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Regalingualius posted:I'm going to go ahead and guess that it would have also instantly lost any life support functions. Poil fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Apr 14, 2024 |
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Apr 13, 2024 18:23
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Poil posted:Sure but unless the ship would instantly went the entire onboard atmosphere the very second life support fails there'd easily be enough oxygen and heat for vastly longer than the few minutes it takes to leisurely stroll to Jim's cell. But I am not a space expert of course. Don't worry, neither is Blizzard. Or, to relate this back to math chat, neither are most sci-fi writers.
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Apr 13, 2024 19:27
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Fun Fact: That thing on the podium in the background? That's an appendix.  The textures for it only raise further questions.  Fun Fact #2: The Prisoners from this mission are different from normal terran Prisoners - these guys have shoes, and even hair! One fella in particular is sporting a wicked pompadour:  For unclear reasons, the three HOTS prisoners in the front are considered to be "special" prisoners. I have no idea why.
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Apr 13, 2024 20:02
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They're probably the three prisoners that actually have names if you mouse over them, and a description of how they ended up here on the Moros. They're not nice people.
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Apr 13, 2024 20:06
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it's neat they feed them well and provide a full gym
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Apr 13, 2024 20:24
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Warmachine posted:
I am picking reactivity and budget, Alpha Protocol was loving awesome.
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Apr 13, 2024 21:28
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The writing feels like it's at war with itself. On the one hand, the main cast and the cutscenes are "serious-face" and trying to be all like, "This is high art poo poo, with Important Stuff to Say." On the other hand, the in-game stuff just wants to lean into the absurd, and it's at its best when it's being ridiculous. Like what's-his-name, Aba-whatever, and Matt's girlfriend.
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Apr 14, 2024 01:09
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It's written by committee except the committee never met and swapped notes, also they are all pretty bad writers.
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Apr 14, 2024 01:16
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NewMars posted:I mean, on the one hand yes: on the other hand, you'd have to structure large parts of the third game in a planned trilogy around the outcome of these choices, which is an assload of work. Maybe, but not necessarily. The prisoners are an easy way to add some choice without needing to consider the longer term effects. They'll die anyway, you can't save them (so you don't need whole other paths), but during this mission, one way is to shelter them as you can and kill them humanely (or zergely?), like a mercy kill instead of venting atmosphere, the other is to infest them. Harder mission since no troops, but doing the right thing. Mechanical benefit during the mission. Acknowledge it with a line from Stukov next intermission. For more major stuff, sure you'd want to follow up more on it, but it can be simple still. In a PvT mission, the Terrans got word of Kerrigan's kindness so [some effect depending on mission/plot]. Or in a PvZ one, some infested are tagging along. No need to full on branch, if you don't give the player the choice to shape narrative to THAT much of an extent.
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Apr 14, 2024 01:25
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Intermission 15 Not even a quick cutscene after that, just straight to the Leviathan.  But who gives a poo poo we got ults. For Kerrigan's final ability, she can pick between Apocalypse (deals 300 (+400 vs Structure) damage to units in a massive area), Spawn Leviathan (summons a Leviathan with 1000 life and a 4 minute duration), and Drop-Pods (spawns 40 Primal Zerglings, 5 Primal Roaches, and 5 Primal Hydralisks. All have a 4 minute duration). All Ults cost 100 energy, have a 300 second cooldown, and start on cooldown.  Apocalypse is a very, very big boom. >Talk to Stukov.  Kerrigan... what happened? Is Raynor alive? Kerrigan?>Talk to Izsha.  My Queen? Your mind is closed to me? To the entire Swarm? I do not understand.I don't think Blizz expected many players to check these unmarked chats either, because they don't usually capitalize Queen. >Talk to Zagara.  My Queen?Even Zagara gets in on it! >Talk to Dehaka.  You do not speak?Kerrigan isn't in a real talkative mode right now. >Talk to self.  Oh, Jim. There are no words.Eh, I give it two missions, three tops, before Jim forgives you. >Talk to Hyperion.     And just because Kerrigan is sad about her TWUE WUV doesn't mean she's forgotten about her initial goal.  He's had this coming for a long tine. I need to know where you stand. I stand for my people. I've accepted that my father is beyond redemption and must be removed from power. I am glad we understand each other.Anyways. Video: Swarm Host Evolution  Time for this dogshit unit to get an upgrade!   Essence count: 92   Essence count: 93   Essence count: 94  Essence count: 95    You know how Swarm Hosts work.          So, I think the Carrion Swarm Host manages to be even worse than the stock model.  For a very simple reason:  The flying Locusts focus on targets that can hit air, since those are able to hit back. This means that enemies that can only hit ground like the Hellions are just... ignored.  So despite the Swarm Hosts whole thing of sending endless waves of free mooks at enemies to keep themselves safe, they're now in danger.  Good job.   The initial wave couldn't even kill the silo before they timed out!  It died from burn damage!   Preparing for next test.     God, what is up with Blizz reusing Zerus models so much? The Ash Worm is just Yagdra with some bits removed.     Essence useful for swarm host augmentation. Take sequences.Essence count: 96   Handful of Swarm Hosts in an NPC base.  The worm pops up in random places.   Blast it until it runs.  Repeat.   Essence count: 97  The Creeper gets some new abilities.   Deep Tunnel lets them teleport to anywhere on the map with just a 10 second cooldown (don't get too excited, they can only tunnel to places with creep), and they spread creep while rooted.  Anyways, fight off some dudes.  Then do it again.    Must prepare sequences for integration. Returning to evolution pit.  Essence count: 98  Essence count: 99 Essence count: 100  It literally doesn't matter which one I pick here. I'm not using Swarm Hosts again.  And now-  At last, Mengsk will suffer for his crimes.Mengsk.    There will be ruin. Destruction. Millions could die amid the chaos. Valerian, your people will need a leader.  Korhal is going to be the most difficult battle of my life, and you're asking me to make it harder?  I'll give you your chance. Make the most of it.      >Talk to Stukov. The humans of the Koprulu sector are truly lost children. This place, so like Earth, but so different. This view makes me thing of an old comrade. Gerard. Sleep well, my friend. Someday the forces of Earth will return to this sector. The moment of your revenge draws near. Will it be what you expect?>Talk to Dehaka. My pack will evolve here. I can change from the essence of this world.Essence count: 101 So much essence, and so different.Essence count: 102 The primal zerg will collect. My pack is large. I will collect some of their essence.Essence count: 103 This planet has much essence.Essence count: 104 >Talk to self. It all comes to this. I have made my choices, and I will pay the price for them.Spoiler alert: Kerrigan will at no point be made to pay the price for her crimes. Being the destined savior of the universe has perks. Everything has been about this hour. Where will you run to now, Arcturus? I have changed the Swarm for this. What happens to the zerg when it's done?>Talk to Izsha   Dominion fleets are converging on our position. Terran troops are arriving from all over the sector.  And that's the loving payoff for all those broodmother scenes! 5 seconds of Kerrigan telling them to do stuff offscreen! They could have cut all those prior scenes and it would have made zero difference. >Examine Relay Satellite.      Any fleet that can hear my voice, return to Korhal. The seat of human power is under assault. Come, men. Defend your home. Trapped like a rat in a cage, aren't you, Arcturus?>Talk to Zagara.   The terrans have no chance. We are numberless. We are the Swarm.>Talk to Abathur.   Can you get it working in time? Survival of Swarm dependent on evolution, iteration. Trust process, trust sequences. Swarm will not fail.  We are ready to begin the surface invasion.Just because Kerrigan is maxed out doesn't mean we can't squeeze in one more upgrade.
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Apr 14, 2024 03:35
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When you put this whole campaign together and read through the missions like this it becomes impossible to ignore just how slapdash and rushed this whole thing feels. Like there was no plan at all and someone had to improvise a plot after reading a one-,paragraph summary of the previous game. Actiblizzard, giving their devs no time or resources to work on their flagship esports game? Surely not. What's next, they give devs no time or resources on their Warcraft remaster? Or their Dota clone?
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Apr 14, 2024 04:56
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bladededge posted:Actiblizzard, giving their devs no time or resources to work on their flagship esports game? Story for the sequel to an iconic sci-fi RTS $200 Remastering a beloved RTS $150 Diversity Chart $800 Being a disgusting workspace on so many levels $3,600 HotS (not the Starcraft one) $150 someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my studio is dying
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Apr 14, 2024 05:50
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bladededge posted:When you put this whole campaign together and read through the missions like this it becomes impossible to ignore just how slapdash and rushed this whole thing feels. Like there was no plan at all and someone had to improvise a plot after reading a one-,paragraph summary of the previous game. probably didn't help, but if you go back and play the original Starcraft, there's still plenty of filler and non sequiturs. aside from us, personally, being significantly younger and stupider back then, Starcraft had the ?advantage? of technical and budget limitations meaning that a lot of the story was left to implication. the nerd tendency to kill a thing by overexplaining it does a lot of damage, and Heart of the Swarm has the tragic problem that finally, Chris Metzen has the budget to tell exactly the story he wants to tell, and exactly the story he wants to tell is...a couple dozen "man wouldn't it be cool ifs" with an overarching plot thinly stretched between them.
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Apr 14, 2024 05:52
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valerian continues to be utterly obsessed with working political angles and as a result he's actually one of the best and most interesting characters in the entire game
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Apr 14, 2024 08:02
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Serperoth posted:Story for the sequel to an iconic sci-fi RTS $200 To be fair to Blizzard (lol), AFAIK at this point the bean counters were firmly in charge, and the whole of SC2 probably made less revenue than couple cosmetics in WoW.
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Apr 14, 2024 09:19
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I like that Stukov is reminiscing about DuGalle... Who died because of Kerrigan. In a better story, that would foreshadow betrayal.
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Apr 14, 2024 09:23
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Xarn posted:To be fair to Blizzard (lol), AFAIK at this point the bean counters were firmly in charge, and the whole of SC2 probably made less revenue than couple cosmetics in WoW. To: bean-counters@blizzard.com From: serperoth@smart.biz Subject: Fans like him! One weird trick to harbor goodwill! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader - GOOD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace#Workplace_issues - BAD Kind Regards, Serperoth Joke aside, you're not wrong on that, it just kinda sucks, since they could've easily done cross-promotional stuff if they'd supported it. "In celebration of [insert faction here] winning the SC2 tournament, we're discounting this battle pet at the online store, limited time!" and "If you buy this pet, you can also get a steep discount on this Starcraft thing... It's free, you could try it... Maybe check out the co-op, only a few bucks per commander, wink wink." But I guess they ran the numbers and figured it would buy them slightly fewer yachts per month or something to do it that way.
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Apr 14, 2024 09:51
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bladededge posted:When you put this whole campaign together and read through the missions like this it becomes impossible to ignore just how slapdash and rushed this whole thing feels. Like there was no plan at all and someone had to improvise a plot after reading a one-,paragraph summary of the previous game. In a weird and roundabout way, technically it's a debate if it even is their flagship esports game, in that while they made the game, the actual esports part, including the promotion, running, organisation and broadcast of it, wasn't under the control of Actiblizzard. Of course, that changed at a certain point and surprise surprise, the instant ActiBlizzard had control it went to poo poo in a way that actively hurt the scene for a long time to come and was violently costly.... for everyone who was part of it but not those who were in charge of the decision of it. Serperoth posted:Joke aside, you're not wrong on that, it just kinda sucks, since they could've easily done cross-promotional stuff if they'd supported it. "In celebration of [insert faction here] winning the SC2 tournament, we're discounting this battle pet at the online store, limited time!" and "If you buy this pet, you can also get a steep discount on this Starcraft thing... It's free, you could try it... Maybe check out the co-op, only a few bucks per commander, wink wink." They have literally never known how to run esports in any fashion. It's frankly fascinating to watch how badly they squandered both any actual advantage they had and any amount of goodwill available with their actions. It's not at all surprsing, given the history of dogshit short-term thinking, but it is depressing how consistently they poison every scrap of work that they personally cannot garner an immediate profit from.
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Apr 14, 2024 10:25
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Xarn posted:To be fair to Blizzard (lol), AFAIK at this point the bean counters were firmly in charge, and the whole of SC2 probably made less revenue than couple cosmetics in WoW. They already admitted that single WoW mount has earned more profit than entire SC2.
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Apr 14, 2024 11:06
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One ex-dev mentioned it in a throwaway line without any details. Don't think that quite counts as "they admitted".
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Apr 14, 2024 15:00
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painedforever posted:On the one hand, the main cast and the cutscenes are "serious-face" and trying to be all like, "This is high art poo poo, with Important Stuff to Say." lmao goddamn like what "high art" have you been watching that looks like this?
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Apr 14, 2024 15:26
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Serperoth posted:Joke aside, you're not wrong on that, it just kinda sucks, since they could've easily done cross-promotional stuff if they'd supported it. "In celebration of [insert faction here] winning the SC2 tournament, we're discounting this battle pet at the online store, limited time!" and "If you buy this pet, you can also get a steep discount on this Starcraft thing... It's free, you could try it... Maybe check out the co-op, only a few bucks per commander, wink wink." IIRC, I don't think they did much of these relating to eSports part of it though. There may have been a couple of one-off Twitch rewards linked to watching various Overwatch tourneys or whatever, but I don't remember it ever really being pushed super heavily or strongly supported.
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Apr 14, 2024 15:33
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Off topic but what's this from?
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Apr 14, 2024 15:33
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Hwurmp posted:Off topic but what's this from?
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Apr 14, 2024 15:36
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Torchlighter posted:
IIRC, apparently Amy Morhaime actually was considered relatively solid at running their esports division (…given the circumstances), but then whoever came in after she and Mike left thought that it was just a nepotism position
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Apr 14, 2024 16:07
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MagusofStars posted:Pretty sure that's Nynaeve from the Wheel of Time, whose signature move for the first few books (and maybe the show? fell behind on the 2nd season) is tugging on her hair as a sign of anger. Yeah. It was the thread tag for the Wheel of Time TV show around the time of season 1. I kind of tapped out of the show pretty early on, but the tag is still there from my excitement pre release.
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Apr 14, 2024 16:18
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I thought it was a euphemism for sex in the books
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Apr 14, 2024 19:22
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Nah, Nynaeve didn't get any for a long time, but she could only do magic if she was angry until like book 7 or so. And so in situations where she wasn't angry but really wanted to cast magic, well...
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Apr 14, 2024 20:02
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Rythian posted:One ex-dev mentioned it in a throwaway line without any details. Don't think that quite counts as "they admitted". The youtube short doesn't give much detail, as one would expect from a clip that's under a minute long, but he detailed a lot more in the starcraft subreddit.
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Apr 14, 2024 20:52
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DeepThrobble posted:The youtube short doesn't give much detail, as one would expect from a clip that's under a minute long, but he detailed a lot more in the starcraft subreddit. quote:Hey, thanks for the reply! I double checked your numbers and found the following: Rythian fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Apr 14, 2024 |
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Apr 14, 2024 21:05
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Unit Spotlight: Swarm Host  Overview:
Overview (Locust):
Eeeeeeeeeeexcept the AI already ignores resources, so all you're doing is throwing your free units at the enemy's free units and not really accomplishing much. Without that, you have a awkward unit that needs to be massed to make up for the Locust's frailty, which is a very steep ask when you have to burn 100 gas and 3 supply a head. Abilities  Spawn Locusts
 Root
Evolution Pool Upgrades:  Burrow
Difficult, but can enable burrow. Locust spawning will remain functional while submerged. While all the other Evolution Chamber units get cool toys, the Swarm Host has to burn theirs on getting a basic feature.  Rapid Incubation
Bad because Swarm Hosts desperately want the other two upgrades.  Pressurized Glands
And if needing to pick Burrow wasn't bad enough, they also really want this! And both give Swarm Hosts a huge vulnerability! It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. Burrow will let them stay safe if an attack wave gets close, the AI won't pop a Scanner Sweep because it's technically the visible Locusts doing damage, but if an attack wave has a Science Vessel they can't do anything as it floats up and detects them. Glands will let you shoot them down, but now if an attack wave has enough bulk to get past the Locusts you're hosed. Evolutions  Carrion Essence capable of successfully bonding to swarm host sequences, uncommon. Primal framework accepts adaptations quickly, then overrides adaptations quicker. Carrion nest sequences allow permanent mutation of egg sac. Will birth flying locusts able to attack ground-based enemies across any terrain.  Flying Locusts
e: wait what the gently caress they don't even last as long as stock locusts  Creeper Creeper strain augmented by ash worm essence. Organism used enzyme secretions to break apart soil, travel quickly. Swarm host essence adapted to secrete creep for similar effect. Deep tunnel will allow rapid deployment to areas where creep is present.  Deep Tunnel
 Generate Creep
Field Manual Artwork 
BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Apr 15, 2024 |
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Apr 15, 2024 14:56
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Don't the Flying Locusts also do more damage... and have a shorter duration? Or am I going crazy? At least Abathur hates these things as much as you do.
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Apr 15, 2024 14:59
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BlazetheInferno posted:Don't the Flying Locusts also do more damage... and have a shorter duration? Or am I going crazy?  wait what the gently caress 
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Apr 15, 2024 15:19
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Swarm Hosts desperately want to be the Zerg take on the Siege Tank, but miss all the good parts of a Siege Tank and end up feeling less than the sum of their parts when compared to the rest of the Zerg options. It doesn't help that Zerg really doesn't care about the kind of positional zoning Terran likes to get up to. Terran use their siege tanks to zone out areas and provide fire support, wanting to either lure someone into a fight under the guns, or slowly creep the front line forward leapfrogging the tanks to force a response. Zerg on the other hand likes to move fast, utilizing creep spread to feel like they're everywhere at once. Did the Terran push too far forward? Run your swarm behind him with your creep highways and hit their back line/harass their bases. Terran and Zerg play positioning wildly different and a Siege Tank compliments Terran philosophy far more than Zerg.
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Apr 15, 2024 15:21
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they already HAD that with the Guardian, though. It just turns out that mass muta was way more powerful (and Lurkers) I don't get it, siege options already existed for all three factions in SC1, Siege Tanks for Terran, Reavers for Protoss, Guardians for Zerg
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Apr 15, 2024 15:59
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I really like the art book, and not just for the seen it all veteran marine adding commentary. That wouldn't work nearly as well without the clinical but not always accurate descriptions of the units themselves. Also, drat, I'm half tempted to play the true-scale mod with just a bioball so I can see all the big bois in their full glory instead of scaled down for gameplay purposes.
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Apr 15, 2024 16:10
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Aces High posted:they already HAD that with the Guardian, though. It just turns out that mass muta was way more powerful (and Lurkers) So many units in SC2 have struck me as solutions in search of a problem.
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Apr 15, 2024 16:23
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The swarm host feels like a unit the zerg should have. making GBS threads out a ton of expendable weaklings is what the Zerg is all about and a unit that is basically a portable mini-hatchery fits the brief perfectly. And in Skirmish they very much have their place, since as Zerg you chew through resources fast and will be the first faction to want free cannon fodder. Their limitations thus become the challenges you need to work around to survive late-game. That doesn't fit so well in campaign where you'll basically never run out of resources before failing the mission by some other means. But they're hardly the first unit to not have much function outside their big showcase mission. If the campaign had more hold-the-line kind of missions they'd have a good place there.
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Apr 15, 2024 16:31
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Aces High posted:they already HAD that with the Guardian, though. It just turns out that mass muta was way more powerful (and Lurkers) There's a whole host of reasons why you can't just do 'SC1 in a better engine' for SC2. Heck Zerg at this point have also replaced guardians with broodlords, who also create free units to attack the enemy after their attack. And then there's the various incarnations of infestor, what with their ability to spawn infested Marines... To a certain extent comparing them to a siege tank is doing them a disservice. They don't have anywhere near the direct and indirect support created by the design of the race they're a part of nor do they really have an expectation of the same impact. They may be expected to fill the same role, but the methods involved are very different, and notably their direct comparison wouldn't be the siege tank, but actually the lurker itself, which the Zerg didn't have access to at the time of the swarm host's introduction. I really feel that a lot of the new units introduced during HOTS and LOTV were designs built to answer questions posed by the sc2 competitive scene on paper in ways that weren't always elegant or particularly effective, and ultimately ended up introducing new issues that even now create problems, especially since the past year has seen a number of unit and balance changes that were surprising.
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Apr 15, 2024 16:40
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the one thing that would make swarm hosts semi-viable would be possibility to have both Burrow AND air attack.
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Apr 15, 2024 20:06
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