• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 03:03
CET 09:03
KST 17:03
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
RSL Revival - 2025 Season Finals Preview8RSL Season 3 - Playoffs Preview0RSL Season 3 - RO16 Groups C & D Preview0RSL Season 3 - RO16 Groups A & B Preview2TL.net Map Contest #21: Winners12
Community News
[BSL21] Non-Korean Championship - Starts Jan 101SC2 All-Star Invitational: Jan 17-1820Weekly Cups (Dec 22-28): Classic & MaxPax win, Percival surprises3Weekly Cups (Dec 15-21): Classic wins big, MaxPax & Clem take weeklies3ComeBackTV's documentary on Byun's Career !11
StarCraft 2
General
SC2 All-Star Invitational: Jan 17-18 Weekly Cups (Dec 22-28): Classic & MaxPax win, Percival surprises Chinese SC2 server to reopen; live all-star event in Hangzhou Starcraft 2 Zerg Coach ComeBackTV's documentary on Byun's Career !
Tourneys
OSC Season 13 World Championship WardiTV Mondays $5,000+ WardiTV 2025 Championship $100 Prize Pool - Winter Warp Gate Masters Showdow Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
Custom Maps
Map Editor closed ?
External Content
Mutation # 506 Warp Zone Mutation # 505 Rise From Ashes Mutation # 504 Retribution Mutation # 503 Fowl Play
Brood War
General
Empty tournaments section on Liquipedia A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone I would like to say something about StarCraft StarCraft & BroodWar Campaign Speedrun Quest BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/
Tourneys
SLON Grand Finals – Season 2 [BSL21] Non-Korean Championship - Starts Jan 10 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL21] Grand Finals - Sunday 21:00 CET
Strategy
Current Meta Simple Questions, Simple Answers [G] How to get started on ladder as a new Z player Fighting Spirit mining rates
Other Games
General Games
Beyond All Reason Elden Ring Thread General RTS Discussion Thread Nintendo Switch Thread Awesome Games Done Quick 2026!
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Survivor II: The Amazon Sengoku Mafia
Community
General
The Big Programming Thread US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread The Games Industry And ATVI
Fan Clubs
White-Ra Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List TL+ Announced
Blogs
National Diversity: A Challe…
TrAiDoS
I decided to write a webnov…
DjKniteX
James Bond movies ranking - pa…
Topin
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 993 users

Tension in SC - Page 2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 All
minus_human
Profile Blog Joined November 2006
4784 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-02 21:43:18
February 02 2009 21:42 GMT
#21
its painfully obvious that the reaver is a huge tension creator, even if only in some matchups
I would really like it if the Colossus has a similar high-risk vs reward mechanic to it

Why not add a 'charge up' attack to it, as in, it gets near the workers and you have like 1 second to evacuate before it 'charges' up its laser beam, and if you don't run with the workers it should kill like 4-5 with a single blow

just a thought

great and insightful post Storyteller
minus_human
Profile Blog Joined November 2006
4784 Posts
February 02 2009 21:55 GMT
#22
it's so refreshing to see people put such effort into a post that is NOT their personal opinion on how SC2 could be made to work perfectly by some over-complicated and unintuitive mechanic nobody cares about
ilovehnk
Profile Joined October 2008
475 Posts
February 02 2009 22:07 GMT
#23
On February 03 2009 06:42 minus_human wrote:
its painfully obvious that the reaver is a huge tension creator, even if only in some matchups
I would really like it if the Colossus has a similar high-risk vs reward mechanic to it

Why not add a 'charge up' attack to it, as in, it gets near the workers and you have like 1 second to evacuate before it 'charges' up its laser beam, and if you don't run with the workers it should kill like 4-5 with a single blow

just a thought

great and insightful post Storyteller

Hikou Shinketsushuu
jodogohoo
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Canada2533 Posts
February 02 2009 23:32 GMT
#24
amazing and insightful post storyteller
Gamjadori
Profile Joined April 2008
Japan131 Posts
February 03 2009 00:10 GMT
#25
This is probably the best post I've read in the SC2 forum since the game was announced, and it didn't even have that much to do with SC2.
감자돌이 - I like potatoes
xhuwin
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States476 Posts
February 03 2009 00:16 GMT
#26
On February 03 2009 04:52 Excalibur_Z wrote:
I'm a little confused, maybe I'm missing something, but I didn't really see the point of this post with regards to SC2. SC2's tension factor should be largely unchanged from the original SC, because the dynamics are much the same: there's the same fog of war, the same cloaked units, the same hidden proxies or expansions. These exciting contributors have been preserved, and intentionally so by the design team. It's really such a fundamental design concept, and it doesn't take much to identify these causes as keys to excitement from an observer's perspective. Many of SC2's units and racial features may be more convoluted than SC, and therefore perhaps more confusing to the average viewer, but the underlying feel of the game is maintained for players and spectators alike.


Yeah I was wondering exactly why this is in the SC2 forum.

But amazing post none the less. It reminded me of the different types of irony. Dramatic vs situational irony.
xyn
The Storyteller
Profile Blog Joined January 2006
Singapore2486 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-03 00:40:54
February 03 2009 00:36 GMT
#27
Thanks for the compliments. To answer some of the questions:

1. How does this affect SC2?
The same basic elements of fog of war and so on are still there, but it's something to consider so that developers know how their decisions will affect SC2 as a spectator sport. Many people think that as long as it's a great game it's a great spectator sport, but that's not the case. To make something a good spectator sport requires some extra thinking. Mahjong, for instance, is a great game to play, but I really cannot see it being a good spectator sport. Football (soccer) is a very popular spectator sport, but if I were making Football II I would certainly change some rules to make it a little more exciting, especially when England plays (sorry). Or in poker, I think they do something to the size of the pot to encourage players to get involved in more hands because the audience likes it. So if there are moments when tension drops, it might be worthwhile trying to find ways to encourage players to take more risks and clash more.

2. Do FPVODs have tension?
That's a different kind of tension, the one where you know as much as the player. If there was a commentator for this kind of VOD, he would have to say something like, "he's warping in his Citadel of Adun. He's committed to his DT rush. It's going to take 60 seconds for him to get his first DT out and the enemy could spot his strategy at any minute... if it is spotted, the chances of him winning the game are almost nil..." and you hope he doesn't get spotted. Whereas when you lift the fog of war, you get the tension of watching both players react to each other (or not). So it's "will A get spotted" and "will B spot/predict it", if that makes sense. Watching an FPVOD is like those movies where the camera follows only the main character. Of course, if you're watching it to learn, or if you already know the outcome, the tension is decreased.

3. Is there a time when the tension is decreased?
Yep, as mentioned, fog of war alone is not enough to produce this kind of tension. The gameplay must have tension inherent in it. Often, as Boblion pointed out, tension drops after the 12th minute. Seeing a Templar Archive in minute 10 is not very exciting because there are several things it could mean, none of which are abnormal. Seeing a Templar Archive in minute 2 is very exciting, because there only one thing it could mean and that thing is a do or die strategy. And when they start macroing sometimes they stop fighting because they don't want to risk their armies. Definitely no tension there. And, of course, because of the fog of war, sometimes we know that the player is doomed but the player fights on for a good 3 minutes anyway. However, even without the massive battles tension is often still present as the players still fight for position, try to ambush drops and so on. So if there's a massive army sitting in one place and the other guy is heading straight for it and doesn't know... or if the drop ship is heading straight for the scourge... or if the recall is straight into a minefield... But the kind of things that produce tension change, and there are fewer of them, especially in TvT.

4. How does the reaver create tension?
Because of its godawful AI, the reaver creates the kind of tension where you know only as much as the players. So when the reaver fires, EVERYONE is holding his breath. But when the reaver is being built, if the other guy doesn't know, you get the other kind of tension where you know more than the players.

5. Why don't I like Prison Break and 24 if there's so much tension?
Tension isn't the only thing that makes a show good, and too much tension can be a bad thing. It's very subjective, but my guess is that for Prison Break Season 1, it became too formulaic after a while and the audience realised that the producers were "cheating". Every single episode would use the same trick to generate tension: Michael has to do something and has 5 minutes to do it and get back, he does it, cut to guard, dramatic music, audience thinks "he can't have made it back! It's too soon!", he's made it back. You get sick of that after a while. And some of that was just not realistic. You show him taking 4 minutes to get out of his cell and he's back in safely in 1? After a while, not showing Michael on his way back became a cheap trick to gloss over the inconvenient fact that you just can't run through a tunnel, clamber out of a hole in the wall, patch up the hole and jump inot bed in 30 seconds without the guard hearing.

As for 24, I haven't watched a lot of it, but my guess is that some of the storylines are dragged on far too long. For instance, season 6 had a very obvious moment to end the story, but they had to drag it on to fill 24 episodes.
RoC)Ninjah
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
United States238 Posts
February 03 2009 01:47 GMT
#28
great read dude interesting points, i like how you showed the difference between early game tension vs mid game ect
Much will win a title before his hair turns grey.
Savio
Profile Joined April 2008
United States1850 Posts
February 03 2009 05:11 GMT
#29
SC2 keeps virtually all the dynamics that BW had like Excalibur said. But I wonder if it just might have more tension because of the increased mobility of the races. It might be that the player who is in the weaker position might still be able to pull off some incredible terrran drop (since he will naturally have buttload of medivacs), or a real nice nydus could turn the tides and likewise for protoss with warp in.

I think it is very exciting when you can see that one player is winning, but the game is still very much up in the air and if he lets his guard down, he could lose it all.
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. – Winston Churchill
rei
Profile Blog Joined October 2002
United States3594 Posts
November 12 2011 15:26 GMT
#30
In response to is sc2 a spectator friendly esport thread I feel like everybody should understand what makes a good spectator entertainment. I can find no better than the words of our very own storyteller. Hence the dump.
GET OUT OF MY BASE CHILL
thesums
Profile Joined December 2010
Taiwan257 Posts
December 28 2012 07:47 GMT
#31
Hmmmm in hindsight, SC2 does not give the same tension for several reasons:

1) Smart Casting
2) Unlimited grouping (buildings, and units)
3) Auto mining SCVs
4) Other help: such as showing idle workers on the screen, queuing of commands

1-4 shows the how SC2 is much easier now and it will not be like BW when people are so excited seeing multiple spells such as storms when progamers have to re-hotkey the units and then individually set off all the spells. Difficult maneuvers give more tension; will the player be able to pull it off? or won't he? I wish SC2 can become more difficult so that we can see a larger disparity between the good and the bad players. I want to watch a game and feel like "that is something I will not be able to do, even if I practice a lot".
Prev 1 2 All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 3h 57m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft: Brood War
Stork 545
Larva 418
Leta 198
EffOrt 134
Aegong 54
scan(afreeca) 25
Sharp 9
Bale 8
Dota 2
XaKoH 611
NeuroSwarm192
League of Legends
JimRising 809
C9.Mang0605
Other Games
summit1g5821
Mew2King147
minikerr57
Organizations
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 12 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Stunt488
Other Games
• Shiphtur2237
Upcoming Events
OSC
3h 57m
IPSL
8h 57m
Dewalt vs Bonyth
OSC
9h 57m
OSC
1d 3h
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
1d 5h
Wardi Open
1d 16h
Replay Cast
2 days
Wardi Open
2 days
RotterdaM Event
2 days
Patches Events
2 days
[ Show More ]
OSC
3 days
OSC
4 days
OSC
5 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S1: W2
WardiTV 2025
META Madness #9

Ongoing

IPSL Winter 2025-26
BSL Season 21
Slon Tour Season 2
CSL Season 19: Qualifier 2
eXTREMESLAND 2025
SL Budapest Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025

Upcoming

CSL 2025 WINTER (S19)
Escore Tournament S1: W3
BSL 21 Non-Korean Championship
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
HSC XXVIII
Thunderfire SC2 All-star 2025
Big Gabe Cup #3
OSC Championship Season 13
Nations Cup 2026
Underdog Cup #3
NA Kuram Kup
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League Season 23
ESL Pro League Season 23
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.