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StarCraft: Loomings[1] (also known as StarCraft: Precursor) campaign is a series of single-player mission which take place approximately a month before StarCraft Episode I and depicts much of the Battle of Chau Sara. In this campaign, the player takes the role of an Alpha Squadron lieutenant, and zerg are always referred to as "xenomorphs".[2]

The missions are available in the Starcraft Demo or downloaded as the precursor campaign, which requires the full version of StarCraft. The demo only includes four missions, including the tutorial, while the downloadable campaign includes two extra missions that fit in between the existing missions.

The multiplayer mode of the demo is very limited, the player is able to play only terran, and has only one map available, "Byways" (2 players, badlands tileset).

As of 2019, the StarCraft: Remastered team has expressed interest in adding the campaign by default to their client.[3]

Boot Camp

A newly promoted lieutenant of Alpha Squadron was subjected to a training exercise instituted by Alpha Squadron commander Edmund Duke.[2]

The Scenario Properties describe "Boot Camp" as an improvement on other tutorial missions.[2]

Strongarm

The Colonial Magistrate Collins informed the lieutenant that the Sons of Korhal raided Chau Sara, seeking to undermine Confederate authority on outlying worlds. He wished the help of Alpha Squadron to destroy the rebels without involving the local militia. He instructed the lieutenant not to arrest any of the rebels.

The Alpha Squadron forces fended off the Sons of Korhal, but shortly afterwards they made hostile contact with xenomorphs. Collins demanded their immediate destruction, "whatever they are". This minor attack was repelled by the Confederates. Immediately after the encounter with the xenomorphs, an obscure group identifying itself as the Cerberus Recon Squad appeared. They were using advanced technology and claimed they were under orders to oversee the extermination of the xenomorphs and prevent their spread to other colonies. The Cerberus unit dispatched to the scene consisted of two Cerberus Goliaths and four Cerberus Firebats.

Cerberus Commander was very disrespectful of Magistrate Collins. Nonetheless, his forces assisted in the destruction of the local Sons of Korhal base.[4]

The Gauntlet

Not to be confused with the Gauntlet or New Gauntlet maps.

Magistrate Collins confirmed to Alpha Squadron that he had known about these xenomorphs for quite some time. They were being studied in the Flannum Installation but contact to the facility had been lost. Now the installation was surrounded by xenomorphs, which had somehow created large, semi-organic structures, some of which were capable of defending themselves. Cerberus Recon Squad and Alpha Squadron cooperated in clearing a path to the installation.[5]

Den of the Beast

Cerberus said they knew the code for the Flannum Installation (something only Magistrate Collins should have known), which enabled them to use the bio-scanners and confirm the presence of the scientists. However, they were unable to detect the xenomorphs, which had burrowed themselves in the installation floors. During the rescue of the scientists, the xenomorphs displayed some intelligence, setting traps and even staging a counter-assault to prevent the rescue from outside the installation. However, Cerberus was an elite force, and with the support of security guards found hiding within the facility they overcame the xenomorph infestation.[6]

Force of Arms

The xenomorphs attacked the city of Los Andares shortly after the rescue of the scientists, and so Alpha Squadron and Cerberus had to rescue the city. Edmund Duke, the commander of Alpha Squadron, personally assisted in the defense of the Los Andares, fighting from his siege tank. Duke and his forces (composed in-game by his tank, four vultures and two SCVs) came to the city when it fell under attack (in-game by zerglings).[7]

During the battles, citizens rioted and were quelled by Los Andares Security.[8]

Alpha Squadron defeated the xenomorph forces in the city and destroyed all zerg structures.[7]

Extermination

Afterward, Collins wanted to set up a tight defense against the xenomorphs but the Cerberus commander overruled him, actually taking command of the colony. Cerberus felt now was a good time to attack the primary hive clusters of the xenomorphs. Alpha Squadron and Duke had to go along with this plan. Those xenomorphs were defeated on November 12th, and then Cerberus left with a warning:

"By edict of Confederate High Command, all matters regarding these xenomorphs are under Class 7 Seal. Do not speak of the existence of the xenomorphs or in any way relay the events surrounding their appearance on Chau Sara. Failure to comply with these orders will result in immediate termination. This conversation never took place. We were never here."

In the weeks following the operation, the Confederacy instituted a planet-wide lock down which restricted all travel and communication to and from Chau Sara, hoping to contain the knowledge of the xenomorph's existence. A barrage of propaganda ensured that the operation would only be remembered as a triumphant operation against the Sons of Korhal.[9]

Notes

  • The downloadable campaign on the Battle.net website lacks the green text intro and outro shown in the shareware executable version of the game. While the download page only refers to it as Precursor, the introduction of the campaign on the disc names the campaign Loomings.[1]
  • In the shareware version of the campaign, the zerg are named "Nightmare Invaders," the old name of the zerg in the StarCraft alpha. In the Battle.net version of the game, the victory screen text is changed to refer to them as "Xenomorphs" as is done in the campaign itself.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Loomings Title Screen StarCraft: Loomings Accessed September 27, 2019
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, Tutorial: "Boot Camp" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign.
  3. Precursor aka Loomings should be available Battle.net 07/10/2019
  4. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, mission 1: "Strongarm" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign.
  5. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, mission 2: "The Gauntlet" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign.
  6. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, mission 3: "Den of the Beast" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign.
  7. 7.0 7.1 StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, mission 4: "Force of Arms" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign.
  8. Furman, Simon (w), Federico Dallocchio (p, i), Milen Parvanov (col). "StarCraft #2" StarCraft 1 (2) (June 24, 2009) DC Comics (Wildstorm).
  9. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, mission 5: "Extermination" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign.
The next article in this series is StarCraft Prequel.


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