New Zerg data: Biology

[ragnarok]

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).

Raynor only did it because he felt responsible. Trying to compare this is more like trying to compare his intent to bring Mengsk to justice, which he didn't let go.

Tell me, do you think Amon desired the Zerg as a weapon virtually the moment he arrived on Zerus?

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

You know what I mean....

[Turalyon]

Tell me, do you think Amon desired the Zerg as a weapon virtually the moment he arrived on Zerus?

Eh, it's a kind of "dkdc" kind of question for me but sure why the hell not? They can say that he wanted to kill the Protoss at first, too but couldn't find a way to do it without looking suss, so he decided to cause the Aeon of Strife and to later subvert the Zerg to kill the Protoss just to make sure to cover his bases. At this point, they can come up with any justification for Amon's actions and it will still be lame and eye-rolly.

[FanaticTemplar]

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

This would have been far more interesting and made far more sense. One of my major problems with Blizzard across the franchises I've played is their predilection for creating new pasts from which to draw plots, rather than exploring the ramifications of what had already happened.

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.

Agreed on all points.

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

Infested Cyborg Mengsk is coming!

If they actually did that, it might veer into so bad it's good territory for me though. That would just be so ridiculous.

[ragnarok]

Eh, it's a kind of "dkdc" kind of question for me but sure why the hell not? They can say that he wanted to kill the Protoss at first, too but couldn't find a way to do it without looking suss, so he decided to cause the Aeon of Strife and to later subvert the Zerg to kill the Protoss just to make sure to cover his bases. At this point, they can come up with any justification for Amon's actions and it will still be lame and eye-rolly.

See if the Zerg still only existed as parasitic insects by the time the Xel'Naga arrived on Zerus, I just don't see it happening. To Amon, the Zerg at that moment would have been unimpressive to him.

He would probably have to wait until the Zerg evolved to the point where they could take over host bodies and steal essence in that aspect, that he'd see the potential for them as a weapon of war. In their insect forms, I don't see why Amon would care.

[Turalyon]

One of my major problems with Blizzard across the franchises I've played is their predilection for creating new pasts from which to draw plots, rather than exploring the ramifications of what had already happened.

So true. I wonder if there's a trope to describe this very thing.

If they actually did that, it might veer into so bad it's good territory for me though. That would just be so ridiculous.

You know, I've actually been waiting for something as overt as this to happen in order to validate my nagging suspicion that Sc2 is supposed to be broad comedy.

See if the Zerg still only existed as parasitic insects by the time the Xel'Naga arrived on Zerus, I just don't see it happening. To Amon, the Zerg at that moment would have been unimpressive to him.

But Amon is some kind of Xel'Naga or some alien with "great plans in mind". If the Xel'Naga themselves know that procreation requires a long-view in order to be successful, it can't be that hard for Amon to have a long-view plan to disrupt it (which would be comparatively shorter than the cycle of creating the next generation of Xel'Naga and easier to do as well).

[ragnarok]

But Amon is some kind of Xel'Naga or some alien with "great plans in mind". If the Xel'Naga themselves know that procreation requires a long-view in order to be successful, it can't be that hard for Amon to have a long-view plan to disrupt it (which would be comparatively shorter than the cycle of creating the next generation of Xel'Naga and easier to do as well).

It's hard to say if Amon really had that plan in mind BEFORE he came to Zerus in the first place. As for the rest of the Xel'Naga, it's hard to know how many times the cycle had repeated itself. If it had been long enough, maybe they grew naive on the matter and overlooked the long view plan.

[Turalyon]

It's hard to say if Amon really had that plan in mind BEFORE he came to Zerus in the first place.

So what? He can come up with a plan two minutes, a century after (if not before) discovering the Zerg for all he cares. Such time units would be relatively meaningless to a creature as long-lived as he is. It doesn't change the fact he'd still want the Protoss dead.

[The_Blade]

More info on the Zerg biology: Zergling, Baneling, Queen, and Roach

We also got a song:


Either you will love it or you will be extremely mad about it.

[Turalyon]

^ What's there to get mad at? That song was around since BW (type "radio free zerg" as a cheat code).

[The_Blade]

I'm so ignorant... Anyways, I like it because it's silly and fun. It's just that some persons might hate it for the exact same reasons.