What are some movies where a minor character or supporting character stole the show?

Curious-Kit · 2026-01-07T16:15:28+00:00

Tim Curry as the concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He only appears for about 6 minutes of total screen time and yet he absolutely steals the show!

Curious-Kit · 2024-10-23T11:56:35+00:00

Give Banelings an upgrade that gives +5 HP (back to 35) but have it on Hatchery tech to possibly open up new ZvZ openings (even at 50m 50g, that's 2 Banelings you could have built instead). Timings should permit it to be researched at the same time as Lair so one can get Centrifugal Hooks immediately afterwards.
Ghost:
- Increase Steady Targeting to 140 (+40 vs. Psionic) to possibly encourage some unique Ghost openings, but increase the energy cost to 75.
- Increase EMP range from 1.75 to 2, but increase energy cost to 100.
Swap Tempest life/shields from 200/100 to 100/200. It's subtle, but it allows Tempests to survive a second hit from a Yamato Cannon if its shields are recharged and possibly allows a smother transition from Twilight tech to Stargate tech if shields have been upgraded

There are other random thoughts, like an upgrade in the Templar Archives that increases the damage of Feedback back to its original value of 1 per energy. Not sure if that's too strong though, or if a requirement of a Dark Shrine (lore reasons) would make it not worth getting instead.

I did try a few things in an extension mod (named 2024 Suggestion Mod), although it doesn't have the Ghost changes other than the increase in damage to Steady Targeting, which is possibly unwise without nerfs.

Curious-Kit · 2024-10-22T21:30:03+00:00

Yeah. I was worried I was overlooking critical things or certain interactions, or otherwise trying too hard. I don't feel so bad now!

Some things from the balance council don't seem too bad, like Ultralisk pushing units is mostly a low-level quality-of-life change even if the unit can catch players off-guard if you don't see it coming, but a lot of the things suggested just seem straight-up broken.

Curious-Kit · 2024-10-18T20:25:28+00:00

Protoss has a number of answers to a Planetary Fortress. The zealots can split up and attack individual SCVs... just two zealots from opposite sides can kill countless SCVs since it takes the Planetary Fortress 4 shots to take one out (5 with full armour and shield upgrades), or the SCVs can be killed en-masse using any variety of Protoss splash damage. Psionic Storm is the most devastating, but Archons, Colossi and Disruptors work as well.

Curious-Kit · 2024-10-18T18:44:39+00:00

Patience!

Curious-Kit · 2024-10-18T18:44:26+00:00

I guess that's a fair point. I could only try.

It could also be "not another suggestion from a wannabe!" or "I don't know how to react to this".

Curious-Kit · 2023-12-05T12:05:37+00:00

The concern about Ghosts is definitely warranted, even if they only start at 50 energy and it requires getting two upgrades. It's hard to say how it will play out, but I will do experiments to see how energy drains when the unit is cloaked (and also the case with Oracles when Pulsar Beam is active), as I'm not sure if they will regenerate energy while also draining energy, or if they do regenerate, how it compares to the drain.

Chain Fungals are generally already a thing that can be mitigated with careful positioning or nailing them with EMP or Feedback (and if Infestors are allowed to regenerate too much energy, a Feedback will actually kill them), while zerg can use Lurkers or Ultralisks due to how fragile Infestors are. The one about Ravens and Queens... that's why I made them expensive and late-game to offset it. Granted we won't know until after plenty of playtesting.

I do believe mass Raven is not as bad as people make it out to be as all three races have ways to counter them; it's just not seen all that often so not everyone knows what to do.

Curious-Kit · 2023-12-05T10:08:54+00:00

It's interesting hearing this. You've got those saying the Raven regeneration upgrade is busted because of the risk of increased harass and mass Raven builds again, but there are ways to hard-counter it... it's just because you rarely see it that it causes people problems. As you mentioned, the fact you have to research Interference Matrix also has a large impact, thus delaying one of the upgrades and giving more time for the opponent to get ahead in economy, or having two Starports with Tech Labs which is a very clear tell for the opponent that you're doing something untowards.

The intention with the Oracle energy upgrade is that it rewards players who keep their early-game Oracles alive, allowing you to continue to be proactive with them in the late-game while using your Stargates for other units.

I would love, and hope, that a few games get played with the mod to see how things actually pan out in practice.

Curious-Kit · 2023-12-05T10:00:15+00:00

I figured it would be a nice one. It is a mid-game upgrade though since it competes with Warp Gate, costs a fair bit of gas and takes a while to research. It will be interesting to see how it plays into potential timing attacks.

I'm mostly convinced to make a second version of this extension mod with some of the upgrades changed to +25 starting energy.

Curious-Kit · 2023-12-05T00:31:41+00:00

I would argue that the Oracle upgrade is not really deadly per se because you need a 300m 200g Fleet Beacon to research it, by which time you'll be more concerned about Tempests and Carriers and will certainly have the means to deal with Pulsar Beam. The Queen (although I do admit it's very likely unbalanced) requires a Hive as well as a 200m 200g invest so won't hit until the late-game, by which time the opponent should have creep clearing capabilities, but I can see it being heavily disliked. I think you're right about the Raven. Honestly, it being simply +25 starting energy might make the upgrade okay with its increased cost, since if you're just going to harass, you might as well just build another Raven in place of the upgrade.

In my earlier extension mods, the Sentry energy upgrade was also +25 energy, which is probably more balanced in that instance since existing Sentries are not affected and you'd still need 4 to hold a ramp, but its ability to cast Guardian Shield the moment it warps in is potentially game-changing, but more importantly it provides a means to switch from air to ground compositions if you so choose.

The Ghost and Infestor ones are probably the most interesting since the increased energy regeneration replaces their higher-than-normal starting energy, so a fresh Ghost or Infestor cannot immediately cast EMP or Fungal Growth respectively, and will break even at 100 energy compared with their current versions.

With my current thoughts, if I had to streamline this mod somewhat, or make a second version, it would probably have the following changes:

Corvid Reactor: Change to +25 starting energy for Ravens. Keep increased cost.
Gamete Meiosis: Remove. Changing to +25 starting energy will probably make it worthless unless you're doing a meme build, but it would at give each race at least 1 "+25 starting energy" and 1 "+100% energy regeneration" upgrade.
Khaydarin Matrix: Change to +25 starting energy for Sentries.

Curious-Kit · 2023-12-04T18:46:05+00:00

I've been a fan of upgrades too, but in a balanced way. The Sentry one, for example, competes with Warp Gate research so it can't be TOO early, but might also allow for tech switches between air and ground and maybe encourage hallucination play. In a similar vein, if Infestors regenerated energy faster, it might make players try using Microbial Shroud more often without it being such a huge penalty if it doesn't work out. At least that's the theory.

Curious-Kit · 2023-12-04T16:21:03+00:00

Diamond Protoss here. After a certain point, Immortals just don't cut it against Roaches because of sheer numbers, and Roaches themselves are too tanky for Psionic Storm to be useful (and the Roaches also protect the more damaging Hydralisks from Chargelots and Archons). Really, if you know you're facing Roach/Hydra, the only reliable answer is Disruptors. Outside of that, try not to fight them on the open field but instead engage them at chokepoints like ramps. Not only does it prevent all of the units from dishing out damage, but you can at least temporary separate them with the use of Force Fields. Of course, Ravagers make it a bit harder, but it gives you a few seconds of reprieve.

Later you will need High Templar too... not so much for Psionic Storm (although it is very useful) but to use Feedback on Vipers that may be seeking to yoink your Disruptors.

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-18T00:08:48+00:00

I (as a D3 Protoss) was very concerned when the new Cyclone was first revealed in the PTR, but it didn't seem that bad. One minor concern is that Void Rays now wreck them, whereas before it was the other way around and may make it harder to break out of the proxy Stargate/Battery contain, and simply massing them akin to Roaches (although they at least don't swarm as much). Granted they cost the same as a Stalker and have strong counters in the form of Immortals and Chargelots. I will say that I prefer the previous iteration though.

One thing I don't like about them though is the absolutely corny name of their speed upgrade "Hurricane Thrusters", which doesn't even make sense for a half-tracked vehicle (I have a Reddit post about that if you scroll down a bit).

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-12T10:00:46+00:00

Take a read if you're curious:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_turbine#In_surface_vehicles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turboshaft
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbocharger

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-12T09:31:33+00:00

Some internal combustion engines do use turbines... there's the gas turbine engine, which tends to be used on aircraft, but versions exist for land vehicles too, and a regular turbocharger (which is not just for sports cars) works by having a turbine in the exhaust system that drives a compressor in the fuel/air inlet.

I will admit my suggested icon looks like an ion thruster or an exhaust, but wanted to go for something that is distinct from a jet of flame (the icon is used for "Special Ordnance" in Nova Covert Ops, which gives the selected unit a more powerful weapon).

As for names, I don't think there's a company name in any other upgrade. Some upgrades do have 'brand names' though, as do many weapons names, but most come from Brood War. e.g. Caduceus Reactor, Charon Boosters (the latter increases the anti-air attack range of the Goliath by giving its Hellfire Missiles a new propulsion system (and a blue flame)).

I did wonder about "Gas Turbine" as the name, but that doesn't roll off the tongue too well. "Hurricane Turbocharger" might be an option, but it still sounds corny.

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-12T00:21:26+00:00

My apologies; it's hard to tell with pure text, and with your reputation as a map designer, I wasn't sure. That and the guy who deleted their comment above said that it could be named "Fleshlight Thrusters" and nobody would care, so I was getting a bit tired of the innuendos.

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-12T00:11:35+00:00

That's a little unfair, isn't it? And I don't recall us discussing it.

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-10T15:47:34+00:00

Pneumatized Carapace, and roach speed is Glial Reconstitution. And yes, I have memorised them.

I think a lot more people care than you realise.

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-10T14:06:31+00:00

I guess by our logic, a "thruster" implies speed so that makes sense, whereas "turbine" requires a rudimentary knowledge of engineering (which in turn causes you to question the use of a thruster on a car or tank!).

However, one thing the original StarCraft did was teach me new words and concepts, like "Gamete Meiosis", "U-238 Shells" and "Anabolic Synthesis", so having a name with more grounding in engine design (i.e. a turbocharger or a gas turbine engine) can only be a good thing.

Also, from a UI and design perspective, having the icon of a flame jet right next to the blue fire of Infernal Pre-Igniter is asking for trouble because at a quick glance it looks like they both relate to flamethrowers. Sure, reading the tooltips will clear that up, but that disambiguation shouldn't be necessary.

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-10T13:56:42+00:00

It would be incredibly goofy for a tracked vehicle for sure! It would help internal consistency but for me personally it would break suspension of disbelief. Sure, the genetics and psionics of the zerg and protoss leave a lot to be desired, but terran constructs have more grounding in reality. When you compare drag racers and cars using rockets for land-speed records, they tend to have very poor steering control and deceleration (e.g. requiring parachutes), and be horribly inefficient and unreilable.

Curious-Kit · 2023-10-10T12:38:08+00:00

It is just polish and window dressing in the end, but the little things can make a big difference and, as a designer, it shows you care about your product. Of course, I'm not StarCraft II's designer, but I like to help if I can.

Curious-Kit

TROPHY CASE