Despite my best efforts, I have been unable to replicate my lone Brutal victory. (EDITS: Three wins now, my original, one due to three Fusion Cores and great teammates, the other with a Beacon rush.) I am beginning to think it is too difficult. I have played a number of organized four-player Brutal runs. We all are well-versed in the game and Brutal mode, and have a strategy set out.
There are three main problems confronting players:
Basing: It is extremely hard to clear an area and set up a base. Because you have no other base to start with, you have to budget time taken by running from the ship to the location and back. Once there, it is hard to set up turrets because even if you are a tad too close, you must waste 30 seconds running. You much slowly crawl through the area, setting up turrets, and repairing whenever you draw in the Zerg. Once you finally clear the area, there will be no time to set up a viable defense, and so you run back. The primary problem is how much time is wasted running from Zerg, and how long it takes to set up defenses at a new location. You often have to dedicate an entire day. Between this and mining, there is a huge premium on time. Another irk is that is takes a LONG time to empty a Vespene Geyser. With the time taken traveling there and building the Refinery, it often takes the entire day and even part of the next day to drain it. I don't think that much could be done to change the basing cycle - it's simply what is required to set up a base. Solutions: -shorten Tesla Coil build time? -slightly longer days?
Fusion Cores: Victory or defeat literally depends on finding a Fusion Core. Fusion Core or bust, period. But they are extremely rare. WE generally get to scout 85% of the map with Resource Stockpiles but the time we lose, yet we rarely see a Core. Without Big Berthas/Minigun-Turrets, the Ultralisk wave spells defeat. With four skilled players, money is hardly ever a problem, with each of us amassing up to 1k/1k each (plus defenses) by the Roach wave. But we cannot efficiently turn that money into defenses. Tesla Coils are far too time-consuming to mass long-term, Siege Tanks do friendly fire damage, and Auto-Turrets have short range, meaning that they must be put at the very front, but their large footprint prohibits massing. Photon Cannons waste projectiles on the same target and have an unforgivably long reload time. The Fusion Core offers the ONLY solution. (note: I have yet to try Zerg tech. Do they offer a solution? Otherwise: -make Fusion Cores slightly more common? -upgrades that enhance our turrets? (coming soon?)
KO Wave: As stated in the last section, the Ultra wave=GG. Because each wave focuses on the new, most powerful unit, the later waves are absurdly powerful. In one game, we failed to find a Core and a couple of us died. The remaining players simply massed Tesla Coils at the ship until the area inside the preset Barricades was virtually full and their supply was maxed. I estimate we had about 60-70 Teslas. Even with the healing power of the ship, the defenses were overrun by Ultralisks with a full minute to spare. Simply put: the new focused wave idea makes the later waves insanely powerful. I doubt the Ultralisk wave could be beaten with less than a wall of Bunkers, 30-50 Teslas, 5-7 Big Berthas, and an insane battery of Restorers. Although this also affects normal, this spawn rate is so much lower the effect is marginal. The new mechanic is cool, but either needs to be stripped out or toned down.
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Conclusions:
The first problem I see as simply one of the innate challenges of Brutal. Bases are extremely hard to set up. This can be really fun to overcome, but also a drag. Shortening Tesla Coil build time would help make basing more reasonable without taking away the challenge. Siege Tanks cannot always be counted upon because they require a Factory.
With the resource buffs (way more minerals and gas around), money is not an obstacle, but spending it is. In particular, there are tons of Rich Mineral Fields. Could you replace some of the Rich Mineral Fields with Fusion Cores? Or lower the overall amount of resources and bump up Fusion Cores. Considering all the Zerg we would have to clear to reach it, plus the fact that it cannot Liftoff, I think making them a bit more common is reasonable. I liked your comment on the SC2 forum thread about having an infinite tech tree, but right now getting a Fusion Core is a must, not something optional.
This one is the new, big problem. The new wave mechanic is amplifies the later waves far too much. The late-game units are individually so powerful that they are unstoppable when massed. I like the new wave mechanic conceptually, but it needs to either be greatly toned down (at least during the later waves) or eliminated.
NOTE: I have not tried Zerg Tech. I have MC'd a Drone, but I noticed that I cannot build normal buildings on my own Creep, so I abandoned my Zerg stuff.
There are three main problems confronting players:
Basing: It is extremely hard to clear an area and set up a base. Because you have no other base to start with, you have to budget time taken by running from the ship to the location and back. Once there, it is hard to set up turrets because even if you are a tad too close, you must waste 30 seconds running. You much slowly crawl through the area, setting up turrets, and repairing whenever you draw in the Zerg. Once you finally clear the area, there will be no time to set up a viable defense, and so you run back. The primary problem is how much time is wasted running from Zerg, and how long it takes to set up defenses at a new location. You often have to dedicate an entire day. Between this and mining, there is a huge premium on time. Another irk is that is takes a LONG time to empty a Vespene Geyser. With the time taken traveling there and building the Refinery, it often takes the entire day and even part of the next day to drain it. I don't think that much could be done to change the basing cycle - it's simply what is required to set up a base. Solutions: -shorten Tesla Coil build time? -slightly longer days?
Fusion Cores: Victory or defeat literally depends on finding a Fusion Core. Fusion Core or bust, period. But they are extremely rare. WE generally get to scout 85% of the map with Resource Stockpiles but the time we lose, yet we rarely see a Core. Without Big Berthas/Minigun-Turrets, the Ultralisk wave spells defeat. With four skilled players, money is hardly ever a problem, with each of us amassing up to 1k/1k each (plus defenses) by the Roach wave. But we cannot efficiently turn that money into defenses. Tesla Coils are far too time-consuming to mass long-term, Siege Tanks do friendly fire damage, and Auto-Turrets have short range, meaning that they must be put at the very front, but their large footprint prohibits massing. Photon Cannons waste projectiles on the same target and have an unforgivably long reload time. The Fusion Core offers the ONLY solution. (note: I have yet to try Zerg tech. Do they offer a solution? Otherwise: -make Fusion Cores slightly more common? -upgrades that enhance our turrets? (coming soon?)
KO Wave: As stated in the last section, the Ultra wave=GG. Because each wave focuses on the new, most powerful unit, the later waves are absurdly powerful. In one game, we failed to find a Core and a couple of us died. The remaining players simply massed Tesla Coils at the ship until the area inside the preset Barricades was virtually full and their supply was maxed. I estimate we had about 60-70 Teslas. Even with the healing power of the ship, the defenses were overrun by Ultralisks with a full minute to spare. Simply put: the new focused wave idea makes the later waves insanely powerful. I doubt the Ultralisk wave could be beaten with less than a wall of Bunkers, 30-50 Teslas, 5-7 Big Berthas, and an insane battery of Restorers. Although this also affects normal, this spawn rate is so much lower the effect is marginal. The new mechanic is cool, but either needs to be stripped out or toned down.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusions:
The first problem I see as simply one of the innate challenges of Brutal. Bases are extremely hard to set up. This can be really fun to overcome, but also a drag. Shortening Tesla Coil build time would help make basing more reasonable without taking away the challenge. Siege Tanks cannot always be counted upon because they require a Factory.
With the resource buffs (way more minerals and gas around), money is not an obstacle, but spending it is. In particular, there are tons of Rich Mineral Fields. Could you replace some of the Rich Mineral Fields with Fusion Cores? Or lower the overall amount of resources and bump up Fusion Cores. Considering all the Zerg we would have to clear to reach it, plus the fact that it cannot Liftoff, I think making them a bit more common is reasonable. I liked your comment on the SC2 forum thread about having an infinite tech tree, but right now getting a Fusion Core is a must, not something optional.
This one is the new, big problem. The new wave mechanic is amplifies the later waves far too much. The late-game units are individually so powerful that they are unstoppable when massed. I like the new wave mechanic conceptually, but it needs to either be greatly toned down (at least during the later waves) or eliminated.
NOTE: I have not tried Zerg Tech. I have MC'd a Drone, but I noticed that I cannot build normal buildings on my own Creep, so I abandoned my Zerg stuff.
Last edited by Starke on Mon Jan 24, 2011 12:36 am; edited 1 time in total
Thanks for finding this.