Battle.net Beta Gate

It's been almost a year since the release of StarCraft: Beta Gate by l2k-Shadow. The program provided an enjoyable retreat from the StarCraft norm for several gamers. The fun was short lived though, as l2k-Shadow discontinued support for the program to focus his energies on other projects. Over time, we have recieved several requests to bring StarCraft: Beta Gate back, but it was Goga[OEP] who peaked l2k-Shadow's interest for the project once again by also providing BroodWar Beta.

So the new program is no longer a one trick pony, and you can now witness first hand the evolution of StarCraft and BroodWar during their later design phases. Perhaps this can also give us a glimpse at what the current Blizzard Development team is facing as it tests the pre-alpha version of StarCraft II, and see just how much StarCraft Beta changed before it became the packaged retail version.

A big thank you goes out to Goga[OEP] for providing us with BroodWar Beta. Goga[OEP] would like to extend a request to the StarCraft community for any StarCraft or BroodWar Beta patches; as the game's stability increases with each patch. Goga[OEP] also has provided us with a complete list of the MPQ files for both betas. They are available for download here.

As far as the gameplay, listen to what Entropy aka Physician had to say about playing StarCraft Beta:

I played it, it was hilarious - workers run almost twice as fast and their pathfinding is retarded. Ovies are fast to start off, and no Lair is needed for a Spire. Tanks cost gas only! The funniest thing? If your opponent leaves the game and you click
"continue to play," all of his units will still attack you if you attack them. Tons of other spacy stuff!

Since it is very new to Beta Gate, the BroodWar Beta has not been played much at all, so you have an oppurtunity to play and see what differences you can spot before anyone else!

So what does the future hold for Battle.net Beta Gate? It's hard to say for sure, but there's a possiblity to add Diablo and Diablo II to the program! The original Diablo Beta could be very interesting to see, as it's actually the Battle.net Beta as well!

If you'd like to check out what projects l2k-Shadow is currently working on, or submit your own project ideas, be sure to stop by his official website: http://www.l2uthless.org