On the first day of August, Blizzard thought it to be the right time to release an upcoming patch they had promised to help the Sandlot. A lot of changes happened in this patch and I'm sure most of you have already read over them once or twice but here they are again.

Starcraft and Brood War Patch Information -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - patch 1.14 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Feature Changes - European ladder now affiliated with WGTour (http://www.wgtour.com/blizz.php). See http://www.battle.net/scladder/ for additional information about the new European ladder. - Ladder games disabled for all other regions. - For Top vs. Bottom games, the default chat filter is now 'Chat To Allies'. - In-game chat messages now show the speaker's name in his/her team color. - Users can now use the mouse wheel to scroll chat and selection boxes in Windows 98 (or later) and Macintosh OS X. - Screen shots now use a time/date stamp; they are no longer limited to 100. - Improved version numbering system. - The high-color application icon from the Macintosh version is now used on PC. - Small corrections to the Lost Temple and Dire Straits maps. Bug Fixes - Fixed Hatchery cancellation crash bug. - Fixed crash that can occur when SCVs are repairing a unit boarding a Dropship. - Fixed crash when Mac users very quickly cancel connection to Battle.net. - Fixed a scoring bug that gave Zerg unit points for building cancellation. - Users can now take screen shots on Macintosh OS X. - Updated Battle.net account creation information text. - Logging onto an account closed for a Battle.net Terms of Service violation will now say the account is closed, rather than 'invalid password'. - Fixed bug preventing Portuguese StarCraft clients from receiving patches from Battle.net. Portuguese users must still patch to this level manually, but subsequent patches can be obtained automatically from Battle.net. - No longer displays control characters in Battle.net's map description pane. - Color codes and control codes are no longer allowed in chat messages. - Fixed a crash in StarEdit when attempting to save modified Blizzard maps. - Fixed undesired text wrapping in Spanish and Portuguese Battle.net screens. - Fixed a rare crash in multiplayer games. Exploits - Fixed the Nydus Canal cancellation bug that allowed creating a mobile exit. - Fixed two exploits that allowed players to gain minerals very quickly. - Fixed exploit with Arbiter that allowed Zerg buildings to become cloaked. - Fixed exploit that allowed units to kill themselves instantly. - Fixed exploit that allowed Command Center infestation without a Queen. - Fixed exploit that allowed Command Center infestation from a distance. - Fixed exploit that allowed players to float Zerg Drones over obstacles. - Fixed exploit that allowed worker units to mine at a distance. - Fixed exploit that allowed Terran buildings to lift off while training units. - Fixed exploit that allowed SCVs to repair Protoss buildings. - Fixed exploit that allowed SCVs to detach Larvae from Hatcheries. - Fixed exploit that allowed morphing Terran and Protoss buildings. - Fixed exploit that allowed buildings to be stacked on top of each other. - Playing against illegally named players on Battle.net no longer results in a disconnect game result.

The first thing that's there and that grabs your attention is the fact of Blizzard and WGTour working together on bringing the ladder back. Along with all of the changes, some have noticed that PGTour maps can't be played anymore, or the replays be watched. Ashur from PGTour informed us that he's working on the problem or else a lot of good replay packs will be sitting idled with nothing to watch. So with Sandlot in the near future, and all these changes.. Will we be expected to see 1.14B before the start, as we all know when one bug is fixed another shows up.

One of the things that I seem to not like is the change of the Starcraft icon, changing it from our beloved actual Wraith into the MAC version. Some people like the new look as a change to say the game is new and ready to go.. I personally think of it as a face lift that I'll change using the properties button.