Is this the new macro for protoss?

[flabortast]

I was hoping also that the MULE could also assist anything an SCV is doing, not just harvesting.

[Antarus]

That would be kind of IMA, repairs 3 times faster than an SCV, and builds 3X times faster than SCV... why use an SCV?

[flabortast]

Did you not read what I was saying? I said assist. If an SCV is building a MULE can help out.

[Islandsnake]

Can mules mine gas? I don't remember

[MattII]

No they can't, only minerals.

[SinsWage]

I really think the discussion has gone as far as it can constructively go without people having real experiences in beta. I'm very happy, as everyone is, that it's close so we can start looking at data as opposed to speculation.

[Todie]

this indeed sounds like a good mechanic, most of us seem to agree on that too.

[...] TW can be extended to anything in the game which has a timer (research, train, etc).[...]

i want to take further note of this (hypothetical) possibility, as generally pointed out in the previous discussion, while allowing TW to speed up building construction would open doors for new kinds of decisions, it might not be welcome, because it would affect the meta-game in such a profound way, making it possible for protoss to achieve any tech level so much faster if they used TW for this than otherwise; we would either have a situation where protoss could "tech" significantly faster than other races if they did this consequently, or a situation where they NEEDED to use TW mostly for this in order to "keep up" ... the valued middle ground between these two might be very hard to find...

granted, and as pointed out by others, even if TW can only affect unit production and research it still gives the protoss a possible edge in terms of ability to achieve that critical research featured in the preferred tech-branch more quickly, be it zealot charge or some mothership ability.. this adds a layer of unpredictability to the protoss game, which is good.

however to me it seems quite obvious at first glance, that these "critical researches" would very frequently be worth to speed up, even if it meant slowing down econ-acceleration (slower probe production)... i guess it depends on how fast you can use the research for offence, or how soon you need to use it for defence, etc... only time will tell how much of a challenge this trade-off is to balance?

a few more things:

what about building-upgrades such as gateway->warpgate?


what about TW-range ? consider the possible power of even ONE proxy-gate with maybe even more than one nexus fuling it with TW? maybe this is good? a reason to acutaly build a proxy gate, so that its not made obsolete by warpgates+proxypylons ?

peace.

[Antarus]

Ooo, there is a question... If two Nexus' use the ability on one building... would that work or reset the timer from the first cast or double the speed up... Cant wait for Beta to see....

[Todie]

i wouldnt expect it to double the speed..


however, it probably has a shorter duration than cooldown time (or equvalent effect if its only energy based and not cooldown based) so having several nexii(=plural of nexus?="nexuses") use it on the same building could keep the TW effect going for longer, hypothetically the duration could even just be added together if several nexii used it on the same building simultaneously

else it would be a matter of timing, to not use it too soon or too late on a building to maximize the effects (in the rare instance that you cared THAT much about what the same single building was producing or researching all the while having access to several nexii)

[ArcherofAiur]

If you look at Proton Charge and Call Mule, they are very similar, if you look at span larva and Time warp... not so much. Spawn Larva produces 4 Zerg Larva after 40 seconds, Time warp speeds up one buildings production or research time. How are these similar?

Proton Charge had the interesting dynamic of scaling with probe numbers. This added new layers to things like probe transfers, raiding etc.... Additionally Proton Charge had a limited range making Obelisk placement an important decision. For instance in a battle report the Protoss player placed it so it could hit the main and nat expo. The only similarities it shared with MULE was they both used energy and both were mineral advatage mechanics.

Yes, and somehow you expect any rational person to think you think TW has "merits" when all you do is nothing but harp on it with your sarcasm. Then when people (rationally) assume you don't like TW (because all you do is complain about it with sarcasm) you say they're wrong. What's wrong with you?

And I seriously hope you're not suggesting PC is more unique than time warp.

I dont like to jump on bandwagons. Instead I look at all aspects of the mechanics, the good and the bad. Look at the macro thread and youlll find me talking about what Proton Charge does right one second and what it does wrong the next.


Im not a fan of the "you are either with us or against us" approach to analyzing a macro mechanic.