274 replies to this topic

[Wumpus]

Played a lot of it last year, but haven't touched it in several months. Still on my HD though and last I was playing a bunch of custom games. Fun stuff out there.

[dojoboy]

Frost, on 10 April 2012 - 01:16 AM, said:

Well, I'm late as hell to the party, but... I just acquired an Intel Mac about a month ago, and I finally decided on my first Intel Mac game purchase for it earlier today.

StarCraft 2 is on the way! Don't know if any of you guys are still playing at all, but once I get it in and get my head wrapped around how things work now, I wouldn't mind reliving the old days and handing some AI Zerg their ugly little asses.

I'll play. I suck at MP, and haven't played in a while. But, I'll play ya, ya bastard.

[Frost]

Oh that's okay, I was never real big into competitive RTS anyway, I prefer to go FPS for that route. I just like teaming up with humans and duking it out with our AI overlords.

[dojoboy]

Frost, on 10 April 2012 - 07:43 PM, said:

Oh that's okay, I was never real big into competitive RTS anyway, I prefer to go FPS for that route. I just like teaming up with humans and duking it out with our AI overlords.

I'm in, if you need a crew. My handle is 'Raynor Shyne'.

[the Battle Cat]

dojoboy, on 10 April 2012 - 07:55 PM, said:

I'm in, if you need a crew. My handle is 'Raynor Shyne'.

So then... you're willing to play where the sun don't shine?  We need more manly men than THAT!  Entrance fee is allowing your toe to be smashed with a hammer.

[Frost]

Got the game. Love the game. Did the tutorial to refamiliarize myself with the controls since I'm so used to C&C controls after playing mostly that the last few years, then started attacking the challenges. And since anything worth doing is worth overdoing, I'm marking them complete only once I hit gold ranking, not bronze. 6 down, 3 to go.

Then I start the campaign!

[Wumpus]

Campaign is super fun...I played it twice since the choice mechanics allow you to do things quite a bit differently along the way. Also its a bitch on the highest difficulty, but really fun.

[Frost]

First of the final 3 challenges was ridiculously easy. The second... not so much. Keep tweaking my build order but I keep coming in a few seconds under the gold time. This is the first of the 9 that's actually given me a problem. I'll get it though. Hopefully the 9th one isn't quite so evil.

Also, while I've liked most of the changes, I'm really put off by a couple of them... those being, where the frak are my Firebats and Goliaths? Also, Vikings are a wussfest in air to air compared to Wraiths. Weaker, and slower. I don't care if they do fancy transformers stuff so they can fight on the ground, I already have a giant pile of ground troops. I miss my kickass air superiority fighters that could blunt Battlecruiser/Carrier rushes without even having to micro. But I especially miss my Goliaths. Those were always a core support component of my ground forces. Marauders just don't replace them.

EDIT: Oh ho ho, my God. Finished the 8th with a gold medal (4 minutes remaining on the clock). My final required unit completed building at exactly 4:00 on the dot. 3:59 and I'd have had to retry again. It doesn't get closer than that!

On to the 9th and final challenge!

EDIT 2: That was stupidly easy. The 9th was the easiest of them all. Not that I'm complaining, after the 8th! Just sat back, bunkered in, and then paid the AI back for its hassles on challenge #8 by going massively overkill and carpet-nuking the Protoss off the map.

[The Liberator]

Frost, on 16 April 2012 - 07:00 PM, said:

…paid the AI back for its hassles on challenge #8 by going massively overkill and carpet-nuking the Protoss off the map.

So in other words, some of the challenges screw you over with build-odering at specific times?

Also,the carpet nuking, that sounds great! Wonderful imagery, haha

::Liberator starts laughing maniacally::

Lib.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

I want to play this game. I hope it comes down in price in this millenium.

[Frost]

The Liberator, on 17 April 2012 - 06:25 AM, said:

So in other words, some of the challenges screw you over with build-odering at specific times?

Also,the carpet nuking, that sounds great! Wonderful imagery, haha

::Liberator starts laughing maniacally::

Lib.

The eighth one, which is the second in the most advanced tier, is called "Opening Gambit" and the goal is to build a base and a large army all while fighting off Zerg attacks within about 17 minutes. You need to go from a command center with 6 SCVs to a defensible base with an army of 30 Marines, 8 ghosts, and 8 siege tanks. Bronze is for successful completion, silver is for completing the goals with at least 2 minutes left on the clock, gold is for completing the goals with at least 4 minutes left on the clock.

Once you know what you're doing, silver is easy enough, and bronze is child's play. Gold is some tough stuff though! I finally developed a system where I build only the bare minimum needed to hold the Zerg back, and concentrate on getting my economy going and an early expansion running at full tilt as fast as I can, plus 2 factories, a ghost academy, and 5 barracks set up. Then when the clock hits 8-9 minutes I start building like a madman. I had all 30 marines, all 8 ghosts, and 7 out of 8 siege tanks built, with the 8th in construction when I looked up and noticed the clock already at 4:12. This was like my 20th try. I was watching the progress bar on the factory creeping along and the clock counting down, 4:11, 4:10, 4:09...

Frost: Come ONNNN, you bastard, get out the door!

4:03, 4:02, 4:01

Frost: GEHT OUUUHHHWWT OF DEAH!!

4:00

Siege tank pops out, challenge complete.

Frost: .... AHAHAH!

[The Liberator]

Frost, on 17 April 2012 - 03:33 PM, said:

The eighth one, which is the second in the most advanced tier, is called "Opening Gambit" and the goal is to build a base and a large army all while fighting off Zerg attacks within about 17 minutes. You need to go from a command center with 6 SCVs to a defensible base with an army of 30 Marines, 8 ghosts, and 8 siege tanks. Bronze is for successful completion, silver is for completing the goals with at least 2 minutes left on the clock, gold is for completing the goals with at least 4 minutes left on the clock.

Once you know what you're doing, silver is easy enough, and bronze is child's play. Gold is some tough stuff though! I finally developed a system where I build only the bare minimum needed to hold the Zerg back, and concentrate on getting my economy going and an early expansion running at full tilt as fast as I can, plus 2 factories, a ghost academy, and 5 barracks set up. Then when the clock hits 8-9 minutes I start building like a madman. I had all 30 marines, all 8 ghosts, and 7 out of 8 siege tanks built, with the 8th in construction when I looked up and noticed the clock already at 4:12. This was like my 20th try. I was watching the progress bar on the factory creeping along and the clock counting down, 4:11, 4:10, 4:09...

Frost: Come ONNNN, you bastard, get out the door!

4:03, 4:02, 4:01

Frost: GEHT OUUUHHHWWT OF DEAH!!

4:00

Siege tank pops out, challenge complete.

Frost: .... AHAHAH!

Screwing you over? You don't say!

I must say that I wouldn't have found that Gold version of the challenge fun or that fair. If it is only really about trial and eror over more than ten retries of figuring out exactly what the game is asking, then screw it. Fair enough though, at least it would have been satisfying to finish it in the end and move onto the unknowingly easy last challenge.

Lib.

[Frost]

The Liberator, on 18 April 2012 - 07:38 PM, said:

Screwing you over? You don't say!

I must say that I wouldn't have found that Gold version of the challenge fun or that fair. If it is only really about trial and eror over more than ten retries of figuring out exactly what the game is asking, then screw it. Fair enough though, at least it would have been satisfying to finish it in the end and move onto the unknowingly easy last challenge.

Lib.

It's not really that so much as trying to teach you to get the fastest, most efficient build order you can. Worth the experience since as a result of doing that challenge I can get a sizeable army out the door at about the same time I'd be only just starting to build it previously. The point of the challenges is to give you objectives of increasing difficulty to teach you how to play better, and by the time you finish them you certainly can play significantly better.

Probably not well enough to compete with the lunatics online, but well enough that you can fight the AI and win.

[The Liberator]

Frost, on 19 April 2012 - 05:25 PM, said:

It's not really that so much as trying to teach you to get the fastest, most efficient build order you can. Worth the experience since as a result of doing that challenge I can get a sizeable army out the door at about the same time I'd be only just starting to build it previously. The point of the challenges is to give you objectives of increasing difficulty to teach you how to play better, and by the time you finish them you certainly can play significantly better.

Probably not well enough to compete with the lunatics online, but well enough that you can fight the AI and win.

Ahhh, yeah. I see what you mean; rewarding in the end.

Lib.

[Frost]

So, after getting gold on all 9 challenges and messing around some in online coop matchmaking and a handful of custom games against the AI, I feel like I've repaved the neural pathways from when I could last kick ass in SC: Brood War back in '06. I started the campaign... about 7 missions in and I love it so far! Most fun I've had with an RTS campaign in ages. The only thing wrong with it is it's 29 missions instead of 50. Even better, I  GET MY FIREBATS BACK! BRING IT, ZERG!

Firebat: <flame burst> Need a light? <torches a wall of zerg approaching his bunker> "Smells like. *sniffff* Victory."

Oh how I wish I could at least use them at least in coop. Marauders are cool and all, but... Hellions are just blah. Gimme back Firebats.

But yeah, enjoying it tremendously. This is definitely a campaign I'll play through a good few times.

[Sneaky Snake]

Frost, on 10 April 2012 - 01:16 AM, said:

Well, I'm late as hell to the party, but... I just acquired an Intel Mac about a month ago, and I finally decided on my first Intel Mac game purchase for it earlier today.

StarCraft 2 is on the way! Don't know if any of you guys are still playing at all, but once I get it in and get my head wrapped around how things work now, I wouldn't mind reliving the old days and handing some AI Zerg their ugly little asses.

Oh ya, it's my top played game by far. All I play is online. The multiplayer is incredibly competitive, but has very good matchmaking. The league style they've setup works very well. they try to make it so your win ratio is always around 50%, so if yours is above that, then they'll bump you up a league.

Once you get you should add me.

Hilarious Starcraft comic

[Frost]

Sneaky Snake, on 21 April 2012 - 02:19 PM, said:

Oh ya, it's my top played game by far. All I play is online. The multiplayer is incredibly competitive, but has very good matchmaking. The league style they've setup works very well. they try to make it so your win ratio is always around 50%, so if yours is above that, then they'll bump you up a league.

Once you get you should add me.

Hilarious Starcraft comic

That comic made me laugh out loud. So true. I'll never understand what gets the Koreans so obsessed about StarCraft, although I do still hold a grudge against them for all the bitching about the effect on multiplayer causing Chris Metzen to back off of making the UED a unique side in Brood War. That was lame as hell.

I have never really been big on competitive RTS, although I did play C&C Generals competitively for a while and did pretty well. I'll probably dip my toes into SC2's MP and check it out sometime during Season 7 though just to see what it's like. I have to say I am a bit turned off by the multiplayer being sped up at all times, though. Normal speed's a bit slower, sure, but at least from playing the matchmaking coop with people I feel like it encourages memorizing build orders and strategies and executing them as fast as possible without anywhere close to the strategic fluidity that existed in SC1 since you're rushing so fast at all times.

Right now, still working on the campaign, and I still love it to death. I'm itching to go through the missions again and complete all the mission-specific challenges as well as tackle it on Brutal. And yet I'm still only about 1/3 of the way through. Gotta say, I was less than thrilled with WarCraft 3, but so far StarCraft 2 is the Blizzard I remember from the days when they were about awesome RTS and not WoW. Aside from a few minor unit-specific complaints, I'm thrilled with it so far.

Oh, and the jukebox music!  

I went and bought the Revolution Overdrive iTunes LP because of that.

You'll have to tell me how to add you, I'm afraid I'm not really sure what to do with the Battle.net thingy.

[Sneaky Snake]

Key's to winning in multiplayer are a precise build order, expert timings (with your attacks), and the ability to out macro your opponent.

I love competitive RTS because it's that same feeling of exileration that you get in uncharted or halo when you and another guy are circling each other trying to prevail and get the kill, but instead of being for 5 seconds, it's drawn out into 10-30 minutes of pure strategy and a battle of cunning, trickery, positioning, wits, and the ability to think on your feet.

Nothing else seems to be quite like it in terms of competitiveness.

[The Liberator]

Anyone notice he is uing an Apple Cinema Display?

Lib.

[Frost]

Discovered Left 2 Die. FUUUUNNNN stuff! I gotta play that with some of you guys. Got overrun four times my first time out on normal, then managed to come up with a good defensive plan. Beat it on normal solo on the 5th try, then teamed up with a random guy online and beat hard.

Gotta say though, a lot of the SC community are asswagons. Higher jerk to normal person ratio than Xbox Live, and that's saying something. For example, played L2D with one jackass who was criticizing my playing nonstop through the entire. frakking. game. Funny, at the end of it, he had no minerals left and was just holding his defenses. My base was an impenetrable block and I had a 60-man army fielded running over the infested areas. I should have started in with the "where are your minerals? Where is your army? Why aren't you attacking? Why aren't you building faster? Oh, you're poor and have nothing? All your guys died? Sucks to be you! Maybe if you'd spent the time you wasted typing barbs on fighting the enemy, you wouldn't be sitting there watching me beat it for you."

Gads.

BTW, SC character name is Frost, code is 1468.