EPT
I will begin with stuff that you can sell us, to catch Activision’s attention (I jest!). I will then focus on improving all parts of the game I can think of, and end with my thoughts on balance—more in terms of making the game more fun for everyone than nerfing or buffing a specific race.
Note that my ideas are usually meant to be taken generally, or to offer a type of thinking that I think should be followed. Try not to focus on my specific ideas (not that I don’t love them and think they’re awesome). They are meant to be examples and guides more than specifics.
STUFF YOU CAN SELL US:
I was amazed by the amount of custom models and textures in the singleplayer—lots of love and effort was clearly put into this game. But sadly, much of that that effort goes unused in multiplayer. I propose that for Heart of the Swarm, you put some of your awesome art designers to work on making alternate skins for the various factions of each race. You could then sell us these to unlock in multiplayer.
These are just ideas but, for Terran you could have The Dominion (imperial, more expensive/noble looking, capes), Raynor’s Raidors (more thrown together, less well painted, but more manly and brawl-ready, etc), etc. For the Protoss you could have the Dark Templar and the Khalai Protoss. For Zerg, I’m not sure, but since they’re monstrous monsters I imagine an art person could have a field-day thinking up alternate designs (it also depends on where the story goes!)
You could then give us the ability to unlock one of these in multiplayer for the low-low fee of $9.99. A decent amount of players would buy an alternate for their preferred race. Or their favorite one for each race. Assuming competitive players take this up, it could make spectating mirror matches a bit nicer, too. Some of the art is already done, such as the Khalai themed Void Ray and the Dark Templar themed carrier (the Tempest).
You could also sell individual units, although I think whole skinsets would seem like less of a ripoff to customers. Stuff like the collector’s edition Thor for each race would be cool for like $5 if you didn’t overdo it and made sure they were alternatives rather than straight upgrades aesthetically.
Also: the ability to purchase a rename for $5.
Ability to purchase an alternative laddering spot that will contribute to the achievements and stuff. For example, I am Ndugu(#). I could pay $15 to play as Ndugu(#)(prime symbol) as well as Ndugu. This would allow me to play Random on ladder without tanking my Protoss ranking, and allow both to contribute towards achievement progress for the same account. Both would show up on my profile.
IMPROVING MIRROR MATCHES:
This is my biggest bone to pick with Starcraft II. Right now, North American ladder is all Terran and Protoss. As a Protoss player, roughly 50% of my games are PvP. Whatever race you play, you consider that mirror matchup to be the worst. There are threads explaining why each mirror matchup is lacking, so here I will merely focus on solutions.
Look to EMP to fix mirror matches. I think EMP is one of the best abilities in the game because it is not afraid to have a different role in the matchup against Protoss, since it affects their shields. I propose that Blizzard not shy away from abilities and units that are different in different matchups.
Specifically, I think making abilities that have a different, stronger, or more interesting effect in mirror matches is how they can be best improved.
For example, high templar are seldom used in PvP. High unit health, high speed, whatever it is, they are not as useful as against, say, Zerg (or maybe templar tech is the way to go and we just haven’t figured it out yet. Don’t take my examples as specifics). What if psi-storm had a slowing effect on units with plasma shields? This would make the spell much more useful in PvP without affecting the balance of other matchups.
For another example of how a spell like this could be designed, imagine if Archons had a spell called “Soul Rift” where an Archon could take all of a nearby Protoss’s shields to restore 100 of its own. In non-PvP matchups, this would be fairly weak, since the Archon could keep itself alive in exchange for vampirism on friendly units. In PvP, this spell could be used offensively to weaken enemies and restore the Archon’s health.
Perhaps carriers damage could ignore enemy unit plasma shields? This would make carriers vastly more powerful in PvP—giving more units a role in the matchup. Ideally, every unit would have a place in mirror matchups to allow the possibilities of two players playing against one another VERY differently. Two players using the same exact build against each other is boring. There are lots of different ways to make mirror matchups more dynamic and interesting by giving underused units a buff in only mirror matchups.
Ghosts could be given lockdown, with the caveat that the ability is blocked by units that have Plasma shields active. It would add cool EMP + lockdown micro in TvP, but in TvT it would enable ghosts to lockdown more enemy mech units since they wouldn’t have to use half their energy on a pre-emptive EMP ( cloaked ghosts could hopefully make tank/Viking a bit weaker). I also wouldn’t mind if Ghosts received lockdown but with the less-convoluted caveat of “only works on Terran units.” A million different lore reasons could justify.
Infestors could spawn with mind-control, but without research it is only usable on biological units. This is perhaps my least realistic/useful example, but I like the idea of Zerg swarms trying to mass-steal each other’s units. Perhaps neural parasite could have zero mana-cost if used on a Zerg. Maybe a better example would be a Consume type sell. The Infestor consumes any non-massive Zerg unit to restore energy.” In non-mirror matches, Zerg would have to sacrifice its own units to do so, but in mirror matches it could be used offensively, making infestors a good deal stronger.
I’m sure there are MUCH MUCH better ideas that the professionals (or forum-goers) could come up with to make mirror matches more interesting. I think it is one of the most important things Blizzard could focus on, and also it is a problem that IS completely solvable. Via abilities that have a unique effect in mirror matches, more units and playstyles could see the light of day, making mirror matches as fun as the best-designed non-mirror matchups.
COLORS:
This is perhaps more simple than the other sections. I think the game could use a bit more color to make spectating, particularly mirror matches, a beat easier to follow. Here are a few examples of things that would benefit from team-colors.
Forcefields. PvP battles often come down to who made the best use of their force-fields, and it is sometimes hard to tell who made which forcefield. Did one player lay down a really great force-field, or did the other player absolutely screw up? Graviton beams, as PvP games where both players opt to use phoenixes would be very challenging to follow. Also, Guardian Shields.
Well, this section is small for now.
MAPS/GIMMICKS:
Map design is such an important part of this game, and SCII has made some huge steps forward. Gold minerals, xel’naga watchtowers, units that can scale high ground, etc, make terrain very important. Here are some other ideas.
Shallow water that units can walk through, but that slows non-massive units. This would allow maps to make engaging an enemy in a certain area risky in a way other than a ramp or chokepoint. I like this idea because it is very intuitive aesthetically. Similar things can be done with snow or ice.
TEAM GAMES:
The ability to reconnect eventually is a must. Being able to see your allies resources and, if they are macroing poorly, request some from them would be nice. Perhaps automatically sharing resources once they reach a certain point would be nice.
BATTLE.net/FEATURES:
Real-ID: Force players on WoW forums to post using their highest level character. If they have multiple level 80s, go by gear-score as well. This will solve the problem of trolling and such even more than real names will. Something similar will be necessary for Diablo III. I imagine Starcraft forums will be fine since we have our single name, stats, and achievements.
Give Battle.net steam integration, please. This is a feature gamers would actually appreciate and that would add value to your product. I want to advertise the awesomeness of this game to my CS and TF2 playing friends
Or join a game through steam friends chat… perhaps even integrated Steam/battle.net chat. A guy can dream :DA 3 second timer at the start of games (once it is loaded). This would reduce game-start lag (both performance and network) and give players a moment to get their mouse settled and all that.
Players should be able to enable any map they’ve downloaded for ladder. They will then be matched against other players who have the same map enabled in ranked games. This will allow competitive maps to phase into usage among laddering players. A side-effect is that players could choose to enable stuff like Fastest Possible Map Ever, but since you can only blacklist 3, I imagine they’d have to play enough real ladder maps that this wouldn’t be much of an issue. Make maps/game modes cross-realm.
Next to the Surrender Button should be a “Offer Rematch” button. Because a) Rematching against someone on ladder would be awesome. B) You could “offer a rematch” as a way to GG out while you still have a tiny chance in exchange for a chance to beat them in the next game.[/ul]
Ideas for Future Expansions, units, and current balance:
I will abstain from including these sections right now to allow people to mull over the things I’ve said above. Most of what I said about mirror matches is intended as something that would be added in the future, however.
GL, HF. Good luck, Happy flaming. :D
Also appears on the SCII forums where no one will bother to reply because it is long, requires reading, and is more than just easy to follow QQ.
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/248416557#4
