Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition

Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition is an Battle.net-enabled version of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, with the expansion Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal built in. It was released Sepember 30, 1999. This is essentially the same as Warcraft II, but it allows for usage on Battle.net, and, unlike its offline counterparts, does require a CD Key to install.

Overview
The game features many upgrades and enhancements over the original version. Features from StarCraft, such as right-click commands for units, and queuing multiple units for production, were implemented. The game was also ported to be natively supported under Windows, unlike the original game which ran under DOS. A fix for newer processors was included so regardless of how fast your processor was, the screen scroll speed was consistent. Unlike the original version which was meant to be run on a 486 processor and running on a modern processor the screen scroll speed was too fast.

The original version of Warcraft II supported online play, but only through IPX protocol, and not the TCP/IP protocol which became standard after its release. Many players used the paid-for program Kali, which emulated an IPX network over the internet, and allowed people to play it easily online. Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition added support for Battle.net.

Upgrades
Other upgrades and enhancements over the original game include:
 * Ability for up to eight players to compete over Battle.net using "Spawning" technology from one CD.
 * Automatic map passing over Battle.net.
 * Implementation of Top vs. Bottom multi-player template.
 * Shared Vision in multi-player games.
 * Improved game set-up, game options, dropping of players and inclusion of Battle.net chat.
 * Game speed is set prior to a Battle.net game beginning, and cannot be changed.
 * Incorporation of the 3 Pauses per player/per game rule.
 * Assigning and selection of Groups through # keys.
 * Ability to choose Random starting race, resources and tileset.
 * Attack Move command will now function correctly.
 * Patrol command now sends units to the selected location rather than stopping after any contact.
 * Set maps and game parameters for Ladder Games.
 * Ctrl+click or double-click will select closest 9 units of that type currently on the screen.
 * Space bar centers the map on last 8 transmissions (sequential).
 * Current food displayed along with gold/oil/lumber.
 * Maintained compatibility with the DOS version of Warcraft II via local area network or modem.
 * Unit limit raised from 600 to 1,200 for Enhanced games.
 * Upper limit of 200 food for each player, like StarCraft.
 * Mining out an oil rig completely no longer returns a small amount of lumber and gold to the player.
 * Flying Machines, Goblin Zeppelins, Goblin Sappers, Demolition Squads now have a Patrol option.
 * Canceling Foundries no longer uses all of the oil you spent to build it.
 * Allies can see friendly invisible units now.
 * Allies' towers and flying units now reveal enemy subs.
 * Partially-built towers can no longer see submarines.
 * Death Coil will no longer damage allies.
 * New sounds have been added for Skeletons, Runes, Eye of Kilrogg, and for completed upgrades.
 * First Town Hall/Great Hall now build at the speed of a Farm. All other Town Halls/Great Halls build at the normal rate.
 * You can now take 1,000 screenshots instead of just 100.
 * Support for two new game speeds (Slowest and Faster).

Versions
There are 12 different versions of Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition: 1 at 1998, 4 at 1999, there are 2 Editions at 2000 and there are 5 Edition from Best Seller Series in 2001. Additionaly, a battle chest was released in 1999, the Warcraft II: Battle Chest that was a one CD edition, it included the game with its official Strategy Guide.

Differences between the versions:
 * Contact information is different.
 * Original release and 2000 editions with version 2.01a includes folder "ISP", which was replaced by the "Manual" folder.
 * 1999 and 2001 editions included "Manual" folder including the manual and Adobe reader.
 * 2001 edition included the manual but by the name "Strategy Guide".

Minimum System Requirements

 * System: Pentium-60 or equivalent
 * RAM: 16 MB
 * Video Memory: 1 MB
 * Hard Drive Space: 80 MB

Trivia

 * The original title for the game was Warcraft II: Platinum Edition before release, until it was changed to the title it has now. Blizzard's original plans to include an additional all-new Warcraft II Platinum campaign were scrapped in the interest of emphasizing Battle.net Edition's true intent: to provide the classic Warcraft II as is, with extensive multiplayer support and a few select gameplay enhancements.
 * The game has the first movie trailer for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.