In case you are completely new to Broodwar, fear not! The first thing is getting Broodwar running smoothly. This takes about 5-10 minutes and is pretty easy
Installation
1) Install Starcraft and Broodwar.
2) download the latest patch 1.16.1 by starting broodwar, then going into multiplayer->battle.net
3) portforward! This is crucial if you want to host games. If you want to host and did not portforward properly, then people are unable to join your games. However you do not need to portforward to join games, unless the host did not portforward either.
I won't show you the steps since every router is different. Here is a general guide for portforwarding. CLICK HERE
note: if you for some reason cannot portforward properly, you can only join games. The upcoming shieldbattery server should however fix this issue when it comes out soon.
4) Don't play on the official servers! They don't run smoothly! If you are an absolute beginner, it is advisable to play on the server calles ICCUP. For this you just need to register on ICCUP CLICK HERE
5) [optional] Note that you need to enable Broodwar in your firewall/antivirus
6) [optional if you use windows 8/10] you need the ddraw fix CLICK HERE. Just replace this ddraw.dll in your game directory. (in my case C:\Program Files\Starcraft)
7) After registration, download the MCA launcher, since it includes also some neat features such as ingame APM counter, game and real-life clock, direct twitch streaming etc. CLICK HERE.
Now you should be running it smoothly. Next, we turn to the actual game.
How to not get completely Roflstomped
In case you never played Broodwar, chances are that you will completely be demolished in the beginning. Luckily playing Broodwar is fun if you are willing to accept losses against players who clearly know how to play as given and not let it get to your ego. Remember that everyone started out and even Flash probably got stomped in the beginning as well.
1) If you are a complete beginner, look for players your skill There are always beginners who want to play, especially after watching the streams and thought "hey this game looks fun".
a) On ICCUP, stick to players who have a d- rank. You either message them directly in the chat channels, or join/host games (note: stick to the official ICCUP maps download maps ) b) You can also find players your level on Teamliquid.net. Just post a message in this thread with your experience in Broodwar. I am sure you will find a match quickly
Remember that the fun comes first, the skill comes when you play a lot. If you are stuck and don't think you improve as fast, then follow the next advice!
3) Watch streams, vods etc. If you want to get a feel on how you are supposed to play, and get a general feeling on why a certain pro player does what he does, you should watch some streams.
Watching replays is even better since you can clearly study the build order. It does not seem so for a beginner, but timing is crucial in what distinguishes a d rank with a c rank player. But for a general feel, you should first stick to streams and vods.
4) Look for a tutor! If you know the basics and think you are decent, but just can't get to d rank or above, you can look for a tutor. This was actually the way to go for starters back in the days. Look either for tutors on ICCUP by messaging someone or post in this thread. Usually they just go through a few replays of yours and point out some areas of improvements or your mistakes. Back in the days, sometimes you get a proper teacher-student relation, where the student adopts the teachers nickname+jeja (that's some korean thing: For instance, if Flash is your teacher, your name will be Flashjeja). Note: You should NEVER pay someone for being your tutor. It's a thing of honor. Almost everyone had some help. This is what makes the community great.
Downloading it from ICCup is not legal. Latest patch is 1.16.1, not 1.16 Port forwarding is not the only barrier to hosting games, Windows Firewall and antiviruses may block StarCraft The DDraw DLL also applies to Windows 8(.1)
On July 18 2016 06:23 coolprogrammingstuff wrote: mca64launcher port forwards automatically, if you're a noobie out there, so download that. much better than iccup launcher
On July 18 2016 06:23 coolprogrammingstuff wrote: mca64launcher port forwards automatically, if you're a noobie out there, so download that. much better than iccup launcher
does it work reliably?
Sometimes it can help or not. If UpnP showing red it doesn't mean you can't host, mine is showing it and I host no problem.
On July 18 2016 06:23 coolprogrammingstuff wrote: mca64launcher port forwards automatically, if you're a noobie out there, so download that. much better than iccup launcher
does it work reliably?
Sometimes it can help or not. If UpnP showing red it doesn't mean you can't host, mine is showing it and I host no problem.
The red x means that UPnP failed, not that you can't host.
One thing I can think of to improve this thread is a link to guide to understand the modern match ups. Like TvZ. How the game starts, what are your options and what you should expect from him. How to react if he does A or B, how to transition to late game and switch to mech... etc.
I'm not sure if it is possible or if the LP is sufficient or not.
For players coming from SC2 and playing Terran it's nice to know: - Marines suck in TvT, go mech - Marines suck in PvT, go mech - Mines are quite badass and trigger even on cloaked units (read:DT's) - Mines don't trigger on hovering units (read: vultures, scv's)
On July 18 2016 06:23 coolprogrammingstuff wrote: mca64launcher port forwards automatically, if you're a noobie out there, so download that. much better than iccup launcher
does it work reliably?
I'd say no, as I use mca launcher and I can't host.
Very nice; you may want to link in the bottom to some strategy guide threads for beginners; Add a download link for the game from iccup, the patch links, map pack link, defiler.ru link; And fish guide link; realize that for a novice this information might not be as easy to acess as it is for you, so providing links will make this thread command center for them. Thanks for your effort
On July 18 2016 06:48 xboi209 wrote: Downloading it from ICCup is not legal.
Are you sure? I think it might be legal if you already own the game. However, it's definitely not legal to host copies, or downloading it if you don't actually already own it.
I already lost like 2 legal cds, so I dont feel like buying new ones yet. (Maybe when I get a job) It's nice that you can add the game to your bnet acc and then download it later at any time. Too bad that option wasnt there before I lost my cds. /end offtopic
Ontopic, Fighting Spirit is the most popular map. (FS for short) So when you make a game, just name it 1v1 FS D- (D- rank is basically the easiest. Just play people below 1000 points - its what you start with.).
I hate FS though, its a very boring, and a map that makes you think less.
On July 18 2016 06:23 coolprogrammingstuff wrote: mca64launcher port forwards automatically, if you're a noobie out there, so download that. much better than iccup launcher
does it work reliably?
I'd say no, as I use mca launcher and I can't host.
It was quite reliable for me. It was maybe 50% or higher.
On July 18 2016 06:48 xboi209 wrote: Downloading it from ICCup is not legal.
Are you sure? I think it might be legal if you already own the game. However, it's definitely not legal to host copies, or downloading it if you don't actually already own it.
It depends on the laws in your country, but I'm pretty confident(not 100% sure) that in the U.S., downloading a copy from ICCup is illegal even if you already bought the game because when you buy the game, you only buy a license for that specific copy of the game, downloading someone else's copy that wasn't transferred to you as specified by the terms of use agreement sounds like technically piracy to me. Practically though, this whole thing doesn't matter, I just wanted OP to remove the statement because it's incorrect. Regarding your situation though, what you could have done was create a backup copy of the game for yourself, which is legal since there's an exemption for this.
I was able to successfully download and run the launcher. I also downloaded the iccup map pack which is a .rar file. When I open it, it doesn't allow me to unzip and asks me what to open it with. How can I extract the files from the map pack in a rar file?
Practically, when getting started and creating games you can just write these in chat: disallow people wihtout anticheat from joining: /nah Only let people that have x to y points to join: /rl x y
So to only allow players between 0 and 950 points and anticheat to join: /nah /rl 0 950
The friending commands etc. are pretty great as well also: /help
EPT
also: /help
