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StarCraft

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
StarCraft
StarCraft cover
Developers
Blizzard Entertainment
Publishers
Blizzard Entertainment
Europe Sierra Entertainment
Release dates
Windows March 31, 1998
Mac OS (Classic) 1999
macOS (OS X) November 20, 2001
StarCraft guide on StrategyWiki
StarCraft on Wikipedia
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StarCraft
StarCraft 1998
StarCraft II 2010

This page is for the original release. For the updated version, see StarCraft Remastered.

Key points

The Mac OS version of the game can only be run on PowerPC-based Macs. Blizzard currently has no plans to add Intel-based Mac compatibility.[1]
Game and expansion was made free on April 18, 2017, along with a new patch that improves compatibility with modern OS, windowed and windowed fullscreen modes, network, etc.

General information

StarCraft Compendium
Battle.net Forums
TeamLiquid

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Mac OS
Battle.net
Icon overlay.png
 StarCraft Anthology.
Windows
Mac OS

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
StarCraft: Brood War Included with the Starcraft Anthology and StarCraft Battle Chest.
Windows
Mac OS
Insurrection
Windows
Retribution
Windows
Stellar Forces Unauthorized retail add-on.
Windows

Version differences

StarCraft Battle Chest

The StarCraft Battle Chest contains both StarCraft and its expansion along with the official strategy guides for both games.

StarCraft Anthology (Battle.net Digital Download)

The Anthology contains StarCraft and its main expansion. Free to download and play as of April 18, 2017.

Essential improvements

Mods

ChaosLauncher

The ChaosLauncher allows older versions of StarCraft to be run in a Windowed Mode along with some other features.

Game data

In-game speed settings.
In-game speed settings.

Configuration file(s) location

Template:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/row
System Location

Save game data location

Template:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/rowTemplate:Game data/row
System Location

Video settings

Video settings.
Video settings.

Template:Video settings

Widescreen resolution

This hack may not be compatible with the latest versions of StarCraft and Brood War.
DO NOT play in Battle.Net while using this hack. You might get banned.
The single-player portion of the game has been reported to have some bugs when running this solution: Sometimes in the campaign the camera gets stuck and won't scroll anymore. The problem is fixable in this updated version of the Resolution Expander by shifting to 640x480 and then back to the resolution you were in. Some users have reported that the crash that occurs as you complete a level in the campaign is still there. This crash can be fixed by moving the StarCraft folder out of C:/ drive.
Widescreen[2]
  1. Download Resolution Expander 6 and extract anywhere you want.
  2. Edit ResSettings.ini.
  3. Change these lines to the desired resolution.
    • ScreenWidth0=640
    • ScreenHight0=480
  4. After setting your resolution, run InsectLoader.exe as administrator to play StarCraft with the hack.
  5. If you get an error message that StarCraft isn't installed properly, do the following.
  6. Go to where StarCraft.exe is located.
  7. Create a file called scfix.vbs and paste the following text into it.
    8. Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
set svc=GetObject("winmgmts:root\default:StdRegProv")
Wscript.Quit(svc.setStringValue(&H80000002, "SOFTWARE\Blizzard Entertainment\Starcraft", "Program", WshShell.currentDirectory & "\Starcraft.exe"))
  8. Double-click it. InsectLoader should agree the game is installed properly.
  9. If you are using a 64-bit OS and the fix doesn't work, try using this instead:
    10. Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
set svc=GetObject("winmgmts:root\default:StdRegProv")
Wscript.Quit(svc.setStringValue(&H80000002, "SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Starcraft", "Program", WshShell.currentDirectory & "\Starcraft.exe"))

Input settings

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Sound Settings.
Sound Settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
US and EU.
French
German
Italian
Korean
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8
Online play
8

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
A skill-based ranking system can be used to filter matches.
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 6112
UDP 6112
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues fixed

Corrupt graphics on Windows 7

See Palette Issue.
Fixed with version 1.18.

Crash in Zerg mission 8 during in-game dialogue

You will have to disable audio temporarily.

No sounds on Windows 10

Fixed with patch 1.18.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
DirectDraw 2 In Windows version prior to version 1.18
OpenGL
ExecutablePPC16-bit 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Mac OS (Classic)

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Cutscenes Smacker Video Technology
Multiplayer Battle.net

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 90 MHz
System memory (RAM) 16 MB 32 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 80 MB
Video card (GPU) SVGA video card that supports DirectDraw at 640x480 resolution, 256 colors
DirectX 2.0 compatible
Mac OS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 7.6 9.2.2
Processor (CPU) PowerPC 120 MHz
System memory (RAM) 16 MB 32 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 80 MB
Video card (GPU) 640x480 display in 256 colors

References