Where do Strogg come from (Quake2/4)

[t.v.]

yes, I know they come from the planet Stroggos... but:

I have recently started playing Quake4. I like it, but I couldn't help wondering how the Strogg came to be. When they invaded Earth they already had an army of cyborgs. So where did they get the organic parts before they came to Earth? All I have seen so far (in Quake2 and the first part of Quake4) shows half-human/ half-machines.
What did the original Stroggs look like and why don't we see them? Or did the Stroggs look very human already before turning cyborg?

This is bothering me, so I was just wondering if an answer will be given somewhere in the game.

[kristus]

Nah, there's not really any origins story for the Strogg.
But they're not all human based. Some are, but many in Q2 are merely humanoid.
In Q4 there appears to be more humans though. But Strogg like the Macron is obviously not human. Though he do have a human torso on his body.

This Wikia article covers pretty much all known facts about the Strogg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strogg

[andrewj]

Just ask SoM - he is one.

[Zaldron]

At that point, they're just a collective born of waging the same kind of wars against other races. Visually speaking, their leaders have virtually no relationship with human bodies or Earth's organic matter, but their army sure seems to have been constructed from massive-scale kidnap tactics. As to how they started, it doesn't seem to be referenced anywhere, and it's probably a complete mystery to most of them.

[t.v.]

Indeed some of the bigger monsters look less human, but I always though this was due to the steroids/ mutations/ experiments. They still have 2 eyes, a nose and mouth like humans.
Come to think of it most Borg from star trek also looked human even though most of them came from another quadrant (then again most species in star trek look very human :-)).

Also the technology and markings look very human. It didn't bother me in Quake 2, because that game was more cartoonish, but in Quake4 everything looks more realistic and thus breaks the suspension of disbelieve.

Perhaps I am giving it too much though. But it would be interesting to see what the original Stroggs look like. Perhaps we will see it in a future game.

[Vile]

Maybe they started the same way Skynet did. Of course, that can never be proven, but it seems to fit.

[kristus]

t.v. said:

Indeed some of the bigger monsters look less human, but I always though this was due to the steroids/ mutations/ experiments. They still have 2 eyes, a nose and mouth like humans.
Come to think of it most Borg from star trek also looked human even though most of them came from another quadrant (then again most species in star trek look very human :-)).

From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense. Most likely, 'any' race evolving their intellect would have the same basic attributes as us.

Vile said:

Maybe they started the same way Skynet did. Of course, that can never be proven, but it seems to fit.

There's this movie "Virus" that shows the creation got a Strogg like race on earth. Though it doesn't tell where the origin came from. But it but it sort of gives a back story for how the Strogg could have started. Though, I personally prefer my own cyberpunk idea. Where the Strogg started adding augmentations to themselves and then it just went further and further.

[t.v.]

From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense. Most likely, 'any' race evolving their intellect would have the same basic attributes as us.

well I disagree. It seems a bit unimaginative to assume only the human build is good for intelligent life. There are basic evolutionary concepts that seem to be essential: good senses (to observe it's surroundings), A central brain (to understand it's surroundings) and hands (or something similar to influence the surroundings).
((A dolphin for example might have good brain and senses but cannot create anything/ tools to help it evolve further))

In HG Wells 'War of the Worlds' the martians are octopus like beings with large eyes and tentacles to fit this idea.
There is no need for intelligent aliens to have exactly 2 eyes or even eyes at all. There is no need for them to use their mouths or even sound to communicate. Nor is it essential to walk on 2 legs and have 2 arms for example. In most scifi however aliens are very similar to human. One favourite exception of mine are the puppeteers from the Ringworld books; they have 2 heads, 3 legs and no arms.

Mixing science with fiction again: In the original Battlestar Galactica series the Cylons were created by an alien race but modeled after human because their shape was multi functional. The same has been said for the Transformers (made by the Quintessons). If the Stroggs didn't look like humans it seems logical if they chose the human body as a model for their soldiers.

[leileilol]

they're Adrian Carmack's grim rip off of the Borg done his way with the bloody flesh and the like. Can't say it's more creative than that.

[Enjay]

t.v. said:

Mixing science with fiction again: In the original Battlestar Galactica series the Cylons were created by an alien race but modeled after human because their shape was multi functional.

Nothing to do with the easy availability of human-shaped actors to put inside the suits then? ;)

I'm sure that there must be a better, more stable shape than the human one possible.

By your command.

[kristus]

t.v. said:

well I disagree. It seems a bit unimaginative to assume only the human build is good for intelligent life. There are basic evolutionary concepts that seem to be essential: good senses (to observe it's surroundings), A central brain (to understand it's surroundings) and hands (or something similar to influence the surroundings).
((A dolphin for example might have good brain and senses but cannot create anything/ tools to help it evolve further))

are you sure you disagree? because it doesn't really sound like it in your argument.

[Skeletor]

I can't answer your question but I can tell you something interesting about the Strogg.

Their favorite food is beef stroganoff.

[Captain Toenail]

I remember reading somewhere (possibly one of the instruction manuals? Or something I heard from one of the Quake 4 NPCs?) that they are possibly the remnents of a super army constructed to fight a war elsewhere in the universe, or the future of mankind, as man and machine become closer as technology improves - Kristus 'cyberpunk' idea is on the right lines here

[Prince of Darkness]

kristus said:

There's this movie "Virus" that shows the creation got a Strogg like race on earth. Though it doesn't tell where the origin came from. But it but it sort of gives a back story for how the Strogg could have started. Though, I personally prefer my own cyberpunk idea. Where the Strogg started adding augmentations to themselves and then it just went further and further.

I love that movie, and I also love that idea (thought it up too, myself).

Couldn't tell you much about the strogg, but...
1. The Makrons are the "true" or "Original" Strogg.
2. The Makron at the end of Quake 4 was "Built"- he's like a collaboration of parts deemed "useful".
3. There are many Strogg "armies" each lead by a Makron, however they are very displaced and don't talk to each other much.

I have more info, but some of it is up to conjecture.

[kristus]

Not quite-
Here you can read up on the Makron:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makron_(Quake_character)