There’s no key binding macro for spells in SC2 like that… you have to hit the keyboard button for each FF and then place it with the mouse, so in the space of like >1-2 seconds he placed 6 FFs in precise locations. It’s harder than you seem to be implying.
And it’s not a new thing, roaches have only 3-4 range and have to be close together otherwise stalkers can stay out of range of some of them and attack part of the line at once. It’s a case of spreading your roaches out and having them be less effective or keeping them clustered and risking a FF box happening. Either way it’s not like it’s some kind of one-off cheese that let him win.
I didn’t imply it was easy, and I didn’t imply that there’s a macro, I simply said that he has a quick way to 1) select the unit that casts FF, then 2) cast FF, and finally click the location.
So I’m thinking he bound each unit to its own bind for the purpose of quickly selecting it and then pressing whatever key casts FF, then clicking, doing it so fast that the other dude couldn’t even react.
It’s awesome, is what I’m saying, and even though I may dislike the game, I like seeing shit like this happen to cocky pros.
With the number of sentries he had there’s no reason to shift click. Group select them and each click will assign each field to the next sentry. You’d only need to shift click if you want more fields than sentries in too short a time. It’s a pretty impressive move, mostly because he caught so many roaches in a such a small area.
Idra is a particular kind of cocky pro, he’s profoundly devoid of affect (we’re talking like asperger’s level) except when he flies off into seething rages.
The micro involved in that forcefield is actually a little simpler than you’re implying: you can have all your sentries (the unit that casts force field) on one hot key, so you just need to hit the force field key while clicking the ground where you want it to go. Personally, I don’t think it’s hugely impressive play. I’m more impressed with extreme multi-tasking like you see from Idra in game 2 against Cruncher.
Shift clicking does eliminate the need to hit “Z” repeatedly though. I didn’t realize that worked with spells too, I only use shift for movement paths and warping in. I’ll have to make use of that.
Macro-oriented wins are usually more fun to watch then some proper positioning or a perfectly fired spell combination crushing an army since there is a lot more going on, but I wouldn’t say I was more impressed by the macro style. Both take a lot of practice to master.
Although comforting, this canard* is kinda tiresome. Contempt for other people doesn’t always come from insecurity; some people really do believe themselves superior to others. I know most of us would like to believe that every irritating, cocky, showboating competitor is secretly hurting inside so we can pity them, but the simple fact is: many of them are just dicks.
Hmm… I don’t think canard is the right word, but it’s the best I can think of at the moment.
Great find, Gourmand. I don’t watch a lot of Starcraft II replays anymore not because I don’t enjoy them, but because I have no way of finding the meaningful ones.
Canard works, Anax. I love that word. I think it literally means “duck”! Also “chestnut” would work.
But I think Phydeaux is right to highlight that the dude’s lack of good sportsmanship is a problem, for whatever reason. E-sports really can’t afford to have assholes representing it. Cruncher’s emoticon was so perfect. And on another tangent, I really wish players would use their real names. That’s probably a “you kids get off my lawn” thing on my part, but it bugs me when folks reach that level of skill, competence, and renown, yet they still run around calling themselves Idra and Cruncher. These aren’t racehorses. They’re people.
A fair few of the players have to include their team-names in their handle anyway (and a few like WhiteRA (now DuckloadRA) changed theirs to include a sponsor aswell). There’s also a lot of identity in a handle, especially in vast internet communities. I know I’d feel weird having everyone call me by my first name, even though none of my real life friends have ever called me by my last name :)
I get where your coming from of course (especially running a forum where people are actively encouraged to use their real names, something few and far between), but it’s not like stage names haven’t been around before. There’s a safeness in a small amount of anonymity a handle provides, plus it means these people can reserve their real names for friends. I believe the concept of true names and public names has been around forever in some cultures. The internet just tends to take this to a new level.
In sports? I get that’s how it works in pro wrestling – stage names, indeed – but I wasn’t aware that was a part of other sports.
You know, it seems like nicknames should be for friends. If I’m not your friend, I don’t particularly want to call you by whatever cool name you’ve chosen for yourself. I’d rather just stick to what your parents designated you, thankyouverymuch. Furthermore, if you want to be a stickler about it, you have a first and last name you can use to distinguish between friends and acquaintances.
But, yeah, I guess I’m just Victorian at heart. Internet balderdash and humbuggery! The e- in e-sports seems to be setting the tone more than the sports bit.
Nicknames more than stage names, A-rod, Big Papi, the Refrigerator, Sweetness, Ocho Cinco (in this case he’s had his name changed so that is part of it now I believe), etc.
Optimus Reim, Felix the Cat, the Legion of Doom, the Bulin Wall, Kipper*. However none of those guys are more known for their nicknames than their real names. Hardly anyone knows that Idra is really Greg Fields (if that’s even his real name).
*Man goalies are way more likely to get a memorable nickname in hockey then any other players.
Nicknames as you know them, sure they are usually reserved for friends. However in numerous cultures that sort of thing is not taken for granted, for instance many European languages (like French) use different verb conjugations depending on whether you are friends with the person of not and I’m pretty sure Asian languages have something if not the same at least similar. Now I realize this is all a bit high-falutin’ to try and dignify e-sports handles, but the precedent is certainly there :)
Of course that’s ignoring other things, like whatever internet personality may be related to the handle or the the logistics of it (If you’ve been playing as Idra your whole life, before you were even close to “famous”, when do you change to Greg for instance? If you are forced to choose an account name to play the game, when does that identifier stop and your real one begin?). Sports players aren’t forced to choose a unique name for themselves when they first start practicing the game, and I’m sure this stuff has much more of an impact on this then all the culture/anthropology shite above ;)
I’d argue that having an asshole or a bad guy in esports is a good thing. It gets periphery observers (like alot of the QT3 crowd) to root for something even if its always whoever the bad guy is playing.
I don’t think videogame players are forced to choose a nickname either. You’ll find me as “tomchick” on nearly every videogame I play. I only go by T-Dogg when I’m laying down the phat beats.
But, yeah, point taken. I get that it’s an entrenched part of videogaming culture. That’s why I say the e- is taking priority over the sports bit. And that’s a good point about earning notoriety under your handle and then not wanting to lose that identity. Do many (any?) of these players also use their real names? For instance, I know Thresh was widely known by his real name after some point. Does that happen with other e-sports players?
LiquidNoni changed to LiquidTyler after playing for a while, but I think that may have been because people were mispronouncing “Noni” (sometimes on purpose).
