Hell, It's About Time: Let's Play Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Campaign Mode! (DONE)

[dgnslyr]

Planetary, and Tanks!!!

[Gullara]

I don't have any preference, so save your points for later.

Let's go with Haven: Haven's Fall

[Inhuman Bot]

Planetary fortresses are basically a trap choice. Go for them, make this more interesting.

[stabbybelkar]

once again, I think you should go for the +40% Firebat attack spread, then go for the +25 Marauder HP and for research get the Perdition Turrets, then do the haven's fall mission.

[Cogwheel]

planetairy fortress.

I was tired enough to think I was looking at the Minecraft thread. Then I saw this.

Thank you for inspiring me

[The Glyphstone]

Okay, tallying votes:

Firebat spread (2)
Marauder HP (3)
Bank Everything (1)
Devil Dogs (1)
Bunker Range (3)
Hellion Boosts (1)

Perdition Turrets (5)
Planetary Farcetress (3)

Haven's Fall (4)
The Dig (3)
Cuttthroat (3)


Looks like Haven's Fall wins out for the mission. Perdition Turrets roast the Planetary Fartress, and we're buying Bunker Range+Marauder HP, banking the remaining 25000.

Update tomorrow or Tuesday depending on when I can write it up.

[Inhuman Bot]

I wanted to vote Cutthroat, but I forgot to. Oh well.

If you don't want to see Engine of Destruction and Media Blitz as soon as you can, you are wrong.

[The Glyphstone]

Going to be a big update, particularly since there's a story segment before and after. Unfortunately, that means it'll be delayed till Thursday probably - working tomorrow, and I'm running a Call of Cthulhu oneshot tomorrow night.

To keep you guys happy, though, I'll let you do the voting now. Some really nice upgrades just opened up to wrangle over.

Money: 150,000

Armory:
+40% Firebat attack spread (40,000)
+2 Firebat armor (85,000)
2x Hellion attack spread, 40,000)
+10 Hellion damage vs. light armor, 60,000)
+75 HP to Missile Turrets, 50,000)
Missile Turrets do AoE damage, 80,000)
Hire Devil Dog Firebat Mercenaries (25,000)
Diamondbacks +1 Range (75,000)
Diamondbacks +50 HP (90,000)
New: Hire Hel's Angels Viking Mercenaries (45,000)
New: Ripwave Missiles (Viking anti-air attacks do splash damage = 75,000)
New: Phobos-Class Weapons (Vikings gain +2 missile range, +1 cannon range = 90,000)
New: Advanced Construction (multiple SCV's can build one structure, reducing build time for no additional cost = 60,000)
New: Dual-Fusion Welders (SCV's repair units and structures 2x as fast = 80,000)
Save For Later (0)

Research! Choose:
Ultra-Capacitors - All Unit Damage upgrades from Armory/Engineering bay also boost unit attack speed by 5% per upgrade.
or
Vanadium Plating - All Unit Armor upgrades from Armory/Engineering Bay also boot unit HP by 5% per upgrade.

Current Research: Protoss 7, Zerg 11

Mission:
-Welcome to the Jungle: Harvest terrazine gas on Bel'Shir (120,000 and +3 Protoss Tech, Goliaths)
-Cutthroat: Meet with Colonel Orlan to have the adjutant decrypted (120,000 and +3 Protoss Tech, Vultures)
-The Dig: Use a gigantic mining laser to fry Protoss and harvest another artifact (120,000 and +3 Protoss Tech, Siege Tanks)


(I think we'll be getting another Protoss research topic soon. :) )

[Eldariel]

Let's build oldschool Terran Mech in the appropriate order. Start with Cutthroat; that way you'll finally have a good unit for the Light Armor Killer duty (since we apparently aren't making much use out of Firebats and Hellions are just inferior)!

As for research, Ultra-Capacitors definitely. Especially with the chosen tech path, your offense >>> your defense because you'll basically always outrange your opponent. Concussive Shells don't hurt this path either. Besides, Machine Gun Maelstrom Round Siege Tanks are a thing of beauty.


Oh, and Advanced Construction is obvious. Others seem highly unnecessary though I'm not sure how much repair you do. Eh, throw in Dual-Fusion Welders while at it.

[Draconi Redfir]

go for hel's Angels. they can be useful in a pinch

[EleventhHour]

Phobos Class Weapons, and +Hellion Damage

Go away, common sense! Shoo! Git outta here!

...Oh, but we're still going with the ULTRACAHPACITORZ

:: And to the Jungle! for the mission

[GolemsVoice]

Ultr Capacitators, definitely. Then, Phobos-Class waepon systems and dual fusion wedlers, because Starcraft without those is a pain in the behind.

[dgnslyr]

Ultra Capacitors, because more firepower is never a bad thing.

[Eldariel]

Ultra Capacitors, because more firepower is never a bad thing.

Obligatory.

[smuchmuch]

Ultra capacitors for research;
Ripwave Missiles (Vking doing splash damage ? Goodbye annoying mutas.) and Phobos class weapons (usefull later the last missions against brood lords.). terran air is the way to go, vikings and later bashees are just so much fun.

As for dual fusion weilders, it's up to you, depends how good a player you are and how muchh micro you can put up with.

And, whatever you do, don't hire the Devil dogs. They're a waste of perfectly good credits.
Hells angels are good, but you may want to keep money for later.

[arguskos]

Let's build oldschool Terran Mech in the appropriate order. Start with Cutthroat; that way you'll finally have a good unit for the Light Armor Killer duty (since we apparently aren't making much use out of Firebats and Hellions are just inferior)!

As for research, Ultra-Capacitors definitely. Especially with the chosen tech path, your offense >>> your defense because you'll basically always outrange your opponent. Concussive Shells don't hurt this path either. Besides, Machine Gun Maelstrom Round Siege Tanks are a thing of beauty.


Oh, and Advanced Construction is obvious. Others seem highly unnecessary though I'm not sure how much repair you do. Eh, throw in Dual-Fusion Welders while at it.

Every single damned thing this man says is made of solid gold. Do eeeet.

[Gullara]

Obligatory.

Gaah! Why did you have to link TV Tropes. I was trying to be productive.

[The Glyphstone]

Remember, if you don't vote for a mission, I'll have to choose it. And I really, really like Siege Tanks. So unless you don't care, edit up vote posts plox?

[Draken]

I will vote for The Dig as the mission. I am surprised people haven't given you the siege tanks yet, the siege tanks rule.

Research: Ultra-capacitors. No questions.

Upgrades:

Phobos Class Weapons. Bank the rest.

[Douglas]

Hel's Angels, Phobos-Class Weapons, and Ultra Capacitors.

Again, go for Cutthroat to get Media Blitz ASAP. Siege tanks really aren't that great in Horner's mission line, so The Dig can wait. They're incredible in missions with lots of base defense or really tough ground defenses to break, but none of the Matt Horner missions fit that.

[Draken]

Siege Tanks in The Great Train Robbery (which, ok, he already did) are awesome. They can just melt the marauder kill team right after they spawn without ever taking a single shot (put them in the peninsula of your base, where they will also get line of fire to two of the train lines).

I will give it to you that I never used the tanks in Cuthroat (except after the minerals have been gathered) or Media Blitz (THORS), however.

[Edge]

Phobos Class Weapons and the Ultra Capacitors. Because, as stated above, one can never have enuff dakka.

And a vote for the Dig.

[dgnslyr]

What problem can tanks not solve?
Well, besides Immortals. And fliers. But that's why you have Vikings and marines.

[Jair Barik]

Ultra capacitors, both SCV upgrades and the Dig mission. Seriously.
The sooner you can get all that lovely free research from the Prophecy missions the better! (plus I find that many of the units from the artifact line are must haves for certain missions on the harder difficulties, though if your on normal then order hardly matters. Battlecruisers on safe haven/havens fall is always good for a lugh though)

[Draken]

But the prophecy missions are just Raynor melting his brain watching the ProTVss in the lab. Our heroine narrator can't really take part in those.

[stabbybelkar]

Here are my choices

Armory
+40% Firebat attack spread
+75 HP to Missile turrets
Advanced Construction (multiple SCV's can build one structure, reducing build time for no additional cost = 60,000)

Research!
Vanadium Plating - All Unit Armor upgrades from Armory/Engineering Bay also boot unit HP by 5% per upgrade.

Mission:
-The Dig: Use a gigantic mining laser to fry Protoss and harvest another artifact (120,000 and +3 Protoss Tech, Siege Tanks)

[The Glyphstone]

But the prophecy missions are just Raynor melting his brain watching the ProTVss in the lab. Our heroine narrator can't really take part in those.

Who says Raynor will be the one touching the crystal? Or at least, the only one?

[stabbybelkar]

YES. This Idea must be done!

[The Glyphstone]

Update 9: In Which A Mildly Disturbing Lack of Both Empathy And Marshmallows is Observed.

Haven's Fall

Spoiler

Show

October 20, 2504:

Dear Diary;

Some investigate reporter I am. All this time, I never even suspected. Even when the Zerg just kept mysteriously showing up wherever we went, I just kept brushing it off as a coincidence. I think I’m lucky to be alive, or at least still human. Raynor’s been in his cabin all day – probably stinking drunk. Honestly, though, I can’t blame him this time – I guess Tychus making jokes about Raynor getting sweet on her hit closer than he thought. After today, even a preacher would want to get drunk. And I almost let her touch me! My appointment was tomorrow…maybe I should start at the beginning.

Everything started when Dr. Chief Hippie came running to Raynor all upset. It turned out that she’d be keeping in touch with her dirt farmers on their ‘Haven’ planet, but now they’d stopped talking to her. The Creeper Twins (that’s the convict Tychus and that weirdo Tosh) were both badgering Raynor to go on their respective treasure hunts, but they stopped trying as soon as the doctor asked Raynor for a lift back to Haven so she could check up on her ‘people’. I guess they recognized a waste of time when they saw it.

So off we went, and the problem was right there in front of us as soon as we arrived. And by ‘problem’, I mean ‘Protoss war fleet blockading the planet while charging up their weapons to immolate the entire thing’. For some reason, this made Dr. Hippie upset; I can’t tell one bunch of dirt farmers from the next, but she was getting all bothered by the idea of the Protoss zorching ‘her’ colonists. Probably just to shut her up, Raynor sent a transmission to the Protoss telling them to go genocide someone else’s planet.



Unsurprisingly, they didn’t exactly cut and run in the face of one decrepit battlecruiser. They didn’t come over and blow the crap out of us, either. I guess the stories about Raynor being a Protoss sympathizer weren’t entirely fake, because what they did do is open a com channel. The Protoss on the other end introduced itself as Executor Selendis, and it promptly trotted out the old-and-tired excuse Protoss always used. The colonist’s new planet was infected with Zerg, and the Protoss were here to burn them all out, along with the rest of the planet’s biosphere just in case. Nonsense, of course, and Raynor should have known that automatically. Dr. Hippie looked really uncomfortable, though, and when everyone just looked at her, she flat-out admitted that the Protoss were right. The colonists were infected, but she was trying to research a cure for the virus. Cure the Zerg? Cure gravity while you’re at it, Doctor. The Protoss said as much too, repeating their intention to ‘purify’ the planet with fire. Seemed like a callous way to talk about butchering a planet full of human beings, but they were Protoss; killing people was their idea of a relaxing afternoon sport.

The doctor begged Raynor to defend her colony from the Protoss. The aliens responded with their intentions to ‘meet in glorious battle’ if Raynor did so - a rather weak threat if you ask me. Raynor, naturally, sided with his geeky girlfriend in defense of Terran interests in the face of the alien menace.

…
…
Fooled you. Raynor’s a Protoss-lover, remember? Worse, he didn’t just decide to stand by and let the Protoss fry everyone. He told them to back off and let him though, he’d have the Raiders do their dirty work for them. Dr. Hippie started screaming and ran off the bridge, but the Executor looked pleased. I think. It’s hard to tell if something is smiling when it doesn’t have a mouth. I know I had to look away to hide a smile; this was Jarwalski Award material unfolding right in front of me! Raynor leading his mercenaries to kill loyal Dominion soldiers for his piracy schemes was one thing, him ordering innocent civilians butchered wholesale on the orders of fanatical alien overlords was an entirely different level. Matt looked awfully upset, but he was following orders, and we closed in on Haven as the Protoss opened a gap in their fleet shell, and I daydreamed about which set of toilets I’d have Kate clean first.



At that point, no one was surprised when the Protoss turned out to be telling the truth. Infected colonists were running all over the place, and more were sprouting by the minute. The key seemed to be these ugly things Geek Boy was calling ‘virophages’, and he babbled on about ‘hyper-accelerated induced alteration’ and ‘total conversion at the genetic level’. I could see the screens, though, and all that was just a really fancy way to say ‘it puked on houses and turned everyone inside into Zerg’. See, Geek Boy, this is why the jocks beat you up in high school, because you couldn’t talk like normal people. And to make everything more interesting, we were seeing a new kind of flying Zerg, “brood lords”, that Geek Boy insisted would murderify anything they caught on the ground.


The fat man in the armory disagreed. “Calling in some favors”, as he put it, had gotten him access to the plans for Vikings. The hardware was one thing, where he found the trained pilots was another. I remember a piece I edited during my internship interviewing an elite Viking squadron crew; any one of them could have gotten solid gold medals in the annual Korhal Athletic Games on flexibility alone, and that kind of talent can’t come cheap on the payroll that Raynor hands out.



Point is, we had them, and they did just as well as the fat man – Swann, by his nametag – predicted. The Zerg air cover wasn’t anywhere near enough to fend off the big-ass missiles that he’d loaded out the Vikings with, and the infected colonists got chewed up just as fast under their chainguns. One down, three to go?



Of course, the Zerg had other plans. We blew up one Virophage, and they immediately moved in on another settlement and started growing another. I was practically dancing as Raynor just sat there – he was doing the Protoss’s job for them, so naturally he’d wait until the infestation took root before he “regretfully” had to cleanse them.



Seems he’d forgotten to keep the Viking pilots in the loop, though, because they saw Zerg and just went tearing off after the things. Now, he couldn’t exactly call them off without revealing to everyone who didn’t already know it that he wanted to slaughter the civilians, so that batch managed to live for a few more days.





Fat Man Swann seemed to really like his new toys, because he just kept churning out more and more of them. He must have been shoving untrained pilots into the things, because there’s no way the Raiders had this many Viking drivers on the roster. From what I could tell, though, they were fun enough that he had no shortage of volunteers to risk being dismembered by transforming machinery. The Zerg didn’t know what hit them after the factories really got going, and pretty soon we had a massive pack of ships roaming around and blowing the living crap out of every Zerg they found.



Eventually we were starting to run low on supplies, though, and Swann was yelling at Raynor about all the repairs his men were having to do on the Viking patrols. Hoping to pacify him, Raynor sent a couple Vikings out looking for a secondary mining site. Nothing turned up, though, except a bunch of neat-looking fossilized bones from some sort of giant beast. They weren’t Zerg bones, though, so Geek Boy couldn’t have cared less about them.



Zerg didn’t need supplies to keep attacking the settlements, so Raynor finally had to get off his butt and start cleansing the actual Zerg hives instead of getting his fun by butchering freshly infected civilians. The best tool for this, naturally, was the absurd number of Vikings that Swann had been cranking out, and they just shredded their way through the clusters.





And once everything had stopped twitching, he brought in the infantry to – you guessed it – light the whole place on fire. Right down to the last ship that the colonists had flown here in, they all got a full recommended daily helping of smoke and napalm.



And…well…this is where it got really freaky. Sure, the colonists were all “safe”, if you count safety as being charred cinders in the dirt, but Dr. Hippie had locked herself away in the lab. She wouldn’t let anyone in or answer the phones. So Raynor went in to look for her.



He came out dragging a corpse – her corpse. At least, part of it was her, the rest was all mutated and infected. I knew Dr. Hippie had been acting suspicious, but even I hadn’t expected her to be infected! She’d been plotting to kill us all right from the start, and it’s only by luck that her mutations appeared before she could start poisoning everyone on the ship with Zerg germs. And Raynor had to shoot her himself. I almost feel sorry for him.



Okay, crisis of sympathy over. Phew. I only had to think of all the friends and loved ones that he’s torn away from their families forever in his vicious campaign of terrorism to remind myself that he probably deserves a little heartbreak too. He’ll reek of booze later though, even when he sobers up, but there’s ways around that. One of the Raiders looted an arcade machine, of all things, from the colonist settlement when we left, I might go try that out.

Tally Results are:

Armory: Phobos-Class Weapons for Vikings, Advanced SCV Construction
Research: Ultra-Capacitors by a landslide.
Mission: The Dig, barely (4 votes, Cutthroat got 3.)

----


Since there's no voting till Post-Dig, I want reader feedback. How is this going so far? What's to improve on? Is there anyone who doesn't want our intrepid narrator to die in a fire by now?

[Draconi Redfir]

i never understood why Viking piolets would need to be flexable. i mean when i see a Viking transform, its cockpit stays compleatly the same, tis evrything around it that changes.