[A] Starbow - Page 315

Speed and range are the two most overlooked stats in any strategy game. Its easy to determine "this unit kills that unit" just based on health armor and and damage, but the more complex interactions are often difficult to see.

This makes most people believe that unit balance is purely a numbers game, where damage, cost and survivability must be balanced out, and other stats being secondary to the unit.

In reality its actually the other way around. Mobility and range difine units more than any other stats, and the "main" stats of the unit is actually just placed there as an effect of these stats. The third defining feature is cost, but more on this later.

To see that units actually work this way, you only need to think of a few starbow/BW units (WoL have horrid examples of wrong design)

The sieged tank has horrid mobility and huge range for high cost. This defines it as a positional unit that specializes in holding a position with damage. The price also means that its to be protected, but the mobility means that it should be able to take a few hits before dying.

A zergling is dirt cheap with great mobility and melee rang. This defines it as a throwaway unit, but its melee range also means that it could either have a fair bit of hp OR good damage (fist option is more boring soo...)

I could go on, but its important to note that these three features define every unit (exept spellcasters) when reading the next parts.

The first stat to define a unit is its range. This varies from melee range (1) to siege range (10-13).
Range is important when determining how a unit should be fighting. Long ranged units will want to keep their distance under normal circumstances, whereas short range units will want to get close and fight it out. This leads to an inverse function of range to tankyness. Long ranged units are usually quite fragile, whereas short ranged units are relatively tanky.

This is not a rule set in stone, but a good generalisation of the impact range has on the unit role - want to give the unit more of a kiting style? add to range and remove some hp. Make a meatshield? short range will make it better at this role.

Unlike the other stats however, range mostly only has a subtle effect on other variables such as damage or mobility. It does however tend to allow for extremes when dealing with either siege or melee range.

This is the big one. Speed really does define when and how a unit should be used. Damage, range and survivability are only subphenomena in this respect - easily seen by the fact that vultures, zealots and zerglings have strikingly similar roles despite being very different units. All function as meatshields for a core army. All are great for backstabs and fast harass. All tend to do horribly on thier own in major engagements.

Usually fast units are more tactical, whereas slow units are more strategic. In the fast end are the harassers and hit'n'run units - in the middle the core main army units - and in the slow end the positional and map based units.
This also points out a few oddities with WoL - mainly the Colossus... Why is a strategic unit given so much mobility? and why does it function so much as a core army unit? This is clearly an example of the designer not assigning roles based on mobility.

I made the switch to calling this mobility for a reason. Certain abilities increase the mobility of a unit without nessesarely affecting the speed. Cliffwalk, blink and stim are all mobility spells, and the units should be treated with this in mind.

Other generalisations to be made on mobility are:
Highly mobile units tend to be more fragile (range is more important for this though).

Slower units usually deal more damage.

Fast units are usually more extreme in their way of dealing damage (more bursty is the norm)

When all is said about range and mobility, cost is the stat that really defines how it does its job. A player will always want to lose cheap units before expensive units, so expensive units are usually given stats to help it do its job better or more safely.
More expensive units tend to be more complex, and have much better damage output for supply, whereas cheap units have better dps for cost.
In melee range health is directly affected by cost.
At long range damage is directly affected by cost.

Higher cost also allows for more extreme units, with stats that deviate more from the role you would expect from the range and mobility of a given unit.

Cost also defines how a unit fits into the main army. Higher gas cost means specialized unit, higher mineral cost means expendable unit. Balanced cost means core unit.

There are plenty of ideas implemented in both starbow, BW and SCII. But its hard to see if they work form first glances. By looking at the range and mobility, balanced by the cost of a unit, you can see some potential problems before its even tested, but you can also see some potential in tweaking these stats to make the unit fit its role better.

Here are some examples of poor unit designs:

Colossus - Great range and good mobility with high cost. The siege aspect of this unit is really problematic due to its mobility. It is also designed to be a main army unit, when it is clearly not set up to be that.

Marauder - Good range, great mobility and anti mobility spell. WHY SO TANKY? this is a longish range unit, so why give it so much hp. The persistant mobility advantage does not help this either, but it really needs to be either shorter range or less hp (and then it will just be a strange marine). The fact that stim is dealing the same damage as to marines despite the hp difference is also a stupid decision. (sorry but i really hate Marauders)

WoL Hydra - Low mobility with normal range and fairly expensive. Ehm... this is a really wierd combination of stats. For one thing its slow, so it needs to have map presence, witch it lacks because of its vulnearbility to AOE. Its range is standart leaning towards it being more a core army unit with decent, but not great health and good but not great damage. Its fairly high cost means that it can deviate from the norm, but its done in a really wierd way. Glad that this is not a thing anymore.

StarBow Stalker (What, you think I would only bash on WoL?) - Great mobility with good range and somewhat high cost. Easy to define - its a sophisticated raider with a side serving of combat support. Wait, you want this to be a core unit? Tough luck, its stats says otherwise. The mobility alone defines this as a definate tactical unit. the cost and range means that its not a throwaway or front line damage soak, so that means that its supposed to be used more like a vulture than a dragoon (unless we remove or radically rework blink)

BW Scout - Below average mobility with decent range and high cost. Here is a unit that really could have been so much more. All the stats are fairly well balanced to its mobility and range, but its high cost without incentive to pay this much really hinders it. Needs either better base stats or a radical change in one of the three defining features.

BW hydras, zealots, corsairs, reaver and cannons oh myWhile its relevant ^^