"as we all know reavers are very effeicient"
-ronin~
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| Reporting Live from Dark Star | | | Author: | | | IP: | 24.66.17XXXX | | Date: | 06/22/00 03:06 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for [LoR]-Napoleic: 7.3333 |  |
Well folks, this is [LoR]-Napoleic reporting for channel 837 news live from the Umojan sector. It looks like the feud betweeen Bouten Enterprises and Valkyrae INC. has escalated.
History
The feud over this little spot of land has been an ongoing conflict for many months. Both parties were members of the Umojan Protectorate, a mining conglomerate based on Mutual Defense from outside aggressors. The Umojan Protectorate is best known for the developement of the Goliath MK 2, a potent weapon of war.
Bouten Enterprises, headed up by the famous war hero [LoR]-Curly, secceeded from the Protectorate many months ago under mysterious circumstances. In the past weeks it has been revealed that Bouten left due to Clause 14 of the Umojan Protectorate Act:
...Any and all resources independantly located by a member of the Umojan Protectorate shall be duly revealed to the Director of the Protectorate, who shall forthwith determine the optimum use of said resourses for the good of the Protectorate...
Bouten Enterprises, under [LoR]-Curly, had, in fact, located a significant deposit of both minerals and vespine gas. Due to a lack of market for raw ore, Bouten Enterprises' core product (which has since been replaced by minerals) Bouten Enterprises has sunk to obscurity, scratching out an existance with the leftovers of large corporations. [LoR]-Curly, the consumate war hero, couldn't swallow the humiliation, and acted unilaterally to restore Bouten Enterprises to its former glory. He secceeded from the Umojan Protectorate and relocated all of his resourses to the area known as 'Dark Star', a remote district far from the centers of Umoja.
The Director of the Umojan Protectorate, [LoR]-Vega, realised the danger this posed to the unity of the Protectorate. As a result he is determined to make an example of Bouten Enterprises. His goal was to hopefully bluff [LoR]-Curly back into the Protectorate. To act as representitive, he sent [LoR]-Valkyrae.
[LoR]-Valkyrae, Admiral of the Umojan Fleet scarcely needs any introduction to our viewers. It was he who successfully defended the Arctic Station from 3 aggressors simultaneously. It was he who defeated Tassadar himself in the skirmish of the Lost Temple. [LoR]-Valkyrae is a hard nosed military man, unlikely to back down from any threat of [LoR]-Curly's.
It was a situation doomed from the start as neither of the proud commanders would back down. Negotiations quickly broke down and [LoR]-Vega was forced to go to war or concede the area to [LoR]-Curly. With the turmoil surrounding Umoja in these days of strife, [LoR]-Vega wisely ordered [LoR]-Valkyrae home. [LoR]-Valkyrae openly defied the director...
[LoR]-Vega has imposed economic sanctions against both factions, but without his two best military commanders, is powerless to do much else. [LoR]-Valkyrae and [LoR]-Curly stood at the brink of war for months, until today. Military experts are unable to predict a victor, as each is undefeated in all of their various conflicts. Whatever the result, the battle will be a fierce exhibition of the mastery of war and the savagery of combat. All of Umoja sits on the edge of it's seat, grotesquely fascinated with this conflict. It's almost as if the people want the war to happen, just to watch two masters at work, and to see who is the better...
Opening Moves
 [LoR]-Valkyrae approaches from the north west, setting up a Command centre in a little canyon. [LoR]-Curly is defending from the sout east, also in a little canyon. Things to be noted: The area is dominated by cliffs and narrow paths between elevations. Clearly shuttles and tanks will be the dominant units in play. There is also a natural expansion on high ground near each of the starting positions. Both of the starting positions are on low ground surrounded by high ground. Due to the skill of both commanders, the terrain will be put to excellant use, and be a key factor in most battles.
[LoR]-Curly makes a quick observation of his surroundings with an scv, and locates the natural and all ramps rather than scouting for [LoR]-Valkyrae. From this it can be determined he is playing a defensive style of play. He sees that the only access to his main base is through a ramp leading to surrounding cliffs. There are two ramps from the cliffs to the rest of the map. Curly opts to construct 2 bunkers at a narrow spot through which [LoR]-Valkyrae must pass if he hopes to get to the ramp leading down to Curly's main. He also set up a fast expansion at his natural, which is semi-defended by these bunkers.
[LoR]-Valkyrae has began much more offensively minded. He sends his scouting scv on a mission to locate [LoR]-Curly . After he finds his prey, he too analyses the situation. Soon he has a plan and is ready to strike his opponent... |
At this time, [LoR]-Curly has only 2 tanks to defend himself. [LoR]-Curly is using a floating barracks to scout for his tanks, while [LoR]-Valkyrae is using comsat. His dropships also attempt to scout, but they are both shot down by turrets and marines before [LoR]-Valkyrae's tanks can blast them to oblivion. [LoR]-Curly's barracks takes heavy fire from [LoR]-Valkyrae's bunker, but resolutely remains to scout for it's commander. Comsat proves to be too inconsistant a scout, and [LoR]-Curly's tanks fire off several more shells. The battle is finally won by [LoR]-Curly when he drops a tank onto the cliff and uses it to sneak around and finish off the drop.
[LoR]-Valkyrae managed to kill the barracks and several scv's before his drop was extinguished however.
Meanwhile, [LoR]-Curly has begun producing wraiths and sends the first to scout for [LoR]-Valkyrae . He locates the main just as the combat started in fast and furious. While both players are engaged in intense micro, the wraith just sits up at [LoR]-Valkyrae's base pelting the Control Tower at will. It actually razes the Control Tower, but then is chased away by some marines after the main battle is over. As it heads home, it happens upon [LoR]-Valkyrae's expansion attempt at his natural.
 [LoR]-Valkyrae sends in three marines to chase the wraith away. The wraith, however, is undeterred and with a manic ferocity furiously chips the Command Center's paint.
[LoR]-Curly is clearly quite bitter about the loss of his courageous pilot, and is ready to strike back. With cunning and stealth, he moves a tank forward and begins to exact his revenge on [LoR]-Valkyrae's bunker, which was set up as part of his previous tank push on [LoR]-Curly .
Oh, whats this? It seems we have the Channel 837 strategic analyst, [LoR]-Geist live for an interview. Let's see what he has to say about the battle thus far, but before, some statistics to clear up what has gone down so far:
Well [LoR]-Geist, what do you think so far?
[LoR]-Geist: Well, its obvious to me that [LoR]-Curly is relying heavily on the inherent defensive capablities of his troops while [LoR]-Valkyrae is attempting to gain the upper-hand with a key, damaging attack. So far it is a stalemate, [LoR]-Curly has not gained a clear defensive victory, as he lost a barracks and several scv's, but [LoR]-Valkyrae failed to inflict enough damage to gain a clear upper hand. If the battles continue to go this way, the battle could last all day.
[LoR]-Napoleic: Any predicitions of the victor?
[LoR]-Geist: I couldn't possibly hazard a guess at this time. I will say this, however, if [LoR]-Valkyrae is continued to allow to make these attacks, he will eventually critically damage [LoR]-Curly . I sincerely doubt that [LoR]-Curly will remain on the defensive for the entire match however.
[LoR]-Napoleic: Thank you very much for your time, [LoR]-Geist, and I will check back in with you after some more developement to the battle.
[LoR]-Geist: It was my pleasure, and I look forward to our next chat. This battle is shaping up to be a great one already...
[LoR]-Napoleic: Wait a minute folks, looks like we have a new bulletin! [LoR]-Valkyrae has just began his next offensive program. It looks as though he has sent in a wraith of his own to scout out [LoR]-Curly's base. It's found an unprotected tank, as well.
 [LoR]-Curly allowed his concentration to lapse for a second, and [LoR]-Valkyrae made him pay for it. Lets see what [LoR]-Valkyrae will make of his new knowledge, and perhaps a temporary advantage with a free kill of one of [LoR]-Curly's few tanks. [LoR]-Valkyrae has replaced his Control Tower and has made a shuttle. It's headed towards [LoR]-Curly's natural expansion for a drop, while the wraith continues to annoy [LoR]-Curly's supply depots on the opposite side of his base. Perhaps with this distraction, the drop will be a success. The tanks are being unloaded now, and are seiging up. You can just picture the eager looks on the gunners faces as they prepare to rip apart the 12 undefended scvs. Wait! Whats this?!
 I can hear [LoR]-Valkyrae groan from here as his well planned and well exectuted attack is thwarted by the mere luck of [LoR]-Curly having 2 tanks in a shuttle already. Another failed attack by [LoR]-Valkyrae , and this time he only got off 2 shots, killing 1 or 2 scvs at the most. [LoR]-Curly has easily taken map control with that victory, and uses it to expand once again, to the North East. [LoR]-Valkyrae is too skilled to let [LoR]-Curly get away with this paltry attempt, however. He sends in his same 3 marines to squelch the lone scv. [LoR]-Curly is determined to keep the initiative however, and as such makes yet another attempt at expansion. This time he does it properly, sending 4 scvs and a tank to the middle, where there is a massive mountain without a path to the high ground. It is on this mighty bastion that [LoR]-Curly makes a real attempt to expand. He begins his Command Center and 3 turrets simultaneously. Suddenly, from over the horizon...
[LoR]-Valkyrae will have to take aggresive action to stem that expansion if he hopes to stick to his plan, or he if he changes tack now, will he instead make 2 expansions of his own while [LoR]-Curly fortifies that position? Let us see...
Well no doubt about it, [LoR]-Valkyrae is sticking to his strategy. He's rolling up 5 tanks, and 4 wraiths to knock this expansion out of operation. Due to the continual conflict, that is actually quite a large force. [LoR]-Curly has naught but a wraith and 3 tanks right now. How will he manage to hold off this attack? Is it even possible?
 The battle commences as the tanks seige up right below the cliff next to the minerals. From here they blast scvs and turrets at will. [LoR]-Curly attempts to move his own tank up to defend himself, but with the wraiths scouting, [LoR]-Valkyrae's tanks have no trouble at all reducing it to shards of molten metal. [LoR]-Curly is in dire straits now, as he sends in one of his last remaining defensive resources, a lone wraith. Hey! Don't laugh...
 With an amazing stroke of luck, [LoR]-Curly catches [LoR]-Valkyrae totally unprepared and kills off all 4 of his wraiths!
 [LoR]-Curly alternates between sighing in relief and laughing out loud for a sec, then moves in the winged fiend to bother the tanks for a whle. [LoR]-Valkyrae , meanwhile, alternates between seething with rage and goggling with shock for a sec, then sends in 2 wraiths of his own, this time WITH comsat, to keep the attack alive.
 [LoR]-Valkyrae retakes the skies, batting [LoR]-Curly's wraiths out of the air with some gemini missiles. Now that he is free to proceed with his attack at will, he manouvres his tanks around the east side of the cliff in order to reach the last turret and the Command Center. [LoR]-Curly is about 5 arclites away from losing this expansion. What trick can he pull off to rescue the desperate situation? [LoR]-Curly does, in fact, have a little something up his sleeve...
And it's a stunning recovery from seeming doom. [LoR]-Curly seems absolutely unassailable today, but once again, [LoR]-Valkyrae has dealt enough damage to prevent [LoR]-Curly from running away with the game. All of the scv's on the mountain have been destroyed, (6) and as a result it will be quite a while before this expansion starts to make it's money back for [LoR]-Curly . Lets check back in once again with [LoR]-Geist and analyse the stats so far:
 [LoR]-Napoleic: Glad to have you back with us today [LoR]-Geist.
[LoR]-Geist: Its good to be back.
[LoR]-Napoleic: Well what do you make of the battle now? Has anything surprised you?
[LoR]-Geist Well I'm actually very impressed with both commanders so far. [LoR]-Curly did the right thing by taking that expansion. It was also a good move by [LoR]-Valkyrae to make sure he didn't get an easy expansion to the North East. Now hindsight is 20/20 I know, but if I were [LoR]-Valkyrae , I would have used a dropship to transport 2 tanks onto the high ground of the cliff. That way he could have done more damage and prevented the drop by [LoR]-Curly from working. The damage he did was enough to keep him in the fight, but the advantage belongs to [LoR]-Curly now. Let's see what he does with it.
[LoR]-Napoleic: What would you do?
[LoR]-Geist: Well [LoR]-Curly really has a ton of options now. He can increase his technology level and get ghosts, which would be very useful with the complexion this game has taken, or he can launch an attack, or he can even expand again. It'll be interesting to see what he does. I would personally get ghosts. It's the easiest option, and it could potentially win the game, especially given [LoR]-Valkyrae's detection problems.
[LoR]-Napoleic: How can [LoR]-Valkyrae win now? Is he out of it?
[LoR]-Geist: No, no, by no means. If he has a defensive success such as [LoR]-Curly has had, he'll be right back in it. Right now he needs to be ready to counter whatever action [LoR]-Curly takes. I'd also think about expanding soon if I were him.
[LoR]-Napoleic: Well who do you pick to win it now?
[LoR]-Geist: Its too close right now, but I'd throw my money at the winner of the next big fight. We're at a key juncture of the battle now.
[LoR]-Napoleic: Thank you for your time once again [LoR]-Geist. I hope to see you again. This battle is certainly a doosy.
[LoR]-Geist: Thanks for having me, and I'll be watching with interest.
[LoR]-Napoleic: Well it appears as if [LoR]-Valkyrae has it all to do now. What action will he take to regain control of the situation?
Well it looks as if he's going to try to expand after all, to a node on high ground south-west of the central mountain. And he's got wraiths ready to pounce on the Mountain expansion once again. There they go, harassing [LoR]-Curly's tanks, and he has nothing to defend them with.
 Oh my thats a glaring error by [LoR]-Curly ! This could be perhaps the opening [LoR]-Valkyrae needs to retake control of the game. He senses it too, as there goes a scv to begin another expansion at the North East area where [LoR]-Curly lost an expansion attempt earlier on. With 2 expansions minutes from up and running, [LoR]-Valkyrae may be poised to get back on top of things. Uh oh, [LoR]-Curly has shaken off the loss of his two tanks and a shuttle, and is ready to exert his own influence on the game.
 [LoR]-Valkyrae is forced to lift off the Command Center and abandon the comsat and scv's to the tanks. With great composure, [LoR]-Curly keeps control of the game when things got a little bit hairy for him. [LoR]-Valkyrae still has that North-East expansion, however, and will be mining out of it very soon. [LoR]-Curly does have the advantage, but [LoR]-Valkyrae is only half a step behind him. [LoR]-Curly decides to try to gain a further advantage now, with this move:
 The four goliaths strike into an undefended portion of [LoR]-Valkyrae's main and begin firing on 2 vultures. Vultures are not the best units to have when fighting Goliaths, but they're better than nothing.
 [LoR]-Valkyrae is forced to put his plans on hold and divert tanks to beat back this attack. While it doesn't have much potential to do damage, the mere fact that [LoR]-Valkyrae is forced to act is a victory for [LoR]-Curly .
 And so with that, [LoR]-Valkyrae fends off the attack. It actually only kills units of [LoR]-Valkyrae , so chalk up a defensive victory for him. This could be the victory [LoR]-Valkyrae needs to get back in control of the battle. [LoR]-Curly , on the other hand, has other ideas...
 [LoR]-Curly has been building up for this attack for a long time, and so with 3 dropships, using the distraction of his goliaths, he successfully lands this force of 4 tanks and 2 goliaths on [LoR]-Valkyrae's natural. [LoR]-Curly is just too good a player to throw away 4 goliaths like that without some greater purpose in mind. This could be a great oppurtunity for [LoR]-Valkyrae . 
Now is his chance to score a major defensive victory and get back on the offensive. [LoR]-Geist, our strategic expert, has predicted that the winner of this battle will win the war. Let's see who it will be. Well it looks like [LoR]-Valkyrae has accidentally sacrificed 9 marines, but they did get one tank. [LoR]-Valkyrae moves in the big guns, this is what it's all coming down to folks... will [LoR]-Valkyrae be able to control his tanks well enough for victory? Or will [LoR]-Curly be too much for him? We shall see...
With amazing talent [LoR]-Valkyrae defeats the push! But alas his expansion is no more... who has won this battle? To whom do we award the honours? [LoR]-Curly decides to answer the question for us with yet another drop on [LoR]-Valkyrae's expansion to the North East. Anti-Climatically, [LoR]-Valkyrae gives up and orders a general withdrawal. It was no doubt the wise decision, as the expansion was quite unsavable, and [LoR]-Curly had been allowed resource advantage for too long. [LoR]-Valkyrae would have been reduced to no expansions, and rather than fight to the end, he retreats in hopes of future victories. [LoR]-Valkyrae may have lost this battle, but the war is far from over. Who was the better commander? Do we give [LoR]-Curly the nod because of his win, or do we sympathise with [LoR]-Valkyrae , who got burned merely for trying to battle with terran offensively? One thing is for sure, now that both factions are cut off from the Umojan Protectorate, the only resources they will get will be one's they can take. Further conflict is invevitable, and this reporter waits almost eagerly for the next clash of these two titans...
This is [LoR]-Napoleic, signing out. Good day folks.
***Note*** the following is a transcript from an edition of the news which was broadcast yesterday.
Credits:
Writer, artist, compiler, director: [LoR]-Napoleic
Moral Supporters, Technical Advisors: [LoR]-Vega and [LoR]-Slyph (aka Dr.Zchivago)
Extra special thanks to:
[LoR]-Slyph (for being there whenever I need him)
[LoR]-Vega (for being my guiding light)
[LoR]-Curly (for being the best terran player I'll ever meet)
[LoR]-Valkyrae (For making such a great game out of it)
[LoR]-Regehr (For moral support)
[LoR]-Geist (For tactical input)
Caffeine (for giving me the strength)
Br.Com staff (For giving me an outlet to my creative talents)
My cat, Boots (For purring when I pet her) (not like that...)
This has been a Lords of Rage production
for more works by [LoR]-Napoleic and other Lords of Rage, check out lorscclan.virtualave.net
Have a nice day! |
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