North American midnight launch event in Orange County, as we covered it live (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5).

If you have yet to listen to BlizzCast #14, where Production Director Chris Sigaty and Game Director Dustin Browder summarize their thoughts and feelings on the beta test process and the subsequent release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, we highly recommend it.

It’s been mere days since the official launch, and we’re only beginning to get our feet wet sharing new information and topics of discussion with the community. Stay tuned for much more to come!

Starcraft 2 Zerg Unit Guide - A Bunch of Bugs Lead by a Crazy Woman

The Zerg have had an interesting history. Originally they were controlled by a single massive intelligence called the Overmind. This creature controlled the Zerg hoard throughout the galaxy and used it to crush Terran and Protoss colonies alike. But the Overmind was eliminated in Starcraft, and in the place of the Overmind rose one of the newest and most intelligent creatures added to the Zerg horde - a human psionic named Sarah Kerrigan.

While Kerrigan is now in control, the basics of the Zerg horde remain the same as in Starcraft. The Zerg have cheap units which are easily to lump into massive hoards which can stomp around the map. The Zerg also is very mobile, with many faster units and many ways to harass an opponent. This guide covers Zerg units and provides in-depth information and tactics about the units in the game. If you're a Zerg player who is having trouble with the complexities of the Zerg hoard you've come to the right place.

StarCraft II continues the epic saga of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. These three distinct and powerful races clash once again in the fast-paced real-time strategy sequel to the legendary original, StarCraft. Legions of veteran, upgraded, and brand-new unit types will do battle across the galaxy, as each faction struggles for survival.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty's solo campaign will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War. The storyline chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players will be able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign.

In addition to the solo campaign, dozens of multiplayer maps are available for competitive play through Battle.net. This improved version of the service has been built from the ground up to offer an unparalleled online play experience, with new features such as voice communication, character profiles and achievements, stat-tracking, ladders and leagues, cloud file storage, and more.