New Zerg data: Biology

[Visions of Khas]

I'm uncertain whether to post a thread about this, or just set my idea here. Oh well, here we go.

The Primal Zerg Imperative

I believe there is evidence from press conferences and information released by Blizzard that the creative team behind the campaign felt a need to incorporate the Primal Zerg, in one form or another. The elements of self-awareness, sentience and self-directed evolution are critical to the Primal Zerg identity. Whether in the form of Metamorphs, created by Kerrigan, capable of directing their own evolution; the Swarm itself gaining sentience, as hinted at in the leaked HotS epilogue trailer; or the rejects of the original Zerg lifeform pursuing their own divergent evolution, the Primal Zerg of the Zerus Arc.

What do you think that reason was? And how would you have introduced the Primal Zerg concept into the story?

[ragnarok]

Well, to a degree, the primal Zerg function a little like how the Protoss do, given the individuality part. Remember, this was why the Protoss experiment fell short of ideal expectations, because the Xel'Naga realized they pushed the experiment too far and too quickly, and the Protoss began to value individual identity and all that.

It would appear the same thing happened to the primal Zerg part, but not to the same extent like what happened on Aiur, given that they did not develop into a society, and probably relied more on pack leaders and such.

From what I saw from the Zerus missions, the pack leaders function in the ruling through fear method, hence why other primal Zerg don't rise up to try and dethrone them, at least not for a whiles. Even so, the Xel'Naga might have seen that because of the pack leaders and all that, there's still room for individuality and everything, despite the fact that self-directed evolution was suitable to their needs.

Aside from just free from Amon's influence and corruption, I'm curious if the corrupted Zerg are even capable of merging with the Protoss to form the new generation of Xel'Naga. Maybe since Amon corrupted the Overmind and changing its directive to attack the Protoss, he felt there's no need for the corrupted Zerg to merge with them, hence why the hybrids could only be created via genetic splicing and everything.

[The_Blade]

I see Zerg conflict as a pure form of evolution. Zerg creatures will kill each other to preserve the best evolutionary genes. This will eventually lead to a better Swarm. Besides the violence, there's nothing else that can be related between this strife and Terran or Protoss conflicts. Zerg leaders will fight each other to preserve the species. The BW plot was acceptable, because Kerrigan was not a suitable leader for the Swarm. She used the swarm for her own conflicts, and this was fround upon by the Cerebrates. Brood Mothers are inferior to Cerebrates because they do not share the same level of Zerg diplomacy. This is why Kerrigan had to survive WoL and HotS. Without her, the Queens could be overwhelmed easily by Amon.

Here is why I believe the Primal Zerg were introduced by Blizzard. The liberation of the Swarm was a much better plot tool against the Amon threat, from the Zerg perspective. With some form of laws, probably imposed over Queens, the Swarm could overwhelm their own leaders if their goals involved the selfdestruction of the Swarm. Before the actual Zerus arc, Kerrigan is gradually infested without the Amon directive. She makes Queens smarter and kills Megnsk to reduce the Terran Dominion support of the Hybrid programs. Due to the new laws of preservation of the Zerg, the Swarm and Kerrigan leave the sector to avoid becoming victims in Amon's war. However, this idea did not fly because the Terran and Protoss were left to deal with the almighty Amon. So, Kerrigan was made stronger trough her visit of Zerus and was hurled directly at Amon. Now, the Terrans and Protoss only have to deal with smaller conflicts. Blizzard created "tribes" because that's how far they felt evolution had gone in Zerus on its own. As well, ancient creatures like Zurvan were created to narrate the Amon plot.

If I was in charge of introducing the Zerus arc, I would have introduced a wilder Zerus. Without packs nor tribes, this planet would be a constant battlefield between meta-organisms. Everything in Zerus has evolved from the original Zerg genome. However, through the active and rapid assimilation of genetic information no species would have reached the top of the food chain. When one species did reach the top others would mutate to counter its domination over the ecosystem.

[ragnarok]

Here is why I believe the Primal Zerg were introduced by Blizzard. The liberation of the Swarm was a much better plot tool against the Amon threat, from the Zerg perspective. With some form of laws, probably imposed over Queens, the Swarm could overwhelm their own leaders if their goals involved the selfdestruction of the Swarm. Before the actual Zerus arc, Kerrigan is gradually infested without the Amon directive. She makes Queens smarter and kills Megnsk to reduce the Terran Dominion support of the Hybrid programs. Due to the new laws of preservation of the Zerg, the Swarm and Kerrigan leave the sector to avoid becoming victims in Amon's war. However, this idea did not fly because the Terran and Protoss were left to deal with the almighty Amon. So, Kerrigan was made stronger trough her visit of Zerus and was hurled directly at Amon. Now, the Terrans and Protoss only have to deal with smaller conflicts. Blizzard created "tribes" because that's how far they felt evolution had gone in Zerus on its own. As well, ancient creatures like Zurvan were created to narrate the Amon plot.

If I was in charge of introducing the Zerus arc, I would have introduced a wilder Zerus. Without packs nor tribes, this planet would be a constant battlefield between meta-organisms. Everything in Zerus has evolved from the original Zerg genome. However, through the active and rapid assimilation of genetic information no species would have reached the top of the food chain. When one species did reach the top others would mutate to counter its domination over the ecosystem.

This wasn't what Blizzard said about the Queens and Broodmothers. According to them (and on the SC wiki), even the regular Queens were based on the Kerrigan's own template, though to a smaller degree than the broodmothers, because she felt the Cerebrates were too impure or something.

I'm still unsure about the overwhelming of their own leaders part. It was never really said how the Zerg society functioned on Zerus BEFORE the Overmind was created. It was only AFTER the Overmind was created that a whole Hierarchy and such structural order was built.

I also don't see her dealing with the main part of Amon while the Protoss only have to deal with smaller conflicts. Amon had known about the primal Zerg for quite a while before he corrupted the Overmind, he would have known their weaknesses and such.

[Turalyon]

What do you think that reason was? And how would you have introduced the Primal Zerg concept into the story?

Simply, I think the reason was just to provide another perspective on Zerg that was not tied intimately to one character or the other (like the Overmind or Kerrigan). It's admirable in itself and has plenty of potential but the realisation of it and the execution was terrible (a very common trait of Sc2 in general).

The way I would have done it was noted in my previous couple posts in this thread. At the least, it avoids the throwing of the initial iteration of Zerg under a bus the way HotS seems happy to do. Mechanically speaking, I see my concept of Primal Zerg as being a natural extension/evolution of the typical Zerg as we knew them much in the same way the Dark Templar/Nerazim served as an extension of the typical Protoss that we had been accustomed to be. I don't necessarily see them as having to be something completely new, isolated and segregated on Zerus in order to give them any weight or credence. And like the Dark Templar, the concept of Primal Zerg doesn't necessarily mean they have to be "better" in almost every way either.

The BW plot was acceptable, because Kerrigan was not a suitable leader for the Swarm.

+1 for emphasis! Instead of a universal will that embodies the motivation of all Zerg (improvement of the greater self known as Zerg) in a bottom-up way, we have a single will dominating the motivation of all Zerg in a top-down way. Would have been nice to seen Kerrigan's deinfestation in WoL being permanent in order to allow a new form of Zerg evolve and do fine on its own.

Here is why I believe the Primal Zerg were introduced by Blizzard. The liberation of the Swarm was a much better plot tool against the Amon threat, from the Zerg perspective. With some form of laws, probably imposed over Queens, the Swarm could overwhelm their own leaders if their goals involved the selfdestruction of the Swarm. Before the actual Zerus arc, Kerrigan is gradually infested without the Amon directive. She makes Queens smarter and kills Megnsk to reduce the Terran Dominion support of the Hybrid programs. Due to the new laws of preservation of the Zerg, the Swarm and Kerrigan leave the sector to avoid becoming victims in Amon's war. However, this idea did not fly because the Terran and Protoss were left to deal with the almighty Amon. So, Kerrigan was made stronger trough her visit of Zerus and was hurled directly at Amon. Now, the Terrans and Protoss only have to deal with smaller conflicts. Blizzard created "tribes" because that's how far they felt evolution had gone in Zerus on its own. As well, ancient creatures like Zurvan were created to narrate the Amon plot.

I'm not sure about this. If Amon has taken millenia to orchestrate the down fall of all the Xel'Naga's creations, the Zerg will never be able to truly run away. The real problem with the above is Kerrigan in general. If we are to believe that she was under Amon's influence after she was deinfested, it would have been telegraphed in some way. Instead we get the impression that the deinfestation in WoL would've removed any Amon influence if anything given her unusual fatalistic behaviour being uncharacteristic in WoL. If she was ever under Amon's influence (before or after deinfestation in WoL), she could have directed the Zerg to run away at any time or do nothing allowing Amon to stomp the Protoss more easily. That's why Zerus had to be introduced, because it had to serve as an unnatural plot device to move the story in a certain way and to provide clunky exposition and rules to setup the final direction for Kerrigan.

With that in mind, it might've been better had she been removed completely from the Zerg by the deinfestation at the ending of WoL because the Zerg would've then had to confront Amon along with the Terrans and Protoss. That way we would've gotten a real Zerg perspective.

If I was in charge of introducing the Zerus arc, I would have introduced a wilder Zerus. Without packs nor tribes, this planet would be a constant battlefield between meta-organisms. Everything in Zerus has evolved from the original Zerg genome. However, through the active and rapid assimilation of genetic information no species would have reached the top of the food chain. When one species did reach the top others would mutate to counter its domination over the ecosystem.

But why would you have it at all in HotS since no matter how you slice it, it was just an excuse for a plot device?

[ragnarok]

I'm not sure about this. If Amon has taken millenia to orchestrate the down fall of all the Xel'Naga's creations, the Zerg will never be able to truly run away. The real problem with the above is Kerrigan in general. If we are to believe that she was under Amon's influence after she was deinfested, it would have been telegraphed in some way. Instead we get the impression that the deinfestation in WoL would've removed any Amon influence if anything given her unusual fatalistic behaviour being uncharacteristic in WoL. If she was ever under Amon's influence (before or after deinfestation in WoL), she could have directed the Zerg to run away at any time or do nothing allowing Amon to stomp the Protoss more easily. That's why Zerus had to be introduced, because it had to serve as an unnatural plot device to move the story in a certain way and to provide clunky exposition and rules to setup the final direction for Kerrigan.

With that in mind, it might've been better had she been removed completely from the Zerg by the deinfestation at the ending of WoL because the Zerg would've then had to confront Amon along with the Terrans and Protoss. That way we would've gotten a real Zerg perspective.

But you DON'T KNOW if Amon really took that long for orchestrate the downfall. Zurvan made it clear that Amon desired the Zerg as a weapon. He didn't say how long after arriving on Zerus did Amon see it that way. The SC1 manual didn't exactly say WHEN the Xel'Naga made the Overmind after arriving on Zerus.

Plus I get the feeling Amon didn't really have to "orchestrate" much at all. The Zerg evolution was done by themselves, the Xel'Naga merely gave them the first step to kick start it off. If that's true, all Amon had to do was sit back and wait for a few thousand years, and then corrupt the Overmind, and that was the end of the matter.

[The_Blade]

But why would you have it at all in HotS since no matter how you slice it, it was just an excuse for a plot device?

I would have liked to see the Zerg return to their origins in order to purify the remaining Amon taint from their "corrupted" design. In my head, Zerus was left as a barren rock because Amon wanted the Zerg to follow his design. However, life found a way and the design of the Xel'Naga was stronger in Zerus than in the Swarm. Abathur would be free from the taint, as well. He would now engineer the best Swarm and not Amon's swarm. Moreover, I would have liked to see Zeratul be more than a doomsayer. With his collection of exclusive information (Hybrid labs, Overmind's link, and Tassadar's message), he would have built a rift to Zerus through the Xel'Naga Warp Gate on Aiur. The rift would open at one of the ruined worldships on Zerus' orbit, with details of the Overmind's memories of its attack on the Xel'Naga. By this moment, Zeratul knows Amon's plan can be adapted; because he has already tried several things to stop it. So, he pins all his hope down to the possible surivival of the original Zerg genome in Zerus. Like I postulated before, they did not find a primordial soup of Zerg bacteria on a wasteland. Instead they found a wild, chaotic world.

Two conflicting forces act against the Zeratul/Kerrigan alliance. As soon as the rift is opened, Hybrid forces start moving towards Aiur; and once the Zerg arrive at Zerus, Abathur splits from the hive cluster and starts to create an army from the planet's biology. Kerrigan must capture Abathur and then throw him into a primal Zerg spawning pool so that he is assimilated into the Zerg and not the other way around. So, Abathur is reborn with the original Zerg template and he starts to reconstitute the rest of the Swarm (including Kerrigan). The Zerg return to Aiur, like beautiful butterflies, and find an empty Protoss Camp. Zeratul reveals himself as the only survivor, because the rest of his DT friends destroyed the Void Seeker on the Hybrid strike forces creating a [insert destructive force here].

The rest of the story can take the same path.

[FanaticTemplar]

Turalyon, if I understand your idea for the Primal Zerg correctly, you're saying that they'd be an evolution of the feral Zerg that adapted to surviving without an overriding will?

With that in mind, it might've been better had she been removed completely from the Zerg by the deinfestation at the ending of WoL because the Zerg would've then had to confront Amon along with the Terrans and Protoss. That way we would've gotten a real Zerg perspective.

Kerrigan should have been removed from the narrative almsot entirely, and Raynor too. The thing with Wings of Liberty's 'happy ending' is that it only works if it's an actual ending. I remember predicting at the time that if Blizzard did choose to keep Kerrigan as the protagonist for Heart of the Swam, it would invalidate everything that happened in Wings of Liberty (and it did). They say they killed off Mengsk because his story was done, but after Wings that was far more true of Raynor and Kerrigan.

[ragnarok]

Turalyon, if I understand your idea for the Primal Zerg correctly, you're saying that they'd be an evolution of the feral Zerg that adapted to surviving without an overriding will?



Kerrigan should have been removed from the narrative almsot entirely, and Raynor too. The thing with Wings of Liberty's 'happy ending' is that it only works if it's an actual ending. I remember predicting at the time that if Blizzard did choose to keep Kerrigan as the protagonist for Heart of the Swam, it would invalidate everything that happened in Wings of Liberty (and it did). They say they killed off Mengsk because his story was done, but after Wings that was far more true of Raynor and Kerrigan.

It SHOULD have been more of true Raynor and Kerrigan, but that was only stressed in Flashpoint. Christie Golden explained that the fans all knew of their story's beginning and ending, but no one knew what happened in the middle, which was what Flashpoint tried to address.

Personally, I felt that was a good idea to show how things went in the SoK, and then it went downhill in HotS yet again.

Ironically, what you said about WoL's ending was similar to what Metzen said back at Blizzcon 2011, that the end scene of Raynor carrying Kerrigan off into the sunrise (because I think it was dawn on Char at that time) was NOT the happy ending everyone was thinking. Hence why the HotS ending, while still better than the BW ending, may not be exactly what we think it is...

[Turalyon]

But you DON'T KNOW if Amon really took that long for orchestrate the downfall. Zurvan made it clear that Amon desired the Zerg as a weapon.

Yes, we do. As Zurvan provides exposition regarding Amon's influence all the way back to the creation of the Overmind and the corruption of the Zerg, it's quite clear that Amon has intended to wreck Xel'Nagan creations at least since that time. That could've been the germ for his genocidal plans that came soon after. Given that all of the aforementioned is considered ancient history to what is happening now in Sc2 and that Amon's agents are still following his lead (up to and including resurrecting him to help with their plans), Amon must have been planning contingencies for the destruction of Xel'Naga creations the the whole time in between now and then.

I wonder, if Raynor can call cool his jets and confuse Kerrigan and the Queen of Blades being two different things in 5 years, why can't Amon just "let it go" given that he's had millenia? That'd be an interesting twist, we'd have Amon waking up only to have changed his mind, becomes a good guy and then helps the races fight off the Hybrids and his servants led by Duran (who comes back from the dead).

I would have liked to see the Zerg return to their origins in order to purify the remaining Amon taint from their "corrupted" design.

Would have been better if the Zerg hadn't been retconned as being "all corrupted" in the first place. Therefore, there'll be no need for the plot-device known as "Zerus".

Turalyon, if I understand your idea for the Primal Zerg correctly, you're saying that they'd be an evolution of the feral Zerg that adapted to surviving without an overriding will?

Yes!! Like the Dark Templar, it'll seemingly be just a slight difference but with the potential for huge ramifications.

Kerrigan should have been removed from the narrative almsot entirely, and Raynor too. The thing with Wings of Liberty's 'happy ending' is that it only works if it's an actual ending. I remember predicting at the time that if Blizzard did choose to keep Kerrigan as the protagonist for Heart of the Swam, it would invalidate everything that happened in Wings of Liberty (and it did). They say they killed off Mengsk because his story was done, but after Wings that was far more true of Raynor and Kerrigan.

I've mentioned something to this effect before. Much as I disliked the ending of WoL (it was more to do with it not being earnt throughout WoL's story rather than personal preference), it was the only thing of major import in terms of status quo change in WoL. Before HotS came out, I expressed the difficulty of forming a Zerg-focused continuation if Kerrigan was also to be the main character especially given that WoL had essentially made her a Terran again. As you can see, Kerrigan is the main problem here and it's all due to them feeling obliged to have her as the main character.

Even then, I complained about Sc2 having a potential Terran heavy focus and it turned out to be true. HotS was more about the affairs of Terrans with the Zerg just being a backdrop. This could explain why they probably had to add Zerus to help counter-balance the heavy Terran motivations and elements in the story. I had hoped that if Kerrigan were to be infested again, it'd be best to have it at the end of HotS so we could at least explore the ramifications of her deinfestation throughout the installment... but then this would be at cross-purpose of having the installment supposedly be about Zerg.

I then postulated that if they had to focus on Kerrigan and the Zerg, it would've been better had she done away with Mengsk very early in HotS as a Terran to finish off what was started in WoL (it would have also given some more weight to Raynor's Media Blitz in that it weakened his position enough to allow Kerrigan to assasinate him) with the Hybrids then coming to fore with Mengsk's death (which would also tie in nicely with that secret mission). We could have Kerrigan angsting about her murder of Mengsk and the nature of inhumanity is not exclusive to physically altered/different species (as she was being the Queen of Blades) but a very human thing in itself. With these dark thoughts and impending danger of the Hybrids, she could then willingly offer herself back to the Zerg because she has nothing to left to give (this time will be different because she is now under no influence from an Overmind and has no chip on her shoulder having displaced her anger/guilt in killing Mengsk - she becomes one with the Zerg as an equal) and then proceed to fight the Hybrids to a standstill for the remaining two-thirds of the campaign until they Hybrids somehow get an advantage leading to the Protoss having to help out in LotV.

I can see that the first quarter/third will still be met with criticism in that it lacks anything remotely to do with Zerg, but I find that it's much better than the HotS we got which was essentially all about Terran affairs with the Zerg being used as a tool/ dressing trying to disguise that fact.

Ironically, what you said about WoL's ending was similar to what Metzen said back at Blizzcon 2011, that the end scene of Raynor carrying Kerrigan off into the sunrise (because I think it was dawn on Char at that time) was NOT the happy ending everyone was thinking. Hence why the HotS ending, while still better than the BW ending, may not be exactly what we think it is...

I knew Mengsk wasn't dead!! Ties in with the Mengsk's preponderance for absurd comebacks, doesn't it? ( to FT).