Learning Starcraft

(Click for clear picture)

I'm sitting in my comfy writing chair with mixed feelings. My goal... as it stands, is 6.25% complete. Here's a list of what has happened.

1. DetZero beat me 6 more times. I came incredibly close to beating him three times. In one of those, I had an extreme advantage, I had about 50 units more than him, but defilers owned me as I had only 1 vessel with no energy. Scourges always seem to have their way with my vessels. I have started to upgrade as much as possible in every game. It's becoming natural to do so. Before, I'd try to push out way too soon, and be too aggressive. Mostly due to how I suck against lurkers. Now, I usually try to have a hefty army when trying to end the game. My lurker killing has gotten a tad bit better... I'm still working on expanding as I push.... I also notice that a terran can be quite deadly with only one expo.

2. I have gotten better, but am not sure if it shows in my rank. My rank is still D. It fluctuates between 1200 and 1600 points.

3. In the last 8 games, tactics have changed a bit. Mech was largely mixed with my army for a while, only to realize goliaths weren't all that good except for lurkers.

I wanted to go on to play the protoss but now I want to work on my vs. zerg for a bit longer. I may do another 50 against those bastards -_- I'm really starting to enjoy the match-up and I haven't quite got down my vessel tank push timing down.

I've got a FPVOD of my 49th game.



Replay Here. I've got replays of all the others if anyone is interested -_-

I should have went up the upper right side of the map first instead of left. If possible to get behind there, range to his minerals and gas will be devastating.

I want to work on my terran mid-game, it's crucial to not give the zerg much freedom. Shouldn't let them have their way with vespene geysers everywhere. For now, I'm not sure if I want to play any other maps.

Tools of the Trade:

Hotkey use is getting better and better, although I have noticed that I 1a2a3a4a far more than necessary. Oftentimes, his army isn't even close and I can just click move. Then, there is less chance I skip over one of the hotkeys. Unit separation is quite annoying. I'll be happy to group everything into one hotkey as will be done in SC 2.

Poor Macromanagement: An attack is usually the best time to expand, but overdoing an attack can be a poor thing. It would be wise to give self a chance to drop somewhere.

Poor Unit Composition: The reason zergs keep me at bay for so long was a general lack of enough barracks and factories. Basically, my follow-up attacks suck. If the zerg has enough gas, ultralisks make a fool of me. Firebats would be very useful in follow-ups, yet I rarely do that.

Poor Micromanagement: Marine (and even firebat) placement is particularly important. Firebats should be moved toward zerglings - marines to absolute edge of lurker range. Stim pack becomes very important, and I struggle with that.

Lack of experience: New trials and tribulations smack me in the forehead. I'm like a guy wobbling on a tightrope. Like a fat guy walking on ice. Like... a little kid trying to drink from a cup and run at the same time.

So I Suck at Starcraft

Lately, I've been wondering if I should have ever came back to starcraft... and that can attest only one thing... I've been losing. Man, I suck.

A team member named 'DetZero' has now played me in 8 mind numbing games. He's a zerg player, I figure him to be a great practice partner. He isn't the kind of zerg player that likes to finish the game asap, but instead likes to tech up and focus on macro just as I would like to. The only let down is that his macro is much better than my own, superior. To make it to his section of the map is in itself a huge pain in the ass. Multiple times, he only has to attack move his units and easily take my lunch money. Approaching the end of each game, I can even see he usually upgraded 2 weaponry/armor higher than myself.

In the midst of my tormented soul, I suspect struggling to spam the entire game isn't much help, as I usually only regrab my army and attack move them around. For now, I will attempt to drop the unneccessary spam (except for at the start of the game) so I can SEE a bit better.

Gah... am I even getting better? Or is it not possible to be better in 8 games? No matter... I have a goal. Surely, I'll see DetZero every day, and I will play him every day (unfortunately, likely to be beaten everyday). My mind is bountiful of things I know I can correct and strengthen, but it's going to take time.

Too many times, I've got too many minerals stored up... embarrasingly over 3,000, with 6-7 barracks. Taking a week off isn't a bright thing to do. I'm 26 of 50 into my vs. zergs games, and I'm craving protoss.

My next post will consist of my 50th zerg game. It shall be lengthy.... so keep in touch ^_^

Maybe I will suck a little less.

iCCup and Koreans

I've been watching a korean online gaming television station thingamajig lately. How interesting is that? Koreans really love their starcraft. I've watched a few matches and feel the intensity from each game. They show the faces of the players and quite often seem on the edge of passing out. I don't know any of their names or what the fuck the commentators are saying (except for "stuuum!" and "tempwaar"), but I like them all. I finally understand what Starleague is.

Those Koreans have already taken over iCCup in the first four days of the new season.

And I noticed something rather peculiar, most of the top players have only played Destination. That map must be most fun and balanced.

Look at the picture. The one in fifth place has played EIGHTY GAMES and it's been about 3 days! He must be insane. I've never been one to take games too seriously, as that seems to be missing the whole point of gaming, but I at least offer respect to people that dedicate so much time.

In other news, I joined the team "funtastic". It consists of mostly D ranked players, and there's about 80 of us at the moment. Just a bunch of well mannered folks. You can get a decent game from almost any of them and they offer tips afterwards. Whether the clan has helped me become better is not completely clear. The chatting more than anything helps. ICCup is soulless as it is, almost no personality in a ranked game, you have a more comfortable (human) experience with a team. One may even find a worthy rival.

Lately, I've been going back to Battle.net for some mindless gaming. A part of me doesn't want to go back to iCCup.