Contains 1.13mbs of Pictures

----- Welcome to my second Report ! Once again proceed at your own risk :] A few notes about this one: I have updated the formatting slightly. First of all I've had someone else read this over (thank you n.n) and have read it over myself carefully, and so there shouldn't be any mistakes. As you can see there are now traditional indented paragraphs, however they will not show up properly if the colors don't work for you. This should work on IE 5 or higher, but it will NOT work on Netscape. This doesn't add much, but I like the feel. Hopefully it won't be rendered useless by pictures breaking the text up too much. The pictures now have borders as some suggested, just to add some flavour to them. About the game: This is a short but really fun PvP I played, which I have reported as something to do while I search for an epic game. Do not whine about the players sucking, because they don't, and in any case above a certain level of newbishness a game is more interesting if it is close and unique then just gosu. This was a really fun game, and I hope it makes a fun read for you. If you want world class players, this isn't the place; if the players not being up to your 'standards' takes away from reading pleasure, please do yourself a favour and go away now.

This is a relatively short game, so you can afford to go carefully and maybe ponder along the way :]

----- The map, amazingly enough, is not Lost Temple ! It is, in fact, Challenger. Not much better, but good for variety :] Since I don't play this map for 99% of my games, I don't really have any complaints about balance... all in its actually fairly close. Unlike some maps (eg. Rivalry) the cliffs at min line on the South side of the map have room for tanks, just as the North, so no glaring position differences. For those of you unfamiliar with this map, its a 1v1 128 x 96 map, with one starting position in the North, and one in the South. There is a wide choke for each base, roughly the size of the natural choke in Lost Temple (but with no high ground), and a Vespene (!) 'expansion' in each main. There are two island Vespene/Mineral expansions, two island Mineral expansions, two land Mineral expansions, and two land (other than those in the mains) Vespene only expansions.

Early Game: Rush Much ?

----- If I remember correctly, I (thats katome :]) chose Protoss and dis|amar randomed Protoss. Quick note: I'm only showing colors once, so make sure you figure it out now to avoid confusion :] I've done that since I'm avoiding the third person now, so I'm not coloring all the 'I's, and so that not just dis|amars name stands out. I ended up at the North position, while dis|amar ended up at the South. As you can probably guess, this is no mere Dragoon producing contest, because I wouldn't take the time to Report it otherwise :] We both cloned flawlessly (Challenger minerals are a mile away from the Town Hall, dunno how you would screw that :/) and mined away. dis|amar took his seventh Probe off minerals, and let it sit and wait for 100 Minerals to accumulate, and then built a Pylon. Only a fraction of a second later my eighth Probe constructed my Pylon, and went to scout. dis|amar used his Gateway Probe to scout, and so it left just as I discovered his Pylon and Gateway which had started about 10 hp later than mine.
-----Here our builds diverged, I built an Assimilator for Dragoons, and he built... Another Gateway ! As soon as the first of dis|amar's Gateways finished, he queued a Zealot; and when the second Gateway finished he queued another Zealot (right about when the first Zealot finished) and built a pylon. When my Gateway finished, I built a Cybernetics core. With the Probe that had constructed it, I scouted again, to meet a Zealot and his scouting Probe on its way back: they killed my probe promptly. This delay was enough to allow my first Dragoon to finish upon his offensive arrival. Back at dis|amar's base, as his second Pylon finished he started a third Gatway ! Hes producing Zealots as steadily as possible, with little interruption.
-----I start a Pylon and Dragoon upon the Cybernetics Core's completion. dis|amar's first Zealot arrived just as my first Dragoon popped out, his second was not far behind. I grabbed most of my Probes (I just Ctrl clicked my mineral line) and hit the Zealot with them, while my Dragoon fired. He pulled back until the second Zealot caught up, and then moved in again. Both Zealots perished, leaving my initial Dragoon with 28 hp. The second Dragoon finishes seconds later, but I had to wait to queue another because none of my Probes had been mining Minerals, and I had only 66. dis|amar meanwhile is whoring Zealots out of his three Gatways T.T -----His supply at the moment is only one or two ahead of me, as I have had uninterrupted Probe production; but hes getting ahead fast, and has more supply in offensive units, which is good for him now if not for the future. In any case he continues producing Probes for the majority of the game, if intermittently. dis|amar goes on the offensive once again, this time with 4 Zealots, just as I start my Robotics Bay. I have 3 Dragoons (He left one Zealot at home, and has at least one almost done in his Gateways.) He arrives and takes out a Probe I had unluckily sent to scout at that very moment, and then starts on my Cybernetics Core... My Dragoons engage, with the 28hp (and now 50 shields) one rearmost. I dance those three suckers for all they're worth, for the most part anticipating where his Zealots will go, killing one before he retreats. Wisely I don't pursue.

Mid Game: Still Teching Like a 'Whore'

-----During this, dis|amar built a Cybernetics Core, and has now started a Citadel of Adun, and has 3 Dragoons queued in his Gateways. I build an Observatory as the Robotics finishes, and start researching Dragoon Range. When the Observatory finishes, I build an Observer and start Observer speed research, and start my second Gateway. I queue a Shuttle and send the first Observer to my choke, where it discovers five Zealots and three Dragoons heading for me ! My force currently consists of 5 Dragoons (Including the former 28hp 'Goon, who after the last attack is now 11hp 'Goon.) dis|amar immidiately targets and destroys the first Pylon he comes across, while I target the closest of his Dragoons with all of mine. His forces collide with mine, and kill my other previously injured Dragoon just as his first dies. I move my Dragoons around to put his Dragoons between mine and his Zealots, and along with a newly produced Dragoon from my Gateway which is on the opposite side of his offense, pick off the second Dragoon of his three, losing two more of mine (including 11hp 'Goon :[), leaving me with four. I target the last of his Dragoons while avoiding the Zealots as best I can, and kill it before I lose another of my numbers. Just as I back my Dragoons off and prepare to dance them, dis|amar wisely retreats his 5 Zealots knowing they would do no damage.

-----My Shuttle arrives, and I immidiately load Dragoons and head towards his base over the waters, accompanied by an Observer. Meanwhile he has 3 new Dragoons and 3 queued in his Gateways, and has just started a Templar Archives. I'm producing Dragoons out of two Gateways, and have started warping a Robotics Support Bay. I leave my Observer at his choke, noting that his four Dragoons stand in the choke while his five Zealots are off just to one side so as to flank anything that attacks. My Shuttle slips into the back of his base, and unloads two Dragoons on the cliff overlooking his mineral line. They kill five of his mining Probes before his six Dragoons arrive and dispose of my Dragoons, losing one of their number in disposal of the threat. I hesitated running the Shuttle, and so it just barely escaped the Dragoons... to be shot down by a Cannon that just warped for protection of his mineral line :[ That was cost effective T.T

-----The Robotics Support Bay just finished, so I research Shuttle Speed, and queue a Reaver and Shuttle (in that order) In my Robotics. I send the Observer watching his choke on a temporary search for Expansions; he returns shortly finding nothing. Fortunately I have been macroing, and am not defenseless. dis|amar too, in the sudden calm starts a Robotics Bay to move towards Reavers, and queues two Dark Templar (two very evil Templar.) dis|amar sets off to attack with the two Evil Dark Templar, which I fail to notice passing under my Observer, and five Zealots and seven Dragoons. I did however notice the attack, and so position my Dragoons at my choke, and the Reaver in a Shuttle just over the water so I can unload it behind his forces. Little do I know that two Dark Templar are here, and my only Observer is half way across the map... He hasn't noticed my Observers for lack of them on his own part, perhaps if I had shown them to a Cannon he would not have sent the Dark Templar, but he did :[ His troups rush through my choke in a haphazard line, immidiately under fire from my Dragoons. As soon as the tail end of his forces arrive I drop my Reaver in the midst. The Reaver kills one Zealot and injures 3 others, while my Dragoons kill all seven of his losing only two: he retreats the Zealots quickly, but not the Dark Templar which I fail to notice popping Probes in my Mineral line :[

End Game: Advanced Technology > Diverse Technology

-----I pursue his forces with all nine of my Dragoons, and load up my new Reaver with the other quickly before proceeding to his base. Right about now his Dark Templar ran out of Probes to slice, and so he started hitting my Nexus, when I finally noticed their presence... This is critical for me, because I have only 50 minerals and I must both defend and do as much damage as possible. My Observer raced back to my base, and shortly after my Shuttle with both Reavers followed. The Dragoons killed a Zealot at his base, but retreated in the face of four Zealots, two Dragoons, two Dark Templar, and a Vespene Cube bearing Probe !
-----Meanwhile my Reavers have dealt with his Dark Templar at my base, and I load them up and send them back to his base with my Dragoons. Hoping to catch me detectionless once again, his two Dark Templar head out... and meet my ten Dragoons now accompanied by two Observers. The Templar die. At his base I destroy his army, including a new Reaver, and some hastily warped Cannons at the cost of one Dragoon and proceed to raze his base. He conceeds with a congradulatory gg. GG indeed ! Well played :] Slightly unlucky for him, but he kept the pressure on as hard as he could. The final scores were 39312 and 32141.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope you enjoyed it ^_^