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Feels like a lot of times in RTS the coolest unit concepts are the least useful.
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Apr 27, 2021 18:04
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Well, one [REDACTED] is worth 6-8 marines in mins and more then plus one in gas so in pro games the cost effective option wins out.
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Apr 27, 2021 19:24
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(Edited out)
Pooncha fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Apr 27, 2021 |
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Apr 27, 2021 19:31
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I'm really glad people are enjoying the LP so far! Hopefully things will only get better as we go along. At least I know the game does so it's really on me haha.Pooncha posted:Would it be alright to post some of the unit and building fluff in the manual? There's quite a bit of worldbuilding that goes on in there in the way they explain the unit or building's purpose in the game. There are also simple 3D illustrations too, but I only have a physical copy and I'm not sure if you want to see lovely scans/phone pictures. I would absolutely love to see you do that for the buildings. The fluff is very cool and I haven't been able to find a way to work it in that wouldn't be too wordy. As for units, I plan to do a special lore/mechanics post for most of the units where I'll cover it, but buildings would be rad. Speaking of which, the first of these, the Marine Spotlight, should be up either today or tomorrow. DoubleNegative posted:Also if anyone wants to play along with the LP, there's a way to do it entirely for free! There is, in fact, a second way to do it for free as well: Blizzard has made the original, non-remastered Starcraft and Brood War 100% free to play: https://us.shop.battle.net/en-us/product/starcraft That being said, Mass Recall is a lot of fun, and it's recommended if you like the idea of playing along but don't like the idea of being limited to selecting 12 units at a time or dealing with the game's pathfinding (things they had to preserve in the Remastered because believe it or not they're integral to the balance of Brood War, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be everyone's cup of tea).
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Apr 27, 2021 20:40
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No problem!
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Apr 27, 2021 20:49
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Incidentally, I think this mission is the first usage of Zerg in the actual game itself. In the manual of course, there was the complete backstory of the species; but ingame there's this odd ambiguity among the terrans as to whether or not they're some confederate bioweapon or the like.
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Apr 27, 2021 21:16
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Unit Spotlight: Marine Overview: Marines come from the Barracks. For 50 minerals and 1 supply, we get a unit with 40 HP, 6 normal damage (~9.5 DPS), 4 range, 4 speed, and 0 armour. We’ve already seen the two upgrades we can get for the guy: U-238 Shells (increases range from 4 to 5) and Stimpack (increases DPS from ~9.5 to ~14 and movement speed from 4 to 6). They also benefit from the standard Blizzard upgrades to damage and armour, which we’ll see soon, gaining +1.5 DPS and +1 armour up to 3 times. Normal damage type, solid damage output and a ranged attack means that Marines are fairly good against just about anything. Of course, they aren’t omnipotent - low base damage means that their DPS plummets against anything with high armour, and being so squishy means they have a hard time against AoE stuff.  A suitably metal illustration of what’s presumably a Marine from the manual Lore: Marines are equipped with a C-14 “Impaler” Gauss Rifle that fires 8mm metal spikes at what the manual calls “hypersonic speeds.” They’re wearing a CMC 400 (or, if they’re unucky, 300) Powered Combat Suit. These suits have got life support, gravity generators, NBC (Nuclear/Biological/Chemical) shielding, a HUD - everything you need to survive in just about any hostile environment. While there are some volunteers and conscripts, the majority of Terran Marines are criminals who have been “neurally resocialized” (i.e. brainwashed). A good 2 birds, 1 stone deal for the Confederacy, particularly given that the average Marine’s life expectancy on the battlefield is measured in seconds. Tech fluff: For Terrans, research mostly constitutes cutting-edge and/or experimental technology that is either too new or too impractical to be made standard issue, so it has to be retrofitted on the battlefield. U-238 Shells subs out the Marines’ metal spikes for rounds of depleted uranium, able to travel farther while still packing the same punch. As for Stimpacks, well, I’ll just quote the manual on this one: quote:The newest versions of the Marine Powered Combat Suit and Firebat Heavy Combat Suit feature an in-field chemical delivery system filled with a powerful mixture of synthetic adrenaline and endorphins coupled with a powerful psychotropic aggression amplifier. When activated, the StimPack provides the user with greatly increased speed and reflexes. Some tissue damage may result. Campaign Usage: As I said earlier, Marines are amazing units in the campaign. They’re reasonably effective both offensively and defensively against just about everything we’ll be up against. Even when we leave them behind, they’ll still play an important role in our base defense - there will probably never come a mission where we don’t build Marines. In fact, they’re going to be our workhorse unit for more than half of this campaign. Competitive Usage: *Note: Whenever I talk about how a unit is used in multiplayer, you should never take it as the final word. Even after nearly 25 years Starcraft is still shifting and evolving and players are constantly looking for new, different ways to use the tools at their disposal. Think of what I’m laying out here as being the “conventional” usage for the unit - this is how it’s generally used, and when a player is described as being cutting-edge or unconventional, this is what they’re probably tweaking or bucking. And even then, I'm doing loose generalizations - don't take this as gospel truth.* Vs Terran: You’ll rarely see Marines built in this matchup. It’s not that they’re weak, per se, but they pale in comparison to a unit that we’ll be introduced to soon, and getting that unit up and running takes priority over most of what Marines would accomplish. If you do see Marines, it’s probably a sign of a rush that will try to end the game as quickly as possible. Vs Zerg: Here’s where Marines really shine. They’re a major, major unit in this matchup, as they’re strong against a lot of what Zerg has. However, one important distinction about Starcraft is that it isn’t as big as other strategy games are on rock-paper-scissors gameplay - so while Marines are strong against a lot of what Zerg has, a lot of what Zerg has is also strong against Marines. Marines are good against Zerglings, but also, Zerglings are good against Marines. So the effectiveness of Marines in competitive play mostly comes down to the Terran player’s ability to micromanage them - focus firing key targets, spreading your Marines out properly so as many as possible can attack, that sort of thing. Master controlling your Marines and you’ll wax those Zerglings before they even get a hit off. Leave your Marines unattended and the Zerglings will go through them like a hot knife through butter.  11-53 screenshot.png) Flash (the Gretzky of Starcraft) using a Marine squad to turn Zerg’s push into bloody skidmarks. Also check out those pre-Remastered graphics. Classic. Vs Protoss: Marines are useful-ish in this matchup. You’ll often see Terran players get, like, one or two of them, maybe as many as four or even six, to deflect early scouting and harassment attempts. Again, this all comes down to micro - we haven’t seen the Protoss yet, but rest assured their basic unit can steamroll a Marine without breaking a sweat. But again, thanks to being ranged, through skilled micro even a couple of Marines can hold the line and keep your base safe from intruders for the earliest part of the game. Of course, after a bit Marines generally fall off entirely, again in favour of that upcoming unit I mentioned in the Vs Terran part.  Barracks (the player) using Marines to deflect an early scouting attempt from Protoss at the ASL earlier this month. So, to summarize: TvT: Marines are rare, niche units TvZ: Marines are staple units - you’ll often build a lot of them and you’ll get as many upgrades as you can TvP: Marines are support units - you’ll almost always build them, but generally not in large numbers and you won’t bother with any of the upgrades.
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Apr 27, 2021 23:30
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the manual posted:Some tissue damage may result. Child/teenage me read this and went "okay, so never use stimpacks then". I was so horrified by the concept I'm pretty sure I never even tried them.
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Apr 27, 2021 23:52
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Trivia: early in Starcraft's development the Marines were known as Marauders as a homage to Starship Troopers, which called the powered armor worn by heavy combat infantry as marauder suits. The earliest visions of Brood War also had a unit called the Marauder in similar homage, but it took until Starcraft 2 to finally add a powered armor infantry unit with the Marauder name.
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Apr 27, 2021 23:59
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Blizzards been surprisingly consistent about how much being a marine absolutely sucks across both starcrafts.
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Apr 28, 2021 00:50
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Pooncha posted:No problem! Ah, crap dude. When I made that post I hadn't even seen the second page yet. Was the edited post unit descriptions you'd posted? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rain on your parade. Explopyro posted:Child/teenage me read this and went "okay, so never use stimpacks then". I was so horrified by the concept I'm pretty sure I never even tried them. Haha same! Eventually I got desensitized to their suffering. The magic of gaming. Cythereal posted:Trivia: early in Starcraft's development the Marines were known as Marauders as a homage to Starship Troopers, which called the powered armor worn by heavy combat infantry as marauder suits. The earliest visions of Brood War also had a unit called the Marauder in similar homage, but it took until Starcraft 2 to finally add a powered armor infantry unit with the Marauder name. Cool! I thought I'd known most of the early development trivia but I didn't know that, that's interesting. I might do a Starcraft Alpha post if/when I run out of loreposts.
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Apr 28, 2021 01:39
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One of the things worth noting about the whole confederacy thing is that the Earth was pretty much conquered by white supremacist fascists. But! The confederacy actually wasn't founded by the prisoners who would be likely to oppose them, as such: the power behind it was the oligarchy of "old families," who were all descended from the supercarrier's crew. Who were almost certainly true believers in, or at least willing to go along with, the UPL's fascism.
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Apr 28, 2021 02:16
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JohnKilltrane posted:Ah, crap dude. When I made that post I hadn't even seen the second page yet. Was the edited post unit descriptions you'd posted? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rain on your parade. They were, but you've been far more thorough with the descriptions and the purpose than my manual quoting could be. You also gave context in the competitive sense, which is something I wouldn't be able to do well given that I have less exposure there, so anything I would speculate on in that area should be taken with a big salt shaker. Given all that, I'm more than happy to stick with buildings.  Speaking of which...
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Apr 28, 2021 07:16
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Terran Buildings 101 Generally, Terran buildings have three characteristics going for them:
*** Disclaimer: Crunchy numbers and most images are taken from either this LP or the Liquipedia wiki, which lists Brood War stats. Building Spotlight: Command Center  Manual posted:Command Centers serve as the focal points for all Terran outposts. Originally designed to be roving resource processors for Confederate Prospectors, the Command Centers can pick up stakes and move on to new Mineral or Vespene deposits. They also have the ability to manufacture SCVs and serve as the return point for mining vehicles. Heavily armored and sturdy, the slow moving Command Centers are most vulnerable when they are on the move. Building Costs:  400 0 75**All building time measurements assume real-life seconds at Fastest game speed. Stats:  1500 1+10 Supply Max Mobile The Command Center is the Terran race's "hub", and by default, in maps you will start off with one of these and four SCVs. This building is where you build SCVs, acts as the destination point for resources (without it, you cannot gain resources), and is a prerequisite to build the Barracks and Engineering Bay. Having one also gives 10 Supply, and Supply is what gets you more troops on the field. In other words, it's a very important building! 1500 Health and 1 Armor to chew through makes it the bulkiest building in the roster, and it can even fly, which is appropriate given its importance both in-universe and in gameplay. The Command Center can also build "Add-Ons", auxiliary buildings that perform a function as long as they're attached to their parent building. They are always attached to the right of the parent (thus, it would be a bad idea to clog that space up with units or other buildings) and they cannot fly, so if you have to lift your Command Center, the Add-On will detach and stop working. Currently, the Command Center can build the ComSat Station Add-On:  Manual posted:This auxiliary building provides the Command Center with improved communications and scanning technologies. Building Costs: 50 50 25Stats: Health: 500 Armor: 1 Total Energy: 200 Otherwise called a "Scanner", the ComSat Station gives access to Scanner Sweep, an ability that allows you to temporarily reveal any location on a map for 50 Energy, for a total of 4 consecutive scans from full Energy. Among other functions, Scanner Sweep lets you spy on an opponent relatively risk-free, scope out potential expansion points, and reveal hidden units (spoiler: there will be hidden units) in a pinch. Overall, the ComSat is a very useful Add-On to have both in general play and competitive given the sheer amount of bang utility-wise for the buck. Note that activating Scanner Sweep on a location will emit a little graphic and soundbite as the location is being revealed, which can be seen and heard by all players close enough to see/hear it. Pooncha fucked around with this message at 22:06 on May 3, 2021 |
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Apr 28, 2021 07:17
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The updated art looks really snazzy. I appreciate the close-ups.
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Apr 28, 2021 15:39
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JohnKilltrane posted:
StarCraft has some very intense "stuff a middle school boy thought was rad and drew in his sketchbook" energy all through it.
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Apr 28, 2021 15:55
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That was all the drawings in the manuals up to Diablo 2. The Diablo and Warcraft manuals were chock full of Metzen radness* *radness will vary
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Apr 28, 2021 16:48
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Pooncha posted:The Command Center is the Terran race's "hub", and by default, in maps you will start off with one of these and 5 SCVs.  The Starcraft battlechest was the first game I bought with my own saved up money. Never really got into any competitive ladder gaming. "Use map settings" was my thing. I should still have tons of them on a HDD around here somewhere. I don't think its possible to overstate the influence of UMS maps has had on the gaming scene. DTurtle fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Apr 29, 2021 |
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Apr 29, 2021 20:08
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DTurtle posted:Four. Fixed.  I also found a PDF manual that had the missing pages, so I'll add details once I'm on the computer again.
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Apr 29, 2021 20:24
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JohnKilltrane posted:That being said, Mass Recall is a lot of fun, and it's recommended if you like the idea of playing along but don't like the idea of being limited to selecting 12 units at a time or dealing with the game's pathfinding (things they had to preserve in the Remastered because believe it or not they're integral to the balance of Brood War, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be everyone's cup of tea). I've started Mass Recall, and... is it weird that I honestly prefer the more straightforward campaign maps of SC1? I hate the feeling of being under a time limit, and almost every single campaign map throughout SC2 puts some kind of time pressure on you. It makes for more interesting missions in a vacuum, yes, but I'm one of those people who loves to turtle, tech, and build up a deathball in RTS games and then stomp all over the map.
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Apr 29, 2021 20:44
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Cythereal posted:I've started Mass Recall, and... is it weird that I honestly prefer the more straightforward campaign maps of SC1? I hate the feeling of being under a time limit, and almost every single campaign map throughout SC2 puts some kind of time pressure on you. It makes for more interesting missions in a vacuum, yes, but I'm one of those people who loves to turtle, tech, and build up a deathball in RTS games and then stomp all over the map.
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Apr 29, 2021 21:44
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They also looked more like places. I mean, in SC1 they were limited by the engine, but they tried their hardest. I quite like mass recall and I feel that it goes very far in making things be what the mission says they are, so that a city is recognizably a city and such.
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Apr 30, 2021 00:35
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Another tidbit about Marines: there are in fact women Marines in the fluff. You never see any of them, no, in true Blizzard fashion there's almost no women in Starcraft at all, but they are mentioned in the second game.
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Apr 30, 2021 14:58
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Cythereal posted:I've started Mass Recall, and... is it weird that I honestly prefer the more straightforward campaign maps of SC1? I hate the feeling of being under a time limit, and almost every single campaign map throughout SC2 puts some kind of time pressure on you. It makes for more interesting missions in a vacuum, yes, but I'm one of those people who loves to turtle, tech, and build up a deathball in RTS games and then stomp all over the map. Odd, I don't remember Mass Recall actually changing anything about the missions themselves, just recreating them in SC2's engine. Of course, it's also been years since the last time I played it. Big thanks to Pooncha for the buildings and Terran overview! The PDF manual you found, is it the original? The original manual had all sorts of interesting tidbits that didn't even make it to the initial release, like almost all casters having a basic attack, or my personal favourite, the Wraith needing to research its ground attack at the Control Tower, and Cloaking being research at the Physics Lab. Also next update should be up today.
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Apr 30, 2021 15:18
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It's not supposed to change any of the missions, and outside of map changes (a late Terran campaign map used so small that I don't think it's actually possible to beat without cheating) any time limits should only be present in the original campaign.
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Apr 30, 2021 15:24
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Cythereal posted:Another tidbit about Marines: there are in fact women Marines in the fluff. You never see any of them, no, in true Blizzard fashion there's almost no women in Starcraft at all, but they are mentioned in the second game. Huh, that's actually kinda worse. See, in my head I'd just assumed that the Marines were all male because space fascism is inherently sexist. It's weird for them to say "No the Koprulu Terrans are totally cool with women Marines we just don't show any." That's less "Our setting is sexist" and more "We're sexist."
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Apr 30, 2021 15:35
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Out of the Brood War unit roster, I'm pretty sure like 2 out of the 3 regular units portrayed by women are support roles. 3/4 if your count the feminine secretary bot that introduces missions and portrays buildings. So...
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Apr 30, 2021 15:42
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JohnKilltrane posted:Huh, that's actually kinda worse. See, in my head I'd just assumed that the Marines were all male because space fascism is inherently sexist. It's weird for them to say "No the Koprulu Terrans are totally cool with women Marines we just don't show any." That's less "Our setting is sexist" and more "We're sexist." blizzard.txt Seriously, that's Blizzard. They love stating "Oh women/gays/black people are totally common and accepted in the setting, our games just focus overwhelmingly on straight white men because reasons."
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Apr 30, 2021 16:04
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This is making me wish someone would play through this game with Carbot's graphic style, if only just because of the adorable zerg.
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Apr 30, 2021 17:18
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JohnKilltrane posted:Big thanks to Pooncha for the buildings and Terran overview! The PDF manual you found, is it the original? The original manual had all sorts of interesting tidbits that didn't even make it to the initial release, like almost all casters having a basic attack, or my personal favourite, the Wraith needing to research its ground attack at the Control Tower, and Cloaking being research at the Physics Lab. The PDF is not the original one sadly, but my physical copy is. Wraiths having to research their ground attack was definitely something. 
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Apr 30, 2021 17:24
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Koorisch posted:This is making me wish someone would play through this game with Carbot's graphic style, if only just because of the adorable zerg. Good news, someone has! https://youtu.be/MQxee05JdDE (Spoilers obviously)
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Apr 30, 2021 17:46
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Pooncha posted:The PDF is not the original one sadly, but my physical copy is. Wraiths having to research their ground attack was definitely something. JohnKilltrane posted:Odd, I don't remember Mass Recall actually changing anything about the missions themselves, just recreating them in SC2's engine. Of course, it's also been years since the last time I played it. The reason for all the strangeness in the manual was because it was based on the Beta. Incidentally, in the Beta although not the manual, Goliaths used to have four attacks. In addition to also being able to shoot their rockets at ground targets, they had a flamethrower.
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Apr 30, 2021 23:08
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NewMars posted:The reason for all the strangeness in the manual was because it was based on the Beta. Incidentally, in the Beta although not the manual, Goliaths used to have four attacks. In addition to also being able to shoot their rockets at ground targets, they had a flamethrower. Guns, rockets, flamer, huh, slap an after market rail gun on the Beta Goliaths and they're basically mass produced Metal Gears. I love that mental image.
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May 1, 2021 06:26
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Sorry everyone, I've had some bad brain fog lately which has made this update take longer than I'd thought. It should be up tonight.
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May 1, 2021 16:59
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Take your time, thankfully with an older game like this the thread can entertain ourselves for days just chatting about what we remember way back when we played it. I remember playing Starcraft after little league games in elementary school, so the smell of sweat and dirt always makes me think of the Terran campaign. Quite fitting, actually.
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May 1, 2021 17:36
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JohnKilltrane posted:Four automated super-carriers were loaded up with ten thousand prisoners each and fired off into the void. Predictably, their navigation systems almost immediately failed resulting into the ships hurtling off to a distant part of space known as the Koprulu sector. Also strangely, the Koprulu sector is named after "köprülü", a Turkish word meaning "with a bridge". It was both a dynasty of Ottoman grand viziers, and a national park in Turkey. One wonders how much the choice is Blizzard knowing what the word means, and how much is it just sounds exotic and cool. quote:Oh, and by the way, that above information? None of it is in the game, and none of it is in the manual. Damage types, unit sizes - none of it. Unfortunately, nobody remmebered to add the sizes and damage types to the later updated manual. I think Blizzard may also have the info on the classic Battle.net site, which they very much expected you to visit and look up unit data and newest freebie maps. cuc fucked around with this message at 18:41 on May 1, 2021 |
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May 1, 2021 18:36
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One thing about the Terran campaigns in both Starcraft games (not counting Brood War) that I like is that with both campaigns being about a small, rag-tag force steadily growing into something new, there's a good sense of progression and where you're getting your new units and forces from. So far in this campaign, we have Marines and Firebats, the basic Terran infantry, suggesting that these are the forces a backwater colony's militia has on hand. They're simple and require little resources to support, they don't need advanced manufacturing facilities to equip, just a barracks and, for the Firebats, some field research. We also have Raynor and his hover-bike, suggesting that these bikes are common enough to be seen in the hands of paramilitary law enforcement. And it's been sinking in to me in Mass Recall that while it's never explicit that you're recruiting new soldiers into your standing army and gaining access to more advanced weaponry, there's a very reasonable explanation for each new unit arriving if you think about what's happening in the story. It's a nice touch of storytelling by game design, something Blizzard used to be really good at.
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May 1, 2021 19:48
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Update 3: Desperate Alliance, In Which We Talk A Whole Lot About Starcraft And I Guess Maybe Play It A Little Bit So, an apology: Some of the screenshots here are pretty blurry. I'm fiddling with my recording software to try and get better results, but for now...   Receiving incoming transmission. Com-link established: I got your message, Magistrate, and frankly I don’t care what you have to say about Confederate regulations. You drat fringe world locals are all alike, don’t know where your loyalties lie. Y’all have a real good day now, y’hear? Transmission ended. The report you requested is ready. Sixteen outland stations have reported sightings of the alien invaders identified as Zerg. The Confederates have arrested all standing militia forces and continue to avoid action against the Zerg. Three stations have fallen to the Zerg already. drat it! What the hell are they thinking? They could end this infestation in an hour! Adjutant, is there anyone who can help? We’ve been unable to locate any source of military relief except… the extremist faction known as The Sons of Korhal. Their liaison is holding online. Good day, Magistrate. My name is Arcturus Mengsk, and I represent The Sons of Korhal. You're familiar with the Confederate propaganda surrounding my group, but your reputation suggests you'll see past it. It's never been our practice to operate in any one place for long, but these Zerg don't look like they're going to wait. I'm going to make you an offer, Magistrate. I'd like to help you out by sending down a number of transports to your colony and evacuating any survivors. You know, of course, that my organization operates outside the bounds of Confederate law. That's why they spread their lies and misinformation. If you decide to accept our help, you'll be branded as an outlaw too. But, it's a chance to save those people. Time to make a stand, Magistrate. Ending transmission. Priority alert! Evacuation zone under attack by Zerg forces. Distress beacon activated at 1220.Mission Objectives:Survive for 30 minutes  So the mission starts with us holed up in this corner of the map here. Our base has two approaches; one on the west front side, one on the east front side. It’s the first instance of what has since become an RTS staple, the “Hold The Line” mission. We need to stay alive while the Zerg throw wave after wave at us. There’s two ways to accomplish this: We could build up a strong defence to keep them at bay, or we could assemble a strike force to go out and eliminate the Zerg bases and end the mission that way. This being the third mission, both options are pretty easy. However, I’m not going to do either of those things. See, I think it’s silly to have the evac arrive to rescue a thriving base that’s handily holding off the Zerg. It’s way more dramatic to have them hauling your rear end out of the fire. So I’m going to do virtually nothing at all to bolster my defenses because I want my base to be in flames by the end of the mission. Also, this mission is a great case for SSLPs - it is extremely low-action and is mostly just you sitting there while piddly little waves of a half dozen Zerg units run at your base. Fortunately, you guys get to skip most of this. The instant the mission starts, our new unit starts chewing us out:   Hey, this thing’s on fire! You oughta send an SCV out here and repair it, and fix my bike up too while he’s at it.This is a Vulture and, if you haven’t guessed, it’s the unit Jimmy is the hero version of. We’ll talk about them in a bit. This also introduces a key concept, repairing. Just about every RTS prior to and since this one has allowed workers to repair buildings, but what’s crucial here is that SCVs can also repair mechanical units. Each race has its own form of “healing,” and for Terrans, it’s this.  We can take cover in these bunkers if things get too dicey. Also, bunkers. We saw them last time but this time they’re important. Bunkers are the Terrans’ main defensive structure. Each one can hold up to four infantry units. These infantry can’t be damaged so long as the bunker stands, and while they’re in the bunker they get +2 range. Ordinarily, for this mission you’d want to put maybe three bunkers at each approach, loading the frontmost one with two Marines and two Firebats, and the rear ones with four Marines each. This will be more than enough to survive, especially with an SCV or two on hand for repairs. Of course, since we’re going for Drama over gameplay, I’ve done none of that, instead keeping only the starting bunkers, each loaded with three Marines and one Firebat. Anyway, this is what most of the mission looks like:  Very small groups of Zerg suiciding into our defenses. The attacks get larger over the course of the mission, but not by much. Oh, and hey, here’s something cool. So we’ve got these spots of high ground surrounding the base, with Marines starting up there. Helpful, right? They provide good vision for spotting incoming Zerg. But there’s more to it than that. See, if a unit is on high ground, any unit that’s not on high ground that fires at it has a 47% chance of missing. This wave has got a few Zerglings and a Hydralisk, and the Hydra’s gonna get in a duel with our Marine on the high ground.   Notice how even though the Hydra's shooting at the Marine, the Marine is still full health. That’s high ground.  At the end, the Marine’s singlehandedly killed the Hydra, and while he’s nearly dead, ordinarily an unstimmed, unupgraded Marine wouldn’t have a prayer. Seriously, guys. Obi-Wan knew his poo poo.  Here’s a building that we actually could have built last time, but didn’t: the Engineering Bay. This contains generic upgrades for our infantry units, increasing their damage and armour. These upgrades are always important but for Terran they’re essential. With Terran’s focus on range, fully upgraded weaponry can be downright scary. Since this is only the third mission, we can only upgrade each once.  Another new building, this one enabled by the Engineering Bay: the Missile Turret. It’s a defensive structure that, unlike bunkers, is self-operating. It’s got a whopping DPS of 31.7 - way higher than anything we’ve seen so far - but it can only attack air units. You also might notice that it says “Detector.” Hold that thought. And of course, the game wouldn’t give us AA turrets unless there was air to be concerned about, and here it is: Zerg’s basic flying unit, the Mutalisk.  We’ll talk more about it in the Zerg campaign. It’s - well, it’s my favourite unit in the game.  And finally, our last new building and the first of the Terran “Advanced” buildings, the Factory. Forget what the Discovery Channel told you - *this* is how baby Vultures are made. Like the Command Center, the Factory also has an add-on, the Machine Shop. Let’s check it out.  The Machine Shop is a tech add-on that, for now, only allows the research of two upgrades for our Vultures - but oh, what upgrades they are. The first of these is Ion Thrusters, which increases Vulture speed - with this upgrade, Vultures are the fastest unit in the game. The second of these is Spider Mines. Researching this upgrade gives every Vulture a supply of three Spider Mines they can plant in the ground. These mines then burrow, meaning they’re invisible to anything that’s not a Detector (like, say, our Missile Turrets). When something gets near, they’ll uproot and run towards it, detonating for a massive 125 AoE damage. So the idea of introducing them in this level is that the Vultures can go out and mine the approaches to your base, like so:  Spider Mines are so cool and so strong and honestly I spent a lot of the mission completely ignoring my base and hovering the camera over these bridges hoping I’d catch footage of a really good mine hit (I did not).   This brings us to the Vulture as a unit, which is in an incredibly weird spot: In competitive multiplayer, Vultures are just absurdly powerful. If there were one unit in this game that could be considered overpowered, it’d be this one. Well, probably. Maybe. It’d be in the top 3, at least. But what makes them incredibly weird is that in the campaign, they’re pretty underwhelming. I’ll cover why that discrepancy exists in the unit spotlight, but for now just know that this is an utterly kickass unit that we just won’t be seeing a lot of. I also like that they introduced Vultures in this level from a conceptual standpoint. The Confederacy’s sold us out, we’ve got no military recourse, but you know what we can do? Conscript some biker gangs. Hell yeah. Cythereal is right about the sense of progression in the Terran campaign - it’s very cool and feels pretty natural. Spider Mines and Missile Turrets both introduce us to Explosive damage, the third and for all intents and purposes final damage type (there’s two more, but they’re… weird). Explosive damage works the opposite of Concussive damage, doing 100% damage to buildings and Large units, 75% damage to Medium units, and 50% damage to small units. This makes it a lot less niche than Concussive damage for two reasons: First, because the damage reductions are a lot more forgiving (100/75/50, as opposed to Concussive’s 100/50/25), and second, because Explosive attacks tend to do a lot of damage in the first place - Spider Mines are only doing 50% damage to Small units, but 50% of 125 is still way more than enough to one-shot Marines, Zerglings, and Firebats. It can become an issue for things like Missile Turrets, though - since Mutalisks are Small units, it takes a Turret a lot longer to bring one down than you might think.  Here we see the attacks are getting bigger - there’s six or seven Hydras in this wave, as well as a few Zerglings who ran in first.  Still nothing three Marines in a bunker can’t handle, but it’s more than anything we’ve seen so far.  And here we see a few Mutalisks trying to skirt our defenses and go right for our mineral line. Since high ground advantages don’t apply against flying units (for obvious reasons), our Marines are toast, but their presence does bounce the Mutas off course a bit and send them into our Turret and Bunker instead of our workers.  Attention all units: Our sensors have just picked up a huge Zerg force, and it’s heading this way. Stay frosty out there. Relax, Magistrate. Every critter to come here so far’s been welcomed with a big can of whoop-rear end. Might need a sixpack for this one. Huh? Wait, does he think whoop-rear end is an actual drink?So, here’s where things get nasty. After half an hour of hitting you with these pitiful little attacks, shortly after the countdown reaches two minutes it throws a massive, last-ditch assault at you. It’s a huge ramp-up. This was actually my first exposure to Starcraft: my friend’s dad got the game as soon as it came out and I went over to his house that evening and it took us ages to get past this part of the mission. In truth, it’s not actually that difficult - like I said, three bunkers should hold it. But we don’t have three bunkers, so for us, it doesn’t go quite as smoothly.  There’s… so many of them. I never dreamed… Bravo Unit, hold the line! Echo Unit, standby! Shoot anything that gets past that bunker!  Note that when the bunker explodes, the units inside it emerge unscathed (or at least, just as scathed as they were when they went in). In this case, it means they get to fight on for like a second longer. I also like this because it’s the first time the game really gives you an inkling of what Zerglings are capable of. Up until this point they’ve just been pathetic little things that run at you and get squished almost immediately. Here, however, when they’re coming at you in a larger group, you get to witness just how quickly they can turn your base into dust. drat it! Bravo Unit’s down! Echo and Delta, get in there! I’ve got a bunch of Marines and Vultures kicking around that I mostly built because I was bored. They’re going to get slaughtered by this army (of course, if I’d had them at the perimeter, firing from behind the bunker, they’d have held off the assault handily, or at least done a lot more to it. But again. Drama).       Our boys gave it their all, but they’re still toast. Probably didn’t help that I didn’t bother microing them or using any Spider Mines. But shh, don’t tell them that. My men, they’re all… Adjutant, what’s the ETA on that evac? Dropships inbound, arrival in thirty seconds Hey, did you read Pooncha’s post about the buildings? Because if you didn’t, you should. See, if you got to this point accidentally rather than on purpose, you could lift off most of your buildings. Hydras and Mutas can still attack flying buildings, but Zerglings can’t, and they’re the real damage dealers. With your buildings hovering where the vicious little monsters can’t get them, you should be able to survive until the clock runs out.  Here’s the part where I thought “Aw crap, if I *had* been laying Spider Mines during this I probably could have been able to screencap some great mine hits!” Sadly it was too little, too late, but you do get to see the top mine skitter across to kill a Ling and Hydra.    Also, just look at how quickly those Zerglings levelled all those Supply Depots. And this isn’t even their final form.  The clock runs out and our evac arrives.  Sons of Korhal dropships approaching. Strap yourselves in boys. Thanks for the rescue. Never thought I’d be so happy to see a bunch of terrorists. Let's get out of here.
JohnKilltrane fucked around with this message at 00:31 on May 3, 2021 |
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May 3, 2021 00:24
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The campaign never really puts you on the defensive enough to make you realize how powerful spider mines can be. Even in designated defense missions, they're not necessary - Terrans can more than adequately cover their defensive needs in the campaign with bunkers, missile turrets, and a unit we'll meet later. SC2 tries to make Vultures more appealing for the campaign by adding an upgrade to let you refill their mine magazine, but they remain a fiddly, micro-heavy unit that just isn't called for by the campaign. I don't mind how easy this mission is, personally. It's the third mission out of 30 (32 if you're using the 'secret' missions), and Blizzard's still easing the player into things. This mission explicitly teaches you about repairing, about static defenses, adds a new production facility, and the enemy bases on this map are fully equipped for the first time in the campaign.
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May 3, 2021 00:57
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There's also the tendency of the campaign structure to never really encourage you to be efficient with your units in the same way multiplayer does, to the point that using a unit with finite ammo well. Generally the AI is content to throw an endless series of reasonably sized attack waves at you for forever-so the general response is to build up a defensive wall that will defeat said reasonably sized attack waves forever, maybe with some repairs between waves. Buying a pack of limited use mines does not progress towards the goal of killing attack waves forever. You see similar issues with kamikaze units in most RTS games-the AI's resources are infinite, so being efficient isn't enough. Also, the AI is so stupid that Infinite efficiency is possible if you micro or plan defenses well. It would be different if there was a baseless mission where you had spider mines, but that would also be pretty tough to avoid "use mines at the exact right time or restart" syndrome.
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May 3, 2021 02:09
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