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Gameplay of StarCraft

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The central objective in any StarCraft (multiplayer or single player) game is to defeat opponents (human or computer-controlled) by overpowering them, usually by destroying all their buildings. Some single-player missions and custom maps feature different objectives.

Contents

Race asymmetry

StarCraft's predecessor, Warcraft II, while advanced for its time, featured what many gamers believed to be a weakness. Aside from a few minor (but significant, balance-wise) differences in available spells and upgrade costs, the game's two races were exactly the same mechanically, with only graphical differences. StarCraft improved upon this by incorporating three races, Protoss, Terran, and Zerg instead of two. The game revamped the unit rosters to include unique technologies and units in all three factions.

The unit types available define each race's racial identity. The Protoss can field powerful and expensive warriors and machinery, while the Zerg count on sheer numbers and speed to overwhelm their opponents, and the Terrans provide a moderate strategy that is roughly in between the characteristics of the Protoss and Zerg. As such, the choice of the race is a crucial one, because each race requires a completely different playing style. StarCraft is often praised for its well balanced units: no matter which race is chosen, players of equal skill have more or less equal chances to win a game, even though the races are highly dissimilar. The balance between the races has occasionally been fine-tuned by tweaking characteristics of individual types of units, such as in expense, maturation time, or duration time of a unit's spells, with the changes incorporated in a software update that is included in new CD prints and that must be downloaded to play online, along with changes made to pre-existing units in Brood War. For example, in an update subsequent to the release of Brood War, the duration time for the disruption web cast by Protoss Corsairs was substantially reduced, in response to what became perceived as the extraordinary advantage provided by the disruption web in the original Brood War release.

Aside from the unit types of each race, the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss forces also differ greatly in their building mechanics and army control.

Terran

Zerg Protoss

Resources

Like most computer strategy games, the game is centered around resources. Resources are needed to construct units and buildings and more advanced units require more resources. In order to win, players need to balance between quickly expanding to resource locations to gather as many resources as possible, defending those locations against the enemy, and preventing the enemy from gathering them for themselves. StarCraft features two kinds of resources: minerals (required for all units) and Vespene gas (required for upgrades and more advanced units). Minerals appear as blue crystalline formations protruding from the ground and are 'harvested' by worker units (drones, SCVs, or probes, depending on the race) while Vespene gas appear as green clouds forming above geysers. Vespene gas, unlike mineral crystals, can only be harvested after a refinery building is constructed over the geyser.

Terran players cannot create an arbitrary number of units; each unit has a "supply/support" rating that adds to a pool. Each race's main building provides a certain supply capacity at the beginning of the game. If the player is to build more units after reaching this capacity, they must build units or buildings providing additional supply to extend their supply pool (Supply Depots for Terrans, Pylons for the Protoss and Overlords for the Zerg). The game sets a maximum supply of 200 for each player; beyond this limit the player can no longer create units, even if more supply-providing units or buildings are produced. However, Protoss Dark Archons can mind control additional units even if the supply limit is reached, and can allow the creation of a mind controlled army with its own 200 maximum supply by a mind controlled Zerg Drone or Terran SCV creating a Command Center or Hatchery, respectively. Smaller, weaker units use as few as a half (2 Zerglings are spawned for 1 supply) whereas larger ones, like Battlecruisers or Carriers can use up to six. Overlords take up no supply. Supply can be seen as a third resource, because it has to be managed at least as carefully as minerals and Vespene gas, especially at the beginning of the games.

Battle gameplay

Starcraft uses distinct attack types and unit size types. This feature gives every unit a distinct characteristic beyond their attack/hitpoint ratio and makes some units much more effective against others. The unit size types are: The attack types are: With this system, matchups between the races constantly change over the gameplay time as different units become available.

For example, the Protoss Dragoon, a unit which uses explosive attacks, can be easily destroyed by large swarms of Zerglings because the Dragoons deal only half of their normal damage to small units, but the Zergling's normal attacks deal their full damage to the Dragoon: plus the Dragoons are large units, allowing the small Zerglings to swarm around the units and destroy them with relative ease.

Starcraft is also unique in that all units are useful at all levels. Bottom tier units can be used effectively up to the end of the game. In addition, there is a counter to almost every unit in the game. This ensures that a unit diversity is required to win. That is, simple massing of one powerful unit is bound to fail, as it could easily be defeated with the proper units. For instance, masses of Marines and Medics are a powerful force, but can easily be countered by Zerg Lurkers. To counter the lurkers, Siege Tanks and Science Vessels are used. To break through siege barrages, Zerg use Ultralisks to take the brunt of the siege attack while Zerglings can swarm the Terran. Zerg could also use the Defiler's Dark Swarm spell to protect its units from the sieging, and Terran's counter the Defilers by using the Science Vessel's Irradiate ability. This is just one example of how Starcraft can become a game of counters.

Unit movement

Starcraft units also have variable speed and maneuverability, which can be very important in determining whether a unit can strike while the enemy is unready or can allow units to retreat from an uneven battle.

Some examples:

The Protoss Zealot vs. the Zergling. 4 Zerglings cost the same as one Zealot, but Zerglings are much more versatile at the beginning of the game, because they move so much faster than the Zealot. Later in the game, however, the Zealots can have their speed upgraded to a level equal to that of the Zergling. This makes the Zealot useful both at the beginning of the game, where it is the first combat unit the Protoss can construct, and also at the end of the game where it becomes the fastest moving Protoss ground unit. 

The Terran Siege Tank. With the proper upgrade, it can turn itself into a static defense unit called "siege mode" which increases its range and attack power by over 2/3rds but force it to remain stationary. Switching between modes takes about 2 seconds, so Terran players usually move their tank force in small groups, with one group in siege mode providing cover fire for the group advancing on the enemy, called leap-frogging.


Starcraft also features aerial units that can travel freely over the map without having to travel through choke points to get to enemy bases.  Their drawbacks are that they are more expensive and require the player to have built more specialized buildings before they can be constructed than ground units.



Unit sight range, visibility, and detection

Players are only able to observe the map areas in proximity to their units and buildings (there are a few exceptions, for example, parasites, allied vision and comsat station).  Unexplored landscape shows as complete darkness to the player.  Previously explored landscape is "remembered" but covered in the so called fog of war where enemy units may exist unseen.  Most units see slightly farther than they can shoot, but there are exceptions (e.g. Terran Siege Tank in siege mode). 


Some units are invisible or can become untargetable in certain states. Such units can only be targeted if the enemy player has a detector unit or building present, or if a special ability is invoked. 




Though both units and buildings may be detectors, no building is ever untargetable.  Units that can become untargetable are the following:




"Cloaked" units feature a visual effect of distorting the images of the ground beneath them, most noticeable when the units move, which limits their invisibility to enemy players.  But unlike the game's predecessor, Warcraft II, units cannot be commanded to "Attack Ground" in order to manually hit units without targeting them.  Untargetable units can still be damaged or destroyed as a result of "splash damage" or "area-effect" spells.


Ground level note: Units at the bottom of a cliff cannot see anything on the top of the cliff. If the player with units below uses an aerial unit to reveal enemy units on the high ground, however, the ground units on the bottom can also attack targets on the top (with 70% accuracy).  There is an exception to this, which is when the units on the top attack the bottom level: the units can be seen for a while, enabling counter-attack (again with 70% accuracy).


Special ability notes: Detector units lose their detection abilities when they are Blind (affected by the Terran Medic's "Optical Flare" ability, Brood War).  Invisible units can sometimes be forcefully de-cloaked by invoking EMP Shockwave or Feedback (on energy-consuming cloakers only), or by casting the area-effect spells Ensnare, Plague, Acid Spores (Brood War), Maelstrom (Brood War), or Stasis Field.  Many spells leaving artifacts on units will keep them continuously visible to the caster of the artifact (e.g. Parasite, Defensive Matrix, Lockdown), but require that the unit be visible while the spell is cast.  Zerg Parasites not only can keep otherwise-invisible units visible, but also can make enemy detectors relay their detection to the player. The ComSat Station's satellite scan reveals an area of the map, including cloaked units.



Single player game


There are two modes of play for solitary players: first, a series of single player missions, divided in three episodes (one for each race, plus three more episodes in ), and second, the possibility to play custom games against up to 7 computer-controlled opponents.


The single player missions serve the double purpose of telling the game's story and introducing players to the units and specificities of each race. These missions mostly require the player to destroy several different enemy bases; sometimes additional objectives like protecting certain 'heroes' (special units) or destroying specific buildings (such as a Confederate Ion Cannon, in the last Terran mission of StarCraft), bringing units to a specified position, or defending a base against incoming assaults for a given period of time. Since they are also intended to gradually introduce the units unique to each race, many missions place restrictions on the units and technology the player has at his/her disposal for the duration of the mission. For example, in the first missions of StarCraft, the player cannot build advanced units like Battlecruisers or "research" powerful upgrades like the Tank siege mode (which enables Terran tanks to do more damage). Usually, the player already has a more or less established base and a number of combat units at the beginning of the single player missions.


Custom games in the Melee mode (the mode most often used) against computer opponents is very similar to online games against other human players, with the exception that computer controlled players often display very characteristic behaviors (like the ability to give several orders simultaneously, or distinctive building and expansion patterns). Both the players and any computer players (up to 7 can be set up) start with only a main building (the building used to produce workers) and four workers, regardless of the race selected. No combat units are provided at the beginning. Players, human and computer-controlled, must then set up a base as quickly as possible and start producing combat units in order to overpower enemy forces. The game is won when all enemy buildings are destroyed.




Multiplayer game




Replay-Screenshot Zerg vs. Terran

Enlarge

Replay-Screenshot Zerg vs. Terran






StarCraft users can play against other players via a LAN or the Internet, using Blizzard's free Battle.net gaming network. The most popular game type is a 1 vs. 1 duel played in One on One mode. This game type is won by destroying all of the opponent's buildings. However, other, less commonly played game types also exist.
From [StarCraft.org]:

Types of multiplayer gameplay include:




# One on One (Deathmatches)


# Team (Two or more players controlling a single team civilization)


# Melee (Free For All or Separate Player Team Play)


# Capture the Flag (Capture all the enemy flags to win)


# Sudden Death (Destroy the enemy town hall [Command Center, Nexus, Hatchery/Lair/Hive] for instant win)


# Slaughter (Race to see who can get the most kills in an allotted time)


# Greed (Race to see who can get the most resources in an allotted time)


# Ladder (Ladder matches to determine World Wide Ranking)


A One on One duel with reasonably experienced players (played at highest game speed), typically lasts between 8 and 60 minutes, the average being about 15 minutes. Traditionally the game does not end with the utter annihilation of one party. Instead, the losing player, when he does not see any chance of winning, sends the message "gg" (good game) and leaves the game, resulting in an automatic victory for their opponent. There is a limited amount of resources at each location, and only a limited amount of resources can be gathered in a specific time frame from one location. Depending on what race the players choose, one player might need to expand to considerably more resource locations in order to win the game.

Measuring mastery

Many StarCraft players recognize three skills essential to becoming a good player: micro-management, macro-management and multi-tasking.

Sometimes Actions Per Minute (or APM) is used as a quantitative indicator of one's ability to micro- and macromanage.  A player's APM rating is determined by calculating the average number of actions that a player performs during each minute beyond the first 80 seconds of a game.   An action in StarCraft is defined as selecting a unit or building, giving an order to a unit or building, or designating a target for an order (for example, ordering a marine to attack, and then selecting a supply depot would be three separate actions, while selecting a marine and right-clicking on a supply depot would be two actions).


Having a high APM rating does not necessarily mean that one is a skilled, or even decent player; a high APM rating instead indicates a fast, active player.  In other words, though a high APM does not guarantee success, a successful player almost always has a high APM. Professional gamers, such as those in South Korea, have been known to achieve average APM ratings of over 300, and peak APM ratings, such as during a battle, of over 500 (8.33 actions per second).  The computer program [BWChart] allows StarCraft players to easily determine their APM ratings.



A typical multiplayer game

Even though new tricks and tactics are still being discovered despite the game's age, it is possible to outline what usually happens in a "one-on-one" between experienced players.


The map and thus the resource locations are known to both players. However, many multiplayer maps have several possible start locations. If the map is set to have Random Start Locations,
each of both players is randomly placed on the map at one of the possible spawn points, unaware of their opponent's position. Everything out of the sight radius of their units appears black, any buildings or terrain that has been seen at least once by a player's units will be shown grayed out in the last known status — this effect simulates fog of war. Each player starts with four resource-collecting units ("workers") and the structure needed to build more workers (the "main building"), right next to a resource location.



General theory

Generally, Starcraft strategy depends on effective spending.  There are three areas to focus one's spending: unit quantity, technology, and economic strength.  Skilled Starcraft players generally have a keen grasp of when to invest in each, depending on their race and the opponent's.  For example, in the early game, a Protoss player may construct two Gateways relatively quickly in an attempt to seize the quantitative advantage.  He could also construct a quick Cybernetics Core instead in an attempt to 'tech', or possibly expand rapidly with some Photon Cannons in order to gain the economic advantage.


In each case it is important for the opponent to make an educated decision on what to do depending on their races.  For example, it is difficult for a Terran to defeat a teching Protoss through sheer quantity of first-tier units - if the Terran cannot win with his superior numbers of marines and medics by the time the Protoss technology kicks in, his troops will quickly die to reavers, psionic storms, or speed-upgraded zealots (depending on what the Protoss teched).  The Terran will not have an advantage in any of the three areas.  Therefore, the Terran's best bet is to tech as well.  If the Terran however sees the Protoss expanding quickly, they may be better off teching initially (perhaps dropping tanks on a cliff overlooking the Protoss expansion base, in an attempt to nullify the economic advantage).


In another sense, however, unit quantity matters less and less as numbers increase.  When both sides only have 2 dragoons, it is unwise to spend minerals expanding because the extra 3 dragoons that could have been trained will be sorely missed in a battle against a numerically superior foe.  However, if both sides have 24 dragoons, the value of additional troops is severely diminished, and the minerals are better spent increasing one's advantage in another area.


Furthermore, battles are a key factor in the gameplay.  After winning a decisive battle, it is generally unwise for the victor to immediately try to finish off the opponent, because they are most likely concentrating all their resources on constructing troops to match the victor's army.  Instead, it is more important to expand, while making sure that the loser doesn't.  Although the loser of the battle may end up with a slight troop numerical advantage, the victor's economic strength is so great that the loser cannot possibly hope to match the massively increased flow of units.  This is why many players frequently exit before all their buildings are destroyed - they realize after losing several critical battles they can no longer maintain map control and can do nothing to prevent the victor from securing a massive economic advantage, to be converted into superior troop quality and quantity.



Early game

Both players start collecting resources immediately after the game has started. Zerg players, controlling the only race starting with a movable unit not usable or required for resource gathering, will often use their Overlord to scout (look for the enemy) right from the start. Other players will wait a minute or two before sending one of their workers to scout, so as not to lose any resource collection capacity during the crucial beginning phase. Scouting to keep informed about incoming threats and weaknesses of the opponent's strategy is a vital part of the game. Throughout the game, players position cheap and/or cloaked units, or fast-moving units at strategically important positions in the map.


As players start scouting, they also start building the structures needed to accomplish their first goals. A player can prepare for an early attack ("rush"), fortify his base against such attacks, focus on building his "tech-tree" to have advanced units earlier in the game, or try and expand his base in order to outmass the enemy in the long-term. Each strategy has its strengths and weaknesses. Temporary advantages can be gained at the cost of longterm disadvantages and the other way around. This creates a pressure to be informed about the enemy's movements and use the edge while it exists.


If the player chooses to attack early, then he will start doing so after 4 or 5 minutes. There are several known tactics for early attacks and how to best protect oneself against them. When two "gosu" (skilled players) play against each other, early attacks can be as dangerous for the attacker as they are for the defender. Indeed, a large economic commitment must be made in order to have any hopes of succeeding in defeating the opponent in an early attack, and the attacker must neglect other parts of his economy. This decision can later put him in a difficult position, should the "rush" fail. Very short games usually are the result of a successful or unsuccessful rush.



Expansion and struggle for resources

If both players survive the first 10 minutes, they start the battle for space. The players will to try to get and hold as many resource locations as possible as well as prevent their opponent from doing so. The players start this quest with the handicap or the advantage they acquired during the early game. During this part of the game, the players will stock up their army and try to weaken their enemy by various attacks on resource locations, tech-buildings (structures required to research upgrades and build advanced units), as well as production facilities.


During the rest of the game both players will try to get resource domination. A considerable resource control advantage can still be broken by finding weaknesses in the opponent's strategy, a come-back. A simple example of this is to build a lot of air units, when the opponent has little anti-air defense, because they had built units for large-scale ground combat. Another common example is using a transport to drop units in the center or back of the opponent's base, far from the frontal defences and units.  Sooner or later one player will start dominating the game, winning more and more ground. Because small advantages tend to increase over time and players will prevent each other from harvesting, the total length of a game is rarely limited by the amount of resources, but rather the amount of resource locations on the map. Long games are rare.



Ending

In a typical ending the stronger player sends a massive amount of combat units towards the other player's main base. The losing player tries to delay the attacker in order to collect his troops for defense. The attacker will push the defender to the outskirts of the base, still with enough troops to defeat the enemy on his own ground. The defender, having almost no troops left and the opponent's army at the outskirts of his main base, surrenders. However, players often surrender before a massive attack happens, because they realize they won't be able to get a resource advantage anymore.


Games also come to an end if one player can force another into a position where they can no longer function.  For example, destroying all an enemy's workers at a time that the enemy has less than 50 minerals (the cost of one worker).  Another example is destroying all of an enemy's main buildings (Command Center, Nexus, Hatchery/Lair/Hive) at a time that they have less than 400 minerals (300 for a Hatchery), the cost of one of these structures.  Both of these scenarios effectively cripple a player's economic ability.  However, it is generally a fluke to have this happen, so it should not be intentionally played for.



Matchups


These descriptions are meant as a general guide to human competition.  Actual games, especially at lower levels, often involve 'cheese' strategies, such as dark templar rushes, placing tanks on cliffs, rushing with cannons/bunkers/sunken colonies.  Statistics at the end of the non-mirror matchups are for the Lost Temple map, played on the 7th season of the private ladder [PGT]. [link] Retrieved May 30th, 2006  (It should be noted that the average skill level of this ladder is considerably higher than the average skill level on Battle.net) Map structure and player skill play far larger roles in determining imbalances between races than the races themselves.  Most maps tend to follow a T > Z > P > T pattern.










References








See also





External links






 StarCraft


 StarCraft Universe



Gameplay of StarCraft • StarCraft storyline • StarCraft units and structures • Psionic technology (StarCraft)>Psionic technology


 Factions and Organizations



Dark Templar • Judicator Caste • Kel-Morian Combine • Khalai Caste • Protoss • Protoss Conclave • StarCraft Pirate Militias>Pirate Militias • Raynor's Raiders • Sons of Korhal • Templar Caste • Terran • Terran Confederacy • Umojan Protectorate • United Earth Directorate • Xel'Naga • Zerg • Zerg Brood


 Locations



Aiur • Antiga Prime • Braxis • Char (StarCraft)>Char • Chau Sara • Korhal • Mar Sara • Moria • Shakuras • Talematros • Tarsonis • Umoja • Zerus


 Characters



Aldaris • Artanis • Admiral DuGalle>Gerard DuGalle • Edmund Duke • Samir Duran • Fenix • Sarah Kerrigan • Arcturus Mengsk •  • Raszagal • Jim Raynor • Alexei Stukov • Tassadar • Zeratul • Zerg Overmind • Minor Characters






 





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