heart of the swarm

[FanaticTemplar]

So I figured, the genes for all Zerg strains may be found in every Zerg. After a larva evolves, it loses access to those portions of DNA; in a mature Zerg, say a Hydralisk, the genes for a Guardian still exist but are non-coding, junk DNA.

Well, the Larva (and Defiler) are supposedly unique in carrying the genetic code for every Zerg strain, so I would guess not as such. But then again, that also provides the simple answer: the Primals got their hands on Larvae.

[Turalyon]

Welcome to the club. Terran lovers were put there back in Brood War.

Thing is, the K-sector Terrans never gave off the feeling that they would ever be powerful enough to go up against the Zerg or Protoss back in Sc1, so really the apparent "gimpness" of the K-Sector Terrans was an inherent trait of them. It's different with the Zerg because since they started off in a strong position. If there were any measures made in order to gimp them it usually and easily tends to make the whole affair look very plot device-y and contrived. Just the way it goes I suppose.

[Visions of Khas]

Thing is, the K-sector Terrans never gave off the feeling that they would ever be powerful enough to go up against the Zerg or Protoss back in Sc1, so really the apparent "gimpness" of the K-Sector Terrans was an inherent trait of them.

Is it any consolation that the bulk of terran victories against alien powers is due to outside, Amon/Xel'Naga-related intervention?

[Gradius]

We can't say this with any certainty.

I'm well aware of that. If you want something with "certainty" then there's this line from the manual "The Zerg left the lifeless, burning world of Zerus and laid waste to every planet they found along their path towards the Protoss Homeworld."

There you go, lifeless. This is irrefutable proof that the primal zerg could not exist. And yet, the point I was making, is that this does not bother me nearly as much as the primal zerg concept in itself, which basically boils down to a grievous betrayal of the spirit of the zerg race. If somebody came in here before HoTS was released and created some fanfiction based on the concept of "individualistic" zerg that don't use a hive-mind, who focus more on being "powerful warriors" than efficient killers, I think it would have been laughed off the forums, and we all know it. But that's just my opinion. It's little more than the equivalent of sentient zerg like "zerggrinch" or"Meserole the Marauder": http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Meserole_the_Marauder

Except I'm pretty sure those were supposed to be jokes and not taken seriously.

[Hawki]

It's different with the Zerg because since they started off in a strong position. If there were any measures made in order to gimp them it usually and easily tends to make the whole affair look very plot device-y and contrived. Just the way it goes I suppose.

Except the zerg haven't really had it rough compared to the terrans, or even the protoss. Look at the win-loss ratio for campaigns:

Terrans: 4 phyric/subverted victories (StarCraft, Loomings, Enslavers, Wings of Liberty), 3 net losses Brood War, Insurrection, and Retribution), 1 net victory (HunCraft, which is non-canon anyway).

Zerg: 3 net losses (StarCraft, HunCraft, Enslavers), 1 tactical victory (Loomings), 4 net victories (Retribution, Insurrection, Brood War, Heart of the Swarm). And while HotS may become subverted or a net loss depending on LotV, the zerg aren't exactly in a weak position, and are certainly still the most powerful race of the "big three" right now.

So yeah. Quit yer whinin'

And yet, the point I was making, is that this does not bother me nearly as much as the primal zerg concept in itself, which basically boils down to a grievous betrayal of the spirit of the zerg race.

Oh, you mean the same way Nerazim "betray" the Khalai spirit, or the UED "betray" the terran spirit?

There's a difference being re-introduction and revision. Re-introduction is taking a previous existing concept and running with it - the Nerazim got fleshed out in Brood War (a pre-existing concept), the UED got re-introduced in the same game (despite the UPL said to only rule for a few decades in the original manual), the primal zerg got re-introduced for Heart of the Swarm. It requires a retcon of Zerus, but it isn't a revision* of the zerg themselves, revision being taking such a trait, and arbitrarily making the race entirely like it. Which hasn't happened. Not all protoss are Nerazim, the UED hasn't imparted itself on the terrans, and the primal zerg still exist within a larger Swarm.

There's technically also the transition model, where x becomes y over the course of z,** as opposed to x was always y even pre-z. The zerg might have been an example if they became the equivalent of primal zerg over HotS as the original ending might suggest. Sometimes it's done well IMO, sometimes it isn't, but as this didn't happen to the zerg, it's a moot point.

*Examples would include mala'kak, necrons, goa'uld, etc.

**Examples include the tau, Tau'ri, arguably geth, etc.

I think it would have been laughed off the forums, and we all know it. But that's just my opinion. It's little more than the equivalent of sentient zerg like "zerggrinch" or"Meserole the Marauder":

I'm guessing you're not a fan of the Operation: Claws novelization I did then.

[Turalyon]

Is it any consolation that the bulk of terran victories against alien powers is due to outside, Amon/Xel'Naga-related intervention?

That would just be another mark against the Terrans by all accounts because that just means they're too weaksauce on their own such that they need divine intervention in the form of hitherto unknown but recently unearthed godly powers (to the groans of all who recognise such things) to be competitive. The UED or Earth Terrans in general would have been a more acceptable 'out' for this problem of in-lore Terran "weakness" given that there is a history there and can be written in to not look contrived, but as BW shows us they weren't used in that way unfortunately.

Except the zerg haven't really had it rough compared to the terrans, or even the protoss. Look at the win-loss ratio for campaigns

So yeah. Quit yer whinin'

Who said things had to be fair? It's not my fault the Zerg were initially and continually written as a powerhouse and the Terran as mewling kittens to the slaughter! The only way to change such an entrenched status quo is to break it with contrivance (doesn't always have be seen negatively even though it usually is) because it wouldn't naturally break itself.

the primal zerg got re-introduced for Heart of the Swarm. It requires a retcon of Zerus

Primal Zerg re-introduced? I thought they were newly introduced in HotS since there is no way you can interpret the Zerg history in a way that would make one would think that the Primal Zerg were first introduced then. You'd have to start considering the entire Zerg history to be unreliable to do that. Then again, they've established the Overmind as an unreliable narrator in WoL out of the blue, so why not make the entire Zerg history a whole case of unreliable narration in HotS, I guess? How's that for serial escalation? I wonder what'd be next...