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Tasteful Dickpic posted:Why didn't I say Apollo? Gah. He should have gone with Pheidippides. It would also be more thematic if he ends up biting the bullet. Also, if someone doesn't make the quip 'O ye of little faith', I'll be quite sad.
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Jun 4, 2017 08:08
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BioEnchanted posted:Made-up Scenario: A company head doesn't like what K-Sec us up to. As soon as Faith breaks into his office he just goes "Oh, hey, there's my 2 o'clock! You're late Faith." Kruger: "You know who this is right?" "Yes, and she's interviewing with me today. You were the one to tell her to get a job after all! Bye!" Then after Kruger is dismissed he helps you with the conspiracy poo poo. Again, a great scenario. We know that Running is sort of criminals, but not really, and that unemployment is illegal. This would make K-Sec back off from trying to find Faith, since she's getting a job, and remind the audience of the rules of the world in a kinda subtle way. But this is an EA game, and so it's too far fetched of a plan.
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Jun 4, 2017 08:11
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Honestly all the Runners would need do would be to incorporate. Get into meetings with companies that only use K-Sec because they have to, convince them that you would be able to deliver their messages way more effectively than any other medium - the only catch would be allowing Runners to take shortcuts through their buildings, to cut routes even shorter. Eventually they can use the scrip that they'd be paid with to register their logo as a trademark, legitimising the entire thing. With enough companies like Elysium who appear opposed to how K-Sec is using their offices/resources and good enough political acumen to give a convincing argument, even if only 10 percent of the company bulldings became fair use transport hubs their routes would greatly improve, K-Sec couldn't touch any of them, and would only be able to do anything if the Runner's infringed on their own assets. As long as they stick mostly to company buildings that are on their side, and not be caught with a non-compliant companies data in their pockets, they would be home free. The neutral companies would no longer be a threat as they'd have no reason to turn down a more efficient messaging system, they'd only have the actively "evil" companies to worry about. The K-Sec wouldn't even have a logo to seek out, as most of the people running are now using it as a company logo. They'd become almost the private version of the FDA or the BBB, granting a level of oversight due to the extra-legal activities while hiding them beneath a veneer of legitimate work. Steal a spreadsheet incriminating a company who hasn't agreed? Bury it in a USB stick of emails that a company that has agreed wants to protect using an external server! Thinking further, that's basically exactly what K-Sec did in the first place to get access to all the resources in the city. They work for everyone now, but simultaneously no-one. They just use violence where the Runners use subterfuge. BioEnchanted fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Jun 4, 2017 |
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Jun 4, 2017 08:36
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That would turn the game into weird first person Assassin's Creed, with you taking over outposts that gain money with time when they turn friendly, that you can run into for sanctuary when the fuzz is after you.
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Jun 4, 2017 08:51
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Tasteful Dickpic posted:That would turn the game into weird first person Assassin's Creed, with you taking over outposts that gain money with time when they turn friendly, that you can run into for sanctuary when the fuzz is after you. I'd play that.
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Jun 4, 2017 09:05
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BioEnchanted posted:Honestly all the Runners would need do would be to incorporate. Get into meetings with companies that only use K-Sec because they have to, convince them that you would be able to deliver their messages way more effectively than any other medium - the only catch would be allowing Runners to take shortcuts through their buildings, to cut routes even shorter. Eventually they can use the scrip that they'd be paid with to register their logo as a trademark, legitimising the entire thing. With enough companies like Elysium who appear opposed to how K-Sec is using their offices/resources and good enough political acumen to give a convincing argument, even if only 10 percent of the company bulldings became fair use transport hubs their routes would greatly improve, K-Sec couldn't touch any of them, and would only be able to do anything if the Runner's infringed on their own assets. As long as they stick mostly to company buildings that are on their side, and not be caught with a non-compliant companies data in their pockets, they would be home free. The neutral companies would no longer be a threat as they'd have no reason to turn down a more efficient messaging system, they'd only have the actively "evil" companies to worry about. The K-Sec wouldn't even have a logo to seek out, as most of the people running are now using it as a company logo. The issue with this is that runners make most of their money via illegal cargo, either something someone else stole or that they stole. Corporate espionage is a recurring theme in Catalyst and I can't see the other corporations officially accepting it even if they are all partaking in it. Besides, the runners do what they do because they don't like the system, much like Faith's incredulous "This is what the employs see all the time?" comment from the first video implies. For the most part they choose to live off the grid and incorporating would solve one problem, but create a whole mess of others that they were trying to escape.
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Jun 4, 2017 09:08
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Thing is, I think that'd be a fairly sound plan. RunnerCorp could branch out into legitimate courier work, using their awesome parkour skills as advertising. "Nobody gets there faster than us! Have faith!" It doesn't even have to be explicit corporate espionage, just confidential materials and messages that couldn't go through the normal post, because the sender doesn't necessarily want K-Sec to know the message. They're no longer sort-of illegal, they gain respect in society, and they can still run around on rooftops like weird hobos if they feel like it. Hell, continue with your extralegal activities to gain some extra scrip if you feel like it's so important to you. Even if the Runners always hang out on rooftops, I'm sure they're a fixture in the city landscape, and presumably normal people know about it. If they were a legitimate corporation, they could hold recruitment drives for promising young athletes. As for taking down the system, there's the old saying "There are old revolutionaries, and bold revolutionaries." After a while, striking out against the system gets you killed. Better to join the system and try to change it from within.
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Jun 4, 2017 11:14
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The thing is, there probably isn't a legal use case for Runners. My assumption is that communications are monitored similarly to the first Mirror's Edge, which means there's probably some law that all physical deliveries must be inspected by KrugerSec for Your Safety©. If RunnerCorp were to be a thing, they wouldn't be able to transport the things they're generally contracted for, and it wouldn't be any quicker than whatever legal service already exists. Also, I have a theory that I will probably talk about in a later video, but the idea is that Kruger actually wants the Runners around as illegal couriers. All the corporate espionage is an excuse for high demand for KrugerSec's services. Every time a Runner breaks in and steals poo poo, it's demand for more security. So he officially condemns them and uses them as a scapegoat for whatever city-wide crackdowns happen, but he never actually puts in the effort to wipe them out.
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Jun 4, 2017 16:44
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Oh and also, here's Video 5. 05 - Mischief Maker (polsy)
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Jun 4, 2017 16:53
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FrenzyTheKillbot posted:The thing is, there probably isn't a legal use case for Runners. My assumption is that communications are monitored similarly to the first Mirror's Edge, which means there's probably some law that all physical deliveries must be inspected by KrugerSec for Your Safety©. If RunnerCorp were to be a thing, they wouldn't be able to transport the things they're generally contracted for, and it wouldn't be any quicker than whatever legal service already exists. I guess that does make a lot of sense, when you think about it. I forgot this was a police state and not a Rapture libertarian paradise. E: How large is the game's map? Low long would it take for you to travel from one end to the other? Philippe fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Jun 4, 2017 |
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Jun 4, 2017 16:58
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Three murders and hopefully counting. Though, with all of these loose ends they just split off from (so few of these characters are genuinely relevant) it's really making this game hard to watch, but don't take that as me impugning Frenzy 
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Jun 4, 2017 17:57
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FrenzyTheKillbot posted:Oh and also, here's Video 5. That drone's first reaction to being approached was to freak out and fly away - ignoring why the display model was even on, how many drones do you think they'd sell if the first thing a potential client saw upon taking a closer look was the thing popping up and blasting through walls to get away from them... Also those KSec guys really shouldn't stand so close to the ledge, you'd think that'd be a natural instinct.
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Jun 4, 2017 18:07
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Psychotic Weasel posted:Also those KSec guys really shouldn't stand so close to the ledge, you'd think that'd be a natural instinct. We are seeing natural selection in action here: The guards who are intelligent enough to stand further away from the ledge will live long enough to spread their acrophobic genes to the next generation.
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Jun 4, 2017 18:35
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That elysium job is literally shadowrun, also scrip is technically not money, think of them as tokens you can exchange for goods and services from whoever gave you it. Used to be a big thing in corporation owned mining towns way back when in the US.
Nalesh fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Jun 5, 2017 |
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Jun 5, 2017 13:45
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FrenzyTheKillbot posted:Oh and also, here's Video 5. Yeah, you can probably count most of those KOs as kills. Being beaten unconscious is actually super bad for you.
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Jun 5, 2017 15:40
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The big deal about scrip is that it is a currency that was only recognized by the issuing party. Which leads into an interesting question about Glass City. Do each of the big mega corps issue their own scrip, or is it just the accepted term for the currency? If each corp is putting out their own scrip, that would make commerce really loving hard. The whole point of scrip was originally to pay out employees in a currency they could only spend back at stores and such that the employing corp owned. If that's going on in Glass City then either each corp has enough reach to provide corporate housing and grocery stores and all the essentials of day to day live to its work force. And if they can do that, then you'd essentially have a terrible situation where the populace is segregated by which corp they work for. Kruger scrip is no good for a Datadyne retailer. So the population would be isolated into pockets based off who they work for and where their scrip is accepted. Which, totally could be an unspoken byproduct of the dystopian hell Glass City really is. Otherwise, a bunch of corporations that actually trade and interact with each other and each running on their own scrip would pretty much necessitate a universally accepted currency. Unless K-Sec builds their own guns, ammo, vehicles, body armor, etc (totally a possibility), then they need to purchase it form some other manufacturing corp, which requires trade, and EvilFab LLC. probably won't sell their goods for K-scrip. I am sure this is all theoretical and completely pointless to the game, but its fun to think out.
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Jun 5, 2017 19:52
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I think the theory of K-Sec researching and building their own equipment holds water. We did find the drone in one of their labs, after all. That does present another problem: where do the raw materials come from, and how do the corps pay for them? It's turtles all the way down, you need to address the issue of commonly accepted currency sooner or later. Maybe it's goods and services rather than actual money, if you want to be adamant about the whole idea about corporate currency. K-Sec provides some "free" security to a food manufacturer in exchange for food. Fluff is fun to think about, Jade, even if it doesn't lead anywhere.
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Jun 5, 2017 20:05
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Jade Star posted:The big deal about scrip is that it is a currency that was only recognized by the issuing party. There's probably real money that the corporations use when dealing with each other. Scrip is just there to keep the workers in line by controlling where they get to shop. Even though the companies compete with each other they probably know enough to show solidarity against the workers to refuse to accept the script of other companies so they can maintain control. There's also undoubtedly a huge blackmarket in exchanging scrip that all the corporations have a hand in. Scrip is also probably used as slang by the lower classes for all money since they'd never see "real" money.
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Jun 5, 2017 20:10
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Tiggum posted:Yeah, you can probably count most of those KOs as kills. Being beaten unconscious is actually super bad for you.
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Jun 5, 2017 20:13
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Sindai posted:Nah we operate by Batman rules, it's fine. Her parents are dead, checks out.
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Jun 5, 2017 20:59
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White Coke posted:There's probably real money that the corporations use when dealing with each other. Scrip is just there to keep the workers in line by controlling where they get to shop. Even though the companies compete with each other they probably know enough to show solidarity against the workers to refuse to accept the script of other companies so they can maintain control. There's also undoubtedly a huge blackmarket in exchanging scrip that all the corporations have a hand in. Scrip is also probably used as slang by the lower classes for all money since they'd never see "real" money. I don't think this is the case. Each corporation is highly specialized so having their own specific scrip would lead to K-Sec employees going hungry and naked. Each corporation's specialty is listed in the data files in-game so if Frenzy doesn't want to post that stuff maybe I can do it since I've collected everything in my file. Pretty sure scrip is just their term for money, likely evolved from actual scrip when Cascadia was initially founded.
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Jun 5, 2017 21:34
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Shoren posted:I don't think this is the case. Each corporation is highly specialized so having their own specific scrip would lead to K-Sec employees going hungry and naked. Each corporation's specialty is listed in the data files in-game so if Frenzy doesn't want to post that stuff maybe I can do it since I've collected everything in my file. Pretty sure scrip is just their term for money, likely evolved from actual scrip when Cascadia was initially founded. Yeah I've got an effort post brewing, based on some of the recent posts, that will mention some of this stuff. Each of the major companies basically monopolizes a major market sector. It wouldn't make sense for employs to only be able to buy services from their employer. However, I would totally believe that the 13 major companies all pay their employees with scrip that is honored by the other 12, making it a de facto currency that only further cements the oligarchy. Jade Star posted:Datadyne A real good name drop FrenzyTheKillbot fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Jun 5, 2017 |
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Jun 5, 2017 21:47
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Are the masked thugs really getting knocked unconscious? It seems they don't need to be hit very much or in the head and since they are wearing armor it seems more likely they just don't like getting hit so they decide to drop and lay still until the scary lady leaves. Isn't it kinda hard to feel bad about killing people when they are trying to kill you? It's a kick off or get kicked off world.
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Jun 5, 2017 22:37
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Alright so here's the post that made me decide to write a whole bunch of stuff. This is pretty much my interpretation and summary of the "Intel" files contained within the game. They can actually all be found on the Catalyst website but of course, spoilers abound.Tasteful Dickpic posted:I forgot this was a police state and not a Rapture libertarian paradise. The interesting thing is that Cascadia is actually a pretty restrictive police state, but it's pretending to be a Rapture libertarian paradise. To understand why things are the way they are, you kind of need to know the history of Cascadia and how it was formed. So the first thing is that the world ended. There was a huge war that basically destroyed human civilization, reducing almost everything to rubble and ash. The survivors of the war started a country called Omnistat (we will hear a little bit about them soon), which was sort of by necessity rooted in Communist ideals. Everybody contributed what they could to rebuilding society, and no particular person would gain more than anyone else from this effort. Over time Omnistat rebuilt their society and technology to match and in some cases surpass that of the civilization that came before it. However, it also developed the negative aspects which tend to be associated with Communist states, namely a corrupt and overbearing ruling party, and a relatively poor quality of life for the average citizen compared to the prosperity of the country as a whole. The Kruger family, which the game's background info describes as "one of the ancient families," began plotting a rebellion, rallying a number of other prominent and influential families to their cause. Their vision was of a society with democratic elections, greater personal freedoms, and of course the ability to sell your intelligence, talents, skills, or just your labor for whatever the free market decides is a fair price. After years of bloody civil war, a ceasefire is declared and Cascadia is born. This is approximately 50 years before the game takes place. So now with the freedom for captains of industry to begin making something for themselves, things start going awry. The important families who led the rebellion did not play fair. Each of the twelve families seized one (or more) of society's major market sectors; power generation, food production, manufacturing, transportation, construction, communications, etc. These seizures were presumably facilitated and enforced by the Krugers and the rebel army, now branded KrugerSec/KrugerDef. Technically, any citizen is allowed and able to compete in this free market, however they would have to compete with a company which already has 100% of the market share. Imagine trying to create your own power generation company, from nothing, while competing against a company that owns all of the country's power plants and power lines. As a libertarian paradise, there are no real protections from monopolies and unethical business practices. Cascadia did have free and open elections, but with so much concentrated economic power the system was largely corrupt from the beginning. 30 years after Cascadia is created, the Conglomerate is formed from the leaders of the largest companies and assumes formal political control. It is actually this change in political structure that Faith's parents were protesting and that the November Riots were about. Other than the protests and riots surrounding the Conglomerate, the majority of the population is actually quite comfortable. The major corporations foster a culture of rampant consumerism, with citizens having a significantly higher quality of life than they did under Omnistat. The caste system is rigid, but there does exist upwards mobility for exceptionally hard workers (and less public downwards mobility for other reasons). Largely people are consumed with their material things and focused on trying to take that next small step up the ladder rather than realizing just how stacked the system is for those at the top. There also exists the external threat of Omnistat to justify the surveillance and security measures. While technically under a ceasefire, Omnistat and Cascadia exist in a similar state to North and South Korea with the potential for war always looming. What we end up with is a system where individuals believe themselves to be free and in control of their lives and careers, but in actuality are entirely limited and controlled by those in power. There really is a lot of backstory and world building that goes along with this game and I'll probably do some more effort posts in the future, but I'm not so good at the writing and I'm pretty sure this is already disjointed enough. FrenzyTheKillbot fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Jun 6, 2017 |
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Jun 6, 2017 04:23
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Does anyone from Omnistat show up?Shoren posted:I don't think this is the case. Each corporation is highly specialized so having their own specific scrip would lead to K-Sec employees going hungry and naked. Each corporation's specialty is listed in the data files in-game so if Frenzy doesn't want to post that stuff maybe I can do it since I've collected everything in my file. Pretty sure scrip is just their term for money, likely evolved from actual scrip when Cascadia was initially founded. FrenzyTheKillbot posted:Yeah I've got an effort post brewing, based on some of the recent posts, that will mention some of this stuff. Each of the major companies basically monopolizes a major market sector. It wouldn't make sense for employs to only be able to buy services from their employer. However, I would totally believe that the 13 major companies all pay their employees with scrip that is honored by the other 12, making it a de facto currency that only further cements the oligarchy. I figured there were more than 13 companies, or at least that they weren't so specialized and were all trying to take over the entire market. That being said maybe scrip is a restricted type of currency like food stamps and you can't buy dangerous or important stuff with it. Having a monetary caste system would just be another method of social control.
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Jun 6, 2017 06:55
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Jade Star posted:The big deal about scrip is that it is a currency that was only recognized by the issuing party. It's probably something similar how it works in shadowrun, there's scrip traders which buy and sell scrip(at a profit obviously) Like say you sell 100 bucks worth of scrip, you might only get 90 bucks, and then they use that scrip to either buy stuff with(Like company stocks), or sell it at a profit, say 110 bucks for 100 worth of scrip.
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Jun 6, 2017 10:44
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Firstly, that's a nice loving apartment. Secondly, maybe Nomad is making his art to AWAKEN the K-Sec Sheeple patrolling the rooftops. Really make them THINK, you know? Thirdly, who the gently caress designed these towers? "Alright, we made these really sweet, highly expensive and complicated towers, which are nonetheless light and modular enough to be easily transported to, and set up on, rooftops. Now, what I think is really important is that if someone sticks their hand in an aperture at the front and yanks out that looks TOTALLY INTENDED for removal, it's going to blow up." Also Faith must have calluses like an inch thick on her knuckles considering that she can punch these dudes with helmeted heads right in the face without as much as a wince or whimper.
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Jun 6, 2017 20:17
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It's probably designed to be taken out AFTER the tower is powered down, since it looks like a loving grinder when turned on 
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Jun 6, 2017 21:29
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And time for Video 6. Making new friends  06 - Savant Extraordinaire (polsy)
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Jun 12, 2017 01:57
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For those who may want to follow along at home, Catalyst is $10 on Origin right now as part of their summer sale event.
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Jun 12, 2017 02:32
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You know, all I could think at the end was "that building has very few fire escapes". Having never played this, my guess at the moment is that Dogan has stepped up his game and went from whatever penny-ante gangsterism stuff Faith was familiar with and crossed into espionage and freelance terrorism.
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Jun 12, 2017 03:20
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Re. yer last comments on terrorism, the new British idiom is one person's terrorist is another person's coalition partner to form a government.
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Jun 12, 2017 07:04
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I wonder if there's a subculture of rich kids who parkour across the roof tops too? It could explain the origin of things like the magrope, companies creating technology for rich hobbyists that ends up getting used by the workers who use it to make a living. And the biometrics attached to the weapons and might be able to register a pulse, or otherwise determine if the digit is attached.
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Jun 12, 2017 09:45
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Finally a relatable character. Oh yeah, if I was in a someone wanted into my laptop and threatened to cut off my finger situation I would just unlock it for them and tell them any passwords. No hesitation whatsoever. 
Poil fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Jun 12, 2017 |
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Jun 12, 2017 09:53
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So this is weird first-person Assassin's Creed! I knew it. Something you forgot: When you were looking at the SLOTH sign, there was also a giant vertical sign that said "anansi". This is a reference to Kopé Anansi, an African trickster god. He is often depicted as a spider, which is thematic to the hookshot you just received, and of course to climbing in general.
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Jun 12, 2017 11:22
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It's always so hard to hear music during LPs (and it's a huge pet peeve of mine when commentators mention how great a song is then immediately talk all over it), but Savant is my favorite track from this soundtrack. The soundtrack as a whole is phenomenal, and is done by Solar Fields, the guy who did the first one (which is even better in my opinion). If you're into ambient music then I'd highly recommend it.
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Jun 12, 2017 11:31
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I think I like Plastic so much because of how much I dislike the other characters and how little time she has for most of their garbage. I'd love to see her interact with Icarus.
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Jun 12, 2017 12:36
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The service elevatero was Skyrim-Draugrtomb kind of convenient. Convoluted way in, simple way out.
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Jun 12, 2017 16:09
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malkav11 posted:For those who may want to follow along at home, Catalyst is $10 on Origin right now as part of their summer sale event. It's definitely worth $10. White Coke posted:I wonder if there's a subculture of rich kids who parkour across the roof tops too? It could explain the origin of things like the magrope, companies creating technology for rich hobbyists that ends up getting used by the workers who use it to make a living. Personally, I'd guess it's some sort of military tech. Seems like the kind of thing that gets developed because of all the theoretical uses, and the military buys like a million units, and then it turns out that in practice nobody uses them so they end up all over the black market.
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Jun 13, 2017 23:15
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FrenzyTheKillbot posted:Personally, I'd guess it's some sort of military tech. Seems like the kind of thing that gets developed because of all the theoretical uses, and the military buys like a million units, and then it turns out that in practice nobody uses them so they end up all over the black market. Everything in Cascadia's military is like the F-35. Omnistat must think guns are counter to the revolutionary spirit they wish to instill in their armed forces.
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Jun 14, 2017 05:20
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