S_SoulReaver

S_SoulReaver

Since nobody is doing for me, welp, I'm watching every game of this tournament in order and trying to rate them. So everyone can decide which one to watch or maybe cast. This is what I've done so far.

#New link below#

A quick preview

S_SoulReaver

{S} Soul Reaver (aka Jean Kepler / Keplergamer) round of 8 game review.

I play TA since the 90's, and loved to spend a LOT of time watching replays on that game. And SC:FA is an even better platform to do it.

Decided to rate the replays for my own mental organization of what was happening. Now also describing why I gave the high or low rate. A great guide for those who don't have the time. Or are looking for a game to cast.

I'll add links to casted games when I watch all the tournament matches, to avoid spoilers as much as possible.

Series 1 - Petric (Fremy) vs Turin Turambar (Sonozaki)

12728585 on crazyrush 8
Typical action-packed Crazy Rush game.

12728786 on Frithen 7
Game was kinda even, then it wasn't and boom. Someone's not playing around. Deadly attack.

12728883 on Z-D Rasty Lite 9
With the tournament on the line, he rises up to the challenge and plays a much more solid game. Both sides fight until the very end in a very nice to watch game.

12729025 on The Bermuda Locket 9.5
Amazing game!!! Brutal fight on all fronts, with air, land and sea. Nail-biting, back and forth, action packed duel by 2 very determined players.

Jagged Appliance Cast:
Part 1 - Crazy Rush and Frithen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwjmT7CyeQ8
Part 2 - Rasty Lite and Bermuda Locket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwNupw7ydE

Series 2 - archsimkat vs Nexus
12728773 on Frithen 9
Both players moving their land armies in little groups everywhere so much that I thought that I was watching a "Dancing With the Stars" episode. Felt like they were trying every little trick in their book to try and break the enemy line but both stood strong. Until...

12729015 on crazyrush 8
I always love to see the openings here and how each one tackle the energy problem. Nexus gives us a masterclass on that matter. Then I just removed the strategic icons and health bars, zoomed in a enjoyed the fireworks. Love this map!

12729227 on Z-D Rasty Lite r8
The most one-sided game of the series, but it's non-stop action from start to finish, and no early GG - the commander only goes down with a bang.

Jagged Appliance Series Cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roZ_kRTJm6k

Series 3 - Espiranto vs Tagada
12728602 on crazyrush 8.5
One team with a more solid and expensive approach, building PD's and going for T2 and T3 earlier, while the other on a MASS SPAM of T1 factories. Brutal game. Who will win?

12728808 on Open Palms 7.5
Again one with a more solid expansion, while the other in an aggressive expansion, with the danger of over-extending.

12728942 on Frithen 8
Kinda even until a simultaneous mirrored assault, one is successful, the other isn't, and the game just snowballs from there.

Jagged Appliance Series Cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPW-7XhwmZg

Series 4 - BlinChik vs TURBO2
12728598 on Painted Desert Rebalanced n/a
Replay corrupted =( ...or connection loss. Was looking to be a great match.

12728714 on Painted Desert Rebalanced 7.5
Great to see this TA classic here. So much mass to reclaim on this SC version! Game is too one-sided for us to properly enjoy a battle on this map. Looking forward to other games here.

12728911 on White Fire v2 8
Ain't this another TA Classic? More even game, but a slow start combined with an early GG right when it was heating up really let's down. Still able to see some T2 Destroyer action.

12729094 on The Ditch 8.5
Wow, so much reclaim available on this map. And so many features on a 20x20km map. It's like Crazy Rush nasty big sis. They said on Total Annihilation that you don't send an army, but a huge ball of doom. This surely applies to this map. Big armies all around. And hard to predict who will win for most of the game.

12729410 on Palaneum 10!!!
What a nice little map, so many cool visual features, a real eye-candy, the map selection for this series has been stellar. But mostly, what a game! With the menace of the elimination, the need to step-up, to fight to the very end. This game is dynamite!

12729608 on crazyrush 8.5
Turbo gets ahead on mass production, but BlinChlk keeps his army closer together and tries to catch-up. Will he succeed? Extra-points for being the first game from this and the summer tourney that don't have an early GG / Comm assassination and we get to see the winning side taking the spoils and destroying the base.

Jagged Appliance Casts:
Part 1 - Painted Desert and White Fire - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xh8jmfe-O8
Part 2 - The Ditch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ym4ljyZXgY
Part 3 - Palaneum and Crazy Rush - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaP8yVdxWsI

S_SoulReaver

Watched all the games and gave my own rating.

I like action packed games, preferably even, hard-fought and back in forth. No playing cat and mouse with the armies, unless it's a fight to avoid elimination from the tournament. Also prefer players who don't give up so easily.

Take the ratings not as totally consistent, but as great guide to know what is worth spending your time.

2020 Fall Invitational Qualifier
September 12, 2020
List of Games Played

Upper Bracket Set 1

Series 1 ChitChat_88 vs ThomasHiatt
12625958 on Ambush the Enemy r7

12626076 on Amoor r5

Cast for this series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLqeI0xfI-U
Series 2 Blast_Chilled vs WoundedElkNoob
12625946 on Ambush the Enemy r6

12626103 on Amoor r5

12626188 on Osiris r8

Series 3 Ryfun vs Yudi
12626118 on Ambush the Enemy r6

12626412 on Amoor r6

Series 4 BullyDozerNoob vs Inspektor_Kot
12625950 on Ambush the Enemy r9

12626086 on Amoor r5

12626178 on Osiris r4

Series 5 MadMozart vs Matri
12625931 on Ambush the Enemy r8

12626039 on Amoor r7

Series 6 ArchSimKat vs BlInChIk
12625939 on Ambush the Enemy r9

12626131 on Amoor r9.5

12626376 on Osiris r10

Series 7 Thalia vs TURBO2
12626033 on Ambush the Enemy r7

12626127 on Amoor r6

Series 8 Zasport vs ZLO
12626096 on Ambush the Enemy r7

12626183 on Amoor r9

Lower Bracket Set 1

Game 9 ChitChat_88 vs WoundedElkNoob
12626651 on Z-D Rasty Lite r7.5

Game 10 BullyDozerNoob vs Ryfun
12626584 on Z-D Rasty Lite r7

Game 11 archsimkat vs Matri
12626882 on Z-D Rasty Lite r4

Game 12 Thalia vs Zasport
12626349 on Z-D Rasty Lite r8.5

Upper Bracket Set 2
(Winners qualify to participate in the Fall Invitational)

Series 13 Blast_Chilled vs ThomasHiatt
12626517 on Desert Arena r9

12626822 on Oracle r8.5

Series 14 Inspektor_Kot vs Yudi
12626574 on Desert Arena r9

12626801 on Oracle r8.5

Series 15 BlInChIk vs MadMozart
12626907 on Desert Arena r8.5

12627106 on Oracle r7.5

Series 16 TURBO2 vs ZLO
12626341 on Desert Arena r8.5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-otFA1aXtmU
12626522 on Oracle r7

12626817 on Norfair r8

Lower Bracket Set 2
(Winners qualify to participate in the Fall Invitational)

Game 17 Blast_Chilled vs Thalia
12627207 on Seton's Clutch - FAF Version r3

Game 18 archsimkat vs Inspektor_Kot
12627055 on Seton's Clutch - FAF Version r9.5

Game 19 MadMozart vs Ryfun
12627318 on Seton's Clutch - FAF Version r9

Game 20 WoundedElkNoob vs ZLO
12627187 on Seton's Clutch - FAF Version r9.5

Lower Bracket Set 3
(Players eliminated here are tied for 7th/8th place)

Game 21 Blast_Chilled vs Inspektor_Kot ??
12627323 on Arcane r8.5

Game 22 Ryfun vs WoundedElkNoob
12627585 on Arcane r8

Upper Bracket Set 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifr8KgX3uVs
Series 23 ThomasHiatt vs Yudi
12627215 on The Ganges Chasma r8

12627411 on Frithen r8.5

Series 24 BlInChIk vs TURBO2
12627311 on The Ganges Chasma r7

12627526 on Frithen r7

Lower Bracket Set 4
(Players eliminated here are tied for 5th/6th place)

Game 25 ThomasHiatt vs WoundedElkNoob
12627824 on Seraphim Glaciers r2

Game 26 BlInChIk vs Inspektor_Kot
Not in Vault / on Seraphim Glaciers

Lower Bracket Set 5
(The player eliminated here takes 4th Place)

Game 27 BlInChIk vs ThomasHiatt
Not in Vault / 8 - Badlands v4

Upper Bracket Set 4
Series 28 TURBO2 vs Yudi
12627968 on Williamson's Bridge r10

12628911 on Turtle Rocks r9.5

Lower Bracket Set 6
(The player eliminated here takes 3rd Place)
Game 29 ThomasHiatt vs Yudi
12629651 on Syrtis Major r9

Grand Finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OybfXs_V4ew
Series 30 ThomasHiatt vs TURBO2
12639790 on Cobalt Valley r9

12639977 on Forbidden Pass v4 r9

12640161 on Emerald Crater r9.5

Game 31 ThomasHiatt vs TURBO2
12640407 on Z-D Rasty Lite r11

S_SoulReaver

Well, I'm doing it myself and watching the group stage and writing a nice review.

Here's a preview of how it's going so far, I'm trying to mostly just explaing why the game got the rate that it got, and spoil as little as possible.

For most of the games that is what's happening, but sometimes I'm trying to tell a little more, and one day I wanna do a real review, I just don't have that much practice just yet.

Also, I wanted to make a preview for people to enjoy the game with not much spoilers, but then you would also have to hide game lenght, who won the series and if there actually was a game 3 or if any ended in a draw (and those are sometimes the best games of each series!). But that might just be way too much for to start with. So let's do one version properly first.

Here's how group A is shaping up:
alt text

S_SoulReaver

@adastranoob Nice

When I finished my report, I'll try to reformat to this forum and link each match to it's cast video.

S_SoulReaver

Upper Bracker Round 2 - Best of 3

Lunyshko vs Storm Lantern
Praetors- vs FFF
Blast Chilled vs Robogear
TheWreck vs SilentNoob

Lunyshko vs Storm Lantern

1	#21279953	Twin Rivers 10x10	Sera vs Cybran	13m11	R9.0	What looked like was going to be a quick game turned back around in a very action packed battle with a surprising end.
2	#21280182	Twin Rivers 10x10	Sera vs Cybran	19m27	R9.5	Close hard fought game until the very end.
3	#21280402	Norfair 20x20	Sera vs Cybran	12m17	R8.0	Great battle, silly throw.

Praetors- vs FFF

1	#21279968	Twin Rivers 10x10	Sera vs Sera	13m14	R6.0	Long time with both armies just looking at each other, then a very quick ending.
2	#21280186	Norfair 20x20	Uef vs Aeon	10m08	R8.5	Guetto gunships ftw!
3	#21280374	Firelight 5x5	Uef vs Cybran	08m08	R8.0	Some nice battles and some back and forth action for a quick 5x5 map game.

Blast Chilled (God_of_Roadkill) vs Robogear

1	#21280050	Twin Rivers 10x10	Aeon vs Sera	34m08	R9.0	Epic T3 galore game on Twin Rivers and some sneaky sneaky drops.
2	#21280378	Norfair 20x20	Sera vs Sera	1h03m39	R9.0	Epic ending, epic battles, lots of back and forth action on both fronts and the islands, very unpredictable, but it dragged way too much. Both players might be worn out after 2 long gruesome battles, and everything on the line.... But business do picks up again near the end big time.

TheWreck vs SilentNoob

1	#21279835	Twin Rivers 10x10	Sera vs Uef	19m42	R9.0	Fiery non-stop battle once it gets going.
2	#21280029	Norfair 20x20	Aeon vs Uef	20m06	R8.0	Close game, lots of smaller battles, then big stalemate, then big, risky move that backfires dearly (by the player who could risk after winning game 1...).
3	#21280197	Firelight 5x5	Sera vs Cybran	08m19	R7.0	Fierce battle that ends in a tie.
4	#21280276	Firelight 5x5	Sera vs Cybran	20m35	R9.5!!!	If the tournament is Legends of the Stars, this was Dancing With the Stars. The game of hunter becoming the prey. Again and again. Both CMD had more than 100 kills by the and neither even got a gun upgrade!

S_SoulReaver

Lower Bracket Round 1 - Best of 1

Paradox (Paradox_of_War) vs Riot (batya-)

1	#21279988	Twin Rivers 10x10	Uef vs Uef	20m16	R9.5	Oh man, what a nail-biting BO1 elimination game, from start to finish.

S_SoulReaver

@Rionling Thanks!

Here's all the games in Rich Text Format, for anyone that wanna see them soon. I plan on start posting them here tomorrow. Round names renamed to be less confusing to understand.

Legends of The Stars 2023 Qualifier.zip

S_SoulReaver

@AdAstraNoob Ah, nice!

Edit: Updated the list.

S_SoulReaver

Gonna try to post here directly.

Upper Bracket Round 1 - Best of 1

Lunyshko vs wo
StormLantern vs Unknow
Praetors- vs Paradox (Paradox_of_War)
Riot (batya-) vs FFF
Blast Chilled vs wo
Robogear vs Altf4
SilentNoob vs wo

StormLantern vs Unknow

1	#21279747	Syrtis Major 10x10	Cybran vs Cybran	18m36	R8.0	It was a close game, but one side plays solid and eco up, the other risk it all going to tech 3, who will win?

Praetors- vs Paradox (Paradox_of_War)

1	#21279620	Syrtis Major 10x10	Sera vs Uef	10m59	R8.0	Despite the big rating gap, it was a fairly close game until sudden throw.

Riot (batya-) vs FFF

1	#21279754	Syrtis Major 10x10	Uef vs Sera	17m38	R9.0	Jebaited (?) It was a nice back and forth game with big eco development and units until then, hard to predict the winner.

Robogear vs Altf4

1	#21279711	Syrtis Major 10x10	Sera vs Sera	13m32	R7.0	Slower pace game that ends in a premature sudden tie.
1b	#21279847	Syrtis Major 10x10	Sera vs Sera	16m16	R8.5	Back and forth thriller.

Lower Bracket Round 1

Paradox (Paradox_of_War) vs Riot (batya-)

1	#21279988	Twin Rivers 10x10	Uef vs Uef	20m16	R9.5	Oh man, what a nail-biting BO1 elimination game, from start to finish.

S_SoulReaver

Updated report with all Upper Bracket games, and removed the highlight of the winner to avoid spoilers.

Legends of The Stars 2023 Qualifier.zip

S_SoulReaver

Thanks

S_SoulReaver

@adastranoob Nice

When I finished my report, I'll try to reformat to this forum and link each match to it's cast video.

S_SoulReaver

@karateka You're welcome!

I always wanted to help the TADemoRecorder site back in the day. As they weren't reviewing replays as fast as I was watching them. It's really nice to finally be able to help the community somehow.

S_SoulReaver