Advanced defenses

[pure.Wasted]

Terrans:
Skylight ~ Upgrade for individual Bunkers, allowing them to target air units as well (only those with GTA attacks). Turrets remain useful as they are cheaper, unmanned and provide detection.

The most interesting thing about this is that it might replace Missile Turrets, and so make Terrans less detectorrific. Which is always very, very good.

[Nicol Bolas]

Upgrade for individual Bunkers, allowing them to target air units as well

I'm fairly sure Bunkers can already target air units. Assuming Marines are manning them.

[SpiderBrigade]

Terrans:
Skylight ~ Upgrade for individual Bunkers, allowing them to target air units as well (only those with GTA attacks). Turrets remain useful as they are cheaper, unmanned and provide detection.

Umm...wait, when did they remove the ability for bunkers to hit air?

Edit: wow, double-simu-ninjaed. Impressive.

[mr. peasant]

Hadn't/Don't remember ever seeing it so wasn't sure. They could just nerf and return it since Bunkers are pretty effective already. Anyway, here's an alternative:

Blast & Explosives Resistant Concrete Armor ~ The BERCA renders Bunkers adorned with it immune from splash damage, only taking direct fire.

[viperjo]

I've seen a few good ideas, here here!

Individual upgrades to static defenses has been a passing idea in my head for a while now. Bunkers being able stock additional units or an upgrade to allow for a boost to damage for units already in the bunker. I like that units can use their abilities inside now!

Phase cannons need something unique, I really liked the ability to pick up and move but it seems that the crawlers have stolen that bit. Phase out is eerily similar to supply depots being able to drop down and allow passage. Perhaps something like the ability to sustain operation even if out of a pylon power range or the ability to temporarily boost damage output?

The crawlers are perfect I think, very fitting of the zerg and a nice evolution of the older colonies.

[MattII]

Working outside Pylon range sounds interesting, though I'd suggest making it so that it wouldn't be able to regenerate shields while outside. Phasing Cannons is more like 'Blink' than 'Retract', in fact it's like a 'Blink' for buildings. At this point I'll again put forward a few suggestion that got ignored a while back.

Terran:
Bunker upgrades
-Strength upgrade (global) Increases hp by 100 hp and armour by 3 .
-Size upgrade (individual) Provides +2 slots in the Bunker.

Missile Turret upgrades
-Range upgrade (global) Increases range by 1.
-RoF upgrade (individual) Increases RoF by 33%.

New Building - Ibiks Turret
-Cost 100/100 min/gas
-200 hp
-20 damage (splash) G
-6 range


Protoss:
Photon Cannon upgrades
-Shield upgrade (global) increases shields by 50-75.
-RoF upgrade (individual) increases RoF by 50%

New Building - Phase/Warp Cannon
-Cost 150/50 min/gas
-100/100 hp/shields
-20 damage G/A
-7 range
It would takes 2 seconds or so to 'pack', 1 second per 20 spaces or so to actually phase/warp, and 2 seconds or so to 'unpack' again. It would only be able to phase/warp between power zones (Pylons or deployed Prisms).

New Building - Refuge
-Cost 150/250 min/gas
-100 hp, 250 shields
The shield covers an area protecting ground units (except Colossus obviously) inside from AtG attacks, and GtG attack orginating beyond the edge of the shield. Of course, with the shield extended building itself hasn't got shields. I also thought about this being a Dark Pylon ability that would cost it it's power zone while using it, but the Dark Pylon only has 100 sp, which isn't really enough.


Zerg:
Spine Crawler upgrades/changes
-(change) loses ability to regenerate while mobile, rather than losing hp.
-Attack upgrade (global) can use attack while mobile, but only does half-damage, and range is limited to 3.
-Regeneration upgrade (global, with Spore Crawler) allows half-speed regeneration while mobile, double speed while planted.

Spore Crawler upgrades/changes
-(change) loses ability to regenerate while mobile, rather than losing hp.
-Attack upgrade (global) can use attack while mobile, but only does half-damage, andrange is limited to 3.
-Regeneration upgrade (global, with Spore Crawler) allows half-speed regeneration while mobile, double speed while planted.

New building - Broodling Nest
-Cost 100/50 min/gas (produced by queen)
-150 hp (permanently burrowed)
It would produces/hold 5 Broodlings, and because Broodlings have a limited lifespan it would reset the Broodlings' lifetimers every time they return.
Morphs/Upgrades
-(morph) holds 10 Broodlings
-(upgrade) produces Broodlings twice as fast


Note some of these ideas were originally Perfecttear's.

[SpiderBrigade]

MattII, those are some interesting ideas definitely. I like the "Refuge" and the "Broodling Nest" particularly. What the heck is an Ibiks though?

However I think adding attacks to the moving form of the Crawlers is a bad move. No matter how weak, it turns them into units much more than buildings. Relocating them is supposed to be kind of a last-ditch option I think rather than a mainline strategy.

[MattII]

Ibiks is the official name of lasers on the PF (also note, the 'Refuge' is the oldest of the ideas here, first proposed in one of the 'walls' threads back in the pre-announcement days on BF). As for the Crawler attacks, you're right that they're currently too powerful even at half range, so I'll modify it to half damage as well.

[Norfindel]

I also think that the Crawlers must not be able to attack while uprooted. Any kind of attack will allow the Zerg to use them as still more units, and they have enough units already.

Refuge should protect from air units "inside" the Shield, because realistically, if the Colossus would not fit inside because of it's height, neither the air units.

I don't know if i like global upgrades for static defense. I prefer one per-building upgrade that raises HP and attack rate (or whatever characteristic), before one global HP upgrade, and a per-building attack rate upgrade. The global upgrade would probably be so cheap compared with the benefit as to warrantee it's research.
However, if there are going to be a global upgrade, i think it should be the attack upgrade, and leave the HP upgrade as per-building, because that allows the player to upgrade the front buildings only to save resources, and the enemy can manually skip them, and attack the weaker ones first, creating a new are for decision and skill.

[MattII]

I also think that the Crawlers must not be able to attack while uprooted. Any kind of attack will allow the Zerg to use them as still more units, and they have enough units already.

Okay then, what would you suggest as a late-game upgrade for these two?

Refuge should protect from air units "inside" the Shield, because realistically, if the Colossus would not fit inside because of it's height, neither the air units.

That's what I assumed everyone understood, but apparently not. I'll change it directly.

I don't know if i like global upgrades for static defense. I prefer one per-building upgrade that raises HP and attack rate (or whatever characteristic), before one global HP upgrade, and a per-building attack rate upgrade. The global upgrade would probably be so cheap compared with the benefit as to warrantee it's research.

More so than unit upgrades (which are also global)?

However, if there are going to be a global upgrade, i think it should be the attack upgrade, and leave the HP upgrade as per-building, because that allows the player to upgrade the front buildings only to save resources, and the enemy can manually skip them, and attack the weaker ones first, creating a new are for decision and skill.

If the enemy can bypass the defences they're useless already. It also doesn't really matter which upgrade is global, unless you're worried about timing, because a building with a hp upgrade will do the same overall damage as a building with an attack upgrade, but it'll take longer to do it.