Minerals

[Gallin]

What exactly are the minerals? Is there any information about it out there like lore wise?

 

[PurplePoot]

Terran/Protoss use them to build stuff, Zerg use them to strengthen carapace. That's basically all that's said, if I recall correctly.

 

[Gleeful]

Starcraft's unobtanium

 

[Gallin]

They should develop that more like where it came from and such

 

[doombringer]

According to Doran Routhe, a famous United Powers League scientist, planetary systems beyond Sol could contain new resources that could benefit a resource-depleted Earth. Although the terran colonists went beyond their intended destination, Routhe's theories were proven correct, the Koprulu Sector featuring deposits of crystal-minerals, often found in clusters and sometimes as veins of ore in mountains or located under regolith, in which case resonators provide a means of detection.

Terrans and protoss melt these minerals down to create the armored hulls of starships, vehicles and personal armor. Even the zerg require minerals to harden their carapaces and develop strong teeth.

Extraction of minerals take time to gather and specilized equipment/abilities found on SCVs, probes and drones is required to extract them. However, terrans have also developed automated mineral extraction processes when found as ore veins in mountains.

Thats the most detailed definition I could find about the lore of minerals

 

[Gallin]

That just doesnt really make sense (the first part)

 

[Rui]

Wow, Zerg are even more genetically mutated than I thought if they can extract random minerals with who knows what chemical charateristics and use them as carapaces.

 

[Tleno]

Wow, Zerg are even more genetically mutated than I thought if they can extract random minerals with who knows what chemical charateristics and use them as carapaces.

It's I'm not mistake, it seems they someway absorb all the Vespen gas/Minerals like food. Which is quite strange, but oh well, gameplay first, logic second...

And they use minerals because, well, it's Sci-Fi classics to come up with some kind of unexistant material that can substitute most of materials and is very valuable...

 

[Dr Super Good]

How I look at it is...
Minerals are basically inorganic material. Protoss use them for the main structures of their creations, terran for all their machines and the zerg as stregthening materials in their bodies.
Vespine Gas is basically energy / organic material. The terran use it to power their larger machines or in their better weapons, the protoss probably refine it into components used in their top tier weapons and systems while the zerg probably feed off it and use it to both power and form their organic materials. There is a chance that all 3 races might use componds from it to help generate some form of life support.

In practice they are...
Minerals are the basic resource that everything you build uses so can be harvested in large quantities nearly unrestricted (generally 3 workers per mineral deposit is optimum for maximum gather and come in clusters of 10 or so deposits).
Vespein gas is the advanced resource that high tier constructs require to be built and can only be harvested at bottleknecked rates (optimum is usually 3 workers per deposit, requires minerals to use a deposit (extractor) and there is usually 2 deposits per site).

The biggest illogicalities for the resources are why does gas have to be transported. Especially since the zerg might link it up to a local creep network surly it could be moved through the creep?

 

[doombringer]

I believe that gas has to be transported because it has to be converted into liquid first
though this doesn't explain why they dont just put a big stupid pipe on the refinery to the command centre

Also Vespene is used as a catalyst for psi crystals for the protoss
though shouldn't pylons cost vespene then?

 

[Gallin]

Its quite clear that the resources of star craft didn't really have any real thought of how they fit into the universe beyond that it powered everything and such unlike games such as command and conquer did with their tiberium.

 

[Zorga]

Its clear that the minerals and gas where implemented as resources way before they tried to come up with a lore that would explain it.. .

Still i think that the game-play is more important then the lore in this chase! And you can't blame them for having a weak lore explanation... After all minerals and gas run everything for all three races?! That is logically kinda weird..

 

[PurplePoot]

Or it's clear that they needed a resource system and the gameplay is more important than small quirks in the story that basically nobody will question anyways.

 

[Tyranid]

I always thought of the minerals simply as veins on lots of different kinds of minerals, which are only represented as blue crystals for gameplay reasons.

 

[Cardinian]

Irrelevant if it makes sense or not. All you need to know is Minerals are blue and shiny and you need them. Vespene gas is green and gas-like and you need it too.

There is also Terrazine - which the Galaxy Editor supports as it's 'Third Resource'.

Terrazine gas is a mysterious potent psionic reagent. It is sought by protoss, zerg and terrans alike. The protoss consider it "the Breath of Creation".
Sources are found on Mar Sara as well as at shrines on Bel'shir, where the protoss gain psionic power.

Source: http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Terrazine"]Starcraft 2 Wiki

 

[Ardnived]

The Minerals are not one specific element, they are a composite ore.

Also, a reiteration of what a number of people have said

"Terrans and protoss melt these minerals down to create the armored hulls of starships, vehicles and personal armor. Even the zerg require minerals to harden their carapaces and develop strong teeth."

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

So... a rip-off of Tiberium? trollface.jpg

 

[Tleno]

Irrelevant if it makes sense or not. All you need to know is Minerals are blue and shiny and you need them. Vespene gas is green and gas-like and you need it too.

There is also Terrazine - which the Galaxy Editor supports as it's 'Third Resource'.


Source: http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Terrazine"]Starcraft 2 Wiki

If I'm not mistaken, the Terrazine is gonna be used in campaing for those upgrades between missions. Is you search for "techupgrades" in editor's icon database, you'll find there are some awesome ones icons, ehich will probably be used for those...

Actually Tiberiumm is probably the first mineral crystal ever used in game, so Blizzard could have been inspired by C&C. First Command & Conquer game was released in 1995 you know.

 

[Ardnived]

I don't think that is what Terrazine does, it is related to Psionics. Spectres are created by exposure to large amounts of Terrazine.

"Blizzard Entertainment has stated that they are keen on exploring the idea of "this weird new substance" that could affect certain psychic abilities and the spectres, and they might make it into the game. Blizzard employees again said it could be in StarCraft II at New York Comic Con."

 

[KaboomMaster]

If you've read the mission reviews by various game magazines they talk about how there is a mission where you steal Terrazine from a protoss temple to allow Gabriel Tosh to train Spectres while campaign units and upgrades (firebats, goliaths, ect.) are researched using money gained from doing missions.

 

[Cardinian]

In some missions, I have seen screen shots (will post a link at a later date)... there are 'Secondary Objectives' usually relating to 'Retrieving Protoss Artifacts' or 'Capturing Zerg' etc... I believe fulfilling these secondary objectives allows you to progress and unlock things on the 'Research Page' in between missions...

I believe (although I might be incorrect) that money you spend in between missions can be used in unlocking certain units / upgrades and buying mercenaries, such as Firebats etc...