Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Starcraft on unibody macbook
- Thread starter andylo
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'd be more concerned with using the trackpad, since starcraft can be pretty mouse heavy. I'd recommend an external mouse of some sort. The keyboard should work fine.
And don't forget to download the new OSX Intel installer for Starcraft. Should be able to get it from Blizzard.
Maybe starcraft is a bit more mouse intensive than Warcraft III, but I find playing warcraft on the laptop unexpectedly good. It is largely due to the large trackpad which makes it possible without a mouse. Of course you´ll get a better experience with a mouse, but for playing the campaign it works well.
Starcraft on macbook white
i play allot of starcraft, and starcraft on a laptop is pitiful, mostly because my arrow keys are on the far right so my left hand reaches across uncomfortably. I recommend plugging a keyboad into the laptop and using that instead with a mouse. sometimes starcraft freezes or will spontaneously quite, this problem lingers and often resurfaces with OSX updates so know your not alone if that happens to you. changing the native resolution to 1280/800 reduces quiting and lets you go full screen without color crazies when using an external monitor or HDTV.
i play allot of starcraft, and starcraft on a laptop is pitiful, mostly because my arrow keys are on the far right so my left hand reaches across uncomfortably. I recommend plugging a keyboad into the laptop and using that instead with a mouse. sometimes starcraft freezes or will spontaneously quite, this problem lingers and often resurfaces with OSX updates so know your not alone if that happens to you. changing the native resolution to 1280/800 reduces quiting and lets you go full screen without color crazies when using an external monitor or HDTV.
Pros: Don't have to reboot to run bootcamp
Cons: None I know about
Starcraft is a ten year old game, it flies on any machine.
If you play in windows, you'll be able to have non-accelerated mouse movement (can also be achieved in Os X using USB Overdrive, although you cannot have very high sensitivity and no acceleration in Os X unless you have a very high resolution mouse, 2000dpi+), you'll be able to play in windowed mode and to play with LAN latency on ICCUP if you use 3rd party applications. Also, Starcraft will take up most of your CPU even when idle, while the windows version can limit how much CPU SC will use.
If you're only playing casually and don't mind about mouse movement and don't play on ICCUP, there's not really any disadvantages using Os X.
As for playing on a laptop in general, the fn key will really screw you up in terms of unit grouping, though if you always play with a laptop keyboard, you'll get used to it eventually and it won't limit you much.
If you're only playing casually and don't mind about mouse movement and don't play on ICCUP, there's not really any disadvantages using Os X.
As for playing on a laptop in general, the fn key will really screw you up in terms of unit grouping, though if you always play with a laptop keyboard, you'll get used to it eventually and it won't limit you much.
Mouse acceleration means that the mouse cursor will NOT move proportional to how you actually move the mouse, but will accelerate based on how fast or slow you move the mouse. In practice this results in poor accuracy and unpredictable cursor movement.
Since accurate mouse movement is important in SC you do NOT want to have mouse acceleration enabled. In Os 9 and in windows you can turn it off, but for some reason apple doesn't currently provide the option to turn it off. The only way is to use an third party mouse driver application.
Personally I can't see why anyone would want to use mouse acceleration, unless of course you're using a touchpad.
Since accurate mouse movement is important in SC you do NOT want to have mouse acceleration enabled. In Os 9 and in windows you can turn it off, but for some reason apple doesn't currently provide the option to turn it off. The only way is to use an third party mouse driver application.
Personally I can't see why anyone would want to use mouse acceleration, unless of course you're using a touchpad.
. Then this can be solved by using bootcamp correct?tYsopz, you are/were a PC user correct? PC users tend to notice the acceleration more because it's different to what they are used to. I am the same and hate it as well, but you can get used to it. When playing RTS games I just imagine I'm moving files around in OS X so it doesn't really bother me.
Basically, if you're a Mac person acceleration will not be a problem, but if you use mostly PCs, it will feel strange.
Basically, if you're a Mac person acceleration will not be a problem, but if you use mostly PCs, it will feel strange.
True. If you're any serious about playing on ICCup, you want to either use virtualization or Boot Camp itself.
Fn key in the place where Ctrl should be renders playing SC on a laptop impossible for me. Without an external keyboard, thats it.
Mouse accel can be turned off in USB Overdrive, so its not a problem.
Actually, I've been using macs all of my life. Whether or not you cope with the mouse acceleration depends on how you use your mouse. Using mouse acceleration might feel more comfortable if you only do a single mouse motion, but it will be inconsistent. Especially when you need to do accurate movements in rapid succession, which is the case in most games.