Talk:Scrin

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I notice that the article mentions the Scrin are capable of only "sub-light speeds". Having played the game, this seems too conclusive. In the Nod campaign, Kane states the Threshold Towers are gateways to the stars, that he lured the Scrin to Earth at great risk and effort deliberately to obtain them, and that he intends humanity to "control the universe". Furthermore, the only reference to sub-light speeds in the game is a GDI cutscene in which the Scrin are tracked "approaching at relativistic speeds". This indicates that the Scrin were traveling at relativistic speeds when they passed the Kyper belt, nothing more. Furthermore, the rift generator appears to instantaneously suck objects into "deep space", and wormhole travel of any kind theoretically would be faster than light, indicating faster than light travel. Overall, the Scrin lack "warp drive" space travel (at least prior to Earth's invasion), but are able to teleport short distances faster than light, and achieve that speed over astronomical distances once a "link" has been established between two points.

There's really no indication of how fast the Scrin actually are; for all we know they do have FTL drives, and we know that the various wormhole technologies they possess enable them FTL capability. I've removed this innaccuracy from the article. Peptuck 20:40, 31 August 2007 (UTC)
You are both wrong, I'm afraid. I was the one who put the sublight bit in. The first Scrin intel entry states that they spent a certain number of cycles travelling at sublight speeds from the Ichor hub, then an even larger number of cycles in stasis at the edge of the solar system. Infant-level logic dictates that they are therefore unable to travel at ftl velocities (they would have obviously done so, eliminating the first part of the message), despite their short-range teleport technology. Because that's exactly what it is, SHORT-RANGE. And so is the rift, the wormholes and any other transport technology they posess. Now, I beg of you, make proper research before correcting and/or commenting on other people's work. Preda 15:49, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
Your point about SHORT-RANGE does not rule out the threshold towers. The threshold towers are mentioned as "foreman's only chance for survival" who needs some kind of infusion. Presumably if the threshold towers were sub-light foreman could return the way he came just as easily as through the threshold tower. The supervisor at the end also suggests sending an invasion force through the threshold tower, as if this would be quicker than sending it on its way through deep space. If so, Kane's plan would make much more sense - usurping the Scrin's entire threshold network which could certainly bring humanity many technological and resource (The Technology of Peace!) benefits. I was not necessarily suggesting that the Scrin have FTL drives, but that skepticism is warranted as this sounds like a complex issue lacking explanation. However, I do concede that I have not read all the intel entries as a result of game save data loss.
Okay, so I suppose that the only long range (trans-stellar) faster-than-light transport for the Scrin is this Threshold system. I agree, it would make sense, because Kane said that they were "interstellar passages to worlds beyond". So I suppose their general method of expansion is: find a seeded planet (or seed one) by means of STL transportation, wait until it is cleansed of no-tib life, go in, exterminate whatever life is left, build a threshold tower and add it to the province list. Again, this is consistent with the fact that T19 was shut down, but the Supervisor suggests they re-activate it and conquer the Earth.
Forteman 371 couldn't have left the planet the way he came in. The data seems to indicate that he was in the mothership, and that that is the ONLY one in the Solar System . It used to be at the edge (beyond the Kuiper belt), but the Signal Transmitter is used to transport it to the Earth. From there, it could not escape back into space if all went bad, because the Ion cannons would have shot it to atoms. Therefore, the only practical way to return home was to build a tower and teleport away to Ichor Hub. It was either that or spend another 9,000 cycles going at STL speeds. PS: I have a feeling that the infusion is a sort of pacification, given the fact that a mutiny was basically going on at the time of that particular conversation. Also, about the Mothership: there MIGHT just be something wrong. Another Intel report said that a mothersip destroyed Munich. It's either another mothership or the same one, which means that in the last mission it got recalled not from space, but from someplace on Earth. Anyway, these details should be somewhere, if not in the actual article, at least in this discussion page.Preda 20:06, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
Precisely.

Another problem with the article relates to the Scrin's "technological superiority". In the game the Scrin have unusual technological powers, but do not have tactical superiority. Their Rift Generator is "on par" with the GDI Ion Cannon and NOD Nuke, doing roughly the same damage - NOT sucking "all" objects into deep space. On a per cost basis, Scrin tanks and Annhilator tripods are on par with equivalent tech-level GDI and NOD units. Scrin "Planetary Carrier" airships require both a pricey $4k "Technology Assembler" (equivalent to a Tech Lab) AND a $3k "Signal Transmitter", while the low-tech aircraft are equivalent to upgraded NOD helicopters in power. Scrin completely lack any quick bombing solution, while GDI and NOD can drop their bombs quickly and be headed home for repairs, minimizing their anti-air vulnerability. GDI Firehawks are also highly effective at shooting down Scrin airships, even when they have been upgraded with forcefields. Finally, NOD and GDI support powers tend to be offensive/defensive while Scrin support powers tend to repair, spawn, or transport. Ultimately the game has a balance of power, and the Scrin are not an all powerful race. 24.126.51.156psych787

The problem with this is that the Scrin's technology is superior to human technology, its just that the Scrin forces allocated to the mining operation are not powerful enugh to overwhelm GDI and Nod outright. We're looking at what I would say is the equivalent of a security force, not a full-scale military operation. They make this exceptionally clear in the Scrin campaign, where the Advisor states outright that the troops allocated to defend the mining operation are not suited for prolonged and organized resistance. Peptuck 20:40, 31 August 2007 (UTC)
Quite agreed. Their technological superiority in incontrovertible.
I wasn't referring to their technological superiority in the game's plot which is obviously superior, but on the battlefield in typical gameplay. Technology is by definition the use of tools. Superiority would be better use of tools. In the Scrin's case, weapon firepower per unit, armor per unit, manuverability per unit, and cost per unit are balanced if not roughly equal to GDI/NOD. Even their build sequence is strikingly similar for such an alien species. I'm not arguing that the Scrin lack technological superiority, just that their in-game characteristics aren't unbalancing.
Well, that can only be due to game balance issues. One cannot have a game where one faction can rule supreme over the others. It's a logical move to balance the factions, even if technically one is superior. 'Technically', the balance is achieved due to the fact that the Scrin are numerically inferior and unprepared for war, and have only their superior tech to compensate. If you cannot understand that, then I suppose you can neither understand why Grom Hellscream died after confronting Mannoroth, if he could have been revived at an altar later. Or why it took only a single strike of the axe to kill Mannoroth, given that it takes several to kill even the lowest-ranking Warcraft 3 unit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Preda (talk • contribs) 21:23, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes, of course it's due to "game balance issues", which is all the more reason to point out that balance - so readers don't get the wrong idea. Nonetheless, their technological superiority is expressed in gameplay (to whatever extent) without compromising "game balance issues". Contrary to your point about an entirely different game (Warcraft), one of GDI's intel entries accurately describes the Scrin rift generator as "on par with out Ion Cannon", but "putting the science of our Ion Cannons to shame", thereby defining a balanced but superior Scrin superweapon. Also, numerical inferiority could affect the use of technology - ie. inferior resources (including Scrin personnel) means smaller vechiles, smaller power sources for vechiles, smaller weapons, and weaker/less armor - thereby leaving the Scrin technically superior, numerically inferior, and quite balanced on a per-unit basis as it they are in gameplay. Finally, the importance of their similar build sequence is that it could be explained by Kane's awareness of the Scrin, which would further explain the superior but seemingly balanced Scrin technology. A few lines in the article pointing out that the Scrin are an evenly matched faction in gameplay, and a reference to the intel entry that shows a balanced superweapon in gameplay and in storyline would put this issue to rest.

Another possibility is that Tiberium or 'Ichor' could be a naturally occuring substance or the debris of a distant alien world. When this planet exploded, trillions of tiny fragments or asteroid chunks of tiberium were scattered throughout the galaxy. By chance, one fell to earth and began to take root. The 'Scrin' might not be the creators of Tiberium, but have known of it for a long time and based their economy around it after mining it for so long. Therefore, Earth appears at first as just another 'mining operation.'

Speculation will take you no where at this point. Can someone please put a spoiler warning?130.64.148.196 23:27, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

shoul we not mention the flying saucer in the early gdi mission? HINSON1 03:13, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

We don't know if that's Scrin or not. As it stands it can go in the Nod technology section. Peptuck 04:51, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Why was the scrin symbol deleted? We should keep some basic symmetry with the pages of the other two factions. Also, there is little mention made in the article of the Ichor Hub.Preda

Unsourced, most likely. Also, there's very little on the Ichor Hub because we know very little on the Ichor Hub in the first place. Peptuck 19:20, 23 June 2007 (UTC)
Point taken. However, I suggest we add some furter mention of their technology. According to the intel entries, they travelled here by means of sublight systems and spent nine times the travel time waiting here in stasis. Also, the Thresholds are both portals and tib refineries. I don't want to add this data myself if it will be deleted hours later. However I beleive it has at least some relevance. At the bottom of this page is a list of all in-game intel entries:[1]Preda 12:07 25 June 2007

In the article, someone mentions they are only capable of sublight travel speeds... yet with the completion of the Threshold tower, instant travel to the Ichor hub is capable...


[edit] Scrin ship?

I wonder something by this game totally.The scrin ship that was seen in tiberian sun looks way different than any of the warships at this game and it has an interior unlike the ships at this game and the most interesting is that in TS there is no more evidence of what happend to the ship and why it crashed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.114.81.154 (talk) 20:24, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

That was because Kane built it based off information provided by the Tacitus, which itself has only a relation to the Scrin, and was not made by the Scrin themselves. Peptuck 20:41, 31 August 2007 (UTC)


Kane made the banshees but not the Scrin ship in TS. Right? And if it was made by Kane,why in the game it reffers as the tacitus was found in that TS scrin ship? C&C is a messy game.No info for its main theme or background for tiberium.82.114.81.152 21:32, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

Kane built the ship. Vega says as much when McNiel captures him. [2] Peptuck 21:54, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

Vega is also the reason for the ship's crash: "Slavic? Are you getting this? I borrowed this stupid ship... but we can't control it! Mayday! Mayday!" The ship was constructed "at the end of the last war" (TW1), and both Slavic and Vega were en route to the former Temple of Nod where it was underground prior to the crash. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.33.210.103 (talk) 15:15, 1 January 2008 (UTC)


[edit] "are known" or "unknown"

This is probably one of the most significant things revealed by the Scrin mission briefings: That the aliens knew of kane before the events of the game. And even if the "This being already exists in the data core" part is clearly spoken, I cannot tell if the word after "genetic" is "derivations" or something else, and, more importantly, if the supervisor says "are known" or "unknown". This is quite critical IMO, because it would clarify exactly how much the Scrin know about Kane. I would like to know what others can hear in that portion of the dialogue, so that we can come to a conclusion. comment added by Preda (talk)