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Aces High
Mar 26, 2010

Nah! A little chocolate will do




one fun thing I've noticed watching Starcraft speedruns, some of the runners aren't from NA and so you can experience how the game sounds in other countries and regions. The sound the marines make when you use stims can vary from a gruffer version of the "that's the stuff" I've had ingrained in my head for 25 years (albeit, said in a different language), or a sound that I can only describe as either euphoric or orgasmic.

some marines really love their drugs

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BisbyWorl
Jan 12, 2019

Knowledge is pain plus observation.


Alright, there haven't been any new votes for the past day and change, so I'd say it's safe to call it here.



We are robbing the Protoss and getting the Marauder.

I have to admit I'm surprised it won over sending me to go get the Firebat. It actually held that 2 vote lead pretty much the entire time.

Cradok
Sep 28, 2013

Torchlighter posted:

Seriously, by missing out on SC1, Tychus (CW:suicide) genuinely has no knowledge of what the Zerg even are, and barely any understanding of the Protoss. I've seen at least one theory that Tychus' position in the narrative is him commiting Suicide by Cop after making what he thought was a simple assassination deal with Mengsk that immediately spiraled into 'try to kill the most powerful single being in the universe, BTW according to your old pal Jimmy she's also a victim of Mengsk DealsTM, formerly a human and if she dies the entire sector dies, so she has to stay alive.'

That's always been my read. Tychus is a dick, and was happy to accept Mengsk's deal, but starting with when he sees Kerrigan's picture in the bar, he's probably conflicted about what's he's been asked to do, and that only gets worse as he learns more and more. He was probably hoping that Events would deal with his problem for him, or he'd find another way out, but that was never going to be an option. He had to stay with Raynor, and Raynor was always going to go after Kerrigan.

Grammarchist
Jan 28, 2013

Cradok posted:

That's always been my read. Tychus is a dick, and was happy to accept Mengsk's deal, but starting with when he sees Kerrigan's picture in the bar, he's probably conflicted about what's he's been asked to do, and that only gets worse as he learns more and more. He was probably hoping that Events would deal with his problem for him, or he'd find another way out, but that was never going to be an option. He had to stay with Raynor, and Raynor was always going to go after Kerrigan.

Yeah, Tychus' voice actor even pulls off some decent takes on "anger", "bargaining" and "acceptance" as the campaign progresses. It's not great, but it hit the right notes enough to keep me engaged and enjoy Wings of Liberty at least. Nostalgia and years of anticipation might have been doing a lot of the work, admittedly.

BisbyWorl
Jan 12, 2019

Knowledge is pain plus observation.


Artifact 1: Smash and Grab

Video: Smash and Grab


Sorry, Hanson, I'm sure the colonists can hold out a bit longer while we go make some money.







Suddenly, zerg!







Them critters were just hiding underground, waitin'?



Well, that sure complicates things. We can't fight two armies at once, partner...















We start the mission with 5 SCVs, a Barracks with a free Tech Lab, and three Marines backed by a Medic.

You can also see that one of the vespene geysers shown in the cutscene has vanished. I'm fairly sure the game is set to do that if you come here early enough, as you won't have nearly enough gas guzzlers to really justify mining from two at once.

Turns out that the game will remove a few resources from bases on Hard and Brutal.



There are also new symbols on the minimap.



Those are Relics, and they're our bonus objective for today. From here on, bonuses will (95% of the time) give Research points, as mentioned in the mission briefing. There's no way to get any Research points you missed, so we have to make sure to grab everything in one shot.



Well here's the plan. Then we've gotta get that artifact before the zerg overrun the whole place!

Smash and Grab is a mission on a soft timer. There's no hard 20 MINUTES TO FAILURE countdown on the screen, but the zerg will push through the protoss lines and reach the artifact if you wait around long enough.



Immediately after, an attack wave marches up. Stalkers are counterparts to Dragoons from SC1. They're the basic protoss ranged unit.



I ain't sure this is the best time to be experimenting, Swann.

Pfft. Best time there is! Let the Marauders loose against those Stalkers and you'll see.

This prompts Swann to send in our new toy.



Marauders are the tanks of terran infantry. Twice the health of a Marine, one base armor, and dealing 10 damage (+10 vs armored) lets them mop up those Stalkers with no losses.

They also introduce a recurring Thing in Wings of Liberty, with missions being tailor made to showcase the unit you get from it.



Take this mission, for example. Down the bottom path, which we're intended to go through to reach the artifact, is a bunch of Stalkers and static defense, both of which are armored. This makes the Marauder the perfect choice to break through.

Try to get clever and, say, push backwards to the zerg base to try and cut off the zerg assault to give yourself infinite time to clear the mission will get you swarmed by an army of Zerglings and Hydralisks, both of which aren't Armored and will swiftly overwhelm the much slower Marauder.



Also the Adjutant will occasionally remove her own face and stare at you for a few seconds. It's really creepy.



The zerg attack at the 3:30 mark.



Right now it's just a few Zerglings and a Hydra, but this is to let the player know that the zerg will occasionally hit you, so you still have to invest in a bit of base defense instead of just grabbing everyone and heading towards the artifact.



With only 5 starting SCVs and no resource caches, Smash and Grab has a painfully slow start as you build up an economy, an army, and defenses.

Which is probably the point, really. It makes you sit and watch as the zerg make their own pushes while you can do nothing but watch, not knowing how much longer the Tal'darim can hold the line. Still makes the opening dull as hell, though.



Just before 7 minutes, I rally by Barracks to a random Marauder and head out.



Getting the first Relic on my way.



The protoss still have Zealots. They're not Armored, so you're encourages to slap some Marines into your army so they don't take forever to kill.



Up ahead is the dumbest possible set up for Photon Cannons, but even this is meant as a soft lesson to the player if they haven't played SC1:



Destroy a Pylon...



...And any nearby buildings shut down.



Ahead are two more cannons with the same setup, plus two new protoss units called Sentries.



Sentries can use Force Field to place down barriers that my army can't walk through, making me wait for them to time out naturally.

It gives me time to hit those Pylons and knock out those Cannons with no risk.



They can attack, but they aren't a major threat.



Up top, the Tal'darim aren't looking so hot.



We also get hit by another zerg attack wave, this time with another new unit crawling up the ramp: the Baneling.



Remember Scourge? Banelings are Scourge for the ground. They deal 80 damage against buildings, which means letting a few of them slip through can crack a bunker line like it's nothing.



This group shows off the Sentry's second ability. Guardian Shield reduces the damage of any attacks against allies within the field by 2.

They also have Hallucination, but the campaign AI never uses it.



Right next to them is our second Relic, guarded by three Cannons.



Pop the first.



Hit the Pylon to knock out the other two.



Done.



Up the ramp is the Tal'darim's base. Take this out, and I can take my time before grabbing the artifact.



The defenders fall.



Quickly knock out the Pylons powering the Gateways so they can't build more units.



Then take out all the Probes and the Nexus to ensure they don't try and rebuild.



The zerg manage to take out my Missile Tower, but there's so little of the mission left that I'm not worried about rebuilding it.



The third Relic is just below the artifact.

But what about the fourth Relic? The one that's been right next to my base all along?



Well I lift off my Command Center.



Load some SCVs.



And float it over. I have enough resources stockpiled that I can keep building up my army while this is happening.



And the zerg still have a ways before reaching the artifact, so I'm not pressed for time.



Then I just drop an SCV right on top of it to grab the last Relic.



Completely unintentionally, this unlocked an achievement that was added for the 10th Anniversary. Normally, you're supposed to push into the zerg lines a bit to get that Relic, taking out a few Spine Crawlers along the way. No Smash, Only Grab pops if you get all four Relics without destroying any zerg buildings.



The only thing standing between us and victory is this small pack.



...And waiting 15 seconds for the Force Field to fade.



Standing on the marker makes a barrier pop up around the artifact.



And those giant Stone Zealots come to life.



They're beefy, have innate Detection in case you manage to bring cloaking units here, and can hit air so you can't cheese it with air units.



They only last a few seconds.



If the zerg manage to make all the way across, they have to fight their own set of Stone Zealots to give you a few more minutes before you lose.













And we get our first in-person appearance of the Queen of Blades to close us out.





No Smash, Only Grab - Gather all 4 Protoss relics without destroying a Zerg structure in the "Smash and Grab" mission on Normal difficulty.

BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Feb 5, 2024

Phelddagrif
Jan 28, 2009

Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.
That mysterious disappearing geyser is there on lower difficulties, it gets taken away on Hard and Brutal. That's a common theme with these missions, where you get fewer resources on higher difficulties (this map on Brutal also removes one of the mineral patches from your base).

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!
The "unit showcase mission" feels like design that Blizzard first experimented with in Warcraft 3, and honestly? I really don't like it. To me it means that until the very last couple of missions, everything feels like you're still playing a tutorial, because every mission is designed to give your latest toy some special attention rather than forcing you to engage some brain gears.

Torchlighter
Jan 15, 2012

I Got Kids. I need this.
Moreover it has some real knock-on effects relating to unit niche and how memorable/interesting the missions can be, but that's a topic that has some real depth to it, and can contain more issues than simply 'unit introduced' discourse.

BisbyWorl
Jan 12, 2019

Knowledge is pain plus observation.


Wings is the worst of the trilogy in that regard, I find.

Some missions are just so blatantly designed around the unit of the day that they end up utterly useless the second they're not in their debut mission.

SirSamVimes
Jul 21, 2008

~* Challenge *~


BisbyWorl posted:

Wings is the worst of the trilogy in that regard, I find.

Some missions are just so blatantly designed around the unit of the day that they end up utterly useless the second they're not in their debut mission.

ah yes, diamondbacks

The Chad Jihad
Feb 24, 2007


This is one of the better missions in the reversed mod as you can imagine, you play as the protoss waiting for reinforcements

Eeepies
May 29, 2013

Bocchi-chan's... dead.
We'll have to find a new guitarist.

SirSamVimes posted:

ah yes, diamondbacks

Better than Hellions, who are so terrible even the Firebat outclasses them despite being usable only in 2 missions.

MagusofStars
Mar 31, 2012



PurpleXVI posted:

The "unit showcase mission" feels like design that Blizzard first experimented with in Warcraft 3, and honestly? I really don't like it. To me it means that until the very last couple of missions, everything feels like you're still playing a tutorial, because every mission is designed to give your latest toy some special attention rather than forcing you to engage some brain gears.
I actually love the mission design for that exact reason. You actually get to enjoy and show off your new toys, as opposed to a lot of games (e.g., SC1) where you basically just don't use some units, ever.

It also makes various missions feel more distinct, rather than a lot of SC1 where so many missions feel repetitive because, for example, "tanks and tanks and tanks" is a viable answer to almost every single Terran mission once you get them.

MagusofStars fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Jun 17, 2023

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!

MagusofStars posted:

I actually love the mission design for that exact reason. You actually get to enjoy and show off your new toys, as opposed to a lot of games (e.g., SC1) where you basically just don't use some units, ever.

It also makes various missions feel more distinct, rather than a lot of SC1 where so many missions feel repetitive because, for example, "tanks and tanks and tanks" is a viable answer to almost every single Terran mission once you get them.

See, I think that this speaks more to some units simply being bad and other units simply being overpowered. If there are units that the players never use, well, then those units loving suck or other units outshine them, or both. I don't think the solution to that is "here's the mission where you're forced to use a tiresome gimmick unit" or "here's a mission where we take away your good units."

Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

I don't think Wings ever sets up missions where you're forced to use the new unit, other than ones where you don't have a base. Sure, most missions are designed to make good use of them, and will give you a couple to try them out, but if you think you can do better with a different composition you're always allowed to. You don't have to use Marauders here, it's just set up a situation that shows off where they're at their best.


On a different note, the Tal'darim! It is really transparent that they were just invented as a reason for the Terrans to fight the Protoss despite Raynor being on great terms with all of the surviving Protoss after Brood War, by introducing this previously unheard-of faction that never got involved before. Once the Protoss campaign comes around they'll have actually come up with a proper identity for them but they clearly don't have it in mind yet. They don't even use the same faction colour in Legacy.

Szarrukin
Sep 29, 2021
Honestly, I'll take WoL mission design over 10x"destroy all units" campaign anytime. Especially with Nightmare mods when any tutorial feeling is gone.

Octatonic
Sep 7, 2010

I enjoy the starcraft II "hey look, a nail for your new hammer" mission design because i am a scrub who has no interest at all in being good at the game. i just like watching all the little guys run around and kill each other

Felinoid
Mar 8, 2009

Marginally better than Shepard's dancing. 2/10

Phelddagrif posted:

That mysterious disappearing geyser is there on lower difficulties, it gets taken away on Hard and Brutal. That's a common theme with these missions, where you get fewer resources on higher difficulties (this map on Brutal also removes one of the mineral patches from your base).

This makes me wonder if any super-nerd has ever studied the intro sequences to determine a "canon" difficulty. Or maybe even different canon difficulties per mission.

Sanguinia
Jan 1, 2012

~Everybody wants to be a cat~
~Because a cat's the only cat~
~Who knows where its at~

I was too busy to post during the last update, but :lol: at me because I too believed that Horner was actually the PC from Starcraft 1 and that's what I was so excited to talk about. Bummer. I do still like Matt as a character though. His relationship with Raynor and how both of them influence each other will be fun to talk about as the story goes on. As it stands, at this point in the story he seems like a real douchebag, but we also know that Tychus is up to something, either playing Mengsk who we know freed him or our Protagonist who's sticking up for him and isn't aware that there's a knife coming.

Swann's a fun minor character, although I enjoy the lore dumps we'll get in his armory more than him for the most part. He'll get a couple of moments to really shine though.

One of the things most worth talking about here is that Billions death count for Kerrigans new, unprovoked Zerg invasion (starting from the assumption that we can trust that number on the Dominion Propaganda news, in this case I think we can). I mentioned this before, but in the grand scheme of Starcraft Kerrigan did not have a ton of fully innocent blood on her hands compared to most of the other villainous characters. Kerrigan never even went to Aiur in Starcraft 1, and most of the engagements she was involved in directly were pretty small scale compared to the Zerg's big bodycount events, like planetary invasions. Most of her time was spent handling her own business or fighting purely military objectives. Even when we get to Brood War, the majority of her crimes are pretty personal in nature. She betrays allies, kills named characters, wipes out the UED and other military opponents without mercy, corrupts Rashagal and uses Zeratul, but the only Mass Casualty event you can actually lay at her feet that wasn't purely military is the city of Telamantros. If you really wanted to you could even argue that Duran is more responsible for that than her because it was his plan and there's not really indication that she knew what would happen when he set those bombs off, especially because we the players soon learn that Duran has his own agenda and is not loyal to Kerrigan at all. There's even some evidence that Kerrigan regrets how far she goes in Brood War, such as her choice to end the slaughter after killing Duke and Fenix and then again after crushing the three fleets that came for her on Char (sans the UED, which she killed for the arguably practical reason of keeping Earth away for good).

Granted, this is just one perspective you can take on Kerrigan's actions, casting her in the most favorable possible light, and only accounts for the in-game story and not any expanded materials. But my point here is not to stan for Kerrigan or claim she did nothing wrong, merely to point out that the writer's choice to lay a completely unambiguous genocide at her feet in the opening act of this game when there was room to debate it before is god drat bizarre. Even without talking about what happens later in the plot, just the fact that they chose to start the game with Raynor looking back fondly on the human Kerrigan despite his Brood War pledge to kill her, clearly creating a mental separation between that woman and the Queen of Blades, and then right after they did that they had Kerrigan slaughter billions of people for no apparent reason... it's one of the strangest and (imo) most ill-conceived choices they made in this narrative. It casts a long shadow over all of Starcraft 2's story and, in classic blizzard fashion, they barely seem to recognize that it does so. I don't even think this Blitzkreig Slaughter up again in the future in any significant way.

As for this Protoss Mission, I really enjoyed the addition of Protoss Factions in this trilogy beyond the High/Dark Templar, it did a lot to benefit them I think, especially given what's been going on with the "main" protoss that we'll see soon. Even if in this game the Tal'Darim are pretty one-note and just an excuse to let us fight Protoss without it being weird given that Raynor is their friend, they're a good start to giving the race more political nuance/realism.

The OP also did a great job illustrating how Wings of Liberty tutorializes new players on tactics, strategy and unit function through direct gameplay and mission design, which is one of my favorite things about Starcraft 2, even if it can be a bit dull for an advanced player. My other favorite thing is how you customize your army using the special campaign resources you gather through gameplay, which is not a common thing in the RTS genre and we've only begun to scratch the surface on how far SC2 takes that concept.

Natural 20
Sep 17, 2007

Wearer of Compasses. Slayer of Gods. Champion of the Colosseum. Heart of the Void.
Saviour of Hallownest.

PurpleXVI posted:

The "unit showcase mission" feels like design that Blizzard first experimented with in Warcraft 3, and honestly? I really don't like it. To me it means that until the very last couple of missions, everything feels like you're still playing a tutorial, because every mission is designed to give your latest toy some special attention rather than forcing you to engage some brain gears.

I'm a fan of unit showcase if only because of how boring Heart of the Swarm is by comparison when you get roach hydra and it solves every mission instantly.

Omobono
Feb 19, 2013

That's it! No more hiding in tomato crates! It's time to show that idiota Germany how a real nation fights!

For pasta~! CHARGE!

Natural 20 posted:

I'm a fan of unit showcase if only because of how boring Heart of the Swarm is by comparison when you get roach hydra and it solves every mission instantly.

Well, at least it isn't mutalisk mutalisk this time 'round.


Horner stuff: as I said, basically everyone that played 1 assumes Horner is the magistrate. It simply makes sense. So he isn't because :blizzard: (in my head it's similar to :ccp: but the dude is Metzen snorting lines of coke)

Kerrigan stuff: :agreed:
I mean retcons are to be expected in this kind of creative media because of a lot of factors that can ultimately be summed up with :capitalism: and the realities of videogame production but yeah, there's a strong disconnect from the Queen Bitch of the universe and the Kerrigan we get in 2.
(although the chitin/bone high heels were a fukken strong warning sign wtf blizzard)

Torchlighter
Jan 15, 2012

I Got Kids. I need this.

PurpleXVI posted:

See, I think that this speaks more to some units simply being bad and other units simply being overpowered. If there are units that the players never use, well, then those units loving suck or other units outshine them, or both. I don't think the solution to that is "here's the mission where you're forced to use a tiresome gimmick unit" or "here's a mission where we take away your good units."

Counterpoint: niches exist. Both reapers and hellions have a niche that means they see a form of play, but that play is specifically in the multiplayer competitive format rather than campaign, where there's no value in the niche they accomplish. Even then their value is as a low-investment scouting piece or small raiding party designed to inflict economic damage rather than as a mainline battle unit. No one is expecting a reaper to replace a marine.

As for other units being overlapped, this is one of the stated reasons that diamondbacks never left the campaign, because they ended up competing with siege tanks. To a certain extent this also applies to a lot of the 'classic' units we will see compared to their sc2 counterparts and is kind of a sticking point.

RevolverDivider
Nov 12, 2016

Reapers are bad for most of the campaign, but they've got a few good niche uses periodically throughout the campaign. On the Hellion mission you can mass Reaper instead and completely obliterate everything since anti light shreds all the attack waves, they move fast, and the anti building bombs let them clear structures quickly. They can also backdoor some structures on specific missions a lot more effectively then any other unit can.

Most of the time you have perfectly viable alternatives to using your new unit, sometimes even better ones based on what you've gotten access to. I've almost never used Diamondbacks on the Great Train Robbery, I just set up siege lines and bunkers so the trains vaporize the moment they come in range. Ghosts can also screw with a lot of missions between the cloak and nukes.

BisbyWorl
Jan 12, 2019

Knowledge is pain plus observation.


Intermission 2

Video: Queen of Blades








The sound of fighting is playing over all of this.























Looks like Tychus is catching up on recent history.





























You should watch the video just to hear the incredulous way Tychus says this line. It's great.

























Ooooor Tychus could be, I dunno, trying to read up on what's happened since he was put on ice and doesn't bother to ask before doing something?

Like, I get what they're going for here, making Matt (rightfully) suspicious of Tychus to contrast Raynor's blind faith in him, but Tychus honestly hasn't done anything to warrant it so far! Hell, every penny we've made so far has been from his Moebius jobs! The only reason we, the players, know Matt's right is because we got to see the intro cinematic!



I understand your loyalty, sir, but —

I owe him, Matt. Leave it be.

Yes Sir.



















Clearing a single mission unlocks the Mercenary system.



I'll get into exactly how they work next mission, but they're a stronger and more expensive version of a base unit. The War Pigs (which we saw back in The Outlaws) are an elite Marine with a hefty health and damage boost. The catch is that you only get so many per mission, with no way to get more if any die.



While you get the War Pigs for free, any other Merc requires a small Credit cost to buy.

Firebats also have a Merc version, so you'll always have a Merc squad to buy regardless of which mission you chose to do.



The Cantina has also opened up, although the main thing it has is the Merc shop.

>Talk to Tychus.





I thought it was just about the money with you, Tychus.

Nothin' says I can't do my part for humanity and get paid well for my trouble.

Right.

>Watch news.



That's right Donny. Is it possible that the leader of the zerg has a human heart?



Donny, there's never been any evidence — at all — to suggest that infested humans retain their free will.





Well at least they're not sniping at us for once.

>Examine Badge.



Examine Zerg Hunter.





Over at the Armory, a Marauder has appeared.

>Examine Marauder.



Not every unit will show up here, but we can get a small little lore blurb for those that do.



At the Bridge, Stetmann's still waiting for the Lab to open.

>Talk to Horner.





Well, we gave her a setback today. The artifacts are obviously important to her, I just wish we knew why.

That's everyone talked to, so now it's time for my favorite part of an Intermission:



Upgrades.



Marauders get Concussive Shells and Kinetic Foam (+25 life, 90K Credits).



A non-conditional AOE slow is... incredibly loving strong, so I blow most of my earnings on Concussive Shell.



Then hire the Hammer Securities for good measure.



Now, I'm sure you're wondering what that Arcade machine is all about.





They deadass put a shump minigame in their RTS.







This is normally the part where I show off everything that's in here.

One tiny problem with that:

Video: Lost Vikings




I loving suck at shumps. :v:

Edit: Thanks to TeeQueue for doing a full run of Lost Vikings for us. It is 56 minutes long.



So let's just move on to the next mission, shall we?



Agria and the Firebat is still there, but now we have a new mission to replace Monlyth.



The planet Redstone's got the most valuable minerals around - an' with the zerg invasion, the Kel-Morians packed up and left it all behind. Some enterprisin' men could turn a big profit there. Meet me at Redstone if you want a piece of the action.

This one starts a new mission chain. The Artifact mission chain is the only one required to beat the game, so those missions are gated behind having a number of total missions cleared.

BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Jul 14, 2023

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

I played through the campaign on Brutal without ever noticing that most of the levels are designed to showcase the new unit. On some levels, like the reaper and the train/daimondback level it's hard not to notice, but I remember trying to use the marauder slow a few times before figuring out I was supposed to be using the diamondbacks instead. It usually takes me a few maps to integrate a new unit into my playstyle, so I was constantly playing catchup.

I know I beat the hellion level without ever building a single hellion. Just ran around with a standard marine/marauder/medic deathball with a few firebats out on point.

Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

Matt saying that "apparently" Kerrigan was different before the Zerg took her is a weird line. Even in the actual canon behind him (and not him being an obvious stand-in for the magistrate) he was in the Sons of Korhal before Raynor was, surely he must have at least known about Mengsk's most elite operative.

HannibalBarca
Sep 11, 2016

History shows, again and again, how nature points out the folly of man.
the last lost viking achievement was the only one I was never able to get. sigh...

Poil
Mar 17, 2007

Tenebrais posted:

Matt saying that "apparently" Kerrigan was different before the Zerg took her is a weird line. Even in the actual canon behind him (and not him being an obvious stand-in for the magistrate) he was in the Sons of Korhal before Raynor was, surely he must have at least known about Mengsk's most elite operative.
Surely he was also along and present during Raynor's first visit to Char.

BisbyWorl
Jan 12, 2019

Knowledge is pain plus observation.


Poil posted:

Surely he was also along and present during Raynor's first visit to Char.

According to Queen of Blades, Matt was left on the Hyperion while Raynor went planetside to search for Kerrigan, so he never saw her in person.

FoolyCharged
Oct 11, 2012

Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Somebody call for an ant?

He's also talking to Tychus, who he openly doesn't trust. If the writing elsewhere wasn't terrible I could write it off as him playing his cards close to his chest

MagusofStars
Mar 31, 2012



I always chuckle at the arcade game being named The Lost Viking. Very nice subtle callback to Blizzard's classic SNES puzzle games.

SoundwaveAU
Apr 17, 2018

Suggestion: Randomly link one of the jukebox songs when you visit the Cantina during the LP.

painedforever
Sep 12, 2017

Quem Deus Vult Perdere, Prius Dementat.
So, you get limited cash throughout the campaign, right? Is it better to buy upgrades for units, or to buy mercenaries?

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!
I confess I never, ever touched mercenaries when I played it. Upgrades are always the superior option in my mind.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
I tended to forget that mercenaries were even an option.

They might have stuck more if they had special abilities or were unit types you couldn't normally get or something.

Natural 20
Sep 17, 2007

Wearer of Compasses. Slayer of Gods. Champion of the Colosseum. Heart of the Void.
Saviour of Hallownest.

painedforever posted:

So, you get limited cash throughout the campaign, right? Is it better to buy upgrades for units, or to buy mercenaries?

There are some mercenaries that are horrifically broken and you should go out of your way to get them. A hugely important thing about mercs is that they deploy instantly upon payment in each map which allows you to achieve much faster timings on a lot of things.

Typically though, there are units you'll want to upgrade because they're good units and units you won't because they're bad and the spare cash is good for mercenaries.

biscuits and crazy
Oct 10, 2012

painedforever posted:

So, you get limited cash throughout the campaign, right? Is it better to buy upgrades for units, or to buy mercenaries?

If you absolutely have to choose between an upgrade or a mercenary, then take the upgrade. If you plan on using Marauders for example, then Concussive Shell is better than Hammer Securities, but both are worth getting eventually. The mercs are cheap enough that you can grab them all and still get most of the really important upgrades.

MagusofStars
Mar 31, 2012



painedforever posted:

So, you get limited cash throughout the campaign, right? Is it better to buy upgrades for units, or to buy mercenaries?
The good upgrades are better, but mercs are surprisingly solid because of two quirks:
1.) They all come from the Merc Compound and don’t require the normal tech tree, so for high tech units, it lets you get them out easier and earlier in the mission.
2.) Mercs show up instantly when bought. AI shows up with an attack force when you weren’t paying attention / just sent off your own army / whatever? No problem, just summon some mercs to save your rear end. Or bring them in right before you get ready to attack as a quick supplement to your forces.

They also (like all Terran units) can be healed, which synergizes very nicely with their much higher stats.

I wouldn’t buy a Merc contract over a key unit upgrade, but if you’ve got some spare cash, I found them better than some of the “meh” upgrades.

Eeepies
May 29, 2013

Bocchi-chan's... dead.
We'll have to find a new guitarist.
Mercs are really good and worth the money. Spawning immediately without requiring their production building is huge.

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FoolyCharged
Oct 11, 2012

Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Somebody call for an ant?

Mercs are really good and a lot cheaper than upgrades. Well probably see more of how they work next mission so I won't sidetrack it too much, but they don't need time to train like normal units so you can use those early mineral pick ups to rapidly drop a strong force of elite units for an early push. And as people noted, sc2 is very much a game that rewards aggression early and often.

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