How you suppose the breeds of the extended Zerg swarms are composed?

[Turalyon]

Kerry's significance in Episode II is a retcon, and so is any attempt to rationalize.

Please explain what you mean by this. I already know and have said that Kerrigan's actual and objective significance for the Zerg in Episode II is actually nothing more than the subjective significance/positive bias foisted onto her by the Overmind. Indeed, her objective significance in Starcraft 1 alone (disregarding BW for the moment) was actually to usher in the defeat of the Overmind/Zerg and not to ensure total Zerg victory as the backstory would have you believe. Her inclusion into the Swarm led to the cascade of events that led to the Overmind's downfall. In a way, Kerrigan's actual significance to the entire Sc1 plot is a subversion of what was to be initially expected.

Before the retcons there was no reason to believe infesting humans was inordinately difficult, and most of the portrayals of infestation do not follow this retcon.

It obviously was difficult for the Zerg to find and infest a psychic human though because logic would dictate that if it were easily acquirable, it would've had one (with the resulting consequences of having one) way before the events that transpired in Rebel Yell, right? If the Zerg already had captured a psychic prior to the beginning of Sc1, the plot in Sc1 would be totally different from what we actually got.

In the case of Shane, it's arguable whether that's a limitation of the infestor infesting him or an attempt at compassion.

Gotta love the wiggle room that that ambiguity provides.

Rather than pulling infinite Zerg controlling powers out of his ass like Kerry, his consciousness was absorbed and assumed by the cerebrate that infested him.

Thing is, Sc1 Kerrigan (not BW Kerrigan - the distinction is important) does not have infinite Zerg controlling powers. She's actually under the the care of the cerebrate that was assigned to watch and protect over her, not controlling the Zerg. She's just billed as a unique and (most) powerful agent of the Swarm, which she is. However, Sc1 Kerrigan exhibits no insane and overpowered abilities... until BW. Sc1 Kerrigan has weaknesses and is exploited/outmaneuvered despite being the supposed "best" weapon they have against Protoss. She fails to kill the Protoss that will eventually end up killing the Overmind. Sc1 Kerrigan is not the "bees knees" that the Overmind thinks she is. The Overmind "needing" a psionic to beat the Protoss turns out to be just a fanciful pipe dream, with Kerrigan really just being the culmination of said pipe dream.

There is no possible way the Zerg could have subverted Razsagal, unless they launched an offensive against the entire Protoss Empire including the dark templar when they invaded.

Whether the Watsonian explanation was that she was senile or that she was taxed due to stress of fighting the Zerg, the Khalai insurrection whilst maintaining rule over her people, it's all rather semantic and open to fanwank. The point is that there was nothing apparent in the game or the existing material at the time to give a reasonable Watsonian explanation for it in the first place. People are then forced to surmise a Doylist explanation for it, hence all the outcry of it being an asspull and that Kerrigan being OP/Mary Sue.

[Nissa]

However, Sc1 Kerrigan exhibits no insane and overpowered abilities... until BW.

I don't understand. In BW she does not have insane and overpowered abilities. She's heavily dependent on her cerebrate, Duran, Raynor, Mengsk, Raszagal, Zeratul, and Fenix to accomplish her goals. She does essentially nothing by herself.

[Turalyon]

In BW she does not have insane and overpowered abilities.

She can control all the Zerg and can mind control Dark Templar. She also has this unusual knack of everything going her way despite her plans being dependent on people being dumb where appropriate.

[Mislagnissa]

I don't understand. In BW she does not have insane and overpowered abilities. She's heavily dependent on her cerebrate, Duran, Raynor, Mengsk, Raszagal, Zeratul, and Fenix to accomplish her goals. She does essentially nothing by herself.

There are a couple of fanfics which point this out.

"If the Magistrate were Infested" is an adaptation of Episode 2 and beyond where the protagonist/narrator is the Magistrate from Rebel Yell, who disobeys Mengsk to assist Kerry and gets infested for his trouble. Magis in the only sane character in the entire story and his internal monologues constantly point out how everyone around him is either stupid or insane. There's absolutely no tension in the story, and there are still loads of plot holes, but it is very funny. In a refreshing change from typical goody-two-shoes protagonists, Magis still shares the Zerg goal of conquering the universe and pretty much becomes the new Overmind.

"Birth of a Queen" is an adaptation of Episode 2. Unlike the Queen of Blades novel, it constantly bashes Kerry. The protagonist/narrator hates her and constantly points out her inadequacy (apparently infestation gave her severe brain damage). Also, the Raynor and Duke subplot is changed to the Dominion assaulting Char to stop the Zerg because that makes more sense than a cheap cameo. Unfortunately, the protagonist/narrator is supposed to be a "good" Zerg, which in this case means he's a complete pacifist who only fights because the Overmind tells him to. This is a suicidal character trait to have in a military scifi setting and I have no idea how the author intends to develop his character.

The idea of "good" Zerg is just so obviously stupid that I have no idea why it keeps popping up in fanfics and custom campaigns. Both the parasitic Zerg in the SC1 backstory and the primal Zerg retconned into SC2 are monsters motivated solely by survival and reproduction. The Overmind not only shared this motivation, but provided the unity required to pursue it on a galactic scale. It's not possible for Zerg to be peaceful because their alien psychology perceives all life other than themselves to be hosts and food.

Speaking of which, there's like three or so custom campaigns where the Overmind returns from the dead. In one mission of Replicant, Niadra fuses with the Overmind's corpse and becomes the new Overmind for about fives minutes before being re-killed by some dark templar. In Evolution of the Swarm, which died after the third mission was made, the Overmind spontaneously begins to revive without explanation and for no apparent reason Abathur, Zagara and Dehaka are terrified of this and seek to re-kill the Overmind. In Time Convergence, the Overmind (and Abathur, who replaces the now nonexistent cerebrates) is out and out stated to be immune to death regardless of dark templar magic so long as the Zerg exist. Enslavers Redux shows Overmind capable of resurrecting the bodies of cerebrates who were permanently killed (admittedly without dark templar magic, but what's the difference?).

There's almost no Zerg custom campaigns, much less completed ones, but what few exist fall into one of three or so plots. Either the Zerg are trying to survive or defend themselves (Brood, Annihilation), trying to eat choice genomes and conquer the universe (Brood's Wrath and its sequel Shadow of the Brood), or they are trying to help the Terrans and Protoss maintain peace (pretty much every other custom campaign).

I have no idea why anyone makes Zerg campaigns if they're portrayed as interchangeable with Terrans or Protoss in terms of behavior. Why does anyone even like the Zerg? What makes them stand out from Terrans and Protoss? Are they just muppets now?

[ragnarok]

I don't understand. In BW she does not have insane and overpowered abilities. She's heavily dependent on her cerebrate, Duran, Raynor, Mengsk, Raszagal, Zeratul, and Fenix to accomplish her goals. She does essentially nothing by herself.

They wanted to make her smarter in SC2, which turned out a disaster. After BW she foolishly thought she could pwn everything without even a strategy. Hence the reason she lost at the end of WoL.

Depending on them in BW was vital because Blizzard didn't want to develop her to be omnipotent, which made sense as NO ONE is supposed to have limitless power. They forgot the whole matter later on.

[Turalyon]

I have no idea why anyone makes Zerg campaigns if they're portrayed as interchangeable with Terrans or Protoss in terms of behavior.

Zerg are just hard to write for and don't lend themselves well to a conventional narrative. And, writers can only write about what they know. You start giving them personalities then of course they're going to inevitably draw parallels to Terrans and Protoss because the writers are human. Abathur is a good Zerg character not because it has personality quirks and is "interesting" but because it feels like what a quintessential Zerg character should be like: detached, unemotional, single-minded, efficient.

Why does anyone even like the Zerg? What makes them stand out from Terrans and Protoss?

I think that the concept of the Zerg and the idea of what they're about is where the appeal is. Like all other similarly related sci-fi insectoid/swarm like aliens, they are unrelenting, unfettered, unrelatable and unified (that's a lot of "u" words). They represent the horror that something is out to get you, and that that something does not do it out of some emotional need like pleasure or malice but because its just plainly in their inherent nature. It makes them kinda one-note really but that's actually part of their appeal and not a detriment.

Are they just muppets now?

Very much so ever since BW. The Zerg are nothing more than a plot device now.

[Mislagnissa]

Zerg are just hard to write for and don't lend themselves well to a conventional narrative. And, writers can only write about what they know. You start giving them personalities then of course they're going to inevitably draw parallels to Terrans and Protoss because the writers are human. Abathur is a good Zerg character not because it has personality quirks and is "interesting" but because it feels like what a quintessential Zerg character should be like: detached, unemotional, single-minded, efficient.

The original manual states that cerebrates have personalities. In fact, Gorn stands out because he is merciless... meaning that other cerebrates display mercy. Probably a Zerg form of mercy where they believe in maximizing happiness by infesting everyone, but mercy nonetheless.

If you take into account that regular queens and overlords have been known to speak in complete sentences (see Retribution's overlord announcer and the WoL challenge map with the queen announcer), you could have a colorful cast of Zerg characters for each and every individual brood.

[Turalyon]

If you take into account that regular queens and overlords have been known to speak in complete sentences (see Retribution's overlord announcer and the WoL challenge map with the queen announcer), you could have a colorful cast of Zerg characters for each and every individual brood.

Not saying you can't, just that it potentially dilutes what the Zerg are really about. Going this way, it could easily devolve into them being "hat" characters - where they stand out only because of a gimmick characteristic. Dehaka stands out egregiously in this regard, though I've heard that there was originally more to this character than what we got.

[ragnarok]

Not saying you can't, just that it potentially dilutes what the Zerg are really about. Going this way, it could easily devolve into them being "hat" characters - where they stand out only because of a gimmick characteristic. Dehaka stands out egregiously in this regard, though I've heard that there was originally more to this character than what we got.

What did Blizzard originally plan to do with Dehaka?

[Nissa]

Tura, what in your opinion would solve this dilemma?

I always kinda hoped that one of the cerebrates just took off after BW, thinking that maybe as a contingency plan it would go on out until it received some kind of signal from the new Overmind. After all, the cerebrates did have their segregated roles. Alternatively, it's possible that not all of the Zerg went to Char at the beginning of Starcraft. Given that they've been exploring the universe for centuries, they might be anywhere. Probably they would have felt the Overmind's death, and have since then have been making their way back to the K Sector. This would also partially explain why Duran would have had more worlds to seed with hybrids, because some of the Zerg are more distant than others.