What IS StarCraft?

Most gamers have heard of StarCraft, the strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment. But very few people actually know what it is. Most people know that the game is very popular in South Korea, and that there are tournaments and “pro-gamers” that spend their entire lives playing this game. This produces the general perception that StarCraft is incredibly difficult to play and that it’s impossible for a normal person to enjoy this game.

But the game has changed. In July 2010, a sequel to StarCraft was released. Though this game is just as difficult to play as its predecessor (I would argue that it is more difficult), the game has been completely redesigned so that it is much easier to watch. This means that it can be enjoyed by people that do not actually play this game. And it shows. In 2008, only around 30,000 people outside of South Korea followed the StarCraft: Broodwar professional scene. During the beta of StarCraft II in May 2010, the top tournaments would be lucky to have 3000 concurrent viewers. By the end of 2011, popular online streamers can easily break 60,000 viewers and the top-level StarCraft II tournaments would have more viewers than nationally syndicated television channels such as Comedy Central. (in the millions)

And I am a strong believer in the power of professional gaming, or “e-sports”. I want it to succeed, even more than it already has, because I love this game and I love the community. So I decided that I want to write a guide to StarCraft for people who want to watch the game, but don’t really want to spend much time learning how to play it. Therefore I want to explain this game in a simple way that may not be very good for people who actually play the game, but would suffice for those who want to watch a StarCraft match and know what is going on.

The goal in StarCraft is to destroy all your opponent’s buildings. But that doesn’t really explain the game; it doesn’t really explain how strategy works. The best analogy that I can think of is that StarCraft is somewhat like the popular board game Risk; you want to expand all over the map so that you have more resources, but you don’t want to expand too quickly because then your forces will be too spread out. The difference is that turtling does not work in StarCraft because these maps do not have as many choke points as the Risk map; also, there are air units which can disregard choke points. So StarCraft strategy involves a balance between spending resources on units and spending resources on expanding. You can also spend resources on tech; higher-tech units are generally more cost-effective than their lower-tech counterparts, so they are more desired.

At the start of a StarCraft game, both players are given a main base and six workers to start with. Unlike in some other games such as League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, etc. more experienced players do not have an inherent advantage in StarCraft II; they must use the fact that they are better to win, and not rely on having more diverse options to start the game with. All players start with a main base and six workers, which all have the same stats and the same options (within the same race; I’ll explain this later). This main base, like most bases in StarCraft II, has eight mineral fields and two vespene geysers. Minerals are the primary resource used in StarCraft II, and all units require minerals to be built. Vespene (usually known as “gas”) is used for higher-tech units and is generally harvested later; most players will immediately send their starting six workers to immediately begin harvesting minerals. The main building also has a different special ability depending on what the race is; this ability usually involves making more units.

The third resource in StarCraft II is called supply. It is called this because that’s what its called for Terrans; the Protoss and Zerg call it “psi” and “control” respectively. Former WarCraft III players call the resource “food” because that’s the analogous resource. All units take up supply; in general, bigger units cost more supply. In order to increase your supply count, you must build buildings that give supply. When a unit is killed, its supply is freed back up. No player may have more than 200 supply at any given point under normal circumstances.

There are three races in StarCraft II; the Terrans, the Protoss, and the Zerg. All three of these races have a different feeling and a different playstyle.

The Terrans are human convicts that were banished into deep space and settled a part of the galaxy far away from Earth; basically, it’s like Australia but much more hardcore. Terran main buildings are called Command Centers and the workers are called SCVs. Command Centers can be upgraded into Orbital Commands, which can use either: Calldown MULE, which produces a temporary unit that mines minerals much faster than normal workers, Scanner Sweep, which temporarily reveals an area on the map, or Calldown Supply, which permanently doubles the amount of supply given by a chosen supply depot.

Terran bases are relatively easy to defend because Terrans have very good defensive buildings. SCVs also have the repair ability, which allows them to repair their buildings at a very high rate. This allows Terrans bases to hold long enough for the main army to come. However, it is difficult to reinforce a Terran push because the units are slow.

Its tech path is linear; Terran players must build the Barracks first (infantry units), then the Factory (mechanical units), then the Starport (air units). These buildings can have add-ons; the tech lab allows for production of higher-level units within that building, and the reactor allows for production of two units at the same time. Terran buldings also have the ability to move and float around; this allows them to swap these add-ons. Strong Terran players at the University of Illinois include “Dully”, “Charlie” and “Wyzguy”.

The Protoss are an advanced alien race that no longer has a home because their home was destroyed in the campaign of the original StarCraft. In the interests of full disclosure, I play Protoss. Protoss main buildings are called Nexuses and the workers are called Probes. Nexuses can use the Chrono Boost ability, which temporarily increases the speed of that building by 50% for 20 seconds. This causes the building to train units faster. This results in interesting tactical decisions where you can choose to produce probes faster, choose to produce more units, choose to have faster upgrades, etc.

Protoss bases are relatively difficult to defend due to the lack of cheap defensive buildings, but the upside is that Protoss units are the most cost-efficient in the game. Protoss pylons, which are the supply-giving buildings, also create a power field; buildings (besides other pylons and Nexuses) cannot be constructed outside of this field. It is also relatively easy to reinforce a Protoss push because Protoss have the Warpgate ability which allows them to warp in infantry units anywhere on the map within pylon power; this means that Protoss can create a Pylon in a forward location and warp in units from that location.

The Protoss tech tree is split; Protoss players must build the Gateway (infantry units) and Cybernetics Core first, but then have a choice of going for the Twilight Council (upgrades for infantry units, and more advanced infantry units), the Robotics Facility (mechanical units), or the Stargate (air units). Each of these choices then has further buildings that can be constructed after them. Strong Protoss players at the University of Illinois include “Ekrje”, “vGesiex” and “Chrysalis”.

The Zerg are a biological alien race. Zerg main buildings are called Hatcheries and their workers are called Drones. Zerg have a fourth resource called Larvae; Larvae are spawned from Hatcheries periodically, and all Zerg units are made from Larvae. The Hatchery’s special ability is that they may make Queens, which have the ability to make Hatcheries spawn extra larvae.

Zerg bases are relatively easy to defend due to the fact that Zerg units are relatively fast and and move quickly; this, combined with the fact that Zerg bases are cheaper, means that a Zerg player, up against an equally skilled player of another race, will generally have more bases than the opponent. The downside is that Zerg units are very cost-ineffective. Zergs also must make the decision to spend their Larvae on additional Drones or spend it on attacking units; most Zergs have difficulty finding the correct balance, and this is not something that the other races have to worry about. However, Zergs generally have great awareness of what the opponent is doing because they are able to spread Creep; this can be done by Queens. Creep causes all Zerg ground units that stand on it to move much faster, and it also gives vision. Zerg also have Overlords, which are their supply-giving units; unlike Terrans and Protoss, Overlords are units that can be moved, albeit slowly. Overlords can be placed in strategic locations around the map to further scout for attacks.

The Zerg tech tree is relatively linear; Hatcheries can be upgraded into Lairs and Lairs can be upgraded into Hives. However, these buildings do not allow for the production of units; rather, they unlock buildings that allow the production of units. For example, to make Zerglings, the famed cheap melee unit that moves quickly around the map, you must make a Spawning Pool which requires a Hatchery. To make Mutalisks, the primary Zerg air unit, you must make a Spire, which requires a Lair. To make Ultralisks, a late-game melee unit, you must make an Ultralisk Cavern which requires a Hive. Strong Zerg players at the University of Illinois include “Sic”, “vGdave”, and “MileS”.

There is one more mechanic in this game- upgrades. All races may upgrade their units; Terrans upgrade their infantry units at an Engineering Bay and their mechanical units at an Armory; Protoss upgrade their ground units at a Forge and their air units at a Cybernetics Core; Zergs upgrade their ground units at an Evolution Chamber and their air units at a Spire. Each unit may be upgraded for attack or for armor; attack upgrades increase the damage dealt by a unit by 1 or 2 (more for some units), and armor upgrades decrease the damage received by a unit by 1. Upgrades are very important; many players will make two of each upgrade building and upgrade attack and armor simultaneously.

I’m written a lot and I’m pretty sure that most people would be bored now, but you probably feel that even after all of this you'll be unable to understand a game. But StarCraft commentators are held to an extremely high standard. You should be able to understand what is going on because they explain things extremely well. So get on the internet and search for videos from the IGN ProLeague, Major League Gaming, Global StarLeague, Intel Extreme Masters, World Cyber Games, or one of the many other major StarCraft tournaments. Watch our UIUC StarCraft team compete at www.youtube.com/uiuccsl. Even if there isn’t a tournament going on, there’s probably a high-level player streaming his or her games at www.teevox.com. Enjoy yourself and, as always, have fun.