My name is Myrmidon, and I have a problem:
I’m a cyber junkie.
I know, I know—we all go through our phases. But the colors, man, when you’re cruising through Datatrust’s network … the rush, the speed, the POWER! If you don’t know … if you don’t KNOW… well, how can I explain it to a meatbag? I mean, I started decking about two years ago and there’s STILL so much to learn, so many script kiddies to thwart … I just can’t stop!
Okay, so maybe I’m a little over the top—and I guess I should at least start from the beginning.
If you’re attentive to the Steam Update News, you’ve probably noticed the recent release of Dystopia. For the uninitiated (whom I, by the way, pity), this game is a mod of the tried and true Source Engine; the same engine that runs Half-Life 2, Counter Strike: Source, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2 … you get it, right?
Dystopia is set in a futuristic cyberpunk universe. The backstory is still a little on the shady side (you can get background info at the Dystopia Wiki), but the game’s execution is nothing short of brilliant. Players immersed in this high-tech, gritty world will find themselves as gunmen for one of two sides: the corporate forces (“corps,” often mercenaries or security forces working on behalf of some major economic power) or the “punks” (renegades, anarchists, and men-for-hire acting for I-don’t-know-why-honey-they’re-just-damn-teenagers-going-through-a-phase).
Now, this isn’t an all-out slugfest between cops and robbers. The games are intricate and fraught with strategy. The highest scoring team member may never kill a man, and the lowliest newbie in the right place may still save the day. You might be a stone cold killer with the Tesla Rifle (a weapon that fires devastating bolts of electricity — even around walls!), but unless you ask your hacker (decker) real nice, he may forget to bust a hole in the security for you.
This brings me to an interesting aside — decking. If you think you know the Source engine, think again. Players have the opportunity to ‘deck’ into cyberspace via Jack-In Points (JIPs) and rediscover Newtonian physics all over again. Who says gravity can’t point up? Or, for that matter, to the side? And if you’ve got a thing for frantic and frenetic frenzied fighting, get ready to feed your craving by the ladleful: cyberspace is a haven for the twitchy and the quick-thinking. No pressure, though — that’s just your whole team defending that meatsack you call a body while you brain-hump the punks’ bank accounts to kingdom come. You’d better be quick!
The games are objective based—for instance, in dys_silo, where the punks are tasked by a rival corporation to seize control of a dormant nuclear missile; or in dys_broadcast, where the corporate forces are bent on destroying an underground radio station. Usually these objective based games have a tug-of-war component, too. Okay, sure, if they destroy the wall in the parking garage of the nuclear reactor, we can’t exactly brick-and-mortar it back up … but you know, we don’t have to defend the reactor rods if we can just take back the reactor security. Screw the third objective, I’m going to take back the second!
“Oh, Myrmidon, this sounds like fun, but I HATE twitchy games! Don’t make me deck, please,” you might say. Well, no skin off my nose — there are only so many JIPs to go around, after all! If you’re not a fan of bright lights and flashy hacking, try out some of the fancy gadgets this high-tech dystopian world has to offer (and if you don’t like THAT, what kind of Icrontian are you?). Twelve different primary weapons, in addition to a machine pistol, katana, and three types of grenades for the budding explosion nut. In addition, the ability to mechanically and electronically alter that body you were born and raised with! Allow me to expound:
Each player can choose between three classes: Heavy, a slow, lumbering tank with more armor than you can shake two sticks at and almost no room for implants; medium, our big jock-type; and light, the ADHD, high-implant, eggshell-wielding-a-sledgehammer. Each class has four unique weapons to choose from — and these weapons are innovative. For those of you that like to code with the Source Engine, check out the Boltgun — she doesn’t fire bullets, she fires physics projectiles. Or how ‘bout our resident TF2 Demomen? Have a blast — literally — with the grenade launcher. It’s like telling your pipebombs when to detonate! Finally, if you’re a little wary of using ammo with definable material properties, why not try out the instant-hit ion cannon? And don’t forget dessert — finish the job with the spider grenade (the cutest explosive this side of the Mississippi!), the EMP grenade (did I say you could use that JIP?) or a tried-and-true fragmentation grenade (Hey guys, I brought pineapple salad!).
“Implants? What are these implants?” asked the enraptured audience. Let me explain, gentle readers. Let’s say you’re a light class in Dystopia up against a heavy. We’re talking one good rocket to the face and that’s all she wrote. What’s a kid to do? Bend light, that’s what! Disappear off the face of the earth with the stealth implant. Hide behind a wall and track his footsteps with the sound wave triangulator. Reload faster and spit out WAY more ammo than he can with wired reflexes! Your body is your canvas — you just gotta make a masterpiece.
A word to the wise — this game is moderately complex. We’re talking a little more complex than Frank Herbert and a little less complex than what women want. You’ll find something you like to do, and quick — but don’t stop there! Unless you know what kind of situations your teammates are in, how can you be an effective decker? Do you open the doors or shut off the power? Start the elevator or capture the spawn? And what if the game is tense — we’re talking a minute and a half left — you don’t want to clog up that JIP when the experienced decker is right behind you waiting, do you?
The real newbie advice: read the ‘new player’s guide’ (the in-game tutorial, composed so many years ago, leaves a lot to be desired). Ask lots of questions. Use voice-comm. Alternatively, get ahold of me — Myrmidon240 in Steam — and have a good chat. What I lack in skill I make up for in theory!
See you in cyberspace!
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