Macro Mechanics Discussion Thread

[Draco]

I dont want to say it goes against Blizzards philosophy. I cant say that with 100% certainty because Blizzard has yet to clarify indepth on the design intent of the macro mechanics. What I can do is look at every version of the macro mechanics they have ever made and identify unifying themes.

Every version of the macro mechanics they have made has had a regular interval of about 30 seconds

Every version of the macro mechanics has had the player coming back to the base.

What's funny, though, is that my suggestion will not stand in the way of your prized frequency. Adding a 50 mineral cost, but vastly increasing the repertoire of abilities it has makes it an even better option.

[ArcherofAiur]

What's funny, though, is that my suggestion will not stand in the way of your prized frequency. Adding a 50 mineral cost, but vastly increasing the repertoire of abilities it has makes it an even better option.

If you add 50 minerals it is presumed that you are decreasing the time MULE is used in favor of the other micro abilities. Thats the idea behind having the player choose whether he wants to use it, no?

[Draco]

If you add 50 minerals it is presumed that your decreasing the time MULE is used in favor of the other micro abilities.

It can only be presumed that it will decrease macro in other areas of your base. Using that Mule initially slows down your production or buildings or tech, and through the choices you make with the Mule, you can provide more than enough recompense in the desired area for whatever you sacrificed for.

[ArcherofAiur]

Oh I see what your going for. You still have the player calling MULE to the base about every 30 seconds but now the player has to choose whether they want more minerals or faster construction.


In that case let me pose this scenario to you. Suppose multiple SCVs could help construction. Could you now remove automining on the premise that the player has to choose where to send the SCVs he makes?

[Draco]

Oh I see what your going for. You still have the player calling MULE to the base about every 30 seconds but now the player has to choose whether they want more minerals or faster production.


In that case let me pose this scenario to you. Suppose multiple SCVs could help construction. Could you now remove automining on the premise that the player has to choose where to send the SCVs he makes?

I don't really see a distinction between telling two SCVs to build different buildings or the same building in this respect.

My suggestion definitely passes the auto-cast test since I highly doubt working build orders around Mules would be automated.

[MaybeNextTime]

Link?

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/view...opic_id=101195

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/view...opic_id=101782

The real problem is that potentially good macro mechanics are ignored in favor of mechanics that require frequent maintained.

For example, in the category of altering the resource curve, being able to set workers to mine more minerals per-trip but waste minerals doing so (you get 8 per trip instead of 5, but the mineral patch goes down by 12 per trip) is an interesting one. You're sacrificing long-term prospects for short-term gain. This is a strategic tradeoff, and one that would create some variation in play.

But no; ArcherofAiur and those who think like him will instantly point out that this is a simple on/off switch. It's not something you have to go to your base for, and it's not something you have to do regularly. Therefore, it is of no value towards creating interesting gameplay.

That's my/FA's mechanic!!! DDDD

No. All of this centers on whether you think that having regular, "go-back-to-your-base" activities are central to creating the time pressure that an RTS needs.

This in not only about time pressure, but also a variety of playstyles (micro- vs. macro-oriented one vs. a mix of the two) and reward for multi-tasking. Those two are some of the core concepts of StarCraft.

[n00bonicPlague]

This in not only about time pressure, but also a variety of playstyles (micro- vs. macro-oriented one vs. a mix of the two) and reward for multi-tasking. Those two are some of the core concepts of StarCraft.

That's actually the point he's trying to make. Note who and what he quoted.

[Norfindel]

meh! just add a tetris mini-game on screen, and give minerals based on tetris skill

[n00bonicPlague]

meh! just add a tetris mini-game on screen, and give minerals based on tetris skill

lol, I just got this image of when the workers brought minerals to the CC the minerals would fall from the top of the screen as tetris pieces and you would have to prevent them from stacking too high, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see what was going on.

[RODTHEGOD]

lol, I just got this image of when the workers brought minerals to the CC the minerals would fall from the top of the screen as tetris pieces and you would have to prevent them from stacking too high, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see what was going on.

lol awsome