Some calculations.

[solidsamurai]

Overall, that's a volume of 46,741 cm^3. One megajoule is equivalent to a pustule with 4.19 cm^3, so handy dandy cross multiplication gives 11,155.4 megajoules (11.1554 gigajoules) per Baneling. That is equivalent to 2.67 tons of TNT, which means five banelings have more explosive power than a single MOAB. This is the low-end as some of these creatures are much larger than one meter, and that assumes the first pustule was one megajoule.

One question remains. Why did they need that much fire power to blow open a fence. In the story, wasn't there just a metal fence bottlenecking the zerg (you know, like one of those fences you see at the edge of a playing field; there was one at my elementary school and 10 year old kids could climb it), and that's why a few foot soldiers with rifles (they weren't even marines, weren't they? And using a gauss rifle without powered armor is BS - you'd have to like lean into the weapon and it'd be pretty hard to aim; all accounts point to those weapons as being quite large, like .50 caliber rifle large and thicker so it might even weigh more, who knows); could pretty much hold off the entire invasion? And that said, why didn't the zerg just evolve nydus worms?

How the heck do the zerg work? Was that like some lesser brood that happened to mutate a superior strain (the baneling)? Maybe that's how zerg develop new mutations - place a brood in a difficult circumstance and it'll evolve eventually.

Still doesn't explain all the dead zerg though. Did they just starve? Why would the brood leader/queen/cerebrate/commander/whatever tell them all to die? Wouldn't that expose their hive? They're lucky to have survived at all, and especially lucky that the terrans were stupid and non-military to deem it necessary to scout earlier. The whole story I found was silly and felt like a typical video game scenario rather than anything that holds weight or emotion - using video game circumstances from starcraft 2 (the colonists forgot to scout early because their commander was a noob) in lieu of a gripping story (the colonists are sitting on their asses and suffering with injuries and teh other stuff that happens in war, there's some weird shit about a freak discovery with a dentist and how the stupid stupid refugees have tooth decay becaues they're stupid, and the same dentist is also a soldier that arrives to try to whip them into shape but it is too late and they dieded, the endz!).
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A league is generally about five kilometers. So that would make Battlecruisers over 10 kms in length.

Uprising isn't the best example for scale. There's actually multiple examples of differing sizes of battlecruisers. Even the canon gets confused, unless a 10km battlecruiser is a freak happenstance from an older pre-guild wars era of some kind (build the biggest, because that is the bestest! - nevermind that it has so much inertia that you can't generate enough speed to exit a planet's atmosphere or dodge a nuke; or even maneuver through an asteroid belt).

You should check out the unit pics thread for the most accurate scaling.

[Shadow Archon]

One question remains. Why did they need that much fire power to blow open a fence. In the story, wasn't there just a metal fence bottlenecking the zerg (you know, like one of those fences you see at the edge of a playing field; there was one at my elementary school and 10 year old kids could climb it), and that's why a few foot soldiers with rifles (they weren't even marines, weren't they?

One, we don't know what the fence looks like, and it was suppose to be rather tall. Two, yes they were marines in power armor. Civilians were using mining lasers.

After Banelings are out though, the wall is instantly flattened. Remember, the whole thing was them studying the use of the material (mold? Vegetation? something) there making Banelings.

And using a gauss rifle without powered armor is BS - you'd have to like lean into the weapon and it'd be pretty hard to aim; all accounts point to those weapons as being quite large, like .50 caliber rifle large and thicker so it might even weigh more, who knows);

Generally, while it is possible to use them going by lore with no power armor (IIRC, they use it primarily in a prone position. C-10 rifles and AGR-16 are fine to use by normal people), it is much more restrictive.

could pretty much hold off the entire invasion? And that said, why didn't the zerg just evolve nydus worms?

No. The point was the Zerg could have wiped them out at anytime with the Spore Cannons. They were using the Terrans as a testing ground for implementing the DNA they found there in Zerglings. They created Banelings eventually.

How the heck do the zerg work? Was that like some lesser brood that happened to mutate a superior strain (the baneling)? Maybe that's how zerg develop new mutations - place a brood in a difficult circumstance and it'll evolve eventually.

While sorta of yes, the Zerg were implementing something they assimilated on the planet into Zerglings.

Still doesn't explain all the dead zerg though. Did they just starve? Why would the brood leader/queen/cerebrate/commander/whatever tell them all to die? Wouldn't that expose their hive? They're lucky to have survived at all, and especially lucky that the terrans were stupid and non-military to deem it necessary to scout earlier.

Again. Implementing the biological material to make Banelings. What we saw there was Zerglings/Banelings. Not fully one or the other.

The whole story I found was silly and felt like a typical video game scenario rather than anything that holds weight or emotion - using video game circumstances from starcraft 2 (the colonists forgot to scout early because their commander was a noob)

They couldn't pull out. The Hatchery was producing hundreds of Zerglings each day for eight months straight. As soon as the Marines landed on the planet, most of them were slaughtered by Zerglings. The position they were holding out at was a perfect defense position, and all they could was hold the line while calling the Dominion for assistance. Of course the Dominion were just watching and seeing what the Zerg did for research and just let the colony die because they didn't give a damn.

in lieu of a gripping story (the colonists are sitting on their asses and suffering with injuries and teh other stuff that happens in war, there's some weird shit about a freak discovery with a dentist and how the stupid stupid refugees have tooth decay becaues they're stupid, and the same dentist is also a soldier that arrives to try to whip them into shape but it is too late and they dieded, the endz!).

....You really don't understand the story do you? No offense, but I think you missed the point.

Uprising isn't the best example for scale. There's actually multiple examples of differing sizes of battlecruisers. Even the canon gets confused, unless a 10km battlecruiser is a freak happenstance from an older pre-guild wars era of some kind (build the biggest, because that is the bestest! - nevermind that it has so much inertia that you can't generate enough speed to exit a planet's atmosphere or dodge a nuke; or even maneuver through an asteroid belt).

According to Uprising, all Battlecruisers were that long. The Behemoth was already a main ship by that point and the man was making a point using a general battlecruiser length.

It's a contradiction, but Starcraft has no canon policy therefore everything is equal. Scaling from Starcraft 1 is the better way to go.

You should check out the unit pics thread for the most accurate scaling.

My Starcraft 1 scaling agrees with his.

[solidsamurai]

C-10 rifles and AGR-16 are fine to use by normal people)

Okay, well a C-10 is actually a hand cannon that fires 25mm cannister shot (sort of works like a shotgun; canisters in real life were actually in use during the napoleonic wars). I think you'd have to be prone and with a bipod to use those too,

AGR-16s, I don't know anything about those. Aren't they supersonic rifles? Why not have everyone use them instead of guass rifles? My opinion was that impalers could shoot farther, have a higher rate of fire (shooting farther would be spreading a lot of bullets, or 'spikes', in a general area) and can fit much larger magazines. They might have identical penetration and the AGR-16 is just a low-magazine capacity rifle that's somewhat more versatile and useful for otherwise naked soldiers.

Firing a gauss rifle prone would be weird - doesn't it at least need a bipod? Maybe people shooting them without armor still need to fit them as a turret, for a vehicle or a sub-optimal bunker (like a guerilla bunker or something old fashioned - not the in-game bunkers that are all high tech and servod with robotic loading ramps, etc.). Also the weapon itself doesn't have any sights - it'd have to be helmet assisted or a scope would need to be put on.

[Hawki]

Okay, well a C-10 is actually a hand cannon that fires 25mm cannister shot (sort of works like a shotgun; canisters in real life were actually in use during the napoleonic wars). I think you'd have to be prone and with a bipod to use those too,

The old ones. The new ones are automatic (see http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/C-10_rifle)

AGR-16s, I don't know anything about those. Aren't they supersonic rifles? Why not have everyone use them instead of guass rifles? My opinion was that impalers could shoot farther, have a higher rate of fire (shooting farther would be spreading a lot of bullets, or 'spikes', in a general area) and can fit much larger magazines. They might have identical penetration and the AGR-16 is just a low-magazine capacity rifle that's somewhat more versatile and useful for otherwise naked soldiers.

AGR-14s, actually. See http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/AGR-14_rifle for the rest of the answers.

Firing a gauss rifle prone would be weird - doesn't it at least need a bipod? Maybe people shooting them without armor still need to fit them as a turret, for a vehicle or a sub-optimal bunker (like a guerilla bunker or something old fashioned - not the in-game bunkers that are all high tech and servod with robotic loading ramps, etc.). Also the weapon itself doesn't have any sights - it'd have to be helmet assisted or a scope would need to be put on.

The C-14 can be wielded and indeed mounted without armour, but as I recall, it's quite difficult to use without CMC armor. The core variant's design would be much more easy to use theoretically than the GW variant.

[Shadow Archon]

Okay, well a C-10 is actually a hand cannon that fires 25mm cannister shot (sort of works like a shotgun; canisters in real life were actually in use during the napoleonic wars).

The Canister rifle more functions like a mini missile from going off the lore. As for the other concerns, it can also fire spikes and snipe. It's a multipurpose rifle.

AGR-16s, I don't know anything about those. Aren't they supersonic rifles?

Yes.

Why not have everyone use them instead of guass rifles?

They're ineffective against Power armor. C-14s fire at hypersonic velocities and fire 30 rounds per second. Power armor in the books can stand up to repeated fire from C-10s and it takes concentrated fire with them to take them down. CMC-660s and others are even more durable.

My opinion was that impalers could shoot farther, have a higher rate of fire (shooting farther would be spreading a lot of bullets, or 'spikes', in a general area)

They're accurate up to kilometer away (or 22 kms by Uprising. ). Spread isn't too much a concern.

and can fit much larger magazines. They might have identical penetration and the AGR-16 is just a low-magazine capacity rifle that's somewhat more versatile and useful for otherwise naked soldiers.

C-14s are much more powerful than AGRs actually.

To think that the Dominion/Confederacy has Gauss cannons bigger than C-10s for infantry use is hilarious.

EDIT: Whoops. Knew the AGR number was off. Tosh used an AGR-28 IIRC.

[solidsamurai]

The MkVI article is all just meaningless gibberish to me. What makes a weapon automatic? And the new models seem like the basic model (a canister rifle) with modifications, which are just as easily put in by any soldier that wants to (want a flash light? Just duck tape it on there. This sorta stuff happens in the real world).

Magnetic grid tracker in real life would be as simple as some kind of computer attached to the weapon (adding a ballistic range finder to a rifle doesn't change the rifle's model number! It's still the same rifle). It's all just screwy technobabble that doesn't really mean anything. Another example, no explanation for why it's both high powered single shot and full automatic in the same package - such technology couldn't concievably exist (and no info is provided towards how to operate it; it doesn't need to be as specific as how it operates on its own so much as how a person would use it), unless you maybe took apart the gun and then rebuilt into the other function (which, maybe that's what happens). No mention if the weapon is still just as reliable and not prone to breaking (assumably it is; I'm guessing it's the same weapon, just that the new model can be taken apart and reconfigured into something else).

They're ineffective against Power armor.

Okay, so on top of all that, impalers have more penetration. Why does the AGR-14 even exist, unless the terran have an obsession with coil guns (maybe it's just more affordable).

Power armor in the books can stand up to repeated fire from C-10s and it takes concentrated fire with them to take them down.

Unlikely. I thought C-10s used explosive rounds, which, even though they don't penetrate, would cause enough impact that the wearer is knocked out anyway (and might dent up their armor too, or get some shrapnel caught between the plates).

How is CMC armor built? Ballistic plates of some sort neosteel? Or is only the chassis neosteel? In the game, the armor seems to fall apart in sections (and the wearer's blood pools out, of course), so maybe the chassis is too strong for complete mulching kills? The ballistic plates might be more flexible - the marine's hp could represent how much they can deform and how much stress the wearer can withstand as they deform.

Actually, the torniquette system seems to reflect that it self-amputates the wearer's wounded limbs and then uses stimulants to make the wearer undistracted by the pain, or that the armor is designed to segment instead of deform too much (and non-ballistic attacks such as high-temperature flame would be much worse for the wearer). Would be interesting, since the very notion of the armor makes a wound system for an RPG a little simpler. :P

Blah blah blah, speculations.

[Shadow Archon]

Okay, so on top of all that, impalers have more penetration. Why does the AGR-14 even exist, unless the terran have an obsession with coil guns (maybe it's just more affordable).

They're easier for people without power armor and can be used by specialists for pinpoint shots without worrying about lugging a C-14.

Unlikely. I thought C-10s used explosive rounds, which, even though they don't penetrate, would cause enough impact that the wearer is knocked out anyway (and might dent up their armor too, or get some shrapnel caught between the plates).

Slip of the tongue!

C-14s I mean. My bad!

How is CMC armor built? Ballistic plates of some sort neosteel? Or is only the chassis neosteel? In the game, the armor seems to fall apart in sections, so maybe the chassis is too strong for complete mulching kills? The ballistic plates might be more flexible - the marine's hp could represent how much they can deform and how much stress the wearer can withstand as they deform.

Don't know. The old model kit had something like 80% DU but I don't have it or the picture anymore.

[Hawki]

The MkVI article is all just meaningless gibberish to me. What makes a weapon automatic? And the new models seem like the basic model (a canister rifle) with modifications, which are just as easily put in by any soldier that wants to (want a flash light? Just duck tape it on there. This sorta stuff happens in the real world).

Magnetic grid tracker in real life would be as simple as some kind of computer attached to the weapon (adding a ballistic range finder to a rifle doesn't change the rifle's model number! It's still the same rifle). It's all just screwy technobabble that doesn't really mean anything. Another example, no explanation for why it's both high powered single shot and full automatic in the same package - such technology couldn't concievably exist (and no info is provided towards how to operate it; it doesn't need to be as specific as how it operates on its own so much as how a person would use it), unless you maybe took apart the gun and then rebuilt into the other function (which, maybe that's what happens). No mention if the weapon is still just as reliable and not prone to breaking (assumably it is; I'm guessing it's the same weapon, just that the new model can be taken apart and reconfigured into something else).

Just going by the info that's been provided over the years. It's why I hope StarCraft gets its equivalent (series) to Book of Cain. Weapons aren't too high on my list of interests, but hopefully they can be got round to at some point.

Okay, so on top of all that, impalers have more penetration. Why does the AGR-14 even exist, unless the terran have an obsession with coil guns (maybe it's just more affordable).

I think it being easier to wield is its main feature, since it's utilized by Spectres, Ghosts and mercenaries for instance (all without power armour).

Unlikely. I thought C-10s used explosive rounds, which, even though they don't penetrate, would cause enough impact that the wearer is knocked out anyway (and might dent up their armor too, or get some shrapnel caught between the plates).

Earlier models did. The Mk. VI is able to charge them (Kerrigan demonstrates this in Liberty's Crusade). Being cannisters, assume they can store energy which translates into kinetic energy or something. Heck, it's the 26th century. Go figure. Star Trek had entered technobabble by the 24th at the latest, 22nd at the earliest.

[Shadow Archon]

Earlier models did. The Mk. VI is able to charge them (Kerrigan demonstrates this in Liberty's Crusade). Being cannisters, assume they can store energy which translates into kinetic energy or something. Heck, it's the 26th century. Go figure. Star Trek had entered technobabble by the 24th at the latest, 22nd at the earliest.

However they explode, C-10s, and I do mean Canister rifles, can make holes through the torso of Terran Marines with their power armor on in single shots.

[solidsamurai]

Don't know. The old model kit had something like 80% DU but I don't have it or the picture anymore.

80% DU? I dunno what that means.

Being cannisters, assume they can store energy which translates into kinetic energy or something.

Canister Ammo

Modern weapon that uses it.

The recoiless rifle caliber is much greater than the c-10s 25mm, and is intended as a sort of anti tank gun.

The canister round is also known as a case (hence the alternative name of case shot sometimes used for canister shot) and is still used today in modern artillery, particularly in the main armament of tanks with smoothbore cannons. The effect is to turn a large-calibre gun on an armoured fighting vehicle into a giant shotgun. This can be used against enemy infantry even when in proximity to friendly armoured vehicles, as the projectiles do not penetrate armour. In addition it can be used to create entry points to buildings, reduce wire obstacles and clear heavy vegetation, as well as strike low flying aircraft and helicopters.[3]

So as a rifle, the c-10 would be a long distance shotgun of sorts. The ammo might separate into spread just before impact. It's also likely explosive (maybe the case has grams of sticky explosive residue intended to carry with the shot; yes, not exactly trust worthy by real life standards, but this is sci fi after all), because how else does it damage armored units, and why else the barrel's caliber so large (25mm)? The recoil must be big, so ghost armor might provide some sort of arm-support (maybe magnifies a few 'tendons' within the suit and the arms might bulk up - which you might've seen in a few anime such as ghost in the shell or whatever, where the user is wearing a soft suit). Also, the weapon typically features a shoulder pillow (or guard, whatever you call it - shooting it causes the weapon to slam into the shoulder, which explains why ghosts also wear shoulder pads, and the rail of the rifle's stock might prevent the weapon from shaking too much and causing the ghost to lose aim of their target).

Also, the c-10 is meant to do concussion damage, which places it in the same category as the firebat's flamethrower - so as an explosive, it makes sense.

However they explode, C-10s, and I do mean Canister rifles, can make holes through the torso of Terran Marines with their power armor on in single shots.

Or, say, 4 shots, because that's the game standard. :P

However, marine armor mostly protects the upper torso, head (the helmet curve below the bubble lets them duck their heads underneath in case of an emergency) and shoulder regions (those big, ridiculous pauldrons). I'm guessing this is because they move and attack in crowds and ancient medieval formations (sort of the funky way in which terran warfare likes to jive). Also the arms can't possibly be lifted above the head, the shoulders would get in the way and I don't think servos were built for much.

In a melee, they basically just lean forward and attack or try to step on their foe (the only punch that is possible is probably the jab and throwing a hook requires a good deal of balance since the pilot would have to shift the legs), and it's fairly easy for an agile opponent to move around them. The skilled wearer can balance very well (on one foot may be risky; especially if the waste of the armor isn't exactly measured to a human's center of gravity), but I don't think they can turn around as quickly, let alone spin like a ballerina.

They can grab a foe, but only so much as an arm bar, and a bear hug is difficult, because they'd be pulling backwards as opposed to around the foe (they could deliver some mighty scratches and pinches with their metal fingers, maybe). Reaching down to trip a foe is out of the question - it simply can't be done fast enough. The armor is heavy and strong enough to let the wearer stand (provide they put one leg in back and one leg in front - so standing up requires a bit of room). The legs don't fold well - a marine has to sit in a fetus position, featured in one of the art I saw (the one with the marine holding the bunny rabbit, sitting in a trench).

NOTE: These are all just my opinions of how one might pilot a 1000lbs. suit.

Earlier models did. The Mk. VI is able to charge them (Kerrigan demonstrates this in Liberty's Crusade). Being cannisters, assume they can store energy which translates into kinetic energy or something. Heck, it's the 26th century. Go figure. Star Trek had entered technobabble by the 24th at the latest, 22nd at the earliest.

My starcraft is different. :P