If you are one of the many StarCraft fans waiting for the game to free with Patch 1.18, well, it looks like your wait has been extended by a week. According to a developer’s announcement on the Battle.net forums, the delay is to address bugs reported by users, in the PTR version of the game.
Speaking of which you can download the Public Test Realm build of StarCraft 1.18 Patch, for free right now.
Screenshot of StarCraft 1.18 from a 1080p monitor in Windowed mode.
Screenshot of StarCraft 1.18 from a 1080p monitor in Fullscreen Windowed mode. The textures appear sharper in the above picture.
Here are answers to some of the questions I spotted around the web.
Q: Where can I download StarCraft for Free?
A: You can find the download link for StarCraft 1.18 PTR at the official forums.
Q: How to install StarCraft 1.18 PTR?
A: It is just a zip file which is 1.5GB in size, and all you have to do is to extract it to a folder and play by double-clicking on the StarCraft.exe.
Q: Can I play the single player campaign in StarCraft for free in the PTR version?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I play online multiplayer in the StarCraft PTR version?
A: Yes, but to play online, you will need to sign up for a PTR account at Battle.net.
Q: Do I have to redownload StarCraft when Patch 1.18 is released?
A: Most probably not. I have used the Battle.Net client to point to the folder where I copied Diablo III and Starcraft 2 on my PC (when I migrated them from my laptop), and it used the files as they were, and applies patches to them whenever they are released.
Q: When will StarCraft Remastered be released, and will it be free for previous owners of the Classic version?
A: StarCraft Remastered, the enhanced edition of the original game, is set for a Summer 2017 release. It will be a paid upgrade, available through the free version of StarCraft.