[Idea] Should the Nexus Macro Mech. be a Channeling Spell?

[Antarus]

How does this sound, you activate the Macro mechanic and it drains the shields of the nexus, and prevents you from building probes while you have the ability enabled. While the ability is enabled you warp resources from your probes to the nexus.

Advantage: probes don't have to travel to deliver resources.
Disadvantage: You can not produce probes, and your nexus is more vulnerable to attack.

[ArcherofAiur]

Pardon my ignorance but how does this decrease macro vs the Protoss' old one? This is essentially similar to Proton Charge except it would now be located at the Nexus and instead of an energy tension and competition for energy, the ability would be competing against worker production with time as the limited resource instead. Hence, if this isn't what you'd term as a form of macro challenge, neither would the old Obelisk. In which case, Blizzard is clearly going by a different definition than yourself.

Stopping probe production while using the ability is decreasing one of the few staple macro actions left in the game. Your borrowing from peter to pay paul.

The macro/micro balance is incredibly tipped in micros favor and instead of putting a downside on the micro side your going to throw it on the macro one? Thats making a bad problem worse.

How does this sound, you activate the Macro mechanic and it drains the shields of the nexus, and prevents you from building probes while you have the ability enabled. While the ability is enabled you warp resources from your probes to the nexus.

Advantage: probes don't have to travel to deliver resources.
Disadvantage: You can not produce probes, and your nexus is more vulnerable to attack.

Like I just said probe production is macro which is an endangered species right now. The purpose of macro mechanics is to encourage macro gameplay not take macro gameplay away from the player.

[mr. peasant]

Stopping probe production while using the ability is decreasing one of the few staple macro actions left in the game. Your borrowing from peter to pay paul.

The macro/micro balance is incredibly tipped in micros favor and instead of putting a downside on the micro side your going to throw it on the macro one? Thats making a bad problem worse.

The thing is, using the ability alone is not sufficient. You still need to produce Probes to expand and to match the enemy's gathering rate. Therefore, the player needs to do both in as efficiently a manner as possible (i.e. punished for idle time) and use one's judgement in what combination it should be (changes according to the player's needs at that moment and style).

I don't know about you, but I take 'macro' to refer to base management - specifically involving decision-making, multi-tasking and keeping track of what's happening in all your bases at the same time - in a way that requires physical effort on the player's part (i.e. not just the UI). By preventing the building of Probes when using the macro mechanic, this effectively prevents the player from fully taking advantage of the queue function. Hence, the player must keep track of when each Nexus finishes channeling so that s/he can either cast it again or start producing Probes.

[ArcherofAiur]

The thing is, using the ability alone is not sufficient. You still need to produce Probes to expand and to match the enemy's gathering rate. Therefore, the player needs to do both in as efficiently a manner as possible (i.e. punished for idle time) and use one's judgement in what combination it should be (changes according to the player's needs at that moment and style).

I don't know about you, but I take 'macro' to refer to base management - specifically involving decision-making, multi-tasking and keeping track of what's happening in all your bases at the same time - in a way that requires physical effort on the player's part (i.e. not just the UI). By preventing the building of Probes when using the macro mechanic, this effectively prevents the player from fully taking advantage of the queue function. Hence, the player must keep track of when each Nexus finishes channeling so that s/he can either cast it again or start producing Probes.

I think your missing the overall point of macro mechanics which is to differenetiate macro playstyles from micro playstyles. If you take away one of the few remaining macro actions your taking several steps backwards. Its like adding another version MBS.


Their is a reason the current macro mechaincs make you sacrifice micro (not macro) to use macro.

[Antarus]

Macro Mechanic:

Warp path

The Nexus forms a warp path to each probe with in a certain radius of the Nexus. While the Nexus may still warp units in its shields are depleted by maintaining the warp path to each probe. While the warp path is active no probes need to return to the Nexus. Shields will only regenerate once they are fully depleted or the ability is turned off.

This allows you to continue to produce more probes, makes you choose between more health for your nexus or faster mineral gathering.

Does that sound more Macro the Micro?

[PsiWarp]

Hmm, I wonder if it is possible to use an active ability to create a WC3 Night Elf "Entangled Gold Mine", but with Minerals and Probes?

I suppose the mineral node could be converted into a building of sorts, with a max worker cap from harvesting it. Though, that sorta sounds Zerg-like to me


-Psi

[Xeonio]

I was already under the impression that it was somehow channeled? It doesn't seem to make sense it would just be an activated ability. Are they putting energy on a Nexus?

My thoughts were to have it rely on the shields of the Nexus as mentioned above. This to me presents a nice tasty morsel of something to alpha strike. Taking out someones Nexus because its spending a lot of its time with basically 50% health seems good.