Ideas for base defenses

[Blazur]

I'd like to open a thread discussing the possibilities for alternative base defenses. Share your ideas on how each race could better defend their turf, or any abilities or mechanics which could make some of the pre-requisite buildings more entertaining.

Terrans

• Sensor Tower - Allow players to activate/deactive its detection, consequently dictating when it's revealed to enemies. By default detection is off upon construction and must be manually activated. This way Terran players don't have to worry about inadvertently revealing their position when attempting to set up an ambush.
• Planetary Fortress - Upgrading your CC to the fortress allows you to garrison up to 8 SCV's into it instead of 5.
• Engineering Bay - This building alone can allow for upgrades while lifted off. Because of this, players can mobilize it as a scout or retreat it while under siege without worrying about disrupting upgrades.
• Plasma Turrets - Missile turrets can be upgraded to a plasma turret. These defenses do not fire by themselves and require manual activation. They fire a plasma missile which explodes in the air doing AOE damage to ships nearby. Think missile commander. The way it works is you select the turret and activate the ability. Once activated a limited radius is revealed around it showing where you can fire. When you bring your mouse into this area the turret follows your cursor wherever you go, alerting players you have the missile armed and potentially revealing your target. Click to fire at that spot.

Zerg

• Baneling Nest - It's a giant freaking spider! Let this thing move around on creep. Why? Players can use it as a choke block or to wall of defenses. Also, instead of releasing broodlings upon death cause this building to explode in a puddle of poisonous Baneling acid, dealing AOE damage to all adjacent units. This could give Zerg players a measure of last defense when threatened against swarms of melee attackers.
• Mobile Creep Tumors - When built on creep, these invisible tumors slowly secrete a limited supply of creep within a radius of itself which begins depleting immediately (think of it as a timer). If stationary, the tumor will propagate creep in a concentric circle from itself. But when moving (which is very slow), you can use it to paint a chose path you wish to extend your creep out to. This can be handy for connecting bases or extended carpets out from your base to speed movement. When the creep supply is depleted the tumor becomes permanently anchored into the ground.

Protoss

• Building Hallucinations - This ability requires both a Disruptor and a Mothership. The Disruptor, while directly underneath the MShip in a set radius, can direct its energy up to her to project a hallucination of a building below inside pylon power and within the same radius of the Mship. Players can choose from a few available buildings (cannon, pylon, gateway, obelisk). Cannons will attack but do no damage, and gateways can be converted back and forth between a warp gate. Buildings dissipate after time and are vaporized when their shields are depleted.
• Fleet Beacon - The giant orb on the fleet beacon emits a powerful psionic matrix allowing for warp-in of ships within a limited radius of itself. Set a waypoint around it from your Stargates, and any newly trained ships will materialize next to it rather than at the Stargate. Ships can be damaged during the brief warp-in animation.
• Dark Shrine - Representing the culmination of Dark Templar technology, the Dark Shrine cloaks any ground forces directly adjacent to it.

Any ideas of your own?

[Wankey]

I completely like this. I still can't believe that in 12 years, we are STILL using proton cannon as protoss base defense. We're STILL using bunkers. We're STILL using sunken colonies.

Come on...

[ArcherofAiur]

The obelisk should make protoss base defense allot more interesting.

[RODTHEGOD]

Your plasma turret idea is entertaining but I dont think it works for starcraft as well I dont really know why you included the engineering bay in there. as well the supply dept should probably be in there now too.

for the terrans, I think it would be cool if they had an ability or a per building upgrade that allows their buildings to have their own gunners shoot out of the building.

for the zerg, I think that they should combine the hatchery and the nydus network(or again have a per building upgrade that allows the hatchery to become part of the nydus network.)

for the protoss... I think it would be cool if the photon cannons acted like the prism towers from cnc red alert 2 with all their photon cannons using each other to transfer their shots to a photon cannon thats in range. I think that would be pretty cool but it might be quite unbalanced.

[ArcherofAiur]

for the protoss... I think it would be cool if the photon cannons acted like the prism towers from cnc red alert 2 with all their photon cannons using each other to transfer their shots to a photon cannon thats in range. I think that would be pretty cool but it might be quite unbalanced.

That would be awesome! If you limited the jumping range to like 3 photon cannons it could be balanced.

[DemolitionSquid]

The Terran have gotten Sensor Tower and Bunker Upgrade. The Zerg have gotten mobile crawlers. My concern is with the Protoss, whose Photon Cannons have only received a Hp upgrade.

[Triceron]

Building cloaking ala Mothership for Protoss would be cool

Having Sunkens and Spores able to lift up and replant themselves would be awesome too

What about increasing bunker capacity as well? That'd be neat.

[Sheliek]

The Terran have gotten Sensor Tower and Bunker Upgrade. The Zerg have gotten mobile crawlers. My concern is with the Protoss, whose Photon Cannons have only received a Hp upgrade.

Why don't they let the photon cannon teleport again? I don't know why that was ever removed.

[Crazy_Jonny]

Why don't they let the photon cannon teleport again? I don't know why that was ever removed.

Because it overlaps with the zerg defenses. I don't mind the obelisk being the center of base defense if its abilities actually get used (it needs to blink).

[Blazur]

The Terran have gotten Sensor Tower and Bunker Upgrade. The Zerg have gotten mobile crawlers. My concern is with the Protoss, whose Photon Cannons have only received a Hp upgrade.

I used to share your concern, but the Obelisk actually offers some nice flexibility for both base defense and aggressive pursuits. It's like a pimped out shield battery that also offer pylon power.

Shame the cannons lost their phasing ability and remain relatively unchanged. But in all honesty they are still the most versatile defenses of all races, offering detection while attacking both ground and air.