Commanders, sharpen your build orders. Blizzard Entertainment has released StarCraft and Brood War Patch 1.16.1, and it is ready to download right now through Battle.net. Whether you march as Terran, swarm as Zerg, or channel the Protoss, this update keeps your ladder games running clean and your matches in sync across the Koprulu sector.

Good news for the purists: the finely tuned race balance that made StarCraft a classic stays right where it belongs. Blizzard has left the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss match-ups alone, so every trick in your book still works on the maps you know by heart - Lost Temple, Hunters, Big Game Hunters, Python, and Blood Bath.

• No changes to unit stats - the classic three-race balance is preserved.
• The standard multiplayer maps play just as you remember, with the same mineral and vespene gas layouts.
• Ladder play on Battle.net stays true to the game the veterans have mastered.

• Fixed several crashes and improved overall game stability.
• Corrected issues that could cause dropped games and out-of-sync errors in multiplayer.
• Strengthened anti-hack protection to detect and remove common cheats and map-hacks from Battle.net matches.
• General security and compatibility improvements for current Windows systems.

Updating is automatic. Just do the following:

1. Connect to the Internet and launch StarCraft or Brood War.
2. Choose Battle.net from the main menu and log on.
3. When the update prompt appears, click Yes to download and install Patch 1.16.1.
4. Let the patcher finish, then restart the game when asked.

Anyone who joins Battle.net is brought up to date before entering a game, so the whole ladder stays in sync. LAN players should be sure every machine is on the same version as well.

The war for the Koprulu sector rages on - Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, Arcturus Mengsk, and Zeratul are all still out there. Patch up, pick your race, and jump back in. See you in the Zone. gg and good hunting.