Alpha and beta ideas that were later recycled into later games?

[Mislagnissa]

I was glancing through the fragmentary information on the Starcraft alphas and betas recently, and I noticed a tendency for ideas that were scrapped in development to reappear in later games. So I made this thread so we can discuss examples of finding this.

In addition to the wiki, I have found the following sources on alpha/beta development:

• http://home.kpn.nl/~aggel005/alphabeta/index.html
• http://www.angelfire.com/sc/starcraft1998/hidden.html
• http://www.blizzardarchive.com/pub/I...1_2/clean.html

Example #1:

Development: The evolution chamber was originally called "cerebrate" and the spawning pool was "chrysalis" (for reference, initially the zerg buildings would each produce larvae and in later development this was centralized to the hatchery, hence the idiosyncratic naming scheme of the zerg buildings generally sounding like it produces units).

Gold: In SC2, the new model of the evolution chamber looks a lot like a cerebrate, and the primal spawning pool produces a chrysalis around Kerry.

Example #2:

Development: During the SC1 beta the mutalisk had an acid attack and the queen had glave wurm, dark swarm and plague.

Gold: In BW the devourer is introduced as a mutalisk instar with an acid attack. In SC2, the viper is introduced as a flying unit with abilities similar to dark swarm and plague.

Example #3

Development: The scourge was originally an "avenger" which lived inside overlords and guardians and emerged when their hosts died, attacking whoever killed the host.

Gold: In SC2, zerg structures spawn broodlings upon destruction and the brood lord is a guardian-like flying unit that spawns broodlings.

Feel free to share your own observations.

[Turalyon]

Other Zerg buildings producing larvae as well? Geez, that would mean even earlier, faster and bigger Zergling rushes.

[Mislagnissa]

Other Zerg buildings producing larvae as well? Geez, that would mean even earlier, faster and bigger Zergling rushes.

It was not like you think. Each building would only be able to produce specific units. The hatchery would only produce drones and overlords, the spawning pool would only produce zerglings, etc.

That is why the spawning pool and hydralisk den are called that despite not spawning or being a den for anything.

[Turalyon]

^ That'd suck in another way since one would need higher APM to produce units for Zerg compared to the other races (since you have to select the building, then the larva and then the unit to create).

[Mislagnissa]

Addition to example #3: in co-op, zagara’s corruptors may be upgraded to spawn scourges upon death.

Addition to example #1: the scourge nest produces scourges in campaign, but unlocks scourges in co-op.


EDIT:

Example #4:
Development: the SC2 queen could produce a variety of defensive structures like swarm clutches, toxic creep and defensive fireflies.
Gold: In heroes of the storm, abathur may produce similar abilities like toxic nests, locust nests and symbiotes.

Example #5:
Development: SC2 queens used to evolve twice, becoming progressively larger and gaining abilities.
Gold: Niadra evolves from larva and through three queen stages, becoming larger and gaining new abilities.

[Robear]

There are lots of these. They also reused names a lot in addition to your zerg building examples.

Hydralisks had a melee attack in addition to their ranged attack (you can see it in the hydra by the engineering bay here)- brought back in SCG and SC2.

Scouts and other fighters used to bank as they turned - also brought back in SC2.

Marines used to be called marauders, wraiths used to be called Phoenixes.

The valkyrie model in BW is also reused from an unused gunship from SC1's development.