I agree that, by your definitions, the micro scale seemed appropriate. I know a lot of people who say that "if they could just keep the marine/skulk dynamic at the start" that the game would be better. I think its one of the best parts of the game if not THE best part. I too feel that the introduction of these new mechanics was unnecessary - the mechanics already in felt good and balanced, but getting comfortable with those mechanics will give you a rose colored view when compared to new mechanics. Do these mechanics sway the micro scale that significantly? Too early to tell, for sure. Maybe in a month we'll see.
I also agree with you that the "macro" scale is broken. Everyone knows about the fade ball and how it has problems. Honestly, if this could get fixed, it'd change the meta a lot and we'd see a whole new competitive NS2. Currently, the tactic for marines is to kill harvesters often and early to delay the fade ball until 2/2 shotties + pg. Really tactically stale since all you're doing is buying time until this exponential burst of power comes in. You don't ease into this power struggle like in most RTS - the fluidity is lost and combat changes immediately, really well said in the OP. If the beginning "macro" had more reflection in later "macro" (aka fade ball) other than delaying it, this would be a step in the right direction. @ Bacillus hit this nail on the head with the current economic system.
I think one of the reasons why these sudden macro changes happen is not only economy, but also because scouting has a high opportunity cost. In a traditional RTS, you typically aren't always at the unit cap and building a scout is fairly easy. In NS2, you're unit cap is small and each unit must perform multiple roles. Tres can be used for scouting, but with how much marines need, you can't always be scanning alien base to see when these eggs are coming (even then, the window to kill them in eggs is pretty short), and aliens can't be sending in drifters all the time since they're incredibly expensive.
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I agree that, by your definitions, the micro scale seemed appropriate. I know a lot of people who say that "if they could just keep the marine/skulk dynamic at the start" that the game would be better. I think its one of the best parts of the game if not THE best part. I too feel that the introduction of these new mechanics was unnecessary - the mechanics already in felt good and balanced, but getting comfortable with those mechanics will give you a rose colored view when compared to new mechanics. Do these mechanics sway the micro scale that significantly? Too early to tell, for sure. Maybe in a month we'll see.
I also agree with you that the "macro" scale is broken. Everyone knows about the fade ball and how it has problems. Honestly, if this could get fixed, it'd change the meta a lot and we'd see a whole new competitive NS2. Currently, the tactic for marines is to kill harvesters often and early to delay the fade ball until 2/2 shotties + pg. Really tactically stale since all you're doing is buying time until this exponential burst of power comes in. You don't ease into this power struggle like in most RTS - the fluidity is lost and combat changes immediately, really well said in the OP. If the beginning "macro" had more reflection in later "macro" (aka fade ball) other than delaying it, this would be a step in the right direction. @ Bacillus hit this nail on the head with the current economic system.
I think one of the reasons why these sudden macro changes happen is not only economy, but also because scouting has a high opportunity cost. In a traditional RTS, you typically aren't always at the unit cap and building a scout is fairly easy. In NS2, you're unit cap is small and each unit must perform multiple roles. Tres can be used for scouting, but with how much marines need, you can't always be scanning alien base to see when these eggs are coming (even then, the window to kill them in eggs is pretty short), and aliens can't be sending in drifters all the time since they're incredibly expensive.