Starcraft plot holes

[SolkaTruesilver]

Hi there. Great game. Great story.

That said, there are quite a little things that happen in the first two campaign that just... arrives on the scene, with no explanations.

Blizzard published recently the biography of Raynor, that he revolted against Mengsk, and that he seized his flagship, the Hyperion in the process. Which, I think, explains why he suddenly appear with that supership in his hand overcampaign (between Terran & Protoss).

they also explains why Raynor went to Char (I never quite understood what he was doing here if he rebelled against Mengsk). Also that's where he met the Protoss. (Again, I never understood how he ended up with Tassadar).

Since a lot of the plot holes that left me puzzled recently have been filled, I was wondering if you remember other plot holes that have yet to be explained (or perhaps never will).

[BRC]

Hi there. Great game. Great story.

That said, there are quite a little things that happen in the first two campaign that just... arrives on the scene, with no explanations.

Blizzard published recently the biography of Raynor, that he revolted against Mengsk, and that he seized his flagship, the Hyperion in the process. Which, I think, explains why he suddenly appear with that supership in his hand overcampaign (between Terran & Protoss).

they also explains why Raynor went to Char (I never quite understood what he was doing here if he rebelled against Mengsk). Also that's where he met the Protoss. (Again, I never understood how he ended up with Tassadar).

Since a lot of the plot holes that left me puzzled recently have been filled, I was wondering if you remember other plot holes that have yet to be explained (or perhaps never will).

actually a book (that was okay, it tried to be the sequal to the awsome starcraft book Liberty's Crusade but wasn't as good) covered most of that stuff and came out at least a year ago. Personally, I think Starcraft has a great plot, Warcraft did too until the game Dev's went up to Metzen and said "Hey, we want to do X,Y and Z, Justify it for us, we don't really care how much lore you need to come up with randomly or contradict, just do it."

[SurlySeraph]

One that's stayed with me: How the hell did Duran get out of the Psi Disruptor?

[Leper_Kahn]

My personal favorite: Mutalisks fly at thousands of miles an hour by flapping their wings...


In space...

Not quite a plot hole, but still.

[warty goblin]

My personal favorite: Mutalisks fly at thousands of miles an hour by flapping their wings...


In space...

Not quite a plot hole, but still.


Big wings, to get that kind of push off of intersteller plasma...

[nooblade]

Why do people complain about Mutalisks flying but not Marines running at the same speeds in planet or space conditions?

[BRC]

My personal favorite: Mutalisks fly at thousands of miles an hour by flapping their wings...


In space...

Not quite a plot hole, but still.
Or the fact that they have Gravity on space platforms
Or the fact that terrans are able to build things out of metal using nothing but blue crystals
or the fact that Battlecruisers arn't that much bigger then wraiths
Or the fact that 12 marines can take down a battlecruiser.

[Chronos]

Blizzard published recently the biography of Raynor, that he revolted against Mengsk, and that he seized his flagship, the Hyperion in the process. Which, I think, explains why he suddenly appear with that supership in his hand overcampaign (between Terran & Protoss).

they also explains why Raynor went to Char (I never quite understood what he was doing here if he rebelled against Mengsk). Also that's where he met the Protoss. (Again, I never understood how he ended up with Tassadar).I thought those were both explained perfectly well in the cutscenes. He rebelled against Mengsk because Mengsk abandoned Kerrigan, and he went to Char because he got a dream psychically sent to him by her indicating that she'd be there, and he wanted to try to rescue her. Once on Char, he found that the Protoss were on the same side as him (fighting the Zerg), and he wanted revenge against them, so he teamed up. Plus, he still had some hope of reclaiming Sarah, and if anyone could pull it off, it would be the Protoss.


One that's stayed with me: How the hell did Duran get out of the Psi Disruptor?Uh, through a door? Or through one of the holes in the walls the Zerg made when they attacked it? What's the big mystery? Yeah, I know there's no door on the map in the mission, but you might as well complain about the impenetrable walls around every battlefield.

What always bugged me most about the plot was the places where you ought to be able to change it, but you can't. At the end of the penultimate Terran mission, even if you kill every single Zerg unit, without losing any units or buildings yourself (yes, it is possible), Kerrigan still gets captured (by what?). And in the final Protoss mission, even if you use Zeratul and his buddies to kill the Overmind, Tassadar still has to take his deathride in, because only Dark Templar energies can kill the Overmind (isn't that what I just did?).

[Pagz]

And in the final Protoss mission, even if you use Zeratul and his buddies to kill the Overmind, Tassadar still has to take his deathride in, because only Dark Templar energies can kill the Overmind (isn't that what I just did?).I always presumed that when Zeratul and his buddies killed the Overmind, it started to regenerate into a new Overmind almost instantaneously, to a rate where the dark templar could hack away yet in the end would be overrun by zerg, so Tassader had to nuke himself to do enough damage to completely erase it from existence.

Although, it has been a very long time since I finished Starcraft however.

[Demented]

What always bugged me most about the plot was the places where you ought to be able to change it, but you can't. At the end of the penultimate Terran mission, even if you kill every single Zerg unit, without losing any units or buildings yourself (yes, it is possible), Kerrigan still gets captured (by what?).

Not to mention, Kerrigan can high-tail it out of there with a dropship.
Which is only proof that Blizzard should've made that level end with an unending stream of devouring ones, while surrounding the map with mutalisks from 4 other zerg teams, 1 on each side of the map.

That would more 'realistically' show you why Kerrigan is totally, utterly lost. :smallyuk:

[Deepblue706]

I thought the game was kinda thorough where it should have been. But, I haven't played single player in such a long time.

But then, when was the last time any of us have?

[Krade]

One that's stayed with me: How the hell did Duran get out of the Psi Disruptor?

I got a better explanation for this one though it is kind of a big spoiler. I know the game is old, but a lot of people are still pretty touchy about stuff like that.

Duran isn't Terran. Duran isn't Zerg. Duran is Xel'Naga, the uber-powerful super race that guided the evolution the Protoss and Zerg, a race previously thought to be extinct. Once you realize this, it's not terribly difficult to imagine that he could have easily slipped out.

[warty goblin]

The biggest plot hole I found in Starcraft was that it assumed for that some reason I actually cared about the characters and events, which I really couldn't manage for some reason.

I guess I just never felt it gave me a reason to care, beyond 'kill whatever is in the red base' which is not, to say the least, compelling motivation.

[Inhuman Bot]

You could assume:
A) you WERE the charcters or
B) as they say you are a mid ranking soldier/ceribrate that guides soldiers.
Or lastly
C)It was your race? then again look at real humans, so maybe nevermind..

[Demented]

The biggest plot hole I found in Starcraft was that it assumed for that some reason I actually cared about the characters and events, which I really couldn't manage for some reason.

I guess I just never felt it gave me a reason to care, beyond 'kill whatever is in the red base' which is not, to say the least, compelling motivation.
That's not a plothole, that's a player gripe. =P

[BRC]

I got a better explanation for this one though it is kind of a big spoiler. I know the game is old, but a lot of people are still pretty touchy about stuff like that.

Duran isn't Terran. Duran isn't Zerg. Duran is Xel'Naga, the uber-powerful super race that guided the evolution the Protoss and Zerg, a race previously thought to be extinct. Once you realize this, it's not terribly difficult to imagine that he could have easily slipped out.
Would that also explain why Dugalle took the advice of Duran, some random colonist capitan, over that of Stukov his lifelong friend and Second in command. What was the logic again
"So we found this thing that would be really usefull against the zerg, what do we do"
Stukov: "you know, since were fighting the zerg in an attempt to control them, it might be a good idea to use that"
Duran: "but after you take the zerg over, your enemies could use it, destroy it now"
Dugalle: "Yes random colonist dude I met like a week ago, your right" *eats a cookie*
Stukov: "we could destroy it AFTER we take over the zerg"
Duran: "My your very whiny, isn't he whiny admiral"
Dugall:" yes he is, these are good cookies"

[konfeta]

The biggest plothole of Starcraft is UED using Korpulu tech. Even Metzen admits it, and says he still has to figure out how to remedy that short of a retcon. (I mean, the "12 marines own a battlecruiser" was more of a gameplay thing then actual lore; but when you take a look at Brood War, well, the two factions were identical. It would have made more sense to make them a Naga-styled race ala Frozen Throne, overpowered/different in single-player, but non-existence in mutiplayer)

They probably will go with the ret-con, they already erased the player characters (Magistrate, Cerebrate, Executor, Captain) or re-wrote them into other characters to make the Starcraft 2 campaign style work.


The biggest plot hole I found in Starcraft was that it assumed for that some reason I actually cared about the characters and events, which I really couldn't manage for some reason.

That's not as much as a plot-hole as much as it is a thinly-veiled "i don't care about starcraft so i am special" bash. So you didn't like the Starcraft story, wooptie do. No need to transfer that into an insult to spite those who enjoyed it.

[warty goblin]

No, I do consider it a plot failing when I don't care about the plot. There's plenty of games I enjoy just fine where the plot doesn't thrill me but I still enjoy the game, its a surmountable problem that is pretty seperate from liking or disliking the gameplay. I love playing Gear of War for example, but don't give jack about the plot. Same with Tomb Raider. On the other side of that coin I beat the last section of Age of Wonders only because I cared about the plot, I had already gotten pretty much all possible satisfaction and enjoyment out of the gameplay but I wanted to know what happened.

You will also please note that I did not say "Starcraft sucks" or "people who like Starcraft are stupid" I merely said that the plot didn't do anything for me. Honestly if you can get a personal attack from that, I'm impressed.

[radishlaw]

And in the final Protoss mission, even if you use Zeratul and his buddies to kill the Overmind, Tassadar still has to take his deathride in, because only Dark Templar energies can kill the Overmind (isn't that what I just did?).
http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Tassadar

It seems to suggest that the overmind could easily regenerate even if destroyed by Dark Templar energy. Tassadar learned to use both kinds of energy and so only he could channel both to ensure complete destruction of the overmind.

I feel that Starcraft has a pretty tight story, but it is possibly due to it is much less milked than the warcraft universe(only one game and several novels so far) and thus not as likely to get plotholes. We will see if it is as good in Starcraft II :)

[Demented]

It's not exactly a plothole, but in sequential campaigns, I find it odd that you never fight "yourself". I.e. You lead the Terran campaign as the Magistrate, ordering aroud Jim Raynor. Yet when you're a cerebrate, the Magistrate (and his uncanny talent for victory) disappears. Likewise, when you're an executor, the cerebrate that lead the bold (and terrifyingly successful) assault on Aiur is long gone.

"Alright, congratulations on your overwhelming victory. Now, it's time for you to retire and let a computer AI take over this faction's war efforts."

Starcraft 2 Plothole:
- Kerrigan growing high heels.
- Female protoss. (That look like WoW Draenei)

[Metal Head]

I love playing Gear of War for example, but don't give jack about the plot.

There wasn't really a plot. It went along the lines of "We need to prepare for big boom in locust tunnels."

[warty goblin]

There wasn't really a plot. It went along the lines of "We need to prepare for big boom in locust tunnels."

My point exactly, I wasn't playing Gears to see what happened next. I was playing because chainsawing ugly-ass aliens apart is amusing and relieves the boredom of college life. Hence the plot of Gears is a failure, doesn't make it a bad game. Same goes for Starcraft IMHO. And as I said, contrast this with Age of Wonders, which I finally beat precisely so that I could see what happened in the end because I actually cared about the plot, but was sick unto death of the actual gameplay by that point.

[Krade]

On a somewhat unrelated but also somewhat relevant note, I bought Firstborn today. It's the first of a three book Starcraft series (The Dark Templar Saga). I've already read about half of it and I must say, it is quite interesting, not terribly well written, but still interesting.

And just to throw my two cents in to the actual discussion, I love the plot. I've been waiting for nearly a decade just to get more of it and had pretty much given up hope until the relatively recent announcement of Starcraft 2. and I have to say, I am somewhat giddy at the prospect of getting more of the beloved plot. Even if the game itself sucks. HARD.

[PePe QuiCoSE]

The biggest plothole of Starcraft is UED using Korpulu tech. Even Metzen admits it, and says he still has to figure out how to remedy that short of a retcon. (I mean, the "12 marines own a battlecruiser" was more of a gameplay thing then actual lore; but when you take a look at Brood War, well, the two factions were identical. It would have made more sense to make them a Naga-styled race ala Frozen Throne, overpowered/different in single-player, but non-existence in mutiplayer)I am confused at this. I remember that in the last BW mission, UED used BattleCruisers and Mengsk used ghosts. As i recall, ghosts appeared due in the sector, but i don't remember that BC technology was exclusive of either side.
Could you elaborate a bit more on this? links appreciated :)

edit: oh, now i remember that there was a mission in which you could choose to fight either BC or Nukes (depended on what you killed in the previous mission).

[BRC]

I am confused at this. I remember that in the last BW mission, UED used BattleCruisers and Mengsk used ghosts. As i recall, ghosts appeared due in the sector, but i don't remember that BC technology was exclusive of either side.
Could you elaborate a bit more on this? links appreciated :)

edit: oh, now i remember that there was a mission in which you could choose to fight either BC or Nukes (depended on what you killed in the previous mission).

The Starcraft manual had the backstories behind all the units, and most of the terran units were developed after colonization of the koroplu secotor, For example the Kel-Morian combine built the first goliaths, the confederacy developed seige tanks originally as stationary turrets but made them tanks after the goliath and wraith showed the importance of mobility.

[SolkaTruesilver]

If I remember right, in the 1st Terran mission, your mission is to download informations from a Dominion Command Centers. They probably took all their intel/unit specs there.

They stole a massive BC fleet during the 2nd mission - which explains why they ended up with it.

[Khosan]

It's not exactly a plothole, but in sequential campaigns, I find it odd that you never fight "yourself". I.e. You lead the Terran campaign as the Magistrate, ordering aroud Jim Raynor. Yet when you're a cerebrate, the Magistrate (and his uncanny talent for victory) disappears. Likewise, when you're an executor, the cerebrate that lead the bold (and terrifyingly successful) assault on Aiur is long gone.

"Alright, congratulations on your overwhelming victory. Now, it's time for you to retire and let a computer AI take over this faction's war efforts."

Starcraft 2 Plothole:
- Kerrigan growing high heels.
- Female protoss. (That look like WoW Draenei)

There was at least one Female Protoss seen in Brood War if I remember correctly. She was the matriarch or something of the Dark Protoss's planet.

[Demented]

Yes, but she wasn't fan service. =P

[Eita]

Why has no one mentioned this? Why?

The Xel'Naga Temple killing all the Zerg at the end of the Protoss campaign, but suddenly not being used when the Zerg return (not to mention the fact that the Dark Templar Matriarch then said that 'No alien shall ever lay foot on Shakuras again' AND the fact that it's somehow still twilight on Shakuras even after the Temple brought the sun back out).

[puppyavenger]

Yes, but she wasn't fan service. =P

How can an invisable alien dressed like a nun be fanservice?

[Artanis]

No, I do consider it a plot failing when I don't care about the plot.
That's still not a plot hole. Just because you can't get into it doesn't mean it contradicts itself or fails to explain something, it merely means you can't get into it.

[sikyon]

I think that the... UED used korpulu tech because the UED had been mointoring them. Naturally, the UED was mostly united already. Neccessity breeds invention, so they used the military tech developed on the fringes because they would not need to invest resources into research or development but most importantly it would have been developed with extreme need in mind. Death and money are the best motivators, with Death (War) pulling out ahead.