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You are here: Home / Popular Culture / Two Hours Left

Two Hours Left

by John Cole|  July 27, 20106:43 pm| 100 Comments

This post is in: Popular Culture

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On my Starcraft II download.

WOO.

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Reader Interactions

100Comments

  1. 1.

    Zifnab

    July 27, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    :-)

  2. 2.

    Uloborus

    July 27, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    …wait, is that out? What? Dang it, I don’t have time! Going Rogue is coming out!

  3. 3.

    Rook

    July 27, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    No! Another one lost to the internet gaming hordes.

  4. 4.

    The Other Chuck

    July 27, 2010 at 6:47 pm

    We’ll be seeing a lot more Anne Laurie and DougJ posts in the coming weeks, won’t we?

    Don’t forget to feed the pets.

  5. 5.

    Alex S.

    July 27, 2010 at 6:47 pm

    It was nice reading you.

  6. 6.

    dmsilev

    July 27, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    Now taking bets on when the next post from John will be. I’ll take August 15th in the pool.

    dms

  7. 7.

    taylormattd

    July 27, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    Good call. I might do that tonight.

  8. 8.

    Joseph Nobles

    July 27, 2010 at 6:51 pm

    Hey, the first Alan Wake DLC hit last night. I totally forgot!

  9. 9.

    Sentient Puddle

    July 27, 2010 at 7:02 pm

    I walked into Best Buy over lunch, picked up a collector’s edition box on the display table, and walked out.

    I win!

  10. 10.

    scott charmin

    July 27, 2010 at 7:03 pm

    haha :D

  11. 11.

    John Cole

    July 27, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    Now it is up to five hours :(.

    And seriously- I have WoW and CIV IV with all expansion packs installed already as well as Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and I am still here for you all.

  12. 12.

    maus

    July 27, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    Oh man, i’m so there. Going to run out and check for a copy, if none I’ll just activate my download.

  13. 13.

    maus

    July 27, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    Protip: Disable P2P on the Blizzard downloader.

  14. 14.

    Uloborus

    July 27, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    @John Cole:
    Well, duh. You REQUIRE epic fantasy and science fiction to give you the escape of feeling for a few hours that you have some power to overcome the merciless overlords who oppress you with their gigantically fat fuzzy white contempt and demands for more shellfish dinners with lots of bits leftover. Your current allies, no offense, do not seem terribly organized. I’d be sending diplomats to the Protoss too.

  15. 15.

    DarrenG

    July 27, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    @John Cole:

    Ignore the haters. Your fellow gamers got your back on this one, at least those of us who aren’t pounding Mountain Dew and obsessing over SC2 maps and tech trees.

    Haven’t decided whether to get SC2 yet myself; not sure if I can keep up with all the 13 year olds with no job or school and an endless supply of sugary energy drinks.

  16. 16.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 27, 2010 at 7:12 pm

    @Joseph Nobles:

    You just reminded me to sign-up for the DC Universe Online MMO beta.

  17. 17.

    maus

    July 27, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    @DarrenG:

    Haven’t decided whether to get SC2 yet myself; not sure if I can keep up with all the 13 year olds with no job or school and an endless supply of sugary energy drinks.

    Just don’t play it online. Single-player should be robust enough to justify the purchase.

  18. 18.

    Tim

    July 27, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    I canceled both of my WoW accounts a few weeks ago. Real ID was the final straw for me.

    I’m finished with ActiBlizsion.

  19. 19.

    Arclite

    July 27, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    What? No special edition with Raynor dog tags? The geek in me is sorely tempted, but being the sole earner in my family with kids, hard to justify buying any game at full price. I usually get stuff a year or two old on Steam sales for $5-10. Oh, but I am lusting. I am lusting.

  20. 20.

    Bnut

    July 27, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    @maus:

    Except it’s only the Terran campaign. The other two will be paid DLC in the future.

  21. 21.

    Sentient Puddle

    July 27, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    @Arclite: The dog tag is a thing of beauty. But yeah, in your position, $100 for the package probably isn’t worth it.

  22. 22.

    DarrenG

    July 27, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    @maus:

    I’m not normally a huge fan of single-player strategy games, but maybe I’ll look more into the stand-alone campaign anyway. I saw some videos from the beta, and the PvP looks damn cool, but haven’t seen much about the single-player mode.

    @Tim:

    Err…you know that they already reversed the ill-considered decision to require RealID for the forums, yes? Not sure what other aspect(s) of RealID you find objectionable.

  23. 23.

    dmsilev

    July 27, 2010 at 7:22 pm

    @John Cole: Could be worse: http://failblog.org/2010/07/27/its-going-to-be-awhile/

    dms

  24. 24.

    Comrade Mary

    July 27, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    You know what this thread needs? Some Yahtzee and some Guild.

  25. 25.

    MikeJ

    July 27, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    @Arclite: That’s what I’ve started doing too. And of course year old games run better on year old hardware too. Many new games are designed to only run well on hardware that doesn’t actually exist yet, and to eke by on monster gaming systems.

    I may break down for Civ V though.

  26. 26.

    Spiffy McBang

    July 27, 2010 at 7:26 pm

    Downloading it when there was a midnight release? What kind of gamer are you, man?

    But, oh boy, are you in for a treat, especially if you enjoy making tactical research and upgrade decisions between missions that can impact your strategies for the entire campaign.

    Very minor (but useful) spoiler: Purchased upgrades are generally the extras that you research for units during the game (e.g. Marine stimpacks). But in the campaign, buying them doesn’t simply allow you to add them during play; they’re automatically applied to units. In other words, if you buy the stimpack upgrade between missions, all your Marines get them- you don’t need to research them in the Engineering Bay while you play.

    It doesn’t do much to prepare you for multiplayer, but fuck it, the crazy micro motherfuckers would own me there regardless.

  27. 27.

    John Cole

    July 27, 2010 at 7:30 pm

    BTW- I have an optiplex 960 that has a shitty power source. Anyone know what size I can upgrade to to handle a video card that needs two power inputs? Can I just plug any old power source that is bigger in?

  28. 28.

    Division

    July 27, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    @maus: Disabling P2P was excellent advice.

  29. 29.

    Bostondreams

    July 27, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    @Uloborus:

    All Hail Emperor Cole.

    Appropriate, all things considered.

  30. 30.

    NobodySpecial

    July 27, 2010 at 7:34 pm

    @John Cole: I went with a 750 watt Black Widow for mine and have had zero problems. Before that, I had a 750 watt OCZ Gamestream that lasted two years under continuous load.

    Edit – for vid cards I run a pair of ATI 3800’s in Crossfire, so should be plenty good for whatever you run.

  31. 31.

    Bostondreams

    July 27, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:

    Yes. You have no doubt seen the new trailer? What a way to go, your last love with kryptonite stuffed down her throat…
    I cannot wait!

  32. 32.

    NobodySpecial

    July 27, 2010 at 7:37 pm

    And now I want to build a new system. Dammit.

  33. 33.

    Malron

    July 27, 2010 at 7:39 pm

    @John Cole: WTF is an Optiplex?

    If you need more power for high end video cards I recommend purchasing a 700+ watt power supply. I used to run two NVidia 8800 GTX cards on a 700 watt power supply.

    I’m hearing some bad things about SCII, particularly in regards to some very intrusive sign-up requirements for forums and online play. Its also my understanding that even single player mode requires a constant internet connection. A serious WTF to the single player idea, sounds like they want the right to constantly snoop on you to scan your pc to ensure you aren’t a bloody poirate, arrrr! Apparently some major freakout took place on Amazon this morning about the requirements.

  34. 34.

    DarrenG

    July 27, 2010 at 7:40 pm

    @John Cole:

    Number of power inputs isn’t terribly useful. What GPU and CPU are you running?

    These days I’d go with something at least 500W and 80 PLUS certified like this:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

    Some Dell cases can be very picky about power supply form-factor, though, so be sure to check out the size and mountings of your existing one unless you really want to get into case modding.

  35. 35.

    taylormattd

    July 27, 2010 at 7:41 pm

    @DarrenG: You can’t keep up with them. A couple of minutes in Trade Chat in WoW will let you know it’s not possible.

  36. 36.

    Spiffy McBang

    July 27, 2010 at 7:46 pm

    @Malron: There’s a way to play offline- my connection was being wonky last night and it offered the option. I didn’t take it, so I don’t know precisely how it works, but it existed in some form. Wouldn’t shock me if that form is difficult or impossible to find without unplugging the modem, though.

    The forum thing was rescinded. I was fully intent on not buying the game either until they switched gears. I remain disappointed by what seems like an inevitable privacy creep that’s just going to move more slowly now, but at least for this game the potentially real bad shit isn’t in effect.

  37. 37.

    Carrie

    July 27, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    Revenge of the nerds.
    At least give us non-geeks some fucking doggie or cat pics.
    I’ll even take pics of cabbage, FFS.

  38. 38.

    Rick Taylor

    July 27, 2010 at 7:51 pm

    I’m an EQ2 addict; I don’t have time for another game.

    Besides, from what I’ve heard, Starcraft doesn’t have ratonga.

  39. 39.

    Malron

    July 27, 2010 at 7:51 pm

    John, here are the gripes I was alluding to in my prior post. It sounds like the typical greed you can expect when a good gaming company is bought up by Activision, Destroyer of Gaming Worlds. I’m quoting from an Amazon customer review so consider the source:

    DAMN IT JIM, WHERE IS THE REST OF THE GAME?
    Why only 3 stars then? Well, in a nutshell: GREED.
    Apparently BLIZZARD is trying to turn the StarCraft franchise into yet another World of WarCraft phenomenon – and, at the same time, using STARCRAFT II as the vehicle, BLIZZARD is trying to turn BattleNet into the new STEAM. Unfortunately this results in a barely palatable product and using your fan-base to advance your corporate ambitions is always tacky.
    Although priced even more than a full premium game, this is not a complete STARCRAFT sequel. You would not know this by its price-tag(!) but this is only A…THIRD of the game, the first part of three: you can only play the Terran campaign. The Zerg and the Protoss campaigns will be released independently later (and priced as if they were full games, one could safely bet).
    To add insult to injury, one has to keep spending even more money if he wants any “premium maps” and “premium units” sold only via the BattleNet. Since this is a game that will be played mostly online don’t be quick to dismiss this if you have a competitive streak.

    OK, LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT IT – BUT THERE IS A HYDRALISK IN THE ROOM, ISN’T THERE?
    Much more serious is the NeverLettingGo-OnLineActivation requirement. The game will ask for activation during installation, which also includes signing up to BattleNet (and, yes, this means that even this expensive game never becomes yours to keep). But that is not all: a periodic OnLine confirmation is also required after that, FOREVER. Installed a patch? Reactivate. Added some maps? Reactivate.
    Unlike the latest EA and UBISOFT flops which have an idiotic Always-ONLINE requirement, you can play a single player game (campaign and skirmishes) without logging on to BattleNet – only, to do this you have to log on as a …”Guest” (I know, a Guest to your own game and your own computer…). You will be able to save your progress but you cannot tie it to your BattleNet account later, so any progress or accomplishments are lost for your online Account. You can decide if this bothers you. That is why a Broadband Internet connection is included in the minimum system requirements.

    SORRY TO BRING THIS UP BUT SPAWN SEEMS TO BE MISSING FROM MY COPY…
    Remember how we could take our original STARCRAFT CD to a gathering of friends, Spawn it on everyone else’s PCs and start a LAN party? Now one can play with his friends only through the BattleNet – and the Spawn function has been eliminated! Yes, that means each one of your friends now has to have his own original copy of the game!
    The brass at the top conveniently forgets that the ability to Spawn games was the main reason both STARCRAFT and DIABLO acquired such huge fan-bases.
    Et tu, BLIZZARD? This is a good game, one I think we will be enjoying for years – or for as long as BLIZZARD shall allow us to do so. However, I had higher hopes for BLIZZARD’s respect to its own customers.

  40. 40.

    Urza

    July 27, 2010 at 7:53 pm

    You didn’t predownload the game and just activate today? It was rather nice of them to have a full install for free for anyone who wanted it so it would be ready for the serial at midnight or when your box arrives.

  41. 41.

    burnspbesq

    July 27, 2010 at 7:57 pm

    If I can’t waterboard John Yoo, I am not interested in this game.

  42. 42.

    maus

    July 27, 2010 at 7:58 pm

    John, here are the gripes I was alluding to in my prior post. It sounds like the typical greed you can expect when a good gaming company is bought up by Activision, Destroyer of Gaming Worlds. I’m quoting from an Amazon customer review so consider the source:

    This reviewer is fucking stupid.

    Although priced even more than a full premium game, this is not a complete STARCRAFT sequel. You would not know this by its price-tag(!) but this is only A…THIRD of the game, the first part of three: you can only play the Terran campaign. The Zerg and the Protoss campaigns will be released independently later (and priced as if they were full games, one could safely bet). To add insult to injury, one has to keep spending even more money if he wants any “premium maps” and “premium units” sold only via the BattleNet. Since this is a game that will be played mostly online don’t be quick to dismiss this if you have a competitive streak.

    This is not a partial game.

    It’s a FULL GAME. Bigger than the first SC. With fully active multiplayer.

    If you want to buy your fancy model for your units, you pay money. If you want to buy fan-created maps you pay money.

    None of this gives you an advantage for microtransactions.

    I agree strongly with all the RealID stuff, but the Lanplay criticism is baseless.

    SORRY TO BRING THIS UP BUT SPAWN SEEMS TO BE MISSING FROM MY COPY…
    Remember how we could take our original STARCRAFT CD to a gathering of friends, Spawn it on everyone else’s PCs and start a LAN party? Now one can play with his friends only through the BattleNet – and the Spawn function has been eliminated! Yes, that means each one of your friends now has to have his own original copy of the game!

    Privilege, not necessity.

  43. 43.

    Deimos

    July 27, 2010 at 8:03 pm

    One more hour of work to go… I can’t wait to play this game!

  44. 44.

    handy

    July 27, 2010 at 8:06 pm

    I’ve been holding myself to keeping a gaming hiatus until Cataclysm comes out but from all appearances SC2 looks good. Really good. My will may be bent before all is said and done.

  45. 45.

    General Stuck

    July 27, 2010 at 8:08 pm

    Teenage wasteland for adults.

  46. 46.

    Malron

    July 27, 2010 at 8:09 pm

    @maus: I have to disagree to this:

    If you want to buy fan-created maps you pay money.

    Third parties have been creating and sharing maps and mods for games free of charge for years.

    Also, read this quote describing the game, taken directly from the SCII site:

    Three Unique Races
    Whether you command the mysterious Protoss, the nomadic Terrans, or the ruthless Zerg, you must decide how to outwit or outgun the enemy in an unforgiving universe of intense strategic combat.

    Blizzard advertised the ability to play as any of the three main races but chooses to do the same “release it now, patch it later and call it an ‘expansion pack'” bullshit software companies have been using to rip off their customers for years. This isn’t where you start defending the software companies right to dupe their customers in the name of greed, is it?

  47. 47.

    demo woman

    July 27, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    T.O. signs with Cincy and John doesn’t even mention it. Must be a good game.

  48. 48.

    Deimos

    July 27, 2010 at 8:16 pm

    Yeah, the whole complaint of $60 for 1/3 of a game is absolutely idiotic. The original game had 29 single player missions and multiplayer. The sequel has 31 missions, multiplayer, and a new training area for transitioning to multiplayer. How’s that 1/3 of a game?

    It’s like being pissed that the Lord of the Rings is three movies, when you could just combine it into one movie that watches like a recap because six to eight hours of content has been cut out.

    Blizzard has been charging $60 for games ever since Diablo 2. And that was back in 2000!

  49. 49.

    burnspbesq

    July 27, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    @demo woman:

    Wait, what? T.O. and Ochocinco are teammates?

    Now is not a good time to be short in popcorn futures.

  50. 50.

    debit

    July 27, 2010 at 8:42 pm

    @Sentient Puddle: My son bought the collector’s edition. He’s not going to open it and thus will also be downloading. I know. I shook my head too.

  51. 51.

    stuckinred

    July 27, 2010 at 8:47 pm

    @demo woman: Jack Tatum died too.

  52. 52.

    JD Rhoades

    July 27, 2010 at 8:51 pm

    I miss gaming. I particularly miss the bitching and moaning and flame wars every time a new game or iteration of one comes out.

  53. 53.

    JGabriel

    July 27, 2010 at 8:58 pm

    John Cole:

    I have an optiplex 960 that has a shitty power source. Anyone know what size I can upgrade to to handle a video card that needs two power inputs?

    You can probably get by with a 500W Power Supply Unit, but I’d recommend 600-650W just to be on the safe side. If you plan to add another video card in a Crossfire/SLI configuration, push that to 750W to 850W.

    Also, you’ll want a PSU that has Active PFC and is 80Plus Certified for energy conservation.

    That usually runs about $70 – $100, but NewEgg is currently selling a Tuniq 650W 80Plus PSU that’ll only set you back $56, incl. shipping. It’s same PSU I’m using, and I can vouch for it. It’s pretty much a steal at that price.

    .

  54. 54.

    JGabriel

    July 27, 2010 at 9:05 pm

    John Cole: This is a pretty good in-depth review of the Tuniq PSU from Hi-tech Reviews.

    .

  55. 55.

    Maus

    July 27, 2010 at 9:09 pm

    Malron: bitching about custom maps is legit, but you CAN play as all 3 races. In Multiplayer.

  56. 56.

    cat48

    July 27, 2010 at 9:12 pm

    OT, but I wonder wtf is Mort Zuckerman trying to accomplish exactly? He has another friggn oped about Obama hurting business’ feelings by talkn mean and alleging once again that Fannie & Freddie alone caused the financial crisis in the FT!

    Yes, Mortie, we noticed you were upset about 5 opeds ago; but I simply could care less and once again, it’s a fraud! WTF??

  57. 57.

    J.W. Hamner

    July 27, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    I have no interest in this game… but if you are waiting, here is Ted Leo vs. Tears for Fears

  58. 58.

    4tehlulz

    July 27, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    PSU Calculator to help figure out what you need. I’d add about 10 or 20% to whatever it recommends to account for fans, strobe lights, USB weaponry, etc.

    I personally recommend Antec PSUs, but Thermaltake is fine, too.

  59. 59.

    Michael

    July 27, 2010 at 9:15 pm

    Mortie is still upset that Madoff got sucked up into a tanking economy and that the Zuckerman fortune evaporated with it.

    I’d be happy if Mortie got so upset by his financial straights that he decided to leap off a building….

    +3

  60. 60.

    Maus

    July 27, 2010 at 9:15 pm

    I mean, I dislike Kotick and Activision tons, but i wasn’t “duped” by Brood War. If there’s applicable content, I’ll happily buy all three. And no, aside from Fallout 3, I don’t buy expansion packs. Nobody’s being exploited here, and you’re not making Blizzard look bad by focusing on these elements.

  61. 61.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 27, 2010 at 9:18 pm

    @Bostondreams:

    That looked great but I’m not sure how I feel about paying a monthly fee for an online game.

  62. 62.

    South of I-10

    July 27, 2010 at 9:21 pm

    Gaming thread, huh? I just got Little South UNO for her birthday.

  63. 63.

    Arclite

    July 27, 2010 at 9:26 pm

    @John Cole: Hey John, the guys over at Maximum PC swear by PC Power and Cooling power supplies. They build out dozens of machines each year and stress test the hell out of them and have yet to have one fail.

    Getting a high quality power supply is very important, since everything else depends on it. Also, as power supplies heat up their ability to efficiently deliver power decreases, and the actual wattage they can deliver decreases, so it’s best to get one with some overhead, especially if you’re going to run high end graphics cards. The 700 watt rec above sounded good. Here’s one on Newegg:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027

    If you’re looking to get a new graphics card. I suggest the Radeon 5870. It has all the newest bells and whistles like DX 11, delivers great frame rates and beautiful renders, and does so without gobbling too much power. Also, too, when it’s not being used, it only draws 28 watts.

  64. 64.

    AB

    July 27, 2010 at 9:47 pm

    good going.

    and I don’t really care about the whole “1/3 of a game” thing, it has ~30 missions, thats equal to the first starcraft and brood war. I just hope they don’t charge sixty bucks for the zerg and protoss campaigns, that’s a lot of money.

  65. 65.

    Uloborus

    July 27, 2010 at 9:50 pm

    @Rick Taylor:
    Eesh. EQ2? Really? It’s so… generic. The original EQ had a style. It just also had devs who hated you personally and everyone like you and your family and everyone you met. But EQ2 is just really standard fantasy bland. I really gotta have an MMO with a style that suits me.

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    July 27, 2010 at 9:50 pm

    IANAG, so I was scrolling pretty fast through this thread (because most of it is, well, pretty meaningless to me) and came upon @Maus #42, who wrote:

    If you want to buy your fancy model for your units, you pay money.

    and as God is my witness I read it as

    If you want to buy your fancy model for your nuts, you pay money.

  67. 67.

    AB

    July 27, 2010 at 9:51 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: I view it just like a magazine subscription, except more fun. Online games generally also have frequent content updates that fix them or introduce new content, which normal games generally don’t. The price to upkeep the server plus the payment to developers to change the game depending on the growth and habits of the player base can be worth it for some games, and in some cases works quite well, IMHO.

  68. 68.

    Cain

    July 27, 2010 at 9:56 pm

    Just want to crow that all of Oregon’s democratic representatives voted against paying for our two wars. We rule.

    Secondly, David Wu has this really cool, phone town meetings where they call you and conference you in automatically. It is really quite empowering to know that you have access to not only other oregonians but also get to weigh in on the issues.

    cin

  69. 69.

    Arclite

    July 27, 2010 at 9:56 pm

    I just hope they don’t charge sixty bucks for the zerg and protoss campaigns, that’s a lot of money.

    Two things.

    1. The cost of a PC computer game has been a static $50 for the past three decades. Finally we are seeing it start to creep up. I don’t like it, but it’s hard to complain when it has been the same for so long, although given the recession the timing could be better.

    2. Marketing aside, if they are complete games and offer value for the money, then who cares that they are all named SC II: xxx instead of SC II, SC III, and SC IV and are all full priced instead of expansion priced.

  70. 70.

    Uloborus

    July 27, 2010 at 9:56 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:
    I really like MMOs. The monthly fee does add up, but consider that you’re only paying it until you run out of content and stop wanting to play. Most MMOs have amounts of content that bury any conventional single-player game. Of course, I have a couple of friends I play with. I really feel that playing an MMO by yourself is not worth it.

    EDIT – And like AB says, most of them provide free regular updates. It’s all dependent on the game, of course. EQ and WoW prefer to charge for their expansions, CoH has added so much free content it can take hours to design a costume, and WO has added very, very little.

  71. 71.

    Mark S.

    July 27, 2010 at 9:57 pm

    Is it downloaded? Can we have a motherfucking update please!

  72. 72.

    Cain

    July 27, 2010 at 9:58 pm

    btw assassin’s creed II is awesome!

    cain

  73. 73.

    dopealope

    July 27, 2010 at 9:58 pm

    UPS delivered my copy this morning, and so far it’s pretty fun. First RTS game I’ve played since I got my xBox years ago, but I can see I’m gonna be obsessed for a bit. Not Fallout3 obsessed, but obsessed enough …

  74. 74.

    debit

    July 27, 2010 at 9:59 pm

    Behold my dessert and despair!

  75. 75.

    Arclite

    July 27, 2010 at 10:04 pm

    @debit: This is a StarCraft II thread. Only StarCraft II desserts are allowed.

  76. 76.

    debit

    July 27, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    @Arclite: That is a seriously awesome cake.

  77. 77.

    Arclite

    July 27, 2010 at 10:08 pm

    @Mark S.:

    Is it downloaded? Can we have a motherfucking update please!

    Mark, have you ever played StarCraft? No update means it finished downloading…

  78. 78.

    Arclite

    July 27, 2010 at 10:09 pm

    @debit: :P

    Actually, your dessert looks much more appetizing.

    What’s the recipe for the shortbread?

  79. 79.

    Cat Lady

    July 27, 2010 at 10:10 pm

    @J.W. Hamner:

    Way way OT and from a time long ago and far away, but covers of songs should be way better than the songs they cover or why bother? I watched this and it was earnest, but it made me want the Tears for Fears version, which I love, because it’s not better, IMHO.

    Which made me go to the go to guy for covers.

    The Letter.

    With a Little Help From My Friends @ 5:00 in is where it takes off. This is 41 years old. Sigh.

  80. 80.

    Martin

    July 27, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    I’ll probably get my free copy and subscription this weekend. Benefits of living ½ mile from Blizzard HQ and having half your friends as engineers/designers there.

    I don’t play multiplayer though. The fun window last about 12 hours after the game comes out – after that the grinders just kick everyone’s asses. The only multiplayer I liked (which I should fire up again, it’s been a long time since I played) was America’s Army as it did a better than average job of grouping equal skill players and because anyone could get one-shot killed. Nobody was invincible.

  81. 81.

    debit

    July 27, 2010 at 10:15 pm

    @Arclite: I used this recipe for a base, but add a little more brown sugar, a little less powdered and sprinkle a touch of granulated sugar on the top (when I remember to).

    It’s actually my favorite dessert, not too rich, not too heavy, and perfect with just about any fruit.

  82. 82.

    El Cid

    July 27, 2010 at 10:36 pm

    I am watching the recorded Masterchef USA. I hope it’s a fraction as good as its Australian predecessor. (The first was the UK version, but I was never crazy about it.)

  83. 83.

    Kristine

    July 27, 2010 at 11:08 pm

    The banner ad at the top of the page for Scoop Away that features the Adventures of Crumbly and Clumpy is the most surreal thing I have ever seen on a Tuesday.

  84. 84.

    Gozer

    July 27, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    @John Cole:

    I’d recommend any of the power-supplies by Corsair. I’ve built 4 systems with them so far and they all are stellar performers.

    I’m currently using a 1000w modular Corsair unit, but the lower wattage models are more than capable of handling 2 mid to high range video cards.

  85. 85.

    kdaug

    July 27, 2010 at 11:23 pm

    @Arclite: Seconded. I have it for Mudbox, and was able to hit 89mil polys @ 79.5 fps. (12G RAM in box)

  86. 86.

    Mnemosyne

    July 27, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    @J.W. Hamner:

    Amusing anecdote about the late Joe Strummer:

    Apparently, sometime in the 1980s, he walked up to Roland Orzabal at a party and announced, “You owe me a fiver.”

    Orzabal, naturally, said, “Excuse me?”

    Strummer said, “‘Charlie Don’t Surf,’ verse two, line one. ‘Everybody wants to rule the world.’ You owe me a fiver.”

    By all accounts, Orzabal handed over the fiver. What else could you really do?

  87. 87.

    Mark S.

    July 27, 2010 at 11:39 pm

    @Arclite:

    No update means it finished downloading

    That’s undoubtedly the case, but I was expecting something like:

    UPDATE 1: A billion times better than sex

    UPDATE 2: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

  88. 88.

    kdaug

    July 27, 2010 at 11:41 pm

    @Martin: AA was great – I stopped playing sometime after they did the medic training release (nothing wrong with the game, just moved on to something else).

    But all in all, highly interative improvements, really good squad interaction, and the price is right (well, you’ve already paid for it in taxes anyway).

  89. 89.

    Arclite

    July 27, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    @debit: Wow, awesome. Thanks, debit.

  90. 90.

    ericvsthem

    July 28, 2010 at 12:03 am

    Got SC II, installed it, and played single player for 2 or 3 hours tonight. Very happy with the gameplay experience thus far.

  91. 91.

    idioteraser

    July 28, 2010 at 3:46 am

    @Arclite:

    However what is in the special editions which cost 50 bucks or more has decreased in quality and is often some piece of dlc that should have been in the game to begin with. Why would certain stores get downloadable maps for multiplayer while the other stores get zilch?

    Give figurines, cd music soundtracks, maps made on cloth, real world stuff is all I ask for my 50 or more bucks. Not some thing that should already be in the game for free.

    Also for rts games get the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series.

  92. 92.

    idioteraser

    July 28, 2010 at 3:47 am

    Warhammer 40,000 is what inspired starcraft and Warhammer inspired Warcraft.

  93. 93.

    Arclite

    July 28, 2010 at 5:09 am

    @idioteraser: I agree that including DLC with special editions is weak tea. I was really lusting after Raynor’s dog tags (which are a 2 GB flash drive containing the origins SC and Brood Wars. I never played BW), the behind-the-scenes DVD and soundtrack CD, and the concept art book.

  94. 94.

    Prospero

    July 28, 2010 at 6:48 am

    @Uloborus:

    Most MMOs have amounts of content that bury any conventional single-player game.

    Of course, it’s only true because the content in MMOs is spread really really thin.

  95. 95.

    maus

    July 28, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    @idioteraser: None of this is really new.

    IIRC Starcraft was more of a tech demo to entice Games Workshop into having Blizzard make an actual WH40k game, but GW didn’t want to license and lose their cash from miniature purchases. Of course, I wonder about the Space Hulk games release dates and how that fits in, but Space Hulk was different enough perhaps that they didn’t find it as threatening.

  96. 96.

    idioteraser

    July 28, 2010 at 4:06 pm

    @maus:

    There were also several other games put on pc and console systems using the WH40k license. Space Hulk was 1993 and Starcraft was 1998. So the explanation you give doesn’t seem to fit the facts that they were already licensing video games on the Warhammer 40k license long before Starcraft came out unless starcraft had an unusually long development time. Plus there were other warhammer 40k games such as http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/final-liberation-warhammer-epic-40000/that were also strategy mind you turn based not real time that also predated starcraft.

    So yeah starcraft and world of warcraft owe their existance to games workshop.

  97. 97.

    maus

    July 29, 2010 at 1:32 am

    @idioteraser:

    So yeah starcraft and world of warcraft owe their existance to games workshop

    Duh. I’m not trying to argue against them being influences or direct swipes. By “none of this is new” I mean the argument, I just don’t see how that makes Starcraft less likeable.

    Most of what I like about Starcraft/Warcraft is in the gameplay, much less so the storyline.

    What I loved about 40k was definitely more the storyline and rulebooks, and not arguing with a bunch of nerds and spending ungodly amounts of money on the miniatures (i did like painting them, though…)

  98. 98.

    maus

    July 29, 2010 at 1:35 am

    http://dimortuisunt.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/analog-gaming-warhammer-and-warcraft/

    In the early and mid 90′s Games Workshop was approached by a small American development team called Blizzard, the folks at Blizzard were fans of GW’s products and they wanted to make a game based on the Warhammer setting… Negotiations went back and forth and Blizzard began eal development. Then GW backed out. Blizzard though still wanted to make the game, so they tweaked it and changed it a little and released it as Warcraft: Orcs and Humans…

    This is more what I meant.

  99. 99.

    idioteraser

    July 29, 2010 at 4:35 am

    @maus:

    There is a penny-arcade strip that illustrates what I am refering to namely a class of Blizzard fans who didn’t ever bother to investigate the origins of Warhammer or Warhammer 40k saying that Warhammer online is a rip off of World of Warcraft.

    I have even seen starcraft fans think the Tyranids were ripoffs of the Zerg and that Starcraft was completly original.

    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/10/

    So yeah sorry I was just dreding up some memories of the stupid I have seen on the internet and reacting to those memories.

  100. 100.

    maus

    July 29, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    @idioteraser: Ah, yeah. I have kneejerk annoyances like that as well (and am well familiar with that strip :D )

    I’ve definitely been playing Space Hulk and 40k loooooong before I was playing SC and DOW.

    And from playing SC2 so far, I can definitively say that the stories I come across in rulebooks and make up in my head own the hell out of the current SC2 writing. The game’s fun, but cliche, cliche, cliche. Which disappoints me because I’m not going to do much multiplayer at all.

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