Let me clarify what this balance change proposition, or design flaw fix, is about:
1- Zerg start with 2 overlords instead of 1.
2- Supply given by Command Center and Nexus changed from 15 to 16.
3- Supply given by Hatchery changed from 6 to 0.
LOTV simply should always have been like this and here is the proof:
1- The second overlord is not a big deal, it could only help Z scout for cheese.
2- Before LOTV, starting supply was 6/10 for Protoss and Zerg, 6/11 for Terran, so basically 4 workers could be produced for P and Z until the first supply block. T did not have the time but had an 11th supply to prevent a 10/10 supply block of about 6 seconds.
Now with LOTV, starting supply is 12/15 for P and T, 12/14 for Z, so a 3 supply gap to being supply blocked for T and P, and only 2 for Z. That creates a problem for each race:
- T have an unavoidable 1-2 seconds supply block at 15/15.
- P cannot chrono boost from the start without a 4 sec. supply block at 15/15.
- Z almost cannot profit from their larva production advantage early on because only 2 workers can be produced before the 14/14 supply block.
The production rate of larvae from a Hatchery is 1 every 11 seconds and a drone takes 12 seconds to produce, meaning that Z gain only 1 second on drone 14/14. With a starting supply of 12/16, Z would gain 1 sec. on drone 14/16, 2 sec. on drone 15/16 and 3 sec. on drone 16/16.
All of this shows that the game would be more balanced if the initial max supply was 16 for each race because it would better preserve the starting flow of the game pre-LOTV.
3- With LOTV, the supply given by a Hatchery was raised by 300% (2 to 6), Nexus was raised by 150% (10 to 15) and CC was raised by 136% (11 to 15). It makes no sense that the Hatchery got proportionately more buffed than the other bases since it is obviously the best of the 3. Raising the supply it provides was a mistake because Z were already more incentivized than T and P to build their bases. Z also spend less resources on infrastructure, so it is only fair that they spend more on supply.
Also before LOTV, if a Zerg maxed out on 8 bases he would have saved exactly 2 overlords worth of supply (8x2 = 2x8). Normally Z were maxing out even before reaching 8 bases, so only 1 overlord would be saved over the course of a game from supply provided by Hatcheries.
If the Hatchery did not provide supply, Zerg would not have to produce even 1 more overlord than pre-LOTV to reach 200 supply since it would only be provided by overlords. As incredible as it sounds, because 200 is a multiple of 8, it prevents Zerg from having to produce an overlord for a fraction of 8 to reach 200 max supply, saving them 1 overlord, same as the Hatcheries did before.
In LOTV, if a Zerg is maxing out on 8 bases, he is saving 6 overlords worth of supply (8x6 = 6x8). Depending on its number of bases when maxing out, now a Zerg saves about 4 overlords from supply provided by Hatcheries, which is about 3 less overlords to produce than pre-LOTV.
So basically, with LOTV, Zerg were given about 300 minerals worth of supply and 3 larvae if they max out on 6 bases, while T and P, who normally max out on 4 bases, were given only 200 minerals worth of supply per game since T gets 4 more supply per base (4x4 = 2x8), and P gets 5 more (4x5 = 2.5x8, so only 2 pylons saved). Again, Z also spend less resources on infrastructure, so it makes no sense that they end up saving more than other races on what should cost them more than other races. Z also save larvae when saving overlords, so it is even more impactful for Z than the other races to have fewer supplies to produce.
Finally, raising the supply given by the CC and Nexus from 15 to 16 will always save the construction of 1 depot/pylon to reach exactly 200 max supply because 16 is also a multiple of 8. And by removing the supply given by a Hatchery and making Z start with 2 overlords, each race would start with the same max supply and always end up at x/192 or x/200 supplies, which is simply a better gameplay design.
This proves that with LOTV, the Hatchery was overly buffed by changing the supply it provides from 2 to 6. Instead, the 2 supplies provided should have been removed and Zerg should have been given a second overlord at the start of the game to compensate.