This is an ambitious project to create a mod that let the player choose between the micro or the macro management of a match.
The basic idea is that a match always consists of 2 players vs 2 other players and every squad is composed by a player that only works on macro mechanics (as building construction, tower positioning, tiers and expansions) and an other player that only plays with micro mechanics (as hero management, creeps, unit selection, upgrades etc). Every squad starts at the SAME location with the SAME starting units: the difference is that the macro player has access to the workers and starts collecting resources while the micro player has access to the hero (that can be bought instantly) and 2/3 footmen and begins to explore the map and to creep.
Though I wanted to create a map by myself and see if someone else would like to join me, I must admit that this project is very complicated and ambitious and I'll never be able to handle it. So I simply decided to expose my ideas and let the community play with them maybe it will have no success at all, but I can see much potential in the general concept.
If you want to read on, I'll expose the basic concepts of a Micro/Macro match.
- Unit Accessibility
There are support buildings (as the town halls, houses or towers) and war buildings (as the barracks, workshops or altars).
The macro player has only access to workers and support buildings; the micro player has only access to heroes, war units and war buildings.
The macro player can build and repair all buildings, but in the moment that a worker finishes to build a war building, the ownership of that building goes to the micro player.
- Resource Management
The macro player has only access to the resources obtained through workers' labour i.e., gold-mining and wood-cutting.
The micro player has only access to the resources obatined through creeping, pillage (all war units have this passive ability by default) and enemies' killing (the more expensive is a killed unit, the more resources you get from killing it. Heroes' killings are much valuable).
- Unit Creation
Workers cost gold as usual; however, all war units are for free. That is, the micro player doesn't need to collect gold to make a footman or a rifleman: if he queues them, a barrack will finally train all of them! It's something quite similar to Footmen Frenzy.
The first hero is trained instantly, but requires time to be revived. Other heroes cannot be trained for free but require resources.
- Food Limits
The micro player has no food limit at all; the macro player, instead, has a food limit and needs to build houses. All houses can contain up to 4 workers, just as the orc's burrow. If a house is empty, it consumes nothing: but once a worker is inside, the house begins to consume a bit of wood every 10 seconds: the more workers are inside, the more wood it consumes. Now, you can ask why to put workers inside: the answer is that having workers inside one or more houses decreases the time needed by a war building to train a unit! (the opposite is also true: the more war buildings training something, the more the training time is increased). This is a simple way to help your partner, while forcing you to train workers and collect resources.
[I know you can't change the training time of a unit by triggers, but I like this mechanic and it's a simple way to balance things].
- Micro Upgrades
As I said, the micro player can get resources through creeps and kills. This resources can later be spent on objects or upgrades thanks to a blacksmith. War abilities can also be upgraded in the same way: this mechanic promotes aggressivity instead of turtling and waiting for an enormous army
- Macro Strategies
The macro player can choose when to change tier, allowing the micro player to gain access to new upgrades and abilities. Expansions are also different ways to improve your income and your army's effectiveness. Furthermore, you have access to towers for defensive/harassing purpose.
This is just a general sketch with some rough ideas; nothing is final or perfectly balanced but I can sense much potential in it. Well, if you read through all this wall of text, plz post me a suggestion! thx to you all for your contributions
The basic idea is that a match always consists of 2 players vs 2 other players and every squad is composed by a player that only works on macro mechanics (as building construction, tower positioning, tiers and expansions) and an other player that only plays with micro mechanics (as hero management, creeps, unit selection, upgrades etc). Every squad starts at the SAME location with the SAME starting units: the difference is that the macro player has access to the workers and starts collecting resources while the micro player has access to the hero (that can be bought instantly) and 2/3 footmen and begins to explore the map and to creep.
Though I wanted to create a map by myself and see if someone else would like to join me, I must admit that this project is very complicated and ambitious and I'll never be able to handle it. So I simply decided to expose my ideas and let the community play with them maybe it will have no success at all, but I can see much potential in the general concept.
If you want to read on, I'll expose the basic concepts of a Micro/Macro match.
- Unit Accessibility
There are support buildings (as the town halls, houses or towers) and war buildings (as the barracks, workshops or altars).
The macro player has only access to workers and support buildings; the micro player has only access to heroes, war units and war buildings.
The macro player can build and repair all buildings, but in the moment that a worker finishes to build a war building, the ownership of that building goes to the micro player.
- Resource Management
The macro player has only access to the resources obtained through workers' labour i.e., gold-mining and wood-cutting.
The micro player has only access to the resources obatined through creeping, pillage (all war units have this passive ability by default) and enemies' killing (the more expensive is a killed unit, the more resources you get from killing it. Heroes' killings are much valuable).
- Unit Creation
Workers cost gold as usual; however, all war units are for free. That is, the micro player doesn't need to collect gold to make a footman or a rifleman: if he queues them, a barrack will finally train all of them! It's something quite similar to Footmen Frenzy.
The first hero is trained instantly, but requires time to be revived. Other heroes cannot be trained for free but require resources.
- Food Limits
The micro player has no food limit at all; the macro player, instead, has a food limit and needs to build houses. All houses can contain up to 4 workers, just as the orc's burrow. If a house is empty, it consumes nothing: but once a worker is inside, the house begins to consume a bit of wood every 10 seconds: the more workers are inside, the more wood it consumes. Now, you can ask why to put workers inside: the answer is that having workers inside one or more houses decreases the time needed by a war building to train a unit! (the opposite is also true: the more war buildings training something, the more the training time is increased). This is a simple way to help your partner, while forcing you to train workers and collect resources.
[I know you can't change the training time of a unit by triggers, but I like this mechanic and it's a simple way to balance things].
- Micro Upgrades
As I said, the micro player can get resources through creeps and kills. This resources can later be spent on objects or upgrades thanks to a blacksmith. War abilities can also be upgraded in the same way: this mechanic promotes aggressivity instead of turtling and waiting for an enormous army
- Macro Strategies
The macro player can choose when to change tier, allowing the micro player to gain access to new upgrades and abilities. Expansions are also different ways to improve your income and your army's effectiveness. Furthermore, you have access to towers for defensive/harassing purpose.
This is just a general sketch with some rough ideas; nothing is final or perfectly balanced but I can sense much potential in it. Well, if you read through all this wall of text, plz post me a suggestion! thx to you all for your contributions