2018.09.30
Rarely on sale, worthy of $9.99. I vaguely remembering thinking in the late 90s / early 2000s that with the amount of value I got out of this game they could have charged over $100 (or was that Diablo).In the Blizzard app, it doesn't say SC Remastered, it just says Starcraft. Annoying. Install is 6 GB+; considering the originals were on CD-ROM, this must be the new one, but still, would it have been so difficult to just label it correctly. I would have to guess that SC original is not even available in the Blizzard app. Stupid things to think about while waiting for install...
Under options there are checkboxes for Original Unit Voice Overs, and Original 1998 Campaign, implying that these aren't the default? Why not?
Start Single Player, the intro scenes are different, some new images, have to use spacebar to advance (I don't remember that). I am wanting to not like this, I just wanted the originals with better graphics, but I am trying to reserve judgement.
Its coming back to me, and I'm enjoying the nostalgia. I wish I could zoom out more, but its not a 3D game, unlike SC2. I'm already starting to miss some little conveniences from SC2, like directing SCVs directly to a task.
2023.06.10
I can't find any more notes - how far did I get with this remastered version? Run Battle.net, Update, Play. Options, leaveing Sound / Original unchecked for now (let's see what its like). Game, Mature Language Filter - uncheck. View intro... oh yeah, that. Single Player, Original, i have an ID, Load Saved, Saved Games: [Cloud] - nothing. There's nothing. Take a look on the hd... in my docs, there's the folder from 2018.09.30, but nothing in the save dir, and just a few screenshots from that day.
I played so little, I saved nothing?
What's with the screen art during the text intro.
It's too bad the resolution can't be increased - got spoiled by SC2.
You'd think if they were going to make new art for the game, they'd make old Raynor look like new Raynor. His line reads seem kind of off now. The writing is the same, and the delivery sounds about the same, but it doesn't sound like well defined character of SC2. Easy enough to chalk up to it being young and enthusiastic Raynor, not the wiser and more cynical older Raynor.
Reading about screen resolution... cool that you can switch back and forth with F5. Resolution, zoom, etc. wasn't increased any further on purpose, to cater to the competetive side of the game.
No idle SCV button.
So far the remastery has only made cosmetic changes, but after you do the first indoor mission there's an illustration of Raynor giving Mengsk the discs - and behind him his Kerrigan. You don't meet her until later, but there's no contradiction in having her there. Not bad, actually.
2023.06.11
It's been long enough that I don't remember exactly what's going to happen next where. I am enjoying this as long as it lasts.
It's strange how I don't remember a map, but as I play it comes back to me along with how I played it years ago. I remember what units I used and how. I once again recognize the trend that I like to take it a bit too slow, turtling and expanding, instead of just finishing the map goal. I enjoy find every possible way to continually harass the enemy without losing a single unit.
Just some of the many ways: defensive matrix hit and run, placing an early warning system using mines (where enemies will not step on them), cloaked hit and run until they run out of comsat views, tank siege gun hopscotch, etc.
2023.06.13
Finished Terran campaign. It's been long enough that I forgot just how good Starcraft is. The game, the cutscenes, the art, just the feel of it - all great at the time, and still great now. I don't need to go any further, but I might. It might make a good game for those times when I don't know what else to play.
2023.06.14
The game is a lot easier than I remember it. As I play I can faintly recall how I played it last time, and I took much longer than I do now. And even now I'm taking it easy. Did I get better over time, or was I just being an even slower player back then?
2023.06.20
Lots of little things come back to me, like keyboard shortcuts and control groupings. I was sending out a queen unit and my fingers automatically settled on the E R and B keys. I soon rediscovered the need to keep a finger on H for all kinds of units and situations. Units tend to travel too far, or slowly drift away from where I put them. I have found myself trying to do something trivial, only to have to remember that's a part of SC2, not 1.
I toggle F5 sometimes just to see what it used to look like - and experience the cliche that past games look worse than you even remember, and also the remaster looks more like what I remember than the original.
It's really nice to be able to speed up and slow down the game (was that in the original? can't recall). Slow down the game to issue many commands across various units, then speed time back up to see how it plays out. Speed the game up to max to quickly clean up defeated enemies and bases. Too bad you can't speed it up even more.
I hate inside missions - trying to keep a few units alive, waiting for spells to recharge, etc.
2023.06.27
Finished the last episode of Starcraft. It was a little less epic than I remember it - kind of easy, actually. Twelve battlecruisers supported by half as many science vessels let you chip away at almost anything.
Reading; others feel similarly. I stumble upon The Cutting Room Floor's page [https://tcrf.net/StarCraft]; interesting.
2023.06.29
Started Brood Wars.
2023.07.17
Slowly working my way through - it's easy but time consuming. I remember these missions being much harder when I first played them; I guess I know enough tricks now. I play more aggressively than I used to, and once your opponent let's you get a mass fleet of capital ships, it's pretty much game over.
2023.07.28
Done.
Is there anything left to do here, any single-player, custom maps or scenarios that need playing?
A quick search reveals quite some activity, but not quite what I'm looking for. At least, I'm not going to spend time trying maps of questionable quality, when I've already had enough of Blizzard's high quality maps.
2023.07.29
Uninstall. Archive files: save screencaps, take a dir of save games and delete.
A quick review of screenshots... I should have taken more. They're nice reminders of key parts of the story and characters, and some interesting moments of my playthrough.
While archiving I found some stuff from the early 2000s. I look at the screenshots; even in 640x480 it's not hard to make out exactly where in the game I was.
I find a loading screen from multiplayer.
