StarCraft 2

[Kafriel]

If you defend it, you're only postponing the inevitable; the protoss fleet had already detected an infestation in the colonists. Also notice how if she leaves, you never learn what happens AFTER they go out with hope as their guide...and Ariel doesn't say anything useful/good if you keep her onboard. I didn't mind the branch missions, mainly because they give you a different research boost, which can be critical in the first few missions (orbital supply depots and bunker plating, to say the least).

ghosts which didn't seem very useful in the campaign due to lack of emp.

A quick remark: Choosing ghosts gives you a chance for 50k extra credits, and snipe works wonders on the 10-armour hatchlings, no matter what they are, so you can kill an army with 2-3 shots before they even spawn. It also has a great range, so even brood lords will be easy targets. Also on the matter of range, ghosts make good bunker units; when fully upgraded and bunkered, their range is 9 (0.25 less than a brood lord's) and they deal extra light damage, which will be the casual raid on your base. My only beef is that they take up two slots despite being a 1 supply unit ...and their ridiculous cost.

Stetman? He was a utter moron.

He's my first most hated character, he does absolutely nothing and his notes on the zerg and protoss specimen is just...!

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Noticed an old quote, just to clarify
Even in hard, the CPU gets more income. Actually, as far as I could see in one of my replay, they grab 7 mineral per SCV, as if the mineral nodes were the yellow high yield ones.
I think it is applied to all difficulty, to compensate the AI limitations.

Even on hard? That's kinda odd since I'm quite sure very hard didn't cheat in the beta, but I could be wrong. Very hard did seem to get tougher since release; I can't 1v2 them anymore.

Well, I don't use ghosts much either, but I could see by myself that the psi shock with spectres is really lethal (it can just melt beefy units in matter of seconds).

Oh, I really should have decided to side with Tosh then. Specters seem so much better.

Stetman? He was a utter moron. It is some cases that Blizzard humor is a bit over the top (I guess you meant Belly of the Beast, since it is the only mission where Stetman is a playable unit).

Yea, Belly of the Beast and his presence made it worse. It didn't help that he had the least creative ability. Healing and regen is fun but could have had some other support skill or something...

I think only Tosh and Swann are the actual characters that do add some flavor with Jim's state of mind (with all the crap occuring after X or Y mission / decision. Matt was... a bit too much of a pole, but at least he wasn't really a goody 2 shoes and spoke his mind when Jim was just doing the drunk jackass or when he seemly wanted to go on suicide mission on char before explaining himself.

I guess he did have to put up with Raynor being so irresponsible, lol.

When you are doing Haven's fall, during the mission, Matt reports that Ariel secluded herself in the lab, desperately trying to find a cure.

So she got infected on the ship? I guess from messing around with the Zerg samples?

This is where I can't agree with people praising the non linear campaign style, since the choice doesn't really carry any weight (Ariel would be gone from the Hyperion regardless your choice).
It also doesn't make sense that suddenly, you get infestation all over Haven's settlements, whereas defending it, there is nothing around.

Yea, it's a bit odd that your decisions affect things that have nothing to do with you, lol.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by Qikz

Just found out that MLG have picked up the three commentators I always watch, Husky, HD and Day9. Sweet!

Awesome, that's the 3 I watch the most, especially Husky.

[Kafriel]

So she got infected on the ship? I guess from messing around with the Zerg samples?

Nah, the colonists get infected while doing the evac mission, where the zerg are after them. They just didn't notice until it was too late.

[Klashikari]

It is likely that Ariel was already infected by the zerg virus, but did something reckless in the lab and just accelerated the mutation one way or another. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense for her to remain human long enough to make a cure in Safe Haven (although the decrepencies between the 2 versions of the mission don't make any sense already).

[Alaya]

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

Why would you need any bunkers behind your wall against a zealot rush? I didn't think zealots could jump over your wall. Just send scvs on auto repair and they'll handle it.

I think it depends on the situation too. Proxy Gate rush would need a bunker to help because they could mass zealot really fast. But in my case, it's just I was having a fatigue from the last long macro game with him so his rush was something I wasn't prepared for

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by Alaya

I think it depends on the situation too. Proxy Gate rush would need a bunker to help because they could mass zealot really fast. But in my case, it's just I was having a fatigue from the last long macro game with him so his rush was something I wasn't prepared for

In the case of a proxy, I guess it's possible to have him come in before your wall is up. But in that case, you'd need a bunker in your minerals, as he would just bypass your bunker if you place it at the choke. Then you'd try to push him back some and finish/rebuild your wall.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

It is likely that Ariel was already infected by the zerg virus, but did something reckless in the lab and just accelerated the mutation one way or another. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense for her to remain human long enough to make a cure in Safe Haven (although the decrepencies between the 2 versions of the mission don't make any sense already).

I do believe, after playing Haven's fall finally, that she was not infested at all but infected herself in order to test out the cures she tried to develop. It isn't the first time that a doctor tried that sort of thing.

[Klashikari]

Hmm... I was assuming the whole colony was infested, but come to the think of it, some colonists weren't as shown with the settlements. That would certainly explain why Jim and his crew didn't check Ariel. They wouldn't let her stay onboard if they suspect her to be infested as well.

[LoweGear]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

It is likely that Ariel was already infected by the zerg virus, but did something reckless in the lab and just accelerated the mutation one way or another. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense for her to remain human long enough to make a cure in Safe Haven (although the decrepencies between the 2 versions of the mission don't make any sense already).

Most of the mission choices in Wings of Liberty have a Schrodinger's Cat quality to them. Basically making the choice retcons the scenario so your decision is always right: For Safe Haven Ariel and the colonists aren't infected (or at least the majority aren't so), while in Haven's Fall Ariel was already infested, or did something to make her so.

[Klashikari]

A Shrodinger cat box analogy doesn't work this way. It is basically a situation that several statements are deemed true so long you don't check the content of the box. As long the box is sealed, no one can confirm the status of the content, and thus, to certain extent, the cat is both "alive" and "dead".
That doesn't mean the outcome will retroactively change the past. If you have several possibilities that are "possible", the said context that made those possibilities legit should be the same, or at least not contradicting.

With the shrodinger cat example, due to the contraption, there are equal chances for the cat to be alive or dead. But you don't know whichever it is, so long you don't open the box.
Meanwhile, the analogy doesn't work here, because the situation should have been set a while back. Therefore, to make this "double possibility" possible, you would have to make a retroactive change in the lore (though if the cat box analogy was posed as "whether or not they are infested" at that given moment, "okay". But not when you are deciding to help them or not). You do not open the cat box here, you decide the fate of the cat instead.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Hooves

So if the difficulty wasn't the case of "Brutal" then biosteel (which I suppose is the "long-term" research, would be the best suited choice then?

I have tried both, and have determined that biosteel is inferior to bonus energy. The biosteel regeneration is too slow, you are better off selecting science vessels and use their higher energy to keep mech alive. When I picked biosteel, the science vessels were not able to keep up with repairs and I suffered far greater losses.

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

It also doesn't make sense that suddenly, you get infestation all over Haven's settlements, whereas defending it, there is nothing around.

There's actually a subtle explanation for the lack of infestation. Note at your base the small pen of infested. If you chose to side with the humans, you were quickly able to round up the few infested and quarantine them while waiting for a cure.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

It is also quite annoying to see that Blizzard just can't let it go with plot retconning, as Starcraft 64 extra mission depicted a possibility of de-infestation without any use of artifact... and that was made by the protoss.

That can be explained as Selendis just being Selendis, she's a bit of an extremist regarding protoss ideals. And purification by fire is about as idealistic of the protoss as you can get.

That being said however, I can understand the idea behind an official mission to find a cure. You have to remember that the cure was only introduced in the limited Starcraft 64, and even then only in a secret mission, so many people won't know about it. In terms of storytellin it makes more sense to establish an official cure in the main campaigns.

[-Sho-]

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

I'm thinking about whether to get the mech regen ability or the +100 energy research. The regeneration ability does seem kinda nifty over a long fight, though the energy could also help the science vessels which can heal them too.

I took Regen ability and seriously this isn't worth against +100 energy .
Take too long to regen 1PV , better repair it .

[Who]

Regarding the plot scenarios on the previous page... there is a canon established, according to Blizzard. The canon choices weren't surprising, to say the least, given Raynor's character.

Spoiler for Choices:

Raynor spares the Haven colonists and chooses to help Tosh.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Who

Regarding the plot scenarios on the previous page... there is a canon established, according to Blizzard. The canon choices weren't surprising, to say the least, given Raynor's character.

Spoiler for Choices:

Raynor spares the Haven colonists and chooses to help Tosh.

All the more so that they can reuse the characters for Heart of the Swarm. The Terran would be heavily involved in it one way or another.

[Who]

Found a little something on GameFAQs; they in turn found it on the Blizzard US forums.

Spoiler for Diary of a zergling:

Day 1

I just got spawned! There was another guy in my egg, though. Not too sure what to think about that. The creep looks pretty cool, I guess. My job is mostly running around the base. Nothing too awesome going on.



Day 2

A whole mess of Zerglings just got spawned recently. Met up with a whole platoon of them. There were so many I couldn't even remember all their names. Most of them are pretty cool, but some are suspicious as to what our purpose is going to be.



Day 3

The queen sent Zergling #21 to a 'watchtower'. Not entirely sure what his job is. According to other people, he just has to stand there all day. Sounds like he got the easy job!



Day 3.5

Zergling #21's corpse was found about 3 minutes after being deployed. He had 5 Gauss Rifle bullets in his chest.



The queen sent Zerglings #22-24 to go to the watchtower.



Day 4

There was much lament for Zergling #21. Some of my friends are saying that we're all in a suicide mission. I think they're wrong. We're soldiers, not expendable beasts.



Day 6

Day 5 was too hectic...there were six more funerals today. The queen declared she wanted some 'scouting information' and that they served their purpose. More skeptics are arising amongst us. Some zerglings are speaking of a revolt.



Day 7

We all got our wings today! Everyone's suspicions of a tyranny are being quelled by the minute. All the zerglings are much more pleased to be moving so much faster.



Day 8

Our entire army has recently received orders to rush into the enemies' base. Our primary objective is to attack SCVs and run around in circles behind other zerglings attacking SCVs.



Day 11

There was a wall.



There was a god damn wall.



We couldn't break through. No matter how many chewed at the supply depot, we couldn't get through the damned thing. We were forced to retreat, losing 7 more soldiers to a small marine force piled behind the depots. The queen had no comment on this matter. The standard funeral is now being postponed by the swarm for 'important measures'.



Day 15

Mutalisks have begun to be trained at the hatchery. Our queen says they will solve the problem that the wall is causing. I can only hope at this point. I've seen too much.



Day 16

We've gotten recent orders to back up the mutalisk force in our impending attack. Our main goal is still hazy to me, as the mutalisks should be doing most of the work...



Day 21

I've lost all faith in the swarm.



Have you ever seen the bits of your comrades fly past you by a single shot of a Crucio Shock Cannon? Have you ever been so close to the heat of an Hellion that it takes you a minute to realize that your best friend is burning alive? I was hearing every tendon snapping and sinew ripping of my fellow Zerglings. The distorted looks on their faces as they realize they've been hit directly in the skull by a sniper round.



I barely escaped. I should be dead; just like the rest of my platoon. It was only me and 6 others that got away. Over 38 died.



We weren't an army. We were a distraction. The mutalisks were in on it, too. They took out probably 10, maybe 20 SCVs. But how many soldiers was it worth? How much do we have to sacrifice to win this war?!



Day 23

We can see the Terran forces coming over the horizon. They are armed with 2 of those infernal tanks and 4 gigantic mechanical monstrosities I've never seen before. I can taste my death.



Day 34

The Terran are toying with us. The tanks lie just outside of our homeland supported by rotating missile turrets in every which way. We are being contained. Our supplies are running low, we will be out of minerals soon.



Day 47

We have lost all of our resources. An army of Hydralisks and Mutalisks stand before me and my 6 Zergling companions. Our final attack is near.



Day 48

The queen has ordered me to 'test the front'. Alone.





Diary of a Siege Tank



Day 48



Spilled some coffee on myself during an attack. My life sucks.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Who

Found a little something on GameFAQs; they in turn found it on the Blizzard US forums.

Spoiler for Diary of a zergling:

Day 1

I just got spawned! There was another guy in my egg, though. Not too sure what to think about that. The creep looks pretty cool, I guess. My job is mostly running around the base. Nothing too awesome going on.



Day 2

A whole mess of Zerglings just got spawned recently. Met up with a whole platoon of them. There were so many I couldn't even remember all their names. Most of them are pretty cool, but some are suspicious as to what our purpose is going to be.



Day 3

The queen sent Zergling #21 to a 'watchtower'. Not entirely sure what his job is. According to other people, he just has to stand there all day. Sounds like he got the easy job!



Day 3.5

Zergling #21's corpse was found about 3 minutes after being deployed. He had 5 Gauss Rifle bullets in his chest.



The queen sent Zerglings #22-24 to go to the watchtower.



Day 4

There was much lament for Zergling #21. Some of my friends are saying that we're all in a suicide mission. I think they're wrong. We're soldiers, not expendable beasts.



Day 6

Day 5 was too hectic...there were six more funerals today. The queen declared she wanted some 'scouting information' and that they served their purpose. More skeptics are arising amongst us. Some zerglings are speaking of a revolt.



Day 7

We all got our wings today! Everyone's suspicions of a tyranny are being quelled by the minute. All the zerglings are much more pleased to be moving so much faster.



Day 8

Our entire army has recently received orders to rush into the enemies' base. Our primary objective is to attack SCVs and run around in circles behind other zerglings attacking SCVs.



Day 11

There was a wall.



There was a god damn wall.



We couldn't break through. No matter how many chewed at the supply depot, we couldn't get through the damned thing. We were forced to retreat, losing 7 more soldiers to a small marine force piled behind the depots. The queen had no comment on this matter. The standard funeral is now being postponed by the swarm for 'important measures'.



Day 15

Mutalisks have begun to be trained at the hatchery. Our queen says they will solve the problem that the wall is causing. I can only hope at this point. I've seen too much.



Day 16

We've gotten recent orders to back up the mutalisk force in our impending attack. Our main goal is still hazy to me, as the mutalisks should be doing most of the work...



Day 21

I've lost all faith in the swarm.



Have you ever seen the bits of your comrades fly past you by a single shot of a Crucio Shock Cannon? Have you ever been so close to the heat of an Hellion that it takes you a minute to realize that your best friend is burning alive? I was hearing every tendon snapping and sinew ripping of my fellow Zerglings. The distorted looks on their faces as they realize they've been hit directly in the skull by a sniper round.



I barely escaped. I should be dead; just like the rest of my platoon. It was only me and 6 others that got away. Over 38 died.



We weren't an army. We were a distraction. The mutalisks were in on it, too. They took out probably 10, maybe 20 SCVs. But how many soldiers was it worth? How much do we have to sacrifice to win this war?!



Day 23

We can see the Terran forces coming over the horizon. They are armed with 2 of those infernal tanks and 4 gigantic mechanical monstrosities I've never seen before. I can taste my death.



Day 34

The Terran are toying with us. The tanks lie just outside of our homeland supported by rotating missile turrets in every which way. We are being contained. Our supplies are running low, we will be out of minerals soon.



Day 47

We have lost all of our resources. An army of Hydralisks and Mutalisks stand before me and my 6 Zergling companions. Our final attack is near.



Day 48

The queen has ordered me to 'test the front'. Alone.





Diary of a Siege Tank



Day 48



Spilled some coffee on myself during an attack. My life sucks.

Day 4: How wrong that zergling is

Also this is a good summary of what a zergling would actually think if we could tell.

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by Keroko

That can be explained as Selendis just being Selendis, she's a bit of an extremist regarding protoss ideals. And purification by fire is about as idealistic of the protoss as you can get.

Not really. Tassadar stopped burning human worlds to deal with infestation because he felt he was killing innocents.

[Ithekro]

Tassadar wasn't quite as zealous as other Protass.