The problem with human memory is that that we’re not actually recording things as they were. If you played something a couple of decades ago, at a time when it was the best-looking game on the market, and you enjoyed it, there is a good chance that you’ll remember it fondly.
Starcraft Remastered Free
It might seem a little odd to even think about it, but the original Starcraft was released almost 20 years ago. At least for me, it’s a warning sign that either I’ve been played games for way too long or maybe I haven’t played enough. Among the hundreds and hundreds of titles I tried and played over the years, not many stand out, but I would have to say that Starcraft is definitely one of them.
A visual comparison of the classic Starcraft graphics and the newly remastered HD version.The First 17 Minutes of Starcraft Remasteredhttps://www.youtube.com. StarCraft, the groundbreaking sci-fi real-time strategy game, returns in a remastered 4K Ultra High Definition edition with all content from the original award-winning game and its renowned. To enable the StarCraft: Remastered features: Launch StarCraft. Make sure HD Graphics is checked. Note: These features can also be toggled by pressing F5 while in the game. StarCraft: Remastered gives the original StarCraft and its expansion, Brood War, a much-needed face lift. The game looks great without abandoning the original style and gameplay. StarCraft: Remastered is a love letter to fans that's faithful right down to the bugs. By Kwanghee Woo June 29, 2017. Hands-on Above all, Remastered focuses on preserving a twenty-year-old.
We all have different ways of remembering Starcraft. I’m sure that the people who were doing all the rushing will remember it fondly, and players like myself that hated being rushed, have a different memory altogether. The result is that StarCraft is still stirring some feelings, but they are mostly about that entire gaming era more than anything.
A sport with a mouse
What’s important to remember about StarCraft is that it didn’t really fade, as most games do. Communities have been built around it, and it actually became a sport, with leagues, money prizes, and the whole lot. That’s not something you achieve by being undistinguished, but we have to look at it with an objective eye.
To be fair, StarCraft and its Brood War expansion were not all that good, from a single-player point of view. Looking back, it’s clear that that story wasn’t really interesting, and it featured a bland and unwelcoming campaign. On the other hand, the standards in 1998 were much lower, and people were much easier to woo.
The game survived because of its multiplayer, and the only reason why that was any good was the balanced gameplay. Many other titles tried to achieve this kind of balance, and some succeeded somewhat, but StarCraft offered very different factions and a system that managed to complement all the units.
With an infusion of new maps, championships, and the right price, Starcraft never went away. It’s always there, just ready to be installed for regular people, and as a sport for others.
What is this remaster anyway?
The remaster fever is upon us, and more and more studios and publishers are looking to upgrade some of their old games and sell them again. Let’s not kid ourselves, remastering an old game is something done for profit, and not to please the fans.When information about a possible remaster of a game from Blizzard was leaked, pretty much everyone thought and hoped that it would be Diablo 2, but it wasn’t meant to be. Soon after that, Blizzard announced that their project is actually the original Starcraft and the news was welcomed with a collective “meh.” It wasn’t a bad idea, but it wasn’t Diablo 2.
Now that we finally managed to play it, we can finally say that it’s not all that bad, which says a lot. I’m aware that there are still a lot of Starcraft fans out there that want to try the game in 4K, but it remains to be seen if it’s enough to motivate sales for a game that’s almost 20 years old.
To be fair, Blizzard didn’t just improve the resolution. They upgraded virtually all of the assets, which means that it looks as good as it can be. In fact, some of the items in the game, such as the buildings and most of the units have been redesigned, in much more detail.
We have to remember that Starcraft was originally made with a technology called sprites, which was fairly common at the time of the launch. Basically, since the camera was fixed in an isometric position, there was no need for 3D models. Everything was done in 2D, along with textures and animations
This technique ensures that two things will happen. The game ages much better than one using a 3D engine since the graphics is determined just by how good the 2D textures are drawn. Secondly, the hardware requirements of such games are usually lower than average, allowing more people to play them.
Blizzard's developers greatly improved the resolution and design of all textures, along with the engine. It’s now possible to play StarCraft in 4K, which is a treat, to say the least.
A problem with the young ones
The thing is that I can enjoy StarCraft: Remastered because I played the old version and I liked it. More importantly, Starcraft was a big part of my gaming adolescence, which ensured a special place for it in my collection. I will always remember it fondly because of the way it made me feel.On the other hand, the new generation might not appreciate it. Taken out of context, the game looks terrible, even with 4K support and hi-def textures. The cinematics are terrible, the story is a mess, the voice acting is almost atrocious, and it looks and feels dated.
Furthermore, the developers could have made some small modifications to improve the gameplay, but they decided not to mess with it. For example, you still can’t select more than 12 units at once. It was annoying back then, and it’s still annoying now. There are lots of similar small problems that have remained un-remastered.
Multiplayer for the masses
Starcraft Remastered Map Editor
To be fair, most people play this game for the multiplayer and have long since abandoned the single-player. With that in mind, I am happy to say it comes with support for Battle.net, with different servers for different parts of the world. Of course, the LAN support is still there, with UDP and IPX options.The presence of IPX protocol should give people an idea about the level of “remastering.” It’s clear that the improvements are limited to the engine and the graphics. All of the other aspects related to gameplay have remained the same. I don’t know if it was for the sake of the people that wanted things to stay the same, or maybe it would have been too difficult to remove it than to leave it be.
One thing that’s not clear is the ability of users with different versions of Starcraft. Is it possible for players with the old version to play against the people with the remastered one? The fact that the gameplay has remained virtually the same might be an indication as to why mechanics haven’t been altered.
The Good
- 4K support
- Upgraded design for all units and buildings
The Bad
Conclusion
We can only hope that this superficial remastering fashion is transitory and that people and developers will once more demand the real deal. As it stands right now, besides the 4K upgrade, I don’t see why this game exists, except milking some funds from a really dedicated community.Don’t get me wrong, there are some great studios out there that are doing remastering projects which are worth their weight in gold, like the Homeworld series. It’s not enough to just upgrade the textures, you have to put your back into it.
Starcraft Remastered 2v2
For example, reworking the first Starcraft game with the engine and gameplay mechanics from Starcraft II would have been much more satisfying. Granted, the entire studio would have been needed, and given the release rate for Blizzard, I guess that it would have taken for ever.
All in all, I can’t understand the point of StarCraft: Remastered. I see that it’s much prettier, and people with high-res displays will be able to run it in all its glory. The problem is that there is no real glory, and the one that’s left exists only in the minds of the people that played the original. It’s not a particularly bad remastering of a cult game, but it’s almost futile.
There is a quite a bit of difference between the free and remastered version of StarCraft. While everything about the gameplay remains the same in both version, the remastered one offers better graphics and new online features. You can play the free version right now, while you’ll have to wait until August 14 for the remastered one. It will cost fifteen dollars.
StarCraft Free vs Remastered Version Information
| Details included in the specific version | Free | Remastered |
|---|---|---|
| Same Legendary Gameplay | Yes | Yes |
| Offline LAN and Campaign | Yes | Yes |
| Connected to the Blizzard App | Yes | Yes |
| Observer Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Modern OS Support | Yes | Yes |
| Presale Unlocks: Korhal Command Center, Aiur Nexus, and Char Hive | No | Yes |
| Cloud Saves | No | Yes |
| 13 Languages | No | Yes |
| Remastered Dialogue and Audio | No | Yes |
| Remastered Graphics up to 4K with Widescreen Support | No | Yes |
| Enhanced Narrative | No | Yes |
| Matchmaking & Leaderboards | No | Yes |
The free version also doesn’t require a Blizzard account to play. You can download it from the official page and get to it right away. With the recent update 1.18, it got some much-needed polish after all those years; more specifically, it launched in 1998. Some of the features included in this update are windowed mode, UTF-8 and UPnP support, update to a new OpenGL backend, improved compatibility with Windows 7-10, Mac support, and more.
Starcraft Remastered Ai
The Remastered version got improvements not only in the graphics department, but in the audio one as well. You can play it up to 4K, with Widescreen Support and enhanced narrative. Modern Leaderboards and matchmaking are something that will please all competitive player. You can use it to view the top of the Leaderboard, search for a specific player, meet new friends around your rank, view their statuses, and much more. You can also turn this option off if you don’t want to be bothered.
Starcraft Remastered
StarCraft and its Brood War expansion are in both of these deals. One of the interesting Brood War characters, Admiral Alexei Stukov, will be making an appearance in Heroes of the Storm as the new melee support hero. A smart move to get other players interested in the lore, and, eventually, into buying the remastered version.