Just Playing

Now is a good time to write a blog. My right hand is strained, reacting from excessive mouse work. It's time for a two-day computer break. 31 games have been played in the last 5 days... but I continue to play even with an 8 game losing streak.

Only one this on my mind. Get the timing down perfectly.

In TvP, I believe it would do me wonders to find a guy and have micro battles. Him using goons or whatever else. Me using vultures mainly. Maybe switch up the variation of units.

I just go from one game to the next. I don't look at replays, I don't want to over-analyze. Maybe it's the 3 cups of green tea I drink, the punch of caffeine is perfect for staying alert, but calm. Or maybe it's because I've looked at some of the latest gameplay videos of Starcraft II and became so excited at how well it looks and feels, I can now overlook any shortcomings I have of Brood War... and just play because I know I'll be playing SC II a lot. I'll play a lot even if it turns out shitty. Soon after I saw the TvZ with the rain and lighting, I fell in love. Though the big ass Ultralisks made my blood boil... Pure terror.

Goddamn Starcraft

Battle Report Pet Peeve

I absolutely can not stand trying to follow a game when there is only scrolling from one area to another. Just click the mini-map for crying out loud. Put the obs mode in the hands of a pro for crying out loud. Since macro is such an important mechanic, how about focusing more on that? Show us the expansions, show us vital defenses and positioning of the most relevant units.

Poll

My poll "Which would you rather have" has finally closed. I've had it up for maybe 8-9 months, so sure that the beta or a release date would be presented before it closed.

I'm rather disappointed in the results, hoping "Brood War: Revamped" would take it over. I believe a Brood War: Revamped would be more interesting than Starcraft 2. As long as it keeps the basic mechanics of Broodwar (I've mentioned things like this before). You'd have all the cool features that have been talked about in Starcraft 2, it would make the game fresh for another eight years. Unit pathing would be better... Protoss probe's hotkey will be closer to the left side of the keyboard, replay features, and so much more. You also don't have to worry as much if the gameplay is balanced. With a game like starcraft 2, I believe it won't be long for the hardcore players to find a mechanic exploit that will turn everyone away from any serious play, the possibility is greater than it would be in a revamp.

Well, whole new and larger crowd will come to play Starcraft 2. If it hits big, it could last longer than Broodwar and spark something amazing in America, I wonder if it's possible for it to become a popular sport as it is in Korea. Blizzard knows there is a lot of money to be made too, they've implemented ways to make more money, and will probably surprise us with something that we have to pay for, maybe a map or feature that will make the game more pleasurable. They will explore every way possible to make money, but will make it just so people don't believe it's too unreasonable.

What are your thoughts?

Also, I should add that I've not been playing starcraft, as a matter of fact I've been playing Halo: Odst, and I love it. For starcraft, you have to invest so much time to learn it right!

Sorry for anyone that reads my blog, it would be much more interesting if I were a dedicated gamer. My mojo has been lost... at least for Broodwar....

Be The Best?

I'm usually interested in observations of human nature - observations of our minds ability to understand, our ability to process and store information and how the evolutionary theory allowed our brains to come to what it is today. Lately, the male's nature in gaming, competition and brain activity during these moments of activity has peaked my interest. I've always seen guys to be more competitive than the female. But why? What does it mean to males when they win or lose? I believe males all naturally possess the "instinct" to win, overcome an opponent of some kind, gain territory. I started a bit with this excerpt. I've read that one's testosterone level is correlated to mental depression, irritability and other things. This brings to my attention that maybe winning, overcoming opponents, and rising in some kind of social hierarchy makes a male's life more worthwhile and cheerful. Whether it's through hunting, gaming, swimming, golfing, scrabble, whatever. We should be good at something and pursue being the best or one of the best. We should find people that are close to our level and overcome them (in whatever it is we decide to do), or maybe just learn to be satisfied in all that we do, even in failure.

I see this in almost every male. They build up the "respectability" in whatever it is they are interested in (what is usually what they are better than most at). Even when it comes to academics, many of the intelligent glow in their intelligence or in some kind of mental ability (eg. highest ACT score in school). I highly doubt that if these "intelligent" people were surrounded by people surpassing even them they would glow as much. If they were thrown in a city of geniuses, there is less of feeling of being at the top of an hierarchy, thus no more glow. I've seen in others and myself the let down in growing up, realizing that there are people that are better, faster and more intelligent than you, no matter what you do. I've heard becoming wise is really us realizing how little we know; it's our ability to deal with these realizations. It can really hurt depending on how much importance one puts on being special in some area of interest.

We are all social animals, we all have some instinctive pressures to be the best or 'better'. Is it worth all the effort to be good at something knowing full well you will still be sucky (that's a current problem I'm having with starcraft)? Even if it isn't your overall life goal to be the best in gaming, I believe even the smallest of wins can be beneficial to one's wellbeing. It's all about receiving just the right amount for yourself. It's okay to believe there's respectability even in D ranked iCCup gameplay.

On the internet, watching videos on youtube and reading comment sections of gaming pages, there are all kinds of people trying to build up respectability of games they play and love, even if they aren't 100 percent serious in gaming, it still brings a certain feeling to themselves that they like, otherwise they wouldn't say anything.

I'm throwing out some ideas and will probably think of more things to say just as I publish this.

Season 10

Click For Enlarged

I want to talk about a special apm- the vapm (Valid Actions Per Minute). You can see this with BWChart and it's one of the most important things in one's game. It truly says something about your macro. It's one of the things that have gotten much better in my TvZ. As far as I can see, the main way you can raise it is to find a build that works well. Don't try to do anything too fancy while your working on this build. Keep a tab on how soon you get certain units out, you can check BWChart to see how soon you hotkey your first templar, vessel, mutalisk, etc. If you feel you are slacking on your timing, try to pay more attention to activity in your own base, one of the toughest things I've learned is how to work in some macro in the midst of a big battle. I'd have to force myself to pay attention if any further micro or screen time in one area made any significant difference. Question if you can attack/move through the mini map to bring a position into full view the moment you run into something. This is much easier to pull off when you know what your opponent has and their current location, it leaves you more time to focus on macro. Lots of these things become obvious when you record one of your games. I use Fraps.

When you're trying a set build and micro becomes crucial, you want to make sure your micro is top notch. I recommend getting a micro-oriented UMS map, specifically made for the races you're interested in, find a friend and do it over and over until desired satisfaction. Or just simply consider, before any moves, what the most effective way to handle the opponent can be. This is a game of execution with micro and macro. Always remember that what you do with each second matters in your overall game. Don't be nervous if you think you'll lose. Back in my wrestling days, when I knew I'd lose, I'd figure I'd give my opponent as much hell as I could. I proved to be satisfied in my losses when they lose their next match due to spending too much of their energy on me. In the face of defeat, raising hell can leave you satisfied, it's when you screw up normal things that should bother you the most. Just be careful.

I want to do another 100 games of TvZ. I've learned to look at Starcraft as 9 separate games: TvP, TvZ, PvZ, etc. As a casual gamer, I feel I should master one of these games before I move on to another. I want to work on taking down 2 Hatchery builds. The game is becoming more technical, I remember when I referred to every Zerg build as just Lurker/Muta build. Some folks seem not to think it's a big deal to become a decent D+ in just one match-up, I agree. Even so, I'm just a casual gamer. To become a C- in this one match-up but suck at the others... the hilarity of idea will makes my eyes glow. I'd rather be deadly in one match-up than mediocre in all MU's. Many top level players go hours on end playing a certain MU or map - it's a smart thing to do. I haven't even branched out to other maps! I plan to do some map switching in my next 100.

My blog is now 1 year old!

FPVOD vs Tragic

One of my latest TvZ FPVODS Pretty sad gameplay on his part.

There is something I'm quite proud of. On the bwchart, my macro comes to around 70 in a normal vs 3 hatch muta game. While attacking, my F2 key becomes my best friend, I just hit and add units to a group, keep attacking. It's extremely helpful. The main way a zerg beats me now is using 2 hatchery strategies, namely fast lurkers. I'd have to pay more attention to that and make bunkers, turrets much sooner.

I played a random TvP the other day against my old rival Stryxis, 36 minutes long. The game was hilarious- he plays surprisingly like Fafner. See? Only 11 more games to go vs zerg, I don't think I'll play any one race for 50 games anymore. Maybe 10 a piece instead... 800 games is ridiculous. I plan to play some of my old opponents whenever I can and whoop ass.

As for Starcraft 2, no release date, no beta... no interest. As for pro starcraft gamers... no interest. I'd rather watch two close skilled D ranked players than pros.

11 more. Something about the last few games makes me a bit nervous.