Hero Protagonist

Obviously a witch.

I think it was Patters, in Arrakis, with the Phaser Rifle!

Do we reveal it now, or is the guessing game part of it?

The galaxy may now know peace. Also, you guys were worried about ME dropping? You're a bunch of racists.

Thanks Chris, THANKS FOR RUINING MY LIFE.

I didn't mind the music in-game, the voice overs are more jarring for me.

...and so it begins...

I'll certainly agree that DoW2's narrative is consistent with the setting, but I don't know if I would agree that it's better than Scraft2. It's harder to judge Scraft, since there are really only 2.5 entries in the setting, versus the hundreds in Warhammer 40k.

So we're redistributing names?

It's really a non sequitor argument; because other games have terrible stories SCraft 2's horrible story gets a pass? Absolutely not. Regardless, the superiority of story in other games is too subjective a topic, I could point to a dozen games that I feel were more compelling and you could dismiss all of them for purely subjective reasons. I will briefly touch on the example you raise, Mass Effect 2, because I do feel it is superior for a number of reasons. Is it perfect? No. Terrible characters like Jack are really obnoxious and detract from it greatly. However, for ever Jack there is a Garrus - a character that I feel was a really complex, motivated, and engaging. Mass Effect 2 is superior because it is so sprawling and open; even if you hate Garrus there are probably 2 characters that you really enjoy, and I believe that this is what BioWare was trying to do. They create a wide variety of stereotypes so that there is something for everyone. There is none of that in SCraft 2; I can't avoid Raynor or Kerrigan in SCraft2's story.

Blizzard's stories are usually melodramatic and trite. I honestly can't recall ever enjoying the story in a Blizzard game; luckily the polish and gameplay makes up for it. There are certainly elements of the respective universes that I enjoy, but they tend to be the more obscure and less fleshed-out aspects. I don't think this is a coincidence, as I think it relates to an aspect of writing that most writers (should) understand. Half of the story takes place in the audience's mind, and when you write something that doesn't jive with the the audience's preconceived notions it can be a pretty big disappointment. Unfortunately I just really, really dislike the fundamental direction they took with Scraft II's direction. That paired with the over-the-top style really makes me generally disinterested in the game. Hopefully it improves with the coming campaigns, but I've all but written them off already. The thing that bothers me the most is actually the voice overs, but most especially the Zerg. In Scraft each Zerg unit had a distinct callout sound, but I have a lot of trouble distinguishing them in 2. Anyone else notice or feel this way?

*Fingers drumming together.* Indeed. My plans are so devious that I concoct them and put them into action before I even join games. I will find you out, other new guys.

IT'S A TRAP!

So I just need to PM you an alias, and you then randomize them and hand them out?

I'm around, but it looks like you overlooked the other new guy whom you originally included. Emonk, I believe? Or is he in the list under an alias?

Am I the only person who wishes that you could re-name star systems in Neptune's Hubris? Either at the creation of the map, or after conquering the system. That would be the best/worst. I know that I, personally, would fight tooth-and-nail to defend or conquer certain worlds. Chris could even name his systems Remo 1, Remo 2, and Remo 3 after his Guitar Hero characters. I don't know why this came to me today, or why I even posted it. Chalk it up to internet tourrettes.

No apologies necessary, but the sentiment is appreciated. In the wake of 9/11 we must all be vigilant against terrorists and those who seek to infiltrate this great vidja game nation of ours.

I didn't say, or mean to imply, that I didn't understand the reasoning, merely that I don't necessarily agree with it. It is your game, and you're free to include whomever you want. I certainly don't hold any bad feelings, I was merely pointing out that, since I really only came here to join in the Neptune's Trident networking, my only posts would be in those threads. It's not you, it's me. You're all lovely, intelligent people, it's just that I have pursed relations with other boards. Sexually.

I think your skepticism is rather silly, but it's your prerogative. I really only joined the forums to get involved in the Neptune's Bosom discussion and networking, thus all my posts have been on topics relating to that end.

I'll join in, if theres room.

I've played in a couple of games now, and I have to say that it only seems slow for the first day or two. After you start having skirmishes with an enemy that is powerful enough to take you down it starts to get really tricky and tense. In one of the games I am in now I am squaring off with the most powerful player and I am probably in the bottom-half of the players. I have half the stars and economy he has, and roughly a third the industry that he has. I've stayed in the game by employing a lot of gambits. I purposefully threw away half my fleet in an attack on his core worlds in order to draw the bulk of his fleet away from the front so that I could expand and conquer his forward base of operations. As I type this I'm 2h30m away from a battle that could potentially decide my fate in the game, and it's probably the most suspenseful experience I've had in my gaming life. It started 9 hours ago when I saw a fleet of 60 ships returning from my diversion in his core-worlds with, heading back to reclaim his lost worlds with an ETA of ~12 hours. I only had 17 ships stationed in the area, so I immediately sent the few reinforcements I had in range to defend. My fleet would not arrive for 14 hours, and even if it did arrive it would only bring my defenses up to 35 ships. I hastily opened the tab to compare our technologies, and saw that we had equal weapon skill and that my speed was 1 rank lower. Luckily I've invested heavily in science and research things at a rate nearly double that of any of my opponents, so I opened the tech browser and did some math. If I could level up my speed my ships would arrive 30 minutes prior to his fleet, and if I can train my weapon skill prior to the battle, I would only need 37 ships to win. My heart sunk slightly as I realized that I could only complete 1 skill in time, with the second skill increasing 60 minutes after the battle. Discouraged, but not without hope, I set my weapon skill as my leveling skill, increased industry 2 ranks at the battle-location, and opened the player browser once again. Cycling through the player list I saw that the player on the other side of my foe had the speed upgrade I needed to give me a chance. I sent him a message offering him a tech trade and strategic alliance. At first he refused, not wanting to trade tech with the person who would become his next opponent, but I offered him 2-upgrades for 1, and pledged not to initiate any conflict with him. He reluctantly agreed, and passed me the speed upgrade I needed to survive! ...unfortunately it's not guaranteed. If my opponent happens to be researching weapons or speed, or he has an alliance with someone with superior tech, and he gets a boost in the next 2 hours I will lose. THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME! Congrats Nick.