Bugs:StarCraft (PC)
This page details bugs of StarCraft (PC).
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Contents
Color Corruption Glitch
As you can see this image is showing an color corruption glitch. (Note that this glitch will not work on the remastered version.)
Glitches for All Races
Avoiding Hub Placement Constraints (Ignore Mineral Proximity glitch)
If you cannot see minerals or vespene geysers, they do not constrict the location in which you can build your command centre/hatchery/nexus. Therefore, if you can manage to start construction of a hub next to minerals, before actually revealing the minerals through the fog of war, you can get the hub to be closer to the minerals than intended. This can be achieved through the use of optical flares, or the build anywhere terran and zerg glitches. Works on at least version 1.00, and possibly other versions.
For some reason, this does not occur for all mineral patches, but it does for most.
GUI/Game Control Split
If (on a slow game speed) you set a control group and quickly select the same control group, the game will update faster than the user interface, meaning that the game will select the control group you set it to, while the interface will select the control group that had previously been set. This allows you to appear to be controlling one unit but really be controlling another. This is a precursor to many other glitches, allowing you to issue orders to unintended receivers.
Free Resources in Laggy Conditions (controversial)
If the game is lagging, you can cancel units or structures multiple times, which results in free resources. Deliberately using third party programs to create lag should be disallowed, but if someone were to use a computer that meets the minimum system requirements for starcraft, without using third party programs, and it is possible to make the game lag during normal gameplay, the game may be considered to be running as intended, and the use of this glitch may be acceptable. The use of this glitch is highly controversial. As it requires old hardware or third-party software, this may require a different category to ordinary speedrunning. This got fixed in version 1.01, although a version of this relating to Guardians remained until version 1.02.
Glitches for Terran Race
CC Slide
Allows you to slide a Command Center to unbuildable locations, e.g. right next to resources. You can produce SCVs while the CC is moving and also build right on top of it after performing this glitch. To perform, lift off the CC and order it to land on a valid location, then hold shift and press S followed by a right-click on the location you want it to slide to. The CC stops sliding if colliding with any solid material. Works on version 1.04 and lower.
Produce units while lifting a building
Press L then immediately the hotkey for the unit/upgrade you want to produce. The building will begin production already while lifting off. If you float or slide the building after performing this glitch, units will still spawn where the building first lifted off. Works for any unit/upgrade, but annoyingly hard to pull off. Used together with the CC slide to get the first SCV out earlier. Works on version 1.05 and lower.
Build Anywhere
By trapping an SCV near a cliff, you can force it to build basically anywhere on the map. The only exceptions are unexplored areas as well as areas unreachable by land (unless you have had units in that area already). Once trapped, be sure there is a little breathing space for the SCV and then order it to move diagonally, then simply place the building on a valid location. The construction of the building will start immediately and the SCV will fly to the set location. Works on version 1.07 and lower.
Glitches for Zerg race
Invincible Drone
Simply mutate a Drone into a building while its HP is one, then cancel the mutation. The Drone will stay invincible until mutated into another building. Does not work with Extractors. Works on version 1.03 and lower.
Teleporting Drone
Similar to the Terran build anywhere glitch, except you have to follow the standard building rules for Zerg. Unlike the SCV, the Drone can be trapped anywhere and will instantly mutate into the selected building. Works on version 1.07 and lower.
Note that the drone teleports to the destination for one frame before turning into a building. Ordinarily, when a drone is holding a quest item and turns into a building, the quest item will be teleported to its "home". So when trying to move a quest item to its destination with this method, we have to interrupt the process of turning into a building without stopping the order to build until after the drone has teleported. The easiest way to do this is to use up minerals between starting the teleport and the drone reaching its destination, so that you no longer have enough minerals to build the structure.
Floating Drone #1
Order a Drone to mutate into an Extractor, then shift-right-click where you want the Drone to float. When the Drone is about to mutate, use up minerals so that you do not have the required 50 for the Extractor. The Drone will float over any obstacles until the destination is reached or it is given another order. Works on version 1.09 and lower.
This bug can also be triggered by telling a helper drone to mutate to an extractor before the flyer drone reaches the extractor. This makes it easier to execute this glitch if you already have a lot of minerals or you do not want to interrupt your economy too much. However, it does require the use of an extra drone.
Floating Drone #2
Order a Drone to mutate into an Extractor, then shift-click the geyser a few times and shift-right-click where you want the Drone to float. When the Drone is about to mutate, spam the stop command as fast as you can until you see the Drone's shadow disappear. The Drone will float over any obstacles until the destination is reached or it is given another order. Hard to perform, recommended to lower the game speed two steps when ordering the stop command. Works on any version other than 1.10.
You need to press stop exactly one frame before the drone's shadow disappears. You can buffer stop commands before this point, as they will have no effect. You cannot, however, buffer commands after or on the frame that the drone's shadow disappears, or you will cancel the move order and the drone will stop floating. So it is a one-frame trick that can be buffered in exactly one direction.
Floating Drone #2 allows you to command the drone after it has started floating, although doing so will cause it to cease to float. It also avoids the landing procedure that happens if you use the other version of the floating drone trick. This means that Floating Drone #2 is generally better than Floating Drone #1, but it is much harder to execute.
Stacking units
Burrow any unit and assign it to a control group (ctrl-1). Select the units you want stacked, then quickly press U, ctrl-1, 1, U. Order the units around, and if the glitch was successful, the units should now be able to stack with each other. Burrowing turns them normal again. Also, lowering the game speed helps out a lot, since the key combination needs to be done before they have finished burrowing. Works on version 1.14 and lower.
Mobile Nydus Canal exit
When the exit of a Nydus Canal is mutating, morph an Overlord and assign it to a control group (ctr-1). Select the exit then quickly press ctrl-1, 1 and esc. Lowering the game speed helps. If done correctly, a Drone will pop out of the canceled exit which now acts as a mobile exit, even while burrowed or when inside an Overlord. Works on version 1.14 and lower.
Drone Heal
Mutating a drone into a building will ordinarily mean that the drone turns into a building, using the drone's ID. However, turning a drone into an extractor will cause the geyser to turn into the extractor, and the drone to be deleted. When cancelling the extractor, it does not know what hp the drone that built it was at, and so it creates a completely new drone with full health. This is really only useful in RTA runs or marathon-safe strategies, so that if you fail the Invincible Drone glitch you can try again.
Extractor Trick
This is a very well known trick, which relies on the fact that a drone is consumed when making a building, and refunded when it is cancelled. By mutating a drone into a cheap building (such as an extractor or creep colony), you will lose supply. You may then build units even if you were previously supply capped, and then cancel the building to get the drone back. This allows you to go over your supply cap at the cost of a small amount of minerals (as cancelling a building does not give a full refund). This is particularly useful in accelerating your economy during the earlygame.
Glithces for Protoss race
Flying Templar
If you give two high templar or dark templar the order to merge, shift-click some location and give them the stop command as they are about to merge, they will float over any terrain to travel to the location that was shift-clicked. Works on version 1.10 and lower.
Near-Useless but Interesting Glitches (in the interest of completeness)
Mine from anywhere (at the cost of 150 energy)
Order a probe to mine from a patch of minerals. Place an arbiter on top of somewhere unwalkable, such as ocean or a cliff. Tell the arbiter to recall the probe, making sure to lead the shot so that the probe does not move out of the way. The probe will stop and begin mining minerals, even if it is nowhere near the mineral patch. This also works with probes returning minerals.
This actually leads to a few more similar glitches, but not every ability can be used at long range in this way. Most disappointingly, long-range nuclear strikes cannot be initiated at long range (at least without additional, unknown steps)
For example, building structures with SCVs at a long range will work (but building structures with probes at long range will not). This can be done normally with the SCV float glitch, however, so this is useless. If used on probes gathering gas, the probes will teleport to be inside the refinary. This is still practically useless, however.
Permanently Invisible Zerg Units and Buildings (requiring the use of the Protoss Arbiter
If a zerg drone or other burrowing unit (obtainable via mind-control) is burrowed at the same time as it enters the cloaking field of an arbiter, then it will become permanently invisible. Buildings (other than extractors) created from this drone will also be permanently invisible.
Fully Refund Mutalisks (excluding larva cost)
Tell a mutalisk to morph to a guardian. Tell the mutalisk to stop morphing to a guardian twice in rapid succession on a slow gamespeed. The mutalisk will first revert to the morphing state, used for morphing larvae to mutalisks. The mutalisk would then revert to its normal state, but it is instead given a cancel order. Because it is in a state used for morphing larvae to mutalisks, it knows what to do and refunds its full cost. Unfortunately, a similar glitch does not work on sunken colonies (this would be more useful), because they do not come out of larva. In laggy situations, according to the starcraft patch notes, this can give multiple refunds. Fixed in version 1.02.
