What other ways could the xel'naga been drawn like?

[Mislagnissa]

Wow, Blizzforum's old concept as fungal hybrids really works for me. Given Protoss do that whole photosynthesis thing, and the Zerg reconfigure themselves, fungus is pretty much the best blend of the two.

The photosynthesis is actually a retcon, and a pointless one at that. In the original manual the protoss were stated to be hunter-gatherers in ancient times, now their units rely on pylons for power (presumably including nutrition since it serves the same purpose as Terran supply, which includes both ammo and food).

Fungi are neither plants nor animals nor a blend of the two. They are more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi are heterotrophs, like animals, that decompose organic material for sustenance. They are reliant on plants to survive, like animals. Lichens are fungi which host colonies of symbiotic algae to make themselves autotrophs.

Fungi do not make sense as being midway between photosynthesis and self-modification. That is a non-sequitur.

In fact, the zerg creep is in all likelihood photosynthetic since it serves as the source of all zerg nutrition.

[Nissa]

Photosynthesis isn't a retcon. It was there from the beginning.

I know it was not. I was there.

[sandwich_bird]

That was how the protoss looked before they were redesigned. I suspect the terrain might be an easter egg. Do you have the redraw from the remaster?

I took a screenshot





Definitely a serpent like creature. It does remind me a bit of the original protoss design. Also looks like an hydralisk I guess but it wouldn't make much sense to have statues of hydralisks.

I'm not terribly disappointed by the Xel'Naga design that we got, but the Hybrids seemed to be lacking in creativity. You can't tell me, from the "thousands" (Metzen's own words) of iterations and concepts Blizzard went through, the Reaver and Destroyer were the best they could come up with.

I agree. It's not horrible but it's kinda meh. I remember wanting the hybrids to look like the Drej from Titan. The Xel Naga could also have looked liked that imo.






I'm still stuck on this idea that they should have an energy/electric look but I do fancy this look quite a bit VoK

It has the energy aesthetic AND the more biological feel. Plus, it looks creepy/disgusting which would make sense considering that Zeratul was horrified by the sight of the hybrids.

[Nissa]

I love that picture too. Dang, that looks cool.

Honestly, though, all I really wanted in a hybrid look was something with some thought into it. Not a creature that just happens to have different Protoss/Zerg characteristics Lego'd onto each other.

[Mislagnissa]

The statues definitely look distinct. They lack arms and have exposed ribcages on their backs. I wonder what they were supposed to be. There are similarly weird but very different statues in the twilight world tileset. See here: http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1.../Terrain10.jpg

Also... The concept of the hybrids was nonsensical. The zerg originally wanted to assimilate the protoss, and by extension all zerg are genetic hybrids. Then BW acts like this was never the zerg’s plan at all and that the hybrids are solely the intent of some 4th race.

[ragnarok]

I never got that impression. They were scientists who plotted over millions of years, but their creations clearly surpassed them. It is not clear if they even knew how to fight, considering the protoss and zerg assaults encountered little to no resistance.

I'm not sure that's what the SC1 manual implied for no resistance. Even the zerg assault on them at Zerus didn't make it seem they were completely defenseless

[Mislagnissa]

I'm not sure that's what the SC1 manual implied for no resistance. Even the zerg assault on them at Zerus didn't make it seem they were completely defenseless

The protoss killed many of them with ease and no apparent losses. The zerg sacrificed billions in hours to breach the hulls of their vessels. Clearly the xel’naga are not a violent species and unprepared for war against intelligent threats.

[ragnarok]

The protoss killed many of them with ease and no apparent losses. The zerg sacrificed billions in hours to breach the hulls of their vessels. Clearly the xel’naga are not a violent species and unprepared for war against intelligent threats.

In the case of the zerg, hardly anyone was prepared. In that regard it's why so many liked the Overmind as a villain via the SC1 lore, showing that the Xel'Naga underestimated their own creation, compared to the SC2 lore where it was just Amon's puppet. Still, I work with what was given to me....

[Visions of Khas]

Speaking of Amon, exactly how was he resurrected by Duran? If Xel'Naga are thrust back into the Void, then hasn't he just been chilling for several millennia since Zerus? Or was dead in the Void too, and literally brought back to life? If the latter, what's to prevent him from coming back AGAIN?

[Turalyon]

Speaking of Amon, exactly how was he resurrected by Duran? If Xel'Naga are thrust back into the Void, then hasn't he just been chilling for several millennia since Zerus? Or was dead in the Void too, and literally brought back to life? If the latter, what's to prevent him from coming back AGAIN?

I wouldn't sidetrack if I were you. You know how Misla has a condition and is easily triggered - especially when it comes to any Sc2 stuff.

Here's some short answers for you though: retcon, maybe, maybe and retcon.