[s]starcraft[/s]
Is there only one way to out a Lurker in stop mode? There are many ways to put a Lurker in stop mode, waiting for unsuspecting units to walk over and start reeking havoc when you so command it. Is it a bug to use the select ovie+lurk and hold? It follows AI unit command law hierarchy thus it is very hard to argue that it is a true "bug." You can still try to argue it, it does not matter, I am not listening for it is not the question of interest. Is it fair? Pro-gamers used it when it is allowed, always, but many important Starcraft tournaments disallow it - such as WCG.
Select Ovie+Lurk, Hold, Wait. Come, cross the choke, it is safe! GG.net won't bite!
What does it add to the game? It is one more tactical ruse, thus it adds a just a chip more of complexity to the game, making it more entertaining and rich in tactics, simply more fun. Starcraft is a game after all is it not? I even think that this small tactical ruse adds armament to Zerg's endless battle against Terran domination. So if you ask me is it fair? Hell yes, its fair! You disagree? Ask any Zerg if he thinks M&M 3/3 is fair!
As usual I am getting side tracked and tempting the reader to start an argument fest with the mere mention of the never ending Terran-Zerg imbalance battle.net lament. Let us get to the nitty gritty of this little topic. How many ways is there to stop a Lurker? Well let us list them:
You detect the enemy units coming, you burrow your Lurker, you ALLY and wait - then the moment is ripe, you UNALLY and reap havoc.
You detect the enemy units coming, you are already burrowed in the best place because you anticipated it, and you spam SSSSSSSS because your APM is 500 anyways and you can still keep you attention elsewhere.
Or classic technique. You select a burrowed Lurker and a nearby Overlord, press hold and wait until enemy is walking over it - then reap havoc.
You select a Lurker, then make it look back to base by making him come back a little then stop, and you burrow him, then select it with and a nearby Overlord, press hold and wait until enemy is walking over it - then reap havoc with efficiency.
Burrow the Lurker, and hold shift, and just before the hold icon disappears, press H. It will hold now because it can hold unburied and thus it allows it to hold burrowed by exploiting a true game bug.
Tell the burrowed Lurker to attack an enemy building that is under the partial fog of war (scouted but with no vision over it, i.e the penumbral fog), asign the burrowed lukers a crtl-1, then hit 1S when you want it to attack the units walking over it.
So then should the Stop Lurker ruse be allowed? Not allowing it forces everyone to start disallowing all the specific ways of performing it. When it is disallowed, tournament managers need more time for dealing with the complaints if some one uses it, plus they have to check after if the gamer was spamming S or he was using any of the other methods, because two should be disallowed (real bug way and the ally/unally method), and four should be allowed, at least in my opinion.
Anyway we have not had a pure* Starcraft game news post in a long while so just to keep the mix right I will throw in a couple more of these news posts every now and then. Bottom line, it is obvious I made up my mind on the subject, but I am by nature opinionated and always right. So /ignore my opinion. What I want to know is what our readers think about the matter? Is Stop-Lurk fair? Should it be allowed in tournaments in general? Some do, some do not. Consensus is more often than not a hard thing to obtain in our community.
Reap havoc!
Best Reply
Here is how I see it.
If you have a protoss army, and you group one zealot with your templars in order to be able to attack move them, is that a bug?
It you are playing terran and you group your science vessels with your tanks in order to have them follow when you attack move, is that a bug?
If you have 6 lurkers and 6 lings in a group so you can attack move all of them forward and then burrow the lurks while the lings attack, is that a bug?
I think all three of these examples are the exact same thing as grouping a lurker with an overlord and pressing "hold". It is using a command the units do not have on their own after combining them with another unit.
This is simply micro. All races can do it with their units that do not have an attack command. The hold command is no different from that.
I also think this is no way related to allied mines. Allies mines requires the user to exit the game interface into an external menu. Then, manipulate the game options to change the game type from a one on one to an allied game. This has no bearing upon the actual gameplay and controls. A hold lurker is done entirely within the game engine using the predefined and agreed upon controls.
I think it is ridiculous it would be banned in any tournament or event.
It does not surprise me who this reply either, no other than Manifesto7.
A synthesis about the various methods of how to Stop-Lurk, a short disccusion about how fair it is to use this tactical ruse, and a question to our readers if it should be allowed or not in tournaments.
Is there only one way to out a Lurker in stop mode? There are many ways to put a Lurker in stop mode, waiting for unsuspecting units to walk over and start reeking havoc when you so command it. Is it a bug to use the select ovie+lurk and hold? It follows AI unit command law hierarchy thus it is very hard to argue that it is a true "bug." You can still try to argue it, it does not matter, I am not listening for it is not the question of interest. Is it fair? Pro-gamers used it when it is allowed, always, but many important Starcraft tournaments disallow it - such as WCG.
Select Ovie+Lurk, Hold, Wait. Come, cross the choke, it is safe! GG.net won't bite!
What does it add to the game? It is one more tactical ruse, thus it adds a just a chip more of complexity to the game, making it more entertaining and rich in tactics, simply more fun. Starcraft is a game after all is it not? I even think that this small tactical ruse adds armament to Zerg's endless battle against Terran domination. So if you ask me is it fair? Hell yes, its fair! You disagree? Ask any Zerg if he thinks M&M 3/3 is fair!
As usual I am getting side tracked and tempting the reader to start an argument fest with the mere mention of the never ending Terran-Zerg imbalance battle.net lament. Let us get to the nitty gritty of this little topic. How many ways is there to stop a Lurker? Well let us list them:
The Chobo way
You detect the enemy units coming, you burrow your Lurker, you ALLY and wait - then the moment is ripe, you UNALLY and reap havoc.
The Gosu way
You detect the enemy units coming, you are already burrowed in the best place because you anticipated it, and you spam SSSSSSSS because your APM is 500 anyways and you can still keep you attention elsewhere.
The Pseudo-bug way
Or classic technique. You select a burrowed Lurker and a nearby Overlord, press hold and wait until enemy is walking over it - then reap havoc.
The Classic pro-way
You select a Lurker, then make it look back to base by making him come back a little then stop, and you burrow him, then select it with and a nearby Overlord, press hold and wait until enemy is walking over it - then reap havoc with efficiency.
The Real Bug way
Burrow the Lurker, and hold shift, and just before the hold icon disappears, press H. It will hold now because it can hold unburied and thus it allows it to hold burrowed by exploiting a true game bug.
The fog of worshiper way
Tell the burrowed Lurker to attack an enemy building that is under the partial fog of war (scouted but with no vision over it, i.e the penumbral fog), asign the burrowed lukers a crtl-1, then hit 1S when you want it to attack the units walking over it.
So then should the Stop Lurker ruse be allowed? Not allowing it forces everyone to start disallowing all the specific ways of performing it. When it is disallowed, tournament managers need more time for dealing with the complaints if some one uses it, plus they have to check after if the gamer was spamming S or he was using any of the other methods, because two should be disallowed (real bug way and the ally/unally method), and four should be allowed, at least in my opinion.
Anyway we have not had a pure* Starcraft game news post in a long while so just to keep the mix right I will throw in a couple more of these news posts every now and then. Bottom line, it is obvious I made up my mind on the subject, but I am by nature opinionated and always right. So /ignore my opinion. What I want to know is what our readers think about the matter? Is Stop-Lurk fair? Should it be allowed in tournaments in general? Some do, some do not. Consensus is more often than not a hard thing to obtain in our community.
Reap havoc!
Best Reply
Here is how I see it.
If you have a protoss army, and you group one zealot with your templars in order to be able to attack move them, is that a bug?
It you are playing terran and you group your science vessels with your tanks in order to have them follow when you attack move, is that a bug?
If you have 6 lurkers and 6 lings in a group so you can attack move all of them forward and then burrow the lurks while the lings attack, is that a bug?
I think all three of these examples are the exact same thing as grouping a lurker with an overlord and pressing "hold". It is using a command the units do not have on their own after combining them with another unit.
This is simply micro. All races can do it with their units that do not have an attack command. The hold command is no different from that.
I also think this is no way related to allied mines. Allies mines requires the user to exit the game interface into an external menu. Then, manipulate the game options to change the game type from a one on one to an allied game. This has no bearing upon the actual gameplay and controls. A hold lurker is done entirely within the game engine using the predefined and agreed upon controls.
I think it is ridiculous it would be banned in any tournament or event.
It does not surprise me who this reply either, no other than Manifesto7.
