I've been thinking a lot about muta splash damage lately.... I really do think the muta is a powerful unit when one micros well, but the splash damage is something that I'm pretty concerned about... The splash damage of all other units in the game deals the same damage to all units around the splash effect... Either one or the other of the following is a problem, perhaps even both. Either, A.) The splash damage of all other units in the game should have a weaker effect, perhaps half the damage would be reasonable.... It seems that it would be too difficult to have units be damaged by the splash of, lets say, tank, depending on their distance out from a direct hit. it would only be a small area, as the explosion isn't that big. B.) The mutalisk splash isn't even capable of hitting a very high number of units, remember, it is limited to only 2 extra hits. Further more, the damage goes as follows 9 on the initial hit, then 3, then 1 I think that if starcraft was truly balanced, the damage from all other splashes in the game would be weakened if only recieving some of the splash damage in a "non direct" hit, and the spash of the muta should at least be 9 6 3, not 9 3 1.... Further more, if the guardian as an evolution of the muta, I don't see why it's attack doesn't functions in a similar manner...
Atlas: Why are you concerned about the Mutalisk's splash damage? 1. You have not justified changing Mutalisk splash, or general splash-damage splash, because you have not established that there is anything wrong with it. 2. You state that A) or B) is a problem, but you don't state why it would be a problem. Please answer these questions before continuing this thread. -- Once you do answer those questions, I will point out that you are posting on a StarCraft 2 board, and that discussion of Guardians and Mutalisk evolution to Guardian is off topic. I will also point out that the SC2-equivalent of the Gaurdian, the Brood Lord, does do non-traditional splash, in the form of Broodlings.
Give me an example of how I would explain WHY it would be a problem please. The problem is that all splashes should weaken as they travel out from the focal point of direct damage... Why? because this is what mutalisk damage does, but declines on a curve even... 9, 3, 1.... instead of on a straight decline.... But not only that, it's a different type of splash damage that is limited to two extra direct hits, there is no chance of getting lucky and nailing a good number of units.
And that is a problem because...? That's like saying that the fact that tanks can't hit air is a problem. Diversity all the way! The game would be boring otherwise. And might I add how utterly glad I am that you're not in the design team.
Ah, of course, I wouldn't have this approach if I was on the design team. All you can do as a player is fight for what's right with everything you got for as many different things as possible, and it's up to the higher levels to find a middle ground. But I will say this. So long as starcraft is not balanced as a fractal, where the macro pattern is in alignment with the micro pattern, then balance will never happen.
You said it yourself. The mutalisk is already a balanced unit and don't need a change. Same with all other splash units. That's all there is to it, trying to even out their splash mechanics is a pointless discussion as you would be imbalancing an already balanced unit.
Starcraft 1 is a game built around DIVERSE races will very different play styles being balanced against each other. It is not a game about very similar races being made to be mirror images of each other. This diversity allows for complex and interesting gameplay. The races are therefore balanced as a whole, and individual units differ greatly in their capabilities. An example of an argument for why something would be overpowered goes like this: Another OverPowered argument would look like this: Both these arguments are obviously false, but if they were true then balance changes would obviously need to be made so that all 3 races had similar win/loss ratios.
Which brings us right back to... @10-Neon: I'm pretty sure this is what he means by "balance." What he doesn't seem to get is that if he had his way the game would be horribly broken.
just wait until atlasmech gets out into the real world. this universe is so damn unbalanced. why is pi such a weird number? a clock has 12 numbers on it, and 12 is such a nice number. i think pi should be equal to 12.
I am making an effort to get Atlas to clearly lay out what he is saying, rather than having us say it for him. Also, if we really do understand him to mean, "numbers balance" why are we not all agreeing with him? He's totally right that it can't be numbers-balanced the way it is.
of course it's not "numbers-balanced." he's right in that sense. however, saying the game isn't balanced just because the numbers that he has considered are not balanced is wrong. it's like a kid who just finished learning high school physics and then tries to tell mechanical engineers that they're all doing it wrong. let me explain that in a bit more detail. in high school, you learn that friction between two surfaces does not depend on surface area, only the normal force and coefficient of friction. then you go to a car forum, and tell all the enthusiasts, professional racing teams, and engineers who work for tire companies that they're idiots for buying wider tires or racing slicks because "surface area doesn't matter! see, my textbook says it's only the coefficient of friction and the force that matters!" then everyone looks at you like you're a total idiot. the real world does not work on perfectly flat and rigid surfaces with constant coefficients of friction. in Atlas's posts, what i'm reading from him seems to be that 1. the game is unbalanced 2. balance can be calculated by a few, simplified measurements or concepts 3. the key to balancing the game is balancing these numbers without regard for the other "details." i disagree on all 3 counts.
