Shaggy's 10 Things to do While The Beta Is Down

Post a Reply

Normal

ShaggySan

United States53 Posts

June 10 2010 19:55 GMT

Alright so the Beta is down

I hope most of you are aware of that

and a lot of us have taken the downtime to visit with family/friends or go outside and enjoy the summer weather....but where the fun in that? This is the perfect time to hone your skills by working on your Build Order or increase your APM, but don't worry even with no battle.net there are still plenty of ways to quench your thirst for training methods

1.Custom Maps
Luckily even with Battle.net down we can still take advantage of the Starcraft 2 Custom Map Editor there are some great maps that can really assist you in training, so you can own those noobs when the Beta comes back up. I created a post with links to a lot of these maps so feel free to check them out from the link bellow.

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=130114

2.Listen to the Day[9]Daily
Each day Mr.Plott graces us all with his amazingly informative Day[9]Daily. Anyone from Bronze to Diamond can learn a massive amount of information by listening to his analyses of various games. There are tales of players that merely looked into his eyes instantly enhanceing there APM and strategic skills. You can get to his Team Liquid Post by looking on the front page or following the link bellow.

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=104154

Here is a quick list of some very helpful Daily's for players wishing to improve there game

Here is the Bisu vs Canata video he wants you to watch for Back to the Basics: The Mental Checklist
+ Show Spoiler +

3.Browse HD & Husky's YouTube Channel
HD & Husky have done a lot for Starcraft 2 from there high successful HDH invitational tournament to there regularly updated YouTube Channels. There Channels have tons of informative videos Pro Match-up Analysis, Custom Map Reviews, Pro Interviews and even tutorials for newer players and if you haven't already watch there HDH invitational there are some amazing games that took place during there epic tournament sponsored by Irip

.

YouTube Channels
HDstarcraft
HuskyStarcraft

HDH Invitational Thread (With All Game VoD's)
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=118879

HuskyStarcraft Tutorials

4.Check out Team Liquids Beta Vacation!
TeamLiquid has organized a series of fun, community-oriented events to help keep everyone entertained during the Beta down time theres some cool stuff they have planned and a great opportunity to get to know your fellow gamers

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=130010

5.Play Starcraft Brood Wars or Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne
When one great game is down play another? Playing Brood Wars is a great way to keep up with your Macro skills and stay familiar with your race

however playing The Frozen Throne can be a great way to get more familiar with some of the new features of Starcraft 2 like Control Groups and Health Bars especially if you were a hardcore Brood War player. If you don't already have one of these great games you can always buy them digitally from the blizzard store, or you know just go to Wal Mart

Starcraft Anthology [$14.99]
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos [$19.99]
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne [$19.99]

6.Watch/Read/Listen Pro Interviews
      A great way to learn something new about Starcraft 2 is to see the game from someone else's point of view and whose point of view would be better than a Starcraft 2 pro? I have some links to some great interviews from some of the top ProGamers in the Starcraft 2 scene.

The Android Bites
This is the personal portfolio of Patrick O'Neill with tons of pro interviews on a variety of topics focusing on Starcraft 2 a great site with tons of great reads.

http://androidbit.com/wordpress/

A great article from that site that everyone should check out is Micro Revisited which asks various pros what do you think of micro in Starcraft 2?
Micro Revisited

The Elitist
The Elitists is a Starcraft 2 interview show, bringing you the newsmakers and learning more about the greats and their insight into current events in the community.

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=126248

Sen - DuskBin Electronic Sports
Ace interview from game.163.com
Idra Interviewed by Fragster.de
Interviews: IdrA, Artosis, MorroW
Artosis interview on readmore
Interview With Orb
iNcontrol interviewed on myMYM.com

7.Save up for Phoenix Training Camp
      You can take the Downtime to work a few extra hours and what better way to spend that extra money you ask? Well how about on a trip to Phoniex Arizona to play Starcraft 2 for 4 days with some of the best American players around? Fun times indeed you can check out all the info from the link bellow but spots are limited so get to work!

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=124561

8.Anaylize your replays with Starcraft Gears
      Starcraft Gears is an awesome program you can download to analyze your replay files without actually running them. Gears puts a lot of valuable information in easy to read charts which can give you a better insight of why you won or lost a match. Gears can also reorganize your replay files and do tons of other stuff I am sure I have no idea how to do.

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=124689

9.Work on Mouse Precision with ~~Mine Sweeper~~ Mission Red
In a recent Day[9]Daily Mr.Plott explained how playing Mine Sweeper could improve you Mouse Precision which will obviously improve your game and the best part? You can play it at work! Most of you have Minesweeper on your computer Start>Programs>Games>Mine Sweeper however if you cant find it or for some reason dont have it

your in luck like everything else in the world its on the internet.

Update - Thanks to TzTz for suggesting Mission Red for Mouse Precision Training this game is super fun and will undoubtedly improve your Precision or break your wrist trying

http://www.missionred.com/games/reflexte.html

http://www.mine-sweeper.com/

10.Shop For New Gear to Improve Your Game
If all this other stuff doesn't keep your busy you can always shop for some new gear. Sure working on your build order for 4 hours can improve your game but sometimes doing something simple like getting rid of that shitty ball mouse can do the trick. Check out these high end Gaming Companies and drool over there overly expensive products......that we all buy >

.

Razer (Keyboards, Mice, Headphones)
Steel Series (Keyboards, Mice, Headphones)
Astro (Headphones)
Logitech (Keyboards, Mice, Headphones)
Sennheiser (Headphones) [Thanks: dahornnn]
Blizzard (Tons of Starcraft Apparel)

Don't forget to check out Razer's newly announced line of Starcraft 2 peripherals.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=131223

Well there you have it 10 things to keep you busy while we wait for the Beta to pop up if I missed anything or you want something added to the list feel free to let me know on the comment section bellow. Thanks for reading everyone! Enjoy the Downtime

11.Play Badass Flash Games
Inori suggested some pretty badass flash games to help hone your Starcraft 2 skills while the beta is down my favorite out of the two he suggested is Multitask its tons of fun and gets you in the mind set you need to be in while playing Starcraft 2 you can find it here

http://www.kongregate.com/games/IcyLime/multitask

Another cool flash game he suggest was PoPoint 2 while not as fun as Multitask (in my opinion) others may think its great. You can check it out from the link bellow

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/play/1145/

-Shaggy

Lexpar

1813 Posts

June 10 2010 20:01 GMT

Thats an impressive 10th post. Mine was something along the lines of "lol, cool.". It applies pretty well to this thread.

Nice of you to contribute.

Pokebunny

United States10654 Posts

June 10 2010 20:04 GMT

Nice post! Useful things for people who really can think of nothing to do. ~_~

ella_guru

Canada1741 Posts

June 10 2010 20:06 GMT

I was really hoping for

[image loading]

but GJ anyway!

chesshaha

United States1117 Posts

June 10 2010 20:07 GMT

Work on Mouse Precision with Mine Sweeper.

lol

ShaggySan

United States53 Posts

June 10 2010 20:10 GMT

On June 11 2010 05:06 ella_guru wrote:
I was really hoping for

[image loading]

but GJ anyway!

Not a bad picture of me

Roffles

Pitcairn19291 Posts

June 10 2010 20:15 GMT

Nice compilation of stuff to do.

Gonna emphasize and blatantly endorse TL's Summer Vacation. Like summer's supposed to be, it's just a nice and relaxing way to spend some time while waiting for Beta to come back.

Na_Dann_Ma_GoGo

Germany2959 Posts

June 10 2010 20:19 GMT

Nice post ;D
That should help some of us

kajeus

United States679 Posts

June 10 2010 20:23 GMT

I *hate* the way people use "play" these days --- "reaper play," "barracks play, "silver play". HATE it.

Lexpar

1813 Posts

June 10 2010 20:33 GMT

#10

Shaggy I know how hard it was for you not to put Day[9] as thing number one. I know how many minutes you spent staring at your New Text Document(3).txt window pondering. You love him so much that you could hardly bear the thought of not having him as number one, but you don't want to give people the impression that he's the only thing you know about starcraft. So you put him as number two, but you make up for it by referring to him as Mr.Plott throughout the entirety of the article. You even mention Mr.Plott again near the end of the article. Maybe Mr.Plott will read your article. Maybe he'll like it, and everything you've ever done will be validated. Maybe you can continue living a normal life. Or maybe he'll be upset. Maybe he wanted to be number one. What if he wanted the whole list? You'll always wonder, be tortured by the thought of it, and for that I pity you.

Also that phoenix training camp looks pretty cool. I would totally sign up for it if I had the money.

ShaggySan

United States53 Posts

June 10 2010 20:39 GMT

#11

On June 11 2010 05:33 Lexpar wrote:
Shaggy I know how hard it was for you not to put Day[9] as thing number one. I know how many minutes you spent staring at your New Text Document(3).txt window pondering. You love him so much that you could hardly bear the thought of not having him as number one, but you don't want to give people the impression that he's the only thing you know about starcraft. So you put him as number two, but you make up for it by referring to him as Mr.Plott throughout the entirety of the article. You even mention Mr.Plott again near the end of the article. Maybe Mr.Plott will read your article. Maybe he'll like it, and everything you've ever done will be validated. Maybe you can continue living a normal life. Or maybe he'll be upset. Maybe he wanted to be number one. What if he wanted the whole list? You'll always wonder, be tortured by the thought of it, and for that I pity you.

Also that phoenix training camp looks pretty cool. I would totally sign up for it if I had the money.

or maybe I was joking

but your probably right I have this unquenchable thirst for Mr.Plott that will never be quenched....you know or I just have a lot of respect for people who do a lot for the Starcraft community

Shiladie

Canada1631 Posts

June 10 2010 20:40 GMT

#12

good compilation of the different activities, during the downtime I think I'm gonna have to work on my roach openings, as I'd abandoned them after the 2 supply nerf threw my old ones to the wind.

RyanRushia

United States2748 Posts

June 10 2010 20:45 GMT

#13

great post

the list of maps was totally helpful

Lexpar

1813 Posts

June 10 2010 20:48 GMT

#14

An unquenchable thirst that can never be quenched? Hardcore dude.

TzTz

Germany511 Posts

June 10 2010 21:56 GMT

#15

I prefer http://www.missionred.com/games/reflexte.html for mouse precision. Just force yourself to stay above 95% or something.

Barnabas

United States74 Posts

June 10 2010 22:08 GMT

#16

Totally the top ten that I did so far. Woot!

ShaggySan

United States53 Posts

June 11 2010 12:27 GMT

#17

Thanks for the suggestion TzTz I added it to the post, Mission Red is tons of fun lol

icezar

Germany240 Posts

June 11 2010 12:44 GMT

#18

Nr. 0
While Beta is down play using Allin1 and GreenTea AI !!!
If you are not diamond player i think you will have a hard time with this AI!

Way better than Custom maps build order test, just test your BO vs this AI

For resoure, they all are 100% legit, no crack, visit h**p://sc2.nibbits.com/assets/starcrack-allin1/ and h**p://darkblizz.org/Forum2/ai-scripts/greenteaai-0-4-(-easy-normal-and-hard-for-beginner-to-advance-player-)/

monkh

United Kingdom568 Posts

June 11 2010 12:51 GMT

#19

thx for reminding me about that mission red website used to use that loads when i used to plays cs. couldnt remember it for past few years when i tried.

Dekoth

United States527 Posts

June 11 2010 15:15 GMT

#20

I actually find Osu far more valuable when it comes to training mousing precision as it requires speed in addition. I no I have seen a noticeable increase in my mousing precision, APM and overall mouse use since I started playing it. I generally dislike rhythm games, but i can't argue with the effectiveness of this one.

http://osu.ppy.sh/

Note: for those who aren't into anime, there is music from about every genre. You just gotta search around a bit to find what you like.

MasterFischer

Denmark836 Posts

June 11 2010 15:26 GMT

#21

In all fairness, shouldn't your list also include, EXCESSIVE MASTURBATION.

?

dahornnn

United Kingdom395 Posts

June 11 2010 15:33 GMT

#22

for headsets stay awayyyyy from gaming companies, if you want a gaming headset the best is sennheiser pc350, or get studio headphones and a desktop mic!!!!!!!!
Nice read however

ella_guru

Canada1741 Posts

June 11 2010 15:41 GMT

#23

^sennheiser is a quality product. They always have really good clarity in headphones.

prOxi.swAMi

Australia3091 Posts

June 11 2010 16:36 GMT

#24

I'm just playing lots of Altitude during the wait

ShaggySan

United States53 Posts

June 11 2010 16:49 GMT

#25

Dahornnn

Cool thanks for the suggestion I added Sennheiser to the product list let me know if you have anymore suggestions

Nizaris

Belgium2230 Posts

June 11 2010 19:41 GMT

#26

Steelseries > Sennheiser for gaming

CharlieMurphy

United States22895 Posts

June 12 2010 04:37 GMT

#27

Does that one thing darkblizz still let you watch replays ? I would like to do that since beta is down.

Terranist

United States2496 Posts

June 12 2010 05:53 GMT

#28

On June 12 2010 04:41 Nizaris wrote:
Steelseries > Sennheiser for gaming

please don't say that. every audiophile knows sennheiser pwns the crap out of steelseries.

Deleted User 61629

1664 Posts

June 12 2010 09:40 GMT

#29

--- Nuked ---

Sikozu

Belgium10 Posts

June 12 2010 10:17 GMT

#30

Stupid question but by tweaking my mouse speed in sc2 i seem to have different speed in windows and sc2
So if i want to train my precision in that mission red game i should probably make sure the speed is the same, which brings me to my final question, what should i put my mouse speed on in sc2 to make sure it's the same speed as in windows?

Tristan

Canada566 Posts

June 12 2010 10:32 GMT

#31

oh hey that was a pleasant surprise

blae000

Norway1640 Posts

June 12 2010 13:00 GMT

#32

Mission red was fun, hard to stop. ^^ Good list of things to do...

inTheMood

Norway128 Posts

June 13 2010 11:23 GMT

#33

oh boy. Mission red was kinda hard. Only made it to lvl 5 :S but good practice I guess

On June 12 2010 18:40 Inori wrote:
Guess I'll add a couple of games to improve skills as well:
http://www.kongregate.com/games/IcyLime/multitask
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/play/1145/

4.659 on the second game ^^

ShaggySan

United States53 Posts

June 21 2010 14:30 GMT

#34

Thanks for all the positive feedback I updated the list with a few more things to do please feel free to add the things youve been doing to keep yourself busy during the beta downtime and I will add it to the list thanks again Inori for your awesome list of flash games ive been playing multitask like crazy

enjoy guys