Rewriting StarCraft II

[FanaticTemplar]

Duke thinks highly of himself as a general - he was proven wrong. As to the matter of him enduring - well, he wouldn't have to endure (which, by definition, actually implies weakness on the Terran's part to begin with) at all if the Terrans had the actual power to repulse the Zerg.

I don't think it's fair to say that the Terrans don't have any power because Alpha Squadron wasn't able to take down the entire Zerg Swarm .

What's this got to do with the Terran's overall and potential defence capability over the entire planet? The purpose of the all out assault on the central platform in The Big Pushwas to cause confusion for an insertion team to go through (only to be revealed at the end that it was a means to gain time for a Psi Emitter setup).

You said that given the climate at the time, the Confederacy might have pulled back troops to Tarsonis, which would have been eliminated by the Zerg invasion. This is true, except that since Tarsonis' defences were mostly based off the orbital platforms, many could have escaped the carnage.

There's nothing wrong with Terran vs Terran focus as long as it's justified. Consider that there isn't as much of a problem when we have Protoss missions focusing on fighting the Zerg most of the time because the conceit of the universe often means it has to be that way. I don't see how it reduces the scope if accounted for properly - the Earth humans arrival in the sector could be made, in numerous ways, to be a one-off occurrence of a lifetime. Also, why must the focus of the Terrans be exclusively restricted to the K-sector for it to be considered not reducing the scope when when we can easily fathom the Protoss and Zerg having reach beyond the K-sector (especially when the Terrans, as a species, actually do have reach beyond the K sector) with that not being considered reducing the scope?

There's nothing wrong with Terran versus Terran as long as it doesn't dominate everything else. But that kind of internal focus leads to isolation from the rest of the setting, which is already a major problem in the setting. I've already complained about how the UED, a faction created with the express purpose of fighting aliens, spent six out of eight missions in Brood War focused on fighting humans. And I think you've brought up yourself how StarCraft II's storyline thus far has been fixated on Terran conflicts to the detriment of everything else in the setting.

As for why it reduces the scope of the setting, Earth is an important point of reference for anyone in the audience. If the Koprulu Sector Terrans are lost and can never home, then the distance between Earth and the Koprulu Sector might as well be infinite. And between here and there, there could be anything. Now, you could say that there's still an infinite space surrounding the area that includes Earth and the Koprulu Sector, and technically you'd be correct. But without something significant for the player situated in that expanse, the audience has no reason to care. It has nothing with which to imagine the distance. Even if Earth never shows up in the narrative, the fact that it exists 'out there' is important because it serves as a basis from which the audience can extrapolate distance. Zerus served a similar purpose, though not as significant since it lacks the 'home field advantage' Earth has for the audience.

[Turalyon]

I don't think it's fair to say that the Terrans don't have any power because Alpha Squadron wasn't able to take down the entire Zerg Swarm .

In that context, sure. But you have to consider that when we next see Duke facing the Zerg, he is not actually a representative of Alpha Squadron anymore but the Dominion itself. Given that the Dominion is supposed to represent a unified Terran front; that the implication that the Terrans are now in a position to possibly affect the narrative in someway with Duke being Mengsk's 2nd-in-command/military go-to man, Duke's continued failure can be both seen as weakness on his part as well as also being representative of the relative weakness of the Terrans on a broader level.

I'd like to think that Duke is a capable general rather than being actually inept because if it really were the latter, that'd make Mengsk stupid as well (which unfortunately ties well with his portrayal in BW, WoL and HotS I guess...) for allowing Duke to be his 2nd and solidifies the notion that Terrans are a bunch of no-hopers as well as being weak.

You said that given the climate at the time, the Confederacy might have pulled back troops to Tarsonis, which would have been eliminated by the Zerg invasion. This is true, except that since Tarsonis' defences were mostly based off the orbital platforms, many could have escaped the carnage.

I don't get it. The Psi Emitter was placed somewhere past or along the central defence platform to draw the Zerg. The defence forces on the other platforms would've been made aware of the mass of Zerg coming to the planet and would have been involved in the defence of the planet whether they wanted to or not.

There's nothing wrong with Terran versus Terran as long as it doesn't dominate everything else. But that kind of internal focus leads to isolation from the rest of the setting, which is already a major problem in the setting. I've already complained about how the UED, a faction created with the express purpose of fighting aliens, spent six out of eight missions in Brood War focused on fighting humans. And I think you've brought up yourself how StarCraft II's storyline thus far has been fixated on Terran conflicts to the detriment of everything else in the setting.

As for why it reduces the scope of the setting, Earth is an important point of reference for anyone in the audience. If the Koprulu Sector Terrans are lost and can never home, then the distance between Earth and the Koprulu Sector might as well be infinite. And between here and there, there could be anything. Now, you could say that there's still an infinite space surrounding the area that includes Earth and the Koprulu Sector, and technically you'd be correct. But without something significant for the player situated in that expanse, the audience has no reason to care. It has nothing with which to imagine the distance. Even if Earth never shows up in the narrative, the fact that it exists 'out there' is important because it serves as a basis from which the audience can extrapolate distance. Zerus served a similar purpose, though not as significant since it lacks the 'home field advantage' Earth has for the audience.

Oh, I think I know why we're at loggerheads here. Here I was talking about how introducing Earth humans didn't necessarily have to be like how they were represented in BW as the UED while you still seem to have the thought that introducing Earth humans can only be represented as how the UED was in BW. That's what it seems like to me at any rate.

I actually understand and share your sentiment that how Earth humans/UED were introduced in BW is somewhat lacking and restricting, but I don't share your sentiment that introducing Earth humans generally (ie: not necessarily in UED guise) is flat-out restricting and a "bad" idea. That the UED in BW happened to focus on excessive Terran vs Terran when it was the UED's express goal to exterminate the aliens does not necessarily mean that any alternative way to introduce Earth humans must follow that same path.

This goes for your concern about the "removal of distance" between the K-sector and Earth humans, too. I've mentioned previously that the presence of Earth humans into the K-sector can be made as a result of a one-off random occurrence (it's contrived sure, but what else isn't in any type of fiction?). Even if you feel that that's not enough to separate the two human groups in order to preserve the K-sector Terrans' identity, there are other ways to promote "distance" (like metaphorically for example) between the two human groups without having to rely on maintaining the physical distance. I don't think there's any real way we can objectively say it's better for the scope of the Terrans in general that the physical distance between the K-sector and Earth must be maintained.

[Visions of Khas]

I don't get it. The Psi Emitter was placed somewhere past or along the central defence platform to draw the Zerg.

That was retconned. There is a hidden, unused mission in StarCraft vanilla after the attack on Omega Platform that has Kerrigan and Raynor hitting Tarsonis and planting the Psi Emitter. That's apparently been made canon, if we are to take the WoL cinematic of Kerrigan on Tarsonis into consideration.


One of the main focuses of StarCraft has always been not the ineptitude so much as the hubris of humanity, as well as a deep-seated sense of apathy towards anything but petty infighting and politics. Humanity plays a game of King of the Hill in midst of a hurricane; in Mengsk's words, the sector will be burnt to ash, it's just a matter of who's on top when that happens.

One thing StarCraft II has eliminated, to me, is limited habitable space for the terrans. The manual and game both implied the Confederacy, and later Dominion, were limited to 12 or so habitable worlds, and several moons. StarCraft II, by contrast, indicates this is just another Star Wars ripoff of a series; the Koprulu Sector has become a region of space replete with lush, habitable, human-friendly worlds. Instead of occupying a desolate region of harsh space, we're in a veritable grove of Eden; we fight in the Goldilocks Zone of the galaxy.

It could just be me, but I miss the harsher days of StarCraft and BroodWar. I think there is some potential for the terran narrative to evolve in LotV, though we all know it won't. Perhaps, with Mengsk's death, a sort of Order 66 is triggered in resoced Dominion forces across the Sector, compelling them to "burn the sector", leaving his son and Raynor to "choke on the ashes". (I really wish that line had been kept in the final HotS cinematic). We would then learn that perhaps, though a tyrant, and he wasn't the leader humanity deserved, Mengsk was the one it needed, as everything begins to topple beneath the weight of itself and the Zerg and Protoss, a process accelerated by "Order 66". I wouldn't mind if, in the end, the Terrans are once more made into exiles who have to find a new sector of space to inhabit; though that might be too reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica, you could also see it as a diaspora similar to the Roma people being forced from their homelands.


TL;DR Despite his monstrous nature, Mengsk's death reveals he was necessary to keeping humanity alive against the onslaught of alien powers; Terran society collapses, a process accelerated by "Order 66" triggered on his death. The K Sector is too habitable. Retread Terran routes as exiles and refugees in an unforgiving galaxy.

[LestersPetZergling]

It could just be me, but I miss the harsher days of StarCraft and BroodWar. I think there is some potential for the terran narrative to evolve in LotV, though we all know it won't. Perhaps, with Mengsk's death, a sort of Order 66 is triggered in resoced Dominion forces across the Sector, compelling them to "burn the sector", leaving his son and Raynor to "choke on the ashes". (I really wish that line had been kept in the final HotS cinematic). We would then learn that perhaps, though a tyrant, and he wasn't the leader humanity deserved, Mengsk was the one it needed, as everything begins to topple beneath the weight of itself and the Zerg and Protoss, a process accelerated by "Order 66". I wouldn't mind if, in the end, the Terrans are once more made into exiles who have to find a new sector of space to inhabit; though that might be too reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica, you could also see it as a diaspora similar to the Roma people being forced from their homelands.

Your interpretation makes sense but I've always seen Mengsk as an anti-hero even all the way to his demise, who is willing to save humanity; no matter the cost. The way I interpreted "I will rule this Sector or see it burnt to ashes" is; if Raynor and his forces rebel (including the Umojans, Kel-Morians and everyone else) and start more infighting, then humanity will be too weak and defenceless to fight against the alien threats; thus if he doesn't rule the Sector undivided in order to eliminate the aliens, then he will see it burnt to ashes around him.

Were it not for the destruction of Tarsonis; then the populace of the Korpulu Sector would not be galvanized to capitulate to his side. They would be apathetic as ever. Mengsk likely thought by fear and extreme methods he could keep the populace motivated, but this backfired.

This parallels Michael Corleone from the Godfather; whom he and Mengsk share eerie similarities in everything. Come to think of it, Mengsk should have been the protagonist of Wings of Liberty. He sacrifices everything; his humanity, his soul to protect humanity, yet the people hate him.

Also, Aldaris seems to share some of Mengsk's sentiment as well. The Conclave's persecution of the Nerazim seems irrational but it makes sense given the Aeon of Strife -- after all, the theme of 'united we stand, divided we fall' is the most common within the original StarCraft. The Conclave was savvy in realizing this, believing that the Nerazim would divide the Khalai. But it was a misconception of the Conclave's that the rogues would lead the Khalai astray.

So StarCraft II I would have preferred that the antagonists who aren't on the dichotomy of good and evil (Raynor and Amon) are the protagonists.

[Visions of Khas]

if Raynor and his forces rebel (including the Umojans, Kel-Morians and everyone else) and start more infighting, then humanity will be too weak and defenceless to fight against the alien threats; thus if he doesn't rule the Sector undivided in order to eliminate the aliens, then he will see it burnt to ashes around him.

Well, that's what I meant. His intentions were selfish but had some beneficial side-effects. I was hoping on the outset of WoL that, were Raynor to succeed in overthrowing Mengsk, he would be met with the cold realization that, as the Dominion crumbled around him, humanity itself would be swept aside by the tide of darkness; that, though he saved a mere colony of refugees, he is effectively responsible for killing humanity in the sector. I don't mean to say Mengsk truly wanted to keep humanity safe, but his iron-fisted rule was necessary.

[LestersPetZergling]

How do you know Mengsk's intentions were selfish? Even towards Raynor or Kerrigan, etc, he didn't let down a façade and show his evil. He appeared to be some Machiavellian schemer; yet when he was with Kerrigan and Raynor in Brood War, he talked to Raynor as if he had no clue that Raynor hated him.

[Turalyon]

That was retconned.

No kidding. The surprise and confusion never ceases.

One thing StarCraft II has eliminated, to me, is limited habitable space for the terrans. The manual and game both implied the Confederacy, and later Dominion, were limited to 12 or so habitable worlds, and several moons. StarCraft II, by contrast, indicates this is just another Star Wars ripoff of a series; the Koprulu Sector has become a region of space replete with lush, habitable, human-friendly worlds. Instead of occupying a desolate region of harsh space, we're in a veritable grove of Eden; we fight in the Goldilocks Zone of the galaxy.

Another retcon. Terran occupation in the Koprulu sector was initially implied to be all in one system. I guess it helped keep the image/impression of the Terrans as being isolated and "out of their league" at the time. Course, I don't mind the Terrans actually making a go of it and eventually succeeding in spreading out on their own as long as we see some of this progress. Sc2 just makes an abrupt transition with the Terrans suddenly and seemingly being everywhere and quite powerful just so that it can structurally support/set up their story.

It could just be me, but I miss the harsher days of StarCraft and BroodWar.

I can assure you, you're not the only one.

Your interpretation makes sense but I've always seen Mengsk as an anti-hero even all the way to his demise, who is willing to save humanity; no matter the cost. The way I interpreted "I will rule this Sector or see it burnt to ashes" is; if Raynor and his forces rebel (including the Umojans, Kel-Morians and everyone else) and start more infighting, then humanity will be too weak and defenceless to fight against the alien threats; thus if he doesn't rule the Sector undivided in order to eliminate the aliens, then he will see it burnt to ashes around him.

This. I'm not sure whether that particular line can be interpreted as anything more than a "reveal" of Mengsk's true megalomaniacal nature. However, I do like that pragmatic notion that Mengsk really is the leader that the Terrans need at that particular point in time and that without him, the Terrans are screwed because of their inherent nature of being "their own worst enemies". That feels more real to the universe rather than the "hitherto unknown trick up one's sleeve plot device" (which VoK's interpretation has a slight hint of - sorry, no offence intended!!) that Sc2 seems to be relying on, and feeling more fake as a result, these days.

So StarCraft II I would have preferred that the antagonists who aren't on the dichotomy of good and evil (Raynor and Amon) are the protagonists.

This is a writing issue. It's not just that they're "good" or "evil", the characters in Sc2 are largely cardboard cut-outs ape "depth" where it is painfully obviously on observation that there is none to be had.

How do you know Mengsk's intentions were selfish? Even towards Raynor or Kerrigan, etc, he didn't let down a façade and show his evil. He appeared to be some Machiavellian schemer; yet when he was with Kerrigan and Raynor in Brood War, he talked to Raynor as if he had no clue that Raynor hated him.

Because BW cemented the fact that Mengsk was nothing more but selfish.

That said, I don't see anything wrong with revealing Mengsk's true intentions to be selfish because it humanises (everyone is selfish at some level) and adds a layer to him. It's just a pity that once that it was revealed, it had to overshadow and flanderise him into a buffoon later on. There was no reason for the "wheels to fall off" of Mengsk just because the audience now knew he was selfish. He had always been selfish in his acts during Rebel Yell and yet his magnificent bastardry was intact until he reached his goal with the clincher to being that his actions also had a darkly altruistic, pragmatic and utilitarian benefit.

[FanaticTemplar]

How do you know Mengsk's intentions were selfish? Even towards Raynor or Kerrigan, etc, he didn't let down a façade and show his evil.

He did kinda feed Kerrigan to the Zerg just because she'd questioned him too much.

[Telenil]

Another retcon. Terran occupation in the Koprulu sector was initially implied to be all in one system. I guess it helped keep the image/impression of the Terrans as being isolated and "out of their league" at the time.

IIRC, the Terran were supposed to have 13 worlds before the Zerg invasion, though whether it was just the core worlds or included the fringe worlds was unclear. 5 of these 13 remained by the end of Rebel Yell.

He did kinda feed Kerrigan to the Zerg just because she'd questioned him too much.

And because she killed his family, too.

[Hellgrinder]

I'm pretty sure it was just the core worlds.