New Zerg data: Biology

[Turalyon]

It was always weirder with the Mutalisks though. In my head they were always mostly atmospheric flyers, maybe using their wings as solar sails when desperately needed in space or something.

Like Gradius, I'm not fond of the Zerg possessing psionics before encountering humanity, though I guess it is canon.

But Mutalisks are apparently adept at flying around in space as well as atmosphere. I don't see any fuel tanks on the thing, so God knows where it keeps the gas. I'd imagine Mutalisks to require a lot wastage because they would need to constantly accelerate/decelerate in space with most of it be used up for maneuvering. With an anti-grav organ you can make up all sorts of rules for that. One could say that the organ generates a field in which the Mutalisk can move in with it's wing beats distending this field in certain directions to allow "movement" through space.

Whether such an ability falls into the realm of "psionics", it's hard to know. The Zerg are able to communicate through an invisible network of intermediaries which would normally and already fall into what general sci-fi convention would call "psionics" anyway. The whole forming wormholes thing is also a little sketchy but hey, since it would involve manipulating gravity in some form it would help support the possibility of an anti-grav organ existing. If the Overmind has all these things and itself claims that it still wants "psionics" in spite of this, it probably means that those abilities are not what it classifies as being "psionic".

[Visions of Khas]

(Ugh primal Zerg mess this up)

Unpopular opinion here, but I am no where near as opposed to the existence of the Primal Zerg as the rest of you. Several millenia separate them from the ancient zerg insectoids; they're clearly another evolutionary derivative, rather than the "Original Species."

[ragnarok]

Yeah but you have to limit Zerg psionics from a writing standpoint. Hive mind communication, wormholes, telekinesis. Why did they need the terrans again?

Yeah, but those abilities, as the Overmind found out, were not enough to defeat the Protoss. The Overmind hoped to kill some Protoss and get their psionic powers, but found the Khala prevented this, so he had to turn to another species for it.

The Primal Zerg were also sensitive to psionic potential, don't forget. Notice that the remaining psychic abilities were used exclusively by the Overmind and its lesser counterparts, the Cerebrates, but not to anything on an individual scale. Wonder if that plays a role?

I don't see what that has to do with it. It's likely after Amon's corrupting was finished, he didn't even know there were still primal Zerg left on Zerus. I don't see how the primal Zerg can play a role in the terrans and Protoss at all.

This was seen in Kaldir, if you go there AFTER Zerus, when Kerrigan was explaining to Dehaka that due to the Khala, he cannot collect Protoss essence.

[Turalyon]

Unpopular opinion here, but I am no where near as opposed to the existence of the Primal Zerg as the rest of you. Several millenia separate them from the ancient zerg insectoids; they're clearly another evolutionary derivative, rather than the "Original Species."

Being a Zerg lover, I'm not against the concept either.... just against the way Blizz decided to handle it. It's very derivative of the Dark Templar with none of the nuance because even though the Nerazim do turn out to be "better" than their Khalai brethren, there's more to it than just that. With the Primal Zerg, it's all about them just being better than the original/corrupt Zerg and that's about it.

Yay, I've just been advised what a waste of time I've been spending liking a race that are really nothing more than a bunch of junk rejects. Coupled with the Overmind thing in WoL, there is nothing to like about the Zerg at all these days.

[Visions of Khas]

I think it's obvious that Blizzard really messed it up, in part because they were trying to arrive at a particular conclusion but didn't know how to get there. There were many different iterations on a similar theme, if you go through the history of their press reports; at first, Kerrigan was trying to create a breed of minion capable of directing its own evolution, called metamorphs. The leaked HotS ending suggested that she somehow gave the Swarm as a whole sentience. Blizzard finally decided to revisit Zerus in order to produce the Primal Zerg. Which makes me wonder if the Primal Zerg might in fact play a larger role in the future of the Swarm's history in LotV.

[ragnarok]

Being a Zerg lover, I'm not against the concept either.... just against the way Blizz decided to handle it. It's very derivative of the Dark Templar with none of the nuance because even though the Nerazim do turn out to be "better" than their Khalai brethren, there's more to it than just that. With the Primal Zerg, it's all about them just being better than the original/corrupt Zerg and that's about it.

Yay, I've just been advised what a waste of time I've been spending liking a race that are really nothing more than a bunch of junk rejects. Coupled with the Overmind thing in WoL, there is nothing to like about the Zerg at all these days.

The Overmind's concept was acceptable not to have free will. The Xel'Naga probably didn't give it any in case it refused to merge with the Protoss to continue the Xel'Naga life cycle.

[Gradius]

The Overmind's concept was acceptable not to have free will. The Xel'Naga probably didn't give it any in case it refused to merge with the Protoss to continue the Xel'Naga life cycle.

Nonsense. There was no Xel'Naga life cycle in SC1. Or any indication that the Overmind lied to himself and his cerebrates.

[Gradius]

The Overmind's concept was acceptable not to have free will. The Xel'Naga probably didn't give it any in case it refused to merge with the Protoss to continue the Xel'Naga life cycle.

Nonsense. There was no Xel'Naga life cycle in SC1. Or any indication that the Overmind lied to himself and his cerebrates.

[ragnarok]

Nonsense. There was no Xel'Naga life cycle in SC1. Or any indication that the Overmind lied to himself and his cerebrates.

Of course not, but the Xel'Naga were the ones who made the Overmind, it wasn't Amon HIMSELF who made the guy.

[Visions of Khas]

Nonsense. There was no Xel'Naga life cycle in SC1. Or any indication that the Overmind lied to himself and his cerebrates.

I consider two different kinds of retcon. One takes history and facts from a story and retells them, changing established history. The second kind adds facts to hazy, unexplored bits of lore. The addition of the Xel'Naga lifecycle falls into the latter category, so saying the Xel'Naga never had a life cycle is kind of... silly? The author has simply chosen to cast light on that shadow of the lore. But the changes in the Overmind's character definitely falls into the former category of retroactive continuity alteration. :\