From Masters to Grandmasters - A Youtube Series

First Video:
So here's my first video, but I would read my comments below before you watch. This video was more an introduction and figuring out how to upload to Youtube, and how to work all the programs I need to make a video (Fraps, Audacity, Sony Vegas, Videodub). My second video is considerably better.



Analysis:Basically, I screwed up while uploading. There is supposed to be an additional five minutes of audio discussing a few different things, but since I made a mistake (never used Youtube before ^^) it's not in the video and it probably seems weird that I uploaded a video of myself getting crushed. However I'm just going to type the basic gist of what I had said in this blog.

The problem I had that PvP was that I didn't make an observer, so I didn't have any way of knowing when my opponent was pushing out. I didn't really expect a counter-attack, but when I saw his army I thought I would be fine by just retreating up my ramp and bringing home my immortals; nope. I realize now that the problem with fighting on my ramp was that I was owned by my opponents forcefields. Had I been able to fight on somewhat-open ground I think I win that fight. I would have warp-in advantage since it's directly at my base, and his forcefields wouldn't stop some of my units. It was a learning experience.

Other than that, I'm not just going to upload videos of myself winning unless it serves some sort of learning purpose. If I just crush my opponent I'm probably not going to upload it, and likewise if I lose a game but I realize something important I will upload that instead.

Anyway - any feedback would be appreciated. It's a short video, and the entire video didn't upload so it's not that good of a sample to go off of, but oh well. I realize the quality isn't very high, I record on a 1600x1200 resolution and when I go to compress the video it really garbles the quality, I hope it's not too bad though.

On a side note, Youtube takes a damn long time to upload. It takes close to four or five hours to upload a video and my internet is too slow to game on during that time, so I've been thinking I'll just do it overnight. I have a PvZ that I'm going to put up overnight, so check that out tomorrow if you'd like.

This is my second video, a PvZ on Antiga Shipyard:



Analysis: This game was infinitely better than the PvP I uploaded, and since uploading the first video I have gone 9 - 0 on the ladder. From what I understand, over 1,000 points by the season end in masters in considered decent, and anywhere between 1,200 - 1,400 is good, with over 1,400 meaning you're good enough for GM. So assuming that's correct, I have to get to 1,400 points by season end, which means two things:

• Play a lot of Starcraft II
  
• Win a lot of Starcraft II

When it comes to the game, it's a pretty standard game. My opponent stayed on roaches for a long time, and I felt like he didn't tech enough. I don't think a Zerg can just play PvZ by just reacting to whatever the Protoss does - you have to do some harassment and such yourself. My opponent played this game by just trying to react to what I was doing, but I think if you do that you're likely to lose as the Zerg.

Right now, my PvZ build starts with a forge fast expand (FFE) and I work towards a 3 zealot attack with +1, and I warp in an additional 4 more via a proxy pylon when I get close to the Zerg's third. This puts on a lot of pressure, interrupts their mass droning, and let's me do a bit of scouting. If I don't see roaches I generally suspect mutalisk, and if I see a lot of roaches I start working towards immortals and blink.

As always, like the video (if you do) and subscribe (if you'd like to). I'd appreciate any comments or criticism - as long as it's constructive.