No more rumors, no more waiting. The StarCraft 2 beta is here, and we’re all downloading it like mad. In a few hours from now, the net will be flooded with all the information, screenshots, and videos we’ve all been waiting for – and a few lucky thousands will be providing them.

Just a couple of hours before the beta was unleashed on the suspecting but unknowing public, the official system requirements page went up on Blizzard’s support page. Only the minimal requirements are up at the moment, and they’re indeed quite minimal. If you’ve purchased a computer with a standard graphics card in the last 5 years, you’ll be just fine.

PC Minimum Requirements:

• Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Windows 7
• 2.2 Ghz Pentium IV or equivalent AMD Athlon processor
• 1 GB system RAM/1.5 GB for Vista and Windows 7
• 128 MB NVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card
• 1024×768 minimum display resolution
• 4 GB free hard space (Beta)
• Broadband connection

An attached note informs that these are not final. Also, it mentions that the Mac beta version is not ready yet, but will be available during the beta.

Important note: we’ve been getting reports of many people who have not received any email notification, but have just logged into their Battle.net account and found the following. If you’ve opted-in, don’t wait for a notification!

Yes, it’s real this time. The rumor frenzy was justified. Predictions proved to be correct. This is not a drill! The StarCraft 2 beta will launch this month, and it’s as official as can be.

During the much-anticipated conference call, broadcast live to the public, the following slide went up as Mike Morhaime, Blizzard’s president, was talking:

Mike also mentioned a mid-2010 release date for StarCraft 2, in line with previous Blizzard representatives’ estimations of 4-6 months of beta testing.

Indeed, there is no doubt about it. Battle.net 2.0 was likely the reason for the previous delay of the beta, which was promised to begin last year. With the new Battle.net preview page going live yesterday, Blizzard has made it clear that most preparations are complete and that the time for the beta has come.

“Battle.net is about to undergo the greatest update in its long and storied history as one of the world’s most successful online gaming services.”

These are the opening words on the new Battle.net preview page, launched just a couple of hours ago. The preview site has all the information about the new Battle.net features, screenshots of the service, and a short video interview with Greg Canessa, project director for Battle.net.

Since information about the new Battle.net hasn’t been scarce, the page itself doesn’t reveal much that isn’t already known. It serves as an aggregate of information about the service, officially showcasing it to the world. Indeed, the gaming industry should take note of this new service, as it is sure to capture the attention of many gamers who will become more loyal to Blizzard and their games than ever before.

Here’s a rundown of the information presented on the page and in the interview:

The new Battle.net will be completely integrated into the game.

• Saved games will be associated with the player’s Battle.net account and will be stored online.
• Each player will create a StarCraft 2 Battle.net character, which will serve as his persistent identity, keeping records, achievements, unlockable rewards, friends lists, and so on.
• Each player can select his own avatar and customize it to some degree; some of the avatars available and the customizations will only be available after being unlocked.

As mentioned before, the new Battle.net is not just about the games anymore – it provides a fully-featured social experience that stretches beyond the battlefield. Seamlessly integrated friends lists, status updates, messaging options and other social networking features abound. All of Blizzard’s online games will be represented, each with their own characteristic style. As well, a new “Real ID” feature will be implemented, allowing players to form friendships that transcend characters and come into the real world, creating a bond that will follow them through any Blizzard game or player avatar. Real ID will place the emphasis on real names and identities and provide a richer social infrastructure.

At this point, Real ID is strictly optional, and players will be able to rely completely on their anonymous avatars.

The information about Battle.net’s marketplace and matchmaking services have already been fleshed out before.

Another interesting change further complicates the ladder process by dividing it into separate leagues and divisions.
Seven Leagues will be created:

• Pro
• Platinum
• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze
• Copper
• Practice

In short, matchmaking will be more friendly to newcomers and pro-gamers alike, featuring leagues that players will automatically be assigned to after playing a few games. Blizzard wants to encourage “local competition” by putting you in your “skill neighborhood” in order to facilitate fun and competitive games. As well, the fan-favorite and often neglected (in other RTS games) arranged-team feature will be available, allowing friends to team up and find a match together in the same team.

The new custom game service will include a feature called Map Publishing that will let map designers publish their maps online, distributing their creations immediately. Likewise, players will be able to browse the service and look for specific map and game types. Later, Blizzard will introduce a more advanced version of this service – the StarCraft 2 Marketplace – allowing players to rate, comment on, and even buy mods if their creators choose to put a price tag on them. Blizzard has previously assured us that only mods that they approve and that they deem worthy will be allowed this privilege.

Lastly, check out this picture of the game launch screen, featuring a new 4v4 map – Extinction!

January hasn’t featured any significant official update from Blizzard (yet),  but a few pieces of information have surfaced through the constantly-growing RTS community team. Here’s a quick run down of the recent updates to the StarCraft 2 Universe.

The role and functionality of the Changeling, a shape-shifting spy unit that can be spawned by Overseers for an energy cost, has been clarified by Avarius.

The changeling’s transformation is permanent. Once it is within range of opposing forces, it will transform to that race’s basic tier 1 unit (marine, zealot, or zergling) and remain so for its duration. In the case of a team game or FFA where there are multiple races, the changeling will transform to the race it encounters first and not change again.

When questioned about the viability of the ability in high-level 1 on 1 matches, Avarius made it clear that he considers the Changeling a worthy addition to the Zerg unit roster.

I definitely think you will see them used effectively, even in high level 1v1 play. Who wouldn’t want an essentially free scout (only costs energy) to use to gather intel on their opponent? With the potential that you opponent might not kill it immediately, it can provide you with a sustained scouting advantage. Even high level players can get caught up in harassment, or base management and may miss this little guy sneaking into their base.

The next blue posts were translated by a SC:L staff member, and come from the Korean side of the Battle.net forums:

When more supply is required, and when I have to quickly build three Supply Depots at the same time, this is usually the method that I use.

1) I select some mining SCVs by drag selection or Ctrl + Left Click. It’s good to select at least three.

2) After pressing ‘B’ (building hotkey) then ‘S’ (Supply Depot hotkey), while holding Shift, consecutively left click at the locations you want to build at before right clicking a mineral patch.

3) Out of the selected SCVs, only three of them go to the selected locations and each build a Supply Depot, and once construction is complete they return to mining minerals.

That’s how automated things have become in StarCraft 2: building multiple supply depots and sending the workers back to harvest minerals is easily achieved by issuing one concentrated and short batch of commands, eliminating many of the repetitive actions otherwise required in the original game.

Another bit of info from Korea details the unit classification system, which has received a major overhaul in StarCraft 2. The new system is much more streamlined and simple, following clear rules that make hard unit counters very apparent.

Light armor, heavy armor, biological, mechanical, giant, psionic, etc. are some attributes that units can have.

For example, the Ultralisk has heavy armor biological giant attributes, whereas the Archon has the psionic attribute. You can probably tell from looking at the Archon, but not all units are divided into [light armor/heavy armor]. Damage calculation is also different from the previous game. Units attacks always do at least 100% of the damage value shown on the screen. And then, depending on the attacks property, additional damage may be dealt when attacking units with specific attributes.

For example the Archons base damage is 25, and deals an additional 10 damage against biological targets. Therefore, Zerg units (which are usually biological) take 35 damage when attacked by Archons. And in the case of the Siege Tank, its Siege Mode deals 60 damage, so it deals 60 damage to all ground units. If the old system of explosive, concussive and small, medium, large was used, then Marines would take reduced damage from a Siege Tank.

On the topic of friendly damage, Zhydaris explains which explosion is ally-friendly and which should be more carefully handled:

… exploding Banelings do not damage allied units: both your units and those of your allies are not affected at all by the acid explosion.

Reaper’s explosive charge does actually damage allies, as well as your own units and buildings, so be careful when playing with those flashing packages.

The official StarCraft 2 website has been updated with a brand new 6-page Mothership story, including a short, action packed clip of a Mothership-backed Protoss force decimating a Zerg army. The Mothership sports a slightly altered design and a new attack animation.

StarCraft 2’s community team has also revealed a new doodad screenshot via Twitter. The art is high-detail and worth a closer look – make sure you click on the image for the full-size screenshot.

The following concrete and un-speculative bit of info is bound to make quite a few people happy, as it serves as real evidence that StarCraft 2 is indeed being tested live on Battle.net or, at least, that it is about to be in the immediate future. The Blizzard official support page now includes lengthy support articles for StarCraft 2!

The guide gets quite specific and even includes a detailed StarCraft 2 Mac Version Video troubleshooting article!

There’s also some hype about the the recently announced Activision-Blizzard public conference call that will be broadcast on the internet, as it might include a clear plan of action for the upcoming months.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) intends to release its fourth quarter and calendar year 2009 results after the close of the market on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. In conjunction with this release, Activision Blizzard will host a conference call that will be broadcast over the Internet.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
1:30 pm Pacific Time (4:30 pm Eastern Time)

To listen to the call, please log onto:

http://investor.activision.com/events.cfm