Beginner's Introductory to Starcraft 1 and 2

Hello TL!

FIRST: SORRY THIS POST IS SO LONG

EDIT: Sorry, I don't know how to re-size images on this, so I apologize for making the post look so shoddy ;( [Might because of some problems I'm having with Chrome] [I put them in spoilers just incase they come out terrifying]

To introduce myself, I am Kingqway, earlier known as NoobYstyle, but you guys wouldn't know that

. Anyways, I come here with peace, just hoping to try and wiggle my way into this community, in a way a little more "flashier" than just posting blips and incorrect strategy tips in the Strategy section of Starcraft 2 as I was doing earlier :D. And of course, that "flashier" way is through revealing a couple-month segment of my life through the ups and downs of Starcraft, with a guide I wrote a few months back for non-Starcraft players to try and enter the world of Starcraft; detailing why Starcraft is such a great game. Currently, I'm studying engineering at university, so time's been kind of short and I haven't really gotten the time to delve too deep into playing, so I watch a little more during the semesters, and play more during breaks. I finally had the time to squeeze out an edit of this before the finals struggle starts ~_~.

I've been encouraged to show this blog by my friend who frequents this site, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Disclaimer: I edited out a bunch (and added in a little more), because this was written on my personal blog, so it was very biased and kinda naive, as now that I've read back, I notice some of the stuff I wrote was kind of stupid.

Couple notes about me in this spoiler if you wish, but shouldn't affect the reading.
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So a last note about me before I begin:

I've played a great range of games, some competitively some not. To label a few, I've played the Dawn of War series very very competitively. My friend told me I was in the top 200, but back than I was just a ladder nut, and I was just so into getting good at the game, that I never really knew how to check actual rank. I don't think this is a worthy achievement, as the games community probably consisted of 200 people, but it is something I look back on with some accomplishment haha. {[I had no idea Dignitas.Select was from Dawn of War, so that's pretty much saying I wasnt too good lol]}

Another game was the very original Call of Duty series, as I was in a clan for that game, and played quite competitively in scrimmages (nothing record-breaking though).

But overall, I have played a plethora of RTS games, and I would say I was quite decent in them, lets say master league for each one? (if they had a similar system of ranking to the other games).

These games include
Companies of Heroes
Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars
Dawn of War All the way through until Soulstorm (Quit before that)
Dawn of War 2
Call of Duty all the way through to CoD 2

And dabbled in a few other games like CS, Brood War, AoE2.. lol. I'm quite the gamer

I am not a great writer, I don't think of myself as a great thinker, nor player, but I do enjoy this game and its scene and community, enough so that I hope I can contribute in any way possible. If you like this post, feel free to edit it in any way to show your friends who are willing to learn about Starcraft on a more deeper level!

I Like Starcraft: An Introduction to Gaming (Part 1)
The Pros and Cons of the Two Leading RTS Games on the Globe

Introduction

I am frequently asked the questions: “What is Starcraft?”, “How do you play it?”, “How can it be so fun?”, with added emotions of interest, doubt, and curiosity. Honestly, I would love to be able to answer those questions right away in that conversation, but to explain the world of Starcraft is something that can’t be explained with a few words, or a couple sentences, or even a paragraph’s worth of words. Starcraft to me, is one of my many escapes into a world that is different from ours. A world of competition and innovation, and even friendship (not necessarily cool graphics and awesome explosions) are some of the few words that can explain Starcraft. And the average person would probably say: “How the hell can a computer game be innovation and friendship?”, and that is exactly why a paragraph just isn’t sufficient enough to describe Starcraft to someone who has never experienced it before.

At the same time, people ask me why it’s so fun, with a desire to try the game themselves. I absolutely love when people have a desire to learn and play Starcraft 2, because it is also a chance to learn more about me and my strengths and weaknesses as a human being, as well as yours. Starcraft can reveal an amazing amount of information about yourself, just like any other sport or competition. It can bring you to your limits if you put your all into it. And with that, I present to you: “I Like Starcraft: An Introduction to Gaming”. In this post, of part 1, I will explain essentially why I like Starcraft, and it’s pros and cons as a game. Unfortunately I probably won’t be able to cover EVERYTHING about the game, but I hope it’s sufficient enough to explain the game in detail to you. In part 2, I will explain how the game works, and how to play it. In the end, I hope you will take your time to read this post, as I have taken mine to show you.

I mean, you don’t have to read everything all at once, but take your time, as I have taken my time to type it.

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P.S. :If you’re absolutely new, you can pretty much skim the cons, because it is a very in-depth and opinionated, and even controversial analysis on the game. Just skim it if you want to know my thoughts on a more personal level.
P.S. I pretty much strongly advise you to skim the cons, since its just kind of a personal thing, unless you want to know my personal opinion on the tedious stuff. I just wanted to put it in there since to keep the "raw unedited" version of it around.

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So... Where to begin? I will begin by describing an RTS Game, and then I will go into the cons before pros while describing the benefits this game has brought, and then wrap it up with a message. I must say, I am absolutely loving my mechanical keyboard and the sound it makes as I type; nothing sounds so soothing than this. [Er.. looking back I think this was on my Das? Yeah, it was!

I'm typing on my mx blue filco's now :D]
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I. The Collective of Computer Games

Starcraft 1[2] is a Real-Time Strategy game. Now for the non-gamers that are a big part of my life, an RTS stands for Real-Time Strategy and it is exactly what the name says: A game that requires strategy in real-time.

It’s not the only of the genre, so don’t go thinking that because Starcraft is a real-time strategy game, that it is awesome (although for me it is). There are plenty out there, both exciting and not, that add a completely different game experience to the one I am talking about now.

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Dawn of War II & Command & Conquer 3 are probably the best examples.

However, the reason the game is given that title & a genre is because of the significantly different play styles of a plethora of other games like FPS (First-Person Shooters), RPGs (Role-Playing Games), & the infamous MMORPGs (Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games).

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Continuing, RTS games are so different because of the fact that unlike the other games mentioned above, the player (or gamer) does not assume the role of a character (unless you want to go above and beyond the call of duty and pretend you are a general…). More specifically, in conventional RTS games, the player is given a basic structure (or building), and is told to construct a base given the means to do so, but not the order or the most efficient way. The player, using physical skill and mental strategy, must create the base and army to defeat the opponent. Now normally, when versing against an AI opponent (computer), it doesn’t matter how efficient the build-orders & army compositions are so long as you win. However, with the boundaries expanded by the internet, the seconds saved by cutting corners are the seconds that can win you a BO7 (best of 7) for 60,000$.

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GOM TV’s Starleague, one of the most prestigious tournaments for Starcraft 2.

II.The Starcraft Balance
Now where does Starcraft 1 & 2 fit into the picture?

Well, for starters, Starcraft 1 is considered to be the most balanced RTS game out right now. No game has reached the state of balance that Starcraft 1 has, ever, without dealing substantial damage to the game's unit and strategic diversity. Starcraft 1’s game balance is literally on the edge of a knife, and that is how well it is done (or not done to be more precise). Balance is an enormous part of an RTS game because if one race (one of the choices to pick when choosing an army/faction to begin the game) is too strong, then the game is unfair and thus skewed on the competitive level. Starcraft: Brood War, with its three races: Terran, Protoss, & Zerg, has such a delicate structure of counters & compositions that have been ever-changing with new strategies developed by the best of pro-league players. This had made the game extremely dynamic, and extremely competitive, to the level that has become almost a sport (an e-sport) in South Korea & is spreading now to other parts of the globe.

However, the unit attributes & race dynamics are not the only reasons why Starcraft 1 is so beautifully crafted. It’s the limitations brought on by the game. Terran, if given the circumstances, can easily become the most powerful race in Starcraft hands down. The unit diversity & fire-power of the Terran units are simply absurd when looked at on paper. It is however, the fact that a human is behind the computer, and not an all-perfect demi-god that makes Terran become impossible to become overpowered. To be able to micro all the marines & medics, and simultaneously target-fire with each siege tank onto an oncoming Zerg attack is impossible. The player must choose which actions he will leave to retarded AI and which actions he will personally control.

I can't really seem to give a great analogy to this, as it's something to be experienced rather than put in words. But time is short in this game, since it revolves very heavily around optimization: cutting time spent looking at unimportant parts of the screen, building units very quickly, clicking and issuing commands as fast as possible, making sure your army isn't misplaced, making sure your army is dealing its maximum damage output, are just some of the many things that a Starcraft player needs to understand, develop, and master. Put more in gamer jargon, the actions that maximize potential production and unit control is described by Micro & Macro.

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Which units are you going to control in this kind of situation?

III. The Cons of Starcraft I & II
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Nonetheless, the games have their cons, and despite being an avid fan of the Starcraft series, there is nothing more that pisses me off in this game when someone does a baneling all-in against me, and wins, or blocks off my ramp with 3 pylons (or depots) and sets me back economically because it works. When thinking of these downs, these reasons are also why I love it still.

Starcraft I

CONTROL - The obvious comparison players will make between Starcraft I & II is not the graphics, but the UI and controls. Simply put, Starcraft I’s controls are simply absurd to try and master, and this creates a humongous skill gap between pro league players and random scrubs.

For people who don’t understand what I’m talking about when I say control: what control refers to is the ability to give units (such as infantry, tanks, airplanes) orders and have them fulfilled as desired. An example of lack of control would be a situation where one person has a superior army but still loses a decisive battle because the person could not properly command his or her troops. The most recent hollywood depiction would be the movie 300, and how the Persians simply rammed their troops down a choke point, effectively disabling the advantage of greater numbers.

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They also lacked the epic lines Leonidas and his 299 friends had to say

To give a more clear picture, allow me to give you a self-examination of my skill level in terms of control only:

In starcraft 2, I am pretty confident in my unit control. I’d say I have mastered about 64-69% of unit & building control. In the D range in terms of Grades.

In Starcraft 1, I am quite confident my unit control level is around 32-33% complete. A solid F.

This difference comes from the technological limitations of gaming at the time, and it makes Starcraft I an extremely tedious game to learn. Whether you’re willing to learn the game or not, Starcraft I will undoubtedly put you through hell if you ever try to grasp the games mechanics alone (take it from me, just play it with a friend first, so you can learn together, rather than get smashed by a bunch of people who have been playing already). Even pro league players have probably mastered up to about 89% of the game's mechanics. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could call Starcraft I a professional sport, because the speed your fingers need to achieve on the keyboard must be similar to that of a professional pianist, or the strength of a football player.

And this can sometimes be the problem for Starcraft I. New players will be discouraged to play the game immediately, because a majority of the time, the players losses are due to mechanics more-so than strategy. It’s like trying to learn basketball for the first time, and finding that before you can even try to learn how to weave through players to shoot, you need to learn how to shoot, and before you learn how to shoot, you need to learn how to dribble, and before you learn to dribble, you need to be fit to play the game in the first place. However, unlike basketball, a lot of people just look towards games for a fun time to just sit back, relax, and win, and when you have to work for that in a game... well, "what the hell man??".

So what exactly is this control issue? It’s the fact that you can only control 12 units at a single time! You need to be able to switch from 12 units to the other 12 as fast as humanly possible if you're attacking, because the guy you’re versing is doing the same exact thing: As fast as he possibly can. Also, there are no group controls for buildings, so you cannot select multiple buildings at once to produce your army.

While the counter-argument to difficult control may be that the skill ceiling is higher, making professionals out-shine the non-pro's, I can't help but feel its a little too detrimental in terms of physical health and on an overall social level.

Strategy - As if Control wasn’t enough of a problem, the next problem players must deal with is the strategies offered by each race. Since Starcraft 1 is an extremely old game, it means its had the time to mature into an old man. There aren’t many paths the game will take, and there aren’t many new bonjwas that will change the future of the universe (I think?). At this point in time, the strategies developed by professionals have been refined to perfection. And with the internet explosion, these strategies are immediately spread out to players new and old within 3 seconds of being revealed, and are immediately made the “standard”.

As a new player trying to discover things on his or her own, you can’t go much further out in the wilds because people have already been using these refined builds which will effectively tear your elementary crafted one to shreds. When playing Starcraft I and trying to learn your way around things, you will realize you don’t learn YOUR way around, you learn THEIR way or the highway. I’ll be honest, trying to get into starcraft 1 out of whim is like trying to get your way into Wallstreet with no connections.

Starcraft 2

Starcraft 2 is a completely different story. A game that tries to work its way around the frustrations of Starcraft 1 and create a new game that is refreshing, but has the same feel as its legendary predecessor. Unfortunately, the problems from Starcraft 1 are still in Starcraft 2; just from the other side of the concave.

Control - Unit control in Starcraft 2 is oversimplified. With new technology to implement into gaming, a new system has been made for Starcraft 2: Smart-Casting.
For those who don’t know what smart-casting is, just ask me in person, because it is way too long to describe without having played the two games yourself.

But smart-casting has over-simplified the game to a completely different tier. Now spells have become an essential part of the “normal player” level game-play since it is so easy to cast. In Starcraft 1, spells like Dark Swarm & Psionic Storm were much harder to chain together, but they were powerful enough to cause devastating effects when used by the average players. So there would be a huge balance that was simply based on the players skill level rather than the games attributes for certain units.

However, because of this simplicity, the complexity of Starcraft 1 begins to fade away when entering Starcraft 2. While this is great for beginners, this is detrimental to the pro league players who market this game and make a living off it. While you can say we should throw nerds in the dirt for being nerds, you cannot say that at least half the players who buy the game will not look up to these pros for tips and paradigm-shifting strategies. Furthermore, this lack of control creates a false-sense of achievement, which I believe is just bad for an overall community. The intensity of the matches which are supposed to increase with this smart-casting system is actually doused away by that same mechanism. It’s no longer “omg, I can’t believe Flash pulled that off!” but it’s moreover “omg, when did he build that unit? Let me do that next game because I can!”. While this is great for the lower-league players, it lowers the value of competition altogether.

Normally, it sounds great that everyone can be on equal skill-level to play the game; I mean, why should people who play this game for more than 8 hours a day be the only ones that can use good spells? Amirite or amirite? The problem is, well for example, is that again, the false achievement system makes it so balance discussion seems more reasonable amongst low level players when it isn’t. Starcraft 2 has an enormous community of players ranging from pros who play everyday to the random scrub who got the game for his birthday, but would rather play X-Box Live (nothing against that). However, these players now all have something to say, or need to say about the low-level game balance. Since the line between pros and average joes is less noticeable, some balance discussions go out of hand. One of the major examples of this is the ability called Force Field.
Force field is an essential skill requirement for any Protoss army wishing to reach diamond league or above. It creates an enormous obstacle for other races to overcome protoss with a fast all-in cheese when sentries are around. However, the absence of sentries with force fields will create an almost always lose-lose situation for any protoss fighting against an all-in build. While this is great in theory, it is not so great in practice from a design perspective.

Like the Protoss Photon Cannon, which is supposed to be a defensive structure, the sentry can be abused for offensive purposes. Aggressive force fields are nigh impossible to overcome no matter how many troops are available at your command, if caught in the right situation. The fact that the force field creates an indestructible wall gives protoss, literally, the power to manipulate terrain; Nothing that manipulates terrain in any way should be taken lightly in an RTS game, and should not be easy to use due to its ability to create huge shifts in paradigms regarding terrain advantage. However, because the ability requires fast clicking and precision (in order to conserve unit energy), the ability is extremely hard to use for low level players, and many of them will neglect it.

Every time I play with Jehseung, I encourage him to use force fields whenever he can. While it may be tough for him at the beginning, the strategic options and battlefield advantages that force field brings to the fight is overwhelming. But in high level play, it is indomitable. To pro players, and even players at my level (master league), force field is done with reflexive effort, and not with concentrated thinking. This makes force fields a skill ceiling for the opponent, who cannot do much other than watch the force field block his armys attack paths.

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In this engagement, notice how the zealots can no longer attack due to the force field [A strategic pro rather than a con]. The 2-layer positioning of the force field has likely trapped the immortal in the net, bugging out it’s unit AI making it unable to attack (and dies). Bugging out the unit AI, by surrounding them in force fields and having it run around just looks a little unappealing, personally.

Any opponent up against force fields cannot move their army if its stuck within force field nets. This makes the opposition’s engagements completely dependent on your ability to manipulate the terrain to your advantage, regardless of ambush, or initial advantageous positioning. However, nerfing this ability any further creates a huge shift in balance for the lower level players who cannot keep up with the actions per minute required to defend against all-in attacks from other races. Unlike Dark Swarm & Psionic Storm of Starcraft 1, which were edge-sharpening abilities, Force Field is an absolute necessity, and this further destroys the barrier towards the pro circle.
And I should add that in addition to smart-casting, is infinite unit selection, where instead of 12 units at a time that you can select, it is an infinite amount.

Of course it’s not as simple as my analogy made it seem, but the games mechanics have been over-simplified. I mean, imagine if the next day God came out with Life 2, where anyone could shoot 3-pointers with ease, and throwing a football like an NFL quarterback was just a click away. All you have to do is just get the muscle, not the practice or skill.

IV. Pros of Starcraft I & II

Skill & Spirit: Despite the horrifying controls required to begin playing the game as an actual strategy game, Starcraft 1 brings competition to a completely new level. The difficulty of controlling units allows skill to be developed on a much grander scale. When being asked about what Starcraft 1 is about, I could pretty much say Starcraft 1 is a game requiring speed, stamina, and muscle memory. Pro players in Starcraft 1 average around 320-360 APM.

APM Stands for Actions Per Minute, and is a measuring system that shows how “fast” a player is moving. Every click you make, every unit you call, and every unit you build, is an action. So if a guy is clicking on units on average per minute of about 320-360, that is fucking fast. I honestly can’t explain how fast this is in words, it’s something to be watched when seeing a pro. Describing Flash’s APM is like trying to describe Kim Yuna’s figure skating. It just needs to be seen to be understood. Just try figure skating yourself and see how difficult it is to make the calls, decisions, and movements that professionals do; Try professional gaming as well and you will get that same feeling.

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Flash, arguably the best player in the Starcraft 1 Scene, like many other top pros, has mechanics beyond words.

And this is what makes Starcraft 1 amazing. It’s simple: hard work gives birth to success, and that is what these pros do. They work hard to develop mechanics, and these mechanics cannot be overcome by someone just trying to play “lazy”. You will not beat a professional Starcraft 1 player by doing all-ins all the time. The speed at which they play will guarantee that they will have far more units, vision, and wisdom than you even while you’re simply doing an all-in build. To catch up to them, you have to play like them.

What makes this difficulty amazing is that when you’re playing, you just simply can’t have the strategies mapped out in your head and have it go into motion. Your hands have to be able to listen to your head, and do what you want them to do. And this gives birth to production. There’s a message to be had when playing a game of Starcraft 1, and that is: In order to achieve the things you desire, you must work for it. It sounds great to be able to become a rockstar, get a college degree, and become the CEO of a leading company, but it is in no way easy to get there. You need to have the drive to do it, and a solid system of work-effort to get there.

And here’s a quote from Idra, a famous Starcraft 1 and 2 foreigner player from our very own New Jersey:

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"Until the very very top, in almost anything, all that matters is how much work you put in, the only problem is most people cant work hard even at things they do enjoy, much less things they dont have a real passion for."

Passion, that is what is required to improve at Starcraft 1, much more so than any other game in the world. And this passion is what makes Starcraft 1 an amazing community to be involved in. Many players you meet will be interested, especially now since Starcraft 2 is beginning to overshadow its predecessor, to know you and play with you. The players are great fans, and are always willing to build a community with you, so long as you aren’t E-Shy. I know this because DJ knows a good many friends, and they are networked with many people who also play this game from all different ages and countries.

My APM when versing David Joe is around 180. This is much higher than the approximate 90-100 I used to average in middle school, and even still greater than what I had when I began Starcraft 2 beta which was around 110-120.

However, a great deal of determination is required to overcome my weaknesses when facing him off on Fighting Spirit, the map we play on. Typing the name of the map down just revealed to me a great coincidence. Fighting Spirit.

Okay… let me just say how amazing this feels to notice: It’s amazing how much this game and its community can influence you. I’ve been versing him on and off for the past month, and the only thing that has made me win our games is a fighting spirit to trudge through my mistakes, flaws, and errors. It’s actually pretty awesome how the name of the map we play the most on is Fighting Spirit.

But that is exactly how I win. When our first games started off, I couldn’t grasp the world of Starcraft 1. I didn’t know timings, openings, weaknesses of the zerg, the weaknesses of my practice partner, and the weaknesses of my race. As the games began, I started with a strong beginning game opener, because I wanted a win as fast as possible, to be aggressive and crush my opponent with raw un-supported firepower. Meanwhile, he was a long-time Terran Vs. Zerg player, so he knew the terran race very well, and had a good gist of Zerg compositions and timings, as well as builds to manipulate.

Both of us had a hard time adjusting to my build because my build was an unorthodox, and out-dated version of a terran opener (which is a starting build order to start the game off). It relied on low-economy, early power to end the game. This did not work outside of a couple of matches where I was only able to win by catching him off guard. This gimmicky build didn’t work because it avoided one major concept: the macro game. Eventually, I tripped into the trap of all-in builds, where I tried to win by adding even more production facilities before an expansion to steamroll my opponent. But this forced me to produce less workers, invest less in economy, and formed into an all-in build which only worked on the occasion of lack of scouting on my opponent, and big flaws in my opponents play. Once these kinks were removed, again, I was unable to beat him, so long as he was prepared and was scouting "honestly".

This forced me to learn the late-game. Forced me to enter the realm of more complex strategies, and realizing the weaknesses of the Zerg race, and certain timing windows. So I finally accepted the current standard strategy: 1 Rax Expand. This build focuses on an early expansion to provide a stepping stone towards a stronger economy, which provides stronger military, and more complex tech compositions. However, this also requires that I hammer down the mechanics of tech efficiency, economy efficiency, and military investment efficiency. This alone took much of my time and effort to understand. I had to play tens and tens of games to hammer down what I finally internalized as the Pre-Lurker & Pre-Muta weaknesses in the zerg race, and how the 1-rax expand utilizes these weaknesses into its strategy. The 1 rax expand which I actually once considered weak because of its lack of early game aggression. However, now whenever I return to trying to open 2-rax expand, I realize how much this delays my economy, and I feel nothing but inefficiency and pressure whenever I use this build. In other words, I underwent a great deal of growth.

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I had to play tens and tens of games to hammer down what I finally internalized as the Pre-Lurker & Pre-Muta weaknesses in the zerg race, and how the 1-rax expand utilizes these weaknesses into its strategy.

When I finally learned this concept, I beat David in a series of 6 games, where I won 4 and lost 2. He, surprised by my improvement, lost the first couple games where I constantly abused this timing window to my advantage. Constantly caught off guard, constantly left naked to this timing window. However, he had to improve his game as well, and finally adjusted by getting better with his lurker timing, the next stage of improvement for him. Because of his familiarity with the game, he is able to beat me in most of our practice sessions, seeing the weaknesses in his build and mine much better than I can, allowing him to be much lazier with his production and tech, since my weak play allowed him to. However, now I can be sure that he is under pressure up until this point. When he finally nailed down his lurker timing, again I began to lose. However, I still was able to take some games off him because he made mistakes; but these mistakes are proof to me that he cannot slack off because my play will allow no mistakes from him since it’s improved and efficient enough to punish him for it.

However, the next stage of improvement I underwent is a very interesting concept to me because of my ability to pinpoint the pre-lurker & pre-muta windows to attack the Zerg. I was able to very quickly pinpoint the pre-defiler stage simply from the experience of improvement. Utilizing defilers, he quickly ended my aggression using dark swarm & plague to destroy my lower-tech units. And then I had to respond with vessels. My improvement from learning the timings and techs for terran allowed me to quickly understand the tech to science vessels, and again, we were even for a couple games, though he still won them. Now I’m working on obtaining a third to keep up in economy for the long macro games, and the road to improvement continues.

The purpose of telling this story is that at all these points, I could have given up and conceded that he is just a better player and maybe even more talented than I am. But a fighting spirit and hard work allowed me to catch up to him and corner him into improving, which hooked back to me, and forced me to get better. Looking back I only see how much better I got, and this growth taught me more about getting better rather than just being good at Starcraft 1, and that makes all the difference. The ability to be able to turn improvement from one thing, and transform it into an overall experience is what makes Starcraft 1 amazing, not just the simple fact that its a computer game and that its extremely fun to play.

You can’t, in one random sitting, expect to suddenly be good at Starcraft 1 and that is why it is such a famous and popular game. This is different from Starcraft 2 because Starcraft 2 hands over many things to you. Easier building mechanics, easier macro mechanics, easier unit control: all these things simplify the mechanics you had to learn individually in Starcraft 1, and that individual learning process fleshes out the fact that you need to work hard to improve. (By the way, do not be disencouraged by me calling Starcraft 2 an easy game, because it is no way easy, its just mechanically easier than Starcraft Brood War, which requires much more APM).

Intuition: When mechanics are finally nailed down enough to begin thinking strategically on how you plan to defeat your opponent, Starcraft becomes much more than just a simple strategy game. It’s similar to playing any other sport, or a game that requires high level prediction and decision making like chess: you need to gather your options and prepare accordingly by knowing yourself and your opponent. When finally entering the stage of a game where you need to plan and execute your attacks, Starcraft’s complex system creates an extremely engaging experience.

For example, in a Terran vs. Zerg match-up, one of the key timings to attack is before the Zerg can tech to a unit called the Lurker. The lurker is a unit which has extremely powerful ground controlling abilities, since it’s attacks (once burrowed and immobile) deal an immense amount of damage. The aim of the terran timing-attack is to deal damage to the Zerg opponent and gain an upper hand for the long-term late-game stage. Furthermore, the attack aims for one of two things: To destroy the opponent’s natural if it is uncontested, or to delay or destroy the opponents third expansion. The effects this timing attack has is forcing the Zerg player to spend resources on early military investments, which takes away economy for the late-game stage. As a response, the Zerg player will generally invest in mutalisks, a flying unit, which has only one purpose: to delay the terran advance [if not outright kill the Terran opposition].

Intuition comes into this fight when a player must realize when s/he will move out, where the Zerg will prefer to engage, if the Zerg has prepared a proper defense, and most importantly where the Zerg expanded. Further level of intuition comes in when a player realizes that the opponent cannot focus on two locations at the same time and abuses this to his/her advantage. A current strategy that I’ve come upon for the late game is attacking in multiple locations, or putting my army in a position that can threaten multiple bases. This simple positioning is something that comes with intuition, and experience. Knowing that this position can threaten multiple locations forces the Zerg player to either defend both points by splitting troops, or defend one and sack the other. Meanwhile, the Terran player can just focus on a singular area, abusing the fact that there are physical limitations to a gamer (that he cannot observe a hundred places at once), not just what the opponent is fearing in terms of the actual game’s units.

By the way, when I refer to natural, a natural is the expansion mining location that is nearest to the player’s starting base.

One of the most exciting parts of Starcraft is obtaining this intuition. At times, there are games when I just suddenly “Get it”. I understand exactly what I have to do, exactly how to do it, and I will execute it flawlessly, gathering from my experience to use in future events. And that is the tangible, raw improvement factor that Starcraft offers.

Here’s a lesson from all these things Starcraft related:
To become good at Starcraft, you first need to overcome YOUR weaknesses; Look at yourself, fix your flaws, your mistakes, your problems. THEN, you can finally focus on your opponent, and what s/he is doing, and their flaws, and cut right through them using your strengths developed from looking at yourself.

Starcraft II: A fast-paced fluid-like game with slick graphics.

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If you constantly see me saying Starcraft 2 is the most frustrating game I have ever played, I am simply venting my anger from losing a recent match. I do however, love indulging myself in this game, and the reason I come back is because it is fun; I’m just simply frustrated from losing

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Read This

That is by far the most hilarious thread I have ever read on that website. Starting from the name of the thread, to the posts that follow it, it was just the most laugh-inducing thing I have ever seen on a forum. And the reason I bring up this website is because I want to talk about the community.
One of the most stand-out things about Starcraft (in my opinion), both 1 and 2, is it’s community. Of course, with all gaming communities you have your trolls, douchbags, and idiots, but once wading through all of this, you come upon a group of people who are extremely kind and sociable. I’m not saying that if you need friends due to loneliness, come here and play Starcraft (although there’s no shame if you need to). What I am saying is that when playing this game, and coming upon it’s community, you will find yourself chatting quite a lot, especially due to the gap between interests in Starcraft with your real life friends, and the people you meet online. (Though in my opinion that gap is simply the result of people not realizing how deep Starcraft can really go, and the community that keeps the game running)

Teamliquid.net is probably the most fun website I have come upon since blogging. Just visiting the website, there is already a list of things you can do. If you’re looking to improve your game, you can look in the strategy section of Starcraft 2, or look to the top right, and view the current available streamers that are live-streaming their gameplay. And at the right times, you can even view Daily shows by Day[9] live, or GOMTV GSL Code A/S live, and various other live-tournament footage. And furthermore, the dedicated teamliquid community provides news feed that cannot be topped by any others. Just by going to the home page, you can see the latest news; written by dedicated Starcraft followers, and excellent writers.

If you need to chat about random things, or even tech-related things, there’s sections dedicated to just that, which are frequently visited by it’s followers. Probably the most notable thing being issues with the game itself, or a computer that can handle it. Any questions can be answered quite immediately, and one of the best examples is probably a question I had about my own mechanical keyboard, which was actually answered by one of the Daskeyboard staff the day of writing it.

Check out this link here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=239443

It’s just a great community to be involved in; You don’t have to post, you don’t need to make threads, reply to anything. Just being a forum stalker can still give you some good information and feedback, as there are thousands of people making posts that you may have questions about.
However, just regular forum goings isn’t what lifts teamliquid.net and the Starcraft community above other gaming forums. It is things like:

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State of the game: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/State_of_the_Game

A talk show with professional players and day[9]/Artosis coming in to just talk about the state of the game, from professional tournament news to the current rage about tournament winners, and even controversial balance discussion. You can get direct input from pro players without the need of pegging them with paparazzi’s and other garbage. You hear words from their own mouth, and get a taste of their thoughts on the game and life in general.

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Day[9] Dailies: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=104154

A daily show where player Sean “Day[9]” Plott, a previous A/A+ level gamer in the United States and winner in WCG Tournament, teaches how players can become better gamers; From giving high level analysis to revealing kinks that most low-level players do not realize is a big deal, Day[9] really shows what makes a professional really good at the game.

There is just so much freaking shit to explore beyond just the game of Starcraft 2, that it becomes simply more than a game just due to its community. And Starcraft 2, being such a highly anticipated sequel since god knows when, has an enormous community that indulges itself in all these medias.

And it’s not just your kids that come online to play the game and go on forums. It’s people ranging from parents of 3 kids, to professional gamers, engineers, tech workers, and business wo/men.
Day[9] is a big advocate of a Starcraft 2 gaming tournament of just your average workers from huge companies like microsoft. The reason this tournament is coming up is just to reveal how engaging Starcraft 2 is, and how widespread it has become.

http://afterhoursgaming.tv/
I mean with a slogan like: “Macro hard, Micro soft”, how can you not look forward to this tourney?

But this isn’t just all there is of the Starcraft II community. In Starcraft 2, what differs so greatly from it’s predecessor is coaching.

Have you ever been personally taught by a high level professional that lived in your city on how to learn a sport, say for example, tennis? In Starcraft 2 there is such a thing as paid coaching, and it is frequently sought. The fact that Starcraft has so much to explore that there are paid teachers to ease the learning process is proof of how in depth Starcraft is. Paid coaches are generally in the amateur/pro leagues and their knowledge of the game and the current mainstream strategies are something beyond just the normal player’s basic tactics and overall goals.

Coaches analyze everything you do, from your economic beliefs, economic investments, to military investments, to military tactics, strategies, and military beliefs, and your balance in both. Just sitting down and talking to a professional player after a game can reveal an intense amount of information on your current skill level, weaknesses, and strengths. There are youtube video’s where paid coaches live-stream their coaching session, and these lessons alone, from watching these lessons, reveals so much valuable information that you would never have noticed just playing the game on your own.

The growth that Starcraft and the e-sports community has achieved is an amazing thing to behold, and this is only the beginning of its growth. I really cannot wait for the future in e-sports with the way it is exploding right now.

A new game, bringing new experiences.

Starcraft 2 is a new game. It’s been out for only one year, and it should be treated as so. I will admit, I voice my personal opinions on the game balance quite shamelessly, although I always think it is with good insight. Nonetheless, because it’s a new game, it can excuse itself from many of the balance problems which are finally starting to settle down.

But that’s not all a new game brings, to excuse itself from many of its balance issues. A new game brings new experiences, and to be a part of that experience is a once-in-a-life-time chance. Starcraft 2 will refresh and re-new that “new-game” experience with its upcoming TWO expansion packs. At first, I thought this was a poor decision by Blizzard to make money off of people who will buy it because if it’s name. However, going into the game, you realize that it’s actually quite the strategic move. Not only will Blizzard be able to make funds, but the company will also be given the chance to re-balance the game twice. The original Starcraft was actually quite the broken mess. The game could not be balanced until the release of Brood War, it’s expansion pack.

Why does an expansion pack balance a game? It’s because it allows producers to introduce new units, which fulfill a role that can be seriously lacking in the original game.

But with these new units and expansion packs, it also means you can learn the game with everybody. There won’t be a stage where its split between professionals and the newbie. Everyone will be a newbie together, and coming together to create strategies to overcome current problems is something that cannot be looked over. I will say it right now, if you want to experience an RTS game to it’s fullest, it is best to do it when the game is first released. Not only does it keep you in-line with latest updates, but it allows you to be part of an ever-changing world, with a desire to solve problems. It also provides a perspective that is very hard to come upon when going into an old, developed game; a perspective of “what was”.

I cannot tell you how much I have missed out on when I say Starcraft 1 is a game with a history. Not being part of the history of Starcraft 1 leaves me yearning for much more. Just knowing that there were times when Zerg entered slumps of defeats, and when Terrans suffered that same fate. But at the same time, there were times when professional players would shift the current balance of the game with a brilliance beyond others, and suddenly re-direct the current that the game would flow in.

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From Iloveoov’s great reliance on heavy macro, to Jaedong’s era of super mechanics, Starcraft 1 has undergone changes I could only wish to be a part of.

Already there are amazing experiences to be had, simply because of the innovations of players. You can see such innovation if you watched the recent NASL finals that I posted on my facebook wall. It was probably the best finals I have ever witnessed in my entire life. To watch it on live-stream just made it much better; not knowing what could happen next, holding your breath in for the next move your favorite player would make, and then suddenly a player making an unbelievable comeback with a unit composition you would expect to have crumble to the opposition.

Whenever I’m given the chance, I always try to get people to try Starcraft 2, because it is a new game. Not just because it is a fun, competitive game. But because it is a new game with a lot of attention from both the fan-base and the developers.

It isn’t a joke when I say: now is the best time to get into Starcraft. Because the sooner you do, the sooner you will be a part of an experience that undergoes a turbulence of exciting changes in gameplay and strategy by both players and developers.

TL;DR:
Whew... That was a long post.

Beginner's Introductory to Starcraft 1 and 2

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