tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post3345804559349772055..comments2023-08-18T01:39:29.927+10:00Comments on SLRC - Subterranean Loner Rendered Comatose: April ‘08: S’Craft and the power of 3’s, Or “Why did I never know how much damage my Zergling’s did?”Ben Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04146790136740709664noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-76698925600550334632008-05-05T19:36:00.000+10:002008-05-05T19:36:00.000+10:00Hey Tchalvak,Yeah - rock paper scissors is a very ...Hey Tchalvak,<BR/><BR/>Yeah - rock paper scissors is a very applicable design strategy that Blizzard just love to use. I'd wager that it's probably the one of (if not THE) earliest example of what I was raving about in this post - asymetric design.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if you've ever really realised before, I know that before doing some research for this post I didn't, but the 3 races all have one melee and one ranged unit in the first 2 most accesible units (if you go straight down the tech tree, that is).<BR/><BR/>Protos have Zealots and Dragoons,<BR/>The zerg have Zerglings and Hydralisks and the Terran have the reverse order Marine/Firebat and interestingly enough the firebat is kinda different again in that it employs a splash damage type attack, so that's another way they are differentiated from the other races.<BR/><BR/>Also, if you're interested in the micro/macro managment split thing, I read a really great post from a relative unknown postulating how it'll be changed/varied in SC2.<BR/><BR/>The blog is called "In Machinam" and I have no idea who writes it.<BR/><BR/>Link: http://tinyurl.com/652yoaBen Abrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146790136740709664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-22375585273739273272008-05-02T05:28:00.000+10:002008-05-02T05:28:00.000+10:00Overall, I find it interesting that the different ...Overall, I find it interesting that the different races match different play styles. having to deal with a lot of low-health creatures tends to cause micromanagement of 'em, and require quick thinking. So the zerg are heavy on the micromanagement side, which sometimes makes 'em annoying to play. The protoss are the furthest you get from that, units with high health, even if they're slower or do less damage or whatever, so they tend to allow more leisure time to react. (dealing with scarabs and interceptors kinda goes against that trend)<BR/><BR/>I also feel like (but can't quantify) some kind of rock-paper-scissors effect among the three races that tends to guide my game development outlook these days.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13621633884038492575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-18066703476743108672008-04-14T23:24:00.000+10:002008-04-14T23:24:00.000+10:00I think you'll find that I said the Zealot *does* ...I think you'll find that I said the Zealot *does* win vs 2 Zerglings, and this is perhaps what I didn't emphasise by a lot, but he wins by such a massive margin - as long as his shields regenerate fully before he fights anything else, he's only taken 30 (permanent) dmg to his health.<BR/><BR/>Also, my hypothetical situation was in a void, so I deliberately ignored issues of placement and such - hence why I said it was a very reductionist analysis.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for taking the time to read it though.Ben Abrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146790136740709664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-89109171769290574752008-04-14T21:10:00.000+10:002008-04-14T21:10:00.000+10:00but if joe's zealot stands in a choke point, thing...but if joe's zealot stands in a choke point, things change, and he can obliterate all three. also, i think he could actually take out two zerglings, though i'm not sure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-19688301124542683692008-04-07T19:34:00.000+10:002008-04-07T19:34:00.000+10:00Interesting post, Ben. I have, as promised, a few ...Interesting post, Ben. I have, as promised, a few questions. Can you think of other games (not from Blizzard) that use asynchronous game mechanics? How well do they use them and to what effect?<BR/><BR/>Aside from the strategic benefits, what sort of experiential benefits does asynchronous gameplay provide? Is it possible that this design component is one of the reasons why <I>Starcraft</I> is still widely played today?<BR/><BR/>Finally, what does asynchronous gameplay say about the storyworld in which a game is set, if anything? Are their similarities in play between generating a Zergling rush and descending into Coilfang Reservoir?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-4012890294873791352008-04-07T00:27:00.000+10:002008-04-07T00:27:00.000+10:00You know, I have been meaning to open up the scena...You know, I have been meaning to open up the scenario creator and just plonk down a couple of these kidns of fights and see how accurate this calculation is.<BR/><BR/>Even then, influencing factors include attack range for both units, and whether they are starting hitting directly next to each other and at the same time or not.<BR/><BR/>Like I said... it gets really complex, REALLY quickly.Ben Abrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146790136740709664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-6641451506285079632008-04-06T22:45:00.000+10:002008-04-06T22:45:00.000+10:00It would be interesting to compare the comparative...It would be interesting to compare the comparative values of the different tech upgrades, like me talked about earlier.<BR/> Also, have you tried testing this practically, as opposed to this theoretical approach?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876906265497042129.post-13623706937842513152008-04-06T02:01:00.000+11:002008-04-06T02:01:00.000+11:00Gah, the typos. Also, for some reason blogger is n...Gah, the typos. Also, for some reason blogger is not letting me edit the post to fix them. :(<BR/><BR/>Guess that's what you get for posting at 2am...Ben Abrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146790136740709664noreply@blogger.com