Nova Covert Ops 1st pack release date

[Zoar]

The first pack of Nova's Covert Ops missions are being released 3-29-16
INCOMING TRANSMISSION: @StarCraft Nova Covert Ops arrives March 29th! http://blizz.ly/NovaDLC

[sandwich_bird]

Really? No comments on this yet?

I just finished it. It was pretty decent. Story so far is also decent. Feels a bit like Episode I. The new faction is a bit like the Sons of Korhal 2.0. I'm wondering if they are linked to the UED.

[Drake Clawfang]

I'm thinking the Defenders of Man are the Confederate. Not only are they based on Tarsonis, but they're using Psi Emitters, supposed to be top-secret Confederate stuff, and they make prominent use of Ghosts. Also, some of the things I saw reminded me of the Deception facility and files, particularly that experimental energy blade. Now the Confederacy is regrouped and going to bring down the Dominion the same way Arcturus brought down the Confederacy. Really, if it's not the Confederacy, the only alternative explanation I'll accept is a splinter-group of Arcturus loyalists from the Dominion. Anything else doesn't fit with what the Defenders are doing.

Otherwise, I liked the pack too. I didn't pre-order it because I don't care about Nova and my only investment would be the gameplay. Then watched the gameplay on YT and it won me over. I like being able to customize your army, I like the story unfolding, and I liked the variety of missions. Still don't care about Nova, though. She has no personality beyond "I'm loyal to the Dominion, now watch me kill this guy and make a one-liner." But maybe that'll change. I'd like to see them tie it into the Ghost graphic novels and books (Delta's cameo was a nice touch), and oh man I would be so hyped to see my man Tosh again.

I also felt like it was worth the price, which is important for DLC. If I wanted to nitpick, I'd say drop the price to $9.99, but I'm just being cheap there. If the next two packs maintain this level of quality with the new assets like new models and voice actors and creative mission design, then I say this add-on is worth the price, and would be happy to see Blizzard do more like them, as long as they maintain this level of quality and effort.

[Gradius]

I saw a sword in the trailer, thought they were going to go full Kai Leng on us, and assumed it was going to be retarded. But it's a monomolecular blade. Not a wholly terrible idea.

[ragnarok]

I saw a sword in the trailer, thought they were going to go full Kai Leng on us, and assumed it was going to be retarded. But it's a monomolecular blade. Not a wholly terrible idea.

Same here, though I had expected the DoM to have stolen Protoss tech to create their own (albeit inferior) Psi Blade.

Wouldn't really be a surprise, since in the original SC Ghost storyline, the Dominion WAS supposed to have made those, and Nova was supposed to wield one.

[sandwich_bird]

Same here, though I had expected the DoM to have stolen Protoss tech to create their own (albeit inferior) Psi Blade.

Wouldn't really be a surprise, since in the original SC Ghost storyline, the Dominion WAS supposed to have made those, and Nova was supposed to wield one.

Speaking of which, I much preferred what they were going for in SCG than what they used in the DLC. Compare:


https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llu4bj4vm41qjy15co1_r1_500.jpg
note: might not be the actual art for the game but they had something very similar.

vs

http://img.youtube.com/vi/ZEQKmy5Julw/mqdefault.jpg

[Gradius]

I want to say that Reigel > Swann

And I don't think terrans should use psi blades. At all. I'm glad they cut the concept.

[Drake Clawfang]

Agreed, Terrans reproducing Psi Blades would destroy the lore in so many ways. A material sword glowing with energy is more their style.

[ragnarok]

Speaking of which, I much preferred what they were going for in SCG than what they used in the DLC. Compare:


https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llu4bj4vm41qjy15co1_r1_500.jpg
note: might not be the actual art for the game but they had something very similar.

vs

http://img.youtube.com/vi/ZEQKmy5Julw/mqdefault.jpg

If only the fans would quit comparing this to lightsabers already.

[ragnarok]

I want to say that Reigel > Swann

And I don't think terrans should use psi blades. At all. I'm glad they cut the concept.

Gradius, it's not the EXACT same psi blades. We all know terrans have tried to replicate Protoss tech. This is something that's been established well before they even started work on SC2's storyline.

And I never said it has to be of the exact same quality. That's why the glowing energy sword makes more sense.

After all, Nova DID say it was a prototype weapon. Therefore, it's entirely possible that the DoM were trying to replicate Protoss tech, and what Nova stumbled across was merely the stop-gap solution.

[sandwich_bird]

Agreed, Terrans reproducing Psi Blades would destroy the lore in so many ways.

Why do you say so? Regular Terrans no but what's wrong with ghosts using them?


I want to say that Reigel > Swann

Indeed. He's more believable and less over-the-top.

[Gradius]

Gradius, it's not the EXACT same psi blades. We all know terrans have tried to replicate Protoss tech. This is something that's been established well before they even started work on SC2's storyline.

And I never said it has to be of the exact same quality. That's why the glowing energy sword makes more sense.

After all, Nova DID say it was a prototype weapon. Therefore, it's entirely possible that the DoM were trying to replicate Protoss tech, and what Nova stumbled across was merely the stop-gap solution.
They're completely different concepts, and the fact that they're not "EXACT same psi blades" is a meaningless distinction to the player because they look, sound, act and work exactly the same.


Why do you say so? Regular Terrans no but what's wrong with ghosts using them?

1) Ghosts shouldn't have enough psionic power or be able to channel khala energies into a khaydarin crystal.
2) It's a flavor thing. I hate cross-over and melding of racial roles. There's nothing wrong with protoss using guns, but the most advanced race in the galaxy using a weapon that "propels small weights of iron and carbon alloys, by igniting a powder of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur" would seem off as well.
3) Bad enough that protoss have their racial role infringed upon by Xel'Naga. Let's just let the terrans reverse engineer all their tech too. What exactly do the protoss have at the end of the day that makes them so special?

[ragnarok]

They're completely different concepts, and the fact that they're not "EXACT same psi blades" is a meaningless distinction to the player because they look, sound, act and work exactly the same.



Yes well from a gameplay POV that's obvious.

That being said, how much lore has been said about how the psi blades function?

[Robear]

Yo, I'm just jumping in to say that that art from the other page was absolutely fan art

https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llu4bj4vm41qjy15co1_r1_500.jpg

^not official!

Her actual weapon in Ghost was literally a bat'leth, with some glowing energy in front of the edge. It was kind of stupid.

http://i.imgur.com/RQIWhq1.jpg

They did have concept art for smaller curved blade weapons and various swords/daggers.

http://i.imgur.com/7WsAf2Z.jpg

[Drake Clawfang]

Yo, I'm just jumping in to say that that art from the other page was absolutely fan art.


note: might not be the actual art for the game but they had something very similar.

Derp.


Why do you say so? Regular Terrans no but what's wrong with ghosts using them?

Gradius summed it up, but for my own reasons.

1 - Terrans should not be able to duplicate Protoss tech that well. Terrans have been emphasized in the expanded universe to barely understand how the Protoss' technology works, and they lack their access to the materials the Protoss use as well, in particular Khaydarin Crystals.
2 - Either the Terrans reverse-engineered the psi blade from a sample they found, or they made the breakthrough on their own. If the former, where did they recover working psi-blades from; if the latter, bullshit. The Terrans haven't had a Ghost program for any longer than a couple of decades. They barely know anything about real psionics.
3 - Even if the Terrans could duplicate Protoss tech like that, you'd think that the Dominion, the dominant Terran power, or the Umojan Protectorate, the scientifically advanced guys, would be the ones to do it. Not some little terrorist rebel group operating out of burned out labs.

But, let's presume that, against the odds, the Defenders of Man figured out how to make their own. They scanned old scrap psi blades recovered from Protoss corpses, retrieved shards of Khaydarin from destroyed Protoss bases, and using some super smart scientists, they build a psi blade. One problem still remains...

4 - Terrans have nowhere near the psionic potential needed to use a psi blade. Even Ghosts. It is repeatedly implied, if not outright stated and I'm forgetting, that the Protoss are way above Terrans in terms of psionic potential. Even the higher-power Terran psychics like Kerrigan, Nova, and Spectres, demonstrate much weaker powers than the Protoss.

The one thing of note here is the story "Do No Harm" from the Frontline series, where a Dominion scientist implants a Ghost with Protoss nerve cords to increase its psionic power. That Ghost wields a psi-blade. However, the design of the psi-blade suggests it was taken from the Protoss rather than made by the Terrans, and Gestalt Zero is not shown using it before he gets Muadun's nerve cords. The scientists mention that Muadun, as a Templar, is giving Gestalt Zero a higher power boost than the nerve cords of a Khalai they were using. You could even take this to mean that, even when a Terran Ghost was implanted with a Khalai Protoss' nerve cords to increase their psionic potential, he still couldn't manifest a psi-blade, and needed Templar-strength boosters for that.

And that of course ignores the fact that the Frontline series defiles the lore in so many ways across its 16 stories that anything presented in them should be taken with a grain of salt. See also - Twilight Archons, Infested Protoss, Thors in operation in 2502, and a little girl calling a Dark Templar an "angel."

[sandwich_bird]

Her actual weapon in Ghost was literally a bat'leth, with some glowing energy in front of the edge. It was kind of stupid.



I could have swear she had some sort of psi dagger but meh, was a while back. I agree that this iteration is terrible.


Terrans have nowhere near the psionic potential needed to use a psi blade. Even Ghosts. It is repeatedly implied, if not outright stated and I'm forgetting, that the Protoss are way above Terrans in terms of psionic potential. Even the higher-power Terran psychics like Kerrigan, Nova, and Spectres, demonstrate much weaker powers than the Protoss.

I don't know about that. Nova/Kerri(pre-infestation) are class 10. Kerri infested is apparently class 11-12 (http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Psi_Index)and we know she can cast psionic storms and pull some DBZ moves. Depending on the type of scale they use, I'd expect at least Nova to be able to wield a psi-blade.

[Gradius]

I don't know about that. Nova/Kerri(pre-infestation) are class 10. Kerri infested is apparently class 11-12 (http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Psi_Index)and we know she can cast psionic storms and pull some DBZ moves. Depending on the type of scale they use, I'd expect at least Nova to be able to wield a psi-blade.
Nova/Kerri are PI 10, not class. Class is completely different than PI. Infested Kerri is at least an order of magnitude more powerful than a PI 10 according to a lore Q&A.

Apart from that, yeah, they retconned a bunch of crap and made ghosts do things they shouldn't be able to do. Back in StarCraft: Uprising Kerrigan could barely explode some brains, and other ghosts couldn't even do that. Even in-game they didn't actually use their psionic abilities for anything.

[ragnarok]

Apart from that, yeah, they retconned a bunch of crap and made ghosts do things they shouldn't be able to do. Back in StarCraft: Uprising Kerrigan could barely explode some brains, and other ghosts couldn't even do that. Even in-game they didn't actually use their psionic abilities for anything.

And how many other ghosts had such of a psi index as her back during the time of Uprising?

[Turalyon]

I'm curious. If Protoss can develop psionic shields on machines without requiring psionic effort on the part of the user and that Purifier Sentinels can wield psi-blades that are just as strong as normal Zealot psi-blades because of the same aforementioned reason, I can't see why Terrans cannot develop a similar tech on their own. I'm sure they can just get that guy, whatisname, Stetson (EDIT: Stettmann - had to go look it up) to knock something together.

[ragnarok]

I'm curious. If Protoss can develop psionic shields on machines without requiring psionic effort on the part of the user and that Purifier Sentinels can wield psi-blades that are just as strong as normal Zealot psi-blades because of the same aforementioned reason, I can't see why Terrans cannot develop a similar tech on their own. I'm sure they can just get that guy, whatisname, Stetson (EDIT: Stettmann - had to go look it up) to knock something together.

They probably could have done just that. And in retrospect the terrans should be more successful because as Stetmann's notes indicated back in WoL, the only reason the Protoss didn't keep going with their tech advances was because of their traditions and everything. Otherwise, they would have conquered the sector a long time ago.

Besides, I'm sure the Raiders still have enough of the Protoss tech they acquired in WoL. As long as they share it with the Dominion (since they're a part of them now), everything should work out fine.

[Visions of Khas]

the only reason the Protoss didn't keep going with their tech advances was because of their traditions and everything
Until the Tal'darim get their hands on forced-labor Phase-Smiths. Then everyone is fucked.

Hm, I smell custom fan campain material... I'd definitely like the "War Among the Gods with pitiful humans caught in the middle" theme to come back. I know Alarak hated Karax in particular, but he's not so dense to not recognize the stregths afforded to the Daaelam by a master Phase Smith. Curiously, I see Alarak leading the next big Protoss renaissance.

[ragnarok]

Until the Tal'darim get their hands on forced-labor Phase-Smiths. Then everyone is fucked.

Hm, I smell custom fan campain material... I'd definitely like the "War Among the Gods with pitiful humans caught in the middle" theme to come back. I know Alarak hated Karax in particular, but he's not so dense to not recognize the stregths afforded to the Daaelam by a master Phase Smith. Curiously, I see Alarak leading the next big Protoss renaissance.

Actually I'm expecting Alarak to make the necessary changes to the Tal'darim in that aspect. If nothing else, he should have learned that to be a PURELY warrior race and being that inflexible simply won't work. That's what led to Ma'lash's defeat, after all.

In that sense I can see he might have the newer generations of Tal'darim also choose the path of phase-smiths. They will of course still be warriors, but there will be a little bit of flexibility in this matter.