The same is with the skill requirements. High-APM players have no problem with hotkeying, but noobs like me have difficult time with multitasking. Therefore unexperienced players would like to have more help from game AI to handle different tasks.
Blizzard is on top of it and they look at the issues globally. Here it is, and it is all the same for everyone. Our choice is to choose what to use and what not to use. If you think your race is weaker you can use race that you think is stronger. lets see what i have so far about autocasting, as one of the function in Starcraft 2.
What can be considered as autocasting?
Simplest explanation is: it is function of automating tasks during the match, or that units and buildings automatically do things they are meant to do. It means that you dont need to do any action for something to happen, game's AI will do this for you.
Auto-fire, auto-defeat, auto-anything...
The most obvious thing (even someone doesn't see this as autocasting) is that your stationary units will automatically fire with their base weapon if enemy approaches, by default. It is basics of all strategy games. To stop them you should specially command them to Stop (you don't want to do that). Another thing is that if your units auto-fire on enemy and enemy retreats after that, you units will automatically go for chase for a while (you can also order them to hold position to prevent that). After some distance they will quit and automatically return to their original positions. They will do the same if chase was successful and enemy is destroyed. Defenseless units, like overlords, medivacs will automatically try to move away if being attacked, but only to get out of range, while fighting units will try to fight back. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not. If your marines are attacked they will probably try to counter attack. You know what happens if the enemy is siege tanks.
This autofunctions could cause some troubles. If you are guarding in front of enemy base (and not on "hold position"), it is easy to provoke attack with single unit and pull your units to chase for just enough to get in range of strong defense.Yet, one more thing, if you don't specifically focus fire with your units selected they will automatically shoot everywhere. I cant say how AI decides priority. So usually the best practice is controlling units by yourself for max efficiency.
This now gets in area of Starcraft micro-management. As an example, my micro is very bad. Some day I lost battle with my Battlecruisers against Carriers, because After focusing fire on one Carrier and destroying him, my BCs start to roll around for interceptors which is completely waste of time. I need to reselect them to assign them to another Carrier. Now I learned that I should use "shift-queueing" to order focus fire to one by one Carrier. Then I would probably win.
Evolution: Smart casting
Kind of autocasting, based on most required thing you want to do, but it asks for your action. One of this is right click. If you right click on empty space your selected unit will move there. Right click on some other of your units will cause selected unit to follow. Right click on enemy unit will attack. You don't need to think about it, smart casting will understand. There are more special examples. Selected SCV will start to gather mineral/gas if you right click on mineral patch or rafinery. If you right click on any other building or mechanic unit it will go for repair (or attack if it is enemy). Protoss observer will not attack enemy unit on right click (because he can't) but will rather follow, as it is its function. Then we have rally points. Right click on any point in your sight will send unit to that spot right after it is produced. Command center, Hatchery and Nexus can send workers right to the mineral patch, etc. Smart casting differs from auto-fire, as it is needed at least one of your action, your click. Just form information, smart casting can be queued with any other action using shift key.
Even smarter casting
While first two paragraphs defines something that in our game perception is something "normal" we now get to more controverse Starcraft 2 automation. We would like to have many other things automatic, so this is subject of debate..
Lets put it this way. If we could be able to put everything on automatic, what is it, and how it works? We would become pure AI opponent, and all decisions should be made by computer. It is extreme example. Once Blizzard polish AI, we could say that Computer player is on full autocasting.
So, there should be some line between user manual interaction, and AI. The problem is where is this line. Every player wants to have autonomy in decisions. Many units have special abilities, one or more of them. We would like to choose between them, and use them the best it suits us considering current events, circumstances, and conditions. Special abilities are therefore not that much autocasted, as Blizzard stands in position that it would ruin strategic moment of the game. Therefore I understand why Psionic Storm cannot be autocasted. It is special ability that need to be used as necessary, and as more important it requires additional action like targeting. AI would not be able to understand our intentions. For example, you can cast Psi Storm on enemy group, and you know that he will try to get out of affected area as soon as possible to avoid damage. You tactical decision may be to shoot another Storm on the area where your enemy have only path to escape. AI cannot get it. It is just an example.
Now, some special abilities on autocasting could be of great help for players, but it could ruin strategy and skill. Therefore Blizzard only gives few of them, which doesn't have great impact on strategy and doesn't require additional decisions.
Here is what I found so far about smart casts that currently exist:
- Attack Structure (banelings)
- Build Interceptor (carriers) - as Interceptors get destroyed, Carrier produces new one automatically, for some price
- Healing (medivac dropships) - terrans likes that auto ability
- Repair (SCVs) - Right click on repair icon will put that SCV on auto-repair mode, it becomes "medivac" for mechanical units and structures
- Unburrow (various zerg units) - burrow banelings, and right click on unburrow icon. They will unburrow when enemy approach and auto attack without your intervention. Zerg's mine field.
- Shapeshifting (changeling) - a little Zergs spy who mimics one of your units, but doesn't respond on commands
All this gives some advantage to the race. The main debate is going on if we should have something more. I guess that Blizzard has got answers to that. Everything that will deny skill, or that can lead to mistake, or unnecessary spending of energy, or need targeting, cannot be autocasted. For extreme example, you don't want Ghost to throw Nuclear bomb on single probe just because probe is enemy.
Few major debates was about Queen/Mule/Chrono boost, three things that helps your production. Personally i think that it should stay as is. You need to interact to use that ability as you can do some other stuff with that things. I don't like the idea of automatic mule callout, because I may need energy for scanning and I will lack of it.
Some of suggestions are really neat but it would definitively ruin the strategic moment. One of the effects that special abilities bring to game is to keep you busy doing different stuff, forcing you to make decisions fast, while missing to do something else. You need to practice to use them well, to multitask. Otherwise, game would be just pumping forces.
Here is what I found so far, suggested by players, probably in favor their main race.
- Banshee should auto-cloak when attacked if it has energy - this would deny skill, it would then require auto-decloak when not attacked. I think player should decide how, when and why to use certain ability, and how to spend/spare energy.
- Vikings should get auto-ground mode if attacked from ground - silly, they would be doomed, denying strategy, the same as above
- Auto-production of units - denying strategy, we have limited slots that can be filled out and it is part of game balance, also we would like to control spending of resources
- Infestor auto-mind control - really???
- Auto-snipe or auto-EMP for Ghost - could spend energy on a probe, so you cant snipe or EMP when you really need it
- Auto-unsiege tank when attacked from close area - cant even think about that, it would unsiege on probe attack denying long range cover to troops in the middle of battle
We should leave to Blizzard to decide. They have tons of data during this beta, they have big picture on everything. We can see only what we can see from our base. If we couldn't handle something, we wish that it be changed.
Some old-school Starcraft 1 players even don't like any kind of autocasting in Starcraft 2. And I understand them. They learned to develop skills and manual control over everything. And they think that automation ruins the beauty of the game strategy. By my humble opinion, they will easily adapt to some automation, and some automation here and there would be of great help for new and inexperienced players. I am ready to accept whatever Blizzard decide, as I believe they will do the best and it would certainly be based on players feedback in large picture.
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