Starcraft noob -- I suck, lol, need help

[WhipperSnapper]

While Anandtech was down, I picked up the Starcraft Battlechest over the weekend. I've been playing the map Discovery 1v1 as terran v. terran and I totally suck at this game. It just seems like the AI chops me down quickly even if I have a larger force; it just seems like it's making much more efficient use of its forces than I am.

Is there any hope for me? Is this a matter of micro managing the units and instructing them to sequentially focus-fire on the units they counter one-by-one?

If I can't beat the AI in a 1v1 after about 8 hours of trying, is there any hope for me? I had been hoping to play it online one day against other noobs, but if I can't manhandle the AI then there's no reason to bother.

Link showing the map:

http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/File:Discovery_SC1_Game1.jpg

 

[Glitchny]

what difficulty are you playing at? do you have the patches? try playing the campaign to get a feeling for how to use certain units etc.

 

[JF060392]

I hear there are some Koreans that give lessons for a nominal fee.

 

[mugs]

What kind of units are you using to attack? What kind of units are they using to defend? Did you nuke them before you attacked?

 

[WhipperSnapper]

what difficulty are you playing at? do you have the patches? try playing the campaign to get a feeling for how to use certain units etc.

I'm playing the regular Starcraft. There aren't any options to adjust the difficulty in Custom games as far as I can tell.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

What kind of units are you using to attack? What kind of units are they using to defend? Did you nuke them before you attacked?

The AI builds missile turrets so I can't get my ghosts in. They are quickly detected and mowed down.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

use siege tanks to take out the missile turrets

also, nukes in SC are more a novelty than a reasonable strategy

I'd agree with others who have said you should try playing through the single player campaigns as it will teach you the game and all of its units and quirks in logically progressive fashion.

 

[Maximilian]

Go back to sins

Seriously though i havent played a normal game of starcraft in years, its all custom maps for me now, but normal starcraft vs the ai, just turtle with bunkers, upgrade your stuff and steamroll them with battlecruisers or whatever. Marine + medic is also a good combo, a very good combo early on. Plus i remember there being different AI levels.... that mightve been map editor only though im not sure, think it might just say "computer" in the actual game, but the game does support different AI difficulties, you just need to edit a map and do it heh.

If all else fails:
Power overwhelming - invincibility
operation cwal - fast build
show me the money - free mins n gas
black sheep wall - map reveal

Happy hunting.

 

[Fenixgoon]

While Anandtech was down, I picked up the Starcraft Battlechest over the weekend. I've been playing the map Discovery 1v1 as terran v. terran and I totally suck at this game. It just seems like the AI chops me down quickly even if I have a larger force; it just seems like it's making much more efficient use of its forces than I am.

Is there any hope for me? Is this a matter of micro managing the units and instructing them to sequentially focus-fire on the units they counter one-by-one?

If I can't beat the AI in a 1v1 after about 8 hours of trying, is there any hope for me? I had been hoping to play it online one day against other noobs, but if I can't manhandle the AI then there's no reason to bother.

Link showing the map:

http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/File:Discovery_SC1_Game1.jpg

Go back to sins

Seriously though i havent played a normal game of starcraft in years, its all custom maps for me now, but normal starcraft vs the ai, just turtle with bunkers, upgrade your stuff and steamroll them with battlecruisers or whatever. Marine + medic is also a good combo, a very good combo early on. Plus i remember there being different AI levels.... that mightve been map editor only though im not sure, think it might just say "computer" in the actual game, but the game does support different AI difficulties, you just need to edit a map and do it heh.

If all else fails:
Power overwhelming - invincibility
operation cwal - fast build
show me the money - free mins n gas
black sheep wall - map reveal

Happy hunting.

in normal/vanilla starcraft you tend to get the "insane" AI much more than you do in broodwar. broodwar has so many AI variants that even when playing against 7 AI, they're likely to be fairly tame.

7 terran AI in vanilla SC single player = mommy

 

[minmaster]

there are korean starcraft tutors i think.

 

[Glitchny]

in normal/vanilla starcraft you tend to get the "insane" AI much more than you do in broodwar. broodwar has so many AI variants that even when playing against 7 AI, they're likely to be fairly tame.

7 terran AI in vanilla SC single player = mommy

yea, I did 7v1 a 7v1 on BGH with unlimited resources... once. took like 5 hours. Epic turtleing and I thought I was dead more than a couple times.

as to the OP

u can also use ghosts to nuke their frontline defenses if need be, or scan their base for an open spot and send some suicide dropships in to sneak an already cloaked ghost in to nuke their gatherers.

 

[lothar]

While Anandtech was down, I picked up the Starcraft Battlechest over the weekend. I've been playing the map Discovery 1v1 as terran v. terran and I totally suck at this game. It just seems like the AI chops me down quickly even if I have a larger force; it just seems like it's making much more efficient use of its forces than I am.

Is there any hope for me? Is this a matter of micro managing the units and instructing them to sequentially focus-fire on the units they counter one-by-one?

If I can't beat the AI in a 1v1 after about 8 hours of trying, is there any hope for me? I had been hoping to play it online one day against other noobs, but if I can't manhandle the AI then there's no reason to bother.

Link showing the map:

http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/File:Discovery_SC1_Game1.jpg

What race are you? What race are you playing against?

Play and beat the campaigns first (both original and Broodwar) to get a feeling of the units.

Build order, build order, build order.
I can't say it well enough.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

So, the AI difficulty is hardwired to the maps themselves? It really is amazing that they would release a game where you can't set the difficulty level yet have different levels. Perhaps I've just been encountering the hard/insane AI.

Can I choose the AI difficulty in Broodwars? I've been playing regular Starcraft to keep it a little more simplified, but since I'm just learning a single race right now, I suppose I could do it in Broodwars if that would let me choose the difficulty.

Does Bnet have any sort of automated player matching? I've been told to play the game at IC Cup but that seems like a scary place to a total box noob.

 

[ed21x]

with both sc and broodwars, i believe the difficulty scales with the player. for a beginner, i suggest building a bunker at your base entrances and fill them with marines first just to make sure that you survive the first rush. make sure to have maybe 1-2 scvs next to the bunker in order to repair it while it is being damaged. back it up with some seige tanks a little later, and once you have alot of stuff, you can move out and do some damage =]

 

[Maximilian]

So, the AI difficulty is hardwired to the maps themselves? It really is amazing that they would release a game where you can't set the difficulty level yet have different levels. Perhaps I've just been encountering the hard/insane AI.

Can I choose the AI difficulty in Broodwars? I've been playing regular Starcraft to keep it a little more simplified, but since I'm just learning a single race right now, I suppose I could do it in Broodwars if that would let me choose the difficulty.

Does Bnet have any sort of automated player matching? I've been told to play the game at IC Cup but that seems like a scary place to a total box noob.

Well it did come out 10 years ago... The AI never adapts either its just a simple set of build X structure and spam Y unit until win/loss happens, it dosent adjust what it has to counter what you have etc.

 

[MustangSVT]

play through single player first for sure. you need to learn all units of all races to be efficient. SC is like the perfect balance of rock paper scissors.

single player has great story as well.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

with both sc and broodwars, i believe the difficulty scales with the player. for a beginner, i suggest building a bunker at your base entrances and fill them with marines first just to make sure that you survive the first rush. make sure to have maybe 1-2 scvs next to the bunker in order to repair it while it is being damaged. back it up with some seige tanks a little later, and once you have alot of stuff, you can move out and do some damage =]

This is the strategy I had thought of--let the AI shoot its load at a fortified defensive position, then move out and go on offense. Problem is, if you don't expand, the AI ends up with all of the minerals and gas on the map and you run out at your base.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Most games vs. AI can be won by just massing one unit. Mass siege tanks, mass battlecruisers, mass vultures, mass goliaths, and mass wraiths should all work. You can win with ghosts / nukes, but it makes for a longer game and a lot more frustration. Remember that while the AI can wipe the floor with you if left unattended, it's easily confused and makes dumb mistakes compared to human players. Generally if you attack their front door with tanks and supporting M&M or goliaths, you can drop-ship a ghost or two in to take out their economy with little problems.

However, a combination of complementary units is the best way to go. A bunch of siege tanks backed up by mass goliaths is hard to beat. And, to make things even better, you basically just have to build a ton of factories.

Hope this helps.

Edit: I still remember the first single player (non-campaign) game that I won vs. AI. I was Protoss, and I used a photo cannon + a few dragoons to hold off several Zerg onslaughts. After that, I got the idea to just build dozens of dragoons and march them in. THEN the game went quickly. Really, your focus should be on building just the specific buildings / upgrades / defenses you need to start laying down your main army-producers (2-4+ factories, barracks, star ports, etc.). Then, simply pump out one unit over and over.

 

[Sayian]

What is your APM?

Use keyboard shortcuts, macro better and you'll win in a shorter time period.

 

[Glitchny]

the game really isn't that hard. Play the basic campaign and get used to how the units work etc. If you're having trouble getting to resources then you aren't producing/expanding fast enough and are probably spending too much time going up the tech tree.

 

[shortylickens]

Play basic campaign. It teaches you how to do everything. Play the same mission over and over until you find the most efficient way of completing it overwhelmingly.

Also, for most of them I like to spam with SCV's and mine like crazy. When I get a huge fat stockpile I kill off most of my SCV's and then build the best of whatever I can. LOTS of it. Overwhelming firepower is totally acceptable and often required in Starcraft.

Wait before messing with the tech tree at all. Its slow and consumes too many resources from your base-builing operations. When you finally do research towards the end, build at least two of everything to speed it up. Two armories, etc.
When you finally build your army, have at least two of everything and possibly 3 if you have the land for it. Two or three barracks, etc.
You will need to build up AND reenforce your army quickly once it gets into battle. And thats why you saved up the big stockpile beforehand.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Tank Rush

Siege Tanks in the back, Marines and Medics up front (throw in some Firebats if facing Zerg and possibly Protoss because of Zealots)

Win

IIRC, you could adjust the level of difficulty for the AI in the included "Official" Custom Maps from Blizzard.

 

[Brainonska511]

what difficulty are you playing at? do you have the patches? try playing the campaign to get a feeling for how to use certain units etc.

You can adjust the difficulty in SC?

I also recommend playing the campaigns - it gives you an idea of how to use units and build effective strategies.

Playing custom maps vs. the computer I've always found to be hard - always attacking you with some medium sized force.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

What is your APM?

Use keyboard shortcuts, macro better and you'll win in a shorter time period.

I know what APM is, but I'm not sure exactly how to find the stat.

I don't understand much about the macros or how to set those up, either. For some reason my copy didn't really come with an instruction manual, just the two Prima strategy guide books.

 

[lothar]

I know what APM is, but I'm not sure exactly how to find the stat.

I don't understand much about the macros or how to set those up, either. For some reason my copy didn't really come with an instruction manual, just the two Prima strategy guide books.

BWChart was the program I used in my time to check that and monitor strategy.
Not sure if there's a new "thing" on the block now or if it's still even being updated.