Officially postponed as Blizzard irons out issues with the game’s first actual update in eight years, you don’t have to wait for the free Brood War update. Yes, it is possible to download the patch and give it a whirl on the Public Test Realm (PTR) right now.
At the time of writing, this PTR only works on Windows (the Mac version is coming in time) and has some issues the development team is aiming to sort out before pushing the update to full release.
Patching a Patch of a 19-year-old Game
Some of the current issues with the PTR build include crashes on Windows 7, latency issues, and input lag. Furthermore, the current build does not have many of the social features previously found in Brood War 1.16 and below. On top of all this, there are a number of bugs pertaining to lobbies.
Of course, none of these sound like a good time and many of these bugs will need to be squashed before the patch is inducted into the professional Korean scene, the game’s bonafide home away from home. The patch needs to be fully functional and lag-free as the future of its scene relies on 1.18’s stability and first impression on newer players.
Developer Pete Stilwell announced on the forums yesterday evening that patch 1.18’s actual release has been delayed at least a week as the team strives to iron out the build’s problems.
If you just can’t wait, grab the 1.5Gb PTR download and give the current build a run for its money. Blizzard is keeping an eye on the forum looking for feedback and bugs, so be sure to report issues (or voice your strong opinions) should you have them to make 1.18 both the newest and best Brood War to date.
