SC2 Public Test Realm Discussion

[geno]

So, Blizzard just released a patch that introduced their Public Test Realm (PTR), and along with it, a laundry list of new changes for the upcoming patch (should be out before the end of the month) currently available for testing.

Among the features/changes include chat channels, custom hotkeys, a new stalemate condition, and a number of balance changes. Here are some screenshots (stolen from TL's thread) for the new features. The full list of changes and the PTR FAQ are below.

Chat channels:
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9...atchannels.png
http://i.imgur.com/1aIuf.jpg

Custom hotkeys:
http://i.imgur.com/N4hYy.jpg

Thoughts? Balance complaints? Death threats? gogo

Full patch notes (for future PTR patches, I'll try to keep the OP updated):

StarCraft II Patch 1.2.0 - PTR Notes

General

Battle.net


• Battle.net Chat Channels have been added:

-- Players can now join others in both public and private channels.

-- Added in-game chat bar command to whisper to other players. Using the /w command will pop up an auto-complete list which includes: friends, party members, chat channels, and other players within your current game.


• Added a Battle.net option to auto-join previous private channels.

• Added a Battle.net option to prevent chat channel text from appearing in the in-game chat display.


Custom Maps


• Map makers can now use custom UI layout files to create new UI or override existing game UI.


Gameplay


• Stalemate Detection has been added:

-- The game will end in a tie for all remaining players if no players have income, production, or destroyed any structures for three consecutive minutes.

-- A countdown timer will now appear when the game detects this scenario.


• Several help dialogue and tech tree improvements have been made:

-- In-game help is now available in Battle.net.

-- The help dialog’s tech tree has been improved.

-- Unit information in the help dialog now displays abilities and upgrades.


• Selecting different units in quick succession will now fade out existing replies to play the most recent reply.

• When selecting a Vespene Geyser, the number of current harvesters will be displayed in the info panel.



Graphics


• An Extreme graphics option has been added:

-- Players can now configure screen space ambient occlusion.

-- Unit information in the help dialog now displays abilities and upgrades.



Interface


• Customizable Hotkey Support has been added.

• Mouse buttons can now be bound to the Push-To-Talk hotkey.

• System Alert panel has been moved to the top of the screen – duration of most system alerts has been reduced.

Added a hotkey to Pause/Resume game for both single-player and multiplayer (Pause/Break key).

• Added a toggle button to the in-game replay panel to show or hide duration information.

• Added a hotkey indicator option to show the primary hotkey on top of command buttons.

• Added an option to disable any error sounds. The Response Sounds checkbox now controls whether unit-specific audio is used for error sounds instead of a generic buzz.



Leagues and Ladders


• A new Master League has been added.

-- This league now represents the highest tier of ladder players.



Replays


• Several Save/Replay File dialogue improvements have been made:

-- Prints current directory name above file list.

-- Added sort order icons to Name and Date columns.

-- Added the ability to rename.

-- Added filters for Autosave and Unsaved.

-- Added an option to permanently save all replays. Checking this option will mark all unsaved replays as being saved.


• Camera following behavior for observers and replays has been improved.



Balance

• PROTOSS


-- Hallucination research time decreased from 110 to 80.

-- Observer

Cost decreased from 50/100 to 25/75.

-- Phoenix
Build time decreased from 45 to 35.

-- Void Ray

Now deals 20% more damage to massive targets.

Flux Vanes speed upgrade removed.


• TERRAN


-- Bunker

Build time decreased from 35 to 30.

This is only a temporary change for the patch 1.2.0 PTR.


-- SCV

Repairing SCVs now assume the same threat priority as the unit they’re repairing.

SCV construction movement made more consistent.


• ZERG


-- Infestor

Fungal Growth no longer affects air units.


SC2 Editor changes

Spoiler: show

StarCraft II Editor

• Map locale management has been added.

• Further editor tips and hints have been added.

• Copy/Paste support has been added to the upgrade editor.

• Modifed the Locales dialog (also in the Locale sub-menu) for adding or removing text locales.

• Locale sub-menu is now available in Map/Mod menu for changing the active text locale for the current document.

• The game will now properly find custom imported files within mods.

• Maps can now depend on even more mods.

• Mod Info dialog is now available from the Mod menu for more easily changing mod name and description text.
• Change Focus commands are now available in the Trigger module View menu for switching input focus directly to different areas.

• Font Style Files can now be added to Mods and Maps using the FontStyleFileArray field in GameUIData. Existing styles can have their individual attributes overridden or entirely new styles can be added.

• UI Layout files can now be added to Mods and Maps using the CustomLayoutFileArray filed in GameUIData. Most existing frames can be modified or overridden and entirely new templates can be added, which can be created from the Dialog system within the Editor.

• Dialog Items can now be hooked up from already existing frames within a created Panel.

• Attributes and values can now be hidden in the game lobby, configured through Game Variants.

• Editor Tips dialog in the Help menu (and optionally on start up) improved with tips for using the editor effectively.

• Created a new type of Dialog Item called Panel. Panels are containers for other dialog items to help with grouping and hierarchy.

• The water editor layout has been improved.

• The mouse wheel now scrolls the control under the cursor.

• Copied doodads now retain their height offset.

• Effect offsets can now optionally contain a Z component.

• Attribute and Veterancy behaviors now normalize vitals when new levels are applied.

• Mouse clicks and highlights are now allowed while in relative camera mode.

• Edit boxes are now available for trigger dialogs.

• Right clicking an item in an inventory will now have the icon appear immediately next to the cursor.

• Behaviors can now be replaced by either the shortest duration (the original method) or by farthest distance.

• Behavior abilities can now properly charge the player using the ability instead of always charging the owner.

• New trigger action have been added:

-- Set Visibility Type Of Text Tag, used to control whether fog or black mask hides the tag.

-- Remove Inventory Item, used to instantly remove a requested item from an inventory.

-- Bank Option, used to change options for banks including adding a signature

• New unit properties have been added:

-- Carried Minerals, Carried Vespene, Carried Terrazine, and Carried Custom Resource.

-- Bounty (XP), used to grant experience when a unit is killed.

• New trigger function: Verify Bank, used to verify that a bank’s signature is intact.

• New trigger event: Mouse Moved, sent in response to the mouse being moved in the game world.

• New Effect Used event property: Life, Shields, and Energy changed.

• Added new UI to insert text tags for data references, unit info, and hotkeys.

• Added an effect range to the effect ability to restrict how far away the effect can be placed. This will allow effects to behave like the Stalker Blink effect.

• Added a behavior flag to suppress fidgeting.

• Added a new stalemate melee option to determine whether the stalemate detection checking is enforced.

• Added a new “Creator” player to effects. It will be set to the player issuing an order if available.

• Added a new type of item that can use an effect ability.

• Added a validator that checks to see if a unit can path to a point.

• Added a validator that checks if there is a cliff between two points.

• Added MinimapRenderPriority to CActorUnit and MinimapRenderPriorityList to CActorGlobalConfig. This allows custom map makers to define the render priorities of units on the minimap.

Bug Fixes

Spoiler: show

Bug Fixes

General


• Harvest orders will no longer end if an order is queued while waiting to return cargo.

• Harvesting units no longer avoid enemy units.

• Fixed an issue with units trying to get out of the way so buildings can be constructed.

• Hold position units no longer automatically move out of the way when placing a building.

• Fixed an issue with harvesting units bypassing force fields.

• Fixed an issue where melee units were unable to attack a colossus when it was on a cliff.

• Fixed an issue where larva would not wander around.

• Fixed an issue where loading a saved challenge could improperly overwrite the best score.

• Fixed an issue where animation stutters when flying units are separating.

• Added “Detector” text to the info panel for units which can detect cloaked or burrowed units.

• Added combat reveal tinting to help show that combat reveal units cannot be hit. All diagonal ramps are now the same with regards to unbuildable locations at the bottom of the ramps.

• Enemy units no longer show passive buttons in the command card.

• Critter health bars are now hidden unless highlighted or selected (if status bars are set to show when units are selected).

• Orders can no longer be canceled by clicking on the info panel in challenges before the challenge begins.

• Missiles are no longer affected by Vortex.

• Autocast repair will now charge the player requesting autocast functionality.

• Autocast state for abilities is reset to the default state when unit ownership is permanently changed.

• Repair will now clear its autocast state if the owning player leaves the game.

• Actors with a large number of create events no longer crash the map.

• Text tags are now paused when the game is paused.


Protoss


• Protoss structures can no longer be powered without a power source if constructed while powered by a Warp Prism under the effects of Neural Parasite.

• Mass Recall can no longer target larva or eggs.

• Fixed an issue where units that were picked up by a Graviton Beam would still block pathing on the ground.

• Fixed an issue where a Zealot could burn his Charge cooldown without actually moving.


Terran


• Changed the position of the Select Builder button on Terran buildings, and changed the hotkey to Q.

• Fixed nuke dot not being visible all the time.

• Fixed an issue where you could see an enemy MULE drop pod in some cases where you didn’t have vision of the target location.

• Fixed an issue where a Medivac would be able to continue healing a unit that was stuck in a Graviton Beam if the Medivac had started healing the unit before it was picked up by the Graviton Beam.

• Fixed an issue where a Thor would continue to channel 250mm Strike Cannons on an uplifted terran building if it lifted off at just the right time.

• Fixed an issue where a Thor could get stuck channeling if a player queued up multiple targets for 250mm Strike Cannons.


Zerg


• The Ultralisk’s arc-shaped damage area is now centered at the front of the Ultralisk instead of at its center.

• Fixed an issue with the Ultralisk being unable to attack a row of sensor towers.

• The Burrow and Cancel Neural Parasite buttons have been moved on the command card.

• Creep will now spread evenly in all directions.

• Fixed an issue where Larva could produce units by holding down hotkeys.


StarCraft II Editor


• The "For Each Real" and "For Each Integer" actions will now correctly execute once when the starting and ending bounds are equal while the increment is also zero.

• Standard dependencies can no longer be modified in the Dependencies dialog (only added or removed).

• Publish dialog now updates storage information after removing a published file in the Managed Published window.

• The View Script command will now view library scripts if the library list has focus.

• Dropdowns now correctly select items as you type using partial matching.

• Fixed an issue with editing stylized text values when using system locales other than English.

• Fixed an issue when editing mover data where values were not being saved correctly.

• Fixed an issue that prevented certain changes to angle values.

• Fixed an issue where the scroll bar for tree views could disappear.

• Fixed an issue where triggers setting the mouse relative could result in the mouse being stuck in relative move mode.

• Fixed an issue where setting the color of a dialog item of type label wasn’t working.

• Fixed text truncation with Set Text actor message.

• Fixed a crash that could occur while editing upgrade values.

• Fixed display of ability command links in the Overview Manager.

• Fixed many areas where English text was displayed instead of localized text.

• Fixed an issue where selection circles would drop when a flying unit was over a cliff.

• Veterancy experience share filters have been fixed.

• Carried and equipped item behaviors and weapons are now restored properly when a unit is revived.

• Items dropped from an inventory will now use their default height when dropped.

• Fixed a crash when destroying a persistent effect.

• Camera following can no longer be disabled via hotkeys if it was requested via triggers.

PTR FAQ

Spoiler: show

You may be familiar with the idea of public tests or a "PTR" from playing other Blizzard Entertainment games. If not, you can think of them as open beta tests where players can preview upcoming patches before they go live. Patch 1.2 marks the first time that we've performed a public test for a StarCraft II patch, but we're planning to conduct public tests for most if not all future game patches. These PTRs help us a great deal -- when you participate and submit reports, we can squash more bugs and ensure that when the patch is released it's of the highest quality possible.



Q: What is the Public Test Region?

A: The Public Test Region, or PTR, is a way for us to invite you to help us test upcoming patches, as well as offer feedback on proposed changes, before the patches go live. You can think of them as open beta tests for patches. We've used the PTR system for many years with World of Warcraft and have seen great success in improving patches by inviting players to come play, report bugs, and let us know what they think of the changes before they're implemented on the live game.



Q: Who can participate on the Test Region?

A: For the current phase of PTR, we've selected players with these criteria:

* The player has had an active StarCraft II North America game account before 11/11/10.

* The player's account is not a guest pass account, and is not suspended or banned.



Q: Are there plans to allow players from other regions to participate in the PTR, and will they have their own regional PTR?

A: We would like to eventually open PTR access to players in other regions. However, we are currently working out the details and there is no ETA for when this may happen.



Q: How do I participate in the PTR?

A: When the PTR is available, a retail patch will add a new executable file named “StarCraft II Public Test.exe” to the StarCraft II game directory. To access the PTR, go to the StarCraft II game directory and run the “StarCraft II Public Test.exe” executable.

A small patch will be downloaded to install the PTR client the first time you run it. Eligible accounts will already be enabled for the PTR so there's no sign-up needed for this phase of the PTR.



Q: Can I still play the retail game after I install the PTR version?

A: Yes. The PTR data is stored separately from your primary game data, so you can continue to play the retail version of StarCraft II by running "StarCraft II.exe", or you can play the PTR version at any time by running "StarCraft II Public Test.exe" instead.



Q: Where can I send bugs or feedback about the PTR?

A: Whenever a PTR is available, this Forum will appear for you to provide us information on bugs, feedback, and/or suggestions. The forum is monitored by our QA department. Due to the nature of this forum, it will be moderated fairly heavily to ensure the information posted remains constructive and useful for testing purposes.



Q: Can I copy my character, and does my Test Region character stay from each PTR phase to another?

A: No, character copy is not available to the PTR.

There may be times where we wipe all character data after or during a test period to facilitate specific testing we may need.



Q: Do my friends list, achievements, campaign progress and ladder ranking carry over to PTR or vice versa?

A: No, the PTR is separate from the retail regions. None of the character data will transfer from retail to PTR. Additionally chat between PTR and retail regions will not be possible.

Q: Will the PTR also have full customer support available?

A: No. The PTR is mainly for testing purposes, so support will be very limited. However, we will still take appropriate action if players violate the TOS and/or EULA.

Q: Can I publish maps to the PTR? Is there a PTR editor?

A: At this time, we are not including the StarCraft II Editor as part of the PTR process. There will be no player created maps on PTR.



Q: How long is the Test Region going to be open?

A: There's no predetermined period of time the PTR will be available. It will remain active until we feel the patch has been appropriately tested.



Q: How do I uninstall the PTR version of the game?

A: There's no need to delete the files because the PTR data is separate from the retail game and won't affect your retail experience. If you want to do so anyway, you can delete the "\VersionsTest" folder in your StarCraft II game directory. Future retail patches may also automatically uninstall the PTR version of the game if the PTR is no longer active.

edit: Title should be Public Test Region, not Realm. my bad

[Thunder]

I can't even tell what they're doing what the balance changes.

Phoenix build time- and FG can't bind air units? Uh.. seems like too much of a pvz buff.
Void ray change is welcomed in an attempt to diversify pvp.
Bunker build time changed to 35 from 30 and now they're trying 35 to 30? wat
Hallucination and flux veins are welcomed, I guess.
What's up with zergs having to click 50 times to make 50 units out of their hatches? That kind of sucks.

Overall, I'm unimpressed. I thought for PTR they'd try more drastic stuff for experimentation.

[Aero]

Zerg needed a nerf right?

On a side note how do you stop smart phoenix harass now as zerg. Hope they fly over a hydra ball?

[Thulius]

As if ZvZ wasn't painful enough, now the mid-late game is going to focus even more on who can pump out the most mutas.

[Falaras]

Observer thing is dumb, Void Ray thing is annoying as T (I honestly think blizzard doesn't want BC/Carriers to ever be viable), Bunker thing is retarded, SCV thing was needed, Fungal growth is wtf?
And what happened to the Grand Master League? Last I heard it was going to be Grand Master = top 200, Master = Top 2%. What is Master League now?

Stalemate and Chat Channels are bad ass.

[Not Kuno]

What the fuck at zerg nerf.

[Thulius]

Having played a few matches on the PTR, phoenixes with reduced build time are stupid good against zerg. Remember corsair harassment in brood war? Now imagine that without scourge.

Static defenses do a good enough job at keeping them out of your base but I'm not seeing any option but hydra/roach/corruptor against them, and that's pretty hard to support without 3+ bases. Close positions on LT/metal are more of a nightmare than ever.

[Not Kuno]

Can you lift burrowed units? I'm wondering if that'll stall shit before anti air arrives (as zerg).

[MisterBob]

The rationale behind the Phoenix/Fungal changes is actually pretty legitimate.

Here's the thing (note, this applies to high diamond/pro level play only, not Wood League):
If Z want midgame dominance against P, they go Muta/Ling. This gives them the upper hand mid-game, but obviously isn't as powerful leading into the endgame as Hydra/Roach/Corrupter. Protoss really only have one viable counter to this build, and that's to bring out Phoenixes early. In order for this to work, you have to scout the Spire, or you won't match Z's production. This isn't particularly horrible, until you add Fungal Growth to the mix. Fungal allows Z to instantly win the game if they hit the Phoenixes at the right time. Skill-shots like this aren't necessarily a bad thing if they give you an advantage, but in this case, it's literally an "I win" button. Once the P loses their main Phoenix force, they will be overwhelmed. This nerf corrects this problem, while at the same time forcing more diversity in the PvZ matchup (which was already one of the more interesting and diverse match-ups, IF muta/ling wasn't run.

The Phoenix buff in general is to try to make non-robo builds as Protoss more viable. Currently, you can't even open against T without Robo, as they punish you with Banshees, assuming they know how to scout. I'm not sure if this fixes the problem, because you still need that Robo for Observers, even if they are a bit cheaper.

[Aero]

With proper micro 1 phoenix can kill 100 mutas. The only way zerg can kill phoenix now is if the Protoss mismicros or unknowingly flies over a hydra ball. If Protoss goes Phoenix he is going to get air dominance and zerg cant do anything about it. This wouldnt be so bad if OL's didnt fly; but they do.

[geno]

That 1 phoenix > 100 mutas is bullshit. Maybe on an infinitely wide map where the mutas chase forever, but in reality its just not even close to feasible. If you attack me with 20+ mutas and I've only got 5 phoenixes to defend, I'm dead. So the theory behind phoenix > infinite mutas isn't really applicable in game. Not that I'm saying the phoenix buff / fungal nerf won't make phoenix openings against zerg overpowered though, it definitely could. But its not quite as clear cut as you might make it out to seem.

[Falaras]

I am just happy for Phoenix buffs, they are by far the coolest unit in the game. No way you can argue with this!

[geno]

I fucking love using phoenix's, especially when I get to mass them in 3s and 4s. They are so fun to use, crazy fast unit that can pick shit up.

[MisterBob]

With proper micro 1 phoenix can kill 100 mutas. The only way zerg can kill phoenix now is if the Protoss mismicros or unknowingly flies over a hydra ball. If Protoss goes Phoenix he is going to get air dominance and zerg cant do anything about it. This wouldnt be so bad if OL's didnt fly; but they do.

Flintstone's Chewable Vitamin league detected. This is like saying one Stalker can win against 50 Zealots without charge. Guess what? They're just going to ignore you and kill your workers.

[Falaras]

Flintstone's Chewable Vitamin league detected. This is like saying one Stalker can win against 50 Zealots without charge. Guess what? They're just going to ignore you and kill your workers.

Dude, those things where the shit.

[Aero]

Flintstone's Chewable Vitamin league detected. This is like saying one Stalker can win against 50 Zealots without charge. Guess what? They're just going to ignore you and kill your workers.

I forgot my example was a little exaggerated. If hes going to go mass Muta; warp enough phoenix to shut it down completely. Even on small maps 5+ phoenix can rip mutas down in no time; at the very least the zerg will be forced to tech switch because its just not economically viable to try to counter phoenix(sans FG). Once you have complete air control against zerg; OLs and queens are easy pickings.

Going phoenix now will basically pin zerg around their OL/queens(Oh hai thar backbone of zerg production). Because they can pin, it may not be uncommon for phoenix to basically act as mutas mid game(with slightly more micro). 10+ phoenix can kill a mineral line in seconds if gone unchecked. The threat of fungal growth (and people just not liking phoenix?)used to be enough to deter this on a common basis.

[MisterBob]

I forgot my example was a little exaggerated. If hes going to go mass Muta; warp enough phoenix to shut it down completely. Even on small maps 5+ phoenix can rip mutas down in no time; at the very least the zerg will be forced to tech switch because its just not economically viable to try to counter phoenix(sans FG). Once you have complete air control against zerg; OLs and queens are easy pickings.

Going phoenix now will basically pin zerg around their OL/queens(Oh hai thar backbone of zerg production). Because they can pin, it may not be uncommon for phoenix to basically act as mutas mid game(with slightly more micro). 10+ phoenix can kill a mineral line in seconds if gone unchecked. The threat of fungal growth (and people just not liking phoenix?)used to be enough to deter this on a common basis.

It's not as simple as just going Phoenix. Zerg Muta production greatly outshines Protoss Phoenix production. You can counter Mutas IF and ONLY IF you scout the Spire ahead of time (or predict it). Unless you go 2 Stargate, which is stupid, as the Zerg's tech swap potential will make you regret that.

The Phoenix buff will help remedy this significantly.

[Aero]

It's not as simple as just going Phoenix. Zerg Muta production greatly outshines Protoss Phoenix production. You can counter Mutas IF and ONLY IF you scout the Spire ahead of time (or predict it). Unless you go 2 Stargate, which is stupid, as the Zerg's tech swap potential will make you regret that.

The Phoenix buff will help remedy this significantly.

Yea zerg will out produce with ease; but the point of going phoenix, even if you build them blind, is that zerg can do little to combat it. On the chance they do decide to go mutas, and you have even a small amount of phoenix out, is that you can be extremely cost effective killing them, yes chances are youll lose all your phoenix eventually because you'll still have to marco, but the losses should be much greater to zerg than it would be for protoss.

Phoenix has(so far) been a scouting unit; but with the buffs and the zerg nerf. I feel it can be a very effective harassing unit even if the zerg doesnt go muta.

[MisterBob]

If you go blind Phoenix, assuming the Zerg has some skill and scouts, they'll punish with 1-2 base roach. You won't have the ground support to deal with that. Earlygame PvZ is all about scouting.

[Thunder]

Protoss doesn't have to scout the zerg in order to make his stargate. I think the notion of Aero's "blind" stargate was more of... the toss doesn't care what the zerg is doing that early on so long as it isn't an all-in. In fact, rarely is the stargate a response to the spire because then, yes, the mutas will outnumber them. However, the stargate that gets placed down in today's PvZ games comes down FAR earlier than the zerg's spire.

And uh, 1 base roach is an all-in that the toss would be able to smell before stargate even goes down. As far as 2 base roach goes: if the zerg scouts stargate and knows phoenixes/potential void rays are coming they probably know that committing to a roach attack would be the best way to lose. The toss will have enough to hold off the roaches at their wall long enough to reinforce even if they went for phoenixes. And if the protoss is a real pro and scouts that the zerg is going for some kind of silly roach all in then I doubt the roaches can get past the wall-in with a void ray on them.