[Doctor]

Hello ,
I saw so many streamers , and players playing through their computer , and i realize most of their computer can support a "medium" graphics or even "high" , but they still chose the "low" graphic's setting , is there any advantage using a low graphic's setting ?

Me , myself use a "medium" setting..

[AvPoker]

Low settings tend to be less distracting than in medium and above, where there's more fancy visuals such as lighting and reflections that may more or less distract a player's focus when playing. It's also less likely to lag, especially in big engagements.

[Aean(:]

I guess at a high-level play, they need less distractions (shiny stuff) so they can focus on other things. Also its critical to make sure no lag happens when big battles occur.
edit. goddamnit pokerface when i submit my post i see yours come up with the exact same info -_-

[Xavi]

Yes, I use low graphic setting for 3 reasons,
quicker response time (higher frame rate)
I have a bad computer so i really can't run high graphics
less distraction (i find my self looking at the texture or units too much with high graphics cos it looks so good)

the main reason why people use low graphics is for the higher frame rate & incredibly smooth gameplay

[Xeen]

Low for playing, medium/high for casting.

[iMSystem]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Low for playing, medium/high for casting.

Pretty much this.
I have always played all my games on a competitive level on low settings, not only do you get the max FPS possible, it improves the gameplay for you.

[crAzerk]

Really! I never knew high level players would deliberately play on a lower setting to avoid distractions!
I personally hate the low settings because everything looks so odd like how a drone poofs appear from an egg instead of hatching properly heh.

[dippa]

Really! I never knew high level players would deliberately play on a lower setting to avoid distractions!

Welcome to how Quake 3 players used to do it back in the day.

[Zanderax]

I prefer the highest setting because I like the shiny stuff.
Also I'd like to note that many will not play with the low setting because it is not possible to see which unit is warping in from a warp gate until it is done on low setting.

[ToRDjvillian]

Originally Posted by Zanderax

I prefer the highest setting because I like the shiny stuff.
Also I'd like to note that many will not play with the low setting because it is not possible to see which unit is warping in from a warp gate until it is done on low setting.

I also play ultra because I like shiny. Though that's probably the reason I'm on a losing streak because it is starting to get a bit patty at time (stupid windows updates >.<)

[Meatex]

If you lower some settings it makes cloacked units easier to see
but most pros says its to lower distractions - I haven't tried it myself :P

I will say that its actually distracting to have units just disappear when they die though

[Nofan]

My belief was that pro's prefer the lower settings to reduce input lag. Incontrol did say on stream he is a graphics whore and doesn't notice a difference between high medium and low, Only Ultra.

Personally i use high! because i like it shiny!

[teexxx]

Well basically there was this paper about the amount of information a human brain can process per second is limited so it is better to have less unnecessary stuff on the screen.

I set my graphic's setting to extreme but I customize the shader to low. With that, the objects are less shiny but still detailed.

[PiG]

I think its "effects" that you need to keep on atleast medium or its really really hard to see dt's on creep

[Maynarde]

I play Ultra. I like shiny things.

[SayfT]

I use everything on low except for effects which is at medium, lets me distinguish cloaked units a little better and no distractions from all the pretty graphics kek

[noobinater]

Part of it is distraction but it's also the need for smooth FPS. Maxed baneling armies can slow otherwise solid machines.

[SnoWPanda]

after looking through this thread, I decided to give low setting a try. Wow everything looks so much more clear! my only problem though is forcefields look too dim. Does anyone know how I can keep the original forcefield animation???

[pikk0n]

Quick question. I've switched to low settings for AGES from medium to avoid the lag in large battles but I also noticed that I am now unable to judge whether roaches have their tunneling claw upgrades. It used to be spikes on roaches' backs = tunneling. Now, they look the same to me....

[Doctor]

Oh oh , then another question to all fellow readers , what setting should i use for good FPS but the effect is still there ?

[maximusPrime]

Pro's use lower settings because they miss BW and it takes them back to the good old days haha

Quick Comments

TAXanT:

:)

[nextbigthing]

i personally lky ultra settings... detailed graphics makes it more fun=)

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by nextbigthing

i personally lky ultra settings... detailed graphics makes it more fun=)

Agreed. I built a beastly computer so that it cranks beastly games at beastly graphics levels!

[iVnStinger]

Originally Posted by maximusPrime

Pro's use lower settings because they miss BW and it takes them back to the good old days haha

Hahahahahahah....! I prefer low cause it distracts me less and it takes up less bandwitdh (as said many times before)

[Daboo]

I used to play with everything on high, but then I noticed there was a certain amount of lag while placing buildings etc..so I decided to use low settings, but high textures, according to TLO it helps you see cloaked units very very easily, and the game felt so friggin smooth I left it at that.

Often when I watch a cast on high I kinda amazed at how cool things look

[Doctor]

can a computer that handle medium graphics , turn all to low graphics' setting but high on texture ? can the computer handle it ? :|

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by Doctor

can a computer that handle medium graphics , turn all to low graphics' setting but high on texture ? can the computer handle it ? :|

That's a really hard question to answer without computer specs. Define "handle". If you mean just run at reasonable frame rates then sure I'd say so. Textures aren't as rough on a video card as shaders and lighting etc.

Best way to find out is to run SC2 graphics to low and set textures to high and see if you like it :P

[|Erasmus|]

Originally Posted by Doctor

can a computer that handle medium graphics , turn all to low graphics' setting but high on texture ? can the computer handle it ? :|

short answer, probably. higher detailed textures will use up more graphics memory, but are not terribly intensive in any other way, so unless you are running at a very high res on a video card with not much ram, you shouldn't have a problem with turning other settings down and textures up.

I'm playing with most settings on low and a few things (like textures, can't remember exactly what ones) turned up to either medium/high (again, can't quite) remember.

[Doctor]

ohh , the one that affects the difficulity to look for cloaked units are Texture ? i'm currently use low on all of the setting except medium on texture and high on Model..

[FvRelimzkE]

ive been playing quake (world, cpma, 4 and live) on minimal settings so it was easier to see the enemy. in sc2 it works a similar way, and the super bright colours on the minimap are easier to pick up because there isnt as much visual noise on the actual game screen

[Azure]

Is there a setting that helps a zerg user fungal flying units?
because of the 3D aspect of sc2 you normally need to fungal in front of the flying unit to be able to catch it.
it is quite annoying anyone know any tricks to help with this?

[|Erasmus|]

Originally Posted by Azure

Is there a setting that helps a zerg user fungal flying units?
because of the 3D aspect of sc2 you normally need to fungal in front of the flying unit to be able to catch it.
it is quite annoying anyone know any tricks to help with this?

There's an option which shows little green circles underneath the flying units which helps with that... someone should be able to tell you where to find it because I can't remember.

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by |Erasmus|

There's an option which shows little green circles underneath the flying units which helps with that... someone should be able to tell you where to find it because I can't remember.

Oh that would be awesome. Waiting on an answer for this one!

[duanloves]

It is easier to spot cloaked units at higher settings
Personally i play low because I get really carried away with the nice graphics that I forget to play SC2.

[SiZeMaTTeRs]

Originally Posted by duanloves

It is easier to spot cloaked units at higher settings
Personally i play low because I get really carried away with the nice graphics that I forget to play SC2.

I thought Blizzard fixed that issue already, meaning even using low, med or high settings, spot cloaked unit remains the same

[iMSystem]

I don't think that its an option, I just think that when you click an ability that's targeted (Fungal, Storm, Vortex etc) unit circles appear, so you can line that up with your spell. Also you can tell because the units gain a shade of red if you hover your spell over them

[|Erasmus|]

Originally Posted by System

I don't think that its an option, I just think that when you click an ability that's targeted (Fungal, Storm, Vortex etc) unit circles appear, so you can line that up with your spell. Also you can tell because the units gain a shade of red if you hover your spell over them

pretty sure you can turn on having them visible all the time so that you know where to target...

[Azure]

Originally Posted by System

I don't think that its an option, I just think that when you click an ability that's targeted (Fungal, Storm, Vortex etc) unit circles appear, so you can line that up with your spell. Also you can tell because the units gain a shade of red if you hover your spell over them

that sucks thou because it takes time to line it up.

[|Erasmus|]

Originally Posted by Azure

that sucks thou because it takes time to line it up.

It's also wrong: see attached screenshot which shows it can be set to work like that when you need to target them, or if it's always on.

Quick Comments

Maynarde:

Handy :) Feel kind of dumb for not realizing this option but it's definitely handy.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by |Erasmus|

It's also wrong: see attached screenshot which shows it can be set to work like that when you need to target them, or if it's always on.

thanks Erasmus, ill check that next time i log on

[WakingLife]

i use high settings its impossible to see burrowed roaches and burrowed infestors, dts or obs with my bad eye sight on low settings

[BeCosmos]

Hello, I tend to use extreme settings because this is how most korean play (oGsTheStC, oGsMC and many others) and since they are the best, playing in good quality can't be bad. I personally like extreme a lot, I wouldn't paly it "only" to do like koreans.

[Doctor]

i'm trying on low settings except high on model and medium on texture.. my unit is moving smoother then it used to be..

[Homer]

I used to use low on a notebook as I would get 60+ FPS. Now that I have a kickass desktop, I set everything to ultra/extreme.

[FSDarkNemesis]

for me, I tried streaming a 2 Co-op vs AI, and even at Low Settings, it's freaking laggy.

[ke_ivan]

i personally use low because without it, i can't stutter step properly.

[SkyBreaker]

Don't ask me why... but I can't stand to have my settings on anything less than ultra... I like all the shiny-things! :}

[cure]

Ultra for me too, the game just looks better (:

[Next_rim]

I hate the "glow" of high settings in blizz games. I played on low in wc3, wow and now sc2 too, although my computer can run ultra. This blue-ish glow hurts my eyes, I can't stand watching it for more than 10 minutes. Besides, in combat visual effects make micro harder, especially in wc3.

[TAhackdZ]

I actually think the game is easier to play on the higher graphics settings.

For me at least the game feels smoother the higher the graphics are set...(not framerate, gameplay)

It feels easier to micro lings around etc...

meh just my 2c

[PraiseB]

I play on Ultra but I have a beastly computer and don't stream but I can see where the need to drop details when streaming.
Running XSplit, Flash Media Encoder without a dedicated encoding card and so forth really drains the system.
All our streaming boxes at work are dedicated streaming boxes with BlackMagic capture cards and even they can struggle when we're encoding 3-4 streams.

[dannnyds]

Ultra, i love having fancy graphics after years of never having a computer that could play games on anything but low/med settings

[SkyBreaker]

Originally Posted by dannnyds

Ultra, i love having fancy graphics after years of never having a computer that could play games on anything but low/med settings

I feel your pain! I assembled my current gaming PC before picking up SC2, prior to that I was using an ~8 year old PC (which was good in it's prime, don't get me wrong) but nothing is more satisfying than having shexy ultra graphics! :]

[bswhunter]

Lower reminds me of BW/wc3, making it easier to play. Everything is just to metalic with high shaders. I have to have texture/terrain settings on med thou, creep is ******* ugly on low.
One graphical advantage is having model settings on high, because units will have different death animations depending on what kills them. Although a slight advantage, it is an advantage none the less.

[Octo]

Ultra ftw, whats the point of having an uber computer if you don't play on ultra settings

[Frogurt]

Each setting has it's benefits.

Ultra lets you see some things you might miss. It lets you distinguish what unit is warping in and what a star gate is building. Nothing too pivotal. I'm not sure what works better for cloaked units.

Low is cleaner and good for Fps. I play at ultra low because my computer is like 8 years old. It can't handle a 200/200 army without massive lag T.T