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DefCon

by GuavaMoment

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Original Thread: DefCon

 

Introduction

How about a nice game of chess?



Have you ever seen the movie WarGames? (If not go to the first post below) A computer controlling the US nuclear stockpile treats WWIII as a video game, using stunning 1983-quality graphics. Wouldn't it be cool if that game was real?



DefCon is a real-time strategy game that simulates global thermonuclear warfare. Using missile silos, long-range bombers and submarines, you try to nuke your enemy's facilities and cities into the dust - before he retaliates and destroys YOU. Your missile silos when not active can attempt to shoot down incoming nukes, and you have battleships and fighters available to defend yourself, for all the good they'll do. The goal is not to win, it's to lose the least. For this LP we'll be posting videos of games we play, and invite you the reader to join us for future games.

Available for $15 on steam, and the demo is here. It has a tutorial to explain the basics, and you'll pick up the nuances as you play, watch the videos and get bombed horribly into an apocalyptic wasteland worse than anything you can imagine.


VIDEOS

Link to Guava's YouTube backup playlist

If you don't want to watch all of them (games typically last an hour), I recommend watching the edited videos which I've starred for you. I only edited the videos that I felt were most interesting.

#1: GuavaMoment vs Jade Star vs Shoehead vs Draconic vs Oxyclean:

All videos from Jade Star's game perspective.

Full length video, Viddler
Edited, Viddler

#2: Jade Star/Shoehead vs Oxyclean/Number 36

Video from Jade Star's game perspective.

Full length video, Viddler

#3: GuavaMoment vs Terashell vs Hot Lead Allergy vs Torlon vs Number 36

Jade Star recording from observer position.

Full length video, Viddler
Edited, Viddler

#4: GuavaMoment vs Jade Star vs Senyk vs Tiny Turtle

Video from Jade Star's game perspective.

Full length video, Viddler

#5: GuavaMoment vs Tiny Turtle vs Torlon vs Number 36

Jade Star recording from observer position.

Full length video, Viddler
Edited, Viddler

#6: Canada Mod: Arrrthritis vs GuavaMoment vs Torlon vs Whitecloak vs Draconic

Jade Star commenting from observer position.

Full length, Viddler
Edited, Viddler

#7: USA Mod: GuavaMoment vs Bremen vs Jade Star vs Whitecloak

All videos from Jade Star's perspective.

Full length, Viddler
Edited, Viddler

#8: Jade Star vs ValHawk vs Terashell vs Number 36 vs Bremen vs UberJew

Video from Jade Star's perspective.

Full length, Viddler

#9 - Secret Mission DefCon - Feminition vs Terashell vs Bremen vs Coolwhoami vs Kolby vs Arrrthritis

Jade Star commenting from the observer position.

In this video, each person has a specific goal they're trying to accomplish, like in secret mission Risk. It's entertaining enough without editing.

Full length (37 minutes), Viddler

#10 - Polar Mod - GuavaMoment vs Bremen vs Jade Star vs randombattle vs Greth

All videos from Jade Star's perspective.

Full length, Viddler
Edited, Viddler

#11 - Mars/Earth Mod - Jade Star/Bremen vs Eddy-Baby/randombattle/Number 36 (vs Combat Wombat?)

Video from Jade Star's perspective.

Full length, Viddler

#12 - Christmas Mod! - Terashell vs Bremen vs Coolwhoami vs SenorSpangiel vs Eddy Baby vs UberJew

Jade Star commenting from the observer position.

Full length, Viddler

#13 - Spitecon - - GuavaMoment vs Jade Star vs Torlon vs Terror Van vs Sethur

Video from Jade Star's perspective.

Full length, Viddler
Edited, Viddler

#14 - Space Mod - Bremen vs Eddy-Baby vs SenorSpangiel vs Jade Star vs UberJew vs Terashell

Video from Jade Star's perspective.

Full length, Viddler



HOW-TO VIDEOS

Jade Star Teaches You How To Be A Massive Dick In DefCon, (Russia on Europe)
Jade Star Teaches You How To Be A Massive Dick In DefCon, (South America on North America)

MODS

DefCon is a pretty simple game to modify, and there's quite a large community devoted to that. I didn't find the mod I wanted to play, so I had to make the damn thing myself.

Click here to download the Canada mod!

SpiteCon mod, made by Skilbs

I will post a "Mod How-to" video someday, maybe. Eh, it's easy enough to figure out on your own, but I can help you when you get "node size route mismatch" or whatever error you will get when making mods.
WARNING: CONTENT

One of the cool things in the 50 Mission Crush thread was all the talk it spawned about B-17s and WWII. I'd like to try to do the same here by showing off nuclear war related media, and *gasp* educational videos about nukes in general. If anyone finds something they want added in here please PM me or post it in the thread.


WarGames



The movie that inspired the creation of this game. Matthew Broderick is awesome, and the finale is a classic moment of cinema. Having it in eleven parts on YouTube isn't ideal but the movie was released in 1983, it's not a graphical tour-de-force.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11


Physics for Future Presidents



This is both a book, and a lecture at UC Berkeley by Richard Muller. Yes, this is going to get technical, but the professor presents the topic in a very interesting way, and explains concepts in easy to understand terms. If you've ever feared that terrorists will build a nuclear weapon, watch this lecture to see how likely that is. This really is quite an interesting video, I strongly recommend watching it. The other videos in the series are good as well if you're interested.

Lecture 7 - Nukes

Duck and Cover



1950's propganda has never been so hilarious. Tony at 6:50 is my favorite part, he's just so happy to jump off his bike! (Click on the title for the YouTube link.)


Threads



Google video, one part

Quite possibly one of the most depressing movies ever made, Threads is a story about an English town and how they deal with WWIII. (hint: badly) Threads is a movie everyone should see once, and only once, because...just...damn. That's all I have to say. If you think the movie might have been a little too unrealistic about the horrors of nuclear war, you should know that a lot of respected scientists (like Carl Sagan) contributed to the movie to ensure it was scientifically accurate. For added horror, know that the actress who plays the little girl that the movie focuses on in the last part died in a car accident in 1990.


The Day After

Basically, The Day After is the American version of Threads. I thought Threads was better due to being darker and more grim. Steve Guttenberg is a fun name to say out loud.

YouTube, Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15

Fail-Safe

I really like this movie. A bomber is accidentally sent to nuke Moscow, and the US scrambles to try and stop it. The latter half of the movie is quite tense.

Google video, one part


Barefoot Gen



Loosely based on the story of a Hiroshima survivor, Barefoot Gen is an anime that whoa, where are you going, what did I say, come back! Oh right, Barefoot Gen is a cartoon about a young boy trying to help his family out before and after the Hiroshima bombing. What's refreshing about this movie is that it's made by Japanese, and focuses entirely on their side, their perspective. Not a lot of movies like this are out there.

YouTube, Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

There is an English dubbed version on YouTube, but it is lower quality and oh God the voice acting.


Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb



It's Dr. Strangelove, just go watch it if you haven't. Nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, Actor and Director (1964).

YouTube, Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11



When The Wind Blows



Jim and Hilda Bloggs aren't worried about WW3, they know what to do because they've been given informative pamphlets by the British government! Remember when someone here said of Barefoot Gen "that sure is the happiest Hiroshima survivor I've ever seen!" shortly before watching the movie and seeing the horribly depressing and jarring ending? Here's the British version.

YouTube, Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
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