[Firehawk]

Ever since the patch that nerfed Barracks by increasing their build time by 5, the issue of 15 OC vs 16 OC has been nagging me. For those of you who don't play Terran, let me explain.

Before this patch, the barracks would finish at the exact same time as SCV #15, thus allowing the building of the Orbital Command Right away. There was never any question - 15 OC was the best way to go. And it made the OCD part of me happy because of how perfectly it lined up with the barracks timing.

Now, since the barracks has an additional 5 seconds of build time, the nagging question is - do you stop at 15 SCVs and build the orbital right when the barracks is finished, or do you make a 16th SCV and build an orbital once it is done? The first option is 15 OC, and the second is 16 OC.

With 15 OC, you get faster MULEs, but you have 5 seconds of idle CC time. With 16 OC, your MULEs come out a bit slower, but your CC has constant production. I've been wanting to actually test which is better for a long time, but haven't done so until now.

Every time I watch a Terran stream, one of the biggest things I look for in build orders is whether the Terran does a 15 OC or a 16 OC. There isn't any set standard - I've seen different players do different things. My guess when the patch was first released was that eventually all Terran players will settle on one or the other, so I delayed actually testing it. I always did the 16 OC variation simply because the OCD part of me can't stand the 5 seconds of idle build time on the CC. However, to this day, there is no set standard, which surprises me.

I finally decided to run some tests on which is better to settle my mind.

Here are the results:



The top graph is the total mineral value in the 16 OC build minus the total mineral value in the 15 OC build. The bottom graph is simply the total mineral value of both the 15 OC and 16 OC builds. (The total mineral value is the current number of minerals + the cost of each building + the cost of each SCV, including the one currently in production). The bottom graph shows that the difference is surprisingly tiny. The top graph reveals, however, that the 16 OC build fares slightly better in the long run even though the income from MULEs comes a bit later. With 16 OC, you also get faster full saturation.

So, even though the difference between 15 OC and 16 OC is quite small, 16 OC is the better option and it should become the Terran standard. (Note: there are some cases in which the slightly earlier influx of minerals from MULEs matters, such as an allin).

tl;dr 16 OC is slightly better than 15 OC in terms of longer term economy and it should become standard.

Source: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=299304


Discuss?

Quick Comments

Nemo:

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[TCPKiaSu]

so that just means that if u wanna go macro play then u go 16 oc and if u wanna finish the game in mid time or early then 15 oc. thats about it right?

[Pox]

Originally Posted by TCPDeathWing

so that just means that if u wanna go macro play then u go 16 oc and if u wanna finish the game in mid time or early then 15 oc. thats about it right?

According to the plot, 16oc is beneficial from 5 min mark onwards; so I'd say the only time 15oc is really superior is for the 3rax supply drop allin.

[breadfan]

I had heard about this but hadn't actually seen the post.

I took it in good faith and glad to see it's correct. I did make the switch to 16OC, tbh the difference isn't something I particularly notice. It feels good to go 16OC though, to be honest I'm pretty sure it can just be a personal preference

[Cordance]

Why is there a min difference before the 50 second mark in graph 1? Not that I dont believe a 16 OC is going to have a slightly stronger over all econ unless you go early expand (they the fact you start that sooner and double your SCV production is going to be greater.

Im not sure how 100% accurate these results are the differences here could be something as little as a good split vs a bad split or stacking works on close patches. Although I feel the resoults are correct although I question the theory crafting done above due to the appearance of lack of sample size. There should be zero difference till after the barracks is complete. Something as simple as moving your worker further to build a building will throw these numbers off.

Maybe Im just too use to wow theory crafting where the numbers are crunched till the persons eyes are bleeding.

[breadfan]

Originally Posted by Cordance

Why is there a min difference before the 50 second mark in graph 1? Not that I dont believe a 16 OC is going to have a slightly stronger over all econ unless you go early expand (they the fact you start that sooner and double your SCV production is going to be greater.

Im not sure how 100% accurate these results are the differences here could be something as little as a good split vs a bad split or stacking works on close patches. Although I feel the resoults are correct although I question the theory crafting done above due to the appearance of lack of sample size. There should be zero difference till after the barracks is complete. Something as simple as moving your worker further to build a building will throw these numbers off.

Maybe Im just too use to wow theory crafting where the numbers are crunched till the persons eyes are bleeding.

Well that's it. There's a compound from those few seconds you aren't producing anything out of your CC, and then there's the extra SCV worth of minerals during the upgrade. There are plenty of mistakes you can make early that will compound in the same way, but that's not relevant since this is talking about the best possible.