While not the explicit goal of the fic, Sudden Contact has arguably done a good job of fixing many of the issues that fans have had with the stories of either series.
- For MassEffect:
- The Council are not as stubbornly dismissive of the Reapers as in the original game, with the turians in particular taking it seriously enough to be in the middle of a serious armament campaign by the time the Collectors show up.
- Councilor Donnel Udina is much less of a Jerkass and is instead shown saddled with the thankless task of balancing the oft conflicting interests of the imperial Terran Dominion and the democratic Umojan Protectorate (as he represents both!), understandably resulting in his surly temperament and premature balding. His sympathetic side, as seen in Mass Effect 3, shows in his sympathies for the quarian people and his opposition to Mengsk's tyranny and the Protoss' choking surveillance, in contrast to his original unreasonable opposition to everything.
- Shepard, being from Earth, is part of the United Earth Directorate, who don't really show up until Sudden Supremacy. As this happens at the time of Mass Effect 2, and Shepard never died, this means that the controversial Lazarus Project never happened, along with a slew of other contentious issues about Shepard from ME1.
- Instead of him being a Replacement Scrappy for Wrex, Grunt gets to kick ass alongside him. Also, his pet-/childlike relationship with Shephard is as funny as it is heartwarming.
- While Jack is still the same violent Jerkass as ever, she gets put into a party of fellow violent maniacs. This not only makes her personality less abrasive in comparison to her surroundings, but also lets her slowly warm up to those around her.
- Many fans took issue with Jacob Taylor due to his poorly handled plot and interactions. In Sudden Contact, he doesn't appear at all.
- Instead of Miranda Lawson being characterized as a cold bitch for most of the story, she is quickly shown to have more of a Sugar-and-Ice Personality, with the warmth shown more with Jack Harper/The Illusive Man and James Raynor. Furthermore, while she's still a loyal member of Cerberus, Cerberus itself is no longer a human supremacist organization (that honour goes to the UED instead), but a rogue Confederate black ops group turned freedom fighters, making her allegiance much less controversial. She also doesn't complain about her Designer Baby nature, rather having her discomfort alluded to in her reactions to others' opinions on the topic.
- The Geth/Quarian conflict is given, if not more nuance, then more opportunity for each side (read: Legion and Tali) to properly motivate their grievances to each other, compared to how it was handled in the original trilogy, where many fans felt that the depiction was very one-sided. Summarily, it can be said that both sides' actions are understandable since they both believed that the other's victory would result in their own extinction, but that they are also both guilty for almost exterminating each other.
- Likewise, the Genophage is given more nuance, as well as more focus. It plays a large role in Sudden Supremacy as the UED seek to cure it, affording the large number of characters involved in it the opportunity to comment on it and argue the pros and cons of the endeavour. Interestingly, the historical Krogan are argued for as both victims in case of the Uplift and the Genophage, and villains in case of the Krogan Rebellions.
- Liara's angsting over the loss of Thessia is significantly toned down. Instead, she first screams out her grief and anger upon hearing the news, and then grits her teeth and proceeds to marshal the scattered remnants of Zerg to fight the oncoming Reaper invasion.
- Several cases of They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character are averted by keeping characters alive and/or giving them extra screentime.
- Private Jenkins lives to have many adventures with his crewmates, with judicious doses of Comic Relief and Refuge in Audacity sprinkled in to also make him actually enjoyable.
- Unlike her meagre presence in Mass Effect, Matriarch Benezia plays a significant role in the first fic as a high-ranking asari diplomat negotiating with the Terran Dominion, and also gets a sweet moment with her daughter in Liara's first chapter.
- Matriarch Aethyta goes from being a One-Scene Wonder in Mass Effect 2 to play a prominent role in Sudden Supremacy as the leader of the reformed Asari Republic.
- In contrast to Legion's late appearance in Mass Effect 2 and limited role in Mass Effect 3, now they appear much earlier in the story, featuring in all three fics, and play a particularly prominent role in Sudden Supremacy.
- Warlord Ganar Okeer, the Krogan scientist who created Grunt, is actually recruited by the Normandy crew, as originally intended. Over the course of the story, he gets to work on curing the Genophage, kick ass as befits his age and title, and even meet and work with Mordin Solus. His potential is properly explored and his death has real impact rather than being offhand. Fans of Okeer will not be displeased.
- Kal'Reegar survives well into "Sudden Terminus" and continues to be a pillar of support for Tali and a delightful source of sarcastic remarks.
- Instead of the relatively meagre impact the Rachni had in Mass Effect if the queen is saved, the Rachni Queen becomes a significant character from Sudden Supremacy and onward, joining up with Liara as her second-in-command and becoming a voice of reason. Despite only filling a support role from thereon out, she goes on to have a substantial effect on both the characters around her and the overarching plot.
- Haters of the Mako might be delighted to know that the Mako doesn't figure anywhere in the story at all.
- For StarCraft:
- Unlike in Brood War, the Protoss Conclave never suddenly died, and are still alive and well as of Sudden Terminus. True to the original game they mostly stay in the background, and now seemingly only exist to give Aldaris a hard time.
- Those who were bothered by the reveal that Artanis was the executor in Campaign 3 may be glad to hear that Artanis figures very little in Sudden Contact, with the Protoss perspective being told mostly from Tassadar's POV. Most of the events up to the Templar Revolt, such as the rescue of Tassadar from Char, are carried out by others. Artanis is still Executor, but not a background character at best until after the Protoss Civil War, where Artanis is said to be a leading figure. Thus, Artanis appears little in the fic until much later, once he becomes Hierarch of the Daelaam.
- Interestingly, Selendis featured prominently as the Protoss POV in Sudden Supremancy in her capacity as Executor, completely in line with the implication of her being the Protoss commander in Brood War.
- For those who thought Kerrigan was too easily absolved in canon: Sudden Supremacy depicts her as actively desiring power, freedom, and impunity, suggesting that her actions in canon were more a consequence of her own personality and less of her infestation. Contrasted with Liara, who does a much better job of keeping her Zergish impulses in check, further suggesting that Kerrigan could've done the same.
- In contrast to Arcturus Mengsk's cartoonish villainy in SC2, he is given more depth and nuance with regards to his beliefs and motivations, and shows him expressing doubt and regret over his actions. He is overall a more complex individual than we are shown in either of the canon games.
- Similarly, Jim Raynor's apparent lack of visible emotional turmoil is essentially shown to be a conscious effort. Doubts about his various questionable decisions do creep into his mind from time to time, but he actively pushes them aside precisely to avoid succumbing to regret and despair.
- Several controversial StarCraft II units, such as the Protoss Adept, the Terran MULE, or the Zerg Swarm Host and Infestor, have made no appearances yet and may have been Adapted Out entirely.
- Dominion newscasts are much less Anvilicious than in canon SC2, especially once they start engaging in a media war with the UED.
- As in canon, the Dominion falls and is occupied by the UED. Unlike canon, Mengsk never reclaims and rebuilds his empire. In fact, he's summarily executed by the victorious UED right after the Battle of Augustgrad. This assuages those fans who thought the canon Dominion's full recovery after four year was a complete Ass Pull.
- Although whether the story is less of a Cliché Storm is a matter of opinion, the author at least uses significantly fewer clichéed Stock Phrases than are found SC2.
- Originally, StarCraft II was supposed to feature a storyline about the Hyperion crew becoming disillusioned with Raynor's command and potentially mutineering against him, but this was axed by Blizzard. This plot point is preserved/reintroduced in Sudden Supremacy.
- The rather divisive Primal Zerg neither make any appearance nor are even mentioned, and the Zerg are clearly shown to be non-sapient (with the exception of Overlords, which makes sense given their role as control organisms).
- Heart of the Swarm's controversial, more sympathetic take on the Zerg is also given a different twist. Instead of depicting the Overmind (and by extension, the Zerg as a whole) as tragic slaves to Amon, Sudden Contact instead presents the Overmind and its Cerebrates as Well-Intentioned Extremists created by the Xel'Naga to defeat the Reapers by amalgamating all life in the galaxy into a single, unstoppable organic tempest.
- In the same vein, the Inferred Holocaust resulting from Kerrigan's mad quest for dominance made her Heel–Face Turn in SC2 a hard sell for many. In the Sudden series, however, because Liara, Kerrigan's replacement as the Queen of Blades, still has her moral compass intact, she instead successfully fights her omnicidal Zerg reprogramming through sheer strength of will, and so comes off as much less of a Designated Hero. Coupled with the new take on the Overmind's mission, it makes for a much better case for the Zerg as misunderstood villains
- Mengsk is no longer dumb enough to risk the life of his son and sole heir to his legacy. Instead he is shown to be rather overprotective of his son and even manages to get in a warm moment or two with him.
- Although the romance between Kerrigan and Raynor is still present, it doesn't take over the story. In fact, it instead ends quite sharply following Kerrigans's acceptance and Raynor's rejection of Spectrehood, as Raynor feels she's forsaking truth and honour in favour of personal power, while Kerrigan views him as bullheadedly sabotaging his own chances simply to maintain an unsustainably inflexible moral code. Neither of them are exactly wrong.
- The Xel'naga Keystone, which figured heavily in both Wings of Liberty and Legacy of the Void is thus far wholly absent.
- Although the ending is still a ways away, the direction seems to imply neither Kerrigan ascending to godhood nor the last stand against the Reapers taking place on Earth. Thus far, the main target seems to be Aiur, with the Protoss leading the galaxy's fight. Kerrigan, meanwhile, seems to be a side-character for the most part, not even getting her own POV, and instead of getting absolved of her crimes, gets repeatedly called out on her actions and self-serving behaviour, most memorably by the Shadow Broker.
- References to "essence" and "void" are used much more sparingly and thus avoid the silliness they exuded in Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void respectively.
- Even more so than for Mass Effect characters, many characters from StarCraft are Spared by the Adaptation and receive greater roles instead of being wasted.
- Instead of slowly becoming irrelevant, General Edmund Duke stays at a middling level of relevance throughout the story, whether in a military capacity in wartime or in a personal capacity during downtime.
- Daggoth is no-longer the under-utilized advisor character he was in StarCraft. Instead, he serves as the POV character for the Zerg, giving the reader a first hand view of what it's like to think as the foremost cerebrate of the Overmind.
- General Horace Warfield is alive and well by the time of Sudden Terminus, unlike his relatively early demise in Heart of the Swarm.
- Abathur from Heart of the Swarm gets a much bigger role from "Sudden Supremacy" onward.
- Nova gets a significantly bigger role come Sudden Supremacy and finally gets the much desired rivalry with Kerrigan, not only as ghosts but also as Spectres. In addition, she also becomes a rival to Liara, the new Queen of the Zerg, at one point resulting in an epic fight between the two.
- Fenix falls in combat, as in canon, but sticks around for much longer, gets much more screentime, and when he does go out, he goes out with a bang. As in canon, he also returns as a dragoon, but has yet to die a second time as of Sudden Terminus, and continues to have a significant effect on the plot.
- While Duran/Narud figures heavily in Brood War but plays only a minor role and then gets killed of in SC2, Duran is already introduced in a cameo at the end of Sudden Contact, whereafter he continues to play a major role for the rest of the trilogy.
- Zeratul stays alive in the third installment instead of being unceremoniously killed off like in Legacy of the Void. In contrast to his SC2 role as Adventurer Archaeologist and Harbinger of Impending Doom, he plays a much more varied role throughout the trilogy and continues to have a tremendous effect on the plot.
- Instead of being a minor supporting character, Selendis gains her own POV in Sudden Supremacy. She also never get brainwashed, mainly due to that plot point being completely Adapted Out.
- Similarly, Mohandar is still alive in Sudden Terminus, instead of getting Killed Offscreen. His role is only marginally bigger than in canon, however.
