To start, here’s a game that’s already been published on our Facebook page last week between Huk and drewbie from the finals of the Gosucoaching tournament. A Protoss versus Terran game on Steppes of War, starting with a “normal” build and progressing into the bizarre when JP, the game’s caster, jokingly whispers Huk to Mothership rush…

Next up, an epic game between Liquid’TheLittleOne and Hasu on Metalopolis, a Terran versus Protoss.

Great skill displayed by both players as they battle constantly throughout this long game that will keep you on your toes!

Our next game for today was chosen for its perfect illustration of the reason Reapers are being nerfed in the upcoming patch. In this match, Morrow, a Swedish Terran player, fights against the infamous Zerg player, IdrA, on Xel’Naga Caverns. Marrow quickly sets up many Barracks with Tech Lab add-ons and proceeds to abuse Reapers to the max!

Our final video of the day presents an amazing display of multitasking leading to a very decisive victory. This Terran versus Zerg match on Metalopolis started with the Zerg’s fast expansion taken out by the aggressive Terran, leading to a mid-game where the Terran’s in the lead but with the Zerg still in the game. Here’s part two, where the amazing conclusion takes place:

Does one really need 260 APM to pull this off? Well, it can’t hurt!

First of all, Bashiok quickly dispels this myth:

Our intent is not to have a game with broken balance in an attempt to sell an expansion. That should go without saying. It makes me sad it isn’t.

Next, he clarifies Blizzard’s approach to patching:

Our intent is also to not apply knee jerk fixes based on the first few weeks as understanding of the game and strategies are still in flux. The game is young, and we don’t feel that it would have been helpful to progressing peoples understanding by throwing in tons of fixes based on flavor-of-the-week (or day, or hour) strats.

We see a lot of variation between the regions. Making a change for how NA players play may be completely ridiculous for how KR players play, and actually mess up a balance there. For instance 10 of their top 20 players are zerg. So that’s one place where we have to be mindful and careful and attack balance issues with great prejudice.

Unlike during the beta, Blizzard can’t afford to patch the game every few days or radically alter components of the game for a test run. “Real” patches are indeed coming, but they will be heavily scrutinized first to make sure the introduced balance changes are worthy:

That said. There are balance changes coming. What everyone was seeing in beta with tons of quick balance changes are because it was in beta and we feel we can get away with throwing out a lot of ‘we think this may help’ type fixes. With a live environment we’re not going to throw stuff out there unless we’re pretty sure. We’ve played. We’ve looked at data. We’ve looked at each region. And then we act. Which isn’t to say we may not be wrong from time to time, but it’s a more measured approach than beta players may be used to or expecting.

There you have it! Balance changes are coming, and they’ll be thought out and tested before we’re exposed to them. Indeed, in mid-September, Blizzard is planning on releasing the first real patch, and they’ve already released a situation report detailing some of the planned changes:

Patch 1.1 will contain a number of improvements including additional mod features, Editor improvements and bug fixes, some custom game improvements, support for NVIDIA’s 3D Vision, and more. We’d also like to share some specific plans for this patch with you.

Balance Changes

We have several balance changes in store. One general change we’re making is that friendly units will no longer provide vision after being killed. Enemy units previously revealed will no longer be targetable. Now let’s break down the additional balance changes we’re implementing.

This changes the way vision works so that units that are killed immediately lose the vision they provided on the field. Previously, killed units would still supply intelligence for a few short seconds, allowing players to jump to the location of the “under attack!” ping and see exactly what had happened.

Maps

We’re going to be adding destructible rocks to the Desert Oasis map to make natural expansions easier to protect. In addition, the center map watchtower area is being narrowed.

Protoss

We have two key changes in mind for the zealot: the build time is being increased from 33 to 38 seconds, and the warpgate cooldown is being increased from 23 to 28 seconds. Zealot rushes are currently too powerful at various skill levels, particularly those that rely on rapidly assaulting an enemy base from nearby “proxy” gateways. We feel the window players have to scout for and fend off this rush is too small. We also want to address the problem of protoss being able to dump minerals a bit too quickly with the combination of warpgates and Chrono Boost.

While this gives victims of proxy gateway rushes a little more breathing room, it also puts Protoss players in danger of getting Zerglings going past their choke point just slightly before the first bouncer Zealot comes out.

The late-game effect that slightly hinders the Protoss’ ability to mass up Zealots quickly is also no doubt a reaction to the following Siege Tank change:

Terran

There are several changes in the works for terrans. Reapers against zerg are stronger than expected. Due to the zealot build time increase, reapers would be a bit problematic in combination with proxy barracks, bunkers, and/or marauders against protoss. Therefore, we have decided to increase the build time of reapers as well from 40 to 45 seconds. Fast reaper + bunker, or fast marine + bunker rushes are problematic against zerg. Although this rush would never outright destroy the zerg player, we feel zerg suffers too much of a disadvantage from either having to cancel the fast expansion, or getting trapped inside the main base for too long, so we are also increasing the bunker build time from 30 to 35 seconds.

Siege tanks in large numbers are performing too well in all matchups. In the mid- to late-game, siege tanks are too dominant against all ground units. We want a small set of light and unarmored ground units to perform better against siege tanks. With this in mind, we’re changing the Siege Mode damage of the siege tank from 50 to 35, +15 vs. armored; to correspond with this, damage upgrades will be changed from +5 to +3, +2 vs. armored. This change reduces the base damage of the siege tank against light and unarmored units, as well as the splash damage.

Siege Tanks will now perform more like their StarCraft 1 Predecessors, dealing less damage to light-armored units like the Zealot, Marine, Zergling, and Hydralisk. A huge change for this unit that the Terran race has come to rely on, Tanks in siege mode will now be significantly less deadly to these units. Hydralisks will need 3 shots instead of 2 to be killed; carapace-upgraded Zerlings will survive the first shot, non-stimmed Marines will as well. Zealots, already capable of taking some tank fire while charging in to the battle, will be able to take one extra hit as well and survive 5 direct shots. This is not the first nerf to the Siege Tank, which has already had its damage lowered from 60 to 50 during the beta.

Siege Tanks will now benefit greatly from the +1 damage upgrade, allowing them to one shot Zerglings regardless of upgrades. A +2 attack Siege Tank will two-shot Hydralisks again, even if the Hydralisk is +2 carapace upgraded itself.

Battlecruisers currently lack good counters from the ground and still perform very well against a wide array of unit types. We’re aware that it is not easy to get battlecruisers out for the cost, but at the same time, it is possible in both 1v1s and team games to create stalemate situations to bring them out. Overall, we feel that battlecruisers are too strong for their cost, and the terran-forced stalemate situations are causing less interesting gameplay. We will be lowering their damage against ground units from 10 to 8.

Zerg

Ultralisk damage is being decreased from 15, +25 vs. armored to 15, +20 vs. armored. This reduction is comparable to the changes being made to the battlecruiser and siege tank. Like the battlecruiser, ultralisks are simply too powerful for the cost, even though they are difficult to muster. Also, in combination with other units, ultralisks are difficult to counter from the ground. The ultralisk building attack (Ram) is being removed because the damage rate is too similar to its normal attack, which will be used against buildings instead. When ultralisks target tightly packed smaller buildings such as supply depots, the Ram attack is actually outputting considerably less overall damage than its normal attack, as Ram only hits a single target.

The Ultralisk, which was highly underused during the beta, has finally been seeing use since the release of the game thanks to the final patches of the beta that have improved the unit’s damage, speed, and have given it a permanent “frenzy” effect along with the ability to break down Sentry Force-Fields. This is has made it quite devastating in some situation, so the current damage reduction definitely makes sense. On the other hand, Ultralisks will now be better than ever for breaking down tight chokes, as their AoE melee attack will be used against buildings as well.

Interesting changes all around, and these are only some of the promised ones to come in the next patch!

In a hilarious and predictable turn of events, that will perhaps prevent Blizzard from releasing these situation reports prematurely in the future, players who had read the report and have noted that Zealot proxy rushes and Siege Tanks are overpowered are abusing those to the max while they still can. Be warned!

Click through to see the full high-res version. Big thanks go to our reader Jason for creating this great looking, helpful chart!

Blizzard has promised to bring chat rooms back within a few patches, and now, gamers not happy with their handles will be offered a name change for free soon as well. Why bother writing “free“? Well, because Blizzard will be charging for Battle.net name changes in the future.

The recent 1.0.3 patch continued the tradition of providing a minor bug fix while leaving gameplay balance intact.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed an issue preventing some players from accessing offline play from the login screen

Our Nvidia-sponsored GeForce GTX 460 StarCraft 2 flipbook contest came to an end this weekend, bringing multiple interesting submissions. As promised, the winner of the contest will be awarded with a EVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB and the runner up will receive a SteelSeries limited edition professional grade StarCraft 2 mousepad.

The second place, along with the mousepad, goes to Stephen Barnes for submitting this animated battle, called “Death From Above”.

The winner of the contest is Nadya Emmyl from Stary Oskol, Russia, who submitted this excellent animated reenactment of Kerrigan’s last stand on New Gettysburg.

The Fan Art contest, undoubtedly the most popular and easiest contest to participate in, offers the following prizes:

• First Place:
  Wacom Cintiq 21UX and one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
• Second Place:
  NVIDIA video card, one copy of Adobe Photoshop CS5, and one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
• Third Place:
  One copy of Adobe Photoshop CS5 and one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online

You can see what the Cintiq 21UX is about in the following video:

The virtual BlizzCon ticket is worth $40, and includes the following:

• Expanded live coverage over four Internet channels offering 50+ hours of HD BlizzCon programming
• BlizzCon 2010-exclusive World of Warcraft in-game item
• Access to exclusive BlizzCon merchandise
• Complete coverage of panel discussions, tournaments, and game-related announcements, plus exclusive interviews and epic closing ceremonies
• Enhanced video on demand and DVR functionality

The Music contest offers even more lucrative prizes, with the entries having to meet simple criteria:

To enter, simply submit your song before September 27. Entries must be no longer than two minutes in length, in MP3 format, and meet the requirements listed in the official rules in order to be eligible to win.

• First Place:
  $2,000, one Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment boxed set signed by Blizzard Entertainment composers, and one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
• Second Place:
  $1,000, one Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment boxed set signed by Blizzard Entertainment composers, and one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
• Third Place:
  $500, one Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment boxed set signed by Blizzard Entertainment composers, and one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online

Blizzard’s BlizzCon 2010 Movie contest offers $11,000  in cash prizes alone.

To enter, create an original movie (up to three minutes in length) using footage from Blizzard Entertainment games, and submit it before September 27.

• Grand Prize:
  $5,000, one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an “Oswald” award statue
• First Place:
  $3,000, one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an “Oswald” award statue
• Second Place:
  $2,000, one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an “Oswald” award statue
• Third Place:
  $1,000, one BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an “Oswald” award statue

If you do, it’s time to sharpen your pencil. We will ship a new, sealed in box, EVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB to the creator of the best StarCraft themed flipbook animation. If you are not familiar with the concept, here’s a good sample video to get your started:

How to enter the contest:

1. Draw an original StarCraft-inspired flipbook animation.
2. Make a video like the one shown above.
3. Submit your entry by either sending it directly to Anderson@SC2Blog.com or by posting on our Facebook page for others to see and comment on!

On August 21st, we will post the qualifiers here for our readers to vote on. Voting will last for 4 days, and the entry receiving the most votes will win the card! Runner ups will not go unnoticed, and will get some awesome StarCraft-related prizes as well.

What are you waiting for? Get arting!

That being said, Blizzard has already released two StarCraft 2 patches and is keeping an updated list of known issues here. Up until now, none of the documented issues, fixes and patches have affected unit abilities or multiplayer gameplay. However, playing a 2v2 with a flickering screen and scrambled voice communication is clearly not the optimal gaming experience.

StarCraft 2 patches so far:

PATCH 1.0.1

Bug Fixes

*     Campaign saves have been optimized.

*     Fixed an issue with sound not playing on some 7.1 systems.

PATCH 1.0.2

Bug Fixes

*     Fixed an issue where campaign mission victories would not always trigger properly.

*     Fixed an issue where some players were unable to access single player features.

The list of technical issues acknowledged by Blizzard at this point, however, is significantly longer:

1. Graphical issues

Issue:

You may experience random corrupted graphical issues affecting units, structures, terrain and transmission.

Solution:

None at the moment.

Issue:

You may experience corrupted graphical issues when the Paged Pool Memory is running low.

Solution:

Quit unnecessary background applications and processes then restart the game client. For additional information please read the following article:

Issue:

You may see missing buttons to create previously unlocked units, characters become white spheres or only able to start older missions on the Starmap.

This is due to save game corruptions and connectivity issues when saving.

Solution:

This is being patched shortly to prevent further occurrences but for now you should attempt to load an older save game that is not corrupt.

If this is unsuccessful you will need to restart the campaign.

2. Sound and Voice Chat issues

Issue:

In-game sound might not play properly on some hardware devices set to 7.1 Surround on Windows Vista / Windows 7.

Solution:

Set sound output speaker options to 5.1 Surround or lower.

Issue:

Players are able to send but not receive in-game voice on Windows 7 computers equipped with the Realtek HD Audio sound card when the Output Device in the Sounds Menu option is set to Speakers.

Solution:

None at the moment.

Issue:

Changing the OS speaker mode on Windows Vista and Windows 7 whilst the game is running causes all in-game sounds to stop.

Solution:

None at the moment. Temporary solution: Change the OS speaker mode prior to launching the game.

3. Galaxy Editor issues

Issue:

The Terrain editor may lag or stutter when dragging the mouse around the map.

Solution:

None at the moment.

Issue:

Changing certain values in the Galaxy Editor is causing a crash while in detail view.

Solution:

None at the moment.

4. Mac issues

Issue:

The game may occasionally crash on OS X 10.6 with Nvidia drivers.

Solution:

None at the moment.

Issue:

Playing with an USB headset will drastically lower in-game performance (FPS).

Solution:

None at the moment.

5. Miscellaneous

Issue:

A language pack error may occur under certain conditions.

Solution:

Ensuring your system clock is correct can help resolve the error.

Issue:

Players will be unable to download or use the digital installer when attempting to download or install the game to a hard drive formatted in FAT32.

Solution:

Download or install the digital client to a NTFS formatted hard drive.

Issue:

Error Message: „The Battle.net Account does not include an associated copy of Starcraft 2.” after registration of the CD-Key.

Solution:

Please change the password at the battle.net website. Make sure you use the correct game client EU game client for the EU StarCraft II Account or US/US

Blizzard is not the only company facing pressure over StarCraft 2′s performance, as hardware manufacturers scramble to update their drivers to be compatible with the game. ATI stands out after releasing the Catalyst 10.7a Beta Driver virtually solely for the purpose of supporting anti-aliasing in StarCraft 2 – a feature we had no problem with when reviewing Nvidia’s Geforce GTX 460 and GTX 470 graphics cards using a standard set of drivers.

For many, getting to play StarCraft 2 is as easy as going to the store, buying and installing the game; for others, who have fallen out of the race to maintain a modern computer, capable of playing new games, it may not be so simple. Now that StarCraft 2 is finally out, the time has come to get some new gear, and one of the main things to consider is the graphics card.

Nvidia has just released a new graphics card – the GeForce GTX 460 – targeted at those wishing to get a cost-efficient gaming system without breaking the bank, and we will review it here today. As well, we’re going to go over some more hardware and recommend the best parts for a system built to play StarCraft 2.

At $199 ($229 for the 1GB variant) and including a trial coupon for the game, this card is positioned to compete in the mid-range graphics card arena and provide exactly the right amount of GPU-juice for StarCraft 2. Can the card really live up to this claim? The guys at Nvidia have sent us a shiny new EVGA GeForce GTX 460 with 1GB of memory to test just that.

THE CARD

First of all, let’s go over the card’s story and specs. If technobabble isn’t your thing, skip right ahead to the results down the line.

The GTX 460 is Nvidia’s second Fermi (GF104 core) graphics card, released after the GeForce GTX 465 – a more expensive variant that was essentially a stripped down version of Nvidia’s higher-end GeForce GTX 480 card. Not priced competitively, it didn’t do so well in the market.

The 460 is everything the 465 should have been in the mid-range market: as a slightly updated design, it performs more efficiently per clock cycle; it also has a higher price/performance ratio than the rest of Nvidia’s GTX line. It is indeed priced very competitively, performing better than the equivalent AMD model – the Radeon 5830. Not only that, it also overclocks like a champ: enough to outperform much more expensive cards and go toe to toe with its older and more powerful brother, the GeForce GTX 470; but more on that later.

SPECIFICATIONS

 —————————— GTX 460 1GB GDDR5   |   GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 ——————————

Graphics Clock                             675                                 675

Processor Clock                          1300                               1300

Memory Clock                            1800                               1800

Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec)         37.8                                37.8

Memory Interface width             256 bit                            196 bit

Memory Bandwitdh (GB/sec)      115.2                               86.4

Maximum Power Draw                160W                              160W

Price                                           $229                               $199

TEST SYSTEMS

We tested 3 different cards in different price ranges, attempting to isolate GPU performance and determine the sweet spot for StarCraft 2 gaming. As well, two different CPUs were used to evaluate the impact of the CPU on performance.

System #1: Old/Mainstream

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 3.6GHz
• Motherboard: Asus P5B
• Hard Disk: Intel X-25V SSD X 2 (RAID 0)
• Memory: Kingston DDR2 800MHz 1GB X 4
• Video Driver: Nvidia – 258.98 WHQL; ATI – Catalyst 10.7

• Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit, freshly installed

System #2: New/High-End

• CPU: Intel i7 860 @ 3.8 GHz
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
• Hard Disk: Intel X-25M SSD
• Memory: Kingston DDR3 1600 MHz 2GB X 2
• Video Driver: Nvidia – 258.98 WHQL; ATI – Catalyst 10.7
• Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit, freshly installed

THE TEST

Two different replays were used. The first is of a typical 15 minute 1v1 game on Kulas Ravine, testing normal gameplay conditions with two players only. The second is a 2v2 game, meant to test our systems in an environment with 200-food armies clashing.

We tested the GTX 460 under many conditions: 1680X1050 using the high graphics option preset and high texture levels; 1920X1200 using the ultra graphics preset and ultra texture levels; 1920X1200 ultra with 4xAA/8xAF; and 1920X1200 with 4xAA/8xAF – overclocked. We also tested the impact of the windowed fullscreen mode on performance.

As well, we compared the GTX 460 using 1920X1200 ultra against ATI’s low-range Radeon HD 5750 card and Nvidia’s high-range GTX 470 card.

You can download both replays here:

1v1 | 2v2

We measured the minimum, average and maximum frames per second (FPS) in each test. The more powerful a system is, the more frames it can churn out in a given time frame. In the 1v1 game, we started measuring at minute 5:00 in the game and stopped at the end. For the 2v2 game, recording started at minute 26:00 and lasted till the end once more. If you wish to replicate our test with your system, download Fraps, play the replay until the aforementioned time point, hit the Fraps benchmark hotkey while simultaneously unpausing the game (Hotkey “P”), and let it record on “Faster” speed until the of the replay.

RESULTS

We began by benchmarking the GTX 460 and quickly noticed that it’s highly CPU-bottlenecked when tested on the main benchmarking system with the relatively old C2D E6700 CPU, even with its high overclock speed. Therefore, to make future tests more GPU-dependent, all tests were conducted with “Physics” turned off and “Effects” turned to low, as both of these options rely mostly on the CPU.

To start things off, we compared the different cards to see how the GTX 460 holds up against them. We used the highest quality settings – without anti-aliasing (AA) or anisotropic filtering (AF), as the ATI drivers don’t support them in StarCraft 2 – to make sure the different graphics cards show their strength.

Since StarCraft 2 isn’t a particularly graphics-intensive game, it’s not entirely surprising to see the $229 GTX 460 performing almost as well as the much more expensive, $350 GTX 470. It’s also easy to see that our 2v2 test was heavily influenced by the CPU, as the different cards show very little difference between them in the minimum FPS measurement.

Next, we evaluated the GTX 460′s performance using different quality settings and added a test to determine the effect of fullscreen windowed mode as well.

While lowering the resolution and decreasing the quality clearly has an effect on speed, the GTX 460 is more than able to take on the high resolution and maximum graphics quality settings and allow for smooth play. Throwing anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering into the mix and further increasing image quality still allows an acceptable gaming experience, though the intensive 2v2 test brings the minimum FPS level below what we’d recommend for serious gameplay. For those of you who are playing on struggling systems, it is important to note that windowed fullscreen mode takes a significant toll on performance. While it makes quickly tabbing out of the game easy, it’s definitely not worth it if it means the game itself becomes less playable. (Extra note: using an SSD makes tabbing out and back in, in normal fullscreen mode, much faster!)

Next comes the overclock test. As we mentioned, the GTX 460 is an amazing overclocker. Using the EVGA Precision overclocking program, our card easily achieved a 21% increase in core clock and 18% increase in memory clock – and we were quite conservative about pushing it! Using GPUTool and HWmonitor to stress test and monitor the card, we quickly increased the speeds until finding a stable point.

And off we were again to test the card! We chose to compare the most intensive graphics settings, running the ultra quality with AA and AF benchmark.

The GTX 460 benefits very nicely from overclocking, though the system is still clearly bottlenecked by the CPU. The most amazing find in our overclocking test, though, is the fact that the GTX 460 is almost completely unfazed by the extra speeds! Temperatures and fan speed at maximum operation levels remain almost exactly the same as when operating at standard levels; a 2-3C degree change at most, and almost 30C degrees below the maximum operating temperature as stated by Nvidia. What this means is that this level of overclocking can be applied indefinitely, increasing the value of this incredible card even further.

Lastly, we tested the GTX 460 on a system with an extremely fast CPU – Intel’s recent i7 design, running at 3.8GHz. It doesn’t get much faster than that, and it showed in this benchmark.

As we suspected, the mainstream system with the relatively old CPU is indeed quite bottlenecked by it. When installed on the newer system, the GTX 460 shows just how held back it was before, and confirms that it is more than sufficient to handle anything StarCraft 2 can throw at it. To get more information about different CPUs and their effect on StarCraft 2 performance, check out Techspot’s excellent writeup on the subject.

At this point of our analysis, we can whole-heartedly confirm Nvidia’s claim: to play StarCraft 2 at the highest quality settings, one does not need more than Nvidia’s new ~$200 offering – the GTX 460. And not only StarCraft 2, mind you; other reviewers have already crowned the GTX 460 as the “$200 king”.

CONCLUSIONS

In order to get the best performing computer for StarCraft 2 without going overboard with the expenditure, one should get:

1) An Intel i5-760 processor – another $200 wonder. Since StarCraft 2 only utilizes two cores, quad core CPUs such as the one used in our faster test system are somewhat of an overkill for it and for most other games. The 750 is the current sweetspot for Intel CPUs – despite its four cores, its price/performance ratio is hard to beat even in a dual core limited game – and it can also be heavily overclocked, which leads us to

2) A nice CPU heatsink/fan combo. We recommend one of the following models for their high price/performance ratio, quiet idle noise levels, and relatively powerful cooling abilities. Our first test system is equipped with a Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B, as can be seen in the picture above. Our second test system sports a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus. The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is a nice solution that’s cheaper.

3) An LGA 1156 board such as the one in our new test system or an Asus P7P55.

4) A good graphics card. It’s hard to not recommend the GTX 460 we reviewed here – it certainly does an amazing job and can handle everything StarCraft 2 can throw at it even at the maximum quality settings. At the $200-$250 price range, choosing the GeForce GTX 460 is a no-brainer.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is available for purchase around the globe. Battle.net 2.0 is live, and hundreds of thousands are enjoying war, in all its glory… and all its horror.

SC2Blog staff attended launch parties around the world, celebrating 3 years of following StarCraft 2′s development in the public eye, and picking up their own, pre-ordered copies. Those who have chosen to get Collector’s Editions have received one of the most beautiful gaming artifacts to have ever hit mass production.

The Collector’s Edition comes in a big, beautiful double “sliding door” package, giving it a unique and rugged look that is unlike any other. Due to its size and the distinct pseudo-metallic texture, the box immediately stands out in any store or gamer room.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Collector’s Edition is packed with features, both tangible and digital.

• The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game
• An exclusive 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor’s dog tag, which comes preloaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War expansion set
• A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, cinematics with director’s commentary, and more
• The official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks
• StarCraft comic book issue #0, a prequel to the comic series
• A World of Warcraft mini Thor in-game pet that can be applied to all World of Warcraft characters on a single Battle.net account
• Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game, and a visually unique version of the terran Thor unit

Everything inside the box is of the highest quality, including a functional dog tag 2 GB USB drive. Its rough feel is just what you’d expect from its looks, with a push-and-slide USB connector and a fitting neck chain to hang it on.

The most important “show and tell” item is certainly the 176 page StarCraft 2 art book. For those who have followed SC2′s development, the pages will contain many familiar sketches and 3D renders of units and environments that have been introduced, scrapped or changed along the way.

The behind-the-scenes DVD and the full soundtrack CD has great value for true StarCraft fans, shedding light on StarCraft 2′s development – from its very inception to the delicate gameplay decisions made close to the release to the public. Considering the correlation between StarCraft and the professional Poker world, it wouldn’t be surprising to find the StarCraft 2 soundtrack playing on iPods during long tournament grinding sessions.

For those who won’t have many opportunities to brag about their recent purchase in the real world, one of the nicer perks is without a doubt a special set of Battle.net portraits that are available only to owners of the Collector’s Edition.

With so much awesome in one package, the StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty Collector’s Edition has great sentimental value for those who have been following the StarCraft Universe since it was introduced, over 12 years ago. Even if this is the first StarCraft game you purchase, you will quite likely get to appreciate it as much as we do soon enough.

To start, go ahead and get a good feel of the campaign by taking the entrance exam, which will assign you to your duty in the service of the Terran Dominion. Are you a skilled Viking pilot or more of a suicidal Firebat? Better find out before StarCraft 2 is released!

After finding out about your future role in the Terran military, check out this awesome gallery of StarCraft 2 posters:

Download some StarCraft 2 ringtones and SMS alerts:

• http://us.media.blizzard.com/starcraft2/dominion/unlockables/guild-tones.zip
• http://us.media.blizzard.com/starcraft2/dominion/unlockables/sms-alerts.zip
• http://us.media.blizzard.com/starcraft2/dominion/unlockables/children-of-aiur.zip
• http://us.media.blizzard.com/starcraft2/dominion/unlockables/preparing-for-the-worst.zip

Check out the fan-submitted propaganda poster gallery here, and vote for the one you like by “liking” them with your facebook account.

Lastly, brace yourself for three amazing StarCraft 2 videos. The first two detail the story so far: the Terrans’ arrival at the Koprulu sector, the Protoss’ attempt to eradicate the Zerg, Kerrigan’s transformation into the Queen of Blades, and the events leading up to the beginning of StarCraft 2.

The last video is also the newest trailer for StarCraft 2 we’ve posted recently, combining stunning pre-rendered animation with in-game scenes seamlessly to create one of the best hype trailers ever, just in time for StarCraft 2′s imminent release!

In just a few hours, the wait will be over. Some may have needed the hype machine, but they had most of us at “StarCraft 2″.