Critics on WOL's Plot

[Louis]

I think the mean cause of the "pretty big hole" in the Tal'Darim comes from the fact that it's the terran campaign and we're meant to be concentrating on Jim and the Dominion? Did you care about the UED in the protoss campaign? In the end SCII will be much longer than BW, so we'll just see what happens.

Auto-fail. That's why you don't write fanatics in extended roles.

Aldaris?

[pure.Wasted]

I think the mean cause of the "pretty big hole" in the Tal'Darim comes from the fact that it's the terran campaign. Did you care about the UED in the protoss campaign?

1. The Protoss campaign was 1/3 of the WOL Terran campaign. It follows that the Tal'darim should have been three times more interesting. Did not happen.
2. I thought SC2 was supposed to be better than Brood War. Did not happen -- at least on the UED > Tal'darim front.

Aldaris?

By the time we realize that Aldaris is a fanatic in "The Fall," he's already well on his way to being humbled and de-fanaticized. During "The Stand" he may at times cling to his traditional roots, but he is far, far from anything remotely resembling fanaticism. Fanatics tend not to do so well with reason, and Idiot Ball-holding during "The Insurgent" notwithstanding, Aldaris is actually one of the most reasonable characters in the Protoss campaign.

[RussianSpy27]

1. The Protoss campaign was 1/3 of the WOL Terran campaign. It follows that the Tal'darim should have been three times more interesting. Did not happen.
2. I thought SC2 was supposed to be better than Brood War. Did not happen -- at least on the UED > Tal'darim front.



By the time we realize that Aldaris is a fanatic in "The Fall," he's already well on his way to being humbled and de-fanaticized. During "The Stand" he may at times cling to his traditional roots, but he is far, far from anything remotely resembling fanaticism. Fanatics tend not to do so well with reason, and Idiot Ball-holding during "The Insurgent" notwithstanding, Aldaris is actually one of the most reasonable characters in the Protoss campaign.

Except our FanaticTemplar poster here on SC that is :P.

Agreed on all points with Wasted- the T'aldarim were so character-less that I didn't know why the heck they were even around...especially when developers did not follow Brood War's example of the mission where Dark Templar fought vs Aldaris by not giving them units that lore-wise they should not have - such as Void Rays and Stalkers - that mechanic made them seem even less believable.

[Louis]

What, you want everything to be spilled out on the table from the get go? WoL didn't create enough material for HotS to follow up on without adding the Tal'Darim to it? The Tal'Darim are Xel'Naga fanatics who've betrayed the dark templar which pissed them off enough that they're perfectly happy to let Jim destroy their bases and steal their stuff. Would you like to know more?

And the UED had the natural advantage of been introduced as earthlings. It helped make a strong first impression.

[pure.Wasted]

The Tal'Darim are Xel'Naga fanatics who've betrayed the dark templar which pissed them off enough that they're perfectly happy to let Jim destroy their bases and steal their stuff. Would you like to know more?

There's nothing more to know. Whether they're lead by the Dark Voice or the Voice in the Dark or Duran or Narud, honestly, who gives a crap? I am not nearly invested enough in Tal'darim backstory to care about any plot twists they have coming our way . . . if any. No, I'd like some characters. There was one named Tal'darim in Wings of Liberty . . . and he died.

We're not disagreeing. You've already admitted that the Tal'darim just aren't interesting. The next logical step is to say, "then Blizzard should not have used them in this campaign."

[KadajSouba]

This is the intro of brood war

I literally craped my pants the first time I saw that cinematic... I played the game till I felt asleep in front of the computer... And I played multiplayer till i memorized every single shortkey, quote and map.

SC2? Not even close to that feeling.

[Turalyon]

We're not disagreeing. You've already admitted that the Tal'darim just aren't interesting. The next logical step is to say, "then Blizzard should not have used them in this campaign."

Spot on. Carrying this train of thought further, you have to wonder why Blizzard even included them in the first place. Easy answer: Tal'darim = excuse for you to have to fight Protoss instead of just Zerg and Terran in campaign.

[TheEconomist]

Tal'darim are a bit more interested if you were introduced to them in the Dark Templar saga.

[Louis]

Tal'darim = excuse for you to have to fight Protoss instead of just Zerg and Terran in campaign.

lol no just no. That's like saying that the UED shouldn't have been in the BW Protoss campaign because all they did was give us some terran vs protoss. Which is a valid point.

"The campaign will focus on Zeratul as its main character.[7]

The protoss campaign will be based on diplomacy as the protoss factions splinter.[8] The player will work with different protoss tribes[9] and sects, helping leaders of some sects which will anger others.[10] Using units from one side may preclude using units from the other side[8] and alienating one or another sect may cut the player off from part of the campaign.[10] The ultimate goal of the campaign is to unite the various tribes into a viable, unified force that can ensure the protoss' survival.[11] "

From the wiki.

WoL helped in setting the stage for LotV by showing us that they are conflicting with the Dark Templar, so the worst you can objectively say is that their role in WoL dragged on longer than neccesary. It was not an excuse for missions, not if Blizzard intends to do something with them when the expansion comes around. Besides, simply saying that the Tal'Darim were a waste of space doesn't automatically make them bad. Several ME2 characters and the UED of BW were kind of pointless but they were still likable enough.

[Turalyon]

Tal'darim are a bit more interested if you were introduced to them in the Dark Templar saga.

I'm sure they are but I guess I'm showing my ignorance because I've not read any of the books. After how they were represented in WoL, I have no further inclination to read up on them because it can only solidify how poorly implemented they were.

WoL helped in setting the stage for LotV by showing us that they are conflicting with the Dark Templar, so the worst you can objectively say is that their role in WoL dragged on longer than neccesary. It was not an excuse for missions, not if Blizzard intends to do something with them when the expansion comes around. Which doesn't mean that they couldn't have been better written.

It is precisely the way they were written in the game that made me write that off-hand remark about the Tal'Darim. It's all well and good to think that they'll serve a purpose later on but after at least a half a dozen missions against them with no characterisation or development (their Executor's name is never even revealed!!) of them in WoL you have to seriously wonder bother including them at all at this stage? They are also rendered inconsequential because Raynor's small band can handily defeat them everytime. Whatever role they have in future installments is diminished as they are not represented as a significant or worthwhile threat. All of the issues of the Tal'darim representation in WoL are even more apparent if you are new to the lore.

My point stands. The Tal'Darim serve as nothing but another opponent to fight in the context of WoL.