[Idea] Zerg Armory Mechanic

[mr. peasant]

Seeing how we currently know everything worth knowing about the Terran campaign without going into major spoiler territory, I think it's about time we started speculating on the Zerg one. It seems reasonable to assume that the Zerg will have a mechanic similar to the Terran's Armory though it would be different in its execution as the current mechanic wouldn't work for the Zerg.

Currently, we know that the Zerg campaign is more RPG-centric, focusing on Kerrigan becomes more powerful from mission to mission. Yet at the same time, I feel that the idea of 'leveling up' halfway through a mission doesn't suit Starcraft. Hence, I envision the mechanic would be something like this:

Missions will be worth X+Y points, with X being the base reward and Y being whatever Experience Points Kerrigan earns during the mission (with a cap, of course). These points can then be spent in the Zerg's 'Armory' which is divided into four main tabs. The first three would be for individual broods whilst the fourth is specific to Kerrigan (e.g. + hit points, + ability levels, etc) and global upgrades (e.g. + population limit, Overlord/Overseer upgrades).

As for the first three tabs, all tabs have the same upgrades and they are divided into individual units. Some upgrades are generically common and so found for each unit while others are unique to certain unit types. For instance, the Zergling might have '+ damage', '+ bonus damage vs <insert player's choice>' and 'Cliff Leaping', the Hydralisk might have '+ damage', '+ bonus damage vs <insert player's choice>' and 'Melee Mode'. Basically, the idea is to have the stats and attributes highly customizable (multiple levels for each upgrade) for each individual unit type. However, upgrades purchased increases the cost of the unit during missions.

This is why there are three tabs/broods. At the start of each mission, you can choose one of these broods to be deployed. Therefore, depending on your upgrade decisions, you could have one fully upgraded but expensive brood, a cheap but basic brood or broods specialized against certain races/mission types/etc.

As far as the lore is concerned, it can be easily reconciled by stating that the three broods are Kerrigan's mobile 'warrior broods' whilst there are specific broods (on Char and perhaps other colonies) that handle developing and experimenting new mutations. This would also naturally lend to a second reward system (think of how WoL has players collecting Protoss and Zerg relics). Perhaps collecting 'native specimen' can unlock special upgrades or units (e.g. Brutalisks).

Any thoughts?

[Arkalis]

In my opinion it is a nice mechanic; if it was a game I would buy it, but I doubt Blizzard would implement it. I don't know, but maybe they already have their plans. Nice work tho

[DemolitionSquid]

I like it.

[n00bonicPlague]

I last heard from the devs that the zerg campaign mechanic is centered around "diplomacy". Considering that the swarm is already unified and that it's unlikely that the Protoss or Terrans will ally with them, I'm awfully confused about how that will work. Perhaps it has something to do with discovering new species to make better zerg strains?

[trace wm]

I last heard from the devs that the zerg campaign mechanic is centered around "diplomacy". Considering that the swarm is already unified and that it's unlikely that the Protoss or Terrans will ally with them, I'm awfully confused about how that will work. Perhaps it has something to do with discovering new species to make better zerg strains?

Coulda sworn the Protoss campaign was all about diplomacy, not the Zerg.

[The_Blade]

Trace guy is correct.

The Terrans campaign works on money.
The Zerg campaign works on an "evolving empire".
The Protoss campaign will move around trust and unification for survival.

Dustin Browder: The Zerg campaign we haven't gone into a lot of detail yet, but it's going to be about the Zerg and their quest for building empire. The Protoss are sort of a troubled species. They're being systematically exterminated, and were being exterminated long before the Zerg arrived. They were starting to die out from their sheer age, but now that the Zerg came and their home world is gone, these guys are really having a lot of trouble. Their campaign is going to be more about you trying to unite the various Protoss tribes into something that resembles a force that can survive. The Terran campaign, the mechanics -- at least at the beginning -- are about cash: making jobs, making money, buying big guns.

Source

[Quirel]

I like it, but what really sells it to me is the three broods bit.

[n00bonicPlague]

Coulda sworn the Protoss campaign was all about diplomacy, not the Zerg.

Trace guy is correct.

The Terrans campaign works on money.
The Zerg campaign works on an "evolving empire".
The Protoss campaign will move around trust and unification for survival.



Source

lol thanks that makes a LOT more sense

So perhaps they SHOULD center the zerg campaign around gaining new strains.

[GnaReffotsirk]

Much like how the Overmind tend to have assigned specializations for each cerebrate. Maybe Kerrigan would have something of the sort.

Brilliant idea!

[Gt2slurp]

Discovering new species to upgrade and have new unit in the swarm is something I really like!