Part 21: Intermission 1. Backstory of the game world
Intermission 1.Before we get into the meat of this, here is the games theme song. I didn't want to include it earlier because I felt we had enough on our plates already.
It was made by the German gothic metal band Darkseed. I think it is cool, even though I am not really into that genre. I will show you the full soundtrack in later bonus updates, as it is pretty good and atmospheric.
Now, the meat of this will be a translation of the official backstory, that was included in the manual. I took some liberties, but the syntax of the original was already a bit weird. So expect a little oddity. Also I included the pictures, but it was hard to get them into a good format. If you don't want to read all this, just refer to my short summary at the start of the first update.
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Prequel
What happened so far...
It was in the year 2062, that humanity began to struggle for it's existence. Dealing with the rapidly advancing technology became a habit, a daily routine even. The first human clones were followed by the control over nuclear fusion, coupled with quantum leaps in air- and space travel technologies. The first confirmed instance of alien life and the upcoming colonization of Mars, where receipted more with apathy then excitement. Humanity had gotten used to being the game ball of it's own drive to research. Nobody would have thought, that the venture to a new world would bring it's downfall.
On January the 21th of 2062, NASA lifted the open secret around it's plans to colonize Mars, with the help of Terraformer 1 to 6. These gigantic machines should allow humanity to make a new world habitable, through atmospheric changes. The Damocles-sword, which humanity tried to break free from for ages, was now meant to bring life to Mars: CO2.
The terraformers were constructed to insert giant masses of carbon dioxide, with insane speed, into Mars's atmosphere and to ultimately trigger global warming. Soon this should produce a type of atmosphere which could sustain human life. But it never got this far.
On October the 2nd of 2062, eleven days before the scheduled start of Armstrong 1, which should have carried the Terraformers, an unbelievable message roared through the media.
A totally unknown cult had seized control over the launch base and the Terraformers. With cyber terrorism and raw firepower, they disabled all of NASA's security measures, and held the whole world hostage. The reasons of those fanatics could never be discovered, because there wasn't even a chance to negotiate. Immediately after the attack, the disciples of the Cult, started to pump massive quantities of CO2 into earth's atmosphere. But whatever reason they may have had is not of importance anymore.
The consequences are what plaque humanity.
Soon the catastrophe was perfect. Before the fanatics could be killed and control over the facility was regained, they pumped so much CO2 into the atmosphere that it would take Earth hundreds of years to recover. Experts estimated a global temperature increase of 4.0 Celsius. In reality, it were 10.5 Celsius.
What followed isn't hard to guess. Storms of gigantic sizes eradicated population centers, the polar melt-water raised the oceans enough to flood entire continents, and new illnesses wrapped the Earth into a burial shroud. Those who survived, found themselves wrapped up in the bitter battles for the last drinking water resources, and in a world of anarchy.
Today, 21 years later, humanity lives in the Age of Storms. Mother Nature still takes her bitter revenge, whipping scolding hot tornados over the land, whose strength will bust any scale. Food and drinking water are scarce. The only plentiful thing is sand. Humanity is doomed to a life in the wasteland, and of constant fear. Death is omnipresent. Most would find it fruitless to cling to hope in such a situation, even more if hope has already been buried under tons of sand. But tales of a new government, and the appointment of a President in the southwestern USA, seem like a small glimmer of light.
What you experienced...
You lived through the catastrophe of 2062 as a child, but can only dimly remember a better time. Your family was one of the few survivors, who managed build a new existence after the collapse.
But not long ago, even this blessedness was destroyed. You were traveling through the wasteland, as your village was attacked by one of the regional gangs. Upon your return you only found rubble and ash. And death. It took you four days to burry the corpses, including your mother. Your father and your sister Anie are missing. You don't know if they are still alive.
Recently you heard about the New Government, which is said to be forming in the southwest. Supposedly there is someone there who calls himself President. And it is said, that he is looking for soldiers to build order and stability. Fate seems to be on your side, for once. As a fighter of the New Government, you could join others in fighting the gangs, and maybe find the murderers of your family. The thought of revenge drives you forward, till you eventually reach the gates of the New Government.
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So there you have it.
I actually like the realistic approach they took, instead of saying that radiation did it all. The world is not polluted but still ruined. My science knowledge is not sophisticated enough, to judge if that could work. But I find it a refreshing take on the post apocalyptic theme.
The game world also does an almost good job at staying true to this. We will not see too much plant life, water is really scarce and the brunt of our supplies will have to be gathered. Traders do sell food and water, but not in large enough quantities to completely sustain your party. Some places will be a bit greener than others, and there are occasional fields or small gardens. In the end though, they had to make some adjustments because it's a video game.
The next update is almost ready, I just have to spice it up some. The last bit of groundwork is a wee bit boring.
