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Chapter 1. Ipxzerg, Wall


Op. 1. Largo, Pianissimo (Very slow and Very soft)

Happened to see a young boy, sitting next to the door with a good and innocent smile,
on the day of visiting G.O in YangJae-dong.

I remember him responding that he was just a beginner and had a long way to go
when I asked him if he was learning anything from GoRush,
who then was on his prime along with July.

The young sport, whom I was told to have joined G.O by the recommendation of Midas,
was just beating up a legendary Terran player in Battle.net.
Four games in a row, in Luna, each player being positioned horizontally.

Everyone began to gather around him and left only after he was finished with 4 wins and a single loss,
with GoRush teasing "Damn, your being humble was a mockery after all or what?"
and the kid blushing all over his face.

"Ipxzerg? What kind of ID is that? Change it to something cool, if you want to be big."
"I will."
"So, you do have an ambition, huh."
"Well that's..."
"Hahaha."


Op. 2. Adagio, Inquieto. (Slow and Instable)

2004. Spris 4th MSL.

The fruit that was not yet ripen.
No commentator has expressed expectations for Ipxzerg.
And the attention of some fans on new faces of G.O is more than just forgettable.

Failure to make his way out of OSL qualifications, stepping down to the Minor League.
His name was erased out from the list of the promising Zerg players.



Chapter 2. Still there.

Op. 3. Allegretto con Brio (Fairly fast with Spirit)

In the summer of 2004, something that no one had ever expected happened.
Against Chojja in Detonation F.
Against Sync in Luna.
Against TheMarine in Into the Darkness.
Against Yellow in Tucson.
The young boy defeated the ones who marked their glorious names in the past years,
five years of history of StarCraft, all at once.
Should it be a coincedence, or was it his ability beyond everything.
Somehow he grasped the chance and once again announced his existence to everyone.


Op. 4. Decresendo, Lacrimoso (Becoming softer, Sadly)

Yet he wasn't anyone but a new player in the Minor League.
The Minor League and the OSL qualifications.
Struggles do not seem to have an end,
and he was not so distinguishable from many other promising players
who, after all, failed to make their way and faded away.



Chapter 3. Breakthrough

Op. 5. Andante Cantabile Comodo (Slow, as if singing, in a Convenient pace)

Two wins and two losses in the last Team League of 2005.
Three wins and one loss in the finals.
Getting ready for a fast and smooth sailing in the 6th Uzoo MSL.


Op. 6. Allegretto Eclatant (Fairly fast and Brilliant)

2005 Uzoo 6th MSL.
Nada, Zeus, Reach, Chojja and Reach.

The attention, perhaps drawn to his opponents, ended up on him.
It was a festival with lamentation rather than acclamation,
but people now begin to remember SaviOr.



Chapter 4. Smooth Sailing


Op. 7. Forte, Ma mon troppo (Loud, but not so overdone)

Cyon 7th MSL.
Rush Hour 2, R-point, Rush Hour 2, Ride of Valkyries, and Dark Sauron 2.
The five battlefields that have deprived the prince of MSL of his throne.
The time to notice him again from the tragedy of Protoss has come.

Unsatisfactory results in the finals,
but more rewards and lessons to learn.


Op. 8. Vivace, Forzando (Up-tempo, Forcingly with a sudden emphasis)

Pringles Season 1 8th MSL.
The beginning of the Holy War.
(Note: the 'Holy War' referrs to matches between SaviOr and Nal_rA)
The most remarkable semifinals.
Entry in the finals, three times in a row.
Two times of winning the championship.
He starts to advance himself to the rank of the very best,

and holds the baton.



Op. 9. Vivace con Fuoco (Up tempo with fiery manner)

Pringles Season 2 9th MSL.
The best game in the history of the Holy War.
The conductor with a smile, stands up to express his delight after the game.
Forget about Chojja and Silver.
Nothing immature is to be found in his conduct anymore.


Op. 10. Presto Simanioso! (Very fast and Frantic)

Superfight 1 and 2.
The Emperor, the Genius, the winner of another league, and the legendary players...
Presentation of an answer to everyone's question.

A firm conduct, a respose without hesitation.

Passing the OSL qualification and the Dual Tournament.
A series of fanatic acclamations and despair everywhere.
Maestro has become a proper noun.



Chapter 6. Maestro, SaviOr Walks On Water.


Op. 11. Forzatissino con Grandezza (More emphasis with magnificence)

Daggers aimed at his heart.
Facing the impossibility as a lonely survivor on a bloody path.

Frustration, depression and despair... and a ray of hope.

Again.
Once again.

He walks on water to prove himself.
The audiences hold their breath by his splendid conduct,
and his continuous performance at the maximum speed overwhelms the world.

The grand applause and encore.

The frustration and despair become a redemption.
The fading dream comes true.
And the world calls out for SaviOr.


Op. 12. Maestro, a Piacere (At the pleasure of Maestro)

Again, his sweaty hand holds the baton.
With a deep breath,
he double-checks the orchestra before him.

At last,
he raises up his hands.



------------------------------------------------

Original Article by Hangzri
Translation by PurpleRain

copy/paste from their forum for safekeeping for posterity Note, this one has many pictures, so you best head over to the original forum. If its down and you need the pics, ask me, I saved them all.

:: Ball Games and Starcraft ::

- A Ball That Rules the World

People all over the world are being enthusiastic over the sports. And the sports are played with 'round' balls. Soccer, baseball, basketball,
volleyball, table tennis, tennis, golf, you name it. In most of the popular sports, players do with balls.

It is the magical power of the ball that governs the Earth.

- Fight for Balls, Fight for Possessing Balls

It was a cartoon titled 'Dragon Ball' that has ruled my teens along with another cartoon 'Slam Dunk.' Even though its later part of story
becomes like a heroic one, this cartoon basically describes a fight for Dragon Ball, an omnipotent magic ball.

The ball with the power and the fight for it; together they compose the core of ball games.
In soccer, a team with more goals wins. The only way to score a goal is to kick the ball into the goalpost. Only the one with the ball is able
to score, and the best defense is not to give the ball to the opponent. The ball represents the initiative of the game. Therefore the
'ball occupation rate', which means 'how long a team had the ball', becomes a critical data in the evaluation of a game.

< An intense fight for the ball; a beauty of ball games >

- Is Starcraft a ball game?

Someone says 'it is,' since a ball inside a mouse is certainly a ball. Of course, it's a joke.

As a matter of fact, Starcraft is similar to ball games with respect to a fight for the dominance. In a Starcraft game, the dominance means
'who occupies the center.' The occupation of the center allows an attack upon the opponent and the defense of its base.

- Passing the ball around and the 24-Second Shot Clock

In 2006 WorldCup, Korea focused on the defense rather than the offense by passing the ball around, when leading the game against
Togo 2 to 1. Some were disappointed with this play. Passing the ball around is a fatal defect of ball games.

A leading team wins the game as long as it sustains the score difference for the remaining time. Furthermore, if it has the ball, meaning
the initiative, it is much easier to defend.

Thus exists the 24-Second Shot Clock in a basketball game. A team can have the ball only for 24 seconds, therefore exerts to attack
to its best while having the initiative, the ball.

< Marines vs. Zerglings, Terran wins! >

< Zerglings and Lurkers vs. Marines, Zerg wins! >

< A combination of units vs. Zerglings and Lurkers, Terran wins! >

< With Defilers, Zerg wins! >

- Tech-Tree and Massing

In the early battle among units, A leads; in the middle stage, B gets the edge; then at last, A dominates the game again. That's a
Starcraft game. That's why 'timing' matters. This timing depends on the tech-tree.

This plays a role of the 24-Second Shot Clock in the basketball game. While taking the advantage, the player should deliver an attack to
a greater extent, but when taking the disadvantage, he should refrain from a reckless attack until he gets back the edge.

Then came the era of massing. It means pupming basic units instead of teching. The power of tech-tree as the 24-Second Shot Clock
was decreased. Therefore, the appearance of turtling as passing the ball around is very much reasonable.

:: A Lost-Temple Style Large-Scale Battle at the Center::

- A Lost-Temple Style Large-Scale Battle at the Center

The easy-to-get mineral and gas expansions, and the center battlefield which bridges every expansion.

Simply put, a huge amount of resources that guarantee a large number of units, and the vast center which gives leading players the
advantage are at the hearts of a lost-temple style battle.

Even after a player loses one battle and retreats to his base, he can seek a moment to lead the game after replenishing his units
from plenty of resources.
In addition, if a player comes to occupy the center which connects every base, he can overturn the game immediately.

A lost-temple style large-scale battle has become a basis for building official maps for 7 years after Starcraft broadcastings have started.

< A representative large-scale center map, Lost Temple >

- Zerg, As The Last Runner of the Era of Massing

'Massing' is meaningful only because it works. Because of Zerg's basic units are very weak against the unit combination of other races,
'massing' is not in Zerg's dictionary.

Rookie Zerg players, however, are different. sAviOr combines a stable three-Hatchery tactic with a basic strategy against Terran,
consisted of Mutalisk and Lurker and expansions and Hive. Zerglings and Hydralisks accompanied with Dark Swarm and Plague
from Defilers combat evenly with Marines and Medics or Zealots and Dragoons.

- Arcardia II and Where is 24-Second Shot Clock?

The aspects of TvsZ in Arcardia II are so unique. Its imbalance, 0:10, is strange, but the more peculiar fact is that 'Terran lost the game
after having done everything he wanted to do.'
In existing imbalanced maps, the problem was disadvantages of certain races that could not have the wanted unit combinations due
to the difficulty of powering the economy. The resource-concentrated maps which allows the players to do whatever they want,
so called the 'Lost Temple Style Nature and Mineral expansions,' guaranteed the minimum balance among races.

But in Arcardia II, Terran players have a hard time. Terran fails to reclaim the center dominated by Zerg; stuck at its base and losing
the game after all.

When Zerg entered the era of massing, a variable called tech-tree has disappered, and so has the 24-Second Shot Clock. As a fast and
stable Hive strategy prevails, the TvsZ games are Marines, Medics, Tanks and Vessels against Zerglings, Lurkers and Defilers. With
the disappearance of tech-tree, the unit combination variable, losing one large-scale battle means a final defeat; not a way to recover
the unit differences.

< The balance in Arcardia looks relieved, but 0:10 was of course shocking. >

- A Shaking Lost Temple Myth

So far, Lost Temple has been prevalent. It is still the most popular map, and its biggest competitor is Luna, a similar style map.
There's a long way to go to escape from the concepts of stable nature and the center favoring large-scale fights.

However, it is obvious that Lost Temple is losing its position.
At the this time, when 24-Second Shot Clock which represents tech-tree in Starcraft vanishes, a leading player does not show an aggressive
action and just passes the ball around, after he occupies the center. The opponent can neither bring the ball back again nor overturn
the aspect of the game.

:: Changes in Team Plays ::

- Why Don't Fans Like Team Plays?

Some fans don't like team plays and matches between the same race. They prefer games between different races. I really do, too.
Why not? For me, that is because of a simple unit combination. Anyway, we have to see just units from one race. Because the
same units fight against each other, the game lacks its dynamic aspects, originated from the differences in units.

- Not so much distinguishment in games between two diffrent races

Nowadays, a lot of people say games between the same race (TvT, PvP, and ZvZ) are also interesting. I totally agree that the difference
in interests between same-race games and difference-races games (TvZ, PvT, and ZvP) has decreased. However, I believe that this
is not because the former became more interesting, but because the latter got boring. Tech-tree and unit combination no longer matter
in difference-races games, which made them not so much distinguishable from the same-race games. The outcome only relies on
massing and control.

- Changes in Team Plays Modeling on Individual Plays

Some people like Hunter-style basic team plays; a spectacle battle between a huge number of Zealots and Zerglings, but a lot of
others don't.

To overcome this weakness of team plays, map designers attempted some special changes. Exemplary cases are Iron Curtain,
Full Moon (a.k.a. Mang-wol), and Vampire.

Iron Curtain, the most successful team-play map, became a success due to its one on one aspect just like in individual games and
an island structure favorable to teching. The concept of Full Moon and Vampire wasn't very much different. That was why 2 gases were
at the main base; it takes more gas than mineral for teching.

- A Change to a New Direction, Would It Be Possible?

A typical measure to deal with the loss of tech-tree and the uniformity of units is 'a return to tech-tree,' which led to a conception of two
gases at the main bases. It was intended to put more power upon gas-originated units than mineral-originated ones.

That is the most basic answer. But it might not be the best way to solve the problem. What is a new way? Where is the alternative?

:: From Janggi to Baduk ::

- Starcraft and Janggi

Janggi (Korean chess: click here for more information) is a board game,
with two players competing with each other with 16 different units; 'Cha,' a chariot with a strong power and mobility; 'Ma,' a horse with
the similar power like 'Cha'; 'Jol,' a soldier with the lowest rank.
Janggi is very similar to Starcraft, in that units with different characteristics show a variety of fights against each other; A High Templer with
the strong magical power, a Siege Tank with a very long range, and the twinborn Zerglings.

- Starcraft and Baduk

However, things have changed.
Ironically, the sum of unique units are rather uniformed.

A marine who used to be a dominating hero in the game with amazing control became 'one of them' in the corps of Marines,
Medics, Tanks, and Vessels.

The only way for Terran to beat the troop of Zealots, Dragoons, Templers, and Observers is the comparable 'Macro.'

How about Zerg, which used to be characterized with mobility? Zerglings and Lurkers became complemented by Defilers and
finally achieved a strong power comparable to that of Terran, but they lost mobility, an advantage that Terran has never had.

After a main force became a large scale of troops, characteristics of different units have disappeared, and thereby those of different
races have, too.
Now, Starcraft is like Baduk, rather than Janggi or chess.

:: The Opposite of Lost Temple - A Bifrost-Style Dogfight ::

- What If There Are More Than One Ball?

As mentioned above, passing the ball around is one of the fatal defects of the ball games.

Then, what will happen if there is not one ball, but two or three? Even better, what if each player has its own ball?
A player passing around his ball and wasting his time loses points to other balls. Securing one ball no longer sustains the advantage.

Instead the center battlefield in Lost Temple-Style maps, there exist many routes to secure for benefits in Bifrost; the forked road.

- The Beginning of Forked Roads, Bifrost

In the 2nd match of the 2003 Olympus Starleague(OSL) Finals, XellOs vs. YellOw, at Neo Bifrost.

XellOs was being pushed by YellOw's astonishing Defiler play. From the center to the bridge, from the bridge to the entrance, from the
entrance to the nature, and from the nature to the main base.
What saved XellOs from the hell was just a dozen of Marines and Medics. Defilers and Lurkers, invincible unit combinations to Terran,
lose their power all of a sudden, when no Zerglings for Definers' energy is provided. After a dozen of Marines and Medics suspended
the Zergling supply, Zerg lost the game in vain.

In Lost Temple style maps, losing the power leads to losing the center, and losing the center deprives of chances to attack. However,
in Bifrost, detour ways make it much easier for a player to regain the initiative, even after he loses the leadership, has fewer units,
or has a weaker power.

< A surprising reversal made by a dozen of Marines and Medics >
- Dispersed Battlefields, Where Dogfights Happen

Only one center battlefield seems not so suitable for the current trend. In today's world, control and massing are maximized. Everyone
deserves a title of a 'brave general' in the fight. If there exists only one center battlefield in a map, their games will be so simple.

Detour ways have to be created. Maps should be vaster. A map has to be transformed into a strategic battlefield, unable to rely
on only tactics. In dogfight stlye battlefields, the mere micro and macro do not guarantee a victory; the concentration, dispersion and
mobility of the force becomes more important.

We need a map that requires players with insights who can observe every fight and situation all over the map.

-Can The Era of Napoleon Reappear?

At the first scene of The Legend of the Galactic Heroes, a Japanese SF Novel, The Free Planet Alliance Army encircled the Empire Army
from three sides with a twice number of solders. But, Grand Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm defeated the enemy forces one by one
by the mobile warfare. This battle at the first scene of this novel models upon that of Napoleon, during the operation in Italy.

In my opinion, what Starcraft leagues mostly need at this time is a spectacle mobile warfare as in the era of Napoleon. Certainly,
the characteristics of units have disappeared, tech-tree has vanished, but troops remain. Still, Zerg is mobile, Terran is solemn,
and Protoss is strong.

If Starcraft games so far have been contests of strength between brave generals such as Lu Bu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, or Huh Zuh
in Romance of Three Kingdoms, I believe that games in the new age will be fights with intelligence between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi;
not in a single battlefield, but in multiple battlegrounds. Intense mobile warfares for catching the opponent's back will create a new world
of Starcraft.

I also believe the new start should be the team plays. Team play maps are more generous than other maps, and they require a better
understanding for power and management of forces, and are more suitable for dogfights. New attempts such as putting many
deterrence lines for Terran and Protoss team against the two-color opponent rush or creating 256x256 maps for team plays will be
necessary to write a new history and a new legend.


*Original article by Kim YeonWoo
Translated by Means @ PgR21.com (noticeme@umich.edu)
Final edition and translation by PurpleRain

copy/paste from their forum for safekeeping for posterity
Balance Arguments; Looking in the Mirror
이번 글의 번역은 플라님께서 해주셨습니다. 감사합니다.
오, 탈자등이 있으면 알려주세요:D
문법적인 부분은 명백하게 틀린 것이 아닌 이상은 수정하지 않겠습니다.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the hottest potatoes in PGR is the balance among different races in Starcraft.
What makes this kind of controversy interesting is the fact that one side follows the other side's point and
plays copycat as if they are mirror-images.
In other words, a theory that A used in order to dispute against B becomes the case vice versa.

When Protoss was overwhelmed by the Terran’s FD strategy during SO1 League, Protoss fans started whining.
When Protoss lost to Terran 9 times in a row , Protoss fans said that there was no way that
Protoss could win against Terran. As a response, Terran fans told them to stop whining and
wait for more results. And they added that if Protoss players practice harder and think more,
they would be able to come up with a better strategy than the Terran’s FD.

What was the result? As you all know, Protoss players got used to facing FD strategy and
overcame it by using Arbiters and other units.

Then the Terran fans, who argued against the Protoss fans, started whining like Protoss fans did earlier.

When Terran was owned by Zerg 9 times in a row without a single victory in Arcadia II,
the Terran fans started to say that there was no way that Terran could possibly defeat Zerg,
because the three-hatchery strategy was too powerful. As a response, Protoss fans and Zerg fans
told them that Terran players should overcome the difficulties with harder practices and more thoughts,
just like Zerg players used the three hatchery strategy and the defiler aginast Terran.

Zerg fans and Protoss fans criticized Terran players for not putting more effort than other races' players,
and that was why Terran started losing to other races'. Of course, Terran fans become furious;
they don’t think there isn't any disparency in efforts among players.

Such arguments have been repeated over and over for a long time. The only difference is
that their positions have been reversed.

In the past, Zerg fans and Protoss fans were not happy, because Terran won too many tourneys
compared to other races. Terran fans told them it was because Terran players put more efforts than
other races. Zerg fans and Protoss fans were mad; they did not think there wasn't any disparency
in efforts among players.

When Reach lost to Slayers_Boxer in ‘8.15’, Protoss fans had an uproar, because they didn’t see
any way to defeat Terran in the map. Terran fans told them not to overreact with such a few results.

Soon after, ‘8.15’gradually became more favorable to Protoss, and Terran fans blamed
Protoss fans for their hastiness and quick-tempered responses.

After that incident, Protoss started overpowering Terran with utilizing Cannon and Zealot rush
in ‘Peaks of Baekdu’. Needless to say, the balance argument appeared again. Terran fans
claimed that ‘Peaks of Baekdu’ was made for Protoss. Of course, Protoss fans told them not to
overreact and wait for more results.

The final balance of TvsP in ‘Peaks of Baekdu’ turned out to be 4:3. (Interestingly, no one cared
about the balance in ‘Peaks of Baekdu’ after all. Was it because Protoss was scared of facing
Zerg, therefore TvsZ or ZvsZ matches were mostly taken place in the map in Proleague?)

Anyhow, the theory that A used in order to dispute against B becomes the theory that
B uses in order to argue against A. And B, who blamed A for many reasons, repeats just
what he had blamed A for. A, who retorted B's argument, forgets all about what he had said before
and becomes busy blaming B for the very same reasons that he was blamed for...

It's just like looking in the mirror; with the same argument, the same reasons, and the same retortion.

C criticizes D for too much vicitimization, while D criticizes C for obstination...

But it seems all the same to me. They are just rooting for the race they like, and nothing else
is different in their arguments.

Actually, there is no way that people change their personality due to the race they favor. However,
it is frustrating to hear that 'Terran fans are going way too much', or 'Zerg fans are unusually overreacting',
or 'Protoss fans are impossible.' Does the race change a person's personality and value systems?
I don't see any difference...

It feels like watching the politicians argue. Each race seems to represent the ruling party and the opposition party.

Changing the response according to the position and the situation and criticizing the topic to support
my party, even if I was for the topic before... wouldn't it be the balance argument of today?

It cannot be helped favoring a certain race once you're a fan. Men are blind in their own causes.
It's okay to support your race, but please be consistent.

Would it be persuasive to say that we should wait for more results when the balance is inclined to
your race after a few games, and that players of our race are sweeped due to the imbalance when
the balance is not favorable?

Then how are we different from politicians?

Light[aLive]’s Unit Control - from one of his games vs. free[gm] in Arcardia II

copy/paste from their forum for safekeeping for posterity
퍼플레인
Production Note of Hitchhiker

#0

Starting from the match of midas vs savior, Hitchhiker has been used as an official map of Shinhan Starleague S3.
Reavealed here are the production note of Hitchhiker, made with an aim to inherit the form of strategic maps
for 2 players such as Bifrost and Peaks of Baekdu, and answers to your questions.



#1 concept

Actually, Hitchhiker was made a year ago. During the preparation for the 05-06 Shinhan Bank Starleague,
a feature so called “Neutral Structure” was first introduced in a melee map. Hitchhiker was one of the maps made then.

Hitchhiker and Pioneer Period are somewhat twin maps.
“A map with a central rush route and two more rush routes connected to another entrance”
was the theme for‘Naissance(The picture below)’, the roughdraft for Pioneer Period with four startings, and Hitchhiker.



Since Hitchhiker is a map with two startings, it has more strategic factors whereas Naissance is
more for large scale combats. However, the basic theme of the two maps is very similar, therefore I find the two maps as a “twin.”

Another basis of Hitchhiker was Circular style maps. Mercury, Pelenorr, and Alchemist
turned out to be a failure, showing the limits of circular maps.



The breakthrough of the limits was “Rush Hour.” The map tends to be circular in the early and middle
stages, and center style in the late period. This was partially a success, giving the fun that was
unique to circular maps. Hitchhiker is the opposite. This map is center concentrated only in the
early period of the game, and as the game proceeds, the importance of the circular battlefields
in the outskirts increase. This leads to division of forces or occupation of important spots,
shown only in the late stage of circular maps. Therefore, this map can be classified as a modification of circular maps.



#2 Use of Terrains

The main theme of this map is “wit.” The idealistic goal of Hitchhiker is to let the witty and
clever player win, rather than the one with automatic movements from experiences. That is why
the use of terrains of this map, especially in the central canyon, is crucial to the victory.

There is a Chinese novel called “The Three Kingdoms” based on ancient Chinese history.
The novel illustrates the battle in the Hulu Gorge led by the two greatest strategists of the time,
Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. Zhuge Liang decoyed the Wei army to the narrow valley and drove
them into a corner with fire attacks. Likewise, use of terrains in the narrow valley becomes
a crucial factor to the game, far more than the usual hills. (In the real history, the Wei army was
saved by an unexpected shower.)

After the earlier and middle stages of battles around the narrow valley, the dogfight starts. The rear
hills of the mineral expansion, the easiest one to get, and the expansions isolated by neutral
structures are unsafe from harrassments. Other remaining gas expansions at 1 and 7 are free from
attacks using terrain, but they are close to the opponent.

Therefore, among the recent maps, Hitchhiker is the most difficult one to have the second and
the third expansions. That means this map is intended for small confused fights instead of
battles in a mass, which also means implication of problems with balance. The key point of
making this map was how to solve such imbalance.



#3 Playing in This Map

There are some things that players should keep in mind when they play in this map. First,
this map is different from other maps using Neutral Structures, such as Alkanoid or Pioneer Period.

Pioneer Period and Alkanoid’s Neutral Structures are mostly used as barriers, blocking
the entrance. As a result, it encouraged defensive play styles. Hitchhiker's Neutral Structures seem
to be similarily arranged, but as a contrast, destroying the structures to open up the route becomes
necessary to attack the opponent's expansions. Therefore the neutral structures in Hitchhiker are more of an offensive factor.

Another feature is allowing hidden structures. If you just skim through Hitchhiker, you are
likely to think that this map does not have space for such tricky plays. But as you can see in the
picture below, every single terrain in the map can be used for proxy or hidden structures.



Warping Robotics Facility in a remote area connected to the player's main base will not be easily
patrolled by the opponent, therefore gives far more damages than normal. Hidden gateways
or factories built past the neutral structures by pylon jumps or building supply depots can
result in a thrilling situation for the player; invasion upon the opponent with two entrances.



#4 T vs Z

Before the season started, I estimated the balance of the official maps for the season. It may
not be accurate after all, but I thought the TvsZ balance to be 5:5 or a little more inclined to Terran.

Basically, Hitchhiker is a 'happy map' for Terran players. It has two staring points, and even if
you fail to set out proxy structures, you can recover your advantages by blocking the narrow valley.
Furthermore, availability of Zerg's additional expansions after the nature and the mineral
expansion is very much limited, which gives Terran more chances to win as the game lasts
longer. The reason that Midas could beat Savior was following this basic principle of the map.

Still, the zerg players have many cards to win. The three Hatchery build which is commonly
used nowadays brings a mineral expansion, and this is what gave Zerg advantages in Arcadia.
The Lurker and Mutal harrassment using the narrow valley gives Terran trouble to fight with
small and midium scale unit masses. Moving forces to remote areas rather than the narrow valley
means leaving another entrance of the main base open, and the narrow valley is not an exception; Terran has
many spots to defend. Therefore, Zerg can go for elimination in the worst case. Had savior not
exccessively attacked Midas and invaded his opponent's main base earlier with the powered
economy from the expansion, the result could have been different.






[Summary]
Terran's Advantage: Ability to block the narrow valley with two structures. Difficult to get gas expansions.
Zerg's Advantage: Easy to get a mineral expansion. Battles in the valley. Three entrances. Easy to go for a slow drop.



#5 ZvsP

Zerg vs Protoss is not easily predictable. While ZvsP matches are the fewest among the
matches between two different races, they present so many different game styles, therefore
the balance depends on the most common strategy of the time.

For the Zerg players, this map is easy to fight against Protoss. The difficulty of defending
expansions for Protoss means the mobility of Zerg can give more damages to the opponent in
the late period. The narrow valley can be used for containments with Lurkers. And the three
entrances to the main base allow Zerg to invade the Protoss' double Nexus with Hydra from three Hatcheries.

However, Protoss users also have advantages. The valley can be defended by a few cannons
and structures, the second expansion is easy to get after double Nexus, and the terrain
provides a very long route for Hydra-oriented plays, which is good for the use of corsair-reaver.
These factors can give Protoss users a notion that this map is 'pretty fair.'





[Summary]
Zerg: Expansions easy to attack, Lurker containment easy. Three entrances to the main base.
Protoss: Narrow valley. Easy to get the second expansion, Easy to use Corsair-Reaver.



#6 T vs P

In fact, the most controversial match in Hitchhiker is PvsT. The defeat of Anytime[gm] has
given Protoss users frustration and anger. (If you search for “Hitchhiker” in certain communities,
you can find it out for yourself.)

There are basically two ways to set the balance. One way is to make the balance 5:5 throughout
the game, and the other way is to make the early and middle periods a little inclined to
one side, and vice versa for the late-mid and later periods of the game. The former way is very
hard. Unless the map is really simple, the fair balance throughout the game is a mission impossible.
That's why I prefer the latter.

TvsP balance in Hitchhiker is undoubtedly favorable to Terran players in the early and mid periods.
However, when all the Neutral Structures are destroyed and Carriers are produced, all of a
sudden the game is in Protoss' hands. Therefore the Protoss players must pursue stable
management as much as possible, regardless of the damages he might receive in the early
and mid periods. On the contrary, the Terran players must try to give damages to Protoss as
much as possible, so that the game will not be difficult even with Carriers. Firebathero
showed this attitude very well.

The Protoss players are required to use shuttles or other methods to safely survive the early
and mid periods of game. The brown line crossing the center of the center valley means exposure
to attacks by dragoons or lurkers on the hill once you are inside the line. Terran's timing rush can be somewhat
difficult by dragoons on the hill. Therefore, the sensory length of the rush route by these
time-earning plays feels even more farther than the real length.

Being a 'runaway Protoss' with expansions while leaving the main base and the nature behind can be
another way. Therefore I think this map is favorable to Protoss, and the Terran players will
have to look for solutions to win.






[Summary]
Protoss' Advantage: Proxy and hidden structures in the early period. Use of Carriers in the late period.
Terran's: Attack on Protoss' mineral expansion from the hill. Terrains of the narrow valley good for fights.



#7 Epilogue

This seems to be all I can say about Hitchhiker as the maker of this map. I will leave the
rest of the story to the players. I hope for many exciting games in Hitchhiker, the official map
for the third season of 2006, or for the first half of 2007, if used further.

Thank you for reading.

Sinerely, Forgotten_.