Matchmaking services are typically less favoured due to the lack of control they offer, but we just wanted to jump into a game and get killing stuff. Ten placement matches need to be completed in both 1v1 and 2v2 modes to be given a ranking, with Free For All (FFA) also requiring ten plays. While you can choose a custom game, this isn't ranked, so we jumped into a 2v2 match - only to be slapped back with a notification at the top that we were downloading ten files! It seems that the maps that you'll actually play with aren't included in the 1.64GB, but thankfully they're only roughly 6MB each. The downloader also seemed a little broken, as we downloaded one file to 13619%, and another reached 30453% before it decided to finish.
Picking Protoss (like wearing a very comfortable pair of old shoes), we found a match after only a few seconds, and were presented with a simple loading screen. Paired with Vandris' Terran team, we were pitted against Nomiad's Protoss force and rapp's Zerg scourge in the popular map, Lost Temple. The interface is practically identical to the original Starcraft, and all old shortcuts will still work - indeed, as we'll describe soon, the same strategies too. Quickly setting up a base and a strong economy, and progressing through the tech tree (each side's tree can be seen here), we set up what would be a pretty decent threat. Or so we thought.
Progressing quickly through the tech trees to get access to the interesting - and new - units, our ally came under attack from a Zergling rush and a Zealot rush, wiping out a few SCVs and causing them to confusingly quit, leaving us to fight against two opponents. While we rushed to pump units to face this sudden unbalance, they managed to overwhelm with sheer numbers and handed us our arse on a silver platter.
After we were unceremoniously wiped from the face of the map, we were presented with a summary of our performance...
Issue: 137 | June, 2012