[A] Starbow - Page 487

I added it today. Took 30 minutes to fix it for Marine, Firebat, Zealot, DT, Archon, Zerglings and Ultralisk. They now have a delay of 0.1 seconds. They attack, the damage is dealt after 0.1 seconds.

Good ideas shall not be limited because they are too hard to make in the editor or takes too much time for me. If a great idea is born, and it seems to be a huge improvement to the game, I will ofc try to build it. But nowadays I am not able to spend much time neither online on B.net or in the editor. (I am not home often.) So I prefer to implement stuff into the game that are kinda easy to make. (To avoid myself from stressing too much )

My priority atm are:
- Ghost
- Robo unit
- Protoss air
- Detailed balance (aka stat adjustments) to stuff like Stalker, Reaver, basic units, structures, meta-game tech tree etc,

Spells like Ensnare, Nerve Jammer, Abduct, Plague etc can surely become more fun and interesting. But I prefer to not focus on it right now, since all those things are already ok. I want to wrap up Starbow and finish the unfinished stuff so we can go public with it. (FINALLY...)

If we call it "Starbow Beta" we can make some additional patches during the spring to fix things we find out to be lame, boring, broken or imbalanced. Hopefully can we find someone who is gosu at the editor who has the time to help us out as well. (And make some bad-ass spells.) Depending on my available free time, maybe some of you here in the thread can take full control of the ongoing design & balance work. (After the release.) More on that later.

Ok, what about this then;

Shock
- 50-75 energy
- Range ca 9-11 (Siege Tank has range 12)
- Launch a projectile at target area. Takes 1-2 seconds to hit. (Can be dodged)
- The radius is small. Maybe large enough to affect three Lurkers/Tanks.
(Its even possible to put a limit on how many units can be affected inside the area)

- Affected Siege Tanks, Warp Prism, Lurkers and burrowed Roaches "undeploys."
- All affected units can not use spells or abilities for 5-8 seconds. (No Blink, Stimpack, Storm, Siege Mode, Burrow, Load/unload or anything)

This means that affected Tanks & Lurkers can not burrow/deploy again for X seconds. But they can still move & attack. (Run away or take the fight now.)

If a Warp prism is hit, and the Reaver is inside, it can not be unloaded until X seconds.
If the Reaver is outside, the Warp prism can not pick it up until X seconds have passed. (Rift can still save the Reaver)

If necessary, Shock can also affect so Reavers can not attack. (Since they have a mixture between ability & attack.)

Because Shock affects an area, it is possible to dodge the projectile, which might lead to some cool micro. (For example for Warp Prism.)

If the projectile hits a single target, it will always hit. (No way to dodge it.)

Good enough?

In BW, the Vultures freak out for a few seconds while they plant a Spider mine. (They stand still & can not attack.)
In Sbow, Vultures are slowed down by 50% and can not attack during 2 seconds after they plant a Spider mine. (My way of re-creating this effect in a less annoying way.)

I´ve been told this is frustrating and it was better as it was before. It worked like this earlier in Sbow:
- Vultures could move at full speed, cast their mine, continue to move. (No delay at all)
For example: Inside the base of P, you can shoot Probes and at the same time plant Spider mines on the ground, without losing any time. (And I fear it is imba)

Shall there be some kind of delay on the Vulture while it plants the mine?

I aim to have it uploaded on saturday. (MAYBE can I finish it earlier during this week)

Would be cool if we could find a solution for Protoss air & Robo unit. (Otherwise there will be no Robo unit and it can be added after the release if needed)

I do not intend to remove Marauders.



The full animation must be played, as far as I know. (Which takes ca 3 seconds.)



I don´t agree that spells who prevents enemy units from doing things are necessarily boring. Everything that kills an enemy unit prevents that unit from doing something fun, if we shall strecth it. However, if an interesting micro situation occurs, and the outcome of that micro situation is determined via micro/player skill, then I think a justified victory can be that a unit is paralyzed/crippled, as well as killed. In other words - if the spell is fun to play with and against, I don´t mind that it "stuns" enemy units. But this is ofc a matter of taste, and I assume our views will differ on this.

The "problem" IMO is that the Reaver is a very extremely designed unit. The Reaver alone is a unit who makes Bio unplayable and useless. We try to come up with an "extreme" way for the Ghost to deal with it. (A spell dedicated to catch it.) Which tends to make our ability very narrow. (Works only on a few units in the game.) And since Terrans tech tree looks as it does, a player who goes Bio or Bio+Tanks will be far away from getting air units to fight Reavers.

IF the spell "silences" enemy units, it might lead to more diverse usage.
Use it on a Defiler before it casts Dark Swarm.
Use it on Vipers who approach to Abduct your Tanks.
Use it on Lurkers just before they burrow.

Buy a couple of seconds time in tight combats, which might determine a lot. And units affected will ofc get a visual buff, so all players can see that this unit is "shocked" and can not use abilities. A spell based on reactions - will the enemy react before the missile hits?

If the spell is NOT small AoE, the projectile can not be dodged. Which means it will always hit. And I think that is a bit lame.

But the silence part is not the most important thing. Only a way to add some more usage for the ability, and if properly balanced I think it might lead to something decent fun.

Another way is to just make this, as has been suggested in the thread:

Launch at small area. Affects maximum 2 or 3 units.
- Siege Tanks, Lurkers, Warp Prism, Roaches unburrows/unsieged.
- Dropships, Warp Prism, Overlords are forced to drop their cargo.
They get a buff for 5 seconds. During this time will they be immune to this spell again. (They are already in Shock)

If that is too odd, we can add so those units can not unload or siege again during this time. (The Warp prism can pick up the Reaver again, but not use the unload command. Buys T some time. Lurkers & Siege Tanks can not siege/burrow again)

But ofc, it might be a problem if Ghosts can non-stop spam it on Tanks to keep them unsieged. As soon as the effect ends, use it again. If the casting range is decent, maybe 7-8, it is hard to get in range. Need to use Dropships to get them close? Or some fun version of the Cloak ability?

I agree. Thats why I prefer to keep Marauders in the game. Even though they are very basic and a bit one-dimensional units, they still contribute to the meta-game in a good way imo. If we manage to sort the remaining Ghost + Reaver issues out, I think Marauders will play an important role to promote Bio and Bio + Mech play in TvT and TvP. It is after all a simple unit, and it kinda fulfills its role already, without needing a lot of editor work. Maybe stats changes. Hopefully will Marauders also see play vs Roaches & Ultras in TvZ. (Instead of just Marines vs everything, which is kinda lame imo.)

How can a Ghost catch/deal with Warp Prism + Reaver? (Preferably in an interesting way that involves micro)

- Spell that stuns, slows or disables it (Which is what we are looking at now)
- Spell that kills it
- Spell that places anti-air traps (Hope the Warp Prism flies into it)
- Ghost can "summon" a robotic air unit who can haunt/intercept the Warp Prism? (And scout)
There are models in the editor for it at least.

Interesting ways to stop Warp Prism?
The most basic thing would be: Launch a projectile at target area. Upon impact, something happens with the affected units/Warp Prism. This allows micro from both players at least.

Possible things to do upon impact:

- Slow down units movement speed by 75% for 2-5 seconds. They are "shocked." (Can catch Mutas, Banshees, Warp Prism, Vultures, Zerglings and other fast moving stuff.) Has no effect on Siege Tanks, Lurkers etc.

- Reduce attack range of affected units by 50% or something. Makes it easier to intercept Reavers and Tanks etc.

- Force Dropships/Warp prism to unload their cargo. (Can be picked up again.) A bit too narrow for my taste though.
If the spell also unsieges Tanks or Lurkers, it becomes more useful. But then we get the dilemma we now discuss in the thread.

Or we just need to change approach and find an other way for the Ghost - Warp Prism relationship?