Talk:Protoss
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Can we really consider the listed tribes 'factions' per se? It was every tribe for itself in the AoE and while some tribes stood above others (eg. Akilae Tribe), they were single tribes among many.--Hawki 07:53, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Photosynthesis
Where does it says that the Protoss are photosynthethic? In Q&A it is said that they absorb water and light through their skin. XEL 16:44, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
It says so, very clearly, in Firstborn. Kimera 757 (talk) 16:46, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
Can you quote it? I wonder in what manner is it stated... XEL 16:50, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
From Firstborn (Jake here is Temlaa):
"Not for the first time, Jake thought about the ways other creatures obtained sustenance. For the protoss it was easy-the White Circle of night and the Golden Orb of day showed their favor to the protoss and nourished them. Their light, and that of thier children, the smaller glittering sky gems that appeared at night, was all the protoss needed to flourish.
Other beings killed for food. Sometimes, Jake envied them. How good it would be to take the flesh of a fallen foe and bring it inside the body."
This is what is says in Shadow Hunters, about Raszagal (Jake here is Adun's companion Veltraas):
"Her skin was pallid, and the unhealthy hue told Jake that she had been imprisoned too far away from the life-giving rays of the sun, moon, or stars. The Conclave would not have let her starve to death, of course. But they clearly had permitted her the barest minimum of nourishment." Kimera 757 (talk) 17:03, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
Hm, but does it imply the photosynthesis? The nourishment through photosynthesis comes not only from the sunlight. XEL 17:07, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
In photosynthesis, water molecules are broken down, and the oxygen released freshens the air. (The oxygen does not come from carbon dioxide.) No mention of carbon dioxide or minerals are made, but then neither of these protoss were scientists.) The protoss do need water, this was pointed out clearly.
To put it another way, there's no good explanation for why they would be using sunlight as nourishment other than photosynthesis. Kimera 757 (talk) 17:15, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
The second statement was made when the Protoss restored their technological advance and yet minerals and CO2 aren't mentioned. XEL 17:26, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
There was no need to mention them, especially since Veltraas wasn't a scientist. (Minerals would be expected since real-life plants use them. However, said minerals would be present in the water. I'm talking real-life minerals like calcium here.) Kimera 757 (talk) 17:28, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
But why wouldn't Q&A mention nothing about phitisynthesis, then? XEL 17:31, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
To most people, light = food means photosynthesis. Neither Karune nor Golden are scientists. I doubt either of them could walk you through the plant metabolic cycle, nor is it necessary. Karune was also basically copying what Golden said, and I wouldn't expect Golden to say "but clearly they needed to give Raszagal carbon dioxide" when she's breathing the same air as the Conclave. Does light = food mean anything to you other than photosynthesis? Kimera 757 (talk) 17:35, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
To me it doesn't men photosynthesis, because no mention of carbon dioxide (in Q&A) is made. XEL 08:54, 3 November 2008 (UTC)
I think the statement "light+water->energy" doesn't necessarily mean what we know as "photosynthesis". First of all, even with the large body surface area of the Protoss body, it's impossible to obtain such energy from what we call photosynthesis. Perhaps it's something like.. the skin cells converting the light energy to chemical energy without any production of oxygen or intake of carbon dioxide at all or something like that. The Protoss aren't plants, and if this photosynthesis was something that earthen plants did, we'd look out of the window to find walking trees. (His Wrath falls from the Heavens. :Starshade) 12:15, 3 November 2008 (UTC)
I changed it to say "derive sustenance from light". I still think it's photosynthesis, though. (It's unrealistic, but then so are psychic powers.) Kimera 757 (talk) 22:43, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
If you want realistic...play "Axis & Allies" if you want fun, play Starcraft... Dark Templar of Auir 19:41, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
They have no mouth or nose, so how else would they get energy? User:Pvt. Wallace A. Jenkins
[edit] How protoss breathe
Protoss breathe buthow.mind helping me out. i think i read somewhere that they have something like gils under where they would have ears.whic they also use to comunicate vocaly(hope its speled right).or do they breathe trough there skin.PRitender 17:15, 9 January 2009 (UTC)
They don't have gills, and can only communicate telepathically. Kimera 757 (talk) 17:18, 9 January 2009 (UTC)
They don't "breathe" either. They are similar to plants in that they are photosynthetic. They don't require much light to survive (evident by the Dark Templar living on Shakuras, which is extremely cloudy). --Thebrowncloud 23:25, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
[edit] Capitalized?
The StarCraft 2 website has Protoss, Terran and Zerg capitalized basically everywhere. May I ask why it isn't here?Drakolord7 19:45, 24 June 2009 (UTC)
We write the names of the factions as they would appear in the various forms of official media that portray them. That means the games, books, etc. The terran, zerg, and protoss names have become familiar over time because they are no longer "new" in the universe. The nature of speech in the media forms has changed it from a formal topic to a far more casual one. --Thebrowncloud 21:17, 24 June 2009 (UTC)
I'm still skeptical. Except for the books, I've almost always seen it capitalized.
I see it like this. When we refer to Korean people, we call them Korean, with a capital K. It doesn't matter if its informal, people will use capital K except in extremely casual, such as texting. Its the same with Zerg, Protoss and Terran, and especially Xel'Naga. Just because they've been around for a while doesn't mean we stop capitalizing the K in orean, so why should it be for the Z in Zerg and so on?
Sorry, that was a bit long-winded and confusing, but I hope you see my point. Drakolord7 22:16, 24 June 2009 (UTC)
Wowwiki has the same policy, and for similar reasons. Species names should not be capitalized. We refer to monkeys as monkeys, for instance, not Monkeys. However, ethnic groups (which are based on countries or other political units) are proper names (so Korean people rather than korean people).
Thing is, Blizzard itself is inconsistent on this policy, and the wiki had to pick one side or the other. Between the more recent novels and the proper English way of doing things, the wiki went with using species names as proper nouns.
Note that some other settings/wikis have different rules. Halo always seems to capitalize words (eg Elites, Marines). In Star Trek, most species are named after a world (eg Vulcans, Romulans) but words like Klingon probably shouldn't be capitalized... but still are. PSH aka Kimera 757 (talk) 22:50, 24 June 2009 (UTC)
So we agree to disagree. Terran isn't the species name and almost is a sort of ethnic group, but as long as as the different factions within are capitalized then it shouldn't irk me too mch. I see the importance of having the whole wikia on one side. But are you sure about the Xel'Naga? They seem to be revered as Gods by the Protoss, at least in the past. Even with your points for the Zerg/Terran/Protoss side, I fell the Xel'Naga are in a separate category and thus should be capitalized.Drakolord7 22:59, 24 June 2009 (UTC)
The term "xel'naga" isn't capitalized in the Dark Templar Saga (the best source we have on them), when the term is used by protoss or by terrans, and terms like Norse gods aren't capitalized (the Norse part is, the god part isn't). Even terms like pharaoh (god-king) isn't capitalized, unless attached to someone's name (eg Pharaoh Tut). The Romans worshiped a set of gods called the lares (something like that in Latin) which, in English, isn't capitalized. But yes, perhaps we can just agree to disagree :) PSH aka Kimera 757 (talk) 23:37, 24 June 2009 (UTC)
The word "terran" is also ambiguous as to whether or not it is to be considered a faction or another word for human. "Human" is still used in StarCraft lore which brings the question of why they would want two words for their species. However, considering that humans from Earth (the UED) were also refered to as terrans (showing it is not an exclusive term to the Koprulu Sector) is supporting evidence to state that it is, in fact, a name for their species. My guess would be that the origin of "terran" was to preserve their heritage within their species name for spacial/intergalactic relations (terra is the latin root for earth/Earth.)
I do understand your argument for capitalizing "xel'naga", but in a slightly different way. The xel'naga identified themselves to the protoss as "xel'naga". Whether or not they were representing themselves as a faction or a species is debatable. But when the Overmind linked minds with the xel'naga, it identified them as "xel'naga" based on their own thought patterns. Another piece of evidence that leads me to believe that xel'naga is a species and not a faction is that when the zerg retaliated and attacked their world ships, killing nearly all of them, they are explained to have been on the brink of extinction. This would show that the entire species moved nomadically as a whole, all refered to themselves as xel'naga, and were nearly wiped out entirely.
I apologize for making you read so much. I've thought about it alot. Hehe :) --Thebrowncloud 01:54, 25 June 2009 (UTC)
