Fools Gold ??
I recieved an email from eris with some disappointing news from Scott M. Seems we shouldn't read too much into the beta ending. Sta 17 has a screenshot of part of this chat although this shot was taken b4 eris's quote. Here's the email :

Just some info I thought I'd pass along.. In diablo tech support (chat) ScottM said : " The Starcraft beta ended because it was its time to end. We no longer had need for the beta testers to continue testing. That's really all there was to it. That doesn't mean much to it going gold. Starcraft will go gold when its finished. When that happens, we'll let the world know. "

Still don't believe?
Check out the forum post where ScottM had this to say on the realease date :

" Normally we don't comment on release dates at all, but we can indeed say it will come out in 1998. We're not THAT far away to finishing Starcraft :) "

now don't u feel better that Blizz has definitely committed to a 1998 release date?? yeah me too :\   If anyone else has any news, programs, whatever.. please pass it on and i'll post it. Thanks again for the info eris !

Forum Removed
Blizzard took down the Beta Buzz forum yesterday. They left the Ladder Games up and are still posting results. Since none of the beta testers can still play games i guess these are in-house testing results...

The wait for Mac Diablo
Goes on...and on...and on....Roger squelched a rumor that Mac Diablo would be coming out March 20th. He said not to believe retailers for reliable release dates, the game will be out when it's finished and not before. Now where have I heard that b4? Oh well at least he put a little humor in with the bad news. View post

The Beta Ends !!!
Blizzard officially ended the Beta Testing at 7pm PST March 21st !! The reason for discontinuing the Beta is because "we are just about done. We will post as soon as we release to operations." As promised Blizzard will send the top 20 beta testers free copies "hot off the presses" and they said the testers should be notified in the next couple of days. They didn't actually say it had gone gold but i would imagine that posting on Monday maybe :) Read the whole announcement HERE Maybe Babbages was right when they said they expected to have SC on the 26th !!!

Allready a Retail Version ??
In b.net Waiting4SC asked "is Blizz using the beta 7 "in house" or do they have a newer version?" Blizz's AlenL answered "we have a retail version". Screenshot here. AlenL also said that Mutalisks were not going to be changed. screenshot here. [news source - station17]

Clarifying the "Retail Version"
Shafe's X-Virge was also in bnet chat and asked AlenL to clarify. To quote X-Virge "I asked him what he meant by it, and he said that he meant that their version has single player and all other features that the retail version will have."

SC Goodies
Slev at TWoS grabbed some animations and sounds out of the starcraft MPQ files. Here's his first 2 animations
and a .WAV file :

		sound of female hero dying
Creep Colony	Mutalisk into Guardian	I didn't know there was a female hero??

Like online multiplayer gaming??
Then check this out. Gamecenter has put together The Multiplayers Downloader's Guide. Action, Adventure/Role Playing, Strategy, Sims, even Mac! and they're all free. u can't beat that with a stick :)

New levels for Tomb Raider 2
Two free levels are now available for download at Next Generation. From the expansion pack, the new TR levels: Unfinished Business and Shadow of the Cat require a full version of the original Tomb Raider PC game.

SC Winamp Skin
There's a new skin out by Madd Hatter. Download Protoss Amphere.

New Screen
Blizzard has updated the map editor page with a new screenshot. View it here.

For Beta Testers
Sgt.Seb over at Data Link found a new file in the Starcraft root directory called SCUpdate.hlp . In it there is a thankyou for purchasing the game, a section containing corrections for the manual, and some indepth info on types of damage and keyboard shortcuts.

Quake 2 Skins
Wargasm found a ton of Quake II skins here. Definitely worth a look ! Thanks wargasm :)

Are u a Diablo fan??
Visit DiabloII.com Very cool site !! Be sure to check out the screenshot section. They have a lot of screen shots and a ton of bad guy art work.

Account Names will Stay
In chat Scott M told Forbin that beta testers WILL be able to keep there account names on b.net. Earlier Blizz had said all this info would be wiped after the beta testing was done. View screenshot

New Section
I added a Downloads Section. Check it out !!

Blizzard Live Wire
Found a new site while surfing today.Blizzard Live Wire is a cool site that deals with all the Blizzard games. Someone at the site spoke to Blizz's sales dept. and got this SC info :

Release for PC in 2-4 weeks
After the announcement of SC going gold, we could get it 3-4 days
If Starcraft lives up to the hype, a sequel is possible
The Forum boycott was seen as rediculous. Just means less posts they have to sort through
They like the CWAL stories.

More Winamp Skins
I found 3 more skins for Winamp over at TWoS and shamelessy stole them. :o You can download them below or get them from TWoS.

StarAmp - Skin by Mystic
StarCraft Red - Skin by Parm
Battle.net Interface - Skin by Mad Hatter

A Trip Down Memory Lane
Gargantuahas written an editorial on StarCraft 1996 A.D., The early years. It's a cool article giving the history of SC via press announcements and screenshots. Kind of fun to see how the game has changed over the last 2 years. Read the article here.

Wargasm's Tale
Wargasm wrote a VERY COOL and unique Diablo Story. I was ROFL :) Check it out Looking forward part 3 Wargasm :)

From Gold to Shelf
A lot of people have been asking how long it will take SC to hit the shelves after it goes gold. Jeffrey Vaughn said once SC goles gold, u can conservatively expect it to hit the shelves in 5-7 days.

Pre-Order and get free T-shirt
Babbage's is taking pre-orders for SC now and u can get a free t-shirt with your order while supplies last. They told me they are expecting SC to ship on March 26th. Pre-order requires $10.00 down and they guarantee u a copy.

StarCraft Hockey??
SC Infoceptor has a new map out by Weblar. What's it all about? Seems u control 5 marines and a dragoon, and u try to make a neutral SCV go into a goal. How u ask?? The SCV runs from your fire! The game is only supposed to take about 10 mins, so it sounds like a nice break for the beta testers. Download it here.

SC T-Shirts For Sale
Blizzard has put up the SC t-shirt is for sale at their Online Store. Cost is $14.95. The back features all 3 races and the front is the Blizzard logo. Click the pic for enlarged view.

Quake SC skin
Station 17 posted a protoss skin for Quake2. View it here. Download it here.
Winamp Skins
I found 3 more SC skins for Winamp.

Download Skin by Dioxide

Download Skin by G Norn

Download Skin by DDMan

Patch 7 info
Deathwing at Infoceptor has put together a run down on what is new with the Terrans in Patch 7.

Sites
IF BASE has shut down. This looks like a temporary shut down until they can find more help. If your interested visit the page for more details. S|U has moved AGAIN :\ You can find them here.

John Carmack Announces Quake III.
The most complete article I found on this was at OGR. If your Quake guild has female members think about submitting your clan to the Female Quake Players Web Ring - this site has an attitude :)

Sega Saturn Dead
Next Generation is reporting that Sega is throwing in the towel on Saturn and will cease all Saturn sales in the US by the end of March. Article here.

Webmasters
Do u have a game site u want hosted? MGN is having a contest, they're looking for some killer pages and the winners will get their sites hosted for free by MGN. For more details go to the contest page. Good Luck :)

Thanks for all the emails
Thanks to everyone who took the time to give me your opinions, the response was better than i ever hoped for :) I found them well thought out, informative and some just made me ROFL. It was great to hear your insights from a male viewpoint. In case your wondering, the general concensus was Does Sex Sale?? NO!!! but it does get your attention :) Some will look, some will stare, some will even drool, but the bottom line was GAMEPLAY. (I knew u guys weren't all hormone crazed 13 year olds :) Would u still buy the game if it had a scantily clad male char??...mixed reviews there. While u weren't looking forward to an *ahem* sexy male char, most had no objections as long as the gameplay was there, allthough some did say Absolutely Not!! Oh well homophobia lives (ya'lls comment, NOT mine *wink* ) and equality plods along :\ hehehe. Seriously tho I was pleasantly surprised by your openess, awareness and dare I say it?? support :) The best response I heard to this question, and the most obvious when u think about it, was to include a choice of gender for the chars in games. *slaps head* So simple really :) Thanks again guys, and to all those wanting a game...look for me when SC comes out. Well off to get Quake II, finally! So be warned, if u get shot in the back and then hear a small *tee hee hee*... gotcha! *wink* hehehe ( If you don't know what i'm talking about in this post, just read the original post below )

Does sex sell?? Well sometimes :)
I found this article in my news letter today regarding female gamers and game companies attitudes towards them. What?! You didn't know?? Yes guys, I'm a girl!! Ah well who really cares. Now I don't agree with all this article has to say, but it is worth a read. My personal response to this issue - Do I want game companies to change their games for me.... NO! Do I care about the scantily clad women in games?... NO! I mean TR2's Lara doesn't bother me one bit, and I find those nude raider patches hillarious (yes guys I have the links, mail me and I'll send them on. Personally, I find it fascinating some guy actually took the time to make all those patches hehehe) Now all that said, what would I like to see change?? Well I wouldn't mind seeing more scantily clad MALES !! :) Equality, yeah thats what I want :) Hehehe oh well a girl can dream... What do u think guys? Would u still buy the game if they made it a little more interesting for us girls too?? mail me :) Anyway if I still have your attention and you'd like to read the article, just click

On Patch 7
Most of the problems with Patch 7 seem to be fixed. Seems there were some problems on Blizz's server side. I said MOST but definitely not all. Check the SC Tech Support Forum for info if u are still having problems. Blizz has not made the patch available on their ftp site yet. Want more info on Patch 7 ?? Warblade made a post at TWoS after playing 10 games with it. Read it here.

On the Boycott
Everyone knows about the boycott by now. Well Smoke sent an open email to TWoS about it. Seems the reaction to this boycott has been very mixed. You can read Smoke's email here.

Ultima Online Citizens rebel with lawsuit
The suit was registered by five Ultima Online registrants. Whats all the fuss about? PCGamer has a very good article on this first of it's kind lawsuit here.

Blizzard Releases Beta Patch 7 !!!!
Click here for all the info. This IS an official Blizz announcement. Kind of strange considering this chat response from Alen L posted yesterday by Station 17 saying there were no plans for a patch 7. To see a screenshot of that chat (not that it matters anymore) go here. Wonder where AlenL gets his info :\

Scott M responds to the boycott
Rob sent S17 this reply from Scott M on the boycott. What is the boycott?? Take a peek at the March 9th news for more info.

We're getting pretty close to the end. I'm not sure if there will be a patch 7 still (although it is likely). If we knew more definitely about things, we would gladly tell the public. But if we do say something and the situation changes, we're accused of lying. It's an uncomfortable situation for us, because we simply don't want to lie or appear to lie to customers. Software Development is a tricky thing, with fixes to bugs causing new bugs, old bugs fixed reappearing, and undiscovered bugs lurking. We did promise to let everybody know when the game goes "gold", and we fully intend to keep that promise. All that we ask is a bit more patience. We want the game out probably more so than anybody else."

Scott Mercer
Blizzard online technical support

These conflicting reports, all from different ppl at Blizz, is what started this boycott in the first place. I don't want this to sound like sour grapes, it just makes it very hard to run a reliable SC page. Sorry for not updating yesterday, had personal stuff to attend to. ~tender fury~

Times they are a changing
Smoke has proposed a boycott of the forums for reasons i think we all know. Blizzards poor PR practices. He isn't asking for much really. Update their page once a week and more involvement in the forums from Blizzard staff....

Now of course Starcraft is going to be released, but what has really changed is the mood of the public to which it will be released. Will this make a long term impression on sales?? Who knows. All those that spent their money on different games will get more and eventually probably buy SC. But what has really changed during this whole process, for me personally, is my respect for Blizzard as a company. I sincerely hope they make some sweeping changes in their entire PR department (yes believe it or not they do have one). Ah well, who really cares? Blizzard?? I guess we'll have to wait for Diablo II to see if they listened. ~tender fury~

Various Site Changes
S|U is working on their layout again. Lord Slippy has been found :) new layout here
SC Sector and zT StarCraft have decided to merge. zT will move INTO SC Sector itself as a seperate menu bar.
Magic is quitting Shafes. here's his farewell notice :

I've decided to quit Shafe's StarCraft Source. The special magic of SSS that once enticed me is gone. I'll be sure to see a lot of you on Battle.net. Later. [Magick]

Patch 7 Info
Waiting4SC sent Station 17 some screenshots of a bnet chat with ScottM concerning SC Beta patch #7. Here's what ScottM had to say :

"As to patch 7 guys, I still don't know when you'll see that."
"There will likely be a patch 7. Very likely, as a matter of fact."
"Patch 7 would be a beta thing."

Station 17 has posted the screenshots. You can see them here. | Screen1 | Screen2 | Screen3 |

Online Gaming Service Demo
Kahn is the premier Internet IPX gaming system. Here you can find out more about it, download a trial copy, and register online. Use the 21 day fully functional demo free :)

10 Games That Changed History!
Gamecenter presents the 10 most significantly innovative games of all time. Read 10 Games That Changed History! This is NOT the 10 best selling games, but as the title says the ones that changed gaming history. It's worth a read :)

Battlezone is Gold !
GameCenter Underground, a subsection of GameCenter, is reporting that Battlezone has gone Gold and should ship in two weeks. They also report that LucasArts Rebellion is final and will hit stores in a matter of weeks.

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