RIP Starcraft 2015

[Nissa]

We are gathered here today to celebrate the short but impactful life of what was once the best RPG in gaming. Starcraft was a franchise that sparked the imagination of millions and nearly single-handedly created the eSports craze. However, after a long, lingering illness, Starcraft has finally bit the dust.

"For dust you are, and to dust you will return." Amen.

Let us share the great stories of our past, and fond memories of the time we spent playing the game, or hanging out with fellow fans of this franchise. Also, please, let us not speak ill of the dead. Please save your righteous negativity for other threads.

I first encountered Starcraft fourteen years ago when my brother's friend was explaining it to him. Curious about all things my brother did back then, I investigated the game, and found a story that I absolutely loved. I was immediately taken with the characters, and Mengsk's monologue in the last mission briefing of SC blew my mind I had so many ideas of what happened between the missions and behind the scenes, and eventually decided to write them down. This became my first foray into writing, and I haven't stopped since, though now I've gone on to original fiction.

Also, it was because Starcraft I found Blizzforums, a beloved community of messed up people. Ah, the days of the pie wars and JAD comics will always remain blissful, gilded memories. Speculation on the eventual sequel was rampant, and well, there will always be a glorious sequel in our imaginations.

As is appropriate for a wake, I brought beer.

http://media.moddb.com/images/members/1/382/381761/aldaris_nash.jpeg

[RODTHEGOD]

The original Starcraft is something I will always cherish. I remember the first time I encountered it. It was at my cousins. My cousin had previously exposed me to the original command and conquer (another great game that has fallen in it's sequels) and he showed me starcraft. I was instantly mesmerized. I was immediately comparing it to command and conquer. Except there were THREE races. And not only that but they were each even MORE unique then the BHN and the GDI. I originally thought the campaigns were similar to CNC where each campaign was independent of each other. It was only much later when I finally got the game that I learned otherwise. At my cousins, he showed me a magazine article on Brood War and the cool new units they were going to have. OMG they were cool.

I don't remember when I finally got the game for myself but I went through several CD's. I didn't take very good care of it despite my love for it.

I eventually introduced a few of my friends to it and soon began... the battle.net and the LAN parties. Those were so much fun. Often enough, our connections didn't work too well over battle.net so we would try to use hamachi. Sometimes it would work. Sometimes we would spend hours a night trying to get it to work and fail. But we always wanted more. We had some great games. We stopped playing it as much because we finished high school.

In college, I found another group of friends who were into starcraft. I still have a bunch of the replays from those games I think. We would often just pick a random map that none of us had played on before and do teams or free for alls. Six of the maps we had the most fun on were
http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Bridge_to_Bridge_'98
http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Expedition
http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Flooded_Plains
http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Predators
http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Killing_Fields
http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Lines
Dam we had fun. I think we continued to play starcraft even after SC2 came out but then we finished college and went off to university. I miss starcraft.

[KaiserStratosTygo]

*Having watched someone play the missions)

Arbiters are available near the end.

...

Welp, I can accept the terrible story, since the missions were actually surprisingly decent (as far as I've seen), Alarak is the best fucking character in SC2, and Arbiters are usable.

All is forgiven.

I'm serious. that is literally all I need, is Arbiters and a bunch of mostly decent non-timed missions, story is still shit, but Arbiters, man.

[Nissa]

*snorts*

And I thought Econ was joking about the Arbiter hentai. :D

[KaiserStratosTygo]

*snorts*

And I thought Econ was joking about the Arbiter hentai. :D

He was VERY serious.

But seriously, They even got a decent model and everything, same with the Goons, Reavers and Sairs.

I'm going to be making maps with dat shit, and I can't way to see better creators do the same.

[TheEconomist]

*sits in corner, glasses on nose, licking finger tops to easily slide pages, while flipping through a science fiction novel, occassionally looking up to see reactions*

[Drake Clawfang]

I thought the story was pretty good, a vast improvement over the first two games... up until the Epilogue. Then it nosedived back into crap. Still, for a finale, Epilogue aside, it was satisfying. Epicness was had, the potential to keep the story going is present, and Alarak is a bloodthirsty troll.

[KaiserStratosTygo]

I thought the story was pretty good, a vast improvement over the first two games... up until the Epilogue. Then it nosedived back into crap. Still, for a finale, Epilogue aside, it was satisfying. Epicness was had, the potential to keep the story going is present, and Alarak is a bloodthirsty troll.

-The protoss focused parts were fairly decent usually.

-Alarak was great 100% of the time

-Arbiters cannot fail ever.

-The epilogue was absolute trash and that alone was worse than HotS

-The epilogue ending cards were better than the mission/cutscenes (except that last one was just silly)

[ragnarok]

-The protoss focused parts were fairly decent usually.

-Alarak was great 100% of the time

-Arbiters cannot fail ever.

-The epilogue was absolute trash and that alone was worse than HotS

-The epilogue ending cards were better than the mission/cutscenes (except that last one was just silly)

I found it better than BW's ending, Stratos. You don't make a game only for the ending to be "it was all for nothing."

[Nissa]

I found it better than BW's ending, Stratos. You don't make a game only for the ending to be "it was all for nothing."

The only reason that exists is because BW's ending wasn't really an ending. You can tell that advances in technology made making a sequel all the more difficult. BW's ending is a lot like The Empire Strikes Back, where that's not really an ending either, and doesn't make a lot of sense without an immediate sequel.

That, and technically it's not "it was all for nothing" because you play as Kerrigan, and her goal is to take over things. That's something.

[DemolitionSquid]

Brood War is how I met my first girlfriend. Thank you, computer lab at recess.

[ragnarok]

I thought the story was pretty good, a vast improvement over the first two games... up until the Epilogue. Then it nosedived back into crap. Still, for a finale, Epilogue aside, it was satisfying. Epicness was had, the potential to keep the story going is present, and Alarak is a bloodthirsty troll.

I was not happy with the epilogue ending. Kerrigan's ascension I could tolerate. But I didn't understand why she had to do all the work to beat Amon. It was a spit in the face to the Protoss.

What SHOULD have happened was that Kerrigan's actions merely rendered Amon vulnerable for the Protoss to finish the job.

- - - Updated - - -



-The epilogue was absolute trash and that alone was worse than HotS


Stratos, that's only because you hated their reunion. I didn't mind it, but I REALLY wished Kerrigan would have at least lost all her power. She resented having psionic powers in the first place, after all.

[KaiserStratosTygo]

I found it better than BW's ending, Stratos. You don't make a game only for the ending to be "it was all for nothing."

964% disagree.

The epilogue was the worst video game ending I've seen (and I mean a AAA game, not some fan-game made in RPG maker or some shit)


I was not happy with the epilogue ending. Kerrigan's ascension I could tolerate. But I didn't understand why she had to do all the work to beat Amon. It was a spit in the face to the Protoss.

What SHOULD have happened was that Kerrigan's actions merely rendered Amon vulnerable for the Protoss to finish the job.

- - - Updated - - -



Stratos, that's only because you hated their reunion. I didn't mind it, but I REALLY wished Kerrigan would have at least lost all her power. She resented having psionic powers in the first place, after all.

I hated it for a bunch of different reasons, Underserved, un-starcraft, not-protoss related, actually makes the protoss seem like a third wheel in their own campaign, stupid, predictable, etc.

[ragnarok]

964% disagree.

The epilogue was the worst video game ending I've seen (and I mean a AAA game, not some fan-game made in RPG maker or some shit)



You can argue that all you want. I had wanted a reunion between them, if only Blizzard had said Kerrigan lost ALL her powers, thus ending the nightmare on her end for so long.

[KaiserStratosTygo]

You can argue that all you want. .

And I will.

[ragnarok]

And I will.

Look Stratos, complaining the game was total BS is fine, but you can only do that for so long before people grow tired of it. Just remember, different people think differently. The battlenet forums clearly show there ARE those who approved of the reunion between them at the end. I doubt you can all classify them as "asylum inmates who deserved to be locked up for such a thing."

[TheEconomist]

Brood War is how I met my first girlfriend. Thank you, computer lab at recess.

Quite possibly the nerdiest pair of sentences ever constructed. I can almost respect it.

[Nissa]

Look Stratos, complaining the game was total BS is fine, but you can only do that for so long before people grow tired of it. Just remember, different people think differently. The battlenet forums clearly show there ARE those who approved of the reunion between them at the end. I doubt you can all classify them as "asylum inmates who deserved to be locked up for such a thing."

Rag, friend, buddy. Allow the Tygo to complain....in another thread. I did say this was a positivity thread, after all, Tygo. In any case, negativity is fun. Dissecting a worthy target is a fun intellectual exercise, and it's what kept this forum going for a while now. It is just as easy to grow tired of positivity, too. Particularly undeserved positivity.

Hey Econ, how did you find Starcraft?

[RODTHEGOD]

How come no one is talking about their times with the original starcraft? Isn't that the point of the thread?

[ragnarok]

Rag, friend, buddy. Allow the Tygo to complain....in another thread. I did say this was a positivity thread, after all, Tygo. In any case, negativity is fun. Dissecting a worthy target is a fun intellectual exercise, and it's what kept this forum going for a while now. It is just as easy to grow tired of positivity, too. Particularly undeserved positivity.


All right. It's just that I've been speaking to the guy on the battlenet forums for almost 3 years now and have been hearing all this. I don't have anything against the guy, but still....

[Turalyon]

The only reason that exists is because BW's ending wasn't really an ending. You can tell that advances in technology made making a sequel all the more difficult. BW's ending is a lot like The Empire Strikes Back, where that's not really an ending either, and doesn't make a lot of sense without an immediate sequel.

Disagree. Seems to me like you're saying a downer ending is not an ending because a "proper" ending has to be uplifting. All "proper" endings should have closure of some kind and BW has that for the story it tells. If you're talking about loose ends such as the Hybrids, well, they're not actually part of the story that BW is telling and are only there as blatant sequel bait, so they don't count. If you're talking about loose ends about what will the characters do now, then Sc1's ending was plagued with that problem, too. Yet no-one complains about that not having a "proper" ending, which it does, or it not making sense without BW, which it does not.

[Nissa]

Disagree. Seems to me like you're saying a downer ending is not an ending because a "proper" ending has to be uplifting.

That is absolutely not at all what I'm saying. I'm simply saying that BW's ending is incomplete. It's like a large wave ready to crash against the shore. If there had never been a sequel to vanilla SC, the end there was sort of settled, in the sense that it could have been written for the factions to work things out (Toss focusing on their issues rather than antagonizing humans, Mengsk strengthening Korhal/dealing with internal issues, Overmind's death being basically the end of the Zerg). The only real loose end that needed settling was Kerrigan.

In BW, there are tons of things in the air. How is Mengsk going to survive/will he remain an important leader of humanity? What is next for Raynor? What is Zeratul going to do about the hybrids? Who are the hybrids? What does their existence mean for the K Sector? How is Artanis going to deal with all the Protoss factions? Are the Judicator still up in arms or what? What happened to Aiur? How plausible is it to get back? Why is Kerri backing off from attacking everyone? What is her ultimate goal? Does she know anything about the Khaydarin crystals and how to use them?

Basically, the more questions you can ask, the more unsettled an ending is. Star Wars could have plausibly ended after the first film, but the second just leaves so much in the air that it had to be followed by a third.

[RODTHEGOD]

That is absolutely not at all what I'm saying. I'm simply saying that BW's ending is incomplete. It's like a large wave ready to crash against the shore. If there had never been a sequel to vanilla SC, the end there was sort of settled, in the sense that it could have been written for the factions to work things out (Toss focusing on their issues rather than antagonizing humans, Mengsk strengthening Korhal/dealing with internal issues, Overmind's death being basically the end of the Zerg). The only real loose end that needed settling was Kerrigan.

In BW, there are tons of things in the air. How is Mengsk going to survive/will he remain an important leader of humanity? What is next for Raynor? What is Zeratul going to do about the hybrids? Who are the hybrids? What does their existence mean for the K Sector? How is Artanis going to deal with all the Protoss factions? Are the Judicator still up in arms or what? What happened to Aiur? How plausible is it to get back? Why is Kerri backing off from attacking everyone? What is her ultimate goal? Does she know anything about the Khaydarin crystals and how to use them?

Basically, the more questions you can ask, the more unsettled an ending is. Star Wars could have plausibly ended after the first film, but the second just leaves so much in the air that it had to be followed by a third.

I think your brood war questions are a little silly. You could make up all kinds of questions like that for any movie/game/whatever. Vanilla star craft was the story of the war with the Overmind with a few other things thrown in. It ended with the Overmind being destroyed. Brood war was about kerrigan's blood lust with a few other things thrown in. It ended with her blood lust being temporarily satisfied. There are things unanswered in every movie/game/whatever. It's only the questions that are fundamentally important to the story that need to be answered. One example from starcraft 2 was Niadra. Remember her? I wonder what's going to happen there. But that's a question that can be answered another day. It's not important to the main story.

[Nissa]

I think your brood war questions are a little silly. You could make up all kinds of questions like that for any movie/game/whatever. Vanilla star craft was the story of the war with the Overmind with a few other things thrown in. It ended with the Overmind being destroyed. Brood war was about kerrigan's blood lust with a few other things thrown in. It ended with her blood lust being temporarily satisfied. There are things unanswered in every movie/game/whatever. It's only the questions that are fundamentally important to the story that need to be answered. One example from starcraft 2 was Niadra. Remember her? I wonder what's going to happen there. But that's a question that can be answered another day. It's not important to the main story.

While you can ask those questions, Niadra is some broad with no real impact on the story or affect on millions of lives. As much as BW did end with Kerri's blood lust being satisfied, along the way it introduced so many new elements with no conclusion or presumable conclusion. Who the hybrids and Xel'Naga are affects everything the Zerg and Protoss stand for, as well as forcing humans to cope with whatever results from this. That's massive. As is Kerrigan leaving alive people (Raynor, Mengsk, Artanis, Zeratul) who have the will to destroy her. This means that war will inevitably happen. Unlike the Overmind's death, which could only imply war or lack of war based on whatever direction Blizz wanted to go with it. Blizz wanted to go with more war, so BW ends up putting the Protoss in a position where their issues will lead them inevitably to conflict.

Think of it like a writer would. If, at the end of a story, the plot can go whatever direction it wants according to the whims of the author, it's settled, and the series can stop there if the author desires. If, however, the plot is limited by the nature of the characters, the nature of their interactions, the status of their setting, and important conflicts unresolved, then the plot is unfinished.

[RODTHEGOD]

While you can ask those questions, Niadra is some broad with no real impact on the story or affect on millions of lives. As much as BW did end with Kerri's blood lust being satisfied, along the way it introduced so many new elements with no conclusion or presumable conclusion. Who the hybrids and Xel'Naga are affects everything the Zerg and Protoss stand for, as well as forcing humans to cope with whatever results from this. That's massive. As is Kerrigan leaving alive people (Raynor, Mengsk, Artanis, Zeratul) who have the will to destroy her. This means that war will inevitably happen. Unlike the Overmind's death, which could only imply war or lack of war based on whatever direction Blizz wanted to go with it. Blizz wanted to go with more war, so BW ends up putting the Protoss in a position where their issues will lead them inevitably to conflict.

Think of it like a writer would. If, at the end of a story, the plot can go whatever direction it wants according to the whims of the author, it's settled, and the series can stop there if the author desires. If, however, the plot is limited by the nature of the characters, the nature of their interactions, the status of their setting, and important conflicts unresolved, then the plot is unfinished.

I don't see any elements in Brood War that had no conclusion. The Hybrids and Xel'naga only really matter in regards to starcraft 2. They had no impact on the story besides that. From the way you describe it. Starcraft 2 is equally unresolved because the terrans still have issues, the zerg are still around and the Protoss haven't left the galaxy yet. I don't see how leaving people/factions alive that still have goals to achieve is somehow forgetting to finish story elements.

[FanaticTemplar]

Brood war was about kerrigan's blood lust with a few other things thrown in.

Brood War was about the UED invasion. The fact that Kerrigan used the invasion to catapult herself into supremacy makes the story slightly more interesting than Amon's own abrupt alien invasion, but Kerrigan's not the driving force nor the focus of the story, it only seems that was because she gets the final chapter.

Aside from the Dark Origins sequelbaiting, the story is pretty neatly resolved in To Slay the Beast, where the redundant Overmind is killed and the UED's power is broken. Omega is more of an epilogue than an integral part of the story.


Unlike the Overmind's death, which could only imply war or lack of war based on whatever direction Blizz wanted to go with it.

StarCraft ended with the threat of Kerrigan's ascension though, and that was also calling out the sequel pretty hard.

[Nissa]

StarCraft ended with the threat of Kerrigan's ascension though, and that was also calling out the sequel pretty hard.

Well yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. I mentioned that this is the only real loose thread of SC. BW, on the other hand, has lots of such loose threads.

In any case, positivity! Memories! Tell us how you found Starcraft/good memories of it. Oh, and thanks for coming back, Fanatic. I forgot how hilarious your sig was.

[FanaticTemplar]

In any case, positivity! Memories! Tell us how you found Starcraft/good memories of it. Oh, and thanks for coming back, Fanatic. I forgot how hilarious your sig was.

One of my friends was playing it, he was on mission 3, Desperate Alliance, and I was looking at the folding techtree outline and telling him how to build Siege Tanks while he kept telling me that those building options were not available. Desperate Alliance felt so brutal at the time. The first time I played, I barely survived by lifting my buildings for those final seconds.

StarCraft has been one of the few games that really stimulated that initial sense of wonder and discovery I got from video games. The first game I played was Super Mario World and everything felt new and thrilling, but a lot of that experience carries over, so playing subsequent games, even in different genres, rarely evoked that same feeling. StarCraft did though, and because of multiplayer I could keep playing it long after I had 'figured it out'.

[ragnarok]

StarCraft ended with the threat of Kerrigan's ascension though, and that was also calling out the sequel pretty hard.

That ascension to power via BW made sense through her manipulations. This time it was merely because Ouros would not break the Xel'Naga tradition to kill and thus gave her the power to do it. This ascension in comparison is meh.

Wouldn't surprise me if SC3 had Blizzard decide to take the route to remove the last traces of Xel'Naga forever and have her killed JUST because there were those who didn't support their relationship.

[Turalyon]

Being a Zerg fan, I fondly remember the first thing that showed me how alien the Zerg were where I was just as unnerved at seeing creep for the first time in Backwater Station as Raynor was. His very appropriate response took the words rights out of my mouth.

Can't wait for FT's LotV review. I guess I'll have to actually play LotV in order to understand or comment on it appropriately though...


As much as BW did end with Kerri's blood lust being satisfied, along the way it introduced so many new elements with no conclusion or presumable conclusion. Who the hybrids and Xel'Naga are affects everything the Zerg and Protoss stand for, as well as forcing humans to cope with whatever results from this. That's massive.

The hybrids are a deliberate sequel hook that can be excised without affecting how BW's story plays out and concludes, just like how Kerrigan's mention at the Sc1 epilogue is a deliberate sequel hook that doesn't ultimately affect if Sc 1 ended forever at that point. Like Rod said, the other supposed unanswered questions (about what happens next to characters and certain factions) you have can just as well be applied to Sc1's ending. There's no significant difference.


As is Kerrigan leaving alive people (Raynor, Mengsk, Artanis, Zeratul) who have the will to destroy her. This means that war will inevitably happen.

The outcome of such a war is heavily implied that this will be one way in favour of Kerrigan. All other powers are shown to be incapable of defeating the Zerg (instead having their best showing stomped into the ground in Omega) and that they have to rebuild, whereas the Zerg are way overpowered having suffered no real ill effects, have no need to rebuild and are unified under Kerrigan. Her ominous threat that "they will all be mine in the end, for I am the Queen of Blades! None shall ever dispute my rule again" is quite conclusive that the K sector is, for lack of a better word, fucked.


Unlike the Overmind's death, which could only imply war or lack of war based on whatever direction Blizz wanted to go with it..

The Sc1 ending implies a "lack of war" since the Overmind and the Zerg are defeated.


If, at the end of a story, the plot can go whatever direction it wants according to the whims of the author, it's settled, and the series can stop there if the author desires. If, however, the plot is limited by the nature of the characters, the nature of their interactions, the status of their setting, and important conflicts unresolved, then the plot is unfinished.

But at the end of BW, the plot does indeed go wherever it wants thereonin. Sc2 is evidence of this. Just look at the arbitrary nature in which it starts: 4 years has passed, the Zerg just happen to not do anything, lack of sufficient continuity with Raynor's characterisation, Mengsk is secure in his position, the Hybrids aren't even the focus, etc. This should fulfill your criterion that BW had an appropriate end.

[ragnarok]

But at the end of BW, the plot does indeed go wherever it wants thereonin. Sc2 is evidence of this. Just look at the arbitrary nature in which it starts: 4 years has passed, the Zerg just happen to not do anything, lack of sufficient continuity with Raynor's characterisation, Mengsk is secure in his position, the Hybrids aren't even the focus, etc. This should fulfill your criterion that BW had an appropriate end.

Yes but that's because Kerrigan at the end of BW felt something was on the horizon.

Raynor's problem was he was unable to do anything about the Dominion propaganda machine. Personally I felt that was BS because you'd think the Dominion people would be able to look outside the box instead of just swallowing everything Mengsk says.

[Nissa]

One of my favorite memories of Starcraft was when I was on the now defunct Shattered Enigma forums, and we kept writing almost slash about other members of the forums -- someone was Mengsk's wife, Kerri kidnapped one of the guys, someone had me dragging Raynor to a friend's wedding, nonsense like that. It was dumb, but hilarious.

[The_Blade]

Ah the good old memories of SC roleplay. I really do no think the franchise will die right now, but the original culture of SC has (and maybe did way before LotV). I actually remember playing against several SC:BW progamers during the HotS beta (which marked the end of the last BW pro-scene). May were angry about being forced to transition into SC2.

It's time for a new culture and population. I don't know if reddit will be able to handle it though.

[Nissa]

That hurts me. I loved the old SC culture. Then again, we're all grown ups now, so we should be responsible and stuff.

Y'know, that would make a good story. Like, BFFs united by a common game, but then both life and the game changes, bringing everyone into separate directions.

[ragnarok]

That hurts me. I loved the old SC culture. Then again, we're all grown ups now, so we should be responsible and stuff.

Y'know, that would make a good story. Like, BFFs united by a common game, but then both life and the game changes, bringing everyone into separate directions.

That's the main problem if way too many years pass between sequels. New cultures come in that are suited to the new generations, which the old generations find largely boring or just plain total BS. I hope in time Blizzard understands this and in like 5 to 10 years from now, revert to the original culture.

[The_Blade]

That's the main problem if way too many years pass between sequels. New cultures come in that are suited to the new generations, which the old generations find largely boring or just plain total BS. I hope in time Blizzard understands this and in like 5 to 10 years from now, revert to the original culture.

There's not much Blizzard can do about it. Culture is a social phenomenon not a planned blue print. Blizzard has as much control over this as Hasbro over the Bronies. Reddit for instance brought down so many sites when it became popular. It was one of the first websites that worked as a social sink and it appealed to the new generations which like apps like Snap Chat and resources like Imgur. This was an unstoppable change in culture. Newer generations want little to no participation with Facebook and other social sites that record everything you do.

My critique on Reddit is that its greatest strength is also its major weakness. It is a great way to experience the StarCraft community in the present. There's always something to read. I go there daily. However, it's horrible at keeping a log of the past. Without a spotlight on content creators or profiles, the content shared is just like a passing viral video and not much is left after the spotlight moves on. This is why I am unsure about the furture of r/starcraft. As soon as there's nothing happening in two years or so. I fear its engine will slow down.

For me, the furture of SC is the responsibility of video bloggers. I trust them more.

[ragnarok]

There's not much Blizzard can do about it. Culture is a social phenomenon not a planned blue print. Blizzard has as much control over this as Hasbro over the Bronies. Reddit for instance brought down so many sites when it became popular. It was one of the first websites that worked as a social sink and it appealed to the new generations which like apps like Snap Chat and resources like Imgur. This was an unstoppable change in culture. Newer generations want little to no participation with Facebook and other social sites that record everything you do.

My critique on Reddit is that its greatest strength is also its major weakness. It is a great way to experience the StarCraft community in the present. There's always something to read. I go there daily. However, it's horrible at keeping a log of the past. Without a spotlight on content creators or profiles, the content shared is just like a passing viral video and not much is left after the spotlight moves on. This is why I am unsure about the furture of r/starcraft. As soon as there's nothing happening in two years or so. I fear its engine will slow down.

For me, the furture of SC is the responsibility of video bloggers. I trust them more.

I see. For me, if Blizzard does NOT keep the novels and games coming (however their quality is), I'll be forced to turn to SC fanfiction and everything. After BW, the fan community came up with tons of theories, wrote tons of fanfics, on what'll happen next. Unfortunately, I see little possibility of this happening after LotV's ending, except maybe in the form of one-shot fics to try to interpret the final cutscene.

[Nissa]

Eh, I'm still writing my Aldaris fanfic. In which Aldaris will get very furious at LotV.

[ragnarok]

Eh, I'm still writing my Aldaris fanfic. In which Aldaris will get very furious at LotV.

I know. It's just that the SC fics are becoming rarer and rarer. Ever since HotS was out, these fics have dropped to almost nothing.

[Gurluash]

Tbh, Epilogue is not part of the Protoss Campaign. It's an Epilogue to Starcraft 2 itself, so WoL, HotS, and LotV.
As for my story, my brother had a friend who pirated games, and sometimes brought new games to me. One day he got Starcraft for me, I immediately fell in love with the story and the game itself.
So as soon as I could, I bought it, and really enjoyed it.

Starcraft 2, is good but it feels like a different game, and not a sequel.

[ragnarok]

Tbh, Epilogue is not part of the Protoss Campaign. It's an Epilogue to Starcraft 2 itself, so WoL, HotS, and LotV.
As for my story, my brother had a friend who pirated games, and sometimes brought new games to me. One day he got Starcraft for me, I immediately fell in love with the story and the game itself.
So as soon as I could, I bought it, and really enjoyed it.

Starcraft 2, is good but it feels like a different game, and not a sequel.

Most people would say that because of all the lore contradictions and everything. At least WoL and HotS we were spared the Xel'Naga lore, which LotV basically we got the spit in the face of "it was all lies."

[DDay]

RIP Terran

1998-2015

ded army, died at the hands of David Kim

[Nolanstar]

RIP Terran

1998-2015

ded army, died at the hands of David Kim

Go back to the Bnet forums and leave this place alone... We don't serve your kind here, you'll have to wait outside.

[ragnarok]

RIP Terran

1998-2015

ded army, died at the hands of David Kim

DDay, we're talking lore here, not his balance stuff....

[KaiserStratosTygo]

RIP Terran

1998-2015

ded army, died at the hands of David Kim

Yo yo, it's DDaddy.

[DDay]

Go back to the Bnet forums and leave this place alone... We don't serve your kind here, you'll have to wait outside.

i do what I want nerd

[Nolanstar]

i do what I want nerd

Yeah, I am a nerd, so whats your point? Pretty sure someone who spends as much time on sc as you counts as one. I have nothing against you, but when your first post is complaining about balance on this sites lore discussion, that doesn't bode well.

[KaiserStratosTygo]

Yeah, I am a nerd, so whats your point? Pretty sure someone who spends as much time on sc as you counts as one. I have nothing against you, but when your first post is complaining about balance on this sites lore discussion, that doesn't bode well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES7XJIE9n08

[ragnarok]

Yeah, I am a nerd, so whats your point? Pretty sure someone who spends as much time on sc as you counts as one. I have nothing against you, but when your first post is complaining about balance on this sites lore discussion, that doesn't bode well.

People on the battlenet forums have said the exact same thing

[UrunOfTheAuriga]

*Having watched someone play the missions)

Arbiters are available near the end.

...

Welp, I can accept the terrible story, since the missions were actually surprisingly decent (as far as I've seen), Alarak is the best fucking character in SC2, and Arbiters are usable.

All is forgiven.

I'm serious. that is literally all I need, is Arbiters and a bunch of mostly decent non-timed missions, story is still shit, but Arbiters, man.

I know that feel, bro...

[UrunOfTheAuriga]

There's not much Blizzard can do about it. Culture is a social phenomenon not a planned blue print. Blizzard has as much control over this as Hasbro over the Bronies. Reddit for instance brought down so many sites when it became popular. It was one of the first websites that worked as a social sink and it appealed to the new generations which like apps like Snap Chat and resources like Imgur. This was an unstoppable change in culture. Newer generations want little to no participation with Facebook and other social sites that record everything you do.

My critique on Reddit is that its greatest strength is also its major weakness. It is a great way to experience the StarCraft community in the present. There's always something to read. I go there daily. However, it's horrible at keeping a log of the past. Without a spotlight on content creators or profiles, the content shared is just like a passing viral video and not much is left after the spotlight moves on. This is why I am unsure about the furture of r/starcraft. As soon as there's nothing happening in two years or so. I fear its engine will slow down.

For me, the furture of SC is the responsibility of video bloggers. I trust them more.

Don't forget the dreadful upboat/downboat system of velvet censorship. When it comes to forums the chans might be more ephemeral and occationally complete assholes but at least they are speaking their mind.