On August 14 2008 04:01 OakHill wrote:About OakHill:OakHill is a part time semi-pro Warcraft III player considered by many to be the second best Random player in the United States. OakHill has NOT played Starcraft 2 but has followed the game's progress very closely. Please note these are his OPINIONS and he is looking to actively discuss these OPINIONS with other member's of the community. If every single reply is a disagreement he will do his best to reply or refute arguments in a timely manner. These suggestions are for SC2 and NOT SC: BW, he realizes for example that terrans NEED siege tanks vs protoss because marine medic is near impossible to pull off.
So now I'll get straight to the point:
Unit StackingWhat's the deal? That's right, Unit stacking. Primarily Muta Stacking. A core staple of Starcraft: BW gameplay, this gameplay element should have no place in Stractaft II.
Explain yourself Because MBS is obviously in, and macro is reduced to gas gimmicks and tapping a key more, micro will obviously be at the forefront and macro cycles will take very little time, barely even requiring to go back to the base. I REALIZE people have sad Mutalisks suck already, mainly because they can't "dance" or stack. Blizzard said they are fixing this so I am assuming both features will be added back. Stacking is a silly gameplay element, it is a bug. It makes air units too powerful and reduces the ability for the opposing player to focus fire and requires zero defensive micro.
What solution do you have? Get rid of stacking, keep or add dancing. Improve life regeneration slightly to warrant defensive micro. I thinking them grouping together to SOME degree is okay, as long as you can still select or attack individual ones. If this makes them obsolete in SC2, then improve ground DPS or damage.
Terran Reliance on Siege TanksWhat's the deal?Massing a stationary battle unit is bad gameplay.
Explain yourselfHaving a unit with insane range and requiring zero micromanagement immediately after the siege upgrade is ridiculous. SIEGE tanks should be support units (like in TvZ) and not massed units (as seen in TvP). Supposedly they are stronger than even in SC: BW.
What solution do you have?Many. Increase damage output and lower overall DPS, making them less effective in battles. OR, increase their damage vs buildings and lower damage vs non-caster units, maybe increasing aoe damage to compensate and require micro in battles (to produce optimal splash damage). Increase collision size. Increase food cost to five. This will make them support units. I am not suggesting ALL of these, maybe a combination of one or two.
NOTE: IF SIEGE TANKS ARE NOT CURRENTLY BEING MASSED THEN DISREGARD THIS SUGGESTION.Small RampsWhat's the deal?Small ramps, as seen in Python or other various maps have no place in SC2.
Explain yourselfIt should be the player's job to design their base or position units to deny scouting. Bases should have chokes but not ramps where you can simply put 1 unit on and press H. With the new "zero vision" line of sight from above element in SC2, a small ramp like this is simply too powerful at the entrance of a base.
What solution do you have?Don't have small ramps at the entrance of bases.
Narrow Map DesignWhat's the deal?Narrow map design, or having one land path between you and your opponent diminishes strategy.
Explain yourselfI feel STRATEGY in an RTS should play some role.
What dumb solution(s) do you have+ Show Spoiler ++ Show Spoiler +Ok that was a joke, but clever map design would be nice. I have faith in Blizzard.
Auto SurroundingWhat's the deal? Apparently units will "wrap" around other units of yours (even through their collision) instead of going completely around. TL members have described this as "auto-surrounding" I believe. This DOESN'T need to go completely, it just needs to be changed.
Explain yourself Warcraft III has this to some degree, units will auto surround but it is far slower than SC2 and they do not go through allied units collision. Starcraft:BW has each unit hesitate for about 1/4 a second before wrapping around.
What solution do you have?Make it like Warcraft III. They don't go through allied units but they still wrap around.