News Archives

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Starcraft News for July 23rd

Extracted Hidden Pics
Yeun sent me a zip with some pix he extracted from the stardat.mpq files. He was going to post at his page but is having server probs :( oh well his bad luck is my good luck. Take a look at them here. Some are old, some seem new, ya'll tell me. :) I found a Terran Phoenix in there, ya'll remember them? Thanks Yeun :)

Heads Up Map Makers
Scum Runners has posted a new help file on getting those heroes to do what you want. Tells how to use Heroes properly without submitting to AI Scripts and unneeded locations. Read it here. Also want to mention they have their single player map section up now. And if u would like to help with a new Terran Campaign DeadLock is working on mail him here. He is looking for help with maps, sound editing, and voices.

Convert those sound files
Are most of your .wav files 8 bit? Well since the Starcraft Editor likes to use 16 bit here's a little prog you might find useful. The Miles Sound System converts 8 bit sounds to 16 bit and is available for free download at http://www.radgametools.com/.
[news source - Scum Runners]

Letter Home From School...
Received this joke in email from Sabrina. You ever been in college or have kids in college you should like this one :) Give it a read :) Thanks Sabrina!

3 Hatch Zergling Rush
Chaplin has a new strat up at SS for his 2 on 2 Bible. He describes this as a "potent double team rush", and aftere reading it I have to agree with him. Check it out here.

Ladder System News
TanTrum made a forum post requesting a halt to this seasons ladder system until the server database probs are fixed, patch 1.02 released and requested random maps to truly test the players skills. Seems Blizz is considering new maps for the next season. Read Blizz'z response here.

C&C2: Tiberian Sun Preview
OGR has an indepth preview up of C&C2 and it's worth a look if only to see the screens. Tiberian Sun takes place 20 years after C&C left off, and there's a lot of changes to the game. Jason Cross, the reviewer says " For the first time since before Starcraft's debut, I'm actually looking forward to playing a real time strategy game." Slated for release in Sept/Oct.

Win95.CIH.1019 Virus Causing Tech Probs
Here's an email Blizz sent to Scott Pierson after he still couldn't run SC after numerous re-instlalls. [news source - scLegacy]

We recently realized that this error is the result of a virus called Win95.CIH.1019 that we think was piggy-backed on an unauthorized StarCraft or Diablo utility. We don't know which one yet, but we're looking into it. It the meantime you can clean off the virus using the evaluation copy of AVP v 3.0 for DOS. You can get this form http://www.avp.ch . Uninstall the game, remove the virus and re-install. This should clear up the problem you are having.
Mick
Blizzard Entertainment Tech Support

Starcraft News for July 22nd

Great New SC Utility
King Arthur has just finished PalConverter, a new SC Utility that allows you to convert palettes to and from the following formats:

JASC (Paintshop Pro) Palette Files -> StarCraft Palette Files
Microsoft Palette Files -> StarCraft Palette Files
JASC (Paintshop Pro) Palette Files -> Microsoft Palette Files
Microsoft Palette Files -> JASC (Paintshop Pro) Palette Files
StarCraft Palette Files -> JASC (Paintshop Pro) Palette Files
StarCraft Palette Files -> Microsoft Palette Files

This should be useful to those who have been trying to tweak the various StarCraft palette files floating around in order to get them to convert the GRP's with correct color schemes.

Note: I do not have a correct set of palettes, nor is this a palette editing utility. It just converts formats, that's all. You can use the exisitng editing utilties in PaintShop Pro and Paintbrush to edit the palettes.Also, I will attempt to add any other palette formats out there to the converter if/when you send me a sample file to look at.
Thanks, King Arthur

Blizzard loses 10 Employees
An article at OGR reports 10 Blizzard employees have left to form a new development studio. James Phinney, one of the SC producers was among those to leave, as well as a programmer, several artists and a webmaster. Blizz said "while the departure may slightly affect the short term status of Warcraft II Platinum, and may slow updates to the web page, no other projects should be affected." No news on the name of the new company. Read the article here. [news source SC.Org]

Protoss Explorers Nearing Completion
But Quickshot14 needs some ppl to help with voices. This campaign will have new sounds, heroes, and cutscenes. Get all the info on it here. [news source - Scum Runners]

Brood War Section Up
I've scoured the web and gathered info from several different sources to bring you all the info I could find. Covers units, cutscenes, screenshots, storyline. There's a few screens and scenes not at Blizz's site, and more info on the units also. I'd really like your feedback on this, especially the layout cuz I borrowed heavily from Blizz's and just wondering if that's cool or not.

New Scum Site Opens
Scum Federation, one of TechBase's new hosted sites, has officially opened. They have 149 scums. Check it out and go submit yours. There is also a forum section. Power to the little ppl :)

A Fix for Corrupting Accounts?
Maybe. SS has several emails concerning the prob. Here's a partial of one of them. If u think this will help and want to try it, then plz read the other posts on it. Don't mail me on this and jack with the registry only if u know what your doing.

Some servers are getting corrupted databases, but this doesn't mean you have to let your entire account get ruined. If you log on to a bad server you will see some messed up info before you type in your password. Simply quit (don't log in), remove the recent server you were on from the registry (at your own risk), and log back in. You'll get a different server that hopefully isn't corrupted. Read the rest of this email here.
More info on editing server list
Info on regedit

My pic of the day
Was over at SC Org and i noticed they have a fan art section. Also noticed they had a Computer Generated art section up. Without further ado here is my fav from that section. Take a look it's very cool. Shades of Bab5 running thru my head. Pic is called "Zerg Gathering" by BlackJaw.

Interview with a Newbie
StarShack has a fictional interview up with a newbie that's worth a read if you'd like a laugh today :) Read it here.

Antioch Chronicles Update
If you haven't had any luck downloading The Antioch Chronicles, you might want to try again. Auspex Turmalis informs me that the zip files have been resized for easier downloading and the servers have recently been upgraded also. Hopefully this will take care of all probs so that everyone can get this awesome campaign. Download em here.

In Defense of B.net
Recieved an email from Michael about a letter in PC Gamer this month. Concerns PK'ing in online games and mentions B.net specifically. I agree with this letter totally, PK'ing/Cheating is an annoyance but one that can be gotten around. Thanks for the tip Michael.

I had to take the time to write after reading Lance Lindley's letter in the June 1998 issue, concerning the PKing going on in online games today. Why is it that everyone always seems to focus on the negative aspect of the multi-player games today? I realize PKs are annoying, especially when using cheats that allow them to do things that normal characterscannot. I've been playing Diablo since the game was released to the general public, and I've seen it all. All the hacks, all the tricks, all the idiots you can possibly imagine, and maybe a few that you can't. I must stress this point above all: not everyone is like that! I frequent a room known as the Sorcerer's Tower in Diablo, and it's a haven for those who play legit characters. I can get a safe game at almost any time, with good people i call friends, and have an absolute ball. If you cannot get past the childish antics of someone who uses cheat codes to make your life miserable...maybe online gaming is not something you should do.
John M. Schultz, via the Internet.

Infinity Moves
SC Infinity has a new domain at http://starcraft.warzone.com Check out the new layout. This explains why I couldn't access the site all day. I hope he moved the gif wars or I'm pissed! :)

Protoss Unit Analysis
Forgot to mention earlier that SC Infoceptor has a detailed analysys on all the Protoss units up. Find out which unit gives u the most for your money and which upgrades are worth it. View it here.

Campaigns Popping Up Everywhere
Zerg Infestation is under way and hopes to be out this fall (sounds like Blizz hehehe) He's even got a demo out :) Get all the info on it at the site.

Starcraft News for July 21st

Antioch Site Updated
Saw this in the community news pages (this may be my new favorite SC Page) and thought I'd pass it on due to the popularity of the Chronicles. Here's and update posted by Auspex Turmalis:

Auspex here. I have interesting news for fans of The Antioch Chronicles. First off, the Citadel is now open for those of you who may have been stuck on a particular mission. This section contains some mild spoilers, so readers beware! The Antioch FAQ has also been updated, addressing a few more campaign design concerns that people have raised. In other news, the ZIP files for Episode I will be restructured soon in order to make all three more balanced in size and easier to download. The new files will weigh in at 7.86mb, 6.69mb and 7.73mb, respectively. Finally, the first mirror download site is almost ready, with negotations already opened for a second.

SC Page up for grabs
Sneak has decided to close his SC page and is offering it up to a new webmaster. It's a pretty cool page. Go check it out here. All he really asked for as requirements is that "you know quite a bit about html".

FTC may back online privacy bill
Read full story here.

Sigh
Blizz still doesn't know why accounts are being corrupted as says in this post. Agent 911 wants the ladder shut down now. Read post hmmm wonder if he'd feel the same if he wasn't ranked #1 when his account was lost.

Ultra Strat
Chaplin has put up a strat on Ultralisks complete with build order. This is a 5/5 skill level and is part of the 2 on 2 Bible strats. Read it here.

Starcraft News for July 20th

SC Wallpapers and Win95 start up screens
C3x over at Terran Scum Database has made 4 win95 start up screens and 3 wallpapers.

Chaplin and Calbear want You! - Run!!!!!!!!
Just kidding stay here. Here's the request: Hello. I'd like to announce that CalBear of the Starcraft Bible and Chaplan of Tha StarShack are doing an extensive set of strats concerning the spell casting units in Starcraft. We're requesting that anyone w/ ACCURATE and detailed information on the following areas please mail us at: CalBear@gamers.com or Chaplan@starshack.com . We need the following information on any of the 'spell casters' in the game that you can provide: Spell Range, starting Mana, the caster's site range, and any other stats that you deem intricate to the use of the spell.
Chaplan of StarShack

Protoss 4 Gate
Chaplin has a new strat up. This one is on rushing as Protoss and a skill level of 4/5. That explains why it's confusing me i guess :) i don't even get the title :\ hmmm i shouldn't admit this stuff in public should I? hehehe

Mac Starcraft Site
While reading the community news I noticed there was a Mac SC site that I thought I'd pass on. Says "its got a ton of mac starcraft news, files, strats, and good junk. Also, the web's first mac starcraft clan!!!!!!" And if i still have yuour attention I assume u must have a MAC so here's a page u might like. All the games coming for Mac can be found here. Says SC will be out later this summer.

Exclusive Shots at the Rift
While using the MPQ Extractor and GRP Viewer Nemesis found some interesting wireframes sets. Seems the Valkyrie used to be in SC. Some cool stuff here! Check it out.

The Bnet Blues
If u were on bnet this weekend u probably experienced server splits up the whazoo and maybe even got your account corrupted. Here's a post from blizz on it. I think we heward this last weekend didn't we? :\

New Virus
Ok you may have heard there is a "new" virus going around the SC community. This is the Win95.CIH virus. While checking into this here's a few things i found. The virus installs itself into the Windows memory, hooks file access calls and infects EXE files that are opened. Depending on the system date (see below) the virus runs its trigger routine. The virus has bugs and in some cases halts the computer when an infected application is run. There are three virus versions known, which are very closely related and only differ in few parts of their code. They have different lengths, texts inside the virus code and trigger date:

 Length  Text              Trigger date           

 1003    CCIH 1.2 TTIT     on April 26th          
 1010    CCIH 1.3 TTIT     on April 26th          
 1019    CCIH 1.4 TATUNG   on 26th of any month 

Note - I first heard of this virus from SC Legacy and it was reported to them by UCS's BARC Program The version of the virus they reported Win95.CIH.1019 . Here are some links to virus scanners BARC supplied: McAfee Virus Scanner or Secure Virus Scanner. Detection and Disinfection tips can be found in theWin95.CIH FAQ Here's an informative email that SC Legacy recieved from Dopefish that will answer a few questions on it. Hope this info helps everyone.

Yes, there is a virus named Win95.CIH going around. It does exist and is quite deadly. It infects almost any Win95/98 executeable and can erase any Flash memory (although this does not always happen). Depending on which variant of the virus you have, it will activate on either April 26th, or the 26th of ANY month. The virus is also able to overwrite the data on all HDs using direct disk writes which bypass the BIOS. Complete info on this virus can be found at http://www.avp.ch/avpve/newexe/win95/cih.stm

However, there is *NO* possible way to get this virus from downloading a SCuM file. The virus 1) only infects .EXE files and 2) therefore cannot be transmitted through SCuM files. Since (at least since the last time I checked) SCuM files are simply a .SCM which cannot be run nor can they write files to your HD and run them, anyone who has the virus has contracted it from somewhere else. It is also impossible to get the virus from playing over Bnet either. People are getting the virus, running a scanner, noticing that it infected the StarCraft.EXE and StarEdit.EXE fils and *ASSUMED* that it came from downloading a SCuM file over bnet. This assumption is COMPLETELY wrong and comes from ignorant people. Might want to virus scan that new Bnet trainer you just downloaded.....

Thanks!!! Dopefish

SC Art
HoodZ has made some more pics i find cool. See all his art work here. Check out his home page here.

• Marine vs Zerglings - a color pic of a marine caught in a zerg rush
• Archon vs Hydra - Cool color pic, i like the way he did this one :)
• Lazy Grunt - this one is for all the War Craft fans

RPG Map
Recieved a new map from Thug77. It's an RPG with use map settings. In this map the main idea is to find and destroy the zerg overmind. To do this you must work your way up to be a true thug, go into a becon to change when it says to. Kill everything and dont forget to heal! - Download here. Thanks Thug77 :)

Lots of New Progs and Files
Added several things to the Downloads section recently, here's a rundown:

• Updated Battle.Chat to v3.0 (lets u choose your server)
• Updated MPQ Viewer to ver1.1 beta
• Updated GRP Viewer to 3.2 (CEL/CL2/GRP Viewer v3.2) - 4 palettes included
• Added Goldwave - an excellent sound editor
• Added Scum Runners data file (find some easter eggs in SC)
• Put a link to Blizzard's wallpapers
• Added SC Nexus - use with Battle.Optomizer (allows u to choose your server)
• Added SC Unit Cheat - allows u to break the 200 unit limit (single player mode only)
• The Antioch Cronicles - single player protoss campaign (excellent)

Tribal Rage Review
Talonsoft's new post-apocolyptic RTS game is reviewed by and lets just say he raged on it. There's some screenshots and the info on the "tribes" was kinda cool, but when all was said and done Tribal Tage only recieved a 2.5 score Read the Gamepen review here.

Battlezone and Dark Reign News
Activision and Macmillan Digital Publishing announced licensing agreements to develop and publish official add-on packs for BattleZone and Dark Reign. Dark Reigns new expansion, Battles of the Outer Rim, will be released next week for 24.95. Battlezone will get two add-ons, one a mission pack and the other a level pack with new maps. Both should be out this fall. [new source - Next Generation] Something else you might find interesting, Activision has agreed to publish 5 new games from Pandemic Studios. Thefirst two will be sequels sequels to Battlezone and Dark Reign. Release scheduled for Summer '99. [news source - PC Gamer]

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