So far all of the previous patches for StarCraft II have simply been released by developer Blizzard simply as is to the public. This weekend, however, Blizzard is doing something different by releasing the next patch for the hit sci-fi RTS game via a public test server before its release to all of the game's players. Blizzard says that this will be the way most, if not all, future patches for StarCraft II will be released from now on. You can learn how to participate in the public test program via this FAQ page.

The patch notes for the 1.2 public test patch have already been posted and they include quite a few new additions. It included the long awaited in-game chat for both public and private channels. Customizable hotkey support has been added and there is now an Extreme Graphics option which adds info about abilities and upgrades to the unit help info feature along with ambient occlusion options. There's also a new Master League for the highest tier of StarCraft II players. The 1.2 patch also has a number of game balance changes for some of the game's units along with a lot of new changes and additions for the game's map editor as well as general bug fixes.