- 7Tools
- 7.2The following tools only work for StarCraft version 1.18 or lower:
General Information[edit]
Free Starcraft 1
Replays are files generated by StarCraft Brood War's engine with the extension .rep. These can be saved manually after a game or being recorded automatically with the help of third party software. Replays are log files that enable the user to watch and analyze games.
One of StarCraft's innovation were the three races. They are not only different in their optical design (like WarCraft 2's pallete swap), but they are systematically different. As a result, all races play out differently, even varying depending on the race of the opponent, and feature different strategies and army compositions. Go onto Blizzard's proprietary Battle.net service to take the galactic war online in a variety of arenas. Don't let StarCraft's age fool you; its online community is just as healthy as it was back in 1998. Play with or against up to seven other players. Battle it out on over 50 official maps.
Historical Context[edit]
Before Replays were introduced with Patch 1.08 there have been no options for players to review a match. The dominant source to cover and report about matches were Battle Reports. Battle Reports are basically write-ups, often using multiple screen shots of the games.
Replays are recorded automatically since Patch 1.15.0. They can be used for entertainment purposes only or to analyze strategies. In the past years the number of VODs (recorded video files, Video on Demand) has widely replaced replays for pure entertainment purposes.
All Korean professional players are usually not allowed to share or upload their replays to other pages, due to the fact that a huge part of their strategies could be analyzed from those quite easily. In the foreign scene the VODs became more popular due to the fact that streaming portals like Twitch, Mogulus, Livestream and others became not only easier to access but also often times enable the user to record VODs automatically without needing a lot of technological requirements.
Replays are still an important part of Brood War. One of the main reasons why they're still used for entertainment might be the option to watch it with multiple persons at the same time.
Function[edit]
In a more basic understanding replays are nothing more than text files. These contain information about the map, participating players, minerals, critters and so on. Every given command is recorded and literally replayed by the engine afterwards, thus enabling the file to maintain a relatively small size.
This means in detail that only the very first buildings and workers of a player are noted in the file; every new action will be actually re-played instead of giving out commands such as 'spawn worker at coordinate [x,y] at [z] seconds after replay start'.
The time is meassured in so-called stamps, with five time stamps being around one second in real time.
This method to log the actions gives the user more options to gain information out of a replay. Maps, that do not use special triggers, can be extracted from any replay. Furthermore build orders, APM, hotkeys used and more can be read out. A replay archive can help to find out a known player's smurfs (account he uses to play anonymously) or to check for possible hacks.
Watching Replays[edit]
Replays are usually stored in the 'MapsReplays' folder of StarCraft. Manually saved replays can be seen in this folder. The last played game is automatically saved as LastReplay.rep. However, this particular replay file will be overwritten with every new game. To keep this replay the file needs to be either re-named or moved afterwards. Even when a game is saved under a special name in the post-game overview, a LastReplay will be saved by the engine.
Downloaded Replays from pages can be stored in any Maps directory. If replays were downloaded via the client (in game), the games will show in the MapsDownloads folder.
There are several ways to watch replays. The easiest being to open StarCraft's single player menue and select the 'Watch Replay' option. However, only replays in the MapsReplays folder will show in Single Player, since it does not offer an option to switch the directory.
To watch online (e.g. with multiple persons) a game can be hosted like any other map. However, if the replay is hosted in open Battle.net or Battle.net simulations (ICCup, FISH) a passwort needs to be set to host a replay.
Common Bugs and Fixes[edit]
There are several known bugs. See the description for solutions.
Outdated VersionsSince the replays record the commands using the information from Brood War's engine replays from older patches are mostly broken. To fix that open Brood War with an older version. It is usually not needed to completely un-install the game and re-install it with the older patch. The old executables (.exe files) are enough.
- Download old .exe files (1.08 - 1.15.3)
- extract to the StarCraft directory
- open the correct version
Over time different so-called downpatchers have been released to help out with this issue. However, all these tools are third party software and might cause problems.
- -> [Downpatchrs, list]
Note: Since a lot of older Launchers have been used in the past older replay files might still not be watchable after down patching. These launchers often times altered bits of the replay code in the file. As a result these old launchers are required to watch a game in addition to the old .exe files.
- Multiplayer viewing: Slots limited
Replays also record the game mode. How to download extract rar files. Some game modes (One on One, Top vs Bottom) limit the slots and deny more than two or four (depending on the mode) players to join the game. The replay files often have the same settings, even when there are slots left. Most Launchers have plug-ins to artificially create slots for replay files.
- Replay Slot Maker
Multiplayer viewing: Denied host by ICCup
- ICCup uses protected maps. If a outdated protected map (e.g. Destination 1.1 instead of 1.3) was used in the replay in combination with the mode 'One on One' or 'Top vs Bottom' a replay can not be hosted on ICCup, as the PVPGN enviroment will falsly identify the game as ladder game. There is no solution other than joining a different network or view it in Single Player.
Game Stops after Chat
- If a replay stops working after multiple lines of chat in combination with the recorded message 'Game Paused' a launcher with the addition Replay Fix is required. The standard ICCup Anti Hack, Mini Launcher and Chaos Launcher offer this extension. This bug is a result of the additionally recorded chat after Patch 1.15.0
Replay Sources[edit]
Almost every StarCraft Brood War fanpage offers a replay database for its users. How to get minecraft pe for free. The biggest ones are listed below.
| Replay Databases |
| TeamLiquid |
| bwreplays (Search through all replays by map, name and matchup) |
| GosuGamers |
| Broodwar.de (German) |
| ICCup |
| Reps.ru (Russian) |
| repmastered.app (It's also an online analyzer, game and player database, you can search by map, players, matchup, format etc.) |
Tools[edit]
Replay tools[edit]
- Used to organize your replay collection or display specific details of replays.
The following tools only work for StarCraft version 1.18 or lower:[edit]
Useful Launchers[edit]
- mca64Launcher Bundles most launchers and features
- Chaoslauncher (Replay Fix & Replay Slot Maker & Auto Replay)
- ICCup Launcher (Replay Fix & Replay Slot Maker & Auto Replay)
- Mini Launcher (Replay Fix & Replay Slot Maker & Auto Replay)
Replay tools[edit]
- BWChart
- Mostly used to view the APM of players
- Also offers a build order analyzer
- Offers tools to create a data basis of smurfs
- Offers options to categorize/filter replays by map/players/races/match ups/patch versions
Version Switchers[edit]
How To Play Starcraft 1 Online Game
- Important: Version switchers downpatch replays and thus might destroy the game. Use on own risk!
- High Resolution Expander
- Important: This extension works like a hack, do not open with Anti Hack software running, also do not use for competitive play, it's useless for gaming either way!
- Enables higher resolution up to 1920*1280
- highly unstable under Windows Vista and newer
Replay Commands[edit]
There are different commands that can be used to get more information out of replays in game. This is a more or less hidden feature. See list for more information:
Play Original Starcraft
When watching a replay, it is possible to extract bits of information by typing in the following commands:
Starcraft Free Online
| Replay with 'show score' activated |
External Links[edit]
