Heart of the Swarm Sept 2012 beta unit details - leaked video

[Shadow Archon]

May I offer an alternative theory?

Warp travel is probably resource-intensive, particularly over long distances. It could be that the UED forces retreated and regrouped elsewhere in the Korprulu Sector to take on fuel and make repairs, at which point the Zerg ambushed them.

The problem here is that this isn't suggested in the lore and doesn't explain how the Terrans' Super Carriers stayed in Warp Space for 28 years straight without needing a refuel.

Eventually, the warp-drive engines of the
four supercarriers reached critical meltdown.
After twenty-eight years of warp travel, the
huge ships emerged into real space near the
edge of a habitable star system. Some 60,000
light years from the Earth, their engines
destroyed and their life-support batteries
nearly exhausted, the ships engaged their
emergency protocols and plummeted towards
the nearest habitable worlds in the system

It only stopped when the engines were destroyed.

What we know is that the UED managed a 60,000 light year trip under a month, even possibly under a single week, and this was just due to their normal FTL engines.

No one comments on them being absurdly fast and when they retreat, the Zerg hunted them down and slaughtered them.

I think that's sufficient proof for them to have the FTL to reach Zerus within a year, considering that depending upon exactly where it is in the core and where the Korpulu Sector is, that it could be relatively a short distance compared to the travel to earth.

[TheEconomist]

The problem here is that this isn't suggested in the lore and doesn't explain how the Terrans' Super Carriers stayed in Warp Space for 28 years straight without needing a refuel.

Refer to any of the hundreds of 'hard' science fiction books for plausible explanations.

[Shadow Archon]

Refer to any of the hundreds of 'hard' science fiction books for plausible explanations.

I'm not going to make up an explanation with no basis on the Starcraft universe.

It's either we believe they can move around the galaxy relatively fast, or we assume it's a plothole. I think the 60,000 light years under a month for the UED, and them apparently not even remarking at this advantage as special is proof of that the Zerg have the FTL to get to Zerus in a reasonable time frame.

[Turalyon]

... the Zerg have the FTL to get to Zerus in a reasonable time frame.

This depends on what you classify as a reasonable time frame and in what context. Either way, it'll be interesting to see how they can justify a "side trip" to such a distant location that may take a month (or some considerable amount of time) to get to when the threat of the DV is so near and imminent in the K sector.

[Shadow Archon]

This depends on what you classify as a reasonable time frame and in what context. Either way, it'll be interesting to see how they can justify a "side trip" to such a distant location that may take a month (or some considerable amount of time) to get to when the threat of the DV is so near and imminent in the K sector.

Look at it like this.

The UED has an FTL that can, go at 1,440,000c or 720,000c.

The Zerg managed to chase them down when they retreated.

Even assuming that it is half the distance from earth, that's only a week or two of travel time assuming UED numbers. Any faster than that, and it's less time.

The DV threat won't be happening too soon. There was a two year gap between WoL and HotS. There might be another one for LotV.

EDIT: But yes. There explanation for it, if any, will be nice.

[topsecret221]

Keep in mind that the UED we're not using their FTL engines (or warp drive, or several other possible machines of interstellar travel. Mass Relays, anyone?) when the Zerg caught up to them.
Assuming that they did not break light-speed thousands of times over, they probably used a warp drive. A warp drive bends space in a way that makes travel between two points much, much faster, so a trip between K-sector and earth is not entirely unrealistic (besides, Earth has been putting tons of research into interstellar travel. After hundreds of years of dedicated research, a prototype warp drive could have been constructed and mounted in the Aleksander).
To use such a warp drive, it would require enormous amounts of energy. After all of the resources spent in the campaign to take Koprulu, it's very much likely that they simply didn't have enough energy to get back to Earth with the drive. Upon retreat, Kerrigan simply had one of her broods attack the fleet.

That's what I always thought, anyways.

[Shadow Archon]

Keep in mind that the UED we're not using their FTL engines (or warp drive, or several other possible machines of interstellar travel. Mass Relays, anyone?) when the Zerg caught up to them.

We never actually see the Zerg catch up to them (I think those are Wraiths, not scourge at the end of the video), and we don't know where they are.

A sub-warp jump would do fine, and they could probably get far away enough to prepare a full warp. The question is how fast is there sub-warp,
is there actual warp similar to the Hyperion's in SC2, and where they were at when the Zerg jumped them.

If the UED could get away but didn't, it means their idiots.

Thus Occam's Razor, the Zerg are faster than the UED.

Assuming that they did not break light-speed thousands of times over, they probably used a warp drive. A warp drive bends space in a way that makes travel between two points much, much faster, so a trip between K-sector and earth is not entirely unrealistic (besides, Earth has been putting tons of research into interstellar travel. After hundreds of years of dedicated research, a prototype warp drive could have been constructed and mounted in the Aleksander).

How is "Warp" drive any different than there current Warp engines?

One works by an alternate dimension, one works by space time.

Why would they go in one direction of FTL travel and go into another? One is not the evolutionary path of the other.

Also, this is just kinda of speculation with no substance to base it upon. I'm not trying to be mean, but this is never commented on as something done that was special.

To use such a warp drive, it would require enormous amounts of energy. After all of the resources spent in the campaign to take Koprulu, it's very much likely that they simply didn't have enough energy to get back to Earth with the drive. Upon retreat, Kerrigan simply had one of her broods attack the fleet.

That's what I always thought, anyways.

Again, a bit more speculation based off nothing in the lore. Don't want to come off as condescending, but generally, the best speculation is based on quotes and such.

As for a quote:

Raynor understood at once. Pilots and navigators planned warp-jumps very carefully, often for hours beforehand. That was because a single mistake could send a ship millions of light-years off course, turn it inside out, or worse. Plus the warp engines usually needed a few hours to warm up. Jumping without preparation or planning was sheer madness.

Millions of light year jumps are possible for Terran ships in the Korpulu sector. So there's not a energy problem for long travel. I have an idea for it:

Possibly, they have a time dilation affect inside of it though. In real space, travel time is rather short, however in Warp Space, more time is exhibited aboard the ship.

Thus the need for Cryo-Chambers for a two week to a months time of travel.

[Hawki]

Millions of light year jumps are possible for Terran ships in the Korpulu sector.

Um, you do realize the galaxy is only 130,000 light years in diameter, right?

Sorry, I've kind of given up on trying to work out the details of warp space bar maintaining the wiki article, but the stickler in me just had to point that out.

[Kimera757]

When did they say that? Thought there was every indication that there was some xel'naga still around, such as forming the backbone of the trilogy, to Zeratul's outright statement that the xel'naga are returning.

In Twilight, they pretty much confirmed their deaths.

The more recent artifacts were, I presume, the Fallen One's creation, but there's no guarantee.

And yes, Zeratul could be conflating the hybrids with the xel'naga, because in a way they are xel'naga (just twisted ones).

As for the UED, I don't know how long it took for the trip to the K-Sector, but I suspect it takes a lot of time and energy to prepare to jump 60,000 light years, and they just didn't have enough time before the zerg fell on them. (It's a bit like trying to charge up the afterburners, but you need an hour to do it, while the zerg will land on you in 45 minutes.)

While a terran ship might be able to jump millions of light years, I don't believe it's ever been stated to happen deliberately. The terran vessels in Uprising, at least, seemed to take a long time to get places. (Same in the comics. Even a relatively short trip took at least two days.)

[topsecret221]

I try to avoid using anything presented in the Queen of Blades. It is one of the worst SC novels, and the facts that are presented are sketchy at best. The changes to the storyline that are presented in the book that are actually good didn't deserve to be wrapped up with everything else that book changed.