New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Page 1 of 9 123456789 LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 264
  1. - Top - End - #1
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void

    Spoiler: Context For New Readers
    Show


    Way back in the hoary and ancient past that was 2010, I took on a project of doing a Let's Play of Starcraft II's Terran campaign. To amuse myself and stay interested, I decided to do it as an in-character journal, inventing an airheaded and thoroughly brainwashed young reporter to be my in-universe PoV. The whole thing turned out to be surprisingly popular, and somewhere in the middle my narrator began to take on a life of her own until it was pointed out that I was basically writing a fan-fiction parallel to my Let's Play. When it finished, I teased a Part 2 but ended up failing to deliver as inspiration failed and life took me into other works, until recently. I stumbled across a link to the old thread and decided to re-read it; I'd forgotten how much fun it was writing Nora, and in the review figured out a way to continue her story into Heart of the Swarm. That proved to be moderately successful, with a small but dedicated group of readers following along and participating. With that in mind, not continuing into Legacy of the Void seemed entirely wasteful. And thus we find ourselves in Part 3, the conclusion to Starcraft 2's story arc.


    Part 1 can be found HERE: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...n-Mode!-(DONE) - the pictures are long-since deleted, sadly, tied to a Photobucket account that no longer exists, but the narrative segments are intact.

    Part 2 can be found HERE: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...t-of-the-Swarm




    Spoiler: Update 1: In Which A-Move Is A-Winning Strategy
    Show


    October 5, 2506:

    Time really can fly sometimes – it feels like it was only a few weeks ago that the Zerg invaded Korhal, even if all my clocks insist it's been six months. In the clocks' defense, though, I've been really busy. When I jumped at the chance to interview Sarah, I was only expecting it to be a collection of soundbites to get UNN to hire me back after I got that pesky 'declared dead' problem solved, but Kate was convinced it could be bigger. I felt like I owed her something after being so nasty all our lives, so I let her help, and of course she was absolutely right (okay, maybe I'm still a little jealous). Three hours of surprisingly poignant questioning turned into a full miniseries mixing in interviews with Commander Raynor, other former Sons of Korhal who remembered her before the Zerg, and even a bunch of declassified Ghost Program files about her training days obtained through Emperor Valerian's new policies of transparency. I'm pretty sure some of those were still fabricated – giving kittens cancer is something villains in bad novels do – but Kerrigan: Queen of Blades is still the #1 most-watched documentary in Dominion history. It got me my job back, an entire year's back pay as a 'bonus', and scuttlebutt says I'm in the running for a Metzie.

    On the other hand, the dreams won't go away, and they keep getting worse. Last night I got the one about Protoss ships bombarding a plaza full of civilians, but last night it was the one where zerg were eating people as something massive blocked out the sun, and before that was the one with that starship-sized hybrid bursting free of some sort of temple. There's about a dozen of them, all repeating at random. Three months ago I was sleeping like a baby, and now I'm getting a few hours a night tops. My therapist thinks they're just PTSD nightmares, but regular nightmares are where Kerrigan murders General Warfield, then the body gets up and dances the macarena. They're weird and fuzzy and you forget them after waking up. These are vivid, different, and aside from the woman made of fire and starlight, who I haven't seen in weeks, they all leave me sweating and shivering at the same time. Kate can't help me here either – her nightmares are the normal kind, mostly of being back in New Folsom. I'm headed offworld on a new assignment tomorrow, though, some sort of diplomatic outreach thing with the Protoss – maybe being off Korhal for a bit will help.


    October 9, 2506:

    So, it turns out 'diplomatic outreach' was a bit of an understatement. Commander Raynor's been a friend of the Protoss for years, and they invited him to join them as they reconquer their lost homeworld of Aiur. But he's still busy helping the Emperor stitch the Dominion back together, so he convinced them to accept a stand-in, and apparently thinks he owes me a favor for helping break him out of prison. So here I am – UNN's newly minted Alien Interests Correspondent/Witness of Raynor, like the galaxy's most oddly specific ambassador. The Hierarch – guy named Artanis – is polite enough, if too busy to talk at all; the rest of the Protoss just ignore me. It's an impressive fleet they have here;thousands of soldiers, hundreds of ships and a dozen motherships. But they're also trying to clear an entire planet's worth of Zerg that have been stinking up the place for years, and still have it be livable real estate when everything is over.



    The key seems to be recapturing the warp-portal gates that are overgrown and infested with Zerg...stuff, letting them move their forces all over the planet where they need to go. They sent down about a dozen warriors an hour ago, and only one came back with a battered probe in tow, but I guess one-to-nothing is a win to them.





    With a beachhead established, a whole army got warped down to the surface, every last one of them practically vibrating with excitement. There were Zerg to kill, and they'd been waiting a long time for this.



    There were a lot of Zerg to kill. But that just made them even happier – the foot soldiers weren't even waiting for the tank-walkers but charging ahead into the horde.



    Giant robots make everything better, especially when they're on your side for once. Sarah might disagree, but she's not here and these aren't her Zerg anyways.



    Behind a few smaller hordes of Zerg was a Hive, happily pumping out new Zerg to join the fight. The Hierarch's forces promptly burned it to ash.



    That helpfully cleared a landing zone for some transports, dropping off a few infantry to replace all the ones who had gleefully kamikazed themselves against the swarm by now.



    Capturing the first warp conduit helped a lot more, warping in a whole battalion and bringing the Heirarch's army back up to strength.



    Banelings were in the enemy force mix now, and either this convinced the Zealots to not run ahead of their fire support, or they'd just let the hotheads go first and sent smart people as replacements.





    Another hive burned, and more reinforcements got dropped in.



    Not far ahead, the wreck of a Mothership was spread out across the landscape. I can't imagine how many Zerg it took to bring that thing down, but the handful of survivors happily joined up with the Hierarch's forces.



    A good thing, too, because the feral Zerg had started setting traps. Not that it helped them much against giant robots with fire lasers, especially since they're too stupid to wait until the Protoss were close enough to attack.



    The second warp conduit was defended more heavily, with fliers giving cover to the swarms now. Enough stalkers were intact to blast them out of the sky, but it was still something new in the mix.



    With another conduit online, a second batch of reserves joined the fight. That only left one conduit in the area to go.



    Across the bridge, at first it seemed the ferals had tried to set another simple trap.



    When the Protoss engaged, though, the second jaw of the trap sprung with a whole mess of Zerg popping up in the middle of the Protoss troops. There were actual casualties this time, and the Protoss started moving more cautiously. Even I could see how weird that was – feral Zerg were mindless beasts who just ate everything in sight, they didn't set up ambushes.



    On the path to the final conduit, now there were Nydus worms popping out to deliver Zerg into the fight. Something was definitely wrong, a feral Nydus worm was an oxymoron – the critters didn't even have brains. I thought Sarah had regained all the broodmothers before attacking Korhal, but maybe one had slept through the battle out here?



    Nope. It wasn't a broodmother, there were Hybrids here on Aiur. That was, to put it mildly, really bad.



    With the fight now raging across Aiur, there wasn't much else for me to but keep watching. The Hierarch had disappeared off for some conference or another, so I decided to take a quick nap in the room I'd been given. I dreamed of hybrids marching through urban streets, a desert of blues and purples underneath a cloudy sky, and an ever-growing shadow full of hate and hunger...



    And we are back in business. Obviously no votes here at first, but I'll have something for you guys to fight over in the next update thanks to the more interwoven nature of narrative and voting this time around. Until then, enjoy my paltry attempts at humor, call-backs, and references to obscure bits of lore.

    Speaking of votes - the choosing of a planet destination is pretty straightforward, but I'm open for suggestions/ideas on how to handle votes for both the Spear of Adun's Solarite allocations and for War Council army selections. Both are much more flexible than the optional decisions of the previous two games, and I think it's partly intended to let you change your force mix and support powers up to the mission instead of just building a deathball of your best thing and rampaging. That still ends up being the optimal strategy, but it also makes for boring screenshots.
    Last edited by The Glyphstone; 2021-09-11 at 03:10 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Troll in the Playground
     
    RedWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2014

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Yay! It has begun.

    I like how our protagonist's commentary underscores just why the basic Protoss infantry are called "zealots"; one has to have a particularly fanatical mindset to exist in a setting full of lethal ranged suppression weapons and horrific alien monstrosities and belong to the civilization possessing the most powerful technologies and still decide that one's vocation* is short-ranged melee combat. At least Terran firebats have the excuse that they're generally brainwashed prisoners and insane to boot.



    *And yes, since the Protoss have a caste system, one might make the argument that the role of zealot isn't really a vocation, but since the people who man ships aren't a separate caste, and it seems unlikely that a society would graduate people from front-line infantry to controlling advanced warships, presumably there's some other process by which a templar's role is chosen.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2014

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Yay, new update!

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    and either this convinced the Zealots to not run ahead of their fire support, or they'd just let the hotheads go first and sent smart people as replacements.
    Reminds me of Schlock Mercenary. "Promote everyone who held back to corporal."

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Aha, at last!

    -some random Corsair

    LoV is easily my favorite expansion of the lot. Im a big protoss fan, and LoV hits several of the right notes for me.


    I think voting for Solarite could be done based on a priority system. So after each mission, we all vote for the power we want to see the most, and whichever one gets the most votes gets the allotment of Solarite, and then going down the chain as we can afford.


    For units, i think you may have to just call out when a new option becomes available and then let people call for a switch and argue the point on their own initiative. If youre feeling ambitious, maybe keep a spoilered chart of all the currently available options for people to reference.


    ALSO! There is a hidden option for every unit selection: normally once you unlock a unit, picking a faction for it at the war council upgrades it even if its still the base version you unlocked (Zealots, stalkers, sentries, void rays, dark templar, high templar, etc...) However if you dont go into the war council to specifically select the upgrade, you end up training the non-upgraded version of the unit until you eventually pick an upgrade. Theres no reason to do so except for the challenge, but i figured it would be fun to note.
    Last edited by Keltest; 2021-09-05 at 08:02 AM.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by VoxRationis View Post
    Yay! It has begun.

    I like how our protagonist's commentary underscores just why the basic Protoss infantry are called "zealots"; one has to have a particularly fanatical mindset to exist in a setting full of lethal ranged suppression weapons and horrific alien monstrosities and belong to the civilization possessing the most powerful technologies and still decide that one's vocation* is short-ranged melee combat. At least Terran firebats have the excuse that they're generally brainwashed prisoners and insane to boot.



    *And yes, since the Protoss have a caste system, one might make the argument that the role of zealot isn't really a vocation, but since the people who man ships aren't a separate caste, and it seems unlikely that a society would graduate people from front-line infantry to controlling advanced warships, presumably there's some other process by which a templar's role is chosen.
    At least according to the wiki, zealots are 'lower ranked Templar', and both of the command-level officers we see (Artanis and Selendis) both demonstrate proficiency with their psi blades. So I figure everyone starts as a zealot, and those who demonstrate aptitude for something else get further training.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    At least according to the wiki, zealots are 'lower ranked Templar', and both of the command-level officers we see (Artanis and Selendis) both demonstrate proficiency with their psi blades. So I figure everyone starts as a zealot, and those who demonstrate aptitude for something else get further training.
    Dont forget Fenix from SC1 as well. He still fights as a zealot even though he's a Praetor rank.

    Quote Originally Posted by VoxRationis View Post
    *And yes, since the Protoss have a caste system, one might make the argument that the role of zealot isn't really a vocation, but since the people who man ships aren't a separate caste, and it seems unlikely that a society would graduate people from front-line infantry to controlling advanced warships, presumably there's some other process by which a templar's role is chosen.
    Actually, ships like carriers and void rays do have a moderate Khalai contingent in order to, you know, keep the ship in operation. On some carriers, there might even be more Khalai than Templar, if they arent specifically acting as troop transports.
    Last edited by Keltest; 2021-09-05 at 08:12 AM.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
    Aha, at last!

    -some random Corsair

    LoV is easily my favorite expansion of the lot. Im a big protoss fan, and LoV hits several of the right notes for me.


    I think voting for Solarite could be done based on a priority system. So after each mission, we all vote for the power we want to see the most, and whichever one gets the most votes gets the allotment of Solarite, and then going down the chain as we can afford.


    For units, i think you may have to just call out when a new option becomes available and then let people call for a switch and argue the point on their own initiative. If youre feeling ambitious, maybe keep a spoilered chart of all the currently available options for people to reference.
    That makes as much sense as anything. Would it make sense to offer a new Solarite vote at the end of each mission arc, or each time a new tier opens up?

    Keeping a chart of our current army seems like a good idea too, and maybe use the same model of revamping a force mix between planets?
    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
    Dont forget Fenix from SC1 as well. He still fights as a zealot even though he's a Praetor rank.
    I did say 'demonstrates further aptitude'. Fenix, our lovable meathead, is a very high ranked zealot but clearly happy doing what he does.
    Last edited by The Glyphstone; 2021-09-05 at 08:12 AM.

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    That makes as much sense as anything. Would it make sense to offer a new Solarite vote at the end of each mission arc, or each time a new tier opens up?

    Keeping a chart of our current army seems like a good idea too, and maybe use the same model of revamping a force mix between planets?
    Depends on if youre going to keep a running tally somewhere of who is voting for what, or if you want people to re-cast their votes after every interval. I think absolutely call for a new vote after every tier is opened up, but every mission gives solarite to some degree, and its the award of all bonus objectives, so if you keep an active tally going your choices will switch over time fairly organically.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Spoiler: Update 2: In Which The Truth Really Hits A Nerve
    Show


    October 10, 2056:

    The next morning didn't start any different, with Protoss forces methodically scouring Aiur clean of its Zerg infestation. I caught a shuttle down to the forward command post where the Hierarch was directing everyone, seeing the big holo-maps that showed Zerg hive clusters and Hybrid sightings. They were all over the place, though scattered without purpose and easy to gang up on.

    Templar were standing around the tables or working at very consoles, and Artanis was off to one side talking with another Protoss - a Dark Templar by the looks of him. No one was talking to me, though, making the entire room eerily silent except for the beeps and hums of equipment.



    “Witness. Join us, please.”

    I scurried over to where Artanis and the Dark Templar were standing, feeling uncomfortably like a child running around in a room full of adults. Up close wasn't any better, though at least I could stand far enough back to look up at them without hurting my neck.



    “It is time for you to leave. Word must be brought to James Raynor of what has transpired here, and Dark Prelate Zeratul will be the one to deliver it. He has agreed to return you to Korhal with him on his ship, the Void Seeker.”

    So this was Zeratul? I'd never actually seen him from the outside, and looked up curiously. Glowing green eyes looked back without any expression I could discern. It got awkward after a second and I looked away. Zeratul just turned and headed for the exit as I jogged to keep up. Outside, three Stalkers fell in around him as an honor guard and we moved out down one of the jungle paths. I was in a lot better shape than I used to be, but still found it hard to keep pace – being eight feet tall lets you cover a lot of ground even without really trying. They didn't seem to notice or care if I fell behind, either.



    I caught up finally and almost ran into the back of a Stalker, with all of them having stopped. The landing pad was right in front of us, but the only thing on it was a pile of twisted, smoking wreckage.



    Something had torn the Void Seeker apart piece by piece, and when Zeratul moved to get a closer look, a bunch of Zerglings popped out and attacked him!



    “All the Zerg should have been eradicated from this sector. Something is amiss – I must investigate. Stalkers, find the nearby outpost and alert them to the danger. Witness, you will accompany them until I return – they will guard you in my stead. And you, in turn, will guard this, for it must reach James Raynor intact.”

    He pulled out a green crystal a little bigger than my hand, framed in gold casing – a memory crystal just like the one from the Hyperion. I took it carefully, making sure not to make skin contact with the gem, and stowed it away in a pocket. But when I looked up again, he was gone. The three Stalkers scuttled off immediately and almost left me behind again.



    A bit further along, more Zerglings burst out of their burrows and charged in. Luckily for me they were all focused on the Stalkers, who quickly blasted them down, but they moved ahead more slowly now and I was able to stay closer without sprinting.



    A collapsed, burning bridge blocked further progress. The three Stalkers seemed confused, talking to each other and obviously not caring if I overheard. “We could simply blink across this chasm, but we are charged with protecting the Terran and it cannot follow. Perhaps it can rig some sort of primitive rope device to create a crude bridge, or else we will be forced to find another path...”



    “That'll take too long. How about I just grab on and ride while you guys jump or whatever it is you do, I can hold on to the outside.”

    They looked at each other again. “The Prelate cannot blame us if the alien kills itself by accident. Very well, it can cling to one of our bodies.”

    I scrabbled up to hug the top of the closest Stalker like a backpack. The shield bubble flickered back into view around us, making everything look slightly blue – and then it got really, really cold. Like, naked on top of a mountain in the middle of winter cold, and I think the shield was keeping out the worst of it. The shield was keeping out other things too – there was no light except for the bubble's glow, but the darkness was full of vaguely shaped things that clawed and nibbled at the barrier. It only lasted a few seconds, thankfully, before we were back in Aiur.



    I promptly fell off onto the ground, shivering and trying to rub feeling back into my fingers. Two of the Stalkers kept going to clear out more Zerglings, while the third waited and watched me until I was able to get up and keep moving.





    A flock of Mutalisks were in the way, but the Stalker pilots were clearly skilled veterans – they split up and attacked from three sides, making it impossible for the Mutalisks to bounce their glaive wurms effectively.



    When we got to the outpost it was deserted. No one was around, and everything was dull and powerless except for a handful of probes idling without instructions.





    They didn't waste any time putting the base back into operation, setting the probes to gather minerals and repowering the disabled Gateways. Where had the Protoss stationed here gone, though? Did they all get eaten by Zerg?



    Two Zealots got warped in to reinforce the base, going out to scout the area. There was creep everywhere, and more Zerglings lying in wait.





    A shadowy green pylon was tucked away under the nearby trees – when we got close, three more Stalkers warped in to join us.



    They were just in time, too, as a whole swarm of Zerg poured down the path towards our nexus. The Zealots gleefully charged in to intercept as the Stalkers rained down blaster bolts from behind.



    Further investigation led to a full-on Zerg hive cluster, where the maps had insisted was a cleared safe zone. The Protoss promptly re-cleared it anyways.



    A narrow side path led to a small clearing with another void pylon, calling in more Stalkers.



    Past the base we finally found the missing Templar. They were wandering around aimlessly, but the instant we came into view they attacked us! Zealots fought Zealots to the death, screaming about 'heretics' and 'deniers of the Khala'.



    Behind them was another Zerg hive, this one guarded by an Ultralisk and some air support. The Stalkers took care of both without much trouble with the Zealots running around as angry laser sword-wielding distractions.



    A third void pylon was hidden across a canyon, out of sight beyond the Zerg hive.



    The main Templar base in the area was still occupied – but the Protoss there were crazy too. I had no idea what was going on anymore; this was supposed to be a glorious expedition, not some sort of civil war.



    Zeratul appeared in a cloud of shadows next to me, and I jumped in surprise.



    “The Protoss here have been corrupted. This must be the work of the Hybrids – Artanis. Selendis. Can you hear me?”

    The shadows around us seemed to darken in response, and the ground shook like an earthquake. A piercing whine seemed to echo inside my head, and through it a rumbling voice.



    Your lives are meaningless, purposeless. I grant you salvation!



    Weird red lightning flickered over all the Zealots around us – their eyes turned red and they went berserk! I dove for cover as Zeratul and his Stalkers fought back, killing off the now-hostile Protoss. I caught a glimpse of his face at one point and it looked like he had glowing tears flowing down his cheeks.



    “Amon... the Dark God is here, on Aiur! He has wrested control of the Khala! The Templar have fallen! With our nerve cords severed, only we Nerazim remain unaffected. We must reach young Artanis. I only pray that we are not too late.”



    More crazed Zealots were approaching, and we had nowhere to run now. The Stalkers just blinked past a nearby pile of debris, though. Without warning, Zeratul's hand was on my shoulder, and we were back inside the icy void. It was still cold, but this time all the hungry shade-beasts fled in every direction away from us. Only one thing was left, some sort of small green lizard that waved and shouted “Hello!” I started to wave back, only to reappear on Aiur again first.


    Zeratul charged forward, even as more zealots emerged from up ahead. He moved like he was practically dancing, effortlessly dodging around their blades and neatly chopping off their hair-braids at the stump. Everyone he shaved stopped fighting and passed out, but he left them there and kept going.



    We found Artanis, but it was too late. He was wrapped in that weird red lightning, glowing like he was on fire inside. Zeratul didn't hesitate, but when he tried to cut Artanis's braids the Hierarch blocked him and blasted the Prelate backwards into the rubble. Hiding behind a rock, I watched as Zeratul attacked again and again, each time trying to reach Artanis's braids but being driven back. Evil Artanis wasn't good enough to get past Zeratul's guard, but Zeratul couldn't get past his without hurting him. He got up again, and I heard his voice clearly.



    “My life...for Aiur.”

    They charged each other, blades flashing in blurs of light as they passed. Zeratul stopped, and even from here I could see the gaping hole Evil Artanis had carved into Zeratul's chest - he hadn't even tried to block the hit. But as he fell down, so did Artanis's braids. There was an explosion of red lightning, Artanis collapsing as it flooded out of him. Zeratul collapsed at the same time; his eyes closed, then he just sort of...crumbled into ashes that flew away on the breeze. Nothing was left of him but his bracer, sitting in the dirt.

    Artanis got up slowly, while I slowly came closer. I went to pick up Zeratul's bracer, but when I touched it it sputtered and spat out green light, making me think twice. Instead, Artanis picked it up while giving me a very odd sideways look, then stared up at the sky.



    “Zeratul...forgive me...”



    In the interests of keeping interest, I'm going to open up our first Vote here! We have one more Aiur mission to complete, the Spear of Adun, but after that we'll be headed to another planet. Will that be:

    1) Korhal (unlocks Robotic Assault units)
    or
    2) Shakuras (unlocks Cloaked Warrior units)

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Hard vote for Shakuras. Besides Dark Templar being cool, Artanis would never leave his people like that.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Techwarrior's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2012

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Definitely agreed on Shakuras. The continuity feels much better in that order. Excellent read as always.
    Avatar courtesy of Ceika.

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Call me self indulgent, but I'm curious how many people recognize the cameo I slipped in from another setting here...

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2015

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by VoxRationis View Post
    Yay! It has begun.

    I like how our protagonist's commentary underscores just why the basic Protoss infantry are called "zealots"; one has to have a particularly fanatical mindset to exist in a setting full of lethal ranged suppression weapons and horrific alien monstrosities and belong to the civilization possessing the most powerful technologies and still decide that one's vocation* is short-ranged melee combat. At least Terran firebats have the excuse that they're generally brainwashed prisoners and insane to boot.



    *And yes, since the Protoss have a caste system, one might make the argument that the role of zealot isn't really a vocation, but since the people who man ships aren't a separate caste, and it seems unlikely that a society would graduate people from front-line infantry to controlling advanced warships, presumably there's some other process by which a templar's role is chosen.
    Come on you know that people becomes fire bats in order to be incredibly awesome.
    Armour that is on fire, flamethrowers(everybody like those despite the issues they have) and you are sure that when you die you will die in a blaze of glory.
    Also it is really really strong against zerglings(like you vaporize all the zerglings at once)

    By the way zealots do get promoted when mutilated too much for doing zealot things but not killed before being recalled so it is not as much stupid and reckless as you except to rush the opponent for protecting the backlines as a zealot.(It is arguably less reckless than conservatively staying with your group of marines as a firebat to vaporise all the melee things that dare approach within 2 range of you)
    Last edited by noob; 2021-09-12 at 04:23 AM.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by noob View Post
    Come on you know that people becomes fire bats in order to be incredibly awesome.
    Armour that is on fire, flamethrowers(everybody like those despite the issues they have) and you are sure that when you die you will die in a blaze of glory.
    Also it is really really strong against zerglings(like you vaporize all the zerglings at once)

    By the way zealots do get promoted when mutilated too much for doing zealot things but not killed before being recalled so it is not as much stupid and reckless as you except to rush the opponent for protecting the backlines as a zealot.(It is arguably less reckless than conservatively staying with your group of marines as a firebat to vaporise all the melee things that dare approach within 2 range of you)
    Becoming a dragoon isnt a promotion, its being attached to a weaponized life support device because youre so badly injured you can never leave it.

    Also, people become firebats because they are, invariably, resocilized pyromaniacs. They arent offered a choice.
    Last edited by Keltest; 2021-09-12 at 08:17 AM.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2014

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    Call me self indulgent, but I'm curious how many people recognize the cameo I slipped in from another setting here...
    I’m assuming you mean the green lizard? I don’t recognize it sorry.

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Troll in the Playground
     
    RedWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2014

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    It's the mascot from the Geico commercials, right? No idea why it's hanging out with the Hunger of Hadar, though.

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Perhaps I should have specifically described it as a small, fuzzy green alligator, but it's not exactly a big deal. Half the time I'm just amusing myself with weird stuff like this anyways, like the award ceremony name I threw in to the first update.

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    Perhaps I should have specifically described it as a small, fuzzy green alligator, but it's not exactly a big deal. Half the time I'm just amusing myself with weird stuff like this anyways, like the award ceremony name I threw in to the first update.
    You mean "Metzie"? As in Chris Metzen, writer of Starcraft 1, Brood War, Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm? I saw that one and appreciated it.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Titan in the Playground
     
    lord_khaine's Avatar

    Join Date
    Nov 2006

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Call me self indulgent, but I'm curious how many people recognize the cameo I slipped in from another setting here...
    It was subtle, but i caught the "hello" before you gave its full description.
    A reference to a old science fiction serie Buck Gordot.
    thnx to Starwoof for the fine avatar

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Spamalot in the Playground
     
    Psyren's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    I do love how this campaign takes you on a walking tour of all the Protoss subcultures.

    It also has my favorite line in all the campaigns: "Skippy?"
    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
    Plague Doctor by Crimmy
    Ext. Sig (Handbooks/Creations)

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Anyone else have opinions on the next destination? Currently it's 2 for Shakuras and 0 for Korhal.

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Spamalot in the Playground
     
    Psyren's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    No preference, but put me down for Shakuras if you're holding out for a critical mass of some kind.
    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
    Plague Doctor by Crimmy
    Ext. Sig (Handbooks/Creations)

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2014

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    +1 Shakuras. Invisibility in any game is fun.

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Troll in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    A long, long chain
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Save the 'toss, then discover that the universe is on fire.
    Rider avatar by Elder Tsofu

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2015

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
    Becoming a dragoon isnt a promotion, its being attached to a weaponized life support device because youre so badly injured you can never leave it.

    Also, people become firebats because they are, invariably, resocilized pyromaniacs. They arent offered a choice.
    I believed jack frost was not resocialised and that raynor was not the kind of man to employ resocialiseds.

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Troll in the Playground
     
    RedWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2014

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    That's just the problem with Raynor's campaign in general, though. If you read the descriptions of Terran units for either Starcraft I or II, it's clear that the dystopian setting stems from the need to explain the mechanics of Terran units. Why would anyone jump into a suit of power armor (that, by the standards of the setting, is only barely more protective than a rubber hazmat suit) and fight hordes of Zerg, laser-spamming Protoss, or, perhaps worst, other Terrans, where combat is dominated by siege tank lines that mimic the First World War? Because they're not given a choice. Why do leaders throw away their manpower in this fashion? Because the human inside a marine suit is worthless to them; they're either genuine criminals or political dissidents whose death is, if anything, a net positive for the leader. The descriptions for medics and medivacs talk about how their use improves marine combat lifespan from 2 to 5 seconds (not by, from)*, and this latter number is considered acceptable. The first game's Terran campaigns reflect this; one is either playing as Raynor as a Confederate governor (and therefore implicitly accepting of resocialization and whatnot, even if under some form of protest) or as a commander under Mengsk, a tyrant completely in the full-circle revolution vein, or else, in Brood War, as an agent of the equally tyrannical UED.

    But the writers also want to have a heroic Terran protagonist, so for II, they made Raynor become a wandering mercenary with a single ship, someone without either the ability or the character to use the "traditional" Terran recruitment techniques, and just didn't bother explaining how it was that he could possibly recoup the losses a player might suffer in even a single mission.

    *I don't know the exact numbers off the top of my head, but the point is that it's canonically true that marines die almost immediately in battle.

  27. - Top - End - #27
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by noob View Post
    I believed jack frost was not resocialised and that raynor was not the kind of man to employ resocialiseds.
    Jack Frost is basically non-canon, and while Raynor does indeed have neither the equipment nor moral absence to neurally resocialize somebody, he also has a crew of like 200 people, the only firebat of whom we know anything about (Miles "Blaze" Lewis) being, indeed, a pyromaniac. He just happens to also have a sense of justice.

    Quote Originally Posted by VoxRationis View Post
    *I don't know the exact numbers off the top of my head, but the point is that it's canonically true that marines die almost immediately in battle.
    Its worth pointing out that while this number is technically true, its also based on the enemy actually being able to engage the marine, IE its under attack. Marines in bunkers supported by siege tanks have a substantially higher life expectancy because nothing can shoot back at them. The official Dominion stance as laid out in the Field Manual (the actual, physical one that i own), is that a marine wants to be behind cover in a bunker whenever possible. The unofficial stance held by marines is that if you kill any threat before you get to you, youre golden.

    Also, and unrelated, the Executor announcer physically being inside a nexus shouting out "PROBES UNDER ATTACK!" carbot style is canon. This has no bearing on the topic, but its amusing.
    Last edited by Keltest; 2021-09-17 at 10:06 PM.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Spamalot in the Playground
     
    Psyren's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by VoxRationis View Post
    But the writers also want to have a heroic Terran protagonist, so for II, they made Raynor become a wandering mercenary with a single ship, someone without either the ability or the character to use the "traditional" Terran recruitment techniques, and just didn't bother explaining how it was that he could possibly recoup the losses a player might suffer in even a single mission.
    Eh, there's a number of ways to handwave this:

    1) Raynor is a talented and compassionate leader, and so the canonical losses he suffers with his 5000APM adjutant and insane micro are far fewer than what we as pleb players can manage. The relatively few that do canonically occur haunt him, which drives him to keep his skills sharp.

    2) His losses might be on par with the less caring Korhal and UED commanders we played as before, but he gets a ton of volunteers because, let's face it, Mengsk is a jackhole and the aliens are scary. And lest we forget, this is a space opera setting - there are potentially hundreds of billions, maybe even trillions of humans to draw from across all the homeworlds and colonies. Even if only a fraction of those are sympathetic to his cause, and a fraction of that fraction are willing to enlist, that's still potentially millions of recruits.

    3) Both - he gets a pile of recruits, though fewer than Mengsk's conscripts and the UED's resocials, but is able to deploy his few much more skillfully because talent.
    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
    Plague Doctor by Crimmy
    Ext. Sig (Handbooks/Creations)

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Troll in the Playground
     
    RedWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2014

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
    Its worth pointing out that while this number is technically true, its also based on the enemy actually being able to engage the marine, IE its under attack. Marines in bunkers supported by siege tanks have a substantially higher life expectancy because nothing can shoot back at them. The official Dominion stance as laid out in the Field Manual (the actual, physical one that i own), is that a marine wants to be behind cover in a bunker whenever possible. The unofficial stance held by marines is that if you kill any threat before you get to you, youre golden.
    Of course, historically, most marines have most likely to engage foes who have their own siege tanks, making it basically impossible for them to kill the most significant threats to them before said threat can get in engagement range.

    Quote Originally Posted by Psyren View Post
    Eh, there's a number of ways to handwave this:

    1) Raynor is a talented and compassionate leader, and so the canonical losses he suffers with his 5000APM adjutant and insane micro are far fewer than what we as pleb players can manage. The relatively few that do canonically occur haunt him, which drives him to keep his skills sharp.

    2) His losses might be on par with the less caring Korhal and UED commanders we played as before, but he gets a ton of volunteers because, let's face it, Mengsk is a jackhole and the aliens are scary. And lest we forget, this is a space opera setting - there are potentially hundreds of billions, maybe even trillions of humans to draw from across all the homeworlds and colonies. Even if only a fraction of those are sympathetic to his cause, and a fraction of that fraction are willing to enlist, that's still potentially millions of recruits.

    3) Both - he gets a pile of recruits, though fewer than Mengsk's conscripts and the UED's resocials, but is able to deploy his few much more skillfully because talent.
    The game makes it very clear that he's considered on the run in Wings of Liberty, and that through most of that campaign, his social capital is, if anything, even more limited than his physical resources. Given that any would-be recruits would then have to find their way from wherever they first decided to join up with Raynor to the ever-shifting location of the Hyperion, it's a wonder that he gets any recruits, or that the majority of them aren't Dominion infiltrators.

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er! - Lets Play+Read Starcraft 2: Legacy of the

    His bartender is/was canonically a spy, IIRC. Plus, you know,
    Spoiler
    Show
    Tychus.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •