In Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (Blizzard, 2002) your workers carry ten gold a trip from the mine to your town hall. Every unit eats food, and the food you use sets your upkeep: up to 40 food a trip brings home all ten, from 41 to 70 it brings seven, from 71 to 90 only four. Lose units and you drop back under the line, and the next trip is heavier again. The Frozen Throne (2003) moved the lines to 50 and 80. The score screen even keeps a column for it: Gold Lost to Upkeep.

Why? Blizzard's own guide put it plainly: "Players are more aggressive and turtle far less in their bases." And: "The more units that are allowed in the game, the less powerful Heroes will be relative to your army. This is simple math." Lead designer Rob Pardo, looking back in 2020: without it, "players would often just go straight to whatever the food cap was." In the beta the lines first sat at 30 and 60, and lumber was taxed too.

The town, the army, the fight and the food each soldier eats on screen are our own simplified version, drawn in code.

Which race did you play?

Sources: Blizzard Entertainment, Warcraft III strategy guide on Battle.net, "Upkeep" (2002, 2003); Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos game strings and data; Richard C. Moss, "How Warcraft III birthed a genre, changed a franchise, and earned a Reforge-ing", Ars Technica, 2020.
Sounds and music: our own, made in code.
Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Blizzard Entertainment. Warcraft is a trademark of Blizzard Entertainment.