Berkeley University Course on Starcraft Theory and Strategy | Hacker News Reader

Berkeley University Course on Starcraft Theory and Strategy

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26 pointsadambyrtek19 comments

Some context: this was a DeCal class which is run by students.

From the DeCal website: "DeCal is a student-run democratic education program at the UC Berkeley - here, students create and facilitate their own classes on a variety of (often unorthodox) subjects."

Came here to say this.

The DeCal program is really awesome. I took one titled "Advanced Unix Systems Administration" my first semester that was possibly more valuable than some of the faculty-led courses I was taking at the same time.

I second this -- the Unix System Administration series (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/decal/2008-spring/advanced/) and the DeCal classes in general were some of the most rewarding classes I took at Cal.

I'd totally take that too. Currently a silver player, 7th in my division. My goal is to make it to the gold league before the end of this year.

A couple of years ago Carnegie Mellon used to have a student led course on DOTA, although I am not sure intense and mathematical that was. My friends an I only joked about the course's existence.

I am curious, is anybody aware of any other video game related courses at other universities?

"Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course."

Wow, these guys are serious. Wonder what aspects of SC2 they plan to actually break down quantitatively using differential equations...

Probably supply and demand stuff. I've never played SC, but I understand that you need to mine for "minerals" and spawn units and build buildings.

I would totally take that course. With a 0/10 league record, lord knows I need it.

Watch some of the day[9] dailies at http://day9tv.blip.tv and you'll improve at least a little bit. Watch the episode on the Mental Checklist (http://day9tv.blip.tv/file/3732340/) first.

That guy is awesome, I have only been watching the HDStarcraft and Husky videos so far but this guy goes way more into the why and dissecting the decision trees than they do.

This.

Since I started watching Day[9], I've figured out why I'm losing to Gold level players.

Out of curiosity, what is your ranking and what did you discover about your play?

I'm Silver ~60 but I was Bronze in Beta. The biggest thing lately has been drone timing - Day[9] suggests that reactive Zerg is the most powerful so long as you react perfectly, so I've been playing more reactively and I've been practicing better drone timing.

Reactive Zerg tries to balance power-droning (making nothing but drones) with reacting to the opponent's offensive postures. Ideally, reactive Zerg should only produce military units right before an attack, and only produce those units necessary to fend off the attack without taking other damage to its economy. Reactive zerg wins mid-game or late-game after their economy blows past that of the opponent.

I'm still in low Silver because I'm trying too hard to play reactive Zerg now... however, it's teaching me to keep growing my economy after the early mid-game. Once I switch back to a somewhat more offensive Zerg, I think I'll have an advantage that I didn't have before.

Thanks! I'm not a Zerg player (I'm Terran), but I thought this insight by Day9 about Zerg was excellent. I'll try to keep it in mind while playing against Zerg. Sometimes moving out and then retreating can be enough to make a Zerg over-react.

First you gotta work on the '/10' bit, the '0' will improve later.

Yeah, it's bit like saying "I tried to play the flute once, man I sucked at it!".

Haha, point taken. I just thought I would have at least ONE win after studying build orders and strategy and doing decently in Practice League. Come to think of it, Starcraft is a pretty good metaphor for entrepreneurship :)

The system may have overestimated your league based on your placement. I was placed in Gold (even though I'm a low Silver) and had to suffer through about 30 games before I was demoted to Silver.

Since then, however, I discovered that it's only league adjustment that happens at around 30 games. The system ALWAYS tries to keep you at a 50% win ratio... so even though you're placed in gold, and it says you're in gold, if you're really a bronze then the system will eventually have you playing against bronze. It just needs more data to figure out your skill level.

TL;DR: Don't worry! Keep playing and eventually you'll have some wins under your belt.

If you want, you can send me a replay and I'll give you some feedback. (I'm a Silver Zerg.)

Aw man, wish I had this stuff when I was in school.

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