LoneWolf
02-24-2004, 10:04 AM
I just woke up. . . so I apologize if my post is unreadable. Darn it, my thoughts on this were so much better and organized last night! Oh yes, this'll be a long read.
(I typed this whole thing up to discover I had trouble posting it. So it's a good thing I had copy and pasted some of it, but I'm not going to go into resources or units in this post... maybe later.)
***
Alright, here's my version of StarCraft II. There will be four races, Protoss, Terran, Zerg, and the Hybrids. Okay, don't turn away yet, first of all the Hybrids will have a better name. You'll find my vision of them somewhere below. Also, all armies now have psychic capabilites.
Protoss-The First Born
They need no introduction. This campaign is about finding peace and eliminating the Zerg. As they do so we discover more of their origins and of the Xel'Naga. They believe that the only way they can do this is to achieve perfection of their pyschic energies, merging the Dark and the High energies into one, ultimate form. We see the emergence of this at only in their last two or three missions. However, they also know that if they can learn more of the ways of the Xel'Naga they may find a way to unlock this energy, while in their search for answers they also stumble across a completely unaccounted for script that refers to the Terran, dated long after both the creation and end of the Protoss and the Zerg. We find that the Xel'Naga did not create the Terran (or maybe we never say, leave the player guessing) and it contains marvels at how the Terran have progressed since infancy (they began watching at some point) and how they constantly progress, yet have a near complete disregard for nature. They consume and move on.
Anyway, they primarily face of against the Zerg at first, and receive help from the Terran in a few of their missions as they seek knowledge. Then they meet the Hybrids, and let's just say the Protoss are completely horrified and disgusted at the notion. In their final mission, they must make use of their Surpreme energy (yes, give it a better name) to defeat them.
Zerg-The Fall
Once again, no introduction is necessary. They've suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Protoss and now face a much more dangerous foe. We often will see confrontations between Kerrigan and Duran explaining such things. I don't want to say exactly what yet, you'll know it when you cross it in the discussion of the Hybrids. Obviously they must confront all races, so we'll have some skirmishes with the Protoss. The bulk of their campaign taken up fighting the Hybrids, and much later, some stand-offs with the Terran.
Here we'll see some interesting changes. With the assimilation of Terran into their armies, and the ability to speed up evolution, the Zerg are now fully capable of Psychic powers, but only in their Terran strands. We will also see many changes to their units, once again thanks to their ability to quickly mutate units. This campaign ends in a desperate battle to escape the system.
There will be some interesting Zerg units, but I don't feel like retyping them all up right now. Their psychics will focus on ways to protect their own troops and confuse the enemy as the masses of Zerg swarm in. (I find that masses of Zerg units are confusing, so I feel the psychics should go with that.) All Zerg pyschics will come from the Terran strain. Maybe have one Terran strain (out of three or so) be combat oriented or something, not psychic.
Hybrids-Perfection
The basic Hybrid will look somewhat like a Protoss, however hunched over and more corrupt looking. Duran has done to them what (Lord of the Rings reference coming) Melkor did to the Elves, changing them into Orcs. I don't want skin color change, drastically mutated faces, horrible teeth, and all of that stuff. I'm mainly trying to give you an image. The worker will have this basic appearance. As we get up into combat we begin to see some more drastic mutations. Armored backs and skin, sharpened blades running along the arms. You see the idea.
The essence of the Hyrbrids is speed and skirmishes. Their units alone are not that powerful, they have low HP and do moderate/high damage, but they are fast. They are unlike the Zerg as the Zerg are about numbers of weak units, Zerg are inexpensive, the Hybrids have a reasonable cost so you can't just pump them out. They must be used strategically, the Hybrids would typically have to outnumber an enemy to defeat it. So separating units from the whole, or picking on some are key to success. However, because of this I see it difficult for them to defend, especially against a full 200 PSI, so I say give them a strong defense. Maybe even a mobile one, but so that it can't be used as easily offensively, have it be limited to being built within an area of any other building, or maybe a particular one.
To keep the element of surprise I say almost every Hybrid should have the ability to burrow and tunnel. Yes, these little guys should live underground. With so little time to gain power, and at the risk of being discovered by any of the other three Races, Duran bred his race to remain hidden underground and to remain hidden. I think they're buildings should be visible and vulnerable from the surfaces, perhaps mounds should be in place of buildings for those who can only see underground. The basic worker can build tunnels, even to the enemy's base, or nearby as Detectors can spot these tunnels. And the workers would be detectors, if they're going to tunnel they need to be aware of where stuff is. They will be able to build multiple units at a time, like Zerg, however not all from one building. To speed up production the Hybrids clone their units, so I see little pockets chambers on the side of buildings where we'd see a Hybrid unit being created/born.
Story
Heh, this should get an interesting reaction. I'll say it right now, Duran is the original Overmind thought to be destroyed by Tassadar. How will need some work. I propose that Duran (under a different name) was a Ghost present at that battle, who was one with a group who snuck ahead to locate the Overmind and other vital targets right before the strike. Or perhaps after much of the base was destroyed Duran was near the front. Anyway, the Overmind, knowing he was doomed or that his ultimate dream of uniting the Zerg and Protoss, becoming perfect, was out of reach under present conditions, made a psychic link with Duran, either forcing control on him or promising him power. After that his body pretty much became an empty shell. Before he transfered his essence he gave enough orders for the coming battle. If one doesn't like that, he may have made a psychic and his thoughts completely crossed with Duran, and Duran so the power that could be his if he united them. I like it better with Duran being the Overmind, though, obsessed with creating the perfect race.
Convinced that his race is perfect, and that he has had enough preparation, he sets out to annihalate all other races in the sector. Primarily the Zerg and the Protoss, who must now be destroyed as they are incomplete. The Zerg are nothing they once were, the essence they were created with, chiefly the Overmind, and all overseeing/all controlling power, is gone. Kerrigan does control the Cerebrates, but through fear, she does not have the control the Overmind had. And so, in that, we must conclude that the Hybrids are set up once more with the Overmind/Duran in total control, and command is divided up downwards. To stop all reconnection with the Zerg, buildings aren't biological and workers don't become buildings, stuff like that is changed.
Their campaign is about establishing the dominant and only role in the Sector, and then the galaxy. Their early battles take them against the Zerg and Protoss. A few skirmishes with Terran, but they are scattered and unimportant, or unimportant in Duran's view of things.
Terran-The Ascension
First of all, let me say that we know the Terran can have Psychic capabilites, Kerrigan herself, pre-infested, had the ability for such things such as Psionic Storm without the dampening chip. Becoming infested could no way increase her psychic abilities as the Zerg had none.
With the fall of the Confederacy and the quick demise of the Dominion, their Ghost program severely suffered, especially on the fringe worlds. Young, gifted children began to develop their dangerous psychic abilities unchecked, especially on one such planet where it became necessary for survival. Corialis IV, a desert wasteland. Here we come across an old friend, Raynor, older now, and some new faces. This story will center around Mikal (or some other name), a young boy who will be 12-15 years old, a very gifted psychic and a genius on top of that. He will actually become very influential in all decisions of the government, in fact, he is practically the leader of the Terran army you will control. There is also a council of young psychics in charge of the school, also very brilliant themselves and the same age as Mikal (One of them will be seventeen). Another important figure will be an older general, over 50 or maybe even 60, who will be Mikal's military advisor. However, he is very faithful to Mikal and would sacrifice his own life if Mikal told him to. Though he may tell Mikal that something my be foolhardy, he will do it anyway if Mikal still disagrees. This character will be sort of a grandfatherly figure. Hmm... I would also like to see Raynor argue with Mikal a few times over things, with Raynor usually losing. Raynor wants to help this army, and he agrees with their purpose. He just has different ways of doing things than the sometimes hot headed Mikal.
Anyway, Terran psychic abilities will be based on things used for mobility. They will have only one pyschic attack. A pulse they can cast that does more damage near the center. Other things will be like Confusion, which would cause enemy units to attack the closest unit to them, friendly or foe, and other units it may paralyze (it's random). Ghosts are now pretty much obsolete with these new young pyshics, and some of them will take over the Ghost's role. Maybe three psychic units total.
What makes the armies unique?
Protoss-Strong, powerful units, as before. Expensive though. Warp in buildings. Build one unit at a time from different buildings.
Zerg-Cheap, but masses of weak units to overwhelm and confuse the enemy. Workers become buildings. Build multiple units at a time, but all from one building.
Hybrids-Fast units with a guerilla war strategy. Weak HP but decent damage and moderate/high cost. Underground tunneling abilities for ambushes and surprise attacks. Workers build buildings, but more than one worker can work on one at a time. Build more than one unit at a time from different buildings. Maybe only two at a time, then have them line up. Need to make species balanced, whether by health, damage, cost, or something.
Terran-Mobility and adaptability. Moderate units with moderate costs. Managing units and resources is key.
***
Let me add as a final note the order of the campaigns would have to be worked out. I originally thought of putting Hybrids first (you may be able to tell), but I felt then that would mean the Protoss would win theirs and the Zerg would win theirs, and the Hybrids would be kind of forgotten. For the Terran, much of what I said should happen before the other campaigns, I don't know. Unless we mixed and matched missions. =/
A fifth race could be added, but some brand new storyline would have to be created. Heh, maybe intelligent life tends to be very common.
(I typed this whole thing up to discover I had trouble posting it. So it's a good thing I had copy and pasted some of it, but I'm not going to go into resources or units in this post... maybe later.)
***
Alright, here's my version of StarCraft II. There will be four races, Protoss, Terran, Zerg, and the Hybrids. Okay, don't turn away yet, first of all the Hybrids will have a better name. You'll find my vision of them somewhere below. Also, all armies now have psychic capabilites.
Protoss-The First Born
They need no introduction. This campaign is about finding peace and eliminating the Zerg. As they do so we discover more of their origins and of the Xel'Naga. They believe that the only way they can do this is to achieve perfection of their pyschic energies, merging the Dark and the High energies into one, ultimate form. We see the emergence of this at only in their last two or three missions. However, they also know that if they can learn more of the ways of the Xel'Naga they may find a way to unlock this energy, while in their search for answers they also stumble across a completely unaccounted for script that refers to the Terran, dated long after both the creation and end of the Protoss and the Zerg. We find that the Xel'Naga did not create the Terran (or maybe we never say, leave the player guessing) and it contains marvels at how the Terran have progressed since infancy (they began watching at some point) and how they constantly progress, yet have a near complete disregard for nature. They consume and move on.
Anyway, they primarily face of against the Zerg at first, and receive help from the Terran in a few of their missions as they seek knowledge. Then they meet the Hybrids, and let's just say the Protoss are completely horrified and disgusted at the notion. In their final mission, they must make use of their Surpreme energy (yes, give it a better name) to defeat them.
Zerg-The Fall
Once again, no introduction is necessary. They've suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Protoss and now face a much more dangerous foe. We often will see confrontations between Kerrigan and Duran explaining such things. I don't want to say exactly what yet, you'll know it when you cross it in the discussion of the Hybrids. Obviously they must confront all races, so we'll have some skirmishes with the Protoss. The bulk of their campaign taken up fighting the Hybrids, and much later, some stand-offs with the Terran.
Here we'll see some interesting changes. With the assimilation of Terran into their armies, and the ability to speed up evolution, the Zerg are now fully capable of Psychic powers, but only in their Terran strands. We will also see many changes to their units, once again thanks to their ability to quickly mutate units. This campaign ends in a desperate battle to escape the system.
There will be some interesting Zerg units, but I don't feel like retyping them all up right now. Their psychics will focus on ways to protect their own troops and confuse the enemy as the masses of Zerg swarm in. (I find that masses of Zerg units are confusing, so I feel the psychics should go with that.) All Zerg pyschics will come from the Terran strain. Maybe have one Terran strain (out of three or so) be combat oriented or something, not psychic.
Hybrids-Perfection
The basic Hybrid will look somewhat like a Protoss, however hunched over and more corrupt looking. Duran has done to them what (Lord of the Rings reference coming) Melkor did to the Elves, changing them into Orcs. I don't want skin color change, drastically mutated faces, horrible teeth, and all of that stuff. I'm mainly trying to give you an image. The worker will have this basic appearance. As we get up into combat we begin to see some more drastic mutations. Armored backs and skin, sharpened blades running along the arms. You see the idea.
The essence of the Hyrbrids is speed and skirmishes. Their units alone are not that powerful, they have low HP and do moderate/high damage, but they are fast. They are unlike the Zerg as the Zerg are about numbers of weak units, Zerg are inexpensive, the Hybrids have a reasonable cost so you can't just pump them out. They must be used strategically, the Hybrids would typically have to outnumber an enemy to defeat it. So separating units from the whole, or picking on some are key to success. However, because of this I see it difficult for them to defend, especially against a full 200 PSI, so I say give them a strong defense. Maybe even a mobile one, but so that it can't be used as easily offensively, have it be limited to being built within an area of any other building, or maybe a particular one.
To keep the element of surprise I say almost every Hybrid should have the ability to burrow and tunnel. Yes, these little guys should live underground. With so little time to gain power, and at the risk of being discovered by any of the other three Races, Duran bred his race to remain hidden underground and to remain hidden. I think they're buildings should be visible and vulnerable from the surfaces, perhaps mounds should be in place of buildings for those who can only see underground. The basic worker can build tunnels, even to the enemy's base, or nearby as Detectors can spot these tunnels. And the workers would be detectors, if they're going to tunnel they need to be aware of where stuff is. They will be able to build multiple units at a time, like Zerg, however not all from one building. To speed up production the Hybrids clone their units, so I see little pockets chambers on the side of buildings where we'd see a Hybrid unit being created/born.
Story
Heh, this should get an interesting reaction. I'll say it right now, Duran is the original Overmind thought to be destroyed by Tassadar. How will need some work. I propose that Duran (under a different name) was a Ghost present at that battle, who was one with a group who snuck ahead to locate the Overmind and other vital targets right before the strike. Or perhaps after much of the base was destroyed Duran was near the front. Anyway, the Overmind, knowing he was doomed or that his ultimate dream of uniting the Zerg and Protoss, becoming perfect, was out of reach under present conditions, made a psychic link with Duran, either forcing control on him or promising him power. After that his body pretty much became an empty shell. Before he transfered his essence he gave enough orders for the coming battle. If one doesn't like that, he may have made a psychic and his thoughts completely crossed with Duran, and Duran so the power that could be his if he united them. I like it better with Duran being the Overmind, though, obsessed with creating the perfect race.
Convinced that his race is perfect, and that he has had enough preparation, he sets out to annihalate all other races in the sector. Primarily the Zerg and the Protoss, who must now be destroyed as they are incomplete. The Zerg are nothing they once were, the essence they were created with, chiefly the Overmind, and all overseeing/all controlling power, is gone. Kerrigan does control the Cerebrates, but through fear, she does not have the control the Overmind had. And so, in that, we must conclude that the Hybrids are set up once more with the Overmind/Duran in total control, and command is divided up downwards. To stop all reconnection with the Zerg, buildings aren't biological and workers don't become buildings, stuff like that is changed.
Their campaign is about establishing the dominant and only role in the Sector, and then the galaxy. Their early battles take them against the Zerg and Protoss. A few skirmishes with Terran, but they are scattered and unimportant, or unimportant in Duran's view of things.
Terran-The Ascension
First of all, let me say that we know the Terran can have Psychic capabilites, Kerrigan herself, pre-infested, had the ability for such things such as Psionic Storm without the dampening chip. Becoming infested could no way increase her psychic abilities as the Zerg had none.
With the fall of the Confederacy and the quick demise of the Dominion, their Ghost program severely suffered, especially on the fringe worlds. Young, gifted children began to develop their dangerous psychic abilities unchecked, especially on one such planet where it became necessary for survival. Corialis IV, a desert wasteland. Here we come across an old friend, Raynor, older now, and some new faces. This story will center around Mikal (or some other name), a young boy who will be 12-15 years old, a very gifted psychic and a genius on top of that. He will actually become very influential in all decisions of the government, in fact, he is practically the leader of the Terran army you will control. There is also a council of young psychics in charge of the school, also very brilliant themselves and the same age as Mikal (One of them will be seventeen). Another important figure will be an older general, over 50 or maybe even 60, who will be Mikal's military advisor. However, he is very faithful to Mikal and would sacrifice his own life if Mikal told him to. Though he may tell Mikal that something my be foolhardy, he will do it anyway if Mikal still disagrees. This character will be sort of a grandfatherly figure. Hmm... I would also like to see Raynor argue with Mikal a few times over things, with Raynor usually losing. Raynor wants to help this army, and he agrees with their purpose. He just has different ways of doing things than the sometimes hot headed Mikal.
Anyway, Terran psychic abilities will be based on things used for mobility. They will have only one pyschic attack. A pulse they can cast that does more damage near the center. Other things will be like Confusion, which would cause enemy units to attack the closest unit to them, friendly or foe, and other units it may paralyze (it's random). Ghosts are now pretty much obsolete with these new young pyshics, and some of them will take over the Ghost's role. Maybe three psychic units total.
What makes the armies unique?
Protoss-Strong, powerful units, as before. Expensive though. Warp in buildings. Build one unit at a time from different buildings.
Zerg-Cheap, but masses of weak units to overwhelm and confuse the enemy. Workers become buildings. Build multiple units at a time, but all from one building.
Hybrids-Fast units with a guerilla war strategy. Weak HP but decent damage and moderate/high cost. Underground tunneling abilities for ambushes and surprise attacks. Workers build buildings, but more than one worker can work on one at a time. Build more than one unit at a time from different buildings. Maybe only two at a time, then have them line up. Need to make species balanced, whether by health, damage, cost, or something.
Terran-Mobility and adaptability. Moderate units with moderate costs. Managing units and resources is key.
***
Let me add as a final note the order of the campaigns would have to be worked out. I originally thought of putting Hybrids first (you may be able to tell), but I felt then that would mean the Protoss would win theirs and the Zerg would win theirs, and the Hybrids would be kind of forgotten. For the Terran, much of what I said should happen before the other campaigns, I don't know. Unless we mixed and matched missions. =/
A fifth race could be added, but some brand new storyline would have to be created. Heh, maybe intelligent life tends to be very common.