"The medic giggles as you show her your Full House. Yes, this game of strip poker is going quite well. 'This time you'll have to take off more than your first aid kit,' you say with a sly wink."
- Drefsab
|
| A Fishy Free-For-All | | | Author: | | | IP: | dial209-XXXX | | Date: | 12/21/99 10:12 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 8, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Macdonough: 7.6111 |   |
Intro
A few days ago, after having a ladder winning streak on one of my other names, I decided I would give up on my ladder record on my most-used name (Sgt.Mac). 'Hmm, what's the funnest way to destroy my record,' I thought. 'Ah ha!...A free for all!'
Looking around for a FFA on anything but Temple (temple ffa's can get nasty), I found one on Dire Straits. When I went in, all of the slots were open and there was some guy sitting there saying "2vs2 tvb." I told him that you can't ally because it's ladder; so, all the slots filled up and we agreed to a FFA. All I could think was 'I'm gonna wipe the floor with this guy.'
*Oh yea, if the pictures don't load then hit "reload" (netscape); or if one has an x on it then right-click, "show picture" (IE)*
Briefing
Note: I'm changing white's color to red so you can see it.
'What's this? smitte3 is 1146? Maybe I won't wipe the floor with him. But wait a second...if he's 1146 then he should know you can't ally in ladder games. Something smells fishy here...'
Early Game
My build order starts out like a Reaver rush:
8:pylon
9:assim (don't need Deon on this map; besides, he's out with a stubbed toe = )
10:gate
cy core
robo facility
And then I deviate and start pumping goons.
pylon
gate
As soon as my shuttle pops out, I take 2 probes and a goon to the island directly below me. After starting a nexus, I shuttle 2 more goons over.
Knowing I would eventually be facing large drops or whatnot, I start teching to the mighty Templar.
'Oh crap this is BW not vanilla!' -- I realize that I don't have any detection and promptly warp in a forge. For good measure I put 4 cannons at home and 6 at my expansion. Call me a cannon-whore, but FFA's are all about resources.
First Blood
About the time that my expansion comes online, I hear the first screams of the game...coming from iceman9969. From what I can make out, smitte3 and iceman9969 are friends and smitte3 knows that his pal sucks. smitte3 must be playing with his prey before he devours it.
I take this opportunity to expand to the island directly west of my main. I shuttle over 3 dragoons, 1 reaver, 2 temps, and 4 probes. That expansion quickly comes online, but just as soon iceman9969 attacks it with about 6 BattleCruisers. 'Figures.' He takes out my cannons on the west side and then moves in. By now I have 5 dragoons there and they are all waiting to ambush iceman9969's BCs once they fly inland.
*BOOM!*
'Grrr....he yamatoed my reaver! Eat lightning, bastard!'
4 psi-storms and a few dragoons later, there is nothing but debris left of the Terran fleet.
Teal says something like, "Uh oh, purple is coming!" I have no idea what he means my that, but it sounds like fear...and I like it.
Timeout
By now I had scouted the entire map with observers, so lets get caught up on everything.
iceman9969's main was fairly small as it only had the buildings required for BCs, but had a network of turrets for detection. Teal was just now finishing his expansion on the big, left-center island.
smitte3 had taken the island above him and covered it with turrets, just like his main. 'Surely he's just a turret whore and not a newbie...I mean, with his 1146 and all. I dunno.' Because of the turrets I could not see blue's troop path, but a look into the crystal ball tells us he's doing MMF,tank,goliath drops and then switching to BCs and SVs.
.-=DarkBlade=-. occupied the southernmost resource node and was currently mobilizing a fleet of Carriers. He also had many zealots and cannons on the west side of his base, signifying that smitte3 had attacked him and iceman9969 both.
Back to the Action
Feeling the squeeze on minerals, smitte3 decides to take the big, right-center island...under the watchful eye of 2 of my observers = ) A couple trips with my
 shuttle leaves a formidable force of 6 dragoons, 1 reaver, and 1 temp at the top of the island, out of sight of smitte3. Unfortunately, smitte3 thought 4 SCVs, 2 goliaths, and 2 wraiths was a good expanding force. What some people fail to realize is the importance of holding an expansion so late in the game. It could mean life or death. In this case, smitte3 was out of money and I had my hands on a sizely resource node.
'Hey, what's that huge teal blip moving across the minimap? Oh how nice, it's a full fleet of BCs advancing on my main.' *Sigh*
'Ok lets see what kind of stuff I can defend with...looks like 2 goons and 2 temps. Great.' I storm what I can and try to stall with my goons while I shuttle in more templar (4) from my expansions. I manage to destroy the last BC with my last storm and then merge two wounded templar into an Archon to patrol the west edge of my main. 'Whew!'
During this time .-=DarkBlade=-. wiped out iceman9969's expansion on the left-center island and was setting up camp for himself. Across the strait all my troops can see are a few random interceptors. iceman9969's and smitte3's screams are horrible. .-=DarkBlade=-. is on a warpath, and soon smitte3 and iceman9969 speak in a desparate and hopeless tone.
I, however, have no fear. While securing the right-center island, I had noticed I had a surplus in minerals. So, I built a...one of those things...what is it called?...that...queer-beacon or something. A few seconds later, 5 stargates begin to flicker. This is when smitte3 makes another move to get his island back. He drops 2 tanks and assorted infantry on the very edge of the island. I engage with my dragoons and storm the tanks. A scarab kills the rest of the MMF. The battle was only 10 seconds, and I only lost one goon.
After that skirmish, I add two shuttles-full of probes to the right-center island and begin building nexi, pylons, and cannons. Completely abandoning my first expansion on the eastern island, I relocate the dragoons there to the new base. 'I'm keeping this expansion no matter what!'
'Hey, what's that huge teal blip moving across the minimap? Oh how nice, it's a another fleet of BCs advancing on my main.' *Sigh*
 This time there aren't as many BCs, but I don't have as many templar either, and my carriers aren't quite through. I storm 4 times before those templar bite the dust...er...psi. Two more templar pop out of my gateways, but they are
 cut down before I can make an archon out of them. I shuttle over some goons and a temp from my new expansion and put an end to the threat. With that, iceman9969 says, "Well, I'm out. gg sgt." "gg teal." 'It's about time he's out of money! Maybe he'll stop being a pain.'
Iceman9969 and smitte3 begin debating on who will die next and who will win. Throughout the entire game I haven't had any major conflicts with anyone except iceman9969, and I haven't said anything until now as well. Iceman9969 points out my potential: "Purple might be able to win."
'Crap, my cover is blown.'
"Shhh...."
Judgement Day
The time has come. My armada of carriers, arbiters, corsairs, observers, and shuttle with a templar in it thunders over the southern front. .-=DarkBlade=-. watches in silence as I rip the heart out his operations. His main and 4 newly-built carriers crumble under my war machine, which continues to roll over his expansion on the southern island.
"gg purp."
"gg"
I proceed to destroy .-=DarkBlade=-.'s new expansion on the left-center island.
.-=DarkBlade=-. was eliminated.
The air is still for a minute...and then smitte3 and iceman9969 realize their fate.
Threats
"Damn purple, how'd you get so much stuff?"
"I have four bases."
"That's too many!"
"It's not enough."
"Yea, right. You should've let us have some."
"Umm..."
"expand more"
"I tried!"
"but you wouldn't let me!"
"expand more...with troops, that is"
"I did!"
"with more troops"
"hey, purp...kill blue"
"k"
"bring it on!"
"k"
"come on!"
Smitte3 is Full of You-know-what
I attack smitte3 from the east and find his entire base littered with turrets. 'This is so sad.'
Judging from smitte3's defiant attitude, I expected to meet some troop resistance, so I'm not surprised when a full fleet of BCs escorted by 2 SVs greets my own fleet. 'No problem, all I need is my temp in the shuttle. Hey! Where's my temp?! Where's my shuttle?! Crap...it's sitting all the way across the screen behind .-=DarkBlade=-.'s old main. Nooo I'm going to lose my fleet!'
I'm racking my brain trying to think of how I can micro my way out of losing this battle, when I remember that for some odd reason I had researched stasis. *click* 'Yes! I did!' *BOOM* 'Nooo I lost the arbiter! I only have one left...quick...oh no...smitte3's SV is moving in to EMP...attack it!' *BOOM* 'Yes! now stasis!' *BOOM* 'Crap, lost the arbiter...but look--I stasised just in time! Whew.' With half of smitte3's BCs now frozen, I successfully divide and conquer, taking minimal losses. Now that I'm down from 200 pop, I make 2 more carriers and 1 arbiter to join my main force. By then smitte3's main is gone and I've listened patiently to his ceaseless whining.
Then smitte3 says something that makes me want to ring his neck: "Purple, will you quit so I can have the win?"
In reply, I d-web the entire right side of his remaining base on the western island and move in my fleet. 'Blue is a freaking ladder abuser! It certainly explains his 5-0 record. His 1146 should be an 846.'
Smitte3 keeps begging me to quit, but it only makes me kill him faster.
smitte3 was eliminated.
'Good riddance!'
The Final Battle
 Basically, iceman9969 just starts attacking me with his buildings. He actually manages to flank me and land one in my base. It must've taken him 10 minutes to fly that far, but I must admit it really surprised me.
 "Look, I'm still alive!"
"yep"
"I did good, didn't I?"
"yep"
"but I'm coming to get you"
I finally found all of iceman9969's buildings that were floating all over the map and finished him off.
iceman9969 was eliminated.
"gg"
"gg"
"cya"
Debriefing
Smitte3 lost 22 points, putting him at 1124.
I gained 30 points, putting me at 1060. 'Ha! Screw you, blue.' (get it? ok, nm)
Lessons Learned
1. Ladder ratings mean nothing (for the most part)
2. Build more temps...always
3. (lesson taught): expand lots with lots of troops
4. Stay on top of your upgrading...'oops!'
5. I guess I did wipe the floor with smitte3. No...I fried that bastard.
Heh heh heh
Comments
Please comment on anything you want to, but please make it constructive criticism. And remember that this report was done from my point of view, so it is not devoted to covering the actions of the other players. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
--Macdonough
|
|
|
|
Home
Forum
Starcraft Tournaments
