Starcraft - Download the Replay! (322k) - Click the Images

We started out with an 8 player game of Starcraft which had to turn to 6 player.. (Sorry Gerrit and Rex - hope you guys still got to play together!)

Going counter-clockwise from middle-left of the map, was Jeff. Jarin was right below, with Brock in the bottom middle of the map. Peter was straight across the map from Jeff on the middle-right. Rebecca was just above Peter, with Alex up in the top-middle.

That One Team decided to try the "Meet at the Middle" strategy at first, quickly getting SCV's and probes to the middle with a few units backup to explore the perimeter. We quickly found out that Jarin was between Brock and I, and performed what is now known as the "Oreo Maneuver".

After that, we focused on the ever elusive Zerg Queen of Blades, Alex, who had surrounded the proximity of her base with the lurkers I loathe so much. Luckily, Rebecca flew in with her Carrier Brigade to easily move past the outer defenses... Brock backed her up with some Wraiths.. and I sent in some BattleCruisers by the time it was too late.

That One Team then moved in to finish Peter's main base off with a concerted attack of varying units from each of the team member's troops.

It quite easily was, in my humble opinion, the best team-worked Starcraft game I've ever been involved in. Looking at the stats at the end confirms this point, as all members of That One Team had very similar scores. Our communication was good, which rarely has happened in the team games I've played previous... because we all seem to get too focused on playing that we forget to talk to one another. That was probably what won it for us.

Everyone played superb. Even poor Jarin, who was the first victim of operation "That One Crunch" did an excellent job and had great stats. And quite frankly, if it hadn't been for Brock reminding me to get a bunch of my SCVs gathering resources (both on a new base, and on a depleted one,) I may have been in some serious trouble!!! Anyway, you're only hearing my biased view of how the game went... download the replay and watch for yourself. And to supplement, go hear all the smack-talk on the forums!! http://wintermute.mayfam.com

• "Ah, the power of nuke..."
• "Final stats of the game."

Motocross Madness

After the killer game of Starcraft, we had a wonderful evening of tag on Mars and the Rocky Mountains. Peter was the one who was it the most, but we all had a turn to steal it away at one time or another. I learned that I like the "C" engine better for tag on these kind of courses.

For those who don't know, here is the breakdown of the engine types (for the stock 250 engine, no bike loader hack):
A - Slow Acceleration, High Top Speed
You can bury the needle if you have a long enough runway (like Stunt Circus)

B - Medium Acceleration, Medium Top Speed
You can't bury the needle with this one

C - High Acceleration, Low Top Speed
Great for help in climbing the steeper hills and getting back on the road quickly after a wreck

We also played some national race tracks, including "Afterburn", "Bella's Bluegrass", "Ron Ron's Backyard" (ouch), and "Myth". 4 down, only 150-some-odd to go!

Afterburn is a very techincal user-created track. If you can keep from wrecking, it flows and you have a great run. One mixup, and you'll have a hard time regaining momentum.

Bella's Bluegrass is a more mellow track that has a few twists and turns that'll get you if you're not paying attention. Bella's is a stock track, so it requires no download.

Ron Ron's Backyard was made my professional Supercross/Motocrosser Stephane Roncada. He used to race people on The Zone when Motocross was a hot game there, several years back. It's the most technical track I've ever seen, and I have yet to make a lap without wrecking. Master this track, and you'll win anyone on any technical track. Be forewarned, bring lots of bandages and other first-aid supplies, including a lot of padding for your bum. You're gonna need it. I didn't get a screenshot of this one, but we'll have to play again sometime and get some, so people can see how insane the track really is.

Myth was a much easier user-created track, but still had it's own little tricks to get ya, including a little jump with a wall to clear on the other side that mislead one to believe it was a turn, rather than a straightaway.