Installing Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm on my 2010 Macbook Pro

Starting the setup

Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm (HOTS) was released last March 12 and I bought my standard edition copy last March 16. I decided to just get the standard edition because the collector's edition is pretty scarce here and I'm tempted already to play the game. You can check out my post of unboxing the game here. Good thing also I bought it early because I realized that there are a lot of download for the game, it's more than 6GB, whew! The long weekend here in the Philippines was also an opportunity to finish the download. Basically, I can divide the installation into four sections and I've enumerated them below.

1. Activating the latest expansion and mapping it to your copy of Wings of Liberty.
2. Downloading the setup files (976MB). The game becomes available for play after setup but you'll be streaming some of the video content.
3. Downloading the playable files (3.64GB). You can now fully enjoy the campaign as well as playing online against other players or AI.
4. Optimizing the game (2.15GB).

All of these require internet connection and all the sections (except the first) require download. I have installed the game on my mid-2010 13-in Macbook Pro. My Macbook is more than two years old and fortunately, I still fall on the minimum requirements. I actually thought HOTS will stutter when I play but I'm quite happy with the decent performance of the game on my Macbook. You can check out my post on the PC and Mac requirements here.

Personally, my only gripe in the installation is the uselessness of the CD I bought together with the standard edition. I did not use it in anyway during my installation. I think it was made available to start the installation process and of course, its sleeve contain the key to map Wings of Liberty with this expansion. If this will be a pure download, I would suggest Blizzard to take the greener route on the third expansion by having the keys bought online and making the entire content downloadable from their site. They need to spend some resources though on their servers to ensure a smooth installation. On the other hand, there is also a positive side with this experience and that is making sure that the download continues even after you quit the Launcher, restart your PC/Mac or shut it down. That at least is a consolation, you don't have to start with the download from zero!

Here are some snapshots of the game while installing on my Macbook. I'll be sharing my playing experience on a separate post so watch out for it.