New Ghost Programs

[LordArreat15]

What do you think of SC new ghost programs? Question asked was mine from SoL.

Medievaldragon: Does the Umojan Protectorate and Kel-morian Combine have their own versions of the Ghost program, or is it exclusive to the Confederates and the Dominion?

Neilson: I like that question.

Metzen: Kill it!

Neilson: My answer would be that they do, and that it’s something a little bit different, something we haven’t seen yet, and something that we should definitely investigate in the future in the fiction, because it sounds like a really cool idea.

Metzen: That sounds like a dare right there.

Neilson: That’s right.

[Freespace]

I believe this will reflect in SP, where there will be variations of the Ghost unit ( will be as in I hope there will be ). These variations could range from the unit's appearance, to stats and exclusive abilities, specific to each faction.

This would also have made a lot of sense in Starcraft 1, with the UED, but I understand the limitations of the original engine.

[Kimera757]

By new, do you also take into account the changes the Dominion has made over the last four years? There's been quite a few.

The Frontline Volume 3 story War-Torn will at least touch on this; the Umojan Protectorate leader admits to having an academy, and wanted to recruit a Dominion child into it. (The UP might be nice, but parts, like their ghost program, might not be.)

Also the story Do No Harm shows a ghost sneaking up on and capturing an ex-high templar (he retired) and later pictures show one seemingly spazzing and killings lots of stuff. Dr. Burgess is one of the main characters, and he's doing some kind of protoss/ghost experiment.

Frontline Volume 3 won't be out 'til early July.

[Eligor]

"The Protectorate seeks a truce with the Protoss, believing that the elder race can teach them the mysteries of the greater meaning of life, the universe, and everything."
-StarCraft manual, page 49.

Could it be that the Ghosts of the Umojan Protectorate are trained by Protoss and thus utilize their full potential (without a need for psionic dampeners or anything of the sort)?

[SpiderBrigade]

I somewhat doubt that the Protoss would agree to do that on anything like a large scale, especially if the trainees would then be loyal to a Terran army organization.

[Eligor]

Not unless they think it to be better than the current Dominion, or for some other nefarious purpose of their own (do we know for how long exactly Ulreszaj and his lackeys had been around?). Such a program could easily be an adequate counter to the Dominion's Spectres.

[n00bonicPlague]

From the Star Craft Manual:

The people of Umoja have chosen to remain separate and autonomous from the Confederate worlds. The Umojans consider themselves to be an enlightened people, harboring obvious contempt for their sister colonies that submit to the near-fascist yoke of the Confederacy. The Umojans have retained a strong military force known as the Protectorate that keeps other factions from interfering in Umojan affairs. The Protectorate seeks a truce with the Protoss, believing that the elder race can teach them the mysteries of the greater meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

This is something I've been hoping for in the SC2 campaign/story. We never got to see anything of the Umojans in the SC1 campaign, and I have always been fascinated by that little blip of them in the manual. I see an Umojan ghost as having psionic abilities far greater in strength than any normal ghost -- possibly even on par with a High/Dark Templar's abilities. The Umojan ghost really has a chance to shine.

[Norfindel]

This is something I've been hoping for in the SC2 campaign/story. We never got to see anything of the Umojans in the SC1 campaign, and I have always been fascinated by that little blip of them in the manual. I see an Umojan ghost as having psionic abilities far greater in strength than any normal ghost -- possibly even on par with a High/Dark Templar's abilities. The Umojan ghost really has a chance to shine.

The Terrans are in his infant stages as psychics, i don't think that includes something like casting Psi Storm. Maybe they can throw stuff using telekinesis, read people's minds, stun them, and even kill them mentally, but far from Protoss level.

[LordArreat15]

By new, do you also take into account the changes the Dominion has made over the last four years? There's been quite a few.

The Frontline Volume 3 story War-Torn will at least touch on this; the Umojan Protectorate leader admits to having an academy, and wanted to recruit a Dominion child into it. (The UP might be nice, but parts, like their ghost program, might not be.)

Also the story Do No Harm shows a ghost sneaking up on and capturing an ex-high templar (he retired) and later pictures show one seemingly spazzing and killings lots of stuff. Dr. Burgess is one of the main characters, and he's doing some kind of protoss/ghost experiment.

No I don't mean the Dominion program.

Missed that minor detail with Jorgensen At least the Umojan get some action at last.

Protoss/Ghost experiment, where did you find that? Kerrigan in Shadow Hunters did think Mengsk might had help create a Ghost with the psi powers of a protoss when she felt Jake/Zamara presence.

[Kimera757]

No I don't mean the Dominion program.

Okay.

Missed that minor detail with Jorgensen At least the Umojan get some action at last.

They got a decent amount of action in Uprising and I, Mengsk. (Uprising is the little-read ebook from 2000.)

Protoss/Ghost experiment, where did you find that?

The description of the StarCraft: Frontline story, Do No Harm. (Visit the wikia or Tokyopop.)

Kerrigan in Shadow Hunters did think Mengsk might had help create a Ghost with the psi powers of a protoss when she felt Jake/Zamara presence.

And she was (probably) wrong; she was evaluating sudden new evidence without having a whole lot of it.

As for the Dominion doing that ... experimenting on zerg is bad enough. Experimenting on protoss should only be done by people who have a death wish or (if they're like Duran) probably aren't actually people. So I assume Dr. Burgess has a death wish.