Anyone still play Starcraft 2?

I got into diamond after my placement matches, so I wouldn't know. Was shocked when I got placed in diamond - I was horrible in brood war.

 

Yeah - SC2 made all the hard stuff in BW so much easier - automine, Multibuilding select, auto-surround, actual smart pathing AI (still remember in some maps in BW if you just right clicked on the minimap, the units will continue to try and bore through an open space, no matter how small )

 

id go if i had one in my city. maybe not in the winter though cuz i dont like going out when its -20C.

 

While I suck at videogames, I'd totally take that bar with Starcaraft over the football/soccer/whatev.

 

Yeah I would definitely go for something like that. I always wanted to open my own e-bar with stations that could play PS3, XBOX 360, or PC games. I strongly considered it since I've been out of work, there is a building at the end of my street that has been vacant for some time out for rent, but coming up with the startup money would be impossible.

 

I've always wanted to do that, i think i enjoy watching SC2 more than i enjoy playing it. I remember a couple of guys organized it for the MLG Providence held last month but i was too lazy to go

Amazing idea, am amazed no one has done this yet.

 

Wait...don't those already exist?

Lots of places in Chinatown have consoles/PCs for gaming along with drinks/food.

 

No place in USA I've seen, and certainly nothing within hundreds of miles from where I live.

 

Yeah I had the Arcade/Bar idea as well I think we talked about it before.

Also just a regular bar w/ esports type stuff would be so cool.

No way to know if it would last and be a hit or not, for me it seems like a dream come true but business all comes down to overhead and profits not just how great the idea is.

Myself like you no way could I actually follow through and make it happen.

Atleast when I was at the mall the other day they have a Ramen restaurant now I am sure its still a far cry from authentic Japanese ramen, but its the closest thing yet so I totally gotta go eat there soon.

 

Well idk about an actual BAR, but there's Bubble Tea Cafes that I used to hang out with my friends back in the day. You'd pay a 20$ deposit to "rent" their consoles and any game they had in their catalogue and they gave you back the 20$ at the end of the evening. I think the main business was the drinks and food they served while you were playing though

Half of the place had dedicated PCs with people playing WC3 too.

 

We had a Virtual World here in Las Vegas back in the mid-90s where you could play Mechwarrior and a game called Red Planet. They served drinks and bar food, and had a real cool Victorian furniture theme inside that made the whole thing seem really classy. Unfortunately it was expensive, a single game was like $15 and last <10 min. Ultimately it went out of business, but it was cool while it lasted. I love the battletech universe also, great story line. I think any similar franchise is also a doomed venture unfortunately, unless you do it for fun and not for profit. Few coffee shops can compete with Starbucks and Coffee Bean. I am sad all the good RPG/game/hobby stores in Las Vegas are gone. Pen and paper RPGs seem to have died thanks to console gaming.

AS for Starcraft, I bought it on Black Friday, looks cool, but I bought I will ever be good enough to play on line. I am still struggling with BF3. Before I had kids I was a pretty awesome CoD xbox 360 player, now that I am a father, I just don't have the time it takes to be good anymore. Hopefully with time I will get better.

 

I did a business plan, and if it was busy enough it could be profitable, but would it just be more of a fad than anything else?

In any case about being a father. I got two little ones, but they're 3 & 4 now. Before my free time came in 10 minute increments, so I could barely do anything. Now I can actually get a solid 20-30 minute free at a time on a somewhat regular basis, so it will come. Not sure what the future holds htough.

 

As far as SC2 population, it's up there with the most played steam titles. I have a few simple thoughts:

1. There are plenty of people playing at all sorts of skill levels. You can play 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, or 4v4 and expect to get matched up quickly at any time of day or night against a person or team of similar skill level to you. There aren't many other games that can offer this, including SC1.

2. The matchmaking system is really good. It doesn't matter that there exist players who are really good or professional. In fact, it's a good thing. These players often cast their games and help to cement the community. There are plenty of players at all skill levels, and you won't ever have to play against the pros.

3. There are a ton of players overall. It doesn't matter if 5% of the NBR population plays regularly or 25% or 90% if we have no frame of reference. Since 25% of the NBR population who responded to the poll play at least once a week, why would you conclude that the SC2 population is low? Again, you'll never have to play against an expert thanks to matchmaking. You'll win about half of your games at pretty much any skill level.

 

Even though I don't like SC2 (too stressful for me, 1v1 gets repetitive), I would agree that the matchmaking system is fantastic. I can find matches within 5-15 seconds, and I never feel like I've been matched against a pro. They're either at my level or moderately better.

 

It usually takes me many minutes, except Friday and Saturday nights, and many times 5 or more minutes to find a proper match at 1v1, then I get smoked even if it shows me "favored". I find the matchmaking horrible. If you're "favored" you should probably win 70% of the time, but I probably win opposite, 30%.

 

That's really odd. I'm bronze league and I live in small-town Oregon (it's not like I'm in NYC or Seoul or somewhere) and at midnight on a Tuesday, I can get matched to an opponent of roughly my caliber, normally within about 30 seconds.

I also almost never find myself ranked as favored or slightly favored. It's always even, opponent slightly favored, or opponent favored. If you're always losing, like you say, I don't understand why it would ever show you as favored.

When is the last time you logged on? Was this your experience from the beta or the first month of release, or is this experience a recent one?

 

I never said I was always losing, I have been about 50% W/L.

 

what league are you in?

 

Bronze....

 

Sounds to me like the matchmaking system is working just fine then.