Reducing Time-To-Action Length in BA

[Mav]

What is the problem: The amount of time before actual combat starts in BA is too long. Game start is boring.

Goals: Implement way(s) that speed up the game start without ruining its fantastic balance.

Description:
The first 2 or 3 minutes of BA can be fairly boring. The "standard" start strategy involves building:

-3 mexes
-2 solars
-LLT (or 2)
-Lab of choice
-2 more solars
-Rushing a con to guard your base
-Time to com push!

By this point you've used all your resources. The irony of this is that right as you are actually ready to build units, you are not able to as you have just metal-stalled.

Specific solutions:

-Mexes build faster
Not much is going to be upset in the balance if mex building time is set to 3 seconds or so. This game is about fighting, not about constructing buildings (someone feel free to quote this with Lolwut). Time spent building mexes at start just feels wasted. A modified solution is that decreased mex building time is only give to coms. This speeds up game start, increases expansion via com push, and prevents air cons from becoming too OP.

-First base comes with small energy production.
Not much, but maybe 40 E or so. This allows you to build a base and start expanding more easily. A modified version of this: first base comes with 2 solars attached.

First base comes with free con
This is probably my favorite idea. It frees startup resources, allows expansion to occur faster, and provides a unit that most RTS games provide free at the start.

First lab is instant-build and free of cost
I believe this is what XTA uses? Basically, FIRST thing you do it pick your lab and build it. It is instant-build and costs nothing. THEN you start building your startup eco of mexes and solars. It allows for quicker expansion and fighting. Makes early Jeffy/Flea/Scout rush much easier, but it also allows it to be countered easily (as the defending player could have just as easily built scouts to defend his own base - same as how an LLT is a cheap, easy defense).A modified version of this is to make it instant-build but not free. This doesn't upset the general balance of the game because while all labs build in about the same time, they each have different costs. Now costs are taken into account.

This is only a handful of ideas. I'd be willing to see other ideas by those more creative than me, or also general advice or feeling about the entire concept behind all of this.

-Do you feel like game startup time should be decreased?
-Do you have ideas/suggestions about my ideas?
-Do you have ideas/suggestions of your own?

/Whenever I make one of these big, game-changing idea posts I'm usually too nervous to check for a while. I'll see you guys in a couple days.

[Jazcash]

Cool another person new to BA.

Cool, another thread suggesting silly changes to BA when TFC is perma-afk.

[JohannesH]

All those suggestions totally revamp game balance, no thanks

Most games I dont have a solid plan set up before I start it, so it gives me a moment to think.

Also... This is a game of building buildings

[CarRepairer]

I believe this is what XTA uses?

CA, to prevent confusion.

Also... This is a game of building buildings

Why are they called buildings if they are already built?

[Gota]

The action does not have to start right away...TA mods and OTA itself was a lot about eco.
Longer starts allow time to think and different expanding techniques are also interesting.
Where do you take the notion that there must be fighting at all times?
If the fighting is the only fun part why not remove base building completely?
Fact is everything as a whole is interesting including the initial build up strategies.

[KaiserJ]

gives me time to set a queue so i can run to the bathroom

CA i always need to pee while i'm playing

[Beherith]

The greatest use of the first two minutes in a team game is that it gives a chance to discuss what each player is planning, because noone is in the heat so much that they wont read chat.
In FFA or 1v1 its for planning, and getting into the zone.

I very much enjoy the first 2 minutes of careful base planning and looking around for expansions and stuff.

[Hackfresser]

i agree with mav, you start out watching your com for 2 minutes every game. there is enough time to look around and chat before the game starts.

[luckywaldo7]

After you solve this, solve the massive pause in action when everyone is going t2.

[JohannesH]

After you solve this, solve the massive pause in action when everyone is going t2.

Example reps of this happening? Where the biggest thing to solve isnt the shitty builds used.

And it wouldnt be a problem if that happened anyway, again its not a game of just fighting...

[luckywaldo7]

(edit) Not worth it probably.

[Niobium]

Somewhat relevant:
Check out the widget Initial Queue (by me) which let's you queue all your mexes/solars/labs/whatever before the game starts, and they'll be queued instantly when the game starts, helps speed things up/you don't have to check spring every 5 seconds to see if it's started.

[JohannesH]

(edit) Not worth it probably.

why not

[oksnoop2]

Cool another person new to BA.

Cool, another thread suggesting silly changes to BA when TFC is perma-afk.

Is TFC gone?

[Gota]

What do you want of TFC?
This thread is irrelevant cause BA is not gonna change except minor balance tweaks.

[triton]

What is the problem: The amount of time before actual combat starts in BA is too long. Game start is boring.

Goals: Implement way(s) that speed up the game start without ruining its fantastic balance.

Description:
The first 2 or 3 minutes of BA can be fairly boring. The "standard" start strategy involves building:

-3 mexes
-2 solars
-LLT (or 2)
-Lab of choice
-2 more solars
-Rushing a con to guard your base
-Time to com push!

Come play 1vs1, I am not sure you would think that the first 2 minutes are so boring. Before suggesting things in BA you should have decent 1vs1, FFA and team games skillz.

Also as beherith said first minutes are used to speak too, and trust me we dont have too much time to speak...

[Jazcash]

I enjoy spending the first few minutes of the game watching my allies, making nasty labels and spamming !kick votes to afk'rs.

[oksnoop2]

What do you want of TFC?

I just wanted to discuss something with TFC.

[TheFatController]

I check the forums every day or two so just PM me, i'm generally still around just playing a bunch of other games at the moment as BA is supposed to be stable by now.

There is obviously still potential for improvements and there will certainly be more releases in the future..

[Pxtl]

Before heading down this road, the best advice is to play CA. Not because CA is a fantastic game (it is) but simply because CA has several components intended to battle this feature. Obviously, if you don't like CA, don't play CA. It's just worth making note of the things that have alreaedy been implemented and how they work (and where they don't).

Either way, the answer to the issue of BA's slow starts: that's what weasels and fleas are for - they give you something to do while waiting for the shiat to hit the fan.

Really, though, would it ruin the game to triple the comm's energy/metalmake? 25 and 1.5 really are kind of a pittance.