Zerg Infestation

I like the idea of having infested terran and protoss as part of the zerg army, but I want them to hatch from larvae eggs, not be converted on the battlefied.

I think the infested terran should be a caster to replace the defiler, having evolved to the point where it can control it's toxic abilities without destroying itself (though it might retain the self destruct ability from it's previous form as a spell)

I like the idea of the infested protoss as a combat unit though. It could be a long range, high damage unit that shoots lightning bolts. Zerg artillary. Protoss would have to have their brains heavily damaged to be able to be controlled by kerrigan though, so psionic abilities would be weaker and probably a lot more unstable.

 

Don't forget the Kerrigan was able to control Raszagal in SC:BW. Yes she was old, but in her prime, she was stated as being one of the most powerful minds in the galaxy; meaning she probably had some strength left.

 

If the Protoss did not have time to physically kill him/herself (through stabbing themselves through the chest or similar) then they would choose to just shut down their own mind. This would mean that no matter how fast the Zerg were upon them, or how fast the infestation is, they would still be able to, in effect, shut-down their body, because it would only take the space of a thought to do so. Protoss definitely have the mental powers, as well as the willpower to do this.
@ ekulio. The Infested units should definitely not be hatched from Larvae, because that would mean that they are not Infested units, but instead, just another unit in the Swarm. Infested units have to actually be the result of an Infestation, so cannot be hatched from Larvae. Also, both Infested Terran and Infested Protoss should not be a major role in the Zerg Swarm. They should just be helpful additions to your army, and not take up major roles, like a spell-caster or artillery unit.

 

The zerg did infest Stukov after he was dead so the living host requirement does not exist

 

Stukov was reanimated before infestation by Kaloth, and they were only experimenting in the reanimation of Terran, not Protoss. So if anything, that proves that they do require a living host, and obviously, when playing skirmishes the player would not be able to reanimate dead Terran units, because it requires a Cerebrate, and on top of that would use a huge amount of energy, making it extremely ineffective unless reanimating heroes, such as Stukov.

 

@ ItzaHexGor - Even if the Protoss were to shut down their minds, the Zerg could still infest them, because all they require is a living body. In any case though, my main point is that it'd be cool if Zerg could infest Terrans and Protoss, so there would have to be a way that even a mighty Protoss warrior could be taken.

 

If the Protoss warrior is able to shut down its mind, then it's body will die. The body cannot live without the mind. I know it would be awesome if there were Infested Protoss (and they better have them in the Map Editor), but it I don't think it would suit in game. Also, the Protoss are pretty much the opposite of the Zerg army. Zerg are swarmers, and the Protoss rely on fewer but more powerful units. So I feel that if the Protoss could loose these units(depending on how the Infestation occurs), it would be a major blow to them, and if the Zerg were to acquire extremely powerful units, then it would change their game-play a lot.

 

Well, as I stated, the Zerg evolutionary virus would warp the Protoss, so they wouldn't be too overpowering. I'll agree to disagree with your opinion, but a owerup: for an interesting discussion!

 

i would rather it just be that the zerg eats the corpse of the enemy so they get more resources

 

They should be allowed to infest in-game. It would require a lot more balancing to pull off, and creates units that are limited to race-specific situations.

 

cool concepts ^

it would be interesting to see what would happen when zerg infested protoss, it seems to me sort of like a MC affect like the Dark Archon tho....

race specific is huge when it comes to this game.... so how would the zerg infect the protoss differently than the terrans? perhaps by only infecting living tissue (zeas, temp ect) while infecting terran buildings to build destructive units like the walking mine?

 

The main problem is that Protoss buildings are robotic, and don't contain units but warp them from somewhere, from what is seems. To infest Protoss and Terrans, Zergs should get a new way of infesting infantry without the need for infesting buildings. Very complex, I have no idea of how that would work.

 

That's another reason why I feel that it should be only the Terran that can be Infested. If Protoss could as well, then it would be too similar. Unless they can come up with 2 extremely different ways of Infesting that both suit Zerg as well as the team being Infested, they should only make it affect Terran.

 

Well, spawn broodling was useful versus dragoons. Lore-wise, it is very much possible. however, it is terrans that pose as food for the zerg. Why? Because both Terran and Zerg are about too many units, and Protoss have fewer, tougher ones. But Zerg cannot infest Zerg too. Thus, terrans are a different race with tons of units too, and that should be the reason they're a feast for the zerg.

However, both should be allowed to be infested. At least not by structural infestation.

What if they've got a parasite that links to protoss machinery and links to it's control, changing sides of it? Turning a Colossus would be tons of fun! lol Joking, I don't really want this. xD

 

but still just eating corpses for mins is sooo much easier

 

i agree with 10-neon about in game infestation and @ the living body thing, im under the impression that a protoss warrior would kill him/herself before getting infested

 

That's what I've already said. The Zerg require a living host to Infest, so, it is obvious what a Protoss warrior would do to avoid Infestation. Even if the Protoss buildings are able to be be Infested, the Protoss inside would commit seppuku before they are Infested, and as a result, no Infested units could be gained from infesting a Protoss building.

 

I have read the thread here and quite like a few of these ideas. But I have one of my own.

I think the idea of only being able to infest biological units. This is so because this infestation would be a parasite whould would have enter the unit and get into it's brain and eventually drive the unit crazy. And I don't see this parasite being able to survive long enough outside in a hostile environment to get into the cracks of a mechanical unit and to search for the driver to infest.

That'd balance things out. And how I'd like this infestation to work would be like this:

The zerg unit infests the target unit. And immediately nothing happens. But after a certain amount of time the unit turns rogue (ie the parasite in the unit's brain causes the unit so much pain that it just goes crazy) and randomly attacks everything in it's sights or it seeks out something to attack. And at this point the target unit's race can no longer control it. Nothing can. It will even attack the zerg race that infested the unit. And at this time the only option would be to kill the offending unit.

I'm not sure if you can detect this infestation before the unit turns rogue and cure it. I think having this might be a good idea, but then for balancing reasons the time before the unit turns rogue should be a little less.

Also a rogue unit wouldn't be able to be used for sight/removing fog of war purposes anymore. And if a cloaked unit became rogue it'd turn cloaked to everyone at that time too.

Lastly I think there should be more than one infestation. This rogue unit idea. And maybe also a detector infestation just like in SC 1. And the target unit's race would not know with what the unit is infested. Only that the unit is infested. That'd make it harder to work out if actually going out of your way to heal the unit is a viable idea or not.

And I think the energy usage for this skill should about 1/3 of the maxium energy (unupgraded though). Cause I think 3-4 shots of this would be fair to everyone before having to wait for the energy to recharge. And I see this as an good way for a 3rd party to affect a battle. What I mean is if Race A and Race B are having a battle on a map. And Race C is also on the map but minding it's own business. Race C if it was of the sneaky kind, send over a unit and infest a few of race A or B's units and sit back and watch the chaos.

Sure there would be other applications for this skill but that's my take on it.


Bonus 400 minerals for a Reply of Significant Interest!

 

Welcome to the forums, the8thark, and it's quite impressive that with only five posts you have a power level and a mineral bonus. Nice job.

As for your idea, I like it. And infesting would be an active task, so even though the result has some random elements (I am very against randomness in Starcraft 2), it is not truly random. It is strategic. Also, the player whose unit is infested should definitely be able to detect the infestation happening. There shouldn't be a label on it (like Blind, for instance) but visually one should easily be able to tell that it is about to go rogue. Maybe have skin start turning brown or armor falling off, etc.

I personally still think my infestation idea a few pages ago is the best, but I do have some inherent bias towards it... haha.

 

I definitely don't like the idea of either Infesting units straight off the battlefield, unless it is a Broodling-type ability because otherwise it is too similar to the Protoss' Mind Control, or the idea of it taking time for the Infestation to take a hold of the unit (which would only happen if it was plucked off the battlefield).
If, in the8thark's idea, the Zerg gain control of the unit, it would be a bit odd if some of your Marines just started walking away or attacking your other Marines. So, in my opinion, it should instantly be affected, if it turns the target into a completely hostile unit, converted, if it give the Zerg player control of the Infested unit, or killed, if it is like Broodling.
The best idea that so far is a version of ninerman's. It is that any of Terran's unit producing building should be able to be Infested, and produce Infested Terran. This would mean that Barracks, Factories, Starports and Command Centers would be able to be Infested, and Supply Depots, Missile Towers, Engineering Bay, Academy, Bunkers, Science Facility, Armory and Refineries cannot. They would all produce the same Infested Terran unit, so if you Infested a Starport, it wouldn't make Infested Wraiths or Infested Battlecruisers or anything. After all, it is the people inside the building that are being Infested, not the vehicles and ships. (It has already been stated taht although Infested Protoss would be cool, that the concept of Infesting Protoss is impossible, which is why I only used Terran as an example)
The best overall idea would be to combine the Zerg Blarg's (ninerman's idea) way of Infesting with the latching on of the Zerg Blarg and the ability to Infest any building, but ninerman's concept of the Infested Terran should have to change. It shouldn't be a suicide bomber again, but an Infested Terran would be very cumbersome, so it wouldn't be able to jump around and flail its claws.
My concept of what the Infested Marines would be like would be something like this:
As we know the Terran had near impenetrable armor, which is much more advanced that what we have at the moment. They are able to withstand a whole lot of fire, even shots from Siege Tanks, whereas nowadays, a single shot can be fatal. We also know that the Zerg have extremely hardened carapaces, that are so tough that they are able to compare to the Terran's and Protoss's armor. So, if a Zerg organism was able to Infest a Terran unit, it would have the protection of the Terran's powersuit in addition to its naturally tough carapace. This would mean that, even if the unit has low health, it would have extremely high armor. Infested units would have the highest armor in the game, but would be slowish and have a slow, but powerful attack, either in melee combat, or firing the Gauss Rifle.