Starcraft2Forum.org January Monthly Reports

Hey guys!

It's been a couple days since submission, so it's time to release this month's finalized reports. I'll be condensing both of those here to keep it in one thread, starting with the Monthly Discussion Topic.

Also, don't forget to read BirdofPrey's January Mobility Omnidiscussion which, as usual, heavily contributed to the content of these reports.

This month's discussion topic was eSports, and I tried to tie that into my interviews that I conducted this month, which is an underlying theme in the report. Here's this month's discussion report on eSports:

Starcraft2Forum.org Monthly Discussion Topic: eSports
Month/Year of Report: January 2008
Fan Site Name: Starcraft 2 Forum
Fan Site URL: http://www.starcraft2forum.org
Monthly Topic: eSports

Monthly Discussion Topic: eSports

To speak of the truth, I was doubtful initially of the response that would be generated by the community on this topic, but it turns out that it is a very polarized topic. Starcraft is the undisputed champion of RTS competitive gaming and it looks like the only game that has the potential to top it is its own sequel, Starcraft II.

Because I knew there was a difference in opinion that correlates to a difference in skill levels, I decided it would be a good idea to elicit some opinions from professional Starcraft players in addition to the opinions expressed on our own forum, the members of which are typically of “casual†status. I conducted two interviews, one with Gentho of RTSProfessional.com and another with iNcontrol, the North American Starcraft Champion from WCG for 2008.

These two players expressed very different views on the role of eSports in Starcraft II, but I believe their individual opinions sum up well the two opposing sides in this argument. It seemed that users generally agreed with the opinions of one of these two players, even if they didn’t agree with every point that they made.

The entire debate seems to center around the use of MBS (Mass Building Selection) and Auto-Mining. These two features are of extreme relevance when discussing the future of Starcraft II as an eSport. Gentho (and the vast majority of responders in our topics) argued that these User Interface improvements could only raise the skill potential that could be seen in Starcraft. Macro play styles would certainly be forced to shift to a more micro intensive style, but would still feature some of the same elements, such as unit placement, but at a higher rate of speed. iNcontrol (and a sizable number of respondents), on the other hand, argued that such a system would greatly enhance the ability of newcomers to the game to compete with pro players and would “close the gap†of skill that exists between these two levels of players.

The basis of the argument lies in the experiences felt in Warcraft III. Undoubtedly, Warcraft III as a competitive game is focused much more on micromanagement of units rather than production scale. Heroes play an incredibly important role and make up a large portion of gameplay. Obviously the influence of a small number of units affects the outcome of games disproportionately. The fear is that this has come about because of the auto-mining implications that were created in Warcraft. The addition of heroes (which can, in a distant way, be related to “superunitsâ€) further exacerbated the problem and created such a micro intensive environment.

However, the majority opinion remains that despite the potential for macromanagement play styles to be affected or shifted into different avenues of the game, the potential benefits in strategic variability, production flexibility and a huge potential increase in game “speed†outweighs the potential negatives. Therefore, in conclusion, it is felt that the addition of MBS and Auto-mining, as well as other UI improvements such as the selection of large numbers of units and an increase in hotkey options, will only benefit the spirit of the game and increase its potential rather than hampering it. In addition, it has the potential of making this game more accessible to the masses with a smoother learning curve while maintaining the level of skill necessary to sustain a professional arena of play.

 

Starcraft2Forum.org Monthly Report
Month/Year of Report: January 2008
Fan Site Name: Starcraft 2 forums
Fan Site URL: http://www.starcraft2forum.org

Top 5 Feedback Concerns:

1. Race Mobility – A specific feedback topic launched by an organized member, discussion took place regarding the “mobility†(dropships and other methods of transportation) for each race. It was suggested that the “space†allowed in each transport unit be left at its original size in Starcraft (8 small, 4 medium, 2 large) in order to maintain the tier structure of the different races, but that the Terran receive an available upgrade for an increase in the float speed of production buildings like the barracks and factory, in addition to the drop pod ability, to counter the mobility offered by the Protoss Warp-In in conjunction with the Phase Prism. Another suggestion was that if the Phase Prism (or pylons) are destroyed during a Warp-In, those units would be sacrificed at no refund.

2. Terran Marauder – We’re always excited to see new units to spice things up in Starcraft II. However, there is still some concern surrounding the fact that the Terran do not have a true “melee†unit as of now since it seems likely that the Marauder will receive some type of ranged attack.

3. Protoss Nullifier – This unit has received a warm welcome among the Starcraft II community. It’s a relatively early tier Protoss unit and adds to the strategic variability for this race. The only suggestions have been careful suggestions that it not eliminate the feasibility of a Terran infantry rush. It has been suggested that it use mana spells that would be vulnerable to Ghost EMP.

4. Channeling Spells – With the addition of the Force Field ability for the Nullifier and a large number of AoE spells among a number of units, it has been suggested that spells such as Nullification, or anything that hampers unit movement, speed, or ability, require that the unit “channel†for the duration of the spell, but any spell that does damage but does not hamper the ability of a unit, not require channeling (Psi Storm).

5. Mothership Returns to One per Player – This move has been extremely lauded by proponents of the superunit balance in the community. We’re very happy that Blizzard has made this move in a direction that supplements the race identity of the Protoss.

Top 5 Fan Site Questions from your Site:

1. If Protoss warriors never “die†on the Battlefield, how are the Protoss a declining race?

2. What spells are specifically affected by the Nullifier’s ability? Will physical spells like the Marine’s stimpack, the Ghost’s Nuke, or Reaper Mines be disabled? Also, will spells casted before entering the area (I.E. Ghost’s cloak) be disabled upon entering the area?

3. (Map Making) – Will unit abilities be editable in the Starcraft II editor? For instance, will the actual effect of a psi storm be able to be manipulated (Instead of causing damage, it heals, etc.)?

4. Will doodads and cliffs continue to affect the targeting of units?

5. Will Battle.net 2.0 feature €œleagues†as has been experimented with on Battle.net?

 

Good stuff that but I have to ask when you wrote this because it says the Marader might get a ranged attack.

I still think we need to we allowed to have more than 5 issues.

 

Nice report Jon. 2 thumbs up.

However, I think one of the questions was answered by Karune earlier today.

Quoted from Karune:

http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general&t=427648&s=new&#new

Looks like the Null Void ability is going to be more useful then expected. Working as a detector? Sounds pretty cool to me.

 

but will it work on Dark Templar? They don't use energy. also how long will it work? Does ithe decloaking end if the unit leaves the null void AoE or does it have to wear off like ensare? Does it do the same for casting; can a unit cast as soon as it leaves the null void AoE or is prevented from casting till it wears off? Is the null void a one off items that disables all units in an area for a duration or does it linger for a few seconds and continue to affect units?

Maybe you could work one of thos in next month. Hopefully though some get answered before then.

 

I wrote this the night before Batch 28 got released. So yeah, wasn't aware of the new Marauder abilities.

But I was correct anyway.

 

Figures. They have a way atmaking topics outdated the second we figure out what we like and don't like.

One thing I also want to know is where the thruster speed increase idea comes from. Did you come up with that yourself or did I miss something? I wonder if there is a way I can go about sending in the whole discussion summarrry though because having 7 or 8 issues be truncated into one item just doesn't do justice to it. Of course theres ALWAYS more than 5 major discussions going on each month. It must be hard deciding between them. How many things do you have to throw out to fit into Blizzard's submission requirements?

 

The Thruster increase came from an age old discussion about the Thor.

When I see these things I write them down for inclusion when I don't have enough to talk about .

 

Ah so you take notes in case you need some filler

 

Exactly.

 

maybe it is a little late... but what is an esport?

 

"3. (Map Making) – Will unit abilities be editable in the Starcraft II editor? For instance, will the actual effect of a psi storm be able to be manipulated (Instead of causing damage, it heals, etc.)?"

IMO the answer to that is obviously yes, but what do I know...

e-Sport means electronic sport, in other words you get money from playing computer games

 

Also people watch it. SC is considered an e-sport because people watch it on TV like would happen with a sport like soccer or baseball

 

Great report, Joneagle_X! :good:

 

Such an adjustment ability was not included in the Starcraft or Warcraft editors. So I thought it was a relevant question. And actually, that question was not asked here, but on Facebook.

 

Well in WC3 you could make custom abilities couldn't you?

 

Not really. You could adjust the damage that each one caused, or you could alter the length for which they effected something. But you couldn't CHANGE what they did...

 

But you could change the animation used so in theory you could make a tranquility based spell but give it the blizzard animation. If someone was creative enough they could do pretty mcuh whatever they wanted with the wc3 editor, but they had to go about it in a round about way. Hopefully in SC2 that will change.

 

Yeah, DOTA shows what can be done...

 

Indeed. I have even made a spell once that uses the infernal spell animation -that comet- which caused an earthquake that I timed at the same moment as the impact of the comet. It was pretty cool, but hard to make. I hope that this editor will be easier to use.