FAQ
Frequently asked questions and answers regarding to Sc2gears. If you don't find answer to your question here, be sure to check out the Glossary.
Google Ads
General FAQ
Is Sc2gears legit? Can I be banned for using it?
Sc2gears is legit. You absolutely cannot be banned for using it. Sc2gears does not interact with StarCraft II: it does not read or write StarCraft II's memory and it does not modify the files of StarCraft II. Sc2gears does not violate Blizzard's terms of use.
Do I have to run Sc2gears while I play?
If you want Sc2gears to auto-save your replays and/or mouse prints, you have to run it while you play (and obviously you have to enable replay auto-save and mouse print saving - they are enabled by default).
For all kinds of statistics: Sc2gears operates on replays. So in order for you to see statistics (including win-loss ratio for all match-ups) you only need your replays. SC2 can save replays by itself, and if you set to save all your replays, you don't need to run Sc2gears. But SC2 saves replays naming them in quite primitive format (map name plus a counter), so if you run Sc2gears while you play, it will back up your replays in a different folder naming them exactly as you'd like them to be, optionally organizing them into sub-folders as you'd like.
But if you run Sc2gears while you play, you get other cool features like in-game APM display (current, live APM), APM alert if you're APM is too low, alert when a game starts or ends (useful if you're waiting for a game and you're away for getting a drink or something), on-top game info dialog with leagues, ladder wins and calculated info like APM, EAPM etc.
What are the differences between Replay sources and Replay lists?
Both replay sources and replay lists specify replays. Both can be used as the source of a replay search. Differences:
The main difference is that replay sources are dynamic while replay lists are static. Replay lists contain only replay files. If those replays are deleted or renamed outside of Sc2gears, the list will not know about that. Replay sources can contain both folders and replay files. Even if new replays are copied or created or deleted in the folders of the source, the source will always denote the actual content of the folders.
Replay sources store folder and file paths. Replay lists store the metadata of replays (along with the replay path), so replay lists can be loaded a lot faster if it's made of several thousands of replays. Also replay lists can store comments for the replays.
Replay sources just store the folder or file paths. Replay lists are stored in CSV format which you can open in Excel for example for further processing.
How can I create and edit replay sources and lists?
Open a replay search tab. You can assemble and then save replay sources on the "Search source" tab. You can assemble a replay list by performing a search. You can then save the replay list on the "Results #x" tab.
How can I delete replay sources and lists?
Simply right click on the replay source or replay list in the navigation tree, and select "Delete item..." in the popup menu.
How can I add comments to replays?
Simply double click on the comment cell of the replay you want to comment on the results tab of the replay search. Or just select it and start typing. Remember that comments are saved in replay lists, so you have to save the replay list if you add a new comment or you modify an existing one.
How can I search in a replay list?
Load the replay list if it is saved in a file. Now simply press the "Set as source" button and the replays of the list will be set as the source. You can also select just a few of them, then right click and choose "Set selected as source".
Where can I find my auto-saved replays?
By default on Windows they are placed in the folder "C:\SC2Replay Archive", on MAC OS-X they are placed in the folder "/Users/Shared/SC2Replay Archive". You can change this folder in the Settings->Miscellaneous settings menu.
Can I change the name format for the auto-saved replays?
Yes. Go to the Settings->Miscellaneous setting, and you can edit the auto-save name template there. Click on the "Edit..." button, and you'll get an easy-to-use template editor.
How can I check my Win/Loss (W-L) ratio in Sc2gears?
You have to perform a Multi-replay analysis on all your replays. To do that, you can for example double click on the "<new>" item below the Multi-replay analysis node in the navigation tree, then select the replays and folders you want to analyze. When the analysis is done, you will see a table of all players found in the replays. You will be the first (if you analyzed your own replays). The column "Win %" shows your overall win ratio. Double click on your name and you get detailed statistics (like match-up stats, time development charts, map stats, build orders stats and more).
What does the "U" stand for in the "Record W-L-U"?
W-L-U stand for Win-Loss-Unknown. Unknown games are where the winner cannot be determined based on the replay.
What do the colored borders mean around players in the Replay analyzer?
The colored borders around players are based on the Battle.net 1v1 leagues of the players (similar to that inside StarCraft II) at the time of the replay.
There are 2 exceptions: Unranked players have a light green border, players with no league information (replays below version 2.0) have a light red border.
What do the letters mean in the League column of the replay list inside the Replay search and under the League match-up tab inside the Multi-rep analysis?
Letters are the league letters, usually the first letter of a league. These are in the language of Sc2gears, so if you change the user interface language of Sc2gears, these might change as well.
In English the letters are: R Grandmaster, M Master, D Diamond, P Platinum, G Gold, S Silver, B Bronze, U Unranked, - Unknown.
In the Multi-replay analysis the * means any league.
Time and APM values in Sc2gears are different from the values seen in StarCraft II. Is this an error?
No. StarCraft II has its own time measurement referred to as game-time which is different from real time (if game speed is not "Normal"). Sc2gears by default converts APM and time values to real time. You can disable this on the Replay parser tab of the Miscellaneous settings dialog. For details about the displayed APM values see APM Types.
I see more units on the Builds/Tech Stat chart than actually were made. Is this an error?
Unfortunately replays only save the train actions. Just by looking at the replay it cannot be told if a train action was executed eventually (it might fail if there weren't enough resources or supply). The Builds/Tech Stat chart counts and lists the number of different actions.
Why is the APM calculated by Sc2gears somewhat different from the value displayed in StarCraft II during a replay?
There are 2 reasons for this:
StarCraft II includes actions in the APM calculations which it shouldn't. For example it includes Move screen actions. Sc2gears does not, and they were never included in APM calculation in history.
StarCraft II calculates APM with game-time. The game-time is equal to the real-time only if the game speed is Normal. On all other game speeds it differs from real-time (and the difference depends on the game speed too). By default Sc2gears converts game-time to real-time and uses that value to calculate the APM in order to give you the right result.
How are the APM values seen in the On-top APM display calculated?
APM values seen in the On-Top APM Display are not calculated by Sc2gears. Those are values published by StarCraft II itself.
If real-time conversion is enabled in Sc2gears (it is by default), the game-time APM values published by StarCraft II will be converted to real-time values. Note that since the source of these APM values are StarCraft II and not Sc2gears, they may somewhat differ from Sc2gears APM values.
I have a replay list saved with an old version of Sc2gears. How can I refresh/update the content of the replay list table?
First click on the "Set selected as source" button. After that click on the "List all replays of this source" on the Search source tab. You're done. The table of replays is rebuilt. Don't forget to save it.
On the Builds/Tech Stat chart there are too many bars and I can't see all. What can I do?
There are a few options:
Change the bar/icon sizes.
Increase zoom, and scroll the chart with the scrollbar.
Disable some types that are displayed.
Can I export data from different tables in Sc2gears?
Yes, you can. Select the rows you want to export, then simply press CTRL+C. This will copy the selected rows to the clipboard, and you can paste that to any other application like Notepad, Excel etc.
To export the whole table, select all rows (CTRL+A) then press CTRL+C.
Can I export the actions listed below the charts in the Replay analyzer?
Yes, you can export data from any tables in Sc2gears. Select the actions you want to export, then simply press CTRL+C. This will copy the selected actions to the clipboard, and you can paste that to any other application like Notepad, Excel etc.
To export all actions, select all actions (CTRL+A) then press CTRL+C.
Can I launch replays with Sc2gears?
Yes. First make sure your StarCraft II is not running. After that right click on the replay (either in the Replay analyzer or in a Results tab of a replay search) and choose "Watch replay".
My user home folder is on a different partition/disk. How can I set that as the SC2 auto-replay folder?
You can provide absolute folders as the SC2 auto-replay folder. The provided folder is interpreted this way:
If the provided folder exists by itself, it will be used.
Else it will be treated as a user-home relative folder, and it will be appended to the user home folder.
What is AutoMM game type?
AutoMM is a short term for Automatic/Anonymous Match Making. You can read more about it here.
What does competitive mean in the Game info tab of the Replay analyzer?
If a game is AutoMM, competitive=yes tells that the game is either ranked or unranked, competitive=no means it is a vs A.I. match or a training match.
How can I filter and view statistics only for ladder games in the Multi-replay analysis?
You can pre-filter the replays that produce statistics in the Multi-replay analysis. Perform a replay search, and set the filter "Game type" to "AutoMM" (AutoMM is the ladder game). When the search is done, press the "Multi-rep analysis" button.
I have multiple accounts, how can I treat them as one in the Multi-replay analysis?
You can enter your aliases on the Aliases tab of the Miscellaneous settings dialog. Sc2gears will summarize statistics for aliases, and display them as one in the Multi-replay analysis.
What is the "favored player list"?
The favored player list is a list of players you're interested in. For example your name and your friends' name. Players on the favored player list will be put ahead of others when renaming replays, or when you open a replay in the Replay analyzer.
What do the dash chart parts of time development charts mean in Multi-replay analysis?
If the charts contain "missing" data (no games for some time periods), Sc2gears will calculate values for those using linear interpolation from the data available at the "edges" of the missing part. This part will be drawn with dash lines (or curves) to let you know that there are no available data in this period, but this will result in a better-looking and more informative chart than leaving these parts empty or assuming 0 values.
I have a replay site that is not listed in Sc2gears, how can I upload replays to this replay site?
Please read this page how replay sharing works in Sc2gears and how can you add your site to Sc2gears: Replay sharing
How can I set Sc2gears to autostart every time I turn on my PC?
On Windows you have to place a link to Sc2gears.exe in your Startup menu of your Windows Start menu. This will autostart Sc2gears whenever you login to your Windows. You can use the Window menu => Start minimized to tray option in Sc2gears to start it in the background (its window will not open, only the Sc2gears icon will appear in the notification area of your task bar; and every services of Sc2gears will operate like replay auto-save, APM Alert etc.).
I don't see any charts for the AI (Computer) players. Why is that?
StarCraft II does not record actions of the computers, so Sc2gears cannot show you any charts for the computers. AI players are calculated on the fly using pseudo-random algorithms.
Can I tell Sc2gears to save only 1v1 or Ladder games?
If replay auto-save is enabled, Sc2gears saves all replays. But you can specify the format (for example 1v1, 2v2 etc.) or the game type (AutoMM, Private, Public) or any other property of the replays as a sub-folder in your replay auto-save name template, and that way your replays will be sorted into sub-folders where you can easily find/analyze replays you're interested in or delete the ones you don't care about.
What are custom portraits?
Custom portraits are images of your choice to be displayed as the portrait pictures next to your player name in the Replay analyzer and in the Profile dialog. Read more: Custom portraits
What does "NA" mean in the profile info?
"NA" means the profile info is not available. This could be due to battle.net server is being temporarily unavailable. For those players where a profile info is not available, you will see "NA" icons displayed instead of the profile info.
How can I add and enable a plugin in Sc2gears?
A plugin is a set of files grouped into a folder. Plugins may be distributed as a packed file which contains this folder. You just have to copy/extract the plugin's folder into the folder "Plugins" inside Sc2gears. Sc2gears automatically detects plugins on start-up that are in this "Plugins" folder. You can view/control your plugins with the Plugin manager which is available under the Tools menu inside Sc2gears. Once you added a plugin to Sc2gears, you have to enable it (new plugins are disabled by default). To do that, open the Plugin manager, select the plugin you just added, and click on the "Enable plugin" button. More about the plugins: Plugin interface
How can I reset all settings to defaults in Sc2gears?
Settings are stored in the "User Content/settings.xml" file inside Sc2gears. Close Sc2gears and simply delete that file, and all settings will be reset to the defaults. If you want to reset the settings of the plugins, then delete the files in the "User Content/Plugin settings" folder inside Sc2gears.
What does "AG" mean in the On-Top Game Info dialog next to the APM?
"AG" stands for All games, it is the Total Career Games of the player.
Why are some of my replays reported as "skipped" in the Replay search?
If a replay is not recognized by Sc2gears, it will be skipped and reported as skipped.
Why are some of my replays reported as "skipped" in the Multi-replay analysis?
The main reason for this is that short games are excluded from the Multi-replay analysis to get more accurate results. By default this time limit is 2 minutes, and you can change this time limit on the Multi-rep analysis tab of the Miscellaneous settings dialog.
Another reason can be if a replay is not recognized by Sc2gears.
Sc2gears wasn't running when I played some games and therefore replays did not get auto-saved. Can I auto-save them manually?
No, you can't. What you can do is copy those replays to your replay auto-save folder (either manually or with Sc2gears by listing them in the replay search, select them, right click and choose "Copy replays"). Once they are copied, select them, right click and choose "Rename replays". You can use the same name template what you use for auto-saving, but keep in mind that some symbols (e.g. counters) might work slightly different.
I have a slow computer. Will Sc2gears slow down my computer or cause FPS drop during games?
Sc2gears uses CPU close to 0 when "idle" (meaning no replay search or multi-replay analysis is in progress), and it uses initially about 30-40 MB of RAM (it increases if you open replays for analysis or you do other stuff with it). Sc2gears displays the memory usage at the bottom of the navigation bar (bottom left).
So no, Sc2gears will not slow down your computer and it will not cause FPS drop during games.
Where can I find the sources of Sc2gears?
Sc2gears is not open source at the moment. I might open source it in the future.
Sc2gears Database FAQ
What is the Sc2gears Database?
Sc2gears Database is a secure server to store ALL your replays and other related files privately. More: Sc2gears Database
Is Sc2gears Database for free?
There is a Free Sc2gears Database package, so everyone can try it for free. If the storage that comes with the free package is not enough for you, you can pay for a package with more storage. You can check out the prices of different packages on the Sc2gears Database page.
How can I register an account for Sc2gears Database?
The registration steps are detailed on the Sc2gears Database page.
What is the Authorization key?
Sc2gears communicates with the Sc2gears Database server using an Authorization key instead of your password. The authorization key is a secret key known only to its owner and to the Sc2gears Database. More: Sc2gears Database
How can I get an Authorization key?
See "Howto register an account for Sc2gears Database?"
I don't have a PayPal account. Can I pay in some other way?
You can ask any of your friends to pay in your name. If you don't have anyone with a PayPal account, contact me via email, and you can transfer the money to my bank account.
I don't have a GMail account, can I still register?
Yes. All you need is a Google account which allows you to use any email address.
How can I upload my replays to the Sc2gears Database?
Simply select the replays on the Results tab of the Replay search, right click and choose "Store replays". Or if you have a replay opened in the Replay analyzer, right click on the charts and choose "Store replays". Sc2gears can also upload all your new replays automatically, if you enable "Auto-store new replays" on the "Replay auto-save" tab of the Miscellaneous settings dialog.
What happens if I exceed my quota?
The Sc2gears Database will refuse to store the files you're attempting to, and sends a notification email to the address you registered with. You will also get an email if your near your quota so you can upgrade in time if you want to store more files.
I exceeded my quota. Can I upgrade my package?
Yes, you can. You only have to pay the difference to upgrade to a new package. For price details see Sc2gears Database.
I lost my Authorization key or it might have been compromised.
Not a problem. Login to your User page, and you can generate a new Authorization key.
How can I view my uploaded files?
Simply visit the Sc2gears Database User Page.
How can I download my files?
You can download your files individually or zipped (200 max) from the Sc2gears Database User Page. You can also use the Sc2gears Database downloader tool (available from the Tools menu inside Sc2gears) to download all your files with a date criteria.
I deleted some files but they are still included on the Quota page!
When you delete files they are deleted immediately. The info displayed on the quota page is refreshed asynchronously. Give the Quota page a few seconds (or minutes) to get updated.
If you think the file statistics displayed on the Quota page are inaccurate, you can trigger a statistic recalculation on the bottom of the Quota page by pressing the "Recalculate file stats" button.
What happens if I upload the same files multiple times?
Sc2gears Database detects if a file with the same content has been uploaded before, and will not store it again. The content of the file is what matters: if you upload 2 different files with the same name, they will be stored separately. If you upload 2 identical files with different names, it will be detected and stored only once. Also note that if you re-upload a file that is already stored, the meta data of the file will be refreshed (for example in case of a replay: map name, players, game format, game type etc.).
How can I share my replays with my friends?
You can share your Database Account with others. See the next question for details. You can control what is shared within your account. You can limit it so that the granted users can only see your replays and nothing else.
How can I share my Sc2gears Database Account with my friends?
You can share your Sc2gears Database account on the Settings page of the web interface (Sc2gears Database User Page). You can grant access to other Google Accounts (specified by their email addresses). You can set permissions for each Google Account individually to control what they can see and do within your account.
The granted users can only access your Database Account if they possess a Database Account too (which can be the Free account). If you share your Database account, they will see your account in the list of accessible accounts on the User Page (the list box at the top of the page).
My friend shared his Database Account with me, but when I visit the user page I get an error that I don't have an account.
This is not an error. Sharing a Database Account doesn't automatically create a Database account for you. To access your friend's Database Account which has been shared with you, you have to possess a Database Account too. It can be either the Free package or any paid packages. Once you have a Database Account and you login to your Sc2gears Database User Page, you will see a list of Database Accounts shared with you.