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but then why tie people down with minutia that only matters to newbies? forcing people to get over the hump of learning to mine perfectly is silly. also: you

but then why tie people down with minutia that only matters to newbies? forcing people to get over the hump of learning to mine perfectly is silly. also: you should try Go if you haven't ever played it.

Dove 17y ago
How rudely dismissive! The minutia do not only matter to newbies; they are the elements from which the larger game is built. Knowing how to do basic things correctly is the starting point. From there, you understand what it means to stop your opponent from executing correctly, and how to preserve your own ability. In a good game, rarely is one building perfectly without interference. The game is as complex as it needs to be in order to be the game that it is. I mean, chess might be easier to learn with half the pieces, and would likely demonstrate some of the same principles, but it would not be the same game. Is the complexity justified? Well, I think it's a good game, and though it's taken me years to learn it, I find it rewarding to know. Your mileage may vary; I do not particularly care for chess. Ultimately, whether you find it a "good game" is the only judgement I think is really valid.
lotharbot 17y ago
Mining "perfectly" only matters against top-level competition. Otherwise, just pointing a decent number of harvesters toward the resources (SC) or setting workers on auto (Civ) is good enough. So you have it exactly backwards; mining efficiency doesn't matter much to newbies. As for why resource mining / management even exists: from a warfare perspective, because you can only fight as long as you have the tools to fight with. From a gameplay perspective, because acquiring resources provides a major motivation for leaving your secure base, and the cost and risk associated with setting up a secondary base (versus using the same resources for some other objective like attacking an enemy position) provides a major decision point. Learning the tools -- how to harvest, how to build units, how much your units cost, etc. -- is newbie stuff. The real game is in setting yourself up to win the war through the engagements you choose. The real game is in deciding which resources and technologies to pursue, when and where to engage your enemy with which forces, what risks to take at what time, how to respond to failures, what sacrifices to make for the sake of an objective (intelligence, delaying an enemy, destroying or acquiring something, etc.), recognizing the right time to press an advantage, and so on. It is the stuff of warfare, and the stuff of life. Far from an Excel optimization exercise, it's a rich multi-dimensional decision space with several paths to victory based on numerous factors that can vary from game to game. That's why my wife and I still play Starcraft after twelve years.

Dove 17y ago

How rudely dismissive! The minutia do not only matter to newbies; they are the elements from which the larger game is built. Knowing how to do basic things correctly is the starting point. From there, you understand what it means to stop your opponent from executing correctly, and how to preserve your own ability. In a good game, rarely is one building perfectly without interference. The game is as complex as it needs to be in order to be the game that it is. I mean, chess might be easier to learn with half the pieces, and would likely demonstrate some of the same principles, but it would not be the same game. Is the complexity justified? Well, I think it's a good game, and though it's taken me years to learn it, I find it rewarding to know. Your mileage may vary; I do not particularly care for chess. Ultimately, whether you find it a "good game" is the only judgement I think is really valid.

lotharbot 17y ago

Mining "perfectly" only matters against top-level competition. Otherwise, just pointing a decent number of harvesters toward the resources (SC) or setting workers on auto (Civ) is good enough. So you have it exactly backwards; mining efficiency doesn't matter much to newbies. As for why resource mining / management even exists: from a warfare perspective, because you can only fight as long as you have the tools to fight with. From a gameplay perspective, because acquiring resources provides a major motivation for leaving your secure base, and the cost and risk associated with setting up a secondary base (versus using the same resources for some other objective like attacking an enemy position) provides a major decision point. Learning the tools -- how to harvest, how to build units, how much your units cost, etc. -- is newbie stuff. The real game is in setting yourself up to win the war through the engagements you choose. The real game is in deciding which resources and technologies to pursue, when and where to engage your enemy with which forces, what risks to take at what time, how to respond to failures, what sacrifices to make for the sake of an objective (intelligence, delaying an enemy, destroying or acquiring something, etc.), recognizing the right time to press an advantage, and so on. It is the stuff of warfare, and the stuff of life. Far from an Excel optimization exercise, it's a rich multi-dimensional decision space with several paths to victory based on numerous factors that can vary from game to game. That's why my wife and I still play Starcraft after twelve years.