Starcraft AI blog

Tscmoo zerg had been disappointing recently, but today it was updated and went on a rampage, scoring 4-2 against Killerbot, Bereaver (2 games), LetaBot, Krasi0, and Iron.

Tscmoo played similarly against all opponents, no matter the race. It opened 9 pool, safe against cheese and intimidating some enemies into overcommitting to defense. The rest is adaptive, but when the coast was clear, it followed up with two more hatcheries before getting gas and a hydralisk den—no matter the opponent. It dedicated itself to the long game by starting carapace upgrade before hydralisk speed or hydralisk range, an unusual and risky decision. And it took a distant “hidden” third base before spreading to the rest of the map, adding to the risk (Bereaver took advantage in one game).

Hydralisks were not always the right choice, but Tscmoo made them work with good surrounds, careful micro versus shuttle-reaver and spider mines, and distraction plays like 4-hydra drops. It made fewer mistakes.

Will Tscmoo zerg will fall back to another strategy if the hydras don’t work against some opponents? I guess we’ll see.