"Last in line was Advisor "CB". His nickname was based on "Cattlebruiser", although none of the men were quite sure where the name had come from. Some infantrymen whispered that it came from a particularly bad night back home involving thirteen shots of whiskey, a herd of cattle, and a twenty-two year-old Animal Husbandry major. Others swore on the fact that a bloody cow's head was hung in his locker, a testament of what would happen to the men if they ever got out of line. Whatever the case, CB was fiercely competent."
-~CattleBruiser~
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| Fire it up! | | | Author: | | | IP: | edtn0075XXXX | | Date: | 02/03/00 05:02 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 7, Min: 6
Lifetime Rating for SoylentRed: 5.0000 |   | For my first BR, I was hoping to have a lot of nice images from a game which I observed, offering a nice comprehensive view of the game. I've observed 3 or 4 games recently, noting early build orders and snapping shots of all the noteworthy action... unfortunately, there wasn't much of that in any of the games. Instead, the game which has inspired me to tell my tale was a ladder game on none other than Lost Temple that I just finished playing. And it goes a little something like this...
Initial Plans Take Shape
Playing under the name I have been laddering with lately, Golgo19, I joined a game advertised as 1050+. I suspected my opponent was under 1050 himself, like most are, but I didn't care, as I just wanted to have a game. I didn't check his stats, and we went through the standard "HI" "hi.." "GO" "go" conversation which is standard for all ladder games. My opponent [JangKyungil] chose Zerg as I took my usual Terran, and we begun.
I started at 6:00 and was planning on building up for my usual rush vs zerg, which is with about 8 marines and 4 medics. I sent a scout out counter clockwise, and found Jang promptly at 3:00. He was just getting his pool up, and had about 10 drones working, so I popped over to his expansion and sure enough, he had a hatch going up there.
This was good, I thought, since I may be able to run up his ramp and by any sunkens he would put down at his expansion.
I then sent that SCV on a quick run to some other spots to check for a crazy fast double expand. There was none, but just then, 6 zerglings came prancing up to my ramp. It was very late for a rush, and I had the ramp blocked with buildings (although still enough room for lings to get through) and 5 marines waiting. I'm not sure what he expected to accomplish with this attack, but at least he wisely retreated, and set up a few lings as scouts outside my base to warn of any attacks.
Shortly after, just as my force was ready to head out, which was augmented with 2 firebats, I sent the SCV for one last peek at the main. Jang had extended his creep out and had 2 sunken colonies morhping. As long as there was only 2, I shouldn't have much trouble breaking in. Of course, with his scout ling, he had time to throw down 2 more sunks, and get a few more lings to fight with. By the time I arrived, there were 8 lings and 2 more sunkens morphing. Unless I could get at least 1 of the existing sunkens down before the other 2 were up, it would be a lost cause. I stimmed up and went in, and this is where I made my first error.
I targeted the nearest sunk, hoping that my medics would manage to keep my troops in good enough shape to survive the lings before killing them. But I lost a few troops by the time I got the sunk down. Then I quickly dispatched the lings, but it was all too late, as I didn't have enough left to combat the 3 sunks which were now up. All I managed to escape with was 1 marine and the 4 medics.
I then started a factory with the expectation that lurkers would be his next move. I scanned his main, and sure enough, a lair and a den. I sent another SCV to take a peek a couple minutes later to find 3 lurkers morphing outside his base. I then sent 1 marine to patrol along the outside northern edge of my plateau, in hopes of catching a loitering overlord which would be used to slowly drop lurkers in my main. I've learnt the hard way about that move, but it wouldn't be happening today, as 1 lurker ran up to my ramp.
Naturally, lurkers are too fat to get through the wall off. Seige research just finished a few second before the lurk buried itself on my ramp. This was again quite optimistic by him, and after a scan and an arclite shell in the back, he attempted escape, only to meet marine fire and another shell. The other two lurkers were still unaccounted for, but they would not show up next. By now, I had a science facility going up, as well as another command centre to float to my expansion.
The Swarm Puts on Pressure
Curious as to what his next move would be, I scanned both his main, and expansion. A hive was up in his main, and a greater spire was going up at his expansion. I needed to brace myself for the oncoming guardians. I had originally been hoping to cliff his expansion, and was training a dropship, but I cancelled this ship and got a science vessel going. Gas was getting short after I got the 2nd vessel going and irradiate researching. I had my natural mining now, and was just getting a refinery up there when it hit.
About 6 guardians began firing from beyond the cliff overhanging my natural, and it was looking grim. I kept a force of marines and medics on had in case any guardians wandered too far in, and had a wraith in production, as well as another starport. The science vessels had just enough energy for 3 irradiates, and they used them promptly. The cluster of guadians too quite a bit of damage, and the wraith was able to pop the last couple, but not before about 8 SCVs met thier maker, the CC was damaged, and a few marines lost as well.
I really needed to establish that expansion to keep up with him and set out to get it mining again. But he responded very quickly with overlords, another 8 or so guards, 2 devourers, and a queen. At this point I only had 4 wraiths and enough charged vessels for another 4 irradiates. I targeted the devs first, then the most tightly clustered guards. After losing a couple wraiths and most importantly, science vessels, to scourges, I managed to fend him off yet again.
I kept making wraiths and vessels with my little remaining gas, and sent out an SCV to scout for more expansions, because he seemed to get that 2nd attack force very quickly. Sure enough, I ran across him at the 12:00 natural expansion.
The First Counter Strike
With my m&m not being very useful against the waves of guardians, I send a squad up to this base. When I arrived, there was 3 sunkens and a few lings scattered around, along with some useless spore colonies to fend off sci raids. This time, I sent my troops in to target the nearest sunken, but quickly attacked ground as the lings came out to engage. The lings and sunkens fell, and just as I was going in to get the hatchery, 2 lurkers ran up. Fortunately, I had plenty of scans and enough marines to kill them before any damage was taken. The expansion fell but presumably, he had the 12:00 main too, as there was a hatchery guarding this ramp from above. There was nothing I could do about that with that force, so I left them guarding the natural.
Jang was being very persistant with his air attacks though. I had sent out a few wraiths to hunt stray overlords, but had run into an assortment of air units heading my way. It was quite a fearsome mixed force of guardians, devs, scourges, overlords, and queens. Again, it hit my natural. Many SCVs were lost before I could get them all out. By now, I had quite a bit of irradiate ready to cast, but unfortunately, the scourges were intent on not letting that happen. I got irradiates off on 2 of the 4 devs, and about 4 of the 10 guardians, but lost many vessels to the scourges before I could use thier remaining energy. The CC was commandeeres by the queens, which was bad news for me, not because of infested terrans, but because I now only had my original CC and one about half way through building.
Fortunately, the damage from irradiate overlapped a lot, and had done enough damage for me to clean up with m&m and the 3 wraiths I then had. But once again, I had lost my expansion and would not be mining again for some time. I had originally planned to send the CC I was constructing to the 9:00 main, but now this one was sent to establish my natural yet again. I started another one for my mineral only expansion at this time as well.
The force I left up at the 12:00 natural had disappeared while I was defending my base, an with a scan, I saw Jang mining again from that spot. I was felt my end was near, as I was severly out expanded at this point. My main was dry, and I was mining my natural again, which had quite a bit left on it, since I could barely mine it for 3 minutes at a time without more guardians coming to mix it up. I had also jsut started my mineral only spot mining, and was reinforcing it with bunkers. Scanning around, I saw that Jang had mined out his main, and natural. And was mining heavily from both the 12:00 main and natural
Tension Builds as Scouts Eye Everything
I now was keeping very close tabs on the remaining expansions with wraiths, but so was Jang with scourges and lings everywhere. At this point, neither of us would be expanding without the other knowing. I didn't have enough to spare to defend the 9:00 main, and certainly not either islands with so many guardians, devs and scourges around.
Fearing that the game was lost, I decided to make an attack on the 12:00 front door. I took 20 marines, 8 medics and 3 vessels.
A few irradiates took out the lurkers, but there was still many lings, sunkens and spore colonies to deal with. With all that warning, I scanned and was that Jang had brought some guardians and scourges to aid in his defense. I was slipping in and irradiated a few guards and devs. Jang apparently feared the vessels, and sent a large pack of scourges to get them. Luckily, with so many marines, I could shoot most of them down before they could do damage. Then Jang struck my forces with a couple packs of lings and a few guardians. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold them off, and although I did a lot of damage, my brave marines went down.
A Main Goes Down
At the sight of so many lings, I began to make a few firebats to scatter amongst my forces. Just then, a long awaited drop occured on the left side of my main, which was essentially undefended. The drop consisted of 8 to 10 overlords with about 75% lings and the rest as hydras. I had at least 7 vessels at this point, fortunately, and began to irradiate like crazy. All I had for infantry in my base at this time was 3 medics, 2 firebats and about 7 marines. By now though, I had upgraded to 2/2 while the zerg had been spending his money and time upgrading his air, which was at 3 attack. I believe these upgrades saved me in this battle. Although I lost most of my main, I held off the remaining forces.
Luckily, before my main was destroyed, I had made 3 dropships, which I was planning to use to hit 12:00 main. I scaped up enough infantry to fill all but one spot of 2 dropships and sent them on thier way. In an oversight by Jang, he only had 2 spore colonies defending that base, and I quickly destroyed it, only to be met by the all to familiar guardians, scourges, and now zerglings who eliminated that strike force. Again though, I did my fair share of damage with the 3 science vessels I had sent, but I lost all 3 vessels in the process.
Now, at this point, I had no way to make more vessels, and was quite a ways off since I lost so much in my main. I was also short on supply, and had no academy. I frantically began to rebuild with my hopes lying in my remaining 6 or so vessels and 3 barracks. With some more scouting and scanning, I found the 12:00 natural was mined out, but Jang was now mining his mineral only spot. The rest was free, but still being heavily scouted by both sides.
Jangs end game plan was now becoming apparent, as a large force of zerglings began to stream into my base, with support from guardians and scourges, taking out my mineral only expansion, and damaging my nearly mined out natural. Many irradiates were cast and once again I had defended, but I was now not mining at all and had about 200 minerals. Luckily, I still had the CC for my mineral only, and at least 16 SCVs huddling in my main.
Again, I scraped up a force of infantry to attempt to slow his resource intake. He had apparently overestimates his standing ling and guardian force, and I struck his undefended mineral only expansion down before he could react and get his forces there.
Eventually he would though, and my attack force was lost. But things were looking up. I was now mining very hard from my mineral only spot, and it appeared he had lost his last active base. With a scan though, I found him getting the 12:00 main back in operation. 2 dropships were quickly sent, and their cargo of infantry struck down the base, but once again, the force was lost to guardians and zerglings.
Fire It Up
He then played his trump card. A very large force of zerglings with a few hydras, along with scourges for vessels, and some more guardians he charged into my mineral only spot. Before my forces could arrive to defend, the CC had to be lifted, and many SCVs were lost. The guardians were irradiated, vessels were lost to scourges, and all of 2 firebats, 7 marines, and a few medics met up with the fearsome force of dozens of charging zerglings. One bat was lost, and in an effort to save myself, a defensive matrix was laid down on the remaining one.
And what then proceeded to happen was miraculous. This single firebat with the help of a few marines behind begain to roast literally dozens of zerglings in his path. The notches on his flamethrower passes 20 as the piles of zerglings grew. A last few lings trickled in to thier death, and my base had held.
I set the CC back down, started mining again, and sent my remaining force, including the heroic firebat to Jangs mineral only spot, which he was long distance mining, and then via 1 dropship to 12:00, which he was mining again as well. With resistance only consisting of 2 guardians and a handful of lings, that base fell as well, and Jang surrendered as his zerg powerhouse was defeated.
In the end, after 600 dead zerg units, the most startling statistic was that Jang had spent almost exactly twice as much resources in the course of the hour long match. 71 thousand to my 36 thousand. I will not go into a list of lessons learnt, as they are the usual "never give up", and "scout a lot". Thanks Jang, that was the most exciting game I've had in a long time, and I hope everyone else enjoyed it too.
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