http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/624/fansite-Q-A-with-dustin-browder
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Medic + Dropship = Medivac Dropship
As we discussed different types of movement, we started talking about the new Medivac Dropship, the combination of the Medic and the Dropship into one unit. As Dustin explained before, the reason for the change was that M&Ms (Marines and Medics) would still be better than Reapers, as Medics are unable to jump with them, and they are not as strong alone as M&M combined, thus making the Reaper almost useless.
This change gives a greater flexibility according to Dustin. Still, in the discussion he said he was on the fence on the issue. People love the Medic (its a girl!), and they are also unsure of where they want to put it in the tech tree. They could make it an upgrade, but that goes against the principle to make every type of action or counter as visible as possible. They would either make two Dropships, or making one that has healing from the start. No "invisible" upgrades.
Still, the concept of having a ship healing ground units feel a bit silly to me, and the current graphics of a regular Dropship doing it surely does not help. Dusting said: "Looks are a minor issue, those will of course be upgraded to look more like an ambulance ship, that sends down small robots, or something, like properly animating the healing. Perhaps changing the unit's name, that is no big deal, I am more concerned about the mechanic, if that works, etc". An example that would make it really powerful is having Dropships with Marines popping out, wrecking havoc and being healed.
The dev team is generally looking to have as few types of units as possible in the game, and a type of strategy similar to chess. It should be easy to see what your opponent is doing, and giving you the option on how to counter it. Having a game that clearly shows what is actually happening is what makes it most fun for everyone involved. It seemed very clear that Browder implied that combining Dropships and Medics is here to stay.
As we discussed different types of movement, we started talking about the new Medivac Dropship, the combination of the Medic and the Dropship into one unit. As Dustin explained before, the reason for the change was that M&Ms (Marines and Medics) would still be better than Reapers, as Medics are unable to jump with them, and they are not as strong alone as M&M combined, thus making the Reaper almost useless.
This change gives a greater flexibility according to Dustin. Still, in the discussion he said he was on the fence on the issue. People love the Medic (its a girl!), and they are also unsure of where they want to put it in the tech tree. They could make it an upgrade, but that goes against the principle to make every type of action or counter as visible as possible. They would either make two Dropships, or making one that has healing from the start. No "invisible" upgrades.
Still, the concept of having a ship healing ground units feel a bit silly to me, and the current graphics of a regular Dropship doing it surely does not help. Dusting said: "Looks are a minor issue, those will of course be upgraded to look more like an ambulance ship, that sends down small robots, or something, like properly animating the healing. Perhaps changing the unit's name, that is no big deal, I am more concerned about the mechanic, if that works, etc". An example that would make it really powerful is having Dropships with Marines popping out, wrecking havoc and being healed.
The dev team is generally looking to have as few types of units as possible in the game, and a type of strategy similar to chess. It should be easy to see what your opponent is doing, and giving you the option on how to counter it. Having a game that clearly shows what is actually happening is what makes it most fun for everyone involved. It seemed very clear that Browder implied that combining Dropships and Medics is here to stay.
http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/634/chris-sigaty-interview
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Morten
I have just been wondering about this entire process behind this, and I'll be damned to play a lot of StarCraft now, but I have been playing a lot of World of Warcraft and I have been following what has been going on in the Blizzard forums and all that and it is just quite interesting to see that a lot of people are complaining about that their voices are not being heard, and I suppose they are, but it seems like you're having a very long run revision process in terms of balancing and such things.
Chris
We're not even in the beta, when we're in beta we will be reacting even more so to what people are saying. But we are already acting, I think it was late last week we put up some screenshots that were really a reaction to what the hardcore community was thinking about the art. And we're trying our best to do all that while still moving forward.
I have just been wondering about this entire process behind this, and I'll be damned to play a lot of StarCraft now, but I have been playing a lot of World of Warcraft and I have been following what has been going on in the Blizzard forums and all that and it is just quite interesting to see that a lot of people are complaining about that their voices are not being heard, and I suppose they are, but it seems like you're having a very long run revision process in terms of balancing and such things.
Chris
We're not even in the beta, when we're in beta we will be reacting even more so to what people are saying. But we are already acting, I think it was late last week we put up some screenshots that were really a reaction to what the hardcore community was thinking about the art. And we're trying our best to do all that while still moving forward.
The first one with Dustin is more of a summary of their Q/A and should be taken lightly as they may be interpreting some of the things he said or implied wrongly but the second one is a direct interview open for interpretation.
None.
