As one of the folks that managed to make it into the SCII beta through sheer luck, I thought I'd try to pass some of the savings on to you by answering any questions you may have about the current state of SCII multiplayer and the new Battle.net.  Of course, creating this thread right before I leave for work is not the best idea, but I'll do my best to tell you everything I can about the game.  This goes without saying, but anyone else is welcome to jump in with answers or to tell me that I'm wrong.
 
Fun fact: Overlords are no longer detectors.  I was unfortunate enough to not realize this until AFTER the Dark Templars killed half my workers.

As someone who has never played starcraft (or any RTS for that matter) would you say that it's approachable enough for me to understand what's going on without having my mind scared shitless?

if overlords aren't detectors, what do the zerg use as a replacement (ie how do they see observers and DTs, etc)?

May I have your battle.net account email and password? 

" As someone who has never played starcraft (or any RTS for that matter) would you say that it's approachable enough for me to understand what's going on without having my mind scared shitless? "

" if overlords aren't detectors, what do the zerg use as a replacement (ie how do they see observers and DTs, etc)? "

Unfortunately i have not played star-craft 1 in a few years. Will it have the same kind of feeling as the first one? Have not seen Any screenshots or videos of this beta yet so this is why i'm asking :S "

" @StarvingGamer:
What use does the Thor serve now? It seems to me it's there for novelty...Battlecruisers for the role of 'end-game' highest tier unit, and are by far not as limiting as Thor being an air unit an all.Maybe the fact Thors deliver their damage up front instead of 8x an attack is what makes em better for single target damage. But I wouldn't know :-( "

" @StarvingGamer: Which button is "ALL UNITS" "

What about damage types (normal, explosive, pierce?), unit sizes and armor/attack upgrades, is the basic arithmetic behind attacks and damage the same, is it displayed in game at all?
 
What about Mutalisk - micro? Is it possible to bunch them up in one spot with an overlord and do all that attack, move, patrol spam to make them shoot faster and stuff. In general: how much does turning delay one's shooting, is there any way to exploit/avoid the turning animation like in the original. 
 
Why didn't blizzard contrast the units more against the background? IMHO SC2 is not as suited for public watching as SC is. Your thoughts on SC as a spectator sport?

Joining in on the topic as a question answerer. 
 
Have played about twenty matches total, spread across all three races. I know Zerg and Terran the best, still working on my Protoss.
 
ASK ME ANYTHING.

Are there any unlimited minerals maps? If so does filling the entire map with protoss cannons still work? Can you still send a ghost to a friendly base, un-allie your self with them and launch a nuke then re-allie and laugh as they wonder what the fuck just happened? Can the zerg still infect a terran command center and produce those explodey guys?

Do these pants make me look fat?

" What about damage types (normal, explosive, pierce?), unit sizes and armor/attack upgrades, is the basic arithmetic behind attacks and damage the same, is it displayed in game at all?  What about Mutalisk - micro? Is it possible to bunch them up in one spot with an overlord and do all that attack, move, patrol spam to make them shoot faster and stuff. In general: how much does turning delay one's shooting, is there any way to exploit/avoid the turning animation like in the original.   Why didn't blizzard contrast the units more against the background? IMHO SC2 is not as suited for public watching as SC is. Your thoughts on SC as a spectator sport? "

" Are there any unlimited minerals maps? If so does filling the entire map with protoss cannons still work? Can you still send a ghost to a friendly base, un-allie your self with them and launch a nuke then re-allie and laugh as they wonder what the fuck just happened? Can the zerg still infect a terran command center and produce those explodey guys? "

" Do these pants make me look fat? "

Do you have new heroes at your disposal? 

Is it reasonably possible to compete without hotkeys (aside from grouping)? I hate hotkeys in all circumstances.

as a c&c player would terran be the best race for me to start with, having never played the original sc?

" Do you have new heroes at your disposal?  "

" Is it reasonably possible to compete without hotkeys (aside from grouping)? I hate hotkeys in all circumstances. "

" as a c&c player would terran be the best race for me to start with, having never played the original sc? "

I loved starcraft will i enjoy starcraft2?

Do i require more Vespane gas?

1. Is there any hope for someone who hasn't played starcraft since starcraft 1 came out? Can I win and feel all smug about it or will I just get a crazy korean and get my ass handed to me in most matches?
2. Are there any team v team maps?  If so, how big can the teams be?
3. Is it fun? Like 3 x $60 fun.

Are there critters? Can you make them explode?

From the battle reports/live streams I've been watching, there definitely has been an increase in low tier fights and micro and a lot less focus on turtling. Is there still a possibility for a tech rush at the start to counter some low tier attacks?  
 
Also, I've seen a lot of new terrain stuff happening... Such as the Xel'Naga towers and destructible rocks, as well as the general formation of the map... Is there an increase in units that can jump terrain levels and is there a necessity in those units? 
 
Thanks!

" @kerikxi: i meant heroes like jim raynor, kerrigan, zeratul and/or new ones. "

" I loved starcraft will i enjoy starcraft2? "

" Are there critters? Can you make them explode? "

" From the battle reports/live streams I've been watching, there definitely has been an increase in low tier fights and micro and a lot less focus on turtling. Is there still a possibility for a tech rush at the start to counter some low tier attacks?   Also, I've seen a lot of new terrain stuff happening... Such as the Xel'Naga towers and destructible rocks, as well as the general formation of the map... Is there an increase in units that can jump terrain levels and is there a necessity in those units?  Thanks! "

" Is it fun? Like 3 x $60 fun. "

" Do you have new heroes at your disposal?  "

" Is it reasonably possible to compete without hotkeys (aside from grouping)? I hate hotkeys in all circumstances. "

" as a c&c player would terran be the best race for me to start with, having never played the original sc? "

" I loved starcraft will i enjoy starcraft2? "

" 1. Is there any hope for someone who hasn't played starcraft since starcraft 1 came out? Can I win and feel all smug about it or will I just get a crazy korean and get my ass handed to me in most matches? 2. Are there any team v team maps?  If so, how big can the teams be?3. Is it fun? Like 3 x $60 fun. "

" From the battle reports/live streams I've been watching, there definitely has been an increase in low tier fights and micro and a lot less focus on turtling. Is there still a possibility for a tech rush at the start to counter some low tier attacks?   Also, I've seen a lot of new terrain stuff happening... Such as the Xel'Naga towers and destructible rocks, as well as the general formation of the map... Is there an increase in units that can jump terrain levels and is there a necessity in those units?  Thanks! "

Is star craft 2 more bland than the original?
- 1998 the closest unit that you had to a mech(a) was a dragoon (cyborg) and goliath (robot). Now there are Marauder, Thor, Viking (the flying transformer), Stalker, Immortal and Colossus, the last of the three use the same 4 leg crawl. Basically new units tend to be mecha, which smells like fan service to me. 
 
Where did the range mechanics go?
- Siege Tanks, Guardians, Reavers used to be the only way to take out fortified positions safely from long distance and a way to secure a piece of the map. It seems this was replaced with just more throw-away units. 
 
In SC Terran owned ground (siege mode), Zerg claimed air dominance (scourge/muta) and Protoss stealth (dark Templars/arbiters). Is there a similar pattern emerging in SC2 already? If not, are the races becoming more similar as a result?

How did they let you know that you got into the beta was there an e mail or did you have to check battle.net?

well, since its anything... what would happen if Kerrigan and Zeratul had a child?
also, how does the protoss mate? i guess the zergs are like bugs, but what abor the protoss´?

Does anyone know the minimum system requirements Blizzard is accepting for the beta?  I am signed up but my laptop is a few years old and I wanted to know if I should abandon all hope of getting in. If anyone has gotten in with a crappier computer than this let me know: 
 

• OPERATING SYSTEM:WINDOWS 2.6.0.6002 (SP 2)
• CPU TYPE:INTEL(R) CORE(TM)2 DUO CPU T5250 @ 1.50GHZ
• CPU SPEED (GHZ):1.52
• SYSTEM MEMORY (GB):1.99
• GRAPHICS CARD MODEL:MOBILE INTEL(R) 965 EXPRESS CHIPSET FAMILY
• GRAPHICS CARD DRIVER:IGDUMDX32.DLL
• DESKTOP RESOLUTION:1280X800
• HARD DISK SIZE (GB):136.479
• HARD DISK FREE SPACE (GB):20.19    

" @Jeffsekai: I can answer that one, as I asked the same question on another site: They will update your Battle.Net account as soon as you're granted access. An email notification might take a while, but you will receive one when you are granted access as well .  Best way is to keep refreshing your Battle.Net account. "

" Is star craft 2 more bland than the original? - 1998 the closest unit that you had to a mech(a) was a dragoon (cyborg) and goliath (robot). Now there are Marauder, Thor, Viking (the flying transformer), Stalker, Immortal and Colossus, the last of the three use the same 4 leg crawl. Basically new units tend to be mecha, which smells like fan service to me.   Where did the range mechanics go? - Siege Tanks, Guardians, Reavers used to be the only way to take out fortified positions safely from long distance and a way to secure a piece of the map. It seems this was replaced with just more throw-away units.   In SC Terran owned ground (siege mode), Zerg claimed air dominance (scourge/muta) and Protoss stealth (dark Templars/arbiters). Is there a similar pattern emerging in SC2 already? If not, are the races becoming more similar as a result? "

" How do the Voidrays compare to the Carriers it seems that people are using Voidrays often but not Carriers, are their roles just too similar? Are Queens an extra hassle to remember using all the time to spawn more larva or is it pretty fluid?  Roaches seem to be to the Hydralisk what Stalkers are to Dragoons would that be a valid comparison?I assume the actual games are still peer to peer and Battlenet is just a robust drm/matchmaking/community platform? How stable has the game been for you, both network wise and glitch/bug wise? I know it's Blizzard and all but just wondering if anything is has poped up. It has been several days now, has the ravnking system started kicking in and placing you in matches more appropriate to your skill level or are there still too many new people and it has not been enough time?  Also, I'm so jealous :) "

" @StarvingGamer: how many units can you control at once? Is it kind of a anything you can drag your mouse over thing? "

Thanks for the info StarvingGamer!

@Ciffy said:

" if overlords aren't detectors, what do the zerg use as a replacement (ie how do they see observers and DTs, etc)? "

Once you upgrade your Hatchery to a Lair, you can evolve Overlords into Overseers for 50 minerals each.  Once they evolve they lose the ability to transport and spawn creep.  Instead they become detectors and have the ability to spawn a Changeling that can mimic the base unit of one of your opponents (Zergling, Marine or Zealot) with the enemy's colors.

" @StarvingGamer:
What use does the Thor serve now? It seems to me it's there for novelty...Battlecruisers for the role of 'end-game' highest tier unit, and are by far not as limiting as Thor being an air unit an all.Maybe the fact Thors deliver their damage up front instead of 8x an attack is what makes em better for single target damage. But I wouldn't know :-( "