This evening I have been playing Warcraft.
(1) Human early game. This is a fairly normal human opening for the Lost Temple map. I'm getting lots of peasants so I can make an early expansion. I've chosen the Archmage as my hero, as the elementals it produces will tank the creeps at my natural. I've also constructed my barracks, and am going to train two footmen who should be ready when I move into the centre of the map.
This is a tricky opening for me, because timing is quite critical, and I'm not very good at timing things.
(2) Creeping with Militia. Here I go. Five of the peasants are taken from the woodcutting and made into militia. A footman has also been trained and brought along. My first mistake is that my elemental should be at the front tanking the trolls. Because it wasn't, one of my militia is almost killed. As I'm creeping with these militia, I am also training new peasants to replace the ones I took off woodcutting.
(3) Fast Expansion. A difficulty I sometimes have attempting a fast expand is that I don't have enough lumber to rush the construction. It always pays to rush it. To make those extra woodcutters, I needed to build another farm, which also cost lumber and used up one worker. This is why lots of workers were needed.
(4) Creeping Middle. I've moved into the middle of the map and am leveling up my hero. When the expansion completed I sent one militia to scout the map to see where my opponent is, and what race and strategy they are using.
A Blacksmith is constructed to upgrade my footmen, as well as second barracks.
My scout is killed entering the opposite base, so I assume that is where my opponent is located, who is playing Undead, and is using a Death Knight / Crypt Fiend build.
With my early expansion, I have the added benefit of no upkeep, so the gold flows in faster than I know how to spend it. I have to train yet more peasants for woodcutting so I can balance my resources. I feel like I'm training peasants and building farms almost continuously.
While creeping the Gnolls at the fountain of health, I'm confronted by my opponent, and I lose a couple of footmen.
(5) Teching up. Upgrading my main, creating both second tier buildings, and further upgrading my footmen's swords and armor. My second hero is also on the way.
(6) Attacking natural With two barracks, an arcane sanctum, and a workshop, my castle completed, and a second expansion underway, I am able to churn out units thick and fast. My footmen benefiting from Priests Inner Fire are a good counter to the Crypt Fiends, while Mortars will take care of the Ziggurats. A couple of knights and sorceresses are added for good measure, and I hit the food cap.
I lost a couple of units during my attack, but my opponent was easily overrun. I had enough units enqueued at my buildings to automatically replace the ones that fell.
And with that my opponents surrenders. An easy win for me this week. It rarely goes this smoothly