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This project is being created in order to find the absolute essential settings for competitive multiplayer Starcraft 2. The video above is a starting point. As with everything I do, I accept that some or all of the things in this video may be proven wrong in the discussion to follow. That is why we are going to have that discussion. When we have gathered enough information I will ask for this blog to be moved into the Strategy section of the Sc2 forums, but now, its time to do some research and voice our opinions. I haven't had time to write all of my ideas out just yet, but as I get time I will add to the OP. In addition, any amendments to the video or explanations that we come up with as a group I will add to the OP.
16x9 resolution
Medium Shaders
This is low shaders: The other variables have no effect on the widow mine crater itself. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/YUiXqU0.png) This is medium shaders: Any higher shaders have no effect on the widow mine crater itself ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/xKycyRZ.png)
Mouse Settings
Sound Effects Only
A player can take either a proactive or a reactive approach to macro. Something like, "always keeping 2 Scv's in the queue and when the player hears the "SCV ready" sound, he/she queues up another to keep 2 in the queue" would be an example of a reactive approach to macro. The player is waiting for something to happen, and then reacting to it. A proactive example would be keeping 1 SCV in the queue and pressing the CG (and clicking the wireframe when necessary) to see the progress of the SCV and queueing up the 2nd SCV just before the 1st finishes.
As time goes on, keeping 2 SCVs in the queue isn't such a big deal, but as we are going for the Optimal settings for competitive multiplayer Starcraft 2, the proactive approach is superior. Keep in mind this concept doesn't only apply to SCVs, it also applies to things like colossus which definitely shouldn't be queued for long periods of time as it is just as bad as having an extra 300/200 in the bank for a long period of time.
It is important at this point to separate Proactive/Reactive Mechanics from Proactive/Reactive Strategy. Being Reactive to scouting information and the opponent's strategy is generally considered sound strategic play. This has nothing to do with being reactive mechanically, which will put a greater delay on actions, or put the player into a rhythm of inefficient habits, like queueing two thors when he/she could build another factory, expand, or get an upgrade or tech structure sooner.
Proactive Mechanics apply to more than just queueing. It also applies to supply, minimap, and resource management. It is generally accepted that waiting until a supply block to build an overlord is inefficient play. The best solution to this I have found is to create a specific trigger to look at the supply. I look at my supply (for example) every time I create a unit. Because my supply and my resources are right next to eachother, I look at those as well. This means that I am always aware of my resources and supply throughout the course of the game. Whenever I add something into a CG, I look at the minimap. Whenever I chronoboost, I look at the minimap. So on and so forth. It is amazing how much I can accomplish on the main screen with my peripheral vision after just a few days of specific training of these triggers.
So, for the sake of argument, let's assume that Proactive Mechanics are at all times the superior way to play. (I understand this is debatable and will be making a thread for such debate once I get enough information to make a solid OP on settings.) There would be no need in this situation for a voice to tell me that I require more minerals. I am aware of my economy and know that I require more minerals. The same goes with supply and gas. I am aware of my production and do not need a voice to tell me when my SCV is ready or when my queen has finished. I will be at the hatchery ready to inject just before the queen pops out because I am aware of the progress bar. Which is faster than reacting to the sound of the queen being born. There is no need for an interface sound whenever I am trying to do something that I don't have enough resources/supply/larva for.
The existence of these sounds distract from the important sounds that will tell me when a phoenix or drop skirts the edge of my overlord's vision, or when I am being proxied, etc. The existence of these sounds also train me to be a reactive mechanical player instead of a proactive mechanical player, which is contrary to my goal. I do think it may be useful to turn certain sounds on during important matches as a safety net. There are stories of pro gamers playing with no sound at all when training in order to encourage a more proactive approach to mechanics, I am on the hunt for specific examples now.
Concerning personal preference: Do what you want to do! This video is by no means attempting to say that "these settings are the way that YOU personally should play Starcraft 2" If you like interface sounds, turn them on, if you like hearing that "SCV Ready" to get you into your macro rhythm then turn that on as well. I will be going through exactly what each sound option does so that you can customize your own settings for exactly what you want. Until then I will continue to gather information until a full post can be made.
  
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I'm wondering whether or not I agree with your vision on the sound effects... On one side, I definitely agree that proactive mechanics are superior and that we should aim toward that. But on the other side, cutting the sound effects is not quite a step in this direction, but rather a conscious removal of (potentially) useful information. I'm not sure how much these sounds "distract" from the important sounds as you said, so this could be debated. I think however that having this safety net is useful and should be used, as long as we don't depend on it.
An analogy could be wearing a helmet with facial protection while playing hockey. You should not ever rely on it to block pucks, but when you get one to the head by accident, you're glad you were wearing one. Some players don't use one and often end up with injuries at some point. I guess I prefer staying on the safe side.
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Hey there.
I did some research regarding visibility of Widowmines. It turns out that the best setting is to set Shadows to "Low", so you can easily spot burrowed WM hiding in building shadows. Unfortunately it is only available with "Low Shaders" and as you already pointed out: you need medium shaders for models on high (seeing warped-in units in stargates).
So.. I guess if you know beforehand if you are up against T or P you should adjust your settings.
Edit: Just found something, gotta test it, tho. http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=218947
Edit2: Well, I just found this thread: http://eu.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/6298353540 . Seems like you cannot modify the variables.txt by yourself. Hmm I guess the next best thing is to start the game with the graphic settings you showed in the OP and then turning shaders and shadows to low without restarting the game. So you will at least keep the high models for this session. =/ meh. I don't know why Blizzard always has to interfere with these things.
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@Cursed
I think that for training purposes its best to have sound effects only, but when playing an important match, turning them back on might be good as a safety net. The issue with having the sounds there the whole time is that they begin being depended on instead of just for help. More like training wheels for a bicycle than a helmet I think.
@sil0r
The main issue with graphics is that the shaders need to be on medium for the crater to appear clearly (go try it and you will see what I mean). I hate having shadows too, unfortuantely blizzard doesn't allow us to have the best settings possible by the game engine, just the best out of what the UI will allow.
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Hmm.. Are you sure? I just tested it a few times and I see it on low for every setting.
Edit: Okay now I see what you mean, on medium there are some details added. But it seems to depend on the Model Quality, not the shaders. But still, in the case of WM in building shadow, low settings are so much better than having shadows.
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yes, I've personally checked all the variables and variations.
Screenshots:
This is low shaders: The other variables have no effect on the widow mine crater itself.
This is medium shaders: Any higher shaders have no effect on the widow mine crater itself
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First off, I do have to say that I appreciate your work a lot.
However, your statement 'dissing' the people who say 'it's all preference', doesn't really agree with me.
Surely, there are settings that are going to be beneficial in theory, but you're not working with something that's universal per sé. This is why people, like myself, tend to not use these functionalities that you propose. Why? Because while it's awesome, it also isn't the style I prefer to play with.
That all being said, I'll monitor this and chime in from my perspective, if that would help you 
Edit:
I would recommend people to actually train without sound, as it forces them to proactively keep cycling through everything they do. Just to be in before someone says "You don't hear a nydus!". Well, you pretty much should have the vision and the ability to spot it in time on your minimap.
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Why are so many graphics settings on low? Is it for FPS or what?
The main argument for low settings I've heard is that cloaked units are more visible, but I personally can see them more easily on ultra.
On May 15 2013 07:38 Aelonius wrote:
However, your statement 'dissing' the people who say 'it's all preference', doesn't really agree with me.
He never said "dissing," nor anything dissing personal preference.
In fact, he said:
On May 15 2013 00:32 JaKaTaK wrote:
Do what you want to do! This video is by no means attempting to say that "these settings are the way that YOU personally should play Starcraft 2" If you like interface sounds, turn them on, if you like hearing that "SCV Ready" to get you into your macro rhythm then turn that on as well. I will be going through exactly what each sound option does so that you can customize your own settings for exactly what you want. Until then I will continue to gather information until a full post can be made.
On May 15 2013 07:38 Aelonius wrote:
I would recommend people to actually train without sound, as it forces them to proactively keep cycling through everything they do. Just to be in before someone says "You don't hear a nydus!". Well, you pretty much should have the vision and the ability to spot it in time on your minimap.
A smart Zerg will make it just out of vision anyways. :I
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Cool cool. Good to see the discussion starting up. This is a group project with the goal of finding the Optimal Settings for Multiplayer Competitive Sc2. The video is the culmination of my own work so far, the goal is to test it, and offer alternatives. I do not mean to be dissing anyone, I'm sorry if that came across the wrong way. I think its important to take the sentence that mentions "personal preference" in context. The section is describing my suggestion of dealing with Naysayers in order to keep the conversation efficient and constructive. It is a concrete fact that the widow mine crater is more visible and distinct with the shaders set to medium or higher regardless of other graphic variables (as shown in the screen shots in my above post. These types of things are not personal preference, and are the kind of things we are trying to figure out. The Settings for Sc2 are pretty complex and occasionally non-intuitive. There is no preset that says "Competitive" or something similar that takes out all unnecessary things and leaves only the bare bones essentials for gameplay. That is what we are trying to accomplish here.
I would recommend people to actually train without sound, as it forces them to proactively keep cycling through everything they do. Just to be in before someone says "You don't hear a nydus!". Well, you pretty much should have the vision and the ability to spot it in time on your minimap.
I do not see the connection between training with sounds and being forced to proactively keep cycling through everything. Wouldn't it be less necessary to check your SCV production if you had a sound that played after each SCV was built?
@Anty
Generally speaking the lower the graphics settings, the less non-essential graphics are in the game. For instance, terrain is set to low because this does unnecessary things like put flowers and foliage on the ground, which as far as I know, has no competitive advantage. If we take away the non-essential elements, then the essential elements will pop out more clearly. For instance, if there's less "noise" on the ground from terrain and textures, the widow mine crater will be easier to see.
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Have you seen this thread?
This gif pretty much sums it up. ![[image loading]](http://img7.abload.de/img/sc2_fov36k6.gif)
Resolution is hands down the most important graphics setting in this game.
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That's not really what's being discussed here :/
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Yes! 16x9 resolution is really important! I'll make sure its in the next video (can't believe I missed it).
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Is 'show only damaged' life bars commonly used? Personally I have always used 'show always'. I will give it some tries today, but I would like to know if many people use this. One potential disadvantage is it might be harder to count units?
Also does this still always show energy bars? Because I really like to know where templars are in a protoss ball ^_^
EDIT: you can always see energy bars, and the only damaged option is working pretty well for me It takes a little getting used to, but it really does make some micro situations easier. On the other hand, the higher model settings gave me quite severe fps lags, so I will be sticking to low for now.
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Last time I checked, you cannot see energy bars if they're full. This has the advantage of being able to quickly target the proper infestors etc.
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I understand what you are saying about proactive mechanics. You don't need to hear that you are low on minerals since the resource counter can give you that information. So leaving that off couldn't hurt your game if you are proactive about checking for that before building it. However I do feel certain noises can actually give you information that is hard to get otherwise.
For example, the "unit voice" sound gives a distinctive "whirl" when a colossus pops out of a colossus den. While it is possible for you remember the exact time you hit the build colossus button and then add the build time in mentally, in an actual game remembering this information will stress your already stressed multitasking systems. The sound of it coming out is an easy reminder to jump your basecam and hotkey the unit.
Another example is the "probe confused" noise that a probe makes when it tries to build a building over a burrowed unit. While you can always send the probe and then build when it is there, the ability to queue the command and then deal with the army and unit production sides of the game and only return when you are ready to hotkey the building as it builds allows you to multistask in a way you cannot if you always have to see the building physically be built.
Certainly the game music and ambient sounds don't give you any additional information and should be turned off. But I remain unconvinced (especially after playing a few games with it) that this system of no sounds but fighting will be of any benefit. It honestly seems that even logically this is more of a detriment to the ability to play the game.
Perhaps we can develop a test to prove things one way or another, but this is what my initial thoughts are after testing.
Either way, I'm glad this discussion is happening!
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On May 15 2013 09:01 JaKaTaK wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Cool cool. Good to see the discussion starting up. This is a group project with the goal of finding the Optimal Settings for Multiplayer Competitive Sc2. The video is the culmination of my own work so far, the goal is to test it, and offer alternatives. I do not mean to be dissing anyone, I'm sorry if that came across the wrong way. I think its important to take the sentence that mentions "personal preference" in context. The section is describing my suggestion of dealing with Naysayers in order to keep the conversation efficient and constructive. It is a concrete fact that the widow mine crater is more visible and distinct with the shaders set to medium or higher regardless of other graphic variables (as shown in the screen shots in my above post. These types of things are not personal preference, and are the kind of things we are trying to figure out. The Settings for Sc2 are pretty complex and occasionally non-intuitive. There is no preset that says "Competitive" or something similar that takes out all unnecessary things and leaves only the bare bones essentials for gameplay. That is what we are trying to accomplish here. Show nested quote +I would recommend people to actually train without sound, as it forces them to proactively keep cycling through everything they do. Just to be in before someone says "You don't hear a nydus!". Well, you pretty much should have the vision and the ability to spot it in time on your minimap. I do not see the connection between training with sounds and being forced to proactively keep cycling through everything. Wouldn't it be less necessary to check your SCV production if you had a sound that played after each SCV was built? + Show Spoiler +@Anty
Generally speaking the lower the graphics settings, the less non-essential graphics are in the game. For instance, terrain is set to low because this does unnecessary things like put flowers and foliage on the ground, which as far as I know, has no competitive advantage. If we take away the non-essential elements, then the essential elements will pop out more clearly. For instance, if there's less "noise" on the ground from terrain and textures, the widow mine crater will be easier to see.
I've tried to practice with the sounds on, and I often feel it makes people too dependant on these sounds. I find it more efficient to practice without the sound as it forces me to keep an eye on the map, the surroundings and what may happen. That I do not hear a drone or overlord pop, I compensate that by learning to watch my supply much more closely. In the end, I feel that if I can work without sound then no matter what settings I use for audio, or if I listen to music, I will be trained not to miss something in the game.
This way, I have been able to spot drops better, spot nydus worms better and generally am improving my map awareness. If you can't hear it, you've got to see it 
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Hi
How am I supposed to change my resolution to 16 if i have a 16:10 monitor? It looks a bit crappy.... do i have to buy a new monitor?
Edit: found a way :D
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On May 19 2013 00:50 Aelonius wrote:Show nested quote +On May 15 2013 09:01 JaKaTaK wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Cool cool. Good to see the discussion starting up. This is a group project with the goal of finding the Optimal Settings for Multiplayer Competitive Sc2. The video is the culmination of my own work so far, the goal is to test it, and offer alternatives. I do not mean to be dissing anyone, I'm sorry if that came across the wrong way. I think its important to take the sentence that mentions "personal preference" in context. The section is describing my suggestion of dealing with Naysayers in order to keep the conversation efficient and constructive. It is a concrete fact that the widow mine crater is more visible and distinct with the shaders set to medium or higher regardless of other graphic variables (as shown in the screen shots in my above post. These types of things are not personal preference, and are the kind of things we are trying to figure out. The Settings for Sc2 are pretty complex and occasionally non-intuitive. There is no preset that says "Competitive" or something similar that takes out all unnecessary things and leaves only the bare bones essentials for gameplay. That is what we are trying to accomplish here. I would recommend people to actually train without sound, as it forces them to proactively keep cycling through everything they do. Just to be in before someone says "You don't hear a nydus!". Well, you pretty much should have the vision and the ability to spot it in time on your minimap. I do not see the connection between training with sounds and being forced to proactively keep cycling through everything. Wouldn't it be less necessary to check your SCV production if you had a sound that played after each SCV was built? + Show Spoiler +@Anty
Generally speaking the lower the graphics settings, the less non-essential graphics are in the game. For instance, terrain is set to low because this does unnecessary things like put flowers and foliage on the ground, which as far as I know, has no competitive advantage. If we take away the non-essential elements, then the essential elements will pop out more clearly. For instance, if there's less "noise" on the ground from terrain and textures, the widow mine crater will be easier to see. I've tried to practice with the sounds on, and I often feel it makes people too dependant on these sounds. I find it more efficient to practice without the sound as it forces me to keep an eye on the map, the surroundings and what may happen. That I do not hear a drone or overlord pop, I compensate that by learning to watch my supply much more closely. In the end, I feel that if I can work without sound then no matter what settings I use for audio, or if I listen to music, I will be trained not to miss something in the game. This way, I have been able to spot drops better, spot nydus worms better and generally am improving my map awareness. If you can't hear it, you've got to see it
idra used to train with sound off, i heard it is a popular thing to do in Korea training as well but other than idra, I haven't seen it first hand on any pro's stream.
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I know the Resolution Discussion hasnt really started yet, but i have tried 16 and 16:10 on my 16:10 Monitor, With 16 I lose a lot of the Area to black bars and the sc2 screen is a lot smaller. Clicking things like mini map or micro is getting harder... so my question: Is it really worth it to play 16 on a smaller area??
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I don't think players would play without sound on their stream. Streaming has a bit more entertainment to it. Streamers will listen to music and sometimes even talk while their playing. Going to the lengths of optimal settings like we are trying to do here would be a tiny improvement in comparison. I think the players that would be doing this are the ones who play repetitive custom games against their team mate on the same map with the same strat over and over to learn all the different variations and that type of thing.
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Oh of course, on stream most people would turn the sounds off. But I don't regard that as practice, more as audience entertainment.
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I've updated the OP with what we've found through our discussion so far. I'll be making more videos in June when I get back home from visiting my family.
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Optimizing sound settings around exclusively "proactive" mechanics only makes sense for a hypothetically perfect player. It fails to take into account the reality of a real game. I can see doing so for training, though.
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@sanddbox
I agree. I failed to be specific in the video and will fix it when i get back to my own computer.
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Just checking in to let everyone know I'm still alive, just got hit with a bunch of higher priority things so I haven't had a chance to work on this for a while. Let me know if you have any other ideas about settings to share
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I'm confused on the resolution thing. The gif in OP is very misleading I think...
this picture is better imo.
http://cdn.skattertech.com/files/2009/12/monitor-resolution-sizes.jpg
There are many height and width options that keep these ratios but if you're comparing apples to apples then 16 : 9 and 16:10 should have the exact same width... (16=16 right?) with the latter you simply get more height lines (more=better). The only reason I can think of where 16: 9 would be actually better is if the Sc2 game engine was not able to output to 16:10 natively for whatever reason and was stretching the 16: 9 image instead of filling it with more picture.. I'm not sure if this happens because I don't have a 16:10 monitor currently to test.
Please note that if your monitor is NOT a native 16:10 then you should not set starcraft to this option, that's not what i'm trying to say... If, however, you have a 1920x1200 monitor why would you ever ever want to reduce your playing field height to to 1080 lines?
Maybe I'm missing something but that GIF just makes it look like 16:10 is losing screen space when in reality it should be gaining height not losing width....
10>9 right? Maybe in SC2 this doesn't happen, but if you do the same test in windows you'll find that I"m right.
Does this thread just assume no one has the 1200 line monitors? I know that typically people who have those are doing office work/programming etc where those extra lines are actually amazing..
Note: if you have a 1920x1080 (16: 9) monitor I would not suggest running it at 1680x1050.. this is not my point.. I'm just wondering why 1680x1050 was used for comparison instead of 1920x1200 as the former not a common native resolution to my knowledge, and also 1920x1050 what, who has that? It should be 1080 right?
Could someone with a 1920x1200 monitor do some tests and let us know? Or someone who already knows the answer post?
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I am fairly certain that 16:10 loses width and doesn't gain height. I don't understand the inner workings of it all, but I am pretty sure that is the case. Anyone have more insight into this?
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The gif is completely accurate, sc2 does not gain additional height when using 16:10 and instead loses horizontal information.
If you have a 16:10 monitor, just run at the next 16 resolution down with black bars.
ie, 2560x1600 can be black bared down to 2560x1440, lopping off 80 pixels top and bottom. This maintains the sharpness of a native resolution without the disadvantage of losing vision.
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when will you continue with this series?
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As soon as I can. I have stuff with TheCore, TheStaircase, and a new video series with Yegalisk TV that I'm working on. This project is currently at the lowest priority of the 4 projects I'm working on right now. I wish I could have a more exact answer for you, but I don't  I'll try to slip in a video soon.
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What is the rational for low textures? I've swapped between low and ultra and I can't find anything that is obviously easier to see. Performance penalty is zero.
If anything, low is some what distracting as the resolution is out of wack with the rest of the game.
Perhaps widow mines are slightly easier to see when under creep? It's very minor if so.
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Textures create more noise on the ground which gives the widow mines more to blend into. Its much easier to see the widow mine crater on a plain background than one with many textures, IMO.
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On July 01 2013 17:25 Whirligig wrote:
What is the rational for low textures? I've swapped between low and ultra and I can't find anything that is obviously easier to see. Performance penalty is zero.
If anything, low is some what distracting as the resolution is out of wack with the rest of the game.
Perhaps widow mines are slightly easier to see when under creep? It's very minor if so.
Personally I feel that seeing things like cloaked units are easier. Also you've got less 'useless' things in your vision like extra glow, which for the practicing player aren't important most of the time. It lowers the distraction environments can give you. That, and generally a better FPS/performance due to not taxing the graphics as much in a 200/200 engagement.
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Found something new for graphic settings. On Ultra/Extreme it is very difficult to see the build grid in comparison to low/medium. Give it a try and you will see what I mean. The build grid may not be 100% necessary but it definitely is a great failsafe for ensuring no mistakes are made with building placement, and makes it so you do not have to memorize every single maps terrain and optimum building placements
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I'm not exactly sure what all the sound settings do, but building and unit command sounds are important right? If you build a structure and it fails because you macroed something else or a unit blocked it, it will make an error sound and/or alert the advisor to say require minerals etc doesnt it>?
And isn't reverb important when hearing where an attack is coming from? Like hearing DT swipes or tank shots (assuming you are wearing headphones)
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I haven't fucked around with reverb, got any sources on it? That's definitely something I want to look into.
For the sound settings these are for practice. (see explaination in OP) to increase visual awareness and proactive macro.
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2.0.10 has just been released, and with it, a color blind mode for the build grid. I think this is actually more clear than the colored mode, what do you all think?
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How are you guys setting the resolution to 1980x1050 ?
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I'm not 100% sure what you mean. Resolution is a setting in the graphics menu in Sc2.
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On November 24 2013 13:40 CutTheEnemy wrote:
How are you guys setting the resolution to 1980x1050 ?
maybe you have an older graphiccard that doesnt support this resolution
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maybe you have an older graphiccard that doesnt support this resolution
That's probably it.
JaK, how do the various settings affect visibility of 1) burrowed units, and 2) cloaked units? I know some settings can have a pretty big effect on it but I don't remember which.
Great sc2 tutorial videos lately too btw, the youtube ones.
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Thanks
If you want the cloaked units and widow mine craters to pop, you need medium shaders at minimum (also helps forcefield visibility)
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EPT
