| A Geography Lesson, Learned the Hard Way (1&2) | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 09/10/99 12:09 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for The HydraDropper: 6.6667 |  |
This is a report of two games, gentle reader, in which a bitter lesson was absorbed by the Overmind in the first, and the knowledge gained therein assimilated and applied ruthlessly by the swarm in the second.
Geography Lessons, Part I
Map: The Lost Temple
Players:
Your Hero, the HydraDropper
A Nameless, Faceless Terran
HydraDropper spawns at the 12:00 position. He begins his usual two hatchery build with an aim to create many upgraded hydralisks and either hydra drop or lurker contain his terran nemesis, outexpand and win. His usual tactic on this map is to place his second hatchery at the natural expansion, immediately before a spawning pool, so as to be able to place sunken colonies and zerglings to defend the choke while his economy grows. There is a disadvantage at the 12:00 position in that the ramp location is far from the mineral site of the natural expansion, so that a defending hatchery is not optimally situated for mining operations and a third hatchery would have to be placed at the mining "sweet spot" in order to truly realize the benefits of the natural.
His initial overlord scouts, as always, towards the nearest starting point, at 3:00 and finds the terran SCV's happily mining away. It would be possible still to attempt a relatively early zerg rush, but the terran, being scouted so early must surely realize the proximity of the swarm and even now will be producing marines and a bunker, and besides, this sort of game is not interesting to the HydraDropper...
He vaguely remembers reading a battle report about a tournament game between D-22 Soso and Grrr in the BroodWar tournament Semifinals (Battlenet) in which some other, specific disadvantage of zerg 12 vs terran 3 was discussed, but the memory is vague, the specific problem could not be recalled...
During HydraDropper's race to tech, while Lair and hydralisk den upgrades are in progress, the pleasant routine of the day's labor is broken up by a most shocking and unpleasant sound...
BOOOOM
Study well, if you will, the first screenshot, gentle reader. It was not from this actual game, as the game was quite brief, and such was the shock and dismay of your humble professor at its outcome that no screenshots were obtained. However, it could have been from this game. The scene was created in the Map Editor for the purposes of your instruction.
The sunken colonies and hatchery at HydraDropper's choke appear to be bleeding. There is a most impudent tank sieged on that cliff overhead. What has happened, has the terran devil researched a super early tank cliff drop? Why has this occurred so much more quickly than my own transport upgrade, still far off in a build designed specifically for early transport and drop? Why the man is the devil himself!
No, gentle reader. The memory now came rushing back to your humble faithful servant. D-22 Soso remarked that in his battle, the evil terran Grrr was able to siege his base's front from the very safety of his own starting base! Oh the humanity!
Examine the first picture again. The tank, safely esconced in the terran stronghold, can rain shells with impunity upon the indicated sunken colony as well as the adjacent hatchery.
As your Cerebrate began to absorb the true shocking implications of his situation, his buildings continued to bleed from the Arclite shells being lobbed by the hated tank. Zergling squads sent in desparation up to the terran base were slaughtered by bunker and tank fire. As the buildings began to collapse, a squad of marines runs up to the assemblage of bleeding pudding formerly known as a choke defense and stims up. Good games are exchanged and your Cerebrate resigned upon realizing that the infestation upon this particular world cannot be supported.
A Geography Lesson Applied: Part II (days later)
Map: The Lost Temple
Players:
The HydraDropper (zerg of course)
Uglybob the Hated Terran
Once again the Swarm appears at the 12:00 position. During the initial build, before the crucial placement of the second hatchery, the initial overlord detects Uglybob's camp at the 3:00 position.
Several phrases escaped your humble professor's lips at this point, in a language not previously known to the creatures of the Swarm.
Certainly placement of the second hatchery anywhere near the ramp is out of the question. Early expansion to the natural is extremely dangerous, virtually asking for an offensive bunker at the ramp, cutting off the bases from each other's support and serving as a jumping off point for a tank push to either or both bases.
The decision was made to place the second hatchery on the original plateau near the ramp so as to secure the high ground above the entry ramp, forgoing the dangerous temptation of immediate expansion and its economic fruit. A two hatchery, one lair build towards upgraded hydra drop to circumvent the inevitable ramp siege or offensive bunker (the tactics most likely from the terran general if he is indeed proficient in the terran art of war) commenced, with some early zerglings onto the ramp to defend any early marine incursions.
This strategy was all or nothing in that if my drop did not get off or did little or no damage, I was definitely likely to be contained in my base awaiting the inevitable tank push.
The early group of several zerglings proved valuable, as the ramp was tried by some early marines. The first few were slaughtered mercilessly, and the remainder retreated but regrouped at the bottom of my ramp threatening siege. Three sunken colonies were morphed to assist in choke defense from a frontal assault. The front of the base was captured in picture #2.
The purpose of the defensive structures was not expected to hold the base against the superior range of the siege tank with building, air or comsat spotting. However, these structures and units would buy precious time for the execution of my favorite left hook against slow terran tank pushers.
You Guessed It.
The Hydralisk Drop.
Forces were assembled and lair and hydra upgrades (including lurker, although no lurkers were made) were obtained. During the assemblage of forces, a comsat scan revealed my forces and structures above the ramp. I cringed, awaiting siege tank fire, but none came.
I happily produced hydralisks and upgrades and the odd zergling. Finally the transport upgrade completed and I commenced the loading of my dread hydralisk army into the slimy overlords. This task was again rudely interrupted by Arclite Siege Tank Fire. At that moment I had to make a split second decision whether to take what had been loaded of my drop force (4 overlords worth) and drop onto the tanks of this early push, squashing it and saving my base, or...
Picking up the 16 hydra 4 overlord force and executing Operation Left Hook.
I counted on my remaining colonies and zerglings to hold the ramp until my left hook could be felt in full force. The overlords flew north and around the corner of the map towards the Uglybob's mineral bed. I disregarded the actual combat at my ramp but continued to produce new units out of the hotkeyed hatcheries during the micromanaged drop.
BAD MICRO=DEAD CEREBRATE?
One almost comical moment arose during the final stage of this game. The initial unload point specified for my drop was at an awkward spot and only one overlord unloaded its troops, the others hovered just off the cliff (see the third picture) and so I frantically begain issuing individual unload instructions to the overlords and hydralisks so as to prevent my drop from being a total disaster, as the overlords took bunkered marine fire...
Clearly the marines were all rallied and present at my ramp, because there was minimal defense at Bob's minerals, a token bunker. This and the enclosed marines rapidly were demolished and the slaughter of SCV's began again. The hydralisks, after destroying the defenders, rapidly razed the comsat even as the first lurker was morphing from one of their number. After the destruction of detection, it was time for domination by the lurker. With the initial morphing and burrowing of the game's one lurker, numerous marines and medics died in the first volleys of spines, upon which Uglybob rapidly conceded the game without a word or "gg".
I hadn't even lost any buildings, but I didn't pay attention at all to the combat at my ramp while I was conducting my drop.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Learn the important unique strategic features within each map that you play, such as the ability to siege 12 from terran 3 home base. If top players describe these features in their reports, READ AND REMEMBER THEM!
2. Transport is a good way to break out of early containment.
3. Sometimes it's just better to make your second hatchery at home instead of getting greedy and going for the early expansion all the time.
4. Sometimes, defensive fronts or chokes are only there to buy you time and not expected to truly hold your base. In this case, time is all that was needed.
5. Learn lessons from your bitter defeats!
| | Battle Shots! | 
I've Got a Bad Feeling About This, Chewie...
You Cannot Touch My Monkey
I'm Your BackDoor Man...Marines Don't Know, But the SCVs Understand...
Hydra Satellite Dish Repair, Inc., At Your Service!
I Got Dem No Comsat Lurkers In My Workers Blues...
|
|
|
|
Home
Forum
Starcraft Tournaments
