open task manager and kill explorer.exe under processes tab, go to applications tab and click new task and start starcraft from there(you'll have to provide the full path to the exe, something like "c:\Program Files (x86)\Starcraft\starcraft.exe", then when you're done with starcraft click new task and type in explorer.exe. This fixed it for me :).

Did your StarCraft battlechest come with hard CD cases?

I bought the same thing several years ago from what was an EBgames (now a Gamestop), and i'm pretty sure they ripped me off.

Not only did they replace the CD cases with black paper sleeves (similar to the kind magazine discs come in), but the game was opened and sold as "new". And as we all know, gamestop does NOT take returns for opened PC games.

mine did come with those sleeves but I think they all do. I say get a real case for them and just copy down the serial code on to the case.

all the new ones come with sleeves, the older ones had hard cases though... I have one of each :)

Half way through the terran missions now. the missions are really interesting so far cause the have variety between them. I also like the cutscenes. I also noticed that the character models from Starcraft one in the cutscenes that show humans/terran, their faces kinda look like the kinda style from fallout

The missions in Starcraft are really interesting. You will surely like the Zerg and Protoss campaign too. The story in expansion pack is a little less interesting, but there are some really cool missions there.
Speaking of Warcraft, I would recommend Warcraft 3 and TFT, the story is really interesting and you can sink into the world. If you want to try out the first two Warcraft games, better skip Warcraft, because playing it is simply painful (unless you got some mod allowing you to control multiple units) the second game is a lot fun to play but mission are really simple, most of them makes you just destroy every opponent.

Short answer: South Korea.

Slightly longer answer: Flight & space sims died as a genre while RTS games are still very much alive and well. Add to that, somehow StarCraft became huge in South Korea where a professional scene evolved around the game and thus was "e-sports" created. It's a very good game, which sold extremely well, in a still popular genre, which inspired a country to create a new, digital sport.

Freespace 2 on the other hand is from a genre whose glory days are very much in the past. To say the genre is dead, as I did, is actually an overstatement, but space sims are certainly no longer in vogue among the player base or publishers. The game was published at the tail end of the popularity of the space sim and it was advertised badly by Interplay in an age where retail distribution was it and shelf space was precious. As a result, Freespace 2 sold badly despite being a great game and neither the space nor flight sim genres have recovered their former popularity.

Battle on the Amerigo. I don't think I've seen a better cut scene... ever, really.

SC2 may have added some UI and control improvements, but I'm currently replaying SC1, and for me it is by far the superior game.

thanks that is really helpful info. I was thinking about playing warcraft one but since you said you can't control multiple units I think maybe I should just watch a let's play or something. Warcraft 2 doesn't sound too bad I mean I started my rts career with Dune 2000 and those had pretty simple missions from what I remember at least. I remember the cutscenes in dune 2000 were pretty cool too.

I agree with you on the cutscene part. Battle on the Amerigo was one of the best cutscenes.
But in my oppinion sc2 is way better than the first one.

deshadow52, my advice to you is to get your hands on Warcraft 2,3 and TFT as soon as possible. Warcraft 2 may be old but is very charming, i replay it all the time.

You are able to control multiple units in Warcraft 1.

I wish WoW didn't mess so much with the story... or at least Blizzard to publish a big book explaining the events that happen in WoW, because if you don't raid, you don't get to experience the story. :(

Yes, 4 is multiple units. It still shows it's age a lot.

@KavazovAngel i'm sorry 4 isn't really enough soldiers to control at a time for me. it seems I would just be fighting with the game most of the time trying to move dozens of tiny groups of soldiers and that doesn't sound like something I would really want to deal with

And, if memory serves right, in Warcraft 1 you never had more than two dozen units, so it is not a big deal. :)