|
Hi,
August 15th - new version released see 3rd screenshot
- custom reset timer
- normal and faster time modes
- play/pause/resume hot key support
I have noticed a few people wanting an ingame clock or timer (out side of custom build tester maps), so I made one. Similar to how Husky, Day[9] etc cover up the replay timer with their logo's this app uses the same method but adds a timer/stop watch.
All it is is a window less window that is forced to be on top of all others.
![[image loading]](http://www.getperplexed.com/gfx_site/sc2time/sc2time_2.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.getperplexed.com/gfx_site/sc2time/sc2time_1.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.getperplexed.com/gfx_site/sc2time/sc2time_3.png)
You can move it about to where you want it and even change it's transparency.
You will need to run SC2 in window or fullscreen [window] mode.
If you want to try it out you can download it from my website, you can also download the source code. Tested with Window 7 and Windows XP so far.
http://www.getperplexed.com/sc2time.php
Any suggestions, additions, bugs, hugs let me know.
|
would be nice but...
ingame bliz could count it as cheating and ban you ...
|
Uhhh I've always wanted this for my larva spawns but man is that cheap.. wont use it
|
On August 06 2010 08:30 AnodyneSea wrote:
Uhhh I've always wanted this for my larva spawns but man is that cheap.. wont use it
Pffft. I want macros that automatically every 40 seconds spawn larva in all my hatcherys. But seriosly that will get you banned if blizzard labels that as cheating.
|
coming up next: the app that plays the game for you.
|
On August 06 2010 08:29 skeldark wrote:
would be nice but...
ingame bliz could count it as cheating and ban you ...
Could be good for practice though. (against AI or friends.) to get all timings down. Is that still cheating? You basically do the same when you watch replays so this would only save you some time.
|
LOL, that will ban you fo sho. I find it really newbie and pointless, what do you wnat, auto macro as SC2Phoenix said?!
|
On August 06 2010 08:35 SC2Phoenix wrote:Show nested quote +On August 06 2010 08:30 AnodyneSea wrote:
Uhhh I've always wanted this for my larva spawns but man is that cheap.. wont use it Pffft. I want macros that automatically every 40 seconds spawn larva in all my hatcherys. But seriosly that will get you banned if blizzard labels that as cheating.
bliz allow macrokeys! look the sc2 mouse, it has macrokeys and a sc2 logo.
there is a thread in tl somewhere.
we really dont know what they count as cheating and what not.
they never said something about it.
|
This will most likely be prohibited in most tournaments and thus if you're serious about the game you should learn to time in your head instead of depending on the clock. Having to depend on third party applications will be detrimental in the long run to any player's skill level.
Technically also Blizzard could ban for this from what I know even if its very unlikely they would care enough.
|
Good job OP, it looks great! I personally don't have need for an in game timer while I'm playing, but that seems like a pretty cool feature to use for replays. Since people like to cover up the replay bar as an anti spoiler system, this would still allow players to see the time elapsed.
Cool stuff.
Edit: What font is that? Those are some pretty sweet looking numbers.
|
This is a cheat, should be banned. Good for practicing. Unfair for laddering and tournaments.
|
I wear a watch irl, is that cheating?
I do believe the timer gives an advantage to players - but at the same time not a bannable offense. Same goes to all the gaming mouse and keyboard with built in micros.
|
I don't understand how having an a window over the game could be cheating. I run SC2 on a laptop that has a little LCD screen above the keyboard that has a timer, calender, etc.. built into it, and I sure hope they don't ban me for that.
I understand it for any tournament, hence the GOMTV rule that you have to play in full screen mode.
|
On August 06 2010 08:38 FC.Strike wrote:
Good job OP, it looks great! I personally don't have need for an in game timer while I'm playing, but that seems like a pretty cool feature to use for replays. Since people like to cover up the replay bar as an anti spoiler system, this would still allow players to see the time elapsed.
Cool stuff.
oh i dont see it this way. your right. would be great to see the time in casts.
|
Hi all
This app in no way plays the game for you, it is no different to running a stop watch app on your phone, it's purpose is to help new players in the first few minutes of the game with build order timing. I doubt blizzard will class this as cheating, as already said Macro's automate tasks and they are allowed.
|
so many negative feedback.
this is not cheating. anyone can get a clockwatch and set its timer on.
you are not going to win or lose because of that.
|
I appreciate the effort, but like a lot of these guys I don't want to be dependent on the timer. Thanks anyway tho!
|
Outside of the tournament world, yes, it's "cheating" in that Blizzard does not allow 3rd party software to run with their products. Though I think this is a pretty nifty little to to have for practicing.
Nice job, OP.
|
Lol yeah, that's what i thought it was.
I thought it was a custom bar to cover up the replaybar, and counts upwards to say how long the game as gone on for 
Pretty pointless, kinda neat, could possibly help for finding timings for x unit on x build?
Meh.
|
Just use the background music to judge how much time has passed, terran music is best to memorize imo.
|
On August 06 2010 08:37 Puosu wrote:
This will most likely be prohibited in most tournaments and thus if you're serious about the game you should learn to time in your head instead of depending on the clock. Having to depend on third party applications will be detrimental in the long run to any player's skill level.
Technically also Blizzard could ban for this from what I know even if its very unlikely they would care enough.
This is a separate program running on your computer (unless I'm wrong--that's why you need window or fullscreen window mode). How is this even detectable (in a lan-style tourney, you can obviously just have people watch the screen, but I'm assuming online tourney here)? Are you going to force everyone in an online tournament to shut down everything except Starcraft 2? What if they have a stopwatch sitting next to their computer? What if they play in window mode and have some other stopwatch or clock program running and leave it in view?
You can ban it, but doing so won't stop anyone smart from breaking the rule and getting away with it.
|
Whether this is cheating or not is entirely subjective. I'm sure it won't be allowed at tournaments and really this might seem like a good idea at the start but you can easily become reliant on it and cripple your play.
As far as I know this is not bannable. It interacts with SC2 in no way shape or form.. it doesn't edit code it doesn't send or sniff packets, they'd have about as good of a time trying to ban you over running Foobar or Winamp in your background. Also as someone above said, you can accomplish the same thing by just wearing a watch or putting a clock on your computer desk.
|
Seems like it would be really nice for learning and practicing initially. After you understand your timings you remove it and memorize the feel of what you have already learned with the clock.
I don't see why people are so negative about that concept.
In a tournie yeah this wouldn't be too nifty to allow and it should never be a crutch you always use, just one you use initially.
I used a stop watch at my computer when I was practicing and first learning in beta. Guess I was a horrible cheater man or something. But because of that I now have a good sense of what could be happening with any race in the first 5-8 minutes of the game.
Stepping stone yes, crutch no.
Thanks for the work OP.
|
On August 06 2010 08:35 green.at wrote:
coming up next: the app that plays the game for you.
lol
|
It's obviously good for practicing, of course it won't ever be allowed in tournaments.
|
On August 06 2010 08:57 Backpack wrote:
It's obviously good for practicing, of course it won't ever be allowed in tournaments.
This post right here.
I honestly don't see the reason to attack anyone using it, it's not like we're going to see people using timers for tournies or pro games.
It's just a tool. Any tool can be abused.
|
The timer should actually be a part of the game. It's stupid that it's not on it.
|
On August 06 2010 09:32 Apolo wrote:
The timer should actually be a part of the game. It's stupid that it's not on it.
Yea that's really stupid, they should also make spawn larva right clickable and each time queen has enough mana, she would just auto-inject to all your hatcheries. Oh, and you shouldn't have to actually make unit, an AI should just determine for me if it's better to be pumping drone or start making hydra every time I get a new larva. Oh and unit should move and fight by themselves like in nexus war, it would make things a lot less complicated. Oh and... Let's make this game even more for casual than it already is.
/endsarcasm
That's why I wish progamers never switch to sc2 -.-
|
On August 06 2010 09:38 MICHELLE wrote:Show nested quote +On August 06 2010 09:32 Apolo wrote:
The timer should actually be a part of the game. It's stupid that it's not on it. Yea that's really stupid, they should also make spawn larva right clickable and each time queen has enough mana, she would just auto-inject to all your hatcheries. Oh, and you shouldn't have to actually make unit, an AI should just determine for me if it's better to be pumping drone or start making hydra every time I get a new larva. Oh and unit should move and fight by themselves like in nexus war, it would make things a lot less complicated. Oh and... Let's make this game even more for casual than it already is. /endsarcasm That's why I wish progamers never switch to sc2 -.-
Jesus, lots of smartass feedback on this thread <.<
|
Wow why is everyone saying this is cheating, you will be banned, etc. Isn't it the same thing as having a sophisticated watch? Granted, it won't be allowed at tournaments, but I don't see what's wrong with it for normal play.
|
Yeah^^ i don't trust anything ever since I got my Starcraft BW key banned for using the chaos launcher.. I was like O_O called blizzard talk to some chick for an hour and yeah they didn't do anything. Even if it's not "cheating" it's still "cheating" if you want a timer use this. ![[image loading]](http://www.timercentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/best-digital-kitchen-timer-Taylor-Digital-Minute-Second-Timer-5806.jpg) It's a timer for those who couldn't figure it out.
Although, the timer is pretty cool otherwise ^^ 
|
like someone mentioned the app doesnt interfere with ur starcraft program in any way so u cant be banned for using it, comparing it to chaos launcher is ridiculous ^^
|
I don't see this as more cheating than streamers getting advice and reminders from their chat and friends on skype while they play. I've seen this help in many games were someone wasn't sure what to do or when they forgot an important upgrade.
|
I would use the timer not because I need to know when something is going to come.. (I have observers for that).. but because I just like knowing how long I have been in a game.. Some times a game has felt like it has been over an hour but really its just 20 minutes..
|
You people are funny. Is it cheating to look at my stopwatch?
|
United States11637 Posts
|
Real men use their internal clocks. 
But in all honesty....are there any timing attacks out there that come out at a specific time? The amount of variation in Starcraft 2 is so vast that any timing attack designed for a singular purpose has a pretty crappy chance of success if the opponent just...deviates from his original plan.
Timers won't work as efficiently in SC2, primarily because we don't have any timing attack that comes out at "set" time. And the ones that do come out at a certain time are so basic and rudimentary that using a clock is just an extra burden.
|
Do observers get an ingame timer? I know all pros have a great sense of timing and its one of their defening characteristics. But casual observers have no such thing. It'd be great to have something to compare against. Like if ProgamerA usually does his first attack around 3:00, but he suffered an early harass and now he can't move out until 3:50. Observers can note the real impact of the harass.
I recommend casters to use the timer, i feel it can only add to the observer experience
|
Haha I made one of these during beta and posted it on these forums (yours is definitely nicer looking though.) Half the people in thread were grateful, other half were crying cheat (orb was very vocal!). Glad to see they are all still around.
And no, it does not break any rules as it doesn't interact with the game at all therefore is no different to having firefox open in the background.
|
This is very neat. I'm getting an error for the link, though.
|
On August 06 2010 10:12 boesthius wrote:
Listen to this post. 3rd party software has always been banned by blizzard, even if it was extremely helpful(e.g. chaos, penguin plug, etc). Any 3rd party software that gives you an advantage is obviously going to be banned on ladder, tournaments etc. It's HIGHLY doubtful that blizzard will ban you for this for using it on the ladder, and yes it can be beneficial to you in areas like timing attacks, getting your builds tight, just training in general. However it can, as other people said, cripple you if you become too dependent on it.
This isn't actually attaching itself to SC2 in any way. Does Blizz ban you for having a clock on your computer? That's all this is, is a timer set to "always-on-top".
|
|
|
Isn't this just an overlay ? I highly doubt you can get banned for this. It's the same thing as putting a clock on your other display.
|
what about putting a real-life clock next to your monitor? during online tournaments and lans?
|
Dakota_Fanning
Hungary2349 Posts
Although I will not use this (because I want to develop my own in-head timer and don't want to depend on an external watch) and I don't care if others do, I have to disagree with those who say it's a cheat or a 3rd party software that Blizzard will ban.
It does not hack into Sc2 or interact with it. It (the timer) does not start automatically when the game does, you have to start it. It is an independent software.
It is not different from the Windows' built-in Task Manager. If you start the Task Manager, it is "always on top" by default. Now if you switch to Sc2 windowed mode, the task manager will be on top. Is that considered a cheat? Will Blizzard ban the use of Task Manager? Of course not because it does not interact with Starcraft 2. This tool is exactly the same.
Also it's not different from putting a watch next to your monitor.
Edit:
Blizzard (might) ban 3rd party applications that violate their terms. This application does not violate it.
|
I'm asking this question because I actually don't know, but are players required to remove their wristwatch before playing in a BW tournament?
|
Ingame timers are a part of almost any sports out there, I do not see the problems of SC2 having one. Actually I think it would make the game more professional.
|
well having an ingame timer is not cheating guys and does not even come close to "letting an addon play the game for you".
Blizzard might also add an ingame timer with a patch in the future.
The fact is that in WOW Blizzard has added a lot of reasonable features through patches, that were only available by addons. Blizzard noticed that there were a lot of extra features, they should add to create a better game experience (for example an aggro-meter in wow and other things like spellcasting bars on targets and so on).
So they might also add some extra features for starcraft 2 in the near future...we will see ;D
|
Bump from an unanswered PM:
Does it count in real-time seconds or fastest game seconds? If possible, I'd like to have an option so that it counts in game seconds, because that's what I'm used to thinking in when playing SC.
Game Speed
Thanks
|
I have a 31 second loop that states "GG" at the end of it, it times perfectly between the lava vomits for optimal queen macro
Am i cheating? (and yes, ive gone from having 200/200 energy queens at the end of the game to having queens that never go over 27 energy)
|
Man this is awesome. I probably won't need this in usual games. But worth a try when I'm viewing others' replays!
|
On August 15 2010 15:29 Saracen wrote:Bump from an unanswered PM: Show nested quote +Does it count in real-time seconds or fastest game seconds? If possible, I'd like to have an option so that it counts in game seconds, because that's what I'm used to thinking in when playing SC.
Game Speed
Thanks I tested it and it's real time. I PM'd him suggesting the same thing and he responded with this on 8/12
Hi Nexic
Ill be adding some some to it this weekend, I'll look into your suggestion.
|
|
|
On August 15 2010 15:29 Saracen wrote:Bump from an unanswered PM: Show nested quote +Does it count in real-time seconds or fastest game seconds? If possible, I'd like to have an option so that it counts in game seconds, because that's what I'm used to thinking in when playing SC.
Game Speed
Thanks
Thought I answered all PM's, sorry.
Today I'll be releasing a new version that you can set to count in realtime or game time, also adding a custom timer so the timer can reset after X amount of seconds, some have requested this to help with lurva spawns (yes yes I know this is be controversial). I'll also see if I can get hotkeys setup so you can control the timer with keyboard shortcuts while in game.
|
This is just for practice guys. Most people will use there food or how many minerals they have left to determine the amount of time that has pasted. real time can hinder you in a real game if you get to dependent on it. Nice for practicing build orders and other mechanics.
Good job OP!
|
|
|
This is in no way cheating but with time you simply won't need it.
|
Thanks for the update! This will be a great practice tool to develop my sense of timing. Hotkey option is awesome as well as the new game-speed settings ^^
|
at one point i recorded a sound file for myself using my voice that announced what i should be building and when, and then in later game simply reminding me what i should be focusing on. it would say something like
"pylon at 9 and send scout probe",
"gate next",
"gate is finished, build core",
"2nd assimilator soon",
"found out their build with probe",
"take watchtowesr if i can",
"4gate if i can win, otherwise choose tech quickly and start building", etc
it was nice because i would never be behind early game and forget something stupid.
later game it would just say things like
"build probes"
"macro, spend resources, get upgrades"
"CHRONOBOOST!"
"where to expo next and how soon?"
"warp prism harass?" "dt harass?"
"what is opponent building and how many bases?"
"am i countering correctly"
"build scout pylons!", "where is opponents army?" and a few more at certain intervals.
i eventually stopped using it cuz it was annoying but this is just a soundfile and it provides similar/better help than a timer, so is this cheating?
what if i play a soundfile announcing the time every 30 seconds?
what if i play the same song playlist every match and im aware of how long the games been going based on how far into the playlist i am?
you do have to draw the line somewhere, but imo unless it actually makes clicks, presses keys or gives you info you shouldn't have, any visual or auditory reminders are pretty fair game.
|
|
|
On August 21 2010 00:23 PatrickWales wrote:
Is this virus free?
It is according to NOD32.
Here's the scan log for the skeptics:
+ Show Spoiler [scan log] +
|
it's been downloaded 78 times.. no one has complained yet.
|
I can't stand it when people consider this "cheating." I mean really, you ever watch Nal_rA Oldboy? When he's got people standing behind him coaching, they tell him stuff if he forgets it. If I was coached the single most useful thing I'd get out of it would be the coach telling me "Okay, time to check your scv's, time to check your units, time to check your supply" etc.
Obviously this should be banned in tournaments, but for practice games it sounds pretty useful. Though I don't personally see myself using this any time soon, since I've got my macro timings down okay.
|
I hope everyone who uses this gets banned.
|
Russian Federation81 Posts
OP here is additional idea, even though i understand that it will get way more haters and maybe be against terms of use of Blizz (could some1 investigate?): instead, or additionally to sound, screen would flash when some timer passed. i need it only for larvae control, im too lazy to record specific BO timer or timing pushes etc...
|
I personally think that THIS IS FINE.
Is having a clock cheap? I mean, yes, timekeeping devices are relatively inexpensive nowadays...
But what I'm trying to say is that I don't think that having a stopwatch or even a regular clock like on your phone is cheap or underhanded or anything.
Last time I checked, doing something that has become a staple of modern life is not unfair or dirty.
If anything, having it reset at X time is where it starts to get questionable, but again, nothing a regular watch or clock or phone or anything could do.
|
On August 21 2010 19:14 angerpowered wrote:
I personally think that THIS IS FINE.
Is having a clock cheap? I mean, yes, timekeeping devices are relatively inexpensive nowadays...
But what I'm trying to say is that I don't think that having a stopwatch or even a regular clock like on your phone is cheap or underhanded or anything.
Last time I checked, doing something that has become a staple of modern life is not unfair or dirty.
If anything, having it reset at X time is where it starts to get questionable, but again, nothing a regular watch or clock or phone or anything could do.
Well technically having a clock/phone forces you to look away and counts as an action more or less...
|
seeing alot of negative comments, but personally it think its fine to revise the timings of everythin, i wont be using this in proper game (i do see the unfair advantage in this, but you would be cheating your self really), but just in single player while testing bo and time attacks. im suprised to see so much hatred for such a simple but helpful tool for studying the game.
ow almost forgot, thanks for posting, i hope works fullscreen, not into this windowed mode stuff.
ps. sry forgot to chk this post is quite old.
|
Will use to figure out 3 rax timings relative to 1 gate expo. 6:30 is such difficult time to tell based on in-game information. Thanks.
On the issue of fairness, I think this falls similiar to the case of using vent or no vent for online LoL or HoN tourneys. It really is absurdly hard to enforce, AND the team could just be in the same room for all we know. The clock is a much smaller issue and should not be blown out of porportion. While for live tourneys I think we'd all want clocks to be banned, but in online tourneys, there's nothing really much that can be done.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT![[image loading]](http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/6613/capturehtb.jpg)
