SC2ProMod Interview with Liquid`Tyler

Liquid`Tyler aka Liquid`NonY was a top StarCraft: Brood War player who has since switched over to StarCraft 2. His accomplishments include winning the PokerStrategy.com TSL and placing second in the Courage Tournament in Seoul, South Korea. He also was a member of the Korean progaming team eStro. Currently, Tyler studies at Duke University.

TeamLiquid.net:
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Introduce yourself for the new users!

Liquid`Tyler:
Not a problem.

TeamLiquid.net:
Let's jump right into it. Obviously you've been part of the testing team for StarCraft 2 Pro Mod. How did you get involved?

Liquid`Tyler:
I've been consulting teamliquid for awhile now since I joined the actual team, Liquid` (confusing I know). I saw in the staff forum that R1CH was working on modifications to Battle.net. Someone asked the question if we could use this mod to edit the unit properties and stats to rebalance the game. When I read that it was possible, I got really excited and wanted to get involved.

TeamLiquid.net:
This is a bit of a risky project, threatening to split the community in two and put teamliquid in bad relations with Blizzard. Is it really necessary?

Liquid`Tyler:
Absolutely. StarCraft II has so many problems that are only visible by the top players. I've read comments on the forums that StarCraft II is a viable eSports - that is simply not true. The game is so sluggish and simplistic that I haven't had a desire to play it beyond a few dozen games in my division. All the top players are saying the same thing, and Blizzard isn't listening. Teamliquid has controlled the StarCraft community before, so why not the StarCraft II community? People will still be able to play both versions, but you would be a fool to try to be a competitive player without using the mod.

TeamLiquid.net:
Can you go on about some of the bigger problems that you had with StarCraft 2?

Liquid`Tyler:
Where to start? The most basic principle of StarCraft, defender's advantage, has been removed. Infantry charge up my ramp so easily and break cannons like they're not even there. The game was in a state where you mass units and just attack your opponent in one huge battle. It's just ridiculous. It reminds me of watching Warcraft 3 actually. Outside of that, there are units that are designed for harassment only, such as the reaper. It serves no function in any battle except harassing a base. Things like this just make the game so simple and obvious.

TeamLiquid.net:
How did you and the balance team arrive at the final version of this mod?

Liquid`Tyler:
It's important to understand that this is not a final version. It will be retested and continually updated. I was mostly involved in game testing, none of the theoretical balancing, so I'm not sure how they arrived at what they did. Once I played a dozen games, it became clear to see "this is overpowered" or "this is redundant" or even "this race suffers from this weakness." Then we changed it and tried again.

TeamLiquid.net:
So how is the balance at release?

Liquid`Tyler:
It's good but not perfect. It is a lot better than vanilla SC2 though. I feel the most important thing is that this mod rewards skill, not metagame. I felt I was getting no benefit from being a highly skilled player at SC2. I was losing games to players with terrible skills because they massed the right unit and a-moved. This game injects the skill back into SC II that was missing.

TeamLiquid.net:
Will everyone like this mod?

Liquid`Tyler:
Smart people will. I think almost all the Americans will quickly move to this. The Koreans too will understand that this improves the game. Some cheesy players, eastern Europeans and south Americans will probably not like it. Anyone with an understanding of the game will like it.

TeamLiquid.net:
Thanks for your time.

Liquid`Tyler:
No problem. Good luck to everyone trying the mod.