"I have a hangover that would kill a small horse right now"
-Flint79
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| The Tao of FFA ~OR~ Free For All Axioms | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 12/06/99 03:12 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 9, Min: 9
Lifetime Rating for .Praetor: 8.2987 |  | Some of you know me best for my Phoenix Legion: Chronicles series. Today, I played a game that made me decide to go back to my roots... at least one more time. Text reports on FFA's. And so I present to you:
The Tao of FFA
or
Free For All Axioms
Today was a fairly typical Sunday for me. I woke up at noon, groaned at the After Hours comic at www.pvponline.com, and finally got into the shower at one o'clock or so. I rated some battle reports, had breakfast (some bread and honey melon... mmm, good). I decided to do laundry, and *gasp* clean my room. Both chores which make me feel good to do.... after I've done them. I manage to think about doing homework I need to do before the week ends to pass a class, but end up watching the second half of the San Diego - Cinncinati game instead (San Diego 22-10). My staggered loads of laundry finish, without me forgetting anything for over fifteen minutes (whoa mama!). I've been thinking about food all day, so it is good when it comes about time for dinner.
I want to cook myself some food, but my concience dictates I should heat up left-over macraroni since I'll throw it out if I leave it in the fridge another day. Grumbling, I eat the macaroni with some apple juice, flipping on the tube to see what's on. Hey, Absolute Power! One of those movies I remember liking but not too much else. I watch the first part of that, then skip the murder scene to wash dishes from dinner and the night before (worst thing about cooking is washing the dishes). Grabbing myself a piece of pumpkin pie (homemade by me, just the way I like it), I settle down. About a third of the way through the movie, my roommate, Felix, sits down and I fill him in on the plot. This takes a bit, as the plot is fairly complicated, deals with U.S. government positions, and Felix is an exchange student from Germany. But the movie was good, and Felix is fun to watch TV with.
So when I sit down to play StarCraft, I am relaxed, happy, and playing just for a bit. Most importantly, I am playing for a game, not because I can't think of anything better to do at the moment. I am in a perfect state to rest in harmony with the Tao. No one is in NWTR or Nohunters that I want to play, so I jump into a pubbie ladder game. Ah, an FFA, how pleasant. It is in fact named an FFA, not 1:1:1:1, so only english speakers join, which doesn't really change my way of looking one way or the other, but it is nice to be able to talk to everyone. One of the players picks Protoss, the rest go random. We were playing on Lost Temple.
Have a Plan
I recieved Terran at the bottom start position (6:00). All I know is that one player is Protoss. I can assume not all my opponents will be. I came up with my plan. Now it is not required to have a plan yet, that can come with scouting. But, it is dangerous to play without direction. A plan gives you focus, a point of connection with the Tao. The plan is not immediate, it is over-arching. For instance, with Protoss versus Protoss in FFA, I often go for a Scout-based build. That this build starts with cannons and an early expand, followed by high templar, expansion to the island, and finally the stargates for scouts, does not change the fact that it is a scout build. It also has several points of change, and intermediary forces, such as cannons and high templar.
I contemplated an early expand to my natural, reinforced with barracks, but discarded the idea. Past experience has shown that option flawed, I get noticed to easily and run over or dropped too easily. A particular game defending against reavers with SCV's (successfully) comes to mind. I decide, instead, on an early expansion to an island, hopefully to both, and then air transition. First I would accumulate twelve wraiths, to harass and defend the islands. Next, I would begin upgrade, and production of valkyries to continue air dominance. Lastly, as my wraiths will likely be victims of attrition, I would construct battle cruisers as a strong strike force.
Execution went as I planned in the early stages. My first building was a supply depot, positioned between minerals and the vespene geyser, to stand in the way of possible scarabs and effect a future full wall-in. My next building was a barracks, touching the top edge of the geyser, followed by a refinery on the geyser, and a depot on the opposite edge of my minerals. In the early stages, this build is almost identical to my nuke-rush, which I never use in FFA's. I scout, continuint to make SCV's and now marines. Another depot is built on top of the second on the far side of my mineral line (from the ramp).
My SCV found the red Protoss at the right start position (3:00). There, I dodge two zealots, and take note of a forge, two-gate, no gas build, as well as an overlord. I will not need to worry about red for a long, long time. Having seen the overlord, the SCV races over to the left start position (9:00), where it is killed by a bunker on the high ground. With another Terran on my left, I have confirmation of a Zerg in the north. I am facing one of each race, which does not yet change my plan.
Know Your Weaknesses
The key to the Tao is knowing one's self. Knowing one's self means not only the one's options, position, and strength, but knowing one's weaknesses. When you know yourself completely, you must then act. I knew my build was air-heavy, and ground defense, or base defense in general, is a very weak point in my game. A simple mass of ground troops, or a pack of mutalisks often finishes me. My action meshes with my plan. I will acquire at least one island, and make my main a tough nut to crack. To do so, I start a Factory, making room for two more depots on the left wall. One of those spots is taken when I start another depot. I start a bunker above the future spot of a comsat station for my marines. When my factory is done, I start another bunker on the other side of my command center. My marines can cover each other to a limited extent, and will be effective against mutalisks when range is researched.
When In Doubt, Think of the Future
The Tao of an FFA is manifestly different than the Tao of other games. Specifically, and this is the crux of the difference, relative military superiority or inferiority will not win you the game, it can only lose you the game. Unlike direct matchups (whether 1v1 or 2v2), competitors cannot think in terms of their forces against their enemies'. FFA is a game of progression, of occupation, and above all, gradual changes, except in death. As such, when faced with a decision which requires one to consider obtaining military superiority or positional superiority, position is always preferable. Of course, this assumes one does not fall into military inferiority. Do not expect your opponents, even experienced foes, to refrain from using their total force if it will improve their position.
English-speakers have two understandings of warfare, tactics and strategy. Strategy is allocation of resources. Basic questions of what, where, and when? Tactics is the managment of troops to defeat the enemy's troops. I would like to introduce a new topic. German speakers have three views of warfare: tactical, strategic, and operative. Operative warfare is directed by strategy in that the view gives a set area and force. It is helped by tactics in that tactics accomplish the operative. Essential, operative warfare is getting the mission done. Operative theory recognizes the importance of accomplishment, taking a city, or achieving a bridgehead in terms of movement and advantage on the battle field away from casulties and skirmishes. While I obviously am far from being able to describe an operative mindset, it is the tactics of armies and task forces. Strategy thinks of the beginning and end. Tactics is now, Operative is planning for the future.
The first hiccup in my plan came when I did not have enough resources to start a machine shop and tanks or begin a starport. The correct decision, and the one I made was to build a starport, followed by an academy, and only then get a machine shop. I also kept up on depots, completing the left side of my base's wall, consisting of minerals, four depots, and a factory. When the starport was done, the first thing I did was build a control tower. Only then did I begin to research siege mode. Because my plan relies heavily on securing an island, and I am less vulnerable to mass units or reavers as opposed to surgical strikes or mutas, transport is my first priority, followed by range for my marines, followed by siege tanks to counter reavers, or mass hydra/zealots/goons. SCV's have, of course, been continously produced.
Execute In Order of Priority
My first transport load consists of four marines and two SCV's. I begin to research cloak and get a wraith on the way over. I already have one tank, with another on the way. The first is sieged by my first barracks. When the transport arrives, I begin a command center, with a bunker just above the command center. My transport returns to my main base. I begin a comsat, and load up my transport with four more marines, and two more SCV's. I head up to the other island. I think about another bunker for my existing island, but decide on a tank to fully cover a small land attack, like a reaver.
Continuing with one's plan is key to connection with the Tao. One must know where the energies should be focused. In short, one must set priorities. When I sent my transport up to the other island, I saved money for a command center. In addition, I started another tank to duplicate my other island's future defense. In this decision, I lost connection with the Tao. In essence, I believed taking the other island would result in improving my position (achieving more revenue), when it actually degrades my position. Not only will I be over-extended, I will fall behind on my plan, which heads for fast wraiths. See how the events play out.
Despite taking some turret fire, I land my forces successfully on the top left island. Blue is already there, but has only some SCV's starting some turrets, and a building command center. Once my forces are dropped off, I retreat my transport. I immediately begin a bunker and a missile turret of my own, (in case of wraiths, I had already built a engineering bay on the south-east island for a turret there) my marines kill the SCV's and cause the command center to be canceled. At this point, I still don't seriously expect to hold the island, but if I get the chance at fortification, I could strengthen myself immensely. At home I start more wraiths.
Blue (the Terran at 9:00) is yelling at me to get of his island, that it is his (insert curse here), and I'd better leave it alone. White (the Zerg at 12:00) replies to calm down as if the comments are directed at him. I make an inconsequential mistake of assuming he is just trying to confuse anyone (a valid tactic in FFA's). Events soon prove themselves wrong, however, as blue lands two tanks, escorted by three wraiths, on the top left island. The tanks destroy my charging SCVs, and a large pack of mutalisks raze my bunker and turret, then turn on the tanks and wraiths. It is a fair assumption that they have previously fought over the island.
I shrug off the loss. In monetary terms, the expedition cost me five hundred minerals - one bunker, one turret, two SCVs, and four marines. Not a debilitating figure. I would soon have occasion to revise my consideration of the outing. The loss of concentration meant I had produced a few less SCVs at my secured island expansion, losing some revenue. Worse, I had lost connection with my focus, my plan, and thus my Tao. Because of saving for a command center, and lost attention, I have two fairly useless tanks, only three wraiths, and still only one starport, when I should have at least three starports and be well on my way to the first stage of my plan.
Realizing my misatke, I attempt to focus again. I started two more starports, as well as an armory. My first starport was extended from my factory and machine shop, so with the addition of the armory on the end, one more armory will connect with the previos one and my barracks, creating a full ring around my main base. I also start a science facility below my geyser since I have much gas. Still, I only have four wraiths.
You Cannot Play Perfectly
Accept this as a maxim in FFA games. If everything goes your way, it is entirely a fluke. StarCraft, and Brood War, are games of counters. One unit will be more effecient against another. Your opponents are not likely to all build similar types of units for you to destroy, therefore you can never build the correct counter to everything. This heightens the importance of a balanced plan and positional warfare.
My island expansion is functioning well, and my tank is there guarding against small hydra drops or reavers. A turret has been set up, providing what I consider to be an adequate defense taking into account my projected wraith squadron. I've started a fourth starport, as well as a second armory. My transport is kept busy, ferrying a tank, marines and an SCV to the cliff overlooking my natural, where I set up a tank-turret-bunker combo to stop high ground attacks as well as bombard low-ground attacks. I send another group of marines to the expansion site, as well as my extra tank, and set up another combo there, as well as starting a command center.
With the start of my second expansion my confidence begins to return. I am well set for the future, and some pumping air units will make me able to project force almost anywhere on the map. One check of my current situation, however, will reveal I have not yet regained my Tao. My most important expansion is but loosely defended, and my other expansion is not yet significant, though defended. I have only six wraiths, though I am ready to power through four more starports.
What really upsets me, however, is my failure to accuratly judge the next event in the game. Red (Protoss as 3:00)leaves, surrendering his command, without a word. White immediately wonders aloud why he did that, when no one attacked him. This confirms any suspicions that Red quit because of skirmishes with his other neighbor, the Zerg. Indeed, scouting by a wraith reveals that red had an obscene number of cannons guarding the edge of his plateau, but he is conspicously missing an army and cannons in the north. I conclude that white both raided probes and destroyed the red army, causing the poor newbie to quit in despair. Hopefully red will learn a lesson about cannons' abilities to react to far off situations. But what this means is not that white as attacking. What it means is that, positionally, and especially with mutalisk force, White is my immediate neighbor.
Before, attacking my island would be complete folly. Red is there to be dealt with, and attack would only be undertaken to assualt me, for white, with the building time of a hatchery, and thus delay of static defenses, could not hope to hold the island. As I am not a significant offensive threat at the moment, white therefore had no reason to attack. It would not gain him positional advantage.
The death of red changes all this. His base is now essentially a vast unoccupied area, and I am white's immediate neighbor. White can also expect to make any strike last, if not occupy the island. He does exactly what he should have done, swarms my island with mutalisks. Because I did not follow my plan and my Tao, my wraiths are far to few, even with the help of a turret and bunker, to stop the carnage. And because I did not soon enough realize the positional ramifications of Red's surrender, I neglected to build another bunker or more turrets despite ample financial resources.
At least twelve, possibly eighteen mutalisks raze my expansion. My now seven wraiths move over and shoot for awhile while cloaked, but speed-upgraded overlords soon arrive. I retreat my wraiths to my natural. With my comsat on the island, I scan the top left island before the command center is destroyed. It is occupied by white.
Force Differs From Projected Force
With the destruction of my island, the balance of the game shifts dramatically. While it existed, my troop count was rather low, but my projected force was still high in that I could have built quickly. Now I am low on income, as well as supply, though I have a decent defense and monetary reserve.
And projected force is the meat of an FFA. The whole point of positional warfare is to acquire or deny resources needed for attrition warfare or force buildup, without taking the risk of a coup de main, which can prove fatal, even if you are on the attack and successful. White, who now has three operational bases, all with gas, had some Force, but tremendous Projected Force, especially with the very mobile troops he had already shown preference for. Blue, while by no means even as damaged as I was, is already on the defensive, even if he does not know it yet. I started more depots, as well as the upgrades for air.
However, white was not yet the dominant player. He was most definitely in the lead, but dominant players are proclaimed, not self-made. The dominant player is playing to win, and everybody knows it. The dominant player is in the lead, and has given up positional warfare to directly assult both opposing armies (to keep up an acceptable rate of attrition to preserve dominance) and attempt to knock players out. A dominant player is different from a simple aggressor in that the other players almost always know this is the case. They face only one severe threat. As such, their aim is only to know dominant players down. This is why dominant players differ from players in the lead. Players in the lead can be over come by positional warfare, achieving more resources, or simply tailoring your forces to defeat theirs.
White assumed a dominant position by attacking my natural expansion. This was risky, and a clear sign he is attempting to knock me out, not just degrade my projected force. His mutalisk fleet engaged my natural expansion, splitting into two groups to attack each bunker-turret-tank combonation. He didn't do this on purpose, rather he attack-moved, and the majority of his forces got stopped by the cliff combo, which he probably didn't suspect. My cloaked wraiths came in, and got off several hits before the overlords showed up. I retreated my wraiths, and engaged the mutalisks over my natural proper. White pulled back when he had about six mutalisks let. I lost the cliff combo, the turret at the expansion, and somehow the tank, as well as six of seven wraiths. Mining operations were un-interrupted.
If You Are Dead, Take the Biggest Bastard With You
I now know white as the dominant player. If he does not fall, I do not win. It is that simple. As such, my Tao radically changes. I am free to tailor my forces to his. This leaves my open to attack from the other remaining players (blue), but if they do not also focus their attacks on the dominant player, all is lost in any case. I am also free to reckon my force in comparison to one other player. This makes scourge and nukes viable, as they improve your position relative to only one player.
I construct a covert ops, as I know I will not have the money for battle cruisers any time soon. I also have a ton of gas. Along that line of thought, I start the science vessel upgrades, and control towers for the three newer starports, for valkyries. I begin valkyries as soon as I have supply, as well as start on the second level upgrades for air, upgrades being vital to valkyries. My last act is to buy SCVs from both my main and my expansion, to get the natural up and running as soon as possible. I comsat red's former bases, as well as white's mineral-only natural. The mineral only natural is empty, but red's former main and unoccupied natural both have morphing hatcheries.
The Information War, Like Politics, Is Dirty, But Necessary
The center of the Tao is knowledge of yourself. This is of primary importance. True application of this knowledge, however, can only come with a knowledge of the whole situation. Therefore, information about other players is key, and more key at certain stages plans than others. With my original plan, I would need knowledge when I had wraiths, so I knew who to strike. Because I did not advance my plan correctly, I am in deep doodoo.
True mastery of the Tao can only come when one is so adept as to know one's self, the whole situation, and influence other's view of the situation. Correspondingly, the first thing I said after white took my island was "uh-oh, white's in the lead now, I think I am dead."
My primary goal is to alert Blue to the fact that White is the dominant player. If I can do that, then assuming a rational course on his part, namely not wasting his forces on me, I can survive. My aim is helped by the fact that the information I am passing out is true. White, however, was quite proficient at confusing others. Experience has taught me that players in FFA's rarely tell the truth, especially if they are winning. White quite simply denied killing my chances, and did so rather convincingly, playing on my over-stating of doom to influence blue.
I make it a habit to always rely on my own recon as best as possible, to the extent of sacrificing observers, zealots, overlords, or SCV's when necessary to obtain reliable information. So I was not fooled when white also included an overly-optomistic view of blue's situation in the game. Blue did have decent force. He did not have decent projected force.
I produced ghosts, valkyries, and the occaisional science vessel. A scan of my old island shows me an overlord and a drone there. I send my wraith to kill the overlord and then the drone. When my first nuke is done, I put a pre-cloaked ghost into my transport, send it to the cliff overlooking the 3:00 natural (formerly red's), and way-point the transport back.
The nuke drops successfully, damaging the hatchery, killing an overlord, a hydralisk, some larvae, three drones, and a spore colony. White managed to retreat most of his drones. I don't care. My main aim is to destroy the expansion. I have every intention of nuking it again. I retreat my ghost to an obscure portion of the cliff. Going back to my expansion, I notice a harrowing sight. A red DOT. FLASHING. I stare at it for at least a second. I'm being nuked, uh, crap. My comsat barely has fifty energy, and I scan. The ghost is killed by my bunker. Whew. "What the heck are you nuking me for? I already lost my island, white's in the lead." Sometime after this, I win the Information War, for blue realizes that white is the dominant player. I, of course, do not know exactly when this is.
You Will Team In FFA's
Whether or not you mean to, if you FFA, eventually you will attack another person at the same time, or right after each other. Often from a different side on Lost Temple. It happens. People will yell at you for teaming. Deal with it, it is all part of the game. The only, and I mean only, unethical teaming is when two players decide to co-operate before the game starts, often with the intention for one of them to surrender, giving the win to his friend. This is, in actuality very rare. Teaming to take down another player in a fair FFA, especially the player in the lead, is very common, and wise practice. Let me put it this way, only one other player threatens your existence. All other opponents have well guarded areas, and are not a great threat. Who does your Tao tell you to battle against? Right.
When teaming in a true FFA (on that setting), do not consider co-ordinated attacks. First of all, a co-ordinated attack where you are unable to ally with your opponent is extremely difficult to micromanage. Second, close co-operation is asking for a back-stab. Whether because your goals have been accomplished, or because the opprotunity is there. I would always reccoment a tacit truce. Simply do not attack your opponent, and focus all attacks on the dominant player. They will likely do the same. This prevents them from gathering information they can use to defeat you.
Blue and I engaged in just such a tacit truce. In fact, we never declared our 'team.' Simply, after blue's attempted nuke, we both realized white was our enemy, and focused all attacks on him. I grabbed my valks, and sent them to the cliff overlooking the 3:00 natural (formerly red's, I just nuked white's base there). I started the nuke, and killed the two overlords hanging around with my five valks, and pulled back. White uttered a few curses, and the hatchery there is destroyed. I start another nuke, and finish upgrading various things. Deciding to make another try at the southeast island again, I start a command center, as well as some more depots below my expansion. I continue to make ghosts, as well as some valks and science vessels. After my ghots upgrades are complete, as well as my science vessle upgrades, I make the decision, having decent cash flow, to move my science facility and start a physics lab. This is placed where the minerals in my main once were.
My next nuke is dropped on the same expansion, again. This forces white to cancel a hatchery, as well as kills two overlords, a lurker, a spore colony, the drone from the hatchery, and an extractor.
Flexibility Is Life. Life Is A Prerequisite To Victory
The Tao is the Way. The way requires movement, and realism. When threatened, bend. When overwhelmed, retreat. All players in this game showed an impressive ability to adapt and to limit damages. White was adept with his attacks and movements, and had enough static defenses to not worry about expansions (aside from nukes), yet not so much as to debilitate him. Blue was capable of the occasional devastating attack, in addition to the attrition war forced on him by white. He retreated and repaired expertly. Though he never held an expansion beyond his mineral-only natural for any length of time, and only half his natural for the length of the game, through long distance mining and frequent command center floating, he stayed in to the end.
With white's expansion at the 3:00 natural thus decidedly shut down, and white definitly wary of restarting it, I attempt to get my island running again. I shuttle over SCVs from my mined-out main, and start a comsat over on the island. A second comsat is key to my remaining informed for this part of the game. The nukes have obviously grabbed his attention, for he sends a significant attack of zerglings and mutalisks at my expansion, which still only has one bunker guarding it. My first response is to retreat all of my SCVs, and then attack with my valkyries. With only mutalisks to fight them, and the mutalisks having two attack upgrades but no armor upgrades, my double-double-upgraded valkyries tear his air and overlord support to shreds. White then retreats his zerglings for unknown reasons.
Assuming they are busy elsewhere, I start another command center. The nuclear silo still stands, empty for the moment. Deciding I need more defense there, but unwilling to pay for it, I empty the bunkers in my main, as well as move my tanks down. Also bringing my now numerous ghosts, my natural is defended by eight marines, four ghosts in a bunker, and four ghosts behind a bunker, along with two tanks a few spaces behind the infantry and bunker. Three science vessels have been completed, and after air upgrades and more supply, I start truly working on battle cruiser production.
My main form of attack remains nukes. I have found that in any type of game, the more expansions an opponent has, the higher the liklihood of a nuke landing. Sometimes, they simply have too many places to look. After losing a ghost heading to the 3:00 main base (formerly red's), I send a ghost up to white's mineral-only natural, noting a morphing hatchery at the 3:00 mineral-only natural. I attempt to aim the nuke at a space between minerals and mining drones, but accidentally click on a mineral patch instead. Dangit. This nuke is highly successful, probably due to the three nukes in a row on the 3:00 natural. All the drones are killed, prompting white to swear. White is attempting to carry on the information war, swearing that the game is going to end due to blue's alleged twelve battle cruisers and *gasp* irradiate. I remain skeptical, seeing as how blue never seems to break out of his two bases.
A stray comstat does spot seven battlecruisers at blue's mineral-only natural. During the observation period, plague is cast on the battlecruisers, already fighting devourers and hydras with the aid of marines and SCVs. I laugh at the double goop. Despite the colorful exchanges, blue seems to be winning that skirmish, but losing the attrition war. My ghost travels to the other side of the white mineral-only natural and nukes the place again. White gets his drones away this time, and due to the distance between the hatchery and the first nuke at that expansion, the hatchery lives with eighty-seven (87) hitpoints left. I attempt to finish the job, but two drones and an overlord prevent me. In one of his limited offenses, blue does finish the hatchery, for a fully-healed one is evident later.
Now correctly following my Tao, I must be proving to be quite an annoyance to white. He sends a group of twenty-four hydras at my natural, in a bid to destroy my main mineral source. He is nearly successful. The hydras stream in, taking major punishment from the tanks far back behind the bunker. The infantry itself does appreciable damage, keeping the hydras back. I order my battle cruisers in, but have left them too near my island to respond quickly. My three science vessels are near, however, and six irradiates in the back of the hydra crowd soften them up for the tanks.
Much to my dismay, white has not been neglecting upgrades, and they hydralisks are fully prepared for battle. My upgrades on the ground are limited to one infantry attack. Still, irradiate and arclite fire is a powerful combination, and only two weak hydras are left when my last tank falls. Before they hydras even get a shot off at the SCVs, my battle cruisers finally break the horizon and destroy the zerg warriors. My valkyries kill four overlords that came to escort the hydralisks.
I build another bunker, filling it with marines, as well as produce more ghosts, for which I have to move my science facility back to my covert ops for a second. I am also building more battle cruisers, my fleet currently standing at four.
I nuke white's mineral-only expansion again, killing a few drones and a few overlords. The 3:00 natural, rebuilt by white, is nuked a twice more as well, once from the inside, and once from the cliff, with the help of valkyries. White still hasn't stopped any nukes besides the preventative killing of ghosts before the launch order.
Don't Stop Playing, This Is The Fun Part
Presumably after forcing blue to hole up again, white tries another offensive action on me, this time a highly successful hydralisk drop on my island expansion. Having no defenses, most of the area is razes almost immediately, but my fully upgraded (minus yamato) battle cruisers do respond, six of them, with science vessel support. I choose to shield the battle cruisers, and the hydralisks attempt to fight from the edge of the expansion plateau, lessening their effectiveness. In all, I believe five overlords' worth of hyralisks were dropped (20). The battle cruisers perform well, but a two fall when a large flock of maybe twenty mutalisks decends on the most heavily-attacked battle cruisers (none have lost their sheilds yet). I do get one good irradiate off on the mutalisks (from a new science vessel), and bring in my supporting valkyries, which devastate the un-armored mutalisks. White pulls back after I lose one cruisers, and one more heavily damaged one falls to the hydralisks. The eight or so mutalisks left kill one science vessel before being chased off by my valkyries. The hydralisks fall, and the overlords are, of course, killed by my valkyries. With the two SCVs left on the island, I build a command center and a supply depot followed by a refinery. My four battle cruisers remain stationed on the island, and I ferry over eight SCV to begin repairs to the red and yellow cruisers. My main and natural command centers begin more SCVs to replace those that went to my island.
White just won't learn, and after I lose two more ghosts to positioning, I nuke the 3:00 natural yet again, killin a luker, an overlord, three drones, a sunken colony, and a spore colony. I'm amazed the Zerg cereberate doesn't die of radiation poisioning. My natural starts to run out of minerals, so I ferry another transport load of SCVs over to my island, getting it running fairly quickly. I start another comsat too. Three more battle cruisers are built, and I settle back as a nuke builds. Constant comstats tell me where white is getting money from. His main and natural and island are mined out, as is the 3:00 main. He is heavily gathering from his mineral-only natural, the 3:00 mineral only natural, and the 3:00 natural again. Blue's only source of income seems to be his mineral-only natural, which is almost mined out, and being harvested over a long distance.
Seeing very little active troops with my scans, I send my valkyries north to the 3:00 natural, and kill the overlords there. Finding it still empty, my four battle cruisers charge in and kill all of the drones, then I focus fire on the hatchery. To my immense annoyance, I see a defiler mound there as well. As soon as the hatchery goes down, I retreat my battle cruisers, but a defiler does manage to get a plague on them. I irradiate the defiler, and retreat the battlecruisers to my island for repairs.
The lack of white troops is soon explained by a massive attack on my natural. As before, two full groups of hydras stream in, getting hit by the tanks. Unlike before, I have few infantry to hold them off. With the natural being almost fully mined out, I retreat many SCVs to my main. When only five or so hydras have been killed, eight mutalisks charge in, taking fire from my valkyries, and kill one of the two tanks, almost getting the other. My valks finish them, but are quickly left with eight opposing hydralisks and no support, so I run them to my main.
Before the silo falls, I launch a nuke at the 3:00 mineral-only natural to prevent the loss of the warhead. My battle cruisers from my island engage four devourers, and destory them, but take damage and are in no shape to fight hydralisks with all the acid spores, so I retreat them to my island. My science vessels irradiate to their heart's content, killing an overlord and eight hyrdralisks. A second wave of eight engulfs my natural though, killing what is left there. I retreat my science vessels with damage. In my main, I take my three battle cruisers which have finished building. I consider defending with in-battle repair, but decide to retreat instead. taking some turret fire from blue's main, and some hydralisk spines from the other side, I make it to my island fine, with minor repairs to be done. My SCV's and a ghost in a bunker do a fine job, killing four hydralisks, and my main falls. I don't manage to get my science facility over to my covert ops in time to start a nuclear silo at my island, however. I do hide the single ghost that was in my main's other bunker in the corner.
Wondering how long this darn game is going to last, I review the situation at my island. I have seven battle cruisers now united, undergoing repair. Sixteen SCVs are mining, and I have desperate need of supply. A second command center has been built for a silo, but I have no tech for it. Before my starports are razed, I start a science facility. A barracks is fit between my northern minerals and my refinery, along with depots in odd places. Three science vessels are recieving repairs with my battle cruisers, and seven valkyries patrol the edges of my island, three very slightly damaged, hoping to intercept drops. Eventually I get a barracks in the air and a starport with a control tower on the outer edges of my island, getting a transport. This allows me to get more depots on the outer area, and I also build an academy on the main part, which is very crowded. Also landing my barracks on the outside, I start production of ghosts, along with wraiths at my starport, since I do not have a physics lab. On the outer edge my depot SCV eventually takes a break and builds a science facility, which I float over to the cliff overlooking my former natural. Boom, a physics lab.
FFA's Make For An Intense, Competitive Game. Keyword: Game
When I get enough supply, I start a nuke at my new silo on the island (the two command centers right next to each other have the added bonus of maximizing harvesting on the normally spacious islands). The first nuke falls at the 3:00 mineral-only natural, which is being heavily mined, but I only get a few drones. Blue strikes the area unbidden by myself, killing the hatchery with six suicide marines. It is later rebuilt. My second nuke lands at white's mineral-only natural, which has been relatively untouched, likely due to fighting with blue and a late start compared to the 3:00 area. Only a few drones and some devourers are lost. I take my seven battle cruisers up to the 3:00 natural, which has been started yet again. I start off the raid by irradiating the defiler sitting there, but it still plagues four of my cruisers. Non-plussed, I simply kill the hatchery (starting yamato for easier raiding at the new physics lab), and retreat for repairs. Pursuing hydralisks damage a science vessle, and devourers retreat after lossing the possibility of hydralisk support.
A few minutes later, blue sparks an interesting topic by mentioning that battle cruisers aren't exactly built for quick strikes, where upon white and I correct him =). I have ferried an SCV over to my cliff's natural, where it starts a starport. When I have seven wraiths, being produced at my island, I head over to my fomer mineral-only natural, to make sure no funny business is being conducted there. I find a new hatchery, and poke at a few hydralisks, before being run off by blue battle cruisers. I decide to down one, seing five, but a comsat scares me away. Blue also has some wraiths with him. The SCV on the cliff ledge makes a command center, which I plan to float to my mineral-only natural. When it is finished, and there is no sign of blue, I float it over, along with my barracks from my island. Stationing my fleet in the area, I ferry over some SCVs and begin to mine.
I am soon reminded about the folly of leaving my fleet in the open, when white attacks, hitting my cruisers with devourers, and following up with hydralisks. I am forced to defend myslef against the first wave, yamatoing the four devourers, and desperately trying to shield my cruisers. My valks take care of some mutalisks and overlords, but heavy casualties are inflicted on my wraiths, and I am reminded why I like battlecruisers better now. I retreat with four battle cruisers and seven wraiths, but am forced to turn again for a second wave of eight hydralisks. These eight are put down, but at a loss of two battle cruisers. I retreat my command center and barracks, but can't find my transport for a moment, and interestingly learn that eight SCVs can take two fully upgraded hydras, which dance just a step or two. White and I both laugh at the situation.
My situation looks bad, but my groove has arrived. I am at one with the Tao. My barracks and command center float up to the 3:00 natural, preceded by my wraiths which kill the defiler mound and extractor there. A third battle cruiser joins my forces from the starport on my island, and I feel a bit better despite the at my (6:00) mineral-only natural. I quickly set up shop, getting a bunker built, and putting my ghost in it. I scan for the lurker that I know is there, and find that cloaked ghosts do not fire even if they are in a bunker. Annoyed, I empty the bunker and uncloak the ghost, get back in, and hydralisks attack. My battle cruisers break the horizon, taking the hydras by surprise, and my wraiths cloak and move in for the kill. My science vessels shield my battle cruisers, and white retaliates by focusing fire on my wraiths. The overlord I hadn't seen before is quickly killed by my valkyries, which also scare off three devourers. I lose all but one wraith, and pull back my battle cruisers for repairs. Another scan kills the lurker, not active in the battle, with the ghost in the bunker and one wraith. Well, it took two scans.
FFA's Are Long Games
I set up a three bunker network, two set behind the refinery, one above and one below, one forward. They are spaced to provide distraction and barriers for my cruisers in the event of a hydralisk attack. My valkyries watch out from above the cliff of the 3:00 main, where red has a base and some static defenses. I see six hydralisks there also. My battle cruisers and science vessels stay above the cliff area. I build some SCVs and mine to my heart's content.
Sending my transport back for some ghosts that were still on my island, I attempt to nuke white's mineral-only natural. The first is successufl, killing six drones and an overlord, while the drones killed my ghost, but not before the nuke fell. I attempt to position for a nuke again, but am stopped by building spore colony defenses as well as overlords and five devourers that drive off my valkyries, at a loss of three devourers and two valkyries. I try to nuke the defenses but an overlord I thought I had killed with the valkyries gets to my ghost and zerglings take down the ghost in the nick of time. I notice about now that the 3:00 mineral natural is mined out (so it was abandoned as a nuke target).
My island mines out and I suddenly notice the base at the 3:00 natural is going to mine out soon as well. Comsatting my mineral-only natural to see if I can use it as a second base, I find blue mining there, apparently over long distance. He needs it too, because he doesn't seem to have minerals for repairs (of three battle cruisers, two are in the severe red). I send over my valkyries, and kill the two damaged battle cruisers, plus a cloaked wraith caught in the missile wall, and retreat to repair the damaged valkyries. Thus assured, I send over my now five battle cruisers, but find the SCVs (and whole command center to the side, my valkyries had discovered it wasn't that long distance) had been retreated. Back at base, I have my four battle cruisers yamato the two sunkens guarding the base north of me, and take the remaining spores, hatchery, and extractor with eight marines pulled temporarily off bunker duty.
With no mission, my battle cruises plug back to my expansion. About a minute later, two odd things happen. First off, white drops some cracklings on my starport on the cliff, apparently unaware of the science facility farther south. I send over my valkyries, which make quick work of the reloaded overlord. Later, after losing three hydralisks to a probing attack on my 3:00 natural, white says "oh my gosh, purple (me) might actually win." I am fairly skeptical of the truth in the tought behind the statement, thinking it might be more of the information war, though I think myself my chances are much better than they have been for quite some time.
That opinion is quickly revised, however, when the minerals for my 3:00 natural are mined out. I cancel a planned sixth battle cruiser at my island starport, and start another command center at the 3:00 natural (I kept the one at the 3:00 natural going because I needed the comsat, and the gas too), and advance my fleet to the cliff overlooking my former natural. Scanning my (6:00) mineral-only natural, I find a hatchery and a small Zerg task force gathered to defend it. Three overlords two devourers and eight hydralisks sit, lettin me take the initiative. I attack, cloning my four battle cruisers to Yamato the devourers and two hydralisks, shielding them as they get attacked by the remaining hydralisks. My valkyries score some more overlord kills.
I gather my stuff together, and move down the command center I built. Eight SCVs are ferried from my mined out island to repair and mine. White, his mineral natural now mined out, launches a final attack, plauging three battle cruisers and a science vessel, as well as hitting them with purple goop from devourers. I send my valkyreis at his mutalisks, however, and intercept them, killing several and some overlords. My battle cruisers are shielded and take no casualties, but are severly injured. I start my eight SCVs to repairing, and bring over my fifth battle cruiser from my island. My command center is about half of the way over from my 3:00 natural when I discover an alarming fact: I am out of minerals for repair. I pull off the gas miners at the 3:00 natural, as well as empty the bunkers, and direct all my stuff to my (6:00) mineral only natural.
The True Nature Of The Tao Is Not To Be Fully Comprehended
It was a good choice to send my infantry, for the eleven marines and one ghost run into six hydralisks and some drones attacking from white, which could have taken out at least three of my battle cruisers. The infantry dies to the point of one marine, when my two healthy battle cruisers intervene, and take some damage. The drones burrow, and I pull back, escorting my SCVs. My Command Center finally arrives, and I begin mining with ten SCVs and repairing with two. White chooses this moment to complain about teaming some more (he had been annoyed but accepting earlier, not accusing us of cheating), and saying he deserved to win the game as he played the best. Blue didn't say much but that he would have won if he was Protoss and Terran was imbalanced. I commented that play which made both Blue and I his enemy might not have been good play, however the scores went. White this left on a not-so-sour, not-so-sweet note, but I think he had a fun time.
Blue harrasses with his wraiths. He kills two SCVs and a science vessel before I get everything centralised. Some cat and mouse goes on with comsat and my valkyries, while he basically circles my base. I implore him to surrender, destroying a scouting starport and yamatoing a turret. He finally surrenders after all of my stuff is repaired, and he loses a few wraiths running away from valks. His response to the animated range of my valks when he ran away was to compare the validity to waste products of bulls. This apparent dung made him mad enough to surrender, and I emerged victorious, gaining a full twenty-four points on the ladder for a really long game.
In the end scores, white had approximately 400,000. Blue had about 230,000. I scored third with 200,000. Red had a measly 18,000.
The victor? Not the highest scoring, nor the best strategist, nor the best tactitian. The victor was he that was closest to the Tao of FFA.
your humble scribe,
'Praetor' Fred Wilson (purple terran)
http://www.wclegacy.com/brigand/
http://www.sclegacy.com/phoenix/
http://www.wclegacy.com/war3/analysis.html
http://www.battlereports.com search:praetor |
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