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Topic: Can someone tell me what happened in SC3? (Read 19735 times)
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Mugz the Sane
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need coffee...
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(shudder) revisiting repressed memories was bad enough, but those clips... eurgh...
morbid fascination is a suicidal trait, imo. that was even worse than i remembered.
The 3D animation technologies/capabilities/skills available back then were MORE than sufficient to have given us decent and believeable aliens. The humanoid races (syreen, earthling, arilou ens) were somewhere between sad and depressing. I mean, really, the Syreen were supposed to be alluring, ero- I mean, eXotic, desirable... the SCnot3 Syreen would only be considered attractive by a blind, desperate nympho, and then only if it was wearing a bag over its head. The arilou were just disturbing.
On the Exquivan mouth movements being 'odd' - if I wanted to be nice I'd say that's because the Exquivan aren't actually speaking english, but rather exquivanese or whatever - probably a very sibilant language, judging from the oral motions. Actually, I think it's just because the people doing it were lazy, incompetent, or both.
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I'm seriously considering going to Bali to paint nude women.
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Matticus
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I find myself compelled to share my opinions! I'll just touch on a few things that kind of jump out at me here.
Of the alliance races, the Utwig were very well done. There was a good reason they all wore the same mask, the new dialogue was passable, and they even managed to take a cruddy repeat of the Ultron quest and give a reasonable if somewhat unsatisfactory explanation for it. Best of the alliance races in SC3, hands down.
The Spathi were mostly a rehash, but I found the first bit of new dialogue to be pretty funny. I'm speaking of their account of annihilating several hundred creatures on their new colony world out of fear before discovering they were actually just gentle herbivores. Well it did get a chuckle out of me anyway. The SC3 Spathi looks different from the SC2 design, but taken by itself it's pretty good. Terrible animation though, and I much prefer the gooey eyeball.
The VUX were too different. I mean, I guess I can imagine there are purple skinned VUX(es) out there, ok, but the new dialogue was pretty bad. The VUX in SC2 were bigots but at least they were intelligent and somewhat articulate about it. The disgust displayed by the SC3 VUX was rooted in a sort of instinctual anger. This is not completely unlike the SC2 VUX, who seem to display an instinctual revulsion to the physical appearance of humans. But at least in SC2 they were intelligent enough to be ashamed of the fact that they were bigots. They knew there was no rational foundation for their hatred. So on that point SC3 got near the mark but ultimately missed. The new dialogue didn't fit with the VUX nearly as well as the new stuff did for most of the other alliance races.
Ok, now for the Crux. The Daktaklakpak take the cake here. I liked the concept and the execution. The design and animation were even pretty good, imagine that! The only other Crux race I liked was the K'tang because some of the dialogue was funny.
None of the other new races were really that appealing to me and the other alliance races were too bland to leave much of an impression on me at all.
Pretty much every other opinion I have about the other aspects of the game have already been expressed so I'll stop here.
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« Last Edit: September 19, 2006, 04:07:11 pm by Matticus »
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philosophy is the talk on a cereal box
religion is a smile on a dog
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Zarnium
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Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
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Why the heck do the VUX say "PLEASE inform the VUX of the manner in which we can best assist our GOOD FRIEND, the human captain?" so much? they say it at least two times in most of those VUX videos.
And the Exqivan talking about secrets that no one should know sounds creepily like what happened to the Androsynth, although im not sure if it was intentional or not...
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« Last Edit: September 19, 2006, 09:48:38 pm by Zarnium »
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Zarnium
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Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
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Yeah, but I can't tell if they're being sarcastic or if they're just lying badly.
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Zarnium
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Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
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Can anyone explain the Xchagger plague, VUX Vyro-Ingo dna, and and other major subplots?
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Draxas
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*sigh*
Here's what I remember from my last playthrough in '96.
Vyro-Ingo / VUX DNA: As we all know, the VUX are notorious for being xenophobic, surly, and generally difficult to deal with. During your travels in the new quadrant, you run across a neutral race native to the area called the Vyro-Ingo. They appear to be extremely mentally disturbed, showing clear signs of a split personality, one of which is passive and obsequious, the other of which is agressive and violent. This also makes them difficult to deal with, until you figure out that their weakness in negotioations is flattery, since they also seem to have a fierce inferiority complex. Suck up to them long enough, and they'll agree to join the alliance.
Later on, as a time-based event, the VUX will betray you and start working with the Crux (the main enemy organization of the game, at least until the very end). This is an unavoidable event (and actually is rather convenient, because as soon as they abandon the alliance, they no longer are an active nuisance). Even later, as you explore, you'll encounter an artifact called the Vyro-Ingo Encrustation Matrix, which you scientists will tell you appears to be an artificially engineered, but incomplete, segment of DNA corresponding to the Vyro-Ingo genome. Asking the Vyro-Ingo about it will make them very angry, provoking their inferiority complex to come to the fore again, and only some major butt-kissing will get them to calm down again (and is necessary, because you need them as alliance members in order to complete the quest).
Still further along, you will discover another artifact called the VUX Encrustation matrix. This is similar in form to its Vyro-Ingo counterpart, and coincidentally, the two encrustation matrices are a perfect match when combined together. Following up on that idea, you must add a Vyro-Ingo ship to your fleet, travel to a VUX colony, and send it ALONE (or else the VUX simply respond to the presence of your flagship and attack) against the VUX fleet stationed there. There will be a short cutscene that shows the two ships engaged in a silly chase sequence, and then they will dock together. After realizing that their races are apparently two halves of the same whole, both will become much nicer and friendlier, as their reunification apparently inexplicably repaired the flaws of each species.
When you encounter and are able to converse with a Precursor near the end of the game, you are given the option to ask about the VUX and Vyro-Ingo. The Precursor reveals that they are responsible for the genetic division of the two races, and they were attempting to examine the development of species divided in such a manner before they were devolved (I forget whether this event is a trigger for joining the matrices or not, so I may have my order screwed up a bit).
Xchagger plague: When you first encounter the Harika-Yorn, who are natives of the game's quadrant, they reveal that they are suffering from this affliction and it is destroying their race. In an attempt to stave it off and discover a cure, they joined the Crux, who have pledged to research the cure to the best of their efforts. However, discussions with other Crux members (particularly the K'Tang and DakTakLakPak, as I recall) will reveal that the Crux is not interested in finding a cure in the least, since they are responsible for starting the outbreak in the first place. Being the good guy, you decide to boldly step in and aid the Harika-Yorn, and obtain samples of the plague from infected individuals.
Research on the plague reveals a cure that will eradicate the disease before too long, but it also reveals something else unexpected: the Xchagger plague is actually caused by another sentient race (collectively known as the Xchagger) infecting the Harika-Yorn. Respecting the right of these newly discovered sentients to exist, you decline to use the cure on the Harika-Yorn immediately, pledging to attempt to save both races. Through some more asking around among the Crux (details of this part are sketchy in my mind), you are able to discover the location of one of the breeding centers of the Xchagger. This turns out to be one of their ships, and you are able to converse with them. You discover that they are indeed sentient, and have been unwillingly forced to infect the Harika-Yorn by the DakTakLakPak, who refused to acknowledge their sentience. However, they possess the means to extract their bretheren from the Harika-Yorn without harming either, and now that they have been freed from the Crux, they share that means with you. Using this, you are able to extract the Xchagger plague from the Harika-Yorn without harming either any further. Once all of the Harika-Yorn worlds have been freed from the plague, they become furious at how they have been used by the Crux, and join the alliance. The Xchagger join the alliance as well, pleased that their sentience has finally been acknowledged and they no longer need to be exploited as a biological weapon.
The Chmmr: The Chmmr arrive with your initial expedition, and set up a colony in the new quadrant. However, shortly after you learn to understand the DakTakLakPak, they request an urgent meeting with you. The purpose of this meeting is that they have apprently discovered that the Chmmr are actually a sentient summoning beacon for the Eternal Ones, an all-powerful race that devours all sentient life in the galaxy periodically. Their premise is that the Chenjesu are agents of the Eternal Ones, placed in the galaxy by their masters to monitor the progress of sentients in their development. Once they have determined that sentience has reached a suitable point and the Eternal Ones can commence feeding, they endeavor to fuse with the most advanced mechanical species they have encountered, and in this new form, transmit a signal into the alternate dimension where the Eternal Ones dwell that indicates that everything is ready. The DakTakLakPak claim that their fusion with the Mmrnhrm to create the Chmmr was the beginning of this process, and that they are, even now, attempting to summon the Eternal Ones to the galaxy. Pretty flimsy theory, eh?
The DakTakLakPak reveal that they have developed a device to bifurcate the Chmmr back into their original races, and thus stop this signal from being transmitted and preventing the arrival of the Eternal Ones. You, of course, refuse, but the furious DakTakLakPak vow to go ahead with their plan, with or without your cooperation. They bifurcate the Chmmr shortly after, in an event that is not preventable. The Chenjesu are left behind on their colonies in a comatose state, and the Mmrnhrm are taken by the DakTakLakPak. Upon recovering the comatose Chenjesu, you are able to revive them with the help of the Syreen, who (inexplicably) can psychically communicate with them, but this is of little help; the Chenjesu are very weak, and their bonding with the Mmrnhrm had progressed to the point where they now cannot survive on their own. If they remain separated from their mechanical counterparts for too long, they will perish.
Over the course of the game, stuff happens in various other subplots, but there is little you can do to rectify the Chmmr's sorry state until much later. However, during the course of other events, you learn that the DakTakLakPak (unsurprisingly) made the whole story about the Chmmr summoning the Eternal Ones up, and their true intent was to bifurcate the Chmmr so that they could then enslave the Mmrnhrm, as they saw themselves as the superior mechanical lifeform. However, the process was just as traumatic for the Mmrnhrm as the Chenjesu; the DakTakLakPak found them to be damaged beyond their ability to repair, and instead of risking them falling back into the hands of the alliance, they discarded them somewhere where they were positive that nobody would be able to recover them.
Eventually, you will acquire the ability to explore and recover artifacts from the rainbow worlds. On the surface of one of these worlds, you will discover the heavily damaged remains of the Mmrnhrm. Through some sort of plot device (once again, my memory fails me exactly as to what), you are able to physically repair them, but you still lack the means to restore their true functioning; like the Chenjesu, the Mmrnhrm had progressed to the point where they were no longer able to function correctly without their partners. The solution, of course, is simple: you just need to find a Sun Device in order to enable the two races to fuse once more. Coincidentally, a race known as the Lk have exactly that. Who knew the Precursors made so many of these things?
The details of your dealings with the Lk are also somewhat sketchy in my mind, but I seem to recall you having to make a devil's deal with them; somewhere in your travels, I believe that you acquire an item that is able to shield a small region of space from the Eternal Ones' perception. The Lk demand this device in exchange for the Sun Device, and you of course provide it. I also seem to recall that the joke is on them; someone mentions at some point that the device either does something entirely different from what the Lk expect, or that it simply was a failure, and never functioned correctly at all. Suffice to say, though, the Sun Device is the final ingredient necessary in order to fuse the Chenjesu and Mmrnhrm, and the reformed Chmmr once again rejoin the alliance.
There are lots of other (irritating) subplots in the game, many of which I don't remember until elements of them are referenced by name. Feel free to ask about any others; while I didn't enjoy the game particularly much, I haven't tried to actively repress the memories of it like some others around here (though as we've seen, my memory is far from infalliable), and I would be happy to spoil it for others if it means they can spend their time doing something more enjoyable.
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Zarnium
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Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
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um... er... ok. That was sort of creepy. Thanks for posting it though.
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Zarnium
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Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
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Here are some of the races I like from watching the Youtube videos and reading about them on star control sites:
Chmmr
Orz
Daktaklakpak
Utwig
K'Tang
Exquivan
Some of the others have good puppets, but not good voices or dialogue. Like the VUX.
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Anthony
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Star Control Lives!
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Yeah, the story for the Chmmr is creepy. I like the SC2 version better: They joined DNA so that they are powerful enough to defeat the Ur-Quan.
Thanks Draxas for your post; I never really understood really what the heck is going on in it anyway...
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