http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/19884507/We have been lured to a world near the edge of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy by a psionic disturbance. The disturbance appears to have been caused by a strange bird-like psionic entity, which is hovering above a gigantic cube of green crystal. Labbrate hypothesizes that the entity is pouring energy into the cube, for reasons unknown.So far, we have a small strike force in the system, including two battlecruisers, dropservers, and a complement of terminators with their control ships.
YES! Zergquest!I vote we send in a dropserver to get a closer look (manned by terminators only, depending on how meta we're allowed to get. Then again, maybe I shouldn't take too many hints from canon, and you're setting us up to get screwed if we do).
>>19971290Have the Love Muffins armed with psi-cannons been readied and entered the system?
>>19971290Quick, don our fedora and send in some terminators to take an up=close look.
>>19971332He probably would've said if they had.Also, if we need to wait for more of the flock to arrive, may I ask whatever we might've used the Dyson Sphere for (being Zerg and largely uninterested in a highly efficient self-supporting single system), since we're not getting it anyway?
Hell yeah. Zerg Quest.>>19971367Dyson Death Sphere, duh.
>>19971324>maybe I shouldn't take too many hints from canon, and you're setting us up to get screwed if we doI may be doing that...
>>19971381He was already hesitant to let us tug a moon around (of course, bombarding planets with other planets might actually me efficient, considering that our wormholes appear to "suck" in nearby matter on one end and spit out on the other. Just open a wormhole near a planet and put the exit facing the place you want de'd. :D).I'm not sure he'd let us tug an entire solar system around.
>>19971367Well, Kingston was still alive a the time, so I'd assume he would have done something mean, or Dyles would have, or Tassadar. Really it's agood thing we didn't get those plans.
>>19971324>>19971367(Samefag)Either way, I'm voting that we send in an observer as close as we can. For all we know we could crash it into the bird before it reacts.Also, can we compare its psionic readings to anything? Are there certain frequencies that certain species or individuals have in common that we might use to learn about the creature from its psionic emanations alone?
>>19971332...Did...did anybody ever order that?>>19971367Haven't you ever played Space Empires? Dyson Spheres are energy-producing machines.>>19971448The emanations don't match any species we've encountered, but Father held the knowledge of species from before.We do feel like there's something familiar about it, though.
>>19971448It's a big blue crystal. So it's some crazy Xel'Naga tomfoolery. Probably doesn't need the phoenix, but if Philomena doesn't bother us, then we let her be while we play with the big blue cube.
>>19971479>...Did...did anybody ever order that?Yes, near the end of last session.The Love Muffins were to be equipped with Psi-Cannons and then transported to the system via Heighliner, then we would send the Dropservers in with Terminator pilots.
>>19971479Very close to the end, after the official end."Get a trio of psi-cannon equipped Love Muffins ready and send them along with a signal booster satellite so that Cyberbrate can more easily control them."
>>19971479>Haven't you ever played Space Empires? Dyson Spheres are energy-producing machines... Wait, what? How does that even... What. Oh well, it's your universe.Familiar how? I say we ask internbrate to get a hunch and ask labrate to analyze our photographic memory (I think you said we had this, but it might've been a fan) for a reference.If Internbrate complains that's not how hunches work, we bribe him with a Zerg-Thesis.
Oh, oh, oh! And can we have Internbrate make us a form of "flesh coating" or additional carapace armor for our capital ships?Nothing major, just so we can make them look alive and "Zergy" if we ever need to call for their support without tipping our hand about having and being able to false-flag as protoss, terran and CORE forces.
>>19971515>>19971497Ah. Well, Labbrate and Cyberbrate will have one retrofit soon. (1d20 to determine if it's fast enough, of course)>>19971525(I'm going to re-parse this as asking Internbrate what kind of feeling it has about this situation, because you've got to at least *try*)Internbrate has a bad, bad feeling about this whole situation.Surprisingly, Nargil and Gorn feel like there's something familiar about this, as well.
>>19971618F*ck it. Nuke the box and the bird.Yes, I'm serious. Interrupt the shit out of that.. shit.We're probably genre-savvy enough by now.Hopefully it's the "you should take it out before it becomes a threat" kind of dangerous and not the "we should not disturb this at any cost" kind of dangerous.
rolled 12 = 12>>19971618Internbrate has a bad feeling about everything, he's more of a grump then Accountantbrate. And of course it's familiar, all freakishly huge blue crystals are the Xel'Naga's doing. It's a rule.
rolled 15 = 15>>19971618Let's hope this is fast enough.
>>19971671Or it's the big jolly candy like button, like on the Arbiter.
>>19971701To remember. Internbrate's "feelings" are potential traps by the evul GM.But I suppose I can't resist the temptation. Changing my vote to swooping in with a shuttle, distracting the bird with a bunch of CORE ships and having the shuttle warp out with the cube. (Wait, how large is this cube? Then again, even if it's the size of a planet, can we make a wormhole large enough to fit a planet if we use enough overlords to circle an equator?
>>19971744One cubic mile. That's how I know it's Xel'Naga tomfoolery.
>>19971788A mere one and a half kilometer? Oh well, get enough jetlords to open a sufficiently big wormhole, then. The principle still works, right?Bring it somewhere far away and have Labrate science that sh*t up.
>>19971744>>19971788>>19971833So...are we using the retrofit Love Muffins, or trying to steal the crystal?
>>19971833Or we could send something into the thing using the door it has for some reason. Just send a team of terminators.
>>19971919Our lovemuffins will use psi-cannons on Philomena, and if that doesn't work we'll force her back into her egg, then we'll do something. Worse case we shoot the egg into the 'near-by' supermassive black hole.
>>19971919Why not both? Distract it with the love muffins (is there any way we can make them channel an overcharged psionic high-five to make it cause damage/stun in general?) and try to steal it.>>19971920It has doors? o.o If so, then I support sending some terminators and some zerg in (while we're trying to steal it away).
>>19971919We're going to send the Love Muffins to the system in case we need to fight.We send a Dropserver with a Terminator in closer to get more high resolution scans of the crystal and the energy being fed into it.
>>19972005And to walk in the front door, can't forget that it has a door.
>>19972037Yes, of course. To walk in the door, see if they'd like a subscription to ZergTV.
>>19972048>>19972037>>19972005>>19971993So, the plan is to attack with Psi-Cannon-equipped Love Muffins and simultaneously try to storm the opening in the crystal with Terminators?
>>19972082No.The psi-cannons are if the bird attacks us.We first try to go in without antagonizing it.
>>19972082And try to literally steal it at the same time. :3Then again, I might be alone in that desire.
>>19972082Or something like that. Personal I'd like to try sending a lone terminator in, just to see if Philomena is actually hostile.
>>19972101Good point. Psi-cannons if the bird attempts to interfere in the process or attack us.
>>19972114I agree with sending just one in first to gauge its reaction. And second whoever said to try to sell it zergTV.
To summarize (I think).Keep the Love Muffins on standby with the psi-cannons, send in a single terminator to investigate the cube and find out if Philomena is hostile, offer it ZergTV if we establish communications (and maybe try to actually drag the whole thing away with jetlords).Then build reliable, marine-sized Terminators and make carapace-coatings for our non-zerg battleships. :3
>>19972135>>19972125>>19972114>>19972105>>19972101In that case, 2d10.
rolled 8, 7 = 15>>19972374Here goes.
>>19972374dice+2d20
>>19972380>>19972374Whoa! Bad keyboard!2d100!
rolled 17, 20 = 37Oooh, they're supposed to be in the e-mail field...>>19972374
rolled 85, 88 = 173>>19972427D'aw, just when I got a nigh-perfect score.
rolled 8, 74 = 82>>19972427Just after I got high rolls, too.
>>19972444>>19972492Our dropship and its control vessel escort slip by the bird entity unnoticed, as the modified Love Muffin pulls into a lower orbit.The terminator debarks from the ship, and treks toward the massive crystal. By now, it glows with an otherworldly light, but the opening remains shrouded in darkness.As the android approaches, we sense a spike in psionic energy, and the opening seems to explode with light and sound. From the tempest, the machine registers approaching figures; shadows in the light, approaching through the opening.
>>19972660>modified Love Muffin pulls into a lower orbit.Orbit of what? The black hole, or is there a planet nearby?Cyberbrate is recording everything that happens, so that he might be able to clarify the images and other sensor readings later, right?
>>19972660Spooky... Quick put on our fedora and complain about the weather through metaphor.
>>19972660Alright, so it's reacting to simple motion, not psionic presence.Have the Terminator stop and observe the approaching figures.
>>19972703>orbit of what?The crystal is on the sole planet in a star system very near the supermassive at the center of the galaxy.
>>19972741Oooh. I got the impression that it was floating alone in space, but I see it now. x) I suppose pulling it out of the planet's gravitational pull would make a speedy theft tricky.I really don't see a lot of new commands we can give save "move closer" and "record stuff, record, damn you!"
>>19972817Well, it looked like something was about to happen, so I was waiting, and suggesting we switch to Noir, because I have some hard boiled points to use. But if we have time to do stiff, let's just move the terminator in, and get the love muffin and everything else into position.
>>19972817>>19972869So, we're moving the Terminator closer, or sending the it into the opening?
>>19972976Moving it closer and try to identify those figures.
>>19972976Have to move it close to send it in.
>>19972991>>19973011Seconding.
>>19972991>>19973011>>19973034As our android approaches the opening, the figures grow closer, their forms becoming more distinct. Gorn suddenly tenses with recognition as the first of the figures steps over the threshold. It is a bipedal creature, about eight feet tall, with large, decorative bony protrusions from its shoulders.Gorn's thoughts echo with one word: "Xel'Naga."The Makers look upon our terminator, and it explodes.
>>19973275>The Makers look upon our terminator, and it explodes.Now that wasn't nice.Can Cyberbrate and Labrate identify the method of attack used by the Xel'Naga?
>>19973335It's hard to tell without any organic units nearby, but Labbrate assumes it was psionic.
>>19973275You know what? I'm pretty much stumped on what to do about this. How about we consult the other cerebrates (and artisanlord) on how to respond? Assure Gorn that we have given very careful thought to additional genocide and that it's a given option, then ask him if he has any other recommendations besides genociding, or any prefered method for doing it.I'd wager we can use everyone's experience in this, and Gorn sometimes shows surprising depth.Hum, maybe we should send a message about comming in peace and being "Purity of Form and Essence"?
>>19973275Well, I'd say it's time to infest us some Xel'Naga. Warp in a mixed Protoss and Zerg fleet. This is going to be messy, but it's better to imply that it's a joint effort of their children then just an attempt by bastard grandchild to eat their brains.
>>19973387Some kind of telekinetic attack, then?How should we respond?Their knowledge could be invaluable to us. Perhaps we should attempt to take them alive and infest them to acquire their knowledge.How quickly does Warbrate believe he could land our forces and commence a ground assault?
>>19973387Get labrate and internbrate working on whether we can give massive psionic bitchslaps or channel psionic lashes (like the ones our units have) through the psi-cannons already.It suddenly feels paramount that we at least be able to play seriously with weaponized psionics.
>>19973464I tried to get us to practice with our new found powers after we crushed Berniebrate into a small cube using only our mind, but no one else wanted to start juggling boulders or any other kind of practice.
>>19973428Warbrate believes it could have forces prepared for a full-scale ground invasion in the system within two hours.Meanwhile, more of the Great Teachers emerge from the cystal...
>>19973564What's Philomena's reaction to this?
>>19973564Is there any change in the energy creature?I believe now is the time to have Warbrate begin landing assault troops and assembling a forward base. Identify the closest mineral deposit to the cube, and land drones to begin growing a colony.
>>19973601...the bird?
>>19973528Yeah, I remember that. Those sissies! We should totally do that!We should probably also look into simple ways of amplifying our own power. The simplest would probably be to grow a buttload of additional cerebral matter to use as necessary.>>19973564Tell Warbrate to get as many forces as feasible ready as quickly as possible - then the guys that take two hours.In the meantime, have artisanbrate (and whoever else might be practical for diplomacy) ready a very nice and proper introduction of ourselves as the Children of the Xel'naga, Pure in Essence and Form or something like that.In short, to lie our metaphorical balls off.Oh, and our ground forces should have psi-emitters with dead-hand switches (that the carrying overlords automatically activate as necessary) that trigger with our psionic imprint if not switched every 5 minutes, and self-destruct (as thoroughly as possible) five minutes after that unless we have given a countercommand.
>>19973628Yes the phoenix, I named it Philomena three hours ago.
>>19973695The entity appears more faint, as it hovers over the crystal.>>19973668>our ground forces should have psi-emitters with dead-hand switches (that the carrying overlords automatically activate as necessary) that trigger with our psionic imprint if not switched every 5 minutes, and self-destruct (as thoroughly as possible) five minutes after that unless we have given a countercommand.Warbrate notes that this kind of preparation will delay the land invasion by at least twelve hours.
>>19973730Analyze the energy emissions of the bird; what is the rate at which they are dropping, and how much longer until it reaches zero?What about the energy emissions from the crystal; how much more active has it become?I don't think we have the luxury of 12 hours; go ahead with 2 hours and have a Heighliner bring 42 nukes into the system, ready to nuke the planet if we need to.Also, did we ever get those nuke valkyrie schematics once we took control of Moria and the Confederacy?We might need them soon.
>>19973730Ask him if there's a way to cut down on that, like getting pre-rigged bombs for the emitters, or having terminators holding the emitters with programming that includes said dead-hand switch (It presses the "on" button after 5 minutes, and vaporizes the entire thing after 10 without input OR if the Overlord is threatened by boarding or destruction).(It doesn't have to be many emitters, 1-3 should suffice)If worst comes to worst, send the initial wave without them, but equip some of our reserve forces like this.>>19973695It's true, he did!
>>19973844We have the schematics for nuclear valkyries, yes. We have several on hand. Warbrate could have them in the system before the land invasion is ready.
>>19973886Have Warbrate bring in 2 squadrons of nuclear valkyries, just in case we need to nuke the site from orbit to be sure.
Great Idea! Let's send a thingy that lands and opens up and starts playing a calliope and shoots confetti and has a card saying "Hello of your children."
>>19973930Damnit, Artisanlord, stop posting in TUCAMP's name.>>19973900I'm a sociopathic maniac and I approve of this message.
>>19973930Actually we could try to communicate with them, didn't artisanlord decipher their language?
>>19973930
rolled 77 = 77>>19973886lets try diplomacy reach out with our mind and say hello
>>19973970>>19974024Are you approaching with a terminator, or an organic unit (and if organic, what kind)?
>>19973954I remember being called that by CA back when I was working on turning ZQ into a play, then I got bored and stopped.>>19974000Are you surprised? I've been asking for cerebrate sized fedoras all night, I'm clearly in a silly mood.
>>19974029A pauldonlisk in a top hat,
>>19974000What? Silly as it sounds, it rarely hurts to initiate things with some serious bullshitting.As in lying about who we are, not pretending to be literal pre-pubescent children at a party.>>19973970See? He gets it.Don't worry Anon, we won't go sissy and start solving our problems without excessive violence.We're perfectly able of keeping a self-serving balance.>>19974029I say we approach with an overlord in a carrier, and try to mimic protoss mannerisms through the link as best we are able (which should be pretty damn good, considering we have the memories of entire lives spent being a protoss at our disposal. Not likely to make'm think we're protoss, but we're introducing ourselves as a combination of both, after all).
>>19974029They destroyed a Terminator with little chance for us to speak. Send in an Infested Terran from one of our Battlecruisers.
>>19974085>>19974077>>19974052Overlord in a carrier: 1Infested Terran: 1Pauldronlisk in a top hat: 1
>>19974085No it needs to be something with MASSIVE PAULDRONS, clearly the Xel'Naga love MASSIVE PAULDRONS.
>>19974126Oh, and our message should totally be something akin to "We are the first and second born of the Xel'Naga.We are Purity of Form and Essence and have long sought our Creators that we may be able to restore them to the glory that is their birthright.You.. appear as they.Are you?Has our long search finally come to an end?" (Imagine in a suitably echoing zerg-protoss voice)
>>19974213Not nearly groveling enough. 'Dem 'dare Xel'Naga ar' a bunch a froo froo high an' mighty egotistical types.
>>19974126How about a compromise?We contact them with an overlord (or pauldronlisk, if we can relay psionic signals through them)If they ask for a liason, it can be an infected terran with absurdly massive pauldrons. :3
>>19974285That's an acceptable compromise.
>>19974126Oh, one more thing. Did any of our cerebrates have any suggestions or recommendations? Nargil and Gorn nearly sound like they've seen them (at least dead ones) before.
>>19974303Nargil and Gorn recall feeling what was left of the Xel'Naga within Father in the early days, but that is a memory of an echo.Artisanlord suggests a peaceful envoy. Internbrate thinks we should blockade the cube's entrance. Wormface wonders how the cube functions.>>19974298>>19974285Are we contacting them before or after we begin landing troops?
>>19974303If I remember the history in the SC1 manual, the Overmind did create cerebrates before eating the Xel'Naga, but that would still be several million years ago.
>>19974334Before, since I'm pretty sure a surprise attack wouldn't be much of a surprise anyway.
>>19974334Contact them before we land troops.
>>19974357( I don't know offhand whether he created them then. I have a vague impression that it just sort of implied that the Overmind eventually nommed too many things to control, and had to sublet his consciousness into Cerebrates, but that the Cerebrates then nommed too many things to control, and had to sublet their consciousnesses into overlords, but overlords were TOTALLY not going to eventually have to sublet their consciousnesses down into another life form, because that would be silly...so, I'm going off of them not being formed until later.)
>>19974334Before we land troops. It's easier to explain them once we have contact. Then we marsh them down around the cube and say they're a parade.Have wormface work on theories with Labrate on how the cube might function, then break down on the impossible and unlikely ones (y'kno', general sciencing working from nothing save theory. Humans can do it and we've nommed plenty of humans.)Have Internbrate plan the optimal blockade around the cube's entrance to be used if necessary.And we still have our love muffins pointed squarely at the place, right?... I can't wait to threaten them with "Y'all play nice now or we'll be bringin' our love muffins." :PActually, can't we send down a bunch of colonizing drones onto the far side of the planet right away? I realise they're not going to be able to create anything for at least twelve hours, but we'll at least have a solid powerbase.If we do send them, make sure each of them has a nuke that can be activated to neutralize the hatchery and everyone else in a large radius if it's about to be taken.>>19974412When Overlords nom too many we just SPAWN MOAR OVERLORDS, so yes it would be silly. Cerebrates are trickier to spawn hilly nilly.
>>19974389>>19974378Alright. Roll 1d100 for diplomacy, then.
rolled 49 = 49>>19974486Rollin' rollin' rollin'.Rollin' on the river.
rolled 98 = 98>>19974486Is it bad that I just want to see the Xel'Naga nommed?
>>19974482Dude, will you back off with your powergaming shit? Nukes and kill switches and psi emitters wired into terminators while we steal plot devices as their being used.Just back off a little and play the game. You sound like one of those players that spends 45 minutes arguing with the GM about whether they're allowed to enchant fish as weapons or some shit.
>>19974412Just recheck it, and yeah that's basically it, the Overmind made cerebrates because it was being lazy, 'defend the hive'brate, 'scout for potential strains'brate, 'produce more warriors'brate, 'eradicate all lifeforms'brate. Then came queens, then overlords, then noming the Xel'Naga. He also severed his psionic link with them to shield his thoughts... this all sounds familiar....
>>19974530You may have a point, I should probably relax.Then again, this is CAnon. You realise that he is evil, right?... Nah, you're right. I can live with a few mistakes as long as it's fun. :3
>>19974530"Hey it's a SWORDfish, or would you prefer I use a HAMMERhead shark?"Enchanted fish are inferior to taking feats in improvised weapons, "I equip Bar Stool (Thrown)."
>>19974592Evil? No, drunk, possibly. Having a tendency to play off the paranoia of some of the players, definitely.
>>19974602Great answer, bro. xDNah, our problem is probably that we like argumenting in itself. Don't care all that much what it's about, or even all that much about winning the argument.
>>19974530We've always powergamed, though. That's how we got here.It's how we completely fucked over Mengsk by infesting his entire command without him being the wiser, stealing the psi emitter plans, and beginning the infiltration of the Confederacy.We put Ultralisks in fucking power armor and equipped every single Zerg unit with a Protoss shield and Terran cloaking harness.It's what we fucking do.
So something I just noticed, since I decided to finish the Zerg History section of the SC1 manual, there seems to be a bit of an error between SC1 and BW since the four world explicitly stated to be infested Chau Sara, Mar Sara, Brontes, and Dylar IV... I'm not quite sure why the zerg would infest the planet but leave the shipyards in orbit unharmed.And to confirm a statement CA made many many threads ago, the Overmind wanted to nom the terrans to use them as a psionic weapon against the protoss. So our igeg program is what poppy would have wanted.
>>19974625I see you've met a definition for evil.Would you like some help?>>19974681Wee! But I should probably cut back alittle on it. I've still got the Utralisk-Carapace-Armored Battleships-plans and the Ultra-Dependable Marine-sized Terminator-plans to implement. :3
>>19974746The only problem with those ultra-expensive designs is that they like capital ships: massive resource sinks and investments of resources.Sure, each one is very difficult to kill. But losing even one represents losing a significant investment.The same effect could be achieved by using more of a cheaper variant, that may not be as effective individually, but that we can afford to lose more readily.
>>19974731And on that note, I reiterate my suggestion that we use our igegs to try to recreate what happened to Raynor, or we could try to figure out what daddy did to make sissy.
>>19974778Oh, but that's the point. They're NOT ultra expensive. The Terminator variant could arguably cost as little as a marine and as much as a marauder.And the coating for the battleships aren't that expensive, the basic point of them is that we can false-flag them as zerg creatures rather than showing off our terran and protoss tech whenever we need their firepower.>>19974791Amen to that.And now that I think of it..>>19974482is really just an example of basic fail-safing. Not so much power-gaming as it is stuff you'd be stupid NOT to implement.Then again, where goes the line between common sense/fail-safing and powergaming?.. Who cares? Let's fail-safe the sh*t out of our forces until CAnon has to bring out Lovecraftian Gods to challenge us. :P
>>19974530>Ninja-starfishQuit...giving...people...ideas.>>19974592HEY! I'm not evi--well, ok, I'm sort of evil, but that's still rude to say.>>19974602...See? See what happens when you give them ideas, >>19974530 ?>>19974509>>19974504Our pauldronlisk approaches the Xel'Naga as they continue to step out of the cube by the dozens. One notices our approach, and we communicate with it, announcing ourselves as the grandchildren of the Xel'Naga, achieved of both Purity of Essence and Form. A booming voice responds."Purity of Essence and Form? You must be the descendents of the Overmind, then. The wretched bastard child that murdered its parents and devoured their bodies. Are you still held in its sway? Another biological automaton, simpering before its cycloptic pride?"We tell the Maker of Father's death, and our independence, of our personal growth and the respect we have gained throughout the galaxy."Hmph. And Sin'e'Sino argued that the Zerg would never be strong enough to escape Zerus. You have clearly flourished, as I had hoped. Now, we shall see if time has truly given you the Perfection we so desired."Its eyes glow as it speaks, and a chill runs through us.(Alright, it's 1 in the morning, here, and I'm about to fall asleep in my chair...and, as TUCAMP surmised, a little drunk...so I think I'm going to head to bed, if that's alright with you guys. Everybody cool for the 28th?)http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/19971290/>>19974731Yeah. The canon's a little fluid. I've never really been able to work out for myself an explanation of how the Psi Emitters lured the Zerg if they were actually sentient, as they clearly are, instead of the dumb animals the Terrans thought they were.
>>19974879We ARE a Lovecraftian god.
>>1997491128th is fine.
>>19974911But the zerg aren't sentient, technically. I noticed it said that the Xel'Naga though it would be a good idea to centralize all of the growing zerg races sentience in one place, hence the Overmind. So, we can assume that the emitters just overpowered things. Same reason why the disruptor turned zerg feral, because they are, technically.
>>19974879Okay, first, the organic coating.It's living flesh, it needs organs to be maintained. A circulatory system, waste filtering and disposal, immune response glands. Not to mention the constant nutrient feeds required for something that massive. We have no single mobile units that come close to that amount of flesh. It's not as easy as you think it to be.Then there's the idea of putting a Terminator in marine power armor. We can perform just fine with an infested Marine, since Zerg physiology grants it far greater staying power than a regular Terran. Putting a Terminator into a marine PA only gives it a bit of ablative armor and doesn't enhance its strength, since it's already equivalent. It's just an inefficient and wasteful idea all around. And the whole purpose of even using Terminators is so that we have a unit that is completely mechanical and that cannot be influenced by anything organic or psionic. Putting a Zerg control brain into one defeats the purpose of having a completely mechanical unit.
>>19974995To clarify, the Overmind and cerebrates are sentient. Drones and defilers aren't. That would explain why the Overmind and the cerebrate didn't manifest on Antiga.
>>19974911>HEY! I'm not evi--well, ok, I'm sort of evil, but that's still rude to say.But I mean it as a compliment! :O Do you realise how hard many GMs work to be recognised as merely sadistic by their players?> explanation of how the Psi Emitters lured the Zerg if they were actually sentientActually, that's not too hard. The Overmind wanted psionic beings that could be infested, and the terrans put up the biggest "OUR BRAINS ARE JUICY!" banner ever.The Zerg came after the Psi Emitters because they promised juicy, innocent, unprotected se-psionics.>Everybody cool for the 28th?Next saturday? Yeah, that's cool. :3If I can file a response ahead of time, I'd suggest we respond "A test of might? Why didn't you say so."Then we run a psi-lash (preferably) or a psionic bitch-slap through the psi-cannons on the love-muffins, pointed directly at the offending Xel'naga in as tight a beam as feasible.
>>19974995So, then, why wouldn't they have slaughtered Kerrigan in their single-minded murder-rage over the Emitter? Clearly, the Overmind was in control of them at the moment they took her. Did they smash the Emitter and just happen to have missed her, and then Daddy noticed her because she was just super-convenient?>>19975033That would've been a whole different game.
>>19975020I thought the reason for the terminators, aside from our Kingstontron butler, was just part of the CORE AI that we for some reason kept using, and that they're generally crappier than a hydralisk. >>19974879You do have to remember that our hydralisks, and I think we switched the base genome to hunter killers, have enough of the protoss genome to be stronger, faster, and have Tassadars psi lash attack. I want to say we also threw in a gland that makes VoidGates bioglue to stop bleading. Add onto that their new firebreathing, and we have a very very good base unit. The power armour, shields, cloaking, and bullets are where the real added cost is. Personally, I think we should drop the gauss functionality. But you have to remember, the cost of everything is fudged anyway.
>>19975020>>19975020>Okay, first, the organic coating.I realise these points, which is why I suggested a dead carapace (only needs replacing after battle).>Then there's the idea of putting a Terminator in marine power armor.Nononono, we make a terminator that's just as BIG as a marine in power armor. Same principle as the terminators, but focus more power and more armor into each unit.The zerg brain inside is a redundant backup system. It does not affect regular working but allows us to maintain control if electronics are damaged, hacked or the programming is faulty.The new terminators would be no more able to be taken over by organic or psionic influences than the ones we have now, nor is it vulnerable to technological influence.(Infested Terrans have too large bodies that supply too many systems we aren't interested in with too much gunk we can't use. And they have three large, separate points of failure a mere brain would not.And in the end, they're hollow and filled with soft gunk. The new terminators would be advanced alloy nearly all the way through. No 0.8dm armor crap.>>19975101Absolutely, the power-armored Hunter-Killer strains are excellent, but they're still vulnerable to organic and psionic influences.We need something we can rely on no matter what.(Then again, for all we know, the Hunter Killer strains might not be resource-efficient unless you need an extreme concentration of power in a very small area.)
>>19975062Yep, murder rage. Kerri left Antiga before that emitter was destroyed, but she was still in orbit of Tarsonis when those got destroyed. And basically the super-convenience bit, she's there broadcasting at 11, and the Overmind wanted what humans would be in a few generations, Kerri was just a fluke. Or something.
>>19975146>The new terminators would be no more able to be taken over by organic or psionic influences than the ones we have now, nor is it vulnerable to technological influence....except that, if they have the ability to override the mechanical brain (as would be necessary to prevent technological influence), then--what am I saying? This is pure genius, and in no way will I exploit it.
>>19975223Nice try, but we do of course (I actually did think of that before you pointed it out. :P) have codes (that only we (and potentially labrate) know. Nothing stored in the brains themselves) that are required to override the standard system. (And yes, these codes can only be input manually, and you have at most 3 tries before it locks you out).
>>19975205What about my theory of the psionics-advertisements? :< (AKA, an emitter wouldn't work unless it broadcasted something the zerg leaders themselves wanted)See>>19975037
>>19975291>>19975205You would think after the second time this was done, though, the Overmind would get all grumpy and quit coming. He was kind of a simpleton, from time to time, but it's not hard to work out that you're getting hosed when Antiga falls and you find out the awesome sex signal you were hearing was a worthless ham radio...
>>19975327Great analogy is great?Then again, he only came three times,alternatively, it was just one brood that came. Maybe even a different one each time since they seem relatively independent. (WHY IS THIS CONVERSATION SOUNDING FAR WORSE THAN IT ACTUALLY IS?!).
>>19975392But the Overmind's the one driving them all. He clearly handed out the orders.I was fairly young when this game came out, but this bothered me even then.
