I have played the game for some time, it’s addictive and one of my favorites, and I have some suggestions
IMPORTANT BALANCE SUGESTIONS:
Rip fields op; early and late game protoss would build one near (or far cause it’s long range) enemy base and once complete it destroyers all workers in seconds and tire one units like marines, zerglings or even roaches can’t live long enough to destroy or get near it. Rather than a field that does damage how about a field that slows enemy units or increases shields amour by 1?
Hybrids seem op in general when massed with 800 health, does +40 damage per second with area of effect splash. Should be removed, limited number, or nerved
Dragoon range max range at 7 rather than 8?
Zerg should have an offence AA unit at tier one, perhaps:
Scourge form banelings nest or
Tier one hydralisk (75minerla 25gas supply1 perhaps damage nerved form 12 to 10) or:
A new smaller version of the brutalisk.
OTHER SUGESTIONS:
Raptor at 50 gas and 25 mineral is not economical per unit. It Should be 25 mineral per unit with no gas or an upgrade that applies to all at hive.
Carrier model: when upgrading the 2+ amour change model of the carrier to that of Selendis’s Carrier
Carrier ranged increased upgrade? (or this too op?)
Battlecruiser range to 7 or attack as they move?
Remember the Zerg devourer in BroodWar? Replace the current model of the guardian with custom made one (looks better anyways) and use the guardian (original from SC2) model for the devourer.
Guardian’s supply changed from 4 to 2 (or 3)
ultralisk burrow charge? Also ultra +2 amours is a must
Give all races a main capital ship that they can “always” build; terran’s could be the Hyperion
And of Couse add the custom hots units
In the arcade simpler to that of how hots custom was layed out; option of picking 1vs1 or 2vs2 with map rotation, that map seemed popluar because of that layout over other hots maps where people would rarely play.
@FreezingAcidRain: Go Hi, welcome to SC2Mapster and thanks for taking the time to share your ideas. I always try to answer all questions/suggestions and I write the viable ones down so I can decide later what to do about them based on all suggestions so far.
Balance: Yeah the Rip-Field is op. I nerfed it before but it's still a problem. I'm planning cheges to it though. The Dragoon will be changed soon as it will no longer be an option to Stalkers. It will replace Stalkers for some tribes, such change allows them to be better or worse than Stalkers. Hybrids still need more changes/balance, I'm just not sure which stats should be kept or changed.
For the Zerg AA I can only say I'm not moving standard units down/up tiers or making drastic changes to them. I only change the units that are going to be removed, or change them for a specific Faction/Brood/Tribe, but not in a way that affects the other factions/broods/tribes. Be patient, Zerg will change a lot when HoTS gets released.
Suggestions: The Raptor is under discussion, it isn't a good option to Banelings as the Baneling role is important to Zerg strategies and Raptors are hard to use effectively. There's much discussion to do before I can decide what to do with them.
I'd rather not use Selendis' model for that upgrade, as models are needed for custom units, heroes, "mercenary" versions of standard units and so on, but I may give the alpha Tempest's shield which makes a lot more sense. As the Carrier will be an option to Tempests in HoTS they will have to be balanced against each other, so all stat changes will have to take that into consideration.
No changes planned for BCs, Blizzard already buffed their AG damage for HoTS.
It looks like we are going to get a Devourer model in HoTS ;-) The lack of a proper model kept this unit out for so long.
I have to change the Guardian somehow, not only small tweaks in stats, it needs a new role or maybe something to give it an optional role. I don't find it's a-move role good enough right now.
I added the Burrow Charge because it's going to be standard in HoTS, but of course that can still change. With the release of the beta I need to change a few things about it.
I don't like general changes like giving every race a capital ship. Let's keep the standard tech tree standard. Also lore-wise the Hyperion wouldn't make sense, as it's Raynor's Raiders base of operations, that's why these units go to the factions/broods/tribes they belong to. I don't know if it's worth adding all the HoTS units right now as they will be included anyway later, without the need for custom models or extensive data work.
And you mean I should keep a map rotation? That isn't very practical. How often should I change the maps? How many maps would go in a rotation?
AoE Debuff and/or single-target damage? You could give them Constricting Slime, devourer spores or similar shockwave-type abilities, or a lifeleech attack to serve as durable meatshields as opposed to the AoE damage of the ultralisk. The problem is with HotS ultralisks have pretty much everything: they can charge, do tons of damage, have structure-level hp, enough armor to shrug off weaker attacks and are among the faster ground units even without creep. Now just make them attack air and not get stuck on ramps, instant gg.
I also had an idea for an Infested Terran macromechanic: "human harvesting" similar to WC3 undead (minus any interaction with enemy corpses): Have a structure periodically spawn cocoons, which can then be collected and either stored or "harvested" for resources. Stored cocoons could be used by the "swarm host" unit, "evolved" into stronger versions or mass-hatched as a last ditch defense (timed life, slow units, limited range ability on the CC to prevent abusive rushing). As long as the system requires user input and can't support a base in itself there shouldn't be a problem with generating free resources until the map is mined out, as MULEs effectively do the same until that point.
In the long run you could expand the system to add more uses and options, like WC3 had meatwagons (mobile storage) and necromancers (resurrect stored corpes=launch eggs/hatch cocoons) and several abilities requiring corpses.
@Photoloss: Go Yes, I feel the same. And as Burrow Charge was added the previous Headbutt ability will be out of the next update. I may add a Ram ability though, to target buildings for extra damage, like Ultras used to have in early WoL. The Hybrids already have Consume DNA and Constricting Slime abiltiies. They have more hp and regenerate faster, but have less armor. Maybe Consume DNA could be their standard weapon?
I have to think about this macro mechanic suggestion. It's very different from the standard ones so I'm not sure it would work as it should.
EDIT: Maps updated on NA today. Check the new Nomad and Blimp abilties. The changes in Protoss Stargate units. Rip-Field Generator nerfed. Burrow Charge needs to be researched and Headbutt was removed.
Here's a demo map with a missile setup for colonists to save you some work. Should be usable for thrown objects with range 1 to 8 or so, but will obviously look odd if the target runs/blinks a large distance. Note that I made the LM effect switch to the standard homing missile when in melee range, as the custom mover would oveshoot the target and curve back. Feel free to use and modify it to your liking (anyone else may also use it, but it's nothing special really)
Consume DNA should be a special ability, but you could give it additional effects/add another ability. Damage increasing debuffs would be my main suggestion, but the effect shouldn't stack to decrease the viability of massing them. Maybe try a shockwave/cone AoE with about +3 damage (shouldn't wreck team games as hybrids are tier 3.5)
They could also leech life through attacks, have a lifedrain aura or WC3 "vamp aura" (nearby allied melee units gain lifesteal, including the caster), which would make them sturdier than ultras. Also make them a lot smaller, that might alleviate the need for a charge/blink (small enough to fit 2 on a standard ramp)
If you implement any of that you'll probably have to decrease their overall damage output, as their basic attack wrecks small units and Consume DNA can burst down resilient priority targets and even hit air units, leaving very few options for counters. Not that consume DNA is viable as anti-air, but it also heals the hybrid, buying time for even minor AA support to take out the flyers before they get their job done.
Can you explain what you feel is "different" about the macro mechanic/what you dislike? The main problem I see (if you're allowed to "harvest" the cocoons) is balancing the steady production rate against the potential for unlimited resources, so maybe "harvesting" shouldn't give resources directly.
About the Hybrid, you have many possible changes there, but first I'd like to settle down with a role. And one that won't overlap with Ultras if possible. To pick one or more changes from your list we need the role. I think it could have good AA as zerg only have Hydras (and in HoTS Swarm Hosts) as ground units with good AA. Will it be one more a-move unit? A dedicated spellcaster? A combat unit with some extra abilities/mechanics? What would be the focus of those mechanics, life steal?
About the macro mechanic: The standard SC2 macro is very simple and based on accelerating harvest rate from minerals. Anything else is already off the base melee gameplay and Id like to avoid it. Don't get me wrong, the idea is very interesting and I'd love to see it in game, like in a infested campaign as an example. But this mod is planned to stick to melee gameplay, while adding/replacing/disabling units and abilities for new and different strategies. So I want a simple solution, as simple as the standard ones. So maybe we can simplify your idea so it could go in the mod.
Infested: A parasite/"facehugger" unit that "incubates" in mineral fields to produce mineral pickups (cocoons/mineral chunks) or a Virophage style unit that dissolves minerals over time, again producing pickups? Note though that Zerg and Protoss macromechanics also are a core part of gameplay, not just a mineral boost, which is why I suggested alternative, more army-focused uses for the cocoons.
Swarm Hosts can't attack air unless I missed something.
Hybrid: What do the Zerg even need? My idea was to go for a more supportive meatshield/"tank" role as the HotS Ultra buffs are focused on offensive use. The Hybrid would be harder to kill (not being armored is a good start), dealing much less direct damage but still punishing the enemy if they don't take it down. Would kind of conflict with roaches and swarm hosts, so giving it AA support abilities might be a good idea actually. I'm not against giving the hybrid AA, I just don't want it to be a grounded battlecruiser.
The only other options I can think of are glass cannons, either full offense (conflicts with Zerglings) or casters (micro heavy, large deviation from original unit, similar to protoss hybrid, Zerg are already getting a new stock caster)
valkyrie in game says they should do 24max damage in game (4 attacks 6vs amoured) but do in fact 104 max damage.
Science vessel's defence matrix does not work
valkyrie and scourge from sc1 quotes should be added and quotes from general warfield (I thought this was a marine; its a white star battlecruiser) should be quotes from sc1 bc or something that is more pleasant to hear
as for the gardian's new role:
perhaps have it move faster (model seems to fit fast motion), has abduct, or reduces enemy's amour/attack speed? model also appears a bit large
hydralisk speed upgrade from 3 to 3.25? i feel that for there cost, supply, and slow speed to begin with there upgraded speed should be faster then the staker's 2.95 and be able to keep up with speedlings
Here's a funny bug - take a bunch of rebels and have them shoot moving spine crawlers. The result? Mass fireworks. I have no idea what's causing it, but personally, I think it's frigin' cool.
Does loading rebels into an APC increase its damage or no? I had someone else click on the APC and its damage was only 10 even with 6 rebels loaded. Unless it doesn't list the modifications, like stimpack and broadcast.
By the way, Agria Valley is forced to do human vs. computer. Can you open up that slot so that it enables two human players?
One more thing - the sound Miners make when mining mineral fields is... I wouldn't mind it if it was just on the initial cast, but the fact that it's continuous makes it annoying and for me to not want to build them. Also, could you make it so their mine ability is by defaulted set to auto-cast, such that you can just send 8 miners to an area and they'll automatically mine the nearby fields?
@Photoloss: GoSwarm Hosts can attack air. I consider Ultras meatshield enough so that role would still overlap. And as zerg has already too many melee options the Hybrid suffers the same problem the WoL Ultra had: It's hard to get to front and engage the enemy. The problem is the Hybrid as it was shown in the campaign was supposed to be a very Ultra-like unit, slower and with some abilities, but still a powerful GTG unit with a lot of health and an area damage. I can't see it as anything else.
So, an ability that creates Cocoons from minerals, so these cocoons can be gathered faster than minerals? Wouldn't it require more workers and microing them to gather the cocoons? These cocoons could be a noe-time-only thing, or actually stay there until depleted.
@FreezingAcidRain: Go I'll check those bugs, thanks. I dont want to add sound files as they will make total file-size huge for this mod. You suggested a Viper ability and the Devourer's special attack for the Guardian, but the Viper will be included and maybe the Devourer as well, so I can't give those to the guardian. And the Hydra speed upgrade will stick to HoTS speed values.
@Vultorask: Go Photoloss is helping me with the Rebel's attack missile. The APC wont get extra damage, the units can attack like in a bunker. Agria Valley will be fixed in the next upgrade. I will check the Miner's ability and sound.
The Rebel fireworks are caused because the weapon uses a seperate effect for structures, targeting the unit itself instead of the ground. Since "ballistic" type movers can't adjust their trajectory mid-flight the missile never has a valid impact. Hilarity ensues.
Units currently only attack from APCs if they're stationary. Changing this (if desired) requires copying the weapons of all viable cargo units, you should get away with only copying the Weapon objects though.
Cocoons: That was the basic idea. Many ways to adjust the micro involved, for example the cocoons could work like the campaign mineral chunks, being collected instantly if a unit walks near them. An AoE hauling ability would add some micro, and of course the most micro-intensive version is that every cocoon must be picked up manually by a worker unit (definitely too much work just for getting minerals)
Hybrid: We're going in circles here. You asked for a proper role, I gave you several suggestions. Now you say you can't accept a non-Ultra role based on the lore. Just nitpicking, but the Hybrid Reaver, unlike the Castanar specimen, doesn't deal area damage but high single-target damage like the Brutalisk, so there's a lore reason to remove the cleave damage.
Valkyrie: Probably an outdated version, but I see 8 missiles for 4+4 damage. The damage effect should exclude "Target" and "Outer" in the AoE search though or the individual AoEs will add up. The attack also doesn't function like the original, the missiles should be launched at local offsets from the position of the target at the time the attack starts.
Defensive Matrix: Casting arcs of 360° default to 0° for some reason, a bug introduced in 1.5. This wrecks a few other abilities too unless I'm mistaken, for example Scivessel Lockdown. Also Def.Matrix restores all shields upon activation instead of a flat 200. Allied carrier pilots and archons will love it.
@morgoth780: Go Ypu're right, they no longer attack air. Can't Blizzard developers make up their minds? ;-)
Also the Carrier is back, so Carrier vs Tempest can't be one of protoss choices anymore. And Oracle lost Preordain, so I'm planning a new AoE version for the Preserver.
@Photoloss: Go Weird enough, when you load an APC into Medivacs or Hercules the units inside it CAN attack, and unless I find a way to fix it, I will have to make APCs unable to be loaded.
But if the cocoons were like the mineral chunks it could lead to cocoon stealing lol. Just an idea, I'm not sure that would happen. I wasn't thinking about making each one be carried by a worker, but make each one harvestable like a mineral patch, so workers would automatically target it just like a standard patch, but it would provide more minerals per trip.
So I'll switch the Hybrid weapon to be the Utter Darkness version for now. I'll change the Valkyrie's attack, it was a bad decision to make it the way I did. The best option is to make it work like Hurricane missiles in which the missiles are only visual and the damage is controlled by separate effects. Thanks for pointing the arc issue, I checked and indeed Defensive Matrix had this problem, but Lockdown didn't. And I already modified Defensive Matrix to always recover 200 shields.
APC: With the setup I know you could put a validator on the cargo behavior (used to switch the weapons) to check the caster/source isn't being transported itself. Assuming that behavior even remains active when a loaded APC enters another transport, otherwise the problem should fix itself.
Cocoons: Can always switch to allow player/allied pickups only :) ; Your idea sounds good too, if you can make the AI aquire them as mineral fields that is...
The arc bug may apply to any unit that can't turn. Motherships are the only one I can think of right now, but there may be more.
You can make the valkyrie weapon function like the original: Make the persistent effect occur at Target Point and add a local offset to every tick to cover a wide area. Make sure the LM and damage target Points as well.
If you're using negative attribute bonuses anywhere those are bust too, the "combine" method now works like "maximum" while "minimum" works like "combine". No idea how they wrecked that in 1.5
Purifier can’t be built if the Core or Mother-ship exists: purifier can only be built at the
Nexus and not form Core or Mother ship (meaning i have to kill my own unit to get the better unit). Also core is not in right place when built
Zerg “frenzy” when targeting units seems to glitch to the side of the main group, meaning I can't place it where I want; it always moves to the side of where I want to place the spell by a small amount.
defler's plague hotkeyed to F instead of L?
Tosh pirates cannot heal biological units
I have tested the Hyperion strike and it would be better if it can move and attack at the same time
Rather than Goliath’s and Thor choice, what about a Goliath and Warhound Choice?
Ultralisk burrow charged when unburrowing is painfully slow, can that time be decrease?
Your thoughts on a UED faction:
-Valkyries
-Advance Goliaths (merchant model) able to shoot air and ground at same time
-Arclite Siege Tank
-unique battle cruiser
Whens the next update for the map going to be released?
@Photoloss: Go I'll try to work on those things, but I won't promise the cocoon mechanics.
@FreezingAcidRain: Go Purifier is intentional, you're not supposed to have one if you have MS / MS Core. As the MS Core will be able to move the point it spawns is irrelevant.
I'll check frenzy (could you send me a screenshot? Is it random?).
Tosh's Pirates and Nova Squadron lack heal, I'm still deciding how to fix it.
Many players consider Hyperion Strike op, I can't allow it to attack while moving, because it makes it easy to call the Hyperion away from the target then move in and destroy everything.
The Warhound was removed from beta, and as it couldn't attack air, that wouldn't be a good option.
I'll make unburrow faster for Burrow Charge, but comparing to beta the move speed is way faster than it should be.
I'm not considering UED or any additional faction for Terran right now.
I cheacked frenzy and when you hover the mouse over a unit it autolocks onto the unit the mouse is closest too. in other wood unlike funga growth you cannot cast the spell between units, one will be picked as the center of the spell.
as for factions, gram and grendel brood don't feel cool enough to play and i feel that tosh pirates faction is the same as nova squadron if not better.
I have played the game for some time, it’s addictive and one of my favorites, and I have some suggestions
IMPORTANT BALANCE SUGESTIONS:
Rip fields op; early and late game protoss would build one near (or far cause it’s long range) enemy base and once complete it destroyers all workers in seconds and tire one units like marines, zerglings or even roaches can’t live long enough to destroy or get near it. Rather than a field that does damage how about a field that slows enemy units or increases shields amour by 1?
Hybrids seem op in general when massed with 800 health, does +40 damage per second with area of effect splash. Should be removed, limited number, or nerved
Dragoon range max range at 7 rather than 8?
Zerg should have an offence AA unit at tier one, perhaps: Scourge form banelings nest or Tier one hydralisk (75minerla 25gas supply1 perhaps damage nerved form 12 to 10) or: A new smaller version of the brutalisk.
OTHER SUGESTIONS:
Raptor at 50 gas and 25 mineral is not economical per unit. It Should be 25 mineral per unit with no gas or an upgrade that applies to all at hive.
Carrier model: when upgrading the 2+ amour change model of the carrier to that of Selendis’s Carrier
Carrier ranged increased upgrade? (or this too op?)
Battlecruiser range to 7 or attack as they move?
Remember the Zerg devourer in BroodWar? Replace the current model of the guardian with custom made one (looks better anyways) and use the guardian (original from SC2) model for the devourer.
Guardian’s supply changed from 4 to 2 (or 3)
ultralisk burrow charge? Also ultra +2 amours is a must
Give all races a main capital ship that they can “always” build; terran’s could be the Hyperion
And of Couse add the custom hots units
In the arcade simpler to that of how hots custom was layed out; option of picking 1vs1 or 2vs2 with map rotation, that map seemed popluar because of that layout over other hots maps where people would rarely play.
@FreezingAcidRain: Go Hi, welcome to SC2Mapster and thanks for taking the time to share your ideas. I always try to answer all questions/suggestions and I write the viable ones down so I can decide later what to do about them based on all suggestions so far.
Balance: Yeah the Rip-Field is op. I nerfed it before but it's still a problem. I'm planning cheges to it though. The Dragoon will be changed soon as it will no longer be an option to Stalkers. It will replace Stalkers for some tribes, such change allows them to be better or worse than Stalkers. Hybrids still need more changes/balance, I'm just not sure which stats should be kept or changed.
For the Zerg AA I can only say I'm not moving standard units down/up tiers or making drastic changes to them. I only change the units that are going to be removed, or change them for a specific Faction/Brood/Tribe, but not in a way that affects the other factions/broods/tribes. Be patient, Zerg will change a lot when HoTS gets released.
Suggestions: The Raptor is under discussion, it isn't a good option to Banelings as the Baneling role is important to Zerg strategies and Raptors are hard to use effectively. There's much discussion to do before I can decide what to do with them.
I'd rather not use Selendis' model for that upgrade, as models are needed for custom units, heroes, "mercenary" versions of standard units and so on, but I may give the alpha Tempest's shield which makes a lot more sense. As the Carrier will be an option to Tempests in HoTS they will have to be balanced against each other, so all stat changes will have to take that into consideration.
No changes planned for BCs, Blizzard already buffed their AG damage for HoTS.
It looks like we are going to get a Devourer model in HoTS ;-) The lack of a proper model kept this unit out for so long.
I have to change the Guardian somehow, not only small tweaks in stats, it needs a new role or maybe something to give it an optional role. I don't find it's a-move role good enough right now.
I added the Burrow Charge because it's going to be standard in HoTS, but of course that can still change. With the release of the beta I need to change a few things about it.
I don't like general changes like giving every race a capital ship. Let's keep the standard tech tree standard. Also lore-wise the Hyperion wouldn't make sense, as it's Raynor's Raiders base of operations, that's why these units go to the factions/broods/tribes they belong to. I don't know if it's worth adding all the HoTS units right now as they will be included anyway later, without the need for custom models or extensive data work.
And you mean I should keep a map rotation? That isn't very practical. How often should I change the maps? How many maps would go in a rotation?
We will see sc expanded on sc2 hots beta?
@DEFILERRULEZ: Go If they enable the arcade yes we are.
EDIT: I realized the Zerg hybrid is too similar in role to the Ultralisk. Any suggestions for a new role?
@SoulFilcher: Go
AoE Debuff and/or single-target damage? You could give them Constricting Slime, devourer spores or similar shockwave-type abilities, or a lifeleech attack to serve as durable meatshields as opposed to the AoE damage of the ultralisk. The problem is with HotS ultralisks have pretty much everything: they can charge, do tons of damage, have structure-level hp, enough armor to shrug off weaker attacks and are among the faster ground units even without creep. Now just make them attack air and not get stuck on ramps, instant gg.
I also had an idea for an Infested Terran macromechanic: "human harvesting" similar to WC3 undead (minus any interaction with enemy corpses): Have a structure periodically spawn cocoons, which can then be collected and either stored or "harvested" for resources. Stored cocoons could be used by the "swarm host" unit, "evolved" into stronger versions or mass-hatched as a last ditch defense (timed life, slow units, limited range ability on the CC to prevent abusive rushing). As long as the system requires user input and can't support a base in itself there shouldn't be a problem with generating free resources until the map is mined out, as MULEs effectively do the same until that point.
In the long run you could expand the system to add more uses and options, like WC3 had meatwagons (mobile storage) and necromancers (resurrect stored corpes=launch eggs/hatch cocoons) and several abilities requiring corpses.
@Photoloss: Go Yes, I feel the same. And as Burrow Charge was added the previous Headbutt ability will be out of the next update. I may add a Ram ability though, to target buildings for extra damage, like Ultras used to have in early WoL. The Hybrids already have Consume DNA and Constricting Slime abiltiies. They have more hp and regenerate faster, but have less armor. Maybe Consume DNA could be their standard weapon?
I have to think about this macro mechanic suggestion. It's very different from the standard ones so I'm not sure it would work as it should.
EDIT: Maps updated on NA today. Check the new Nomad and Blimp abilties. The changes in Protoss Stargate units. Rip-Field Generator nerfed. Burrow Charge needs to be researched and Headbutt was removed.
Hybrid zerg could drain life for all attack inflicted to the enemies
Here's a demo map with a missile setup for colonists to save you some work. Should be usable for thrown objects with range 1 to 8 or so, but will obviously look odd if the target runs/blinks a large distance. Note that I made the LM effect switch to the standard homing missile when in melee range, as the custom mover would oveshoot the target and curve back. Feel free to use and modify it to your liking (anyone else may also use it, but it's nothing special really)
Consume DNA should be a special ability, but you could give it additional effects/add another ability. Damage increasing debuffs would be my main suggestion, but the effect shouldn't stack to decrease the viability of massing them. Maybe try a shockwave/cone AoE with about +3 damage (shouldn't wreck team games as hybrids are tier 3.5)
They could also leech life through attacks, have a lifedrain aura or WC3 "vamp aura" (nearby allied melee units gain lifesteal, including the caster), which would make them sturdier than ultras. Also make them a lot smaller, that might alleviate the need for a charge/blink (small enough to fit 2 on a standard ramp)
If you implement any of that you'll probably have to decrease their overall damage output, as their basic attack wrecks small units and Consume DNA can burst down resilient priority targets and even hit air units, leaving very few options for counters. Not that consume DNA is viable as anti-air, but it also heals the hybrid, buying time for even minor AA support to take out the flyers before they get their job done.
Can you explain what you feel is "different" about the macro mechanic/what you dislike? The main problem I see (if you're allowed to "harvest" the cocoons) is balancing the steady production rate against the potential for unlimited resources, so maybe "harvesting" shouldn't give resources directly.
@Photoloss: Go Thanks, I'll try your map.
About the Hybrid, you have many possible changes there, but first I'd like to settle down with a role. And one that won't overlap with Ultras if possible. To pick one or more changes from your list we need the role. I think it could have good AA as zerg only have Hydras (and in HoTS Swarm Hosts) as ground units with good AA. Will it be one more a-move unit? A dedicated spellcaster? A combat unit with some extra abilities/mechanics? What would be the focus of those mechanics, life steal?
About the macro mechanic: The standard SC2 macro is very simple and based on accelerating harvest rate from minerals. Anything else is already off the base melee gameplay and Id like to avoid it. Don't get me wrong, the idea is very interesting and I'd love to see it in game, like in a infested campaign as an example. But this mod is planned to stick to melee gameplay, while adding/replacing/disabling units and abilities for new and different strategies. So I want a simple solution, as simple as the standard ones. So maybe we can simplify your idea so it could go in the mod.
Infested: A parasite/"facehugger" unit that "incubates" in mineral fields to produce mineral pickups (cocoons/mineral chunks) or a Virophage style unit that dissolves minerals over time, again producing pickups? Note though that Zerg and Protoss macromechanics also are a core part of gameplay, not just a mineral boost, which is why I suggested alternative, more army-focused uses for the cocoons.
Swarm Hosts can't attack air unless I missed something.
Hybrid: What do the Zerg even need? My idea was to go for a more supportive meatshield/"tank" role as the HotS Ultra buffs are focused on offensive use. The Hybrid would be harder to kill (not being armored is a good start), dealing much less direct damage but still punishing the enemy if they don't take it down. Would kind of conflict with roaches and swarm hosts, so giving it AA support abilities might be a good idea actually. I'm not against giving the hybrid AA, I just don't want it to be a grounded battlecruiser.
The only other options I can think of are glass cannons, either full offense (conflicts with Zerglings) or casters (micro heavy, large deviation from original unit, similar to protoss hybrid, Zerg are already getting a new stock caster)
valkyrie in game says they should do 24max damage in game (4 attacks 6vs amoured) but do in fact 104 max damage. Science vessel's defence matrix does not work
valkyrie and scourge from sc1 quotes should be added and quotes from general warfield (I thought this was a marine; its a white star battlecruiser) should be quotes from sc1 bc or something that is more pleasant to hear
as for the gardian's new role: perhaps have it move faster (model seems to fit fast motion), has abduct, or reduces enemy's amour/attack speed? model also appears a bit large
hydralisk speed upgrade from 3 to 3.25? i feel that for there cost, supply, and slow speed to begin with there upgraded speed should be faster then the staker's 2.95 and be able to keep up with speedlings
Here's a funny bug - take a bunch of rebels and have them shoot moving spine crawlers. The result? Mass fireworks. I have no idea what's causing it, but personally, I think it's frigin' cool.
Does loading rebels into an APC increase its damage or no? I had someone else click on the APC and its damage was only 10 even with 6 rebels loaded. Unless it doesn't list the modifications, like stimpack and broadcast.
By the way, Agria Valley is forced to do human vs. computer. Can you open up that slot so that it enables two human players?
One more thing - the sound Miners make when mining mineral fields is... I wouldn't mind it if it was just on the initial cast, but the fact that it's continuous makes it annoying and for me to not want to build them. Also, could you make it so their mine ability is by defaulted set to auto-cast, such that you can just send 8 miners to an area and they'll automatically mine the nearby fields?
@Photoloss: GoSwarm Hosts can attack air. I consider Ultras meatshield enough so that role would still overlap. And as zerg has already too many melee options the Hybrid suffers the same problem the WoL Ultra had: It's hard to get to front and engage the enemy. The problem is the Hybrid as it was shown in the campaign was supposed to be a very Ultra-like unit, slower and with some abilities, but still a powerful GTG unit with a lot of health and an area damage. I can't see it as anything else.
So, an ability that creates Cocoons from minerals, so these cocoons can be gathered faster than minerals? Wouldn't it require more workers and microing them to gather the cocoons? These cocoons could be a noe-time-only thing, or actually stay there until depleted.
@FreezingAcidRain: Go I'll check those bugs, thanks. I dont want to add sound files as they will make total file-size huge for this mod. You suggested a Viper ability and the Devourer's special attack for the Guardian, but the Viper will be included and maybe the Devourer as well, so I can't give those to the guardian. And the Hydra speed upgrade will stick to HoTS speed values.
@Vultorask: Go Photoloss is helping me with the Rebel's attack missile. The APC wont get extra damage, the units can attack like in a bunker. Agria Valley will be fixed in the next upgrade. I will check the Miner's ability and sound.
@SoulFilcher: Go
originally, swarm hosts could attack air, but it was nerfed, so it does only attack ground now.
The Rebel fireworks are caused because the weapon uses a seperate effect for structures, targeting the unit itself instead of the ground. Since "ballistic" type movers can't adjust their trajectory mid-flight the missile never has a valid impact. Hilarity ensues.
Units currently only attack from APCs if they're stationary. Changing this (if desired) requires copying the weapons of all viable cargo units, you should get away with only copying the Weapon objects though.
Cocoons: That was the basic idea. Many ways to adjust the micro involved, for example the cocoons could work like the campaign mineral chunks, being collected instantly if a unit walks near them. An AoE hauling ability would add some micro, and of course the most micro-intensive version is that every cocoon must be picked up manually by a worker unit (definitely too much work just for getting minerals)
Hybrid: We're going in circles here. You asked for a proper role, I gave you several suggestions. Now you say you can't accept a non-Ultra role based on the lore. Just nitpicking, but the Hybrid Reaver, unlike the Castanar specimen, doesn't deal area damage but high single-target damage like the Brutalisk, so there's a lore reason to remove the cleave damage.
Valkyrie: Probably an outdated version, but I see 8 missiles for 4+4 damage. The damage effect should exclude "Target" and "Outer" in the AoE search though or the individual AoEs will add up. The attack also doesn't function like the original, the missiles should be launched at local offsets from the position of the target at the time the attack starts.
Defensive Matrix: Casting arcs of 360° default to 0° for some reason, a bug introduced in 1.5. This wrecks a few other abilities too unless I'm mistaken, for example Scivessel Lockdown. Also Def.Matrix restores all shields upon activation instead of a flat 200. Allied carrier pilots and archons will love it.
@morgoth780: Go Ypu're right, they no longer attack air. Can't Blizzard developers make up their minds? ;-)
Also the Carrier is back, so Carrier vs Tempest can't be one of protoss choices anymore. And Oracle lost Preordain, so I'm planning a new AoE version for the Preserver.
@Photoloss: Go Weird enough, when you load an APC into Medivacs or Hercules the units inside it CAN attack, and unless I find a way to fix it, I will have to make APCs unable to be loaded.
But if the cocoons were like the mineral chunks it could lead to cocoon stealing lol. Just an idea, I'm not sure that would happen. I wasn't thinking about making each one be carried by a worker, but make each one harvestable like a mineral patch, so workers would automatically target it just like a standard patch, but it would provide more minerals per trip.
So I'll switch the Hybrid weapon to be the Utter Darkness version for now. I'll change the Valkyrie's attack, it was a bad decision to make it the way I did. The best option is to make it work like Hurricane missiles in which the missiles are only visual and the damage is controlled by separate effects. Thanks for pointing the arc issue, I checked and indeed Defensive Matrix had this problem, but Lockdown didn't. And I already modified Defensive Matrix to always recover 200 shields.
APC: With the setup I know you could put a validator on the cargo behavior (used to switch the weapons) to check the caster/source isn't being transported itself. Assuming that behavior even remains active when a loaded APC enters another transport, otherwise the problem should fix itself.
Cocoons: Can always switch to allow player/allied pickups only :) ; Your idea sounds good too, if you can make the AI aquire them as mineral fields that is...
The arc bug may apply to any unit that can't turn. Motherships are the only one I can think of right now, but there may be more.
You can make the valkyrie weapon function like the original: Make the persistent effect occur at Target Point and add a local offset to every tick to cover a wide area. Make sure the LM and damage target Points as well.
If you're using negative attribute bonuses anywhere those are bust too, the "combine" method now works like "maximum" while "minimum" works like "combine". No idea how they wrecked that in 1.5
Purifier can’t be built if the Core or Mother-ship exists: purifier can only be built at the Nexus and not form Core or Mother ship (meaning i have to kill my own unit to get the better unit). Also core is not in right place when built
Zerg “frenzy” when targeting units seems to glitch to the side of the main group, meaning I can't place it where I want; it always moves to the side of where I want to place the spell by a small amount.
defler's plague hotkeyed to F instead of L?
Tosh pirates cannot heal biological units
I have tested the Hyperion strike and it would be better if it can move and attack at the same time
Rather than Goliath’s and Thor choice, what about a Goliath and Warhound Choice?
Ultralisk burrow charged when unburrowing is painfully slow, can that time be decrease?
Your thoughts on a UED faction:
-Valkyries
-Advance Goliaths (merchant model) able to shoot air and ground at same time
-Arclite Siege Tank
-unique battle cruiser
Whens the next update for the map going to be released?
link for the Arclite Siege Tank: http://www.sc2mapster.com/assets/arclite-siege-tank/
@Photoloss: Go I'll try to work on those things, but I won't promise the cocoon mechanics.
@FreezingAcidRain: Go Purifier is intentional, you're not supposed to have one if you have MS / MS Core. As the MS Core will be able to move the point it spawns is irrelevant.
I'll check frenzy (could you send me a screenshot? Is it random?).
Tosh's Pirates and Nova Squadron lack heal, I'm still deciding how to fix it.
Many players consider Hyperion Strike op, I can't allow it to attack while moving, because it makes it easy to call the Hyperion away from the target then move in and destroy everything.
The Warhound was removed from beta, and as it couldn't attack air, that wouldn't be a good option.
I'll make unburrow faster for Burrow Charge, but comparing to beta the move speed is way faster than it should be.
I'm not considering UED or any additional faction for Terran right now.
@SoulFilcher: Go
I cheacked frenzy and when you hover the mouse over a unit it autolocks onto the unit the mouse is closest too. in other wood unlike funga growth you cannot cast the spell between units, one will be picked as the center of the spell. as for factions, gram and grendel brood don't feel cool enough to play and i feel that tosh pirates faction is the same as nova squadron if not better.
also nova doesn't respawn