StarCraft 2 beta Mac client out now

If you've played Starcraft 1, you're aren't missing much.

Other than having to purchase 3 copies of the game to get the complete campaign.

That being said, I've got the CE pre-ordered, and will probably get the other 2 CEs. Nothing wrong with Starcraft 1 using Warcraft 3 engine.

Ain't coming to Steam.

@Czar
The formula works, if they changed to much people (you) would be saying its to different. The beta has been a blast so far, and them planning on a trilogy whats so bad about that? Not like they are releasing them all on the same day each will have plenty of content like all of Blizzards expansions.

Heck the Map editor makes it worth a purchase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAtmOLTMqPg

I'm fine with just a prettier Starcraft, but at the same time I would've welcomed a change, like they're doing with Diablo 3.

@PersonOfSorts: He meant he'll wait until steam is on mac, and then he'll play those games.

I find Starcraft 2 to be VERY different. At it's core, no, but the game itself has plenty of new additions and tweaks to make it feel like a new game. Diablo 3 is probably going to be no different. Although, the 12 years difference can make a long-awaited sequel less than stellar when the game itself doesn't seem to veer off from the basic ingredients

I'm tired of defending the expansions though. It's not like someone else's opinion is going to ruin one of my most-awaited experiences.

After getting in, my initial impression of the beta was of disappointment. It seemed like so little had changed, aside from superficial aspects, that I was really just looking at a prettier Starcraft 1.

But once I played several matches and got to know the races better, it became apparent that SC2 is, in fact, a surprisingly different beast from SC1. Yes, the basic structure of a two-resource, hero-less RTS is still there. You still require additional vespene gas and must spawn more overlords. But there are some fun new ideas that work within that framework. The problem is that the changes that really alter how the game plays are the subtle ones, like the balance of mineral-vs-gas usage in a race's tech tree or the way Zerg units move faster on creep or the new foliage system. Things that - if someone just explained it to me without playing it - I don't know if I could appreciate

I guess it's a product of SC2's multiplayer (and that's all that's available for beta right now) being built very much with experienced players in mind - players who will be more sensitive right off the bat to the effects of such subtle changes. Me, I'm coming to this as all but a noob - a decade since my last SC1 match and no training in competitive gaming. So it took me quite a while to appreciate what I was looking at.

I can see how - to someone who has not played the beta and must base their opinions on the screenshots and impressions of others, or to someone who walked away from the beta before coming to appreciate the subtler nuances of the game - SC2 could very easily look, feel, and play like "SC1 only prettier." I remember similar complaints about SC1 when it was first shown off, that it was only a Warcraft clone, just "Orcs in Space" - because back then many people didn't appreciate how much having three distinct races would affect the game. It will be interesting to see if the retail release vindicates SC2 the way it did SC1.

Awookie, this was done in the beta Map Editor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFbFCTziw28

For those of you who are complaining about the lack of real change in StarCraft II, please remember that Blizzard is probably doing that because they don't want South Korea to declare war and strike Irvine/the Blizzard offices.

Are you using gMail? Check your Spam Box. gMail has been mistakenly flagging legitimate SC2 beta codes from Amazon as phishing attacks left and right. Actually, I suppose that could happen on any e-mail service, but I know gMail has been doing it for sure.

Just be really careful. There are plenty of ACTUAL phishing attacks out there that look very similar. The mail I got from Amazon had the code IN THE MAIL, so take any code a mail alleges is real and go to Battle.Net yourself to enter it - don't follow any links in the mail.

You signed up for the bea. Your platform does not matter. If you only have a Mac, you could have gotten a key. If you only have a pc, you could have gotten a pc.

There are people complaining on the forums, "I signed up, only have a Mac, and I still got a key. Why would you send me a key if there wasn't a Mac client available?"

What you have doesn't matter. You aren't special because you have a Mac, and they just released a Mac client. You had a random chance just like everyone else.

Click on "Add or Upgrade a Game."

You can't direct link to it (unless you're referring to a pirated copy). In order to download the beta, you have to be accepted to the program, and have a valid, logged-in battle.net account.

Both versions will be on the disc. Preorder ANY version and you get the mac version.

Thanks, lonecow!

Please, upload mac os x client installer on rapidshare!

Thanks :)

sakrist: No.

@JO @Lonecow

No, I'm having the same problem and I have 100% legit MBP. I startup the game and I am just stuck on the screen with the spinning planet. It's not frozen, the music plays and the ship flies by occasionally... it just won't do anything else. Very disappointing.

You just don't reboot a Mac to fix some stupid app from an incompetent developer. Get real you Windoze morons!