Part 2: A second serving.

A second serving.

Last time, we stumbled out of the wasteland and directly into the armed ranks of the GNO. Now we have to report to our superior and see what he has for us.
So let's get to it!

We move straight along the path into the mercenary camp. In the upper left corner you can see the white marker, guiding us to important people. You could turn that off, if you really wanted.

It does look shabby. But I would surely pick those tents over the dry badlands around.

We just waltz straight towards our goal and...

What?

Huh, seems like we know that guy. Also please look really careful at this stunning animation work.



:"I...I just arrived. But what are you doing here? I thought you were killed in that gang attack."


Aha, so he is another survivor from our settlement. Good thing we came here then.
:"When I came back from Sandrock, our village was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Everything had been burned to the ground. It took me four days to bury the dead. My mother was among them..."



Wesley has no idea that your face should reflect what you are saying.

:"...What about my sister Anie and my father? I never found their bodies."


Still having issues with his talk to expression ratio. But we get some half good news here, and most importantly character motivation!
Also do not mind the guy walking by, NPC's will do that all the time. It's extra funny if they madly sprint around in the distance.

:"So, he is still alive?!"



:"...."

:"I know... It is not easy."
It's quite a rough deal, actually.


Apparently we don't really give a shit about old Pop's after all!


Seriously DAT FACE. "My people will look for her."

Now we have a lot to talk about with Wesley. For instance, how he keeps his hair so snazzy in a fucked up world?



Watch out, he is a badass.

:"I can just imagine. So you are my new boss, so to speak. How do you like that!"

:"Looks like it. But are you sure you want to be a mercenary? Only one in three ever come back."
Those are my kind of odds!


Real-talk, brah.

:"What is my first assignment got to be exactly?"

:"Hmm... The President did not tell you? You do not know that you are supposed to take over a team of mercenaries?"
Damn, promotions come quick around here. But I am sure the President just realized how awesome Seagull is at everything.

:"A whole team? No, he did not say anything about that. He only said I should report to you."

:"Hmm... I was wondering myself why a newcomer should be given command of five men straightaway. I thought maybe you knew the answer yourself."
Is that some kind of Zen bullshit?

:"The President only talked about the problems with the gangs and something about "Ratskulls". That is all."


Fuck you Wesley!

:"How come?"

:"Partner, it was the Ratskulls that flattened our village back then!"
DUN-DUN-DUN!

:"What?!"


Wesley actually has a point here. Seagull is mad as hell right now, and is likely to get himself and the others killed.

:"...No, you won't. If this Phoenix has got my father on his conscience, he is mine."
But of course, we will have none of his bullshit.



:"No deal. I repeat: the Ratskulls and this Phoenix are mine."
No. Deal.

:"I know how stubborn you can be. Just like your dad. Hmm... Ok. If that is the way it's going to be then at least let's do the job properly. We will have to prepare you."

Yes, finally! We had enough talking for now, and a bunch of motivation to go on.
We transit into the Id cards of the mercs we can pick up at the camp. Let's just go through them.

This is Agnes and she will be our medic. Agnes has some skill with light weapons and is surprisingly not frail. She also comes with the medic talent "Light wounds". This allows her to insta-heal people who have at least 85% of their health. It's pretty useful because it has no cooldown.
In terms of character, she is a lesbian and vegan. Yeah, stereotypes.
This will lead some characters to pick on her, or to outright hate her. In turn she is pretty chill, though she sometimes chastises people for eating meat. She will not eat meat herself, even if it would save her life. Also she will hit on some female recruits.


Next up we have Victor. He will be our explosives guy and mid row shooter. The dev's intended him to use light weapons, but we will pump his strength stat and skill him with the big guns. This is not really hard, as his other stats are quite nice already. He comes with the talent "defuse". It is situationally useful, but will grant him a 100% chance when he maxes out explosives. Victor is kind of timid and does not interact much. But later, we will pick up someone who he will really like.


I don't like Francis. His strong points are driving and brainpower. He get's a lot of skillpoints and is thus shapeable, but I hate everything else about him. Especially that face.


Butch is pretty awesome. He will be our technician and frontline asskicker. He is good at being a big dude and starts with the "Accuracy" talent. It will give him 10% more range and +5 to hit with big guns. We have to sink two points into his Int however. Otherwise that penalty will hurt him hard in the long run. He is very kind and honest, and likes family life and kids. While he keeps quiet most of the time, there is a special interaction path for him, just wait a moment.


Lin is kind of useful, but not for my party. She is good at thief things, but personally I don't care for Pickpocketing. We will get enough crap as it is. She could also pick locks, but we will have that covered by people who are better fighters.


Ivana however is great and is a lot like a female Butch. She is good with all kinds of guns, and we will also raise her to be our driver. One point will take care of her Int penalty and then we can raise her Con a bit, before we pump Str. She also comes with the "Accuracy" talent. Ivana is a pretty honest and down to earth person. She will occasionally pipe up and speak her mind. But the neat thing about her is that she has special interactions with Butch- of the romantic kind.
Not in the raunchy way you pervert! It's actually pretty cute sometimes.


Vasquez will also have no place in our group. He is another driver and a melee fighter. The melee skill is not bad in this game, but will not hold up till the end. He just doesn't cut it overall. Also he is a huge dick and will fuck with everybody. This can even lead to characters leaving the group for good.
Agnes for instance, will not put up with his shit for long.


Carmen is the only talky soldier we can get for the moment, but I already stated my view on those. Thief&speech skills do not equal a useful member in this game. However she has a whole bunch of interactions. That "Pretty" trait is not only for show, because she knows it. Carmen is a manipulative bitch, and most of the male cast will relentlessly hit on her.


So, we have our team picked for the moment. That last free spot will not be vacant for long, don't worry.
In theory, you could also solo the game. You would miss out on a lot of things but it is possible. Also I will go in-depth on interactions during an intermission update, and try to catch a lot of them later.

:"Hmm... So now you have got your team together. Here, take this map. It shows you the whole area in which the new government operates."

:"Thanks for your help, Wesley. And do not worry. I will give these Ratskulls a good kick in the ass and be back in no time at all."


:"I'm sure you will. Here is your basic kit. Take care."
Oh, suddenly you have confidence in us, eh?

Don't be a fool and look at my crew.

They're pretty cool, and Seagull thinks so too.

Let's take a quick gander at our pockets, shall we?

It's pretty basic stuff. The loadout of your soldiers is a bit randomized, and the game acts like a dick by spawning some damaged weapons. They will perform worse, but can be repaired with the right talent. Those miscellaneous items, like toothbrushes, are mostly used to trade. However, there are some item combinations that we will see, once Butch has the skills.
In Seagulls pockets, we can also see some tiny meat pieces and two water skins. Both are used to restore health, but there are various sizes of meat and water containers. That little health pack is best used by a medic, because it's effectiveness is based on your medical skill.
Aside from the group inventory, we could also open individual inventories. But I don't like the layout, so I will handle most things via the group screen. The proximity for people to show up in the group screen is also quite large. A handy feature overall.

My last order of business is to loot the valuables of the people we didn't recruit. What? Don't judge.

That's better. Hey, don't give me that look! I left them their clothes.

Next time: We finish up the introduction, I pinky swear!

I was sure that I could cram the whole beginning into two updates, sorry! To make up for it, I will crank out the next one pretty soon, and also drop the first intermission before the weekend.