[Spoilers] Gradius's LoTV Thoughts

[The_Blade]

They do have very good Lore Historians. I've met two of them and they are beasts when talking about lore. They know everything!

The problem with development, as outlined by Metzen, is that a lot of people chip into the story. Designers want certain attributes related to gameplay to happen, Producers want some topics or audiences addressed, and Artists can only create a limited number of assets. After all this changes are voiced by the other departments, the fundamental story of the game has to change. IIRC Historians help write the initial untouched story and then help make the changes less dramatic.

As well, in the case of SC2's trilogy we have three different lead writers. Chris Metzen [WoL], Brian Kindregan [HotS], and James Waugh [LotV]. Metzen's outline was followed, but the rest of the continuity was like a game of Chinese Wispers. While they could still talk to each other, the department constraints added into the difficulty of preserving the timeline. Then, how each writer reacted is what shaped the final tone of the game.

[Sheliek]

TIL that mentioning information like the Spear of Adun, which was not previously mentioned but also does not contradict a single piece of preexisting story, is a retcon. I'm critical of the story, but try harder please.

[Turalyon]

TIL that mentioning information like the Spear of Adun, which was not previously mentioned but also does not contradict a single piece of preexisting story, is a retcon. I'm critical of the story, but try harder please.

It's called an additive retcon which means it's still a retcon, my friend. Retcon is a neutral term, it's just that people use it and hear it in a perjorative sense.

[Nissa]

Is there any reason why the Spear of Adun couldn't have just been built by the Protoss? Did it really have to be discovered?

[FanaticTemplar]

Is there any reason why the Spear of Adun couldn't have just been built by the Protoss? Did it really have to be discovered?

It was built by the Protoss. The Protoss of the time were unequaled by anything in the world, so there was really no point in this much overkill, so Rohana and her sisters felt that it should be sealed away, never used until all hope is lost so that it could provide a last chance for the Protoss when everything else had failed. The short story is available on Battle.net. I quite like it, actually.

[ragnarok]

They do have very good Lore Historians. I've met two of them and they are beasts when talking about lore. They know everything!

The problem with development, as outlined by Metzen, is that a lot of people chip into the story. Designers want certain attributes related to gameplay to happen, Producers want some topics or audiences addressed, and Artists can only create a limited number of assets. After all this changes are voiced by the other departments, the fundamental story of the game has to change. IIRC Historians help write the initial untouched story and then help make the changes less dramatic.

Ultimately this was the problem even in HotS: everyone wanted something different, they tried to compromise, but the compromise satisfied NO ONE.

[Drake Clawfang]

It's called an additive retcon which means it's still a retcon, my friend. Retcon is a neutral term, it's just that people use it and hear it in a perjorative sense.

Agreed, people universally assume retcons are bad. Everyone uses retcons, Tolkien retconned stuff. But something like the Spear of Adun is fine; yes, we didn't mention it before, but its existence now does not contradict pre-existing lore (unlike a lot of parts of SC2). It's like retconning the Khalis was on Char, or the Psi Disruptor was on Tarsonis.

Also, a small but cool touch I'm wondering if others noticed - the Xel'naga Temple on Shakuras, I thought "oh cool, the layout is all the same as before." However, now we have these nice lanes leading up to the temple? Odd. But, look at the chasm around the temple and you see the temple walls stretching into it. Remember the cinematic of it activating? It destroyed the land around it, and now the Nerazim have rebuilt around it and built a platform up around the top of it.

[The_Blade]

Also, a small but cool touch I'm wondering if others noticed - the Xel'naga Temple on Shakuras, I thought "oh cool, the layout is all the same as before." However, now we have these nice lanes leading up to the temple? Odd. But, look at the chasm around the temple and you see the temple walls stretching into it. Remember the cinematic of it activating? It destroyed the land around it, and now the Nerazim have rebuilt around it and built a platform up around the top of it.

*Claps* Good eye, FT. A tear almost came out of my eye. Just proves how much the Level Artists/Designers care about the details. Every map was a 10/10 on terrain art, except the Epilogue (though I'm heavily biased because I disliked the concept of the Void realm).

[Gradius]

One other thing I noticed. Kerrigan assimilated Ouros, but the zerg already assimilated the Xel'Naga in the SC1 manual. So they should have godhood status already and/or not be able to do it in the first place...

[Robear]

^ Yeah, this is a great point Gradius.

As the greater whole of the Xel’Naga race was consumed by the raging, genetic whirlwind of the Zerg, the Overmind gained the knowledge and insights of its masters. The Overmind processed thousands of sentient beings into itself, causing it to grow far more powerful than it had ever imagined. It learned the secrets of the sacred Khaydarin Crystals, and began to incorporate the energies of these Crystals into its own. Through the intimate knowledge of evolution and proto-genetic physiology gained from the Xel’Naga, the Overmind was able to increase the level of sentience in many of the higher Zerg strains, while still keeping them fully under its control.

Through dissecting the memories of the Xel’Naga, the Overmind was made aware of the myriad races that had at one time or another been influenced by the ancient race. The Xel’Naga had kept a detailed genetic history of each race, giving the Overmind a clear understanding of their respective strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, the Overmind learned of an exceedingly powerful race that lived near the galaxy’s fringe known only as the Protoss. The Overmind knew then that the Protoss and the Zerg would eventually be caught in an inevitable, apocalyptic conflict.

I guess though with Ouros willingly giving god powers vs the Overmind trying to take them by force and maybe only getting 'knowledge and insights' out of it, this is less of a trampling of the SC1 manual than a lot of other stuff.