ovi12 wrote:_H2O wrote:[spoiler=]The unintended mechanics are what makes high skill plays so exciting. I never cared about the “devs intentions” argument. The devs were regular people like anyone else. Starcraft broodwar has tons of unintended mechanics like mutlisk stacking (group muta with one overlord far away and they clump so well it’s like one unit) that made the game exciting.
Pull trick let’s top level players do interesting things with precisely placed clicks and understanding of the formation mechanics to squeeze out extra unit kills and be more aggressive than average players or save units that are in danger.
You can do things like shoot with your muskets then force them into long formation to run ahead (by clicking far ahead). Then shoot again with the front few and force long formation again to hunt down retreating infantry. The same thing works with goon units. So it’s not a purely defensive tactic. That’s just one of several different ways to use it.
That falc pull example - you could have caught the falcs still if you were better coordinated and that use of the pull truck was a pretty basic one that required all his units be tied up to make the pull happen.[/spoiler]
I don't care about the pull trick either way, but I think the anti-pull people have a little bit better case than what you said here.
The trick would be nice if it was a small thing that allowed differentiation at the top level. But I think the fear is that the pull trick changes the game too much. For one, it allows you to get out of some mistakes that you should have actually been punished for. Secondly, it may change the meta in a (in their opinion) bad way. Like if it makes hand cav even more obsolete or situational in some matchups, that's bad.
Part of _H2O's point is that the pull trick does indeed allow for differentiation at the top level. while the pull trick makes certain powerful maneuvers easily accessible, it also allows for high-level micro capabilities to be utilized to gain smaller advantages that can set a player ahead in a fight. the pull trick does not "change the game too much" because it is the game.
I strongly agree with H2O on his points. Competitive gaming was born out of unintentional mechanics. Broodwar was the beginning of competitive gaming as we know it today, and a large part of the excitement it had in south korea revolved around players' abilities to surprise the audience, and become increasingly skilled, seemingly with no limit. More unintentional mechanics hidden within a game -> more options players have for spending apm -> more room for player growth in the long term -> higher skill ceiling. An even better example of this is SSB melee. The game is almost 18 years old, and people are STILL discovering new mechanics, and (perhaps until SSB ultimate's release) the community has been growing larger than ever each year. And the matches are insanely fun to watch. Without the wave dash, which is likely to be the most important and game-changing unintentional mechanics in melee, the competition likely would have died off years ago.
In my opinion, the best solution to the pull trick is to abuse it to its fullest. Utilize it in ways that your opponent can't.
in case you're unfamiliar with the SSB melee scene, [spoiler=spoiler]this was a sick match from last weekend. Axe is a pikachu main, and until recently he's been somewhat of an underdog, mostly because pikachu is a very difficult character to play at the top level. Leffen has been a top player for many years now, though he's slightly rusty from playing Ultimate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unJlfmN_Tqs[/spoiler]
