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 Roadwar 2000 is a 1986 SSI combat game where you build up a road gang in an attempt to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. North America has been devastated by a pandemic and nuclear attack, and only the strong will survive. As society collapses, the cities have turned into self-contained fiefdoms where violence is the only language that many understand. Looting and killing for necessary resources is just a part of daily life for most. Gangs that grow in strength sometimes provide a limited amount of safety for a town, but there remains the constant threat of the disease for which a vaccine is rare, and rumors of more dangerous invaders making war on the continent. What hope is there for the future? Who knows, you just want to keep your cars gassed up and your soldiers ready to fight. Roadwar 2000 is one of the more unusual 'RPG-light' games in that while you play as a gang leader, you do not build up that character. Instead you're attempting to acquire better quality vehicles and soldiers, along with occasionally a few 'cronies' (such as a doctor) that provide specialized skills. The soldiers themselves are essentially abstract, just a certain number of people rated by their quality in combat. The best analogue I can think of in modern games would be the Mount & Blade series. The game consists of wandering around the map in search of loot and people to make your gang stronger. Sometimes you encounter rivals on foot, and fight them in an abstract head-to-head fights. Other times you are in your vehicles and have to fight it out on a tactical map, which is really where the heart of the game is. There is something of an overarching plot, but seeing as this originally ran on the C64 and Apple II, don't expect anything too complex. That does lead to something of a downside of the game, in that the combat encounters do not vary much. It can become rather tedious, since the plot takes a while to advance. This is a screenshot LP, so you won't have to see every single encounter, but I'm also going to keep it entertaining with something extra: an ongoing set of movies. Each week, I'll announce a new post-apocalyptic movie for the week, which I'll watch and post a brief commentary on. Everyone's encouraged to watch and post their own thoughts on the films. [I'd love to stream them but lack the hardware and bandwidth to do so]. I'll be of course examining movies that relate closely to the world of the game, usually with vehicular combat and gang warfare in a world gone mad. I'm also sticking to films that were made around the time of the game or before; essentially the latter part of the Cold War. That means they'll generally be from the period 1970-1990. The specific version of Roadwar 2000 I'm playing is the Amiga port, which helpfully includes details on your gang on-screen, and probably the best color version available. Sound and animation is minimal, so the screenshot format will not miss out on much of it. Kangra fucked around with this message at 19:11 on May 24, 2021 |
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Oct 9, 2020 04:14
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| # ? May 4, 2024 21:09 |
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Update 0 : Who are we? The game manual gives an account of the events leading up to the start of the game as a series of journal entries. Instead of dumping them all at once, I'll be posting a few at a time as we get through the early stages of the game. Here is how it starts: In a dimly-lit corner of a government archive, you can find a dust-covered volume chronicling the most horrifying years in human history. It is the journal of the Director of the top secret Government Underground Biolab, and it reveals the Institute's heroic struggle against the invasion of 1999. The journal has been retained, but one hopes that the world never again will need its lessons. Director's Journal posted:
You might want to check on where Pintero earned his science degree, there. HEW, by the way, is the former name of the US Department of Health and Human Services (Health, Education, and Welfare), but it was split apart half a decade before this game was written. I guess they just decided to merge the departments back together in the far-off future of the 1990s. Now, the game:   The title actually scrolls up and some theme music plays. You can see it here (not my video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuVZE6e0UsY And then, we get dropped into a random location and date, and prompted to name our gang. So...what do we name ourselves? Since I can restart and try for a start in a particular location, you can also suggest a starting region from this list: Canada Northwest West Central Northeast California Border States South (Mexico is excluded, and California starts will be restricted to certain parts of the state, for reasons) Voting is closed and we are the Gator Goons. Kangra fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Oct 14, 2020 |
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Oct 9, 2020 04:17
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I suggest we may as well try to start in the Northeast. As for a name, I suggest the Saints. Third Street part optional.
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Oct 9, 2020 04:28
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BraveLittleToaster posted:I suggest we may as well try to start in the Northeast. Seconding this. I remember enjoying this game and it's sequel as a kid, it should be interesting to see how well it aged.
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Oct 9, 2020 05:54
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Everyone knows the TunnelSnakes rule the northeast! Anyone who says otherwise is obviously a traitor and must be used as a hood ornament.
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Oct 9, 2020 06:10
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I say we should start in Florida (maybe Miami or Jacksonville). I have no good ideas for a gang name so, the Goons?
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Oct 9, 2020 06:20
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I propose the Canadian Cannibal Collective  "Paint the roads red, comrades!"
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Oct 9, 2020 11:08
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We are the Post Turtles, and we wreak havoc in the border states!
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Oct 9, 2020 22:00
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Florida, as far south as possible. The Conch Republic will rise again!
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Oct 9, 2020 22:19
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By popular demand posted:I propose the Canadian Cannibal Collective 
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Oct 9, 2020 23:08
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Cythereal posted:Florida, as far south as possible. The Conch Republic will rise again! This, but Gator Gang.
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Oct 9, 2020 23:28
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Ninurta posted:Seconding this. ok yeah
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Oct 10, 2020 06:46
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Black Robe posted:We shall be Florida Man and we shall create many wacky headlines as leader of the Gator Goons Comrade Koba fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Oct 10, 2020 |
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Oct 10, 2020 08:03
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We shall be Florida Man and we shall create many wacky headlines as leader of the Gator Goons
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Oct 10, 2020 09:08
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BraveLittleToaster posted:I suggest we may as well try to start in the Northeast. Thirding this, only because I want to see the ruined hellscape that is my hometown.
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Oct 10, 2020 14:01
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By popular demand posted:I propose the Canadian Cannibal Collective
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Oct 10, 2020 17:12
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Black Robe posted:We shall be Florida Man and we shall create many wacky headlines as leader of the Gator Goons
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Oct 10, 2020 20:58
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Black Robe posted:We shall be Florida Man and we shall create many wacky headlines as leader of the Gator Goons Changing my vote to this.
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Oct 10, 2020 21:21
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Black Robe posted:We shall be Florida Man and we shall create many wacky headlines as leader of the Gator Goons Do it.
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Oct 10, 2020 21:27
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We are the Gator Goons. Florida Man ended up a little far from home, as when the apocalypse hit he found himself somewhere in the Northeast, close to the Canadian border. Updates will probably be mid-week for the game, Sunday or Monday for the movie posts.
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Oct 11, 2020 21:56
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Kangra posted:We are the Gator Goons. Florida Man ended up a little far from home, as when the apocalypse hit he found himself somewhere in the Northeast, close to the Canadian border. Reminds me of SNL's Maine Justice
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Oct 11, 2020 23:20
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The Year 2000 When the sickness hit, Florida Man had a plan. He knew exactly what the country needed to do. But he couldn't just sit around and talk about it with his friends at home in Tampa. He was determined to tell it to the president himself. And for once, he decided to act. He loaded up the Gatormobile (a lime-colored 1976 Pontiac Formula 400), convinced a couple friends to tag along, and drove straight to New York City. It took two weeks to get there (they ran out of gas three times), and when he arrived, he discovered a city in chaos. No one seemed seemed willing or able to help him locate the president. Most seemed confused. Some wondered openly if the president was even still alive, and more than a few expressed their own wishes as to what to do to him. Others got agitated and eyed the Gatormobile a bit too suspiciously for Florida Man's liking. Riots and violence broke out as more people succumbed to the deadly outbreak. One of his Floridian buddies had disappeared; maybe he got sick. Travel down the highway seemed too dangerous now, and gas was getting hard to come by. Before long, he found himself sleeping in the car to make sure it was kept safe, and often not even sleeping at all.  After a few months, he had decided to flee the big city. He'd been warned to stay off the highways -- a single vehicle might be easy pickings for some of the more powerful gangs that patrolled them. So he headed a ways north on the backroads instead. He eventually reached a town, somewhere called Albania. He was pretty sure he'd heard of Albania, but he though it sounded like a state, not a city. He came to a big road junction and hollered at a man standing nearby to tell him where they led. He was told one road would lead to Chez Neckdaddy, and the other way to Troy. Troy sounded good, a solid name. He'd known a guy named Troy back in high school. With a hope for finding a safer place to hang out until he could get back home, Florida Man drove off in that direction.  When he reached Troy, he found it to be mostly calm, at least relative to New York City. He still needed to keep a close watch on the Gatormobile, but he was able to make a few friends in the town he felt he could trust. They all seemed to be fans of the Gator Mobile, and he felt they'd be willing to help him protect it. Soon they started hanging out together all the time, and joining up for raids of the local markets and farms. This gave Florida Man a new idea. If those big gangs could take over the highway and even some cities, he figured maybe he could do the same. All they needed was a name. He took one long at his gleaming green vehicle, and inspiration struck: The Gator Goons. This is the main game window. We are shown at the center of the map (it's always a boxy truck, no matter our make-up). Key details of the gang are shown on the right. At the start, we do not have much. One gun, one car, and not a lot of space for supplies. Also, our gang is just 8 people at the moment, because that's all that can fit in the car, even with four of them riding on the outside.  With the birth of the Gator Goons (and the three cans of beer he'd downed that morning) giving him courage, Florida Man decided to try and expand the gang. After wandering for a bit around Troy, he encountered a group of people. Maybe they were a rival gang, or maybe there were some folks willing to join up. He waited expectantly to see what they would do.  The other people suddenly fired off a handful of guns and bows, and even threw some smoke bombs before running off without saying a word. Thankfully nobody in the Gator Goons was injured.  A few hours later, they spotted a car speeding towards them up the street. Maybe it was part of the same group, or maybe somebody else. Florida Man urged everyone to hurry into the Gatormobile as he fired it up and they prepared to fight. Road combat has three levels of detail: Abstract, Tactical, and Tactical (Quick). We'll eventually see all three. At this point, with only a single vehicle, abstract is the way to go, since it's roughly a roll of the dice to win. Normally you're probably going to use full Tactical, since that is the main draw of the game. I did forget that while most actions in the game allow you to see the results, abstract (and melee) combat goes by as fast as possible. So I didn't capture the actual part where we smashed into the other car and destroyed it.  The two cars rushed towards each other down the street, each daring the other to swerve. A few seconds later, the other car swerved left and struck hard off the front right end of Florida Man's car, and then slammed into the wall of a building. Everyone inside died. The Gatormobile sustained minor damage. The other car was not salvageable. However, there were a few supplies in the trunk that weren't ruined, and even a couple of intact guns on board. At the moment, though, there was no space in their own car to keep it, so the gang stashed them in an abandoned boxing gym they'd occasionally used as a sleeping space.  With the thrill of their first victory, the gang strode once more down the streets of Troy. They came upon another group of men standing around nervously. This time, Florida Man grabbed a friend and wandered over to talk to them. They turned out to be just a bunch of folks who were out looting in a loosely-organized band. A few were willing to come along with him. But they took a look at the Gatormobile and one of them asked how it'd be possible to travel with them all in the car. "I figure if some of these guys die, you could fill their spots," said Florida Man, which earned him stares from both the new recruits and his own paltry band of men. "Or, eh, maybe later," he chuckled.  Nobody from that group decided to hang around for much longer, though. One of the gang members made the suggestion that if they really wanted more people, maybe they needed to have more space for them to ride. Another vehicle, perhaps. Florida Man reluctantly agreed, because he knew they couldn't all just load up in the Gatormobile forever. More space for supplies would be good, too.  Initially his efforts to obtain a vehicle were frustrated (though he insisted afterward that he did not say he wanted to get rid of 'gay people' but the 'foreigners trying to kill us'). After a few more hours of searching, though, there was a fantastic discovery: a full-size van just sitting in the parking lot of a bowling alley. Most of the seats were ripped up, and the side door was nearly rusted through, but with a little tinkering, they found the engine to be in decent condition.  The next day they found a taxi cab garage, and were able to fix up the dents the Gatormobile'd received in the last fight. There were also some fuel cans that they could load up in the back of the van, and they got the seats into working condition as well.  Things were going well, and the outlook for the gang was even better once they raided a supermarket for a huge amount of food. They stored what they couldn't keep in the cars back at the gym.  Another attempt at garnering more members of the gang went poorly. Even when Florida Man insisted that he knew Satan personally, it didn't seem to impress this gang.  Finally, after another day spent wandering the back streets of Troy, the Gator Goons convinced some of the men in a disorganized rabble to sign up with them.  These new troops have little combat experience, but they would be handy in a bigger fight. All that was needed now was some more guns. Gang members are ranked by quality, and have zero other attributes, even names. The starting letter indicates the troop quality, with A(rmsmaster) being the highest and E(scort) the lowest.  The gang retreated to their storage gym and decided to redistribute the supplies. There still weren't enough guns, though.  Those concerns would have to come later, as the lookout cried out, "Vehicle coming!". It turned out another group had followed them back to their cache! This time, it would be a full-on fight. The group rushed out to their cars and prepared for the showdown in the streets. We'll now be doing tactical combat, which is the heart of this game. For starters, we can set up our vehicles precisely how we want them, although the auto-deploy is usually good enough (and we can tweak it after, so you always want to auto-deploy).  Florida Man and several of the founding members loaded up in the Gatormobile.  The rest filled up in the van. There weren't enough guns yet to really be useful in combat, so the makeshift crossbows would have to do for now.   Top-quality 1980s user interface: To proceed from setup and start combat, you have to select 'quit' and confirm it. This process happens during some parts of the combat as well. Next, if you want the full combat experience, you have to select 'Cancel' here.  The last option, at least, is just to pick which map we want. We'll start with the standard map for now. The map used depends on the terrain type on the main map (which is 'metropolitan' for this battle). I'll give a few more notes on combat in future posts, but this one is short enough that it doesn't need much detail.  The Gator Goons' two cars rolled into the street. Their opposition turned out to be just a motorcycle with a sidecar. "Easy pickins!" yelled one of the men on the roof as the Gatormobile's engine revved up.  They weren't close enough yet to fire their crossbows when gunfire erupted from the sidecar of the motorcycle. Two men on the van went flying off as the bullets ripped through them. "Those are Furies," said one of the new recruits. "We're lucky there's just one of them."  Florida Man kept his foot on the accelerator as he tried to get the Gatormobile around to the rear of the motorcycle. Meanwhile, it was speeding toward the van, as if on a suicide collision course.  The slower-moving van swerved into a narrow side street as the motorcycle pulled up right behind it. An exchange of shots killed one on board the cycle, and one man inside the van. Worried that the sidecar's occupants could be trying to hop inside and take out their inexperienced driver, one of the Bodyguards on the roof dropped down through the window and took the wheel.  One of the escorts in the van tried a pre-emptive boarding maneuver and leaped toward the motorcycle. He made it on, but the driver kicked him in the face a second later, and rolled the bike over him with a sickening crunch.  The van turned to the right out of the side street while the motorcycle veered left. They were now, more wisely, keeping their distance with the guns.  As the motorcycle skidded and made a tight circle through a parking lot, the Gatormobile came around the corner and drew close for a fight.  Knowing that they were outnumbered, the Furies' motorcycle driver made a last-ditch attempt at revenge. She would try to damage the Gatormobile enough that they couldn't escape before the rest of her gang would arrive. The cycle smashed into the rear of the car in a collision that killed both of those on board.  With the battle over, the Gator Goons spent the night guarding their cache, and sorted out their weapons and food. They'd managed to loot quite a lot of food so far.  Florida Man wanted to get a better idea of who really had control of Albania. Was it the Furies? Those Satanists? The mysterious Neckdaddy? He sent out a handful of men to gather intelligence.  The answer shocked him. This was real bad news. Everyone said these Invaders were some foreign army, maybe Russians or something. That would have been dangerous enough. But Florida Man knew the truth. Those Invaders, he knew they were aliens. Aliens, man. The Gator Goons had to leave town, and fast. This week's film: Starting off with an obvious choice, Mad Max Kangra fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Oct 14, 2020 |
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Oct 14, 2020 17:40
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All hail Florida Man.  He knows what's up, he'll save us all. He's seen a lot of
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Oct 14, 2020 19:18
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Mad Max (1979) "Any longer out there on that road, and I'm one of them, you know? A terminal crazy!" Synopsis After a title telling us that this is set "a few years from now", the film starts with a somewhat undisciplined police force (MFP, or Main Force Patrol) chasing after a couple in a stolen police vehicle. After multiple failures by other MFP members, it falls to the man of the title, Max Rockatansky, to catch the car being driven by "The Nightrider". Max's car races to intercept the Nightrider with ease, and he causes the criminal to lose his nerve and then crash into an uncleared wreck on the highway. The Nightrider turns out to have been part of a biker gang led by the imposing "Toecutter". When the gang shows up to claim the Nightrider's body, more violence and lawlessness ensues. The victims are too terrified to press any charges even after brutal rapes have occurred. This leads to Max's friend on the force, Jim Goose, to attack "Johnny the Boy", a gang member being held in custody. But Johnny is nevertheless released, and the Toecutter's gang first sabotages Goose's motorcycle and then trap him in a burning vehicle. Goose is left horribly disfigured and barely alive, driving Max to despair when he sees him in the hospital. Max decides he's been surrounded in violence and craziness for too long, and quits the MFP. He heads to the coast with his wife Jessie and their infant son (known only as 'Sprog'). Eventually, however, the Toecutter (seeking revenge for the Nightrider and also on Jessie personally) finds them. He kills the child and leaves Jessie with serious brain damage and internal injuries. This pushes Max over the edge. He returns to the MFP garage and takes the latest souped-up vehicle from it. He finds the Toecutter's gang and runs most of them off the road. The Toecutter himself is killed when he slams into a trailer truck coming over a hill. Max then hunts down Johnny the Boy and inflicts a torturous death on him, completing his own descent into madness.  Just from a short plot description, Mad Max might sound like a movie about revenge, and one could imagine a modern movie might have spent more time on that aspect of the story. But given that the drive for vengeance comes rather late in the runtime, and the deaths themselves give Max no satisfaction, it's clear that a much stronger theme is the loss of humanity -- both of one man, and of the society he is living in. George Miller, making his directorial debut, had been a doctor working in a hospital. After seeing so many victims of car crashes, he initially intended to tell the story of a man becoming horrified at how callously modern society accepted these casualties. But the story got pushed into a near-future world, and mixed with producer/co-writer Byron Kennedy's vision for incorporating vehicular action into the heightened story, managed to produce something groundbreaking. Through deftly-edited establishing shots and bits of background dialogue, the film does quite a good job organically conveying the somewhat outlandish tone of a world that is descending toward chaos, even without necessarily indicating a cause for the decline. From the opening shot we see signs that the buildings and highways aren't being maintained, and that the MFP, and probably whatever higher government exists, is struggling to hold some order in an uncaring world. We get hints that life in the cities is perhaps somewhat more normal, since hospitals, nightclubs, and lawyers still exist. But we also see just how quickly the characters acknowledge that out on the highway or in the more remote locales, violence rules. It's also telling that the people who die are more frequently victims of 'accidents' than of deliberate killing blows. A world where nobody is in control is also a world where it is far easier to lose one's life. One other crucial theme of the film is how it depicts the effect of this degradation on the people exposed to it. Max, of course, is seen to fear turning out to be more violent than the criminals and eventually he does become so. But there is also, somewhat passively portrayed, the effect on other groups. A gaggle of children observe the interactions of the police and the gang members, and they are learning how control is maintained in the world they're growing up in. Women, as well, are becoming victimized more frequently as crime increases. The Nightrider's girl (unnamed in the film but possibly called "Lobotomy Eyes" in the script) isn't even of interest to the Toecutter after she dies. To people like him, women are likely occasionally used for sexual fulfillment but not otherwise valued. When he first encounters Jessie, it is in a sexually agressive way as he looms over her and licks the ice cream cone in her hand. This causes her to respond with an initial smile, but only so she can get close enough for a kick to the groin. She knows she has to defend herself, as does May, the woman who owns the seaside house where the family is trying to relax. May is at first able to show up with a gun and save Jessie and her child from the Toecutter when Max is off hunting after the rest of the gang. That success is ultimately frustrated, but she at least knows what to do in this world; these women are not simply hoping for any men to rescue them.  Mad Max might not be the first film in this genre, but it was massively influential and cast a long shadow on post-apocalyptic films that came after. A number of them would feature a black-clad lone antihero, or make some attempt to focus on modified cars engaging each other in road duels, or even include some over-the-top crazy gang members. Few would combine all the elements as well as Mad Max did, with its off-kilter, decaying world and intense and visceral road action. The film was made on an insanely low budget, and while sometimes that meant incredibly unsafe conditions for the stunts crew, it also allowed for some real creative unpredictability as the actors, especially the gang members, were frequently improvising their parts. If you've never seen it, and maybe have only known either the imitators or the sequels that lean more heavily into the action and a more chaotic world, you should give the first film a shot. It's probably one of the more thoughtful post-apocalyptic films that doesn't come off ponderous or pretentious. Indeed, there's a vibrance and propulsive energy to it that make for a genuinely enjoyable thrill ride, but in a setting that would truly drive anyone eventually to madness. (One note: be sure to use the original Australian audio, not the inferior English-to-English dub that was used for the American/international release.) Connections to Roadwar 2000  Certainly anyone playing the game would have been familiar with Mad Max or its imitators, and at least in part would be seeking to replicate the feel of it. There can be no doubt that the game designers were influenced by it. The world of the first movie is maybe slightly less degraded than the Roadwar one, as some federal authority exists in it. It is not far off from the game world, however, with the cities mostly able to function about as well as they can, and the indications that outside of them and in the smaller towns, the world is truly dangerous and lawless. Another element that quite possibly affects the game is just how violent and short the vehicular combat can be. In Mad Max, the cars may race down the roads at high speed, but before long they will typically smash into either another car or a stationary obstacle. In Roadwar, ramming vehicles is considered to be a normal part of combat (which I try to avoid since it's a sure way to lose your smaller vehicles). I'm not sure if that is really a matter of influence or just a gameplay balance to keep battles shorter. It's probably also a necessary aspect of the primitive AI, which likely couldn't be counted on to do anything very fancy on the tactical side.
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Oct 19, 2020 18:01
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Florida Man Takes Bulldozer on Joyride Through CanadaGUB Director's journal posted:May 27, 1999 He knew he had to get out of town. Between the Invaders and the other gangs like the Furies, the Gator Goons would get wiped out too easily if they made any more trouble in town. They loaded up the Gatormobile and the van and took off the next morning.  He'd heard that those Invaders seemed to come from the shore. Probably so they could hide their alien ships in the ocean. The gang had an okay amount of fuel, but it needed to be spent wisely. He could have headed west, but that would have led him straight through Neckdaddy's territory, and at this point he didn't even want to find out which side he was on. Someone in the gang suggested they take the "north way", and that sounded good to him. So they headed off northward into the hills, maybe going to Vermont. Florida Man was curious to see what Vermont looked like.  Throughout the day they stopped in a few small towns to see if there was anything worth looting, but all they found were emptied-out shops and burned-down gas stations. There were no people to be seen, and no signs of life. They discovered a large lake actually separated them from Vermont, and it didn't seem worth it to actually try to cross it. Heading further into the mountains on their west would have meant eventual starvation, and it didn't even seem as if the Chevy van would manage off the highway. Still, the landscape appealed to Florida Man. There were some of the nicest mountains he'd ever seen, and if he had the chance he'd might want to come back here in more peaceful times. That night they found a pleasant camping spot near the lake, and the men were even able to relax and go swimming for a bit.  The next day, the gang blew past the barricade that had been set up at the border crossing to Canada. A band of men with guns shot at them, but the Gator Goons managed to evade them. Florida Man felt a thrill as he entered this new country. An few hours later, they came into sight of Montreal. He hoped the border guards had at least been able to keep the aliens out, but he wanted to be sure, so he sent a few people ahead to scout the city.  The consensus from the group was that the main controlling group was some local gang. Maybe it was a branch of the Furies, but nobody knew if their influence had spread this far north. Either way, at least it wasn't the Invaders. Possibly he could deal with these gangsters if it came to it, although the Gator Goons would need to get a bit bigger before that happened. In the rush to leave Troy, they hadn't managed to bring enough people with them to even fill up the van.  As luck would have it, the gang snuck into a bus depot and was able to use the repair bay to keep the cars in decent shape. They also found enough gas to make up for what they'd used on the trip.  The next day, they found a few local mercenaries that were dissatisfied with the way the gangs in Montreal were running the city. Some of them didn't speak much English, but as long as they could fight, Florida Man was happy. He gathered from their leader, a broad-shouldered fellow named Jack, that the gangs in charge of the city had eyes everywhere. They also maintained a strong grip on the city's central island, and wouldn't let any outside vehicles to cross the bridges. Jack urged Florida Man to either keep his head down or leave the city before long, because rivals in the outskirts were never allowed to get very big before coming under attack.  Florida Man didn't want to leave the city when he'd just arrived, and knew that to keep expanding the gang, they'd again need to find more vehicles. So they went out looking for more cars. When they discovered a Cat D5 bulldozer with a missing front blade, the rest of the Gator Goons thought it a bit peculiar that he wanted to keep it. There wasn't enough space to load more than a few people on it, it was really slow, and it burned a ton of gasoline. But something about it appealed to Florida Man. He'd never had a job in construction, but always thought he could do it. With nobody stopping him now, he hopped on board the bulldozer and started tooling jerkily around the dirt lot. "We have to take it!" he shouted. Unfortunately the construction vehicle doesn't give you any special abilities in combat. It is slow and poorly armored, but it does have extremely high 'structure', meaning it can survive a ton of ramming hits. It is also tracked, meaning it can't have its tires shot off, either.  Jack had the idea of attaching a metal frame to the front of the bulldozer to use it for storing supplies. A few hours later it was completed, and after cleaning out a supermarket, they found there was still a lot of space to throw on guns, tires, or anything else they needed on the road.  The next day, about mid-morning, a man in a white coat approached the house where the gang was hiding out. He introduced himself as Dr. Balthazar, and said he wanted to help keep them safe. At first Florida Man was worried that this was some trick of the gangs, or maybe the alien Invaders, to infiltrate the Gator Goons. One of the mercenaries came forward and said she had actually told the doctor to come, since she'd seen they didn't have anyone to patch up the wounded. Florida Man asked if the doctor was willing to ride along with them, and the man agreed, as long as he was given complete access to their supplies of medicine.  This is the first of our 'cronies', who don't add to our combat numbers but show up on this info screen instead. Having a doctor can reduce casualties in fights, and they are also important if gang members end up getting sick. There's no real way to know how good they are except by guessing at their performance, and if you decide to get a new one you can't get the old one back.  A search for more vehicles and people turned violent, as one group of locals fired back when they saw the Gator Goons approaching.  It seems the gang was starting to get a reputation in Montreal. The next morning, some defectors from the local gangs showed up and asked if there was room for them. Thanks to the losses from the previous day's exchange of fire, they could. It did not make Jack comfortable, though. He still said that they weren't nearly strong enough to take on the main gang, and there was a good chance that at least some of these new recruits were spies. Florida Man said they needed more people to crew the vehicles, and he'd make sure the new guys didn't get first choice of guns.  Something that really was troubling the gang leader was that they just didn't seem to be finding much loot in the town. Food was reasonably easy to come by, but sources of guns, ammo, and fuel -- especially fuel, were few and far between. Was this just the way things had played out in Montreal? Or was the ruling gang watching their moves, making sure they would stick around just long enough to have the trap sprung on them?  His suspicions heightened all the more that afternoon. When the were inspecting the north side of the town for better loot, they were surprised from behind by a screaming man on a cherry-red motorcycle. It was the Furies, yet again. The motorcycle sped by them without firing and rushed down the avenue before taking a sharp left turn. It didn't return immediately but they could hear the bike running up and down the street in the distance, as if daring the Gator Goons to come at them. Florida Man grabbed what guns they had and hopped into the Gatormobile. The Chevy followed after.  The Furies still seemed to be sending just one lone cycle at a time. Since the Gatormobile was the only car that could match them in maneuverability and fire range, the van roamed a bit off to the side this time, ensuring that it could not escape to the central part of Montreal. The bulldozer stayed back, well away from the action.  The sports car and the motorcycle approached each other at highway speeds, with the Gatormobile reaching the cross street first. A small amount of gunfire was exchanged between the two vehicles but no casualties were inflicted.  The motorcycle seemed to be attempting the previous tactic of slamming into the car, leaving it damaged enough to be easy prey for a larger group to come later. But Florida Man knew his car well, and wasn't going to let the Gatormobile get a scratch this time. He made the curve around the block at 80 mph and kept well ahead of his adversary.  Another turn and they made a figure-eight pattern on the small city blocks. With the Gatormobile heading south now, the van was chugging north up the main street. Florida Man signaled the men on top to hold their fire until right at the moment they could get close, and when they did, one of the enemy gangsters was shot out of the sidecar.  As the Gatormobile swerved in another circle around the block, the big van approached. They were able to close to crossbow range, but all of their shots missed.  Moments later, the battle was over. The Furies went for the only target they could, but even a head-on collision did minor damage to the Chevy van. Another battle was over. And they knew now that they were, indeed, still somewhere the Furies could consider their territory. Fortunately for the gang, they raided a sporting goods store that night with a large selection of rifles in it. Jack picked out a Montana Varminter for himself to use, and Florida Man grabbed an Auto-5 shotgun.  Another morning spent in fruitless searching ended in a sudden tragedy: as the gang was walking along Rue St Paul, bursts of gunfire opened up from the buildings above. It was an ambush! The Gator Goons fled for safety, but losses were heavy.  Jack suspected they'd been betrayed by an infiltrator. The next time they recruited members, both he and Florida Man went over to check on the new members before letting them in the gang. They ended up with some below-average goons, but these at least seemed reliable. With the death of so many men, Florida Man finally agreed that it was about time to head on and try their luck in another town. But they couldn't get anywhere without gas for the D5. Jack, and many of the people in the gang, said just to leave it in the city. With the van alone they could have carried a week's worth of food. But Florida Man was determined not to let his prize toy go.  A taxi lot on the outskirts of the town gave them the stroke of luck they needed: just enough fuel to get to another city. Jack and Dr. Balthazar were in favor of heading northeast, to Quebec, but most of the people in the gang, especially the Americans, thought that would put them too close to the edge of what civilization remained. Florida Man didn't want to head toward the coast, in case there were Invaders there.  They headed out on the westward highway in the middle of the night, in an attempt to avoid the notice of the gangs. By the time the sun rose, they were well on their way.  Later that morning as they headed down into a broad valley, lookouts on the van spied movement among the many wrecked and abandoned cars strewn along the roadway. It was another group of Furies, but this time, two motorcycles screaming up the road.  The Furies began converging on the van, so Jack swung it sideways to allow a broadside of fire from the inside to rake the two cycles. Two people were killed outright.  In a dangerous move, Florida Man sped at high speed straight across the median strip separating the two directions of the freeway from each other. In the van, Jack gripped the wheel tightly and kept his cool. The Gatormobile stayed in control after hitting the grass, and turned to take its own shots at the motorcycles. Moving to different terrain actually does have an effect on speed, and can cause unexpected turns, depending on the vehicle's handling ability. The speed and current stats (which are affected by speed) are shown in the lower right.  Unfortunately the Gatormobile's shots all missed as it made the turn back on the highway and threaded its way between two burned-out cars. It was able to draw the cycles into a chase after it, though.  The bulldozer realized that it was now a bit too close to the combat. A few accurate shots from those Furies could have put it out of commission.  As Florida Man slammed down on the accelerator to speed away from the sidecar cycle turning to follow him, the second cycle made a turn to go after the bulldozer.  But it misjudged the turn and skidded straight into the front right end of the bulldozer. A few of the food crates were smashed, but there was no real damage at all to the sturdy D5.  Right as they started to gain separation from the motorcycle, a merc on the roof fired a shot that took out the engine. It continued straight into the side of a wrecked pickup truck and the remaining occupants were dead before they hit the ground. You don't actually do structural damage by shooting a vehicle; it only crashes like that when you everyone in the interior dies. So I'm taking poetic license, because most of this combat doesn't change up too much.  The vehicles were running on fumes as they pulled into the outskirts of Ottawa. If this city turned out to be more threatening than Montreal, they were going to be in some real trouble soon enough. I'm leaving out any death screens, but at this point in the game, it can be very easy to lose. There is a lot of randomness and little means to mitigate it when you're weak. One attack can wipe out the gang, so constantly saving the game is a necessity. I think we were killed at least three times in Montreal, and on the escape route one nighttime assault left us with too few people to continue. Actually the most surprising thing is that we had such a lucky start, especially in a town controlled by Invaders, since we didn't die at all there. This week's film: The Aftermath (1982)
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Oct 23, 2020 07:24
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The news articles linked are my favourite thing  Godspeed, Florida Man, you crazy bastard.
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Oct 23, 2020 12:52
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Discovered this thread a bit late. Any prominent female characters in the gang? Just asking for inclusion, no agenda. Great job so far.
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Oct 23, 2020 14:28
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It's definitely planned. I'm just adding characters gradually as the gang expands. I do feel it's probably going to stay mostly male to keep with the Florida Man craziness, but aside from the portraits implying gender of the cronies (which I will ignore freely), and the GUB director's assumptions, there's nothing restricting you in terms of gender in the game. e: Forgot that every time you add to the party, it says 'some men join' so there's also that. (It's likely meant in a generic 'soldier' sense more than being deliberately exclusionary.) Good to know people are enjoying it so far. Kangra fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Oct 23, 2020 |
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Oct 23, 2020 15:43
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Cool. It would also be great if we get a pet. The dog Max has in some of his movies and the game is my favorite character from that franchise.
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Oct 23, 2020 17:21
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achtungnight posted:Cool. It would also be great if we get a pet. The dog Max has in some of his movies and the game is my favorite character from that franchise. Hey look, there's a dog driving a bus!
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Oct 23, 2020 20:26
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The Aftermath (1982) "No, Mathews. Not revenge. Justice."  Synopsis The film starts with a near-future spaceship on its way home after a year spent in space. They are trying to figure out why they are getting no response on their radio from the Earth's tracking stations, even though their equipment seems to be fine. As they wonder what might be going on, we switch to the situation on the ground — groups of people are being rounded up by a gang of armed men. The captured men are executed (rather graphically). The women and children are forced to watch before being hauled off to the gang's camp. The spaceship, captained by a man known as 'Newman', decides to re-enter the atmosphere near Los Angeles, but something goes wrong and the ship crash lands offshore. Newman survives the landing and is eventually rejoined by the navigator/pilot, Mathews. Together they discover that Los Angeles has been devastated, and the only people they encounter are mutated subhumanoids who attack them on sight. All signs indicate that a nuclear war has destroyed civilization. The two astronauts find a large house up in the hills to live in, but Mathews has injured his leg, and cannot travel around easily. Newman makes scouting trips alone, and at one point takes shelter from a radioactive rainstorm by going into a museum. Inside he encounters a (normal-looking) small child and the museum's curator. The curator muses a bit on mankind's self-destructive nature, reveals he has a terminal illness, and then walks off to die, leaving Newman to take care of Christopher, the young boy. Throughout these scenes are cut several sequences of what has been happening to the people who'd been captured. It mostly involves sexual assault of the women, and shooting people who resist the gang. At one point, the gang's leader, named 'Cutter', is preparing to rape a woman. She manages to slash him with a piece of broken glass, and escapes. While out scouting with Chris, Newman finds himself suddenly being shot at. It turns out to be Sarah, the woman who escaped from Cutter. After Newman explains he's not part of the gang, more 'mutants' attack, and the three eventually return safely to the house. After a few weeks (during which Newman teaches Christopher to use a gun and Sarah and he become lovers), they plot a daring raid on Cutter's camp. The goal is to rescue a woman and her young daughter who had been captured with Sarah. It is successful, although Mathews re-injures his leg. Cutter's gang finds the house and they kill Sarah, the mother, and her child. Newman, intent on revenge, tells Chris and Mathews that for the sake of justice, he has to go after the gang, and he'll go alone if need be. What follows is a lengthy combat sequence in which Newman single-handedly takes down almost all of the gang. Mathews does show up to save Newman at a critical point in the fight, but is shot and killed nearly as soon as he arrives. Cutter escapes unpunished. Newman drives away to take Christopher somewhere 'safe' (although it weirdly appears he's either going to abandon him or kill him out in the desert). Somehow, though, Cutter has followed them; he walks out of the desert and shoots Newman. Cutter taunts the dying Newman for a bit, but then Chris appears and shoots him in the back. Newman does die and then Christopher walks down the highway alone, with his voice-over telling us that he will always remember the principles the man taught him.  The plot here is actually pretty decent, if straightforward. The main theme of the film seems to be the question of when violence is necessary, or at least the necessity of demanding justice by deadly force. That does seem a bit at odds with the fact that it's set in a world that destroyed itself in war, and the movie also includes a lot of scenes that are simply violent on their own. It never really grapples with the complexity of this idea, at least not in a way that comes through very well. This film is driven by producer/director/writer Steve Barkett (who plays Newman), and stars Barkett's own son as Christopher. It seems very much as if he wanted to tell this story of a 'good man' example as a way to pass on his own values, and possibly establish himself in Hollywood. The latter part didn't really work, as he made only one other feature (1990's Empire of the Dark). And while the film itself is for the most part competently made, the end product is mostly mediocre. It jumps from scene to scene a bit too quickly without establishing context, and often rushes through what's happening with very clunky exposition that too often is simply voice-over by Newman instead of shown on-screen.  Another, rather unseemly, aspect is just how much it also wants to be an exploitation film. From the initial 'capture' sequence onward, the scenes of victims - both the men who are executed, and the women who are killed or assaulted — are disquieting and lurid. They stop just short of being too explicit, but what's shown is a bit more than necessary for the purpose of demonstrating how reprehensible the gang is. The combat sequences are, in contrast, a lot cleaner with their violence, and I found the latter part of the film more watchable. The victimization scenes are so obviously different that their presence does slightly undercut whatever the rest of the film is conveying. It's also apparent that, aside from Sarah, who has a bit of a character, the women are really only there to provide the motivation for the men to bring 'justice' to the criminals. I found it fairly upsetting that the woman's young daughter (probably played by Barkett's own daughter) doesn't even get to speak, and just gets spattered with blood in order to allow Newman's rage to increase. Whatever other memories he carries from his surrogate father, Christopher learns next to nothing about women.  In contrast to Mad Max, this film looks every bit of its low budget. When the 'mutants' (who aren't referred to as such in the movie, but it's a common enough trope) first showed up, I was not entirely sure they weren't just gang members who liked to wear strange masks. The scenes in the museum and some shots in the spaceship take on a dream-like quality since they are shot with nearly no on-set background, just a black void around them. The curator's scenes come off comically rushed, probably because he's played by author (and actual movie memorabilia curator) Forrest J Ackerman, who was probably only available for a day or less of shooting. Newman's constant voice-overs provide convenient exposition without the need to shoot more scenes, but as often as not he's also saying things that could be accomplished by actual dialogue between the characters. Connections to Roadwar 2000  While this is one film that's arguably not influenced very much by Mad Max (though the gang leader's name is suspect), it still puts on display a number of post-apocalyptic tropes that the game also includes. Most notable is that in the face of a collapsing civilization, there will be bands of people who seem to exist solely to torment, exploit, and attack others. Combat is not just inevitable, but is considered the only possibly way to interact with them. In-game, extermination of many groups is necessary, at least to the extent that it makes your own gang powerful. Of course combat is actually the primary focus gameplay-wise, so it is understandable. I suppose in some way that corresponds to these films' need to show some violence and action sequences. The presence of a 'third-party' threat in the form of the subhumans is also something that relates, although we haven't yet seen that revealed in the game (how and why it happens is part of Director Herrell's journal, so we'll eventually know even if it doesn't occur in the course of play). This aspect of 'mutation' or 'devolution' as a result of nuclear war is a common one, and is one we'll have a chance to return to in future films. Kangra fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Nov 5, 2020 |
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Oct 27, 2020 05:41
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Just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying the LP and the movie discussion!
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Oct 27, 2020 18:22
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Florida Man Ascends to Power in OttawaGUB Director's Journal posted:June 13, 1999  Ottawa seemed to be a smaller, calmer town than Montreal had been. The scouts reported that there was no real central authority there, just a small band of people who had been well-prepared for the collapse of society and were doing their best to control access to the city's resources.  It seemed as if there were more guns in the town for the taking than even the survivalist gang had required. At this point the Gator Goons needed to stock up on ammo, and could stash most of the weapons in key locations around the city.  This town seemed to have depopulated fairly quickly, and there were a few more abandoned vehicles to search through. The Goons located a 1986 Hyundai Stellar with a running engine.  The roof had a large hole in it and all the windows were smashed out, but it could move well enough once they put new tires on it. It'd be a good companion to the Chevy for bringing a bit more firepower on those smaller targets, and it could turn itself out of a jam a little better, even if it couldn't really escape quickly.  The next morning, on a recruitment push, they encountered a gathering of ragged-looking men, women, and children. From Jack's questioning of them, Florida Man gathered that they'd been excluded from the food markets by the survivalists and their guns, and with little hope of any food coming in from the farms in the countryside, they were growing weaker and desperate. He had the Gator Goons distribute some food and allowed any who were willing to sign up with the gang. It was a poor strategic choice, but he couldn't turn away these down-on-their-luck folks.  As luck would have it, they also discovered a high school that had in recent months been converted to an emergency shelter. The food stocks were completely filled, and one of the new members, who had been a student there, knew how to break into the auto shop classroom.  On the way out of the school, they also spotted a three-seat scooter left outside the gymnasium. Florida Man said he "didn't want to start being mistaken for the Furies", which confused a number of the newer members, but it wasn't as if any of them wanted to be riding in the tiny deathtrap anyway.  There was a lot more excitement the next morning when an early patrol spotted something much more appealing. One of the patrollers spotted a truck tractor sitting on a side street, and said she was positive it hadn't been there two days earlier. So it must have been moved, and who would move something that big if they weren't driving it? The patrol didn't want to chance a confrontation with the driver, so they left a couple of the young recruits to keep an eye on the truck and returned with their report. Florida Man's eyes grew large when they mentioned that it seemed to have parked their recently, and he swore he'd find a way to convince the driver to join them. There was no lack of semi-trailer cargo units to be found, damaged or no, but a working tractor unit would mean a huge boost in the gang's capacity for soldiers and cargo. As the rest of the gang wandered over to where it'd been found, the scouts reported that there'd been no activity inside the vehicle. Still, it was barely dawn, so that didn't seem terribly surprising. Florida Man ordered several people to come with him and proceeded to bang his fist loudly on the passenger side of the cab. After raising a furious racket and shouting that he'd start firing his shotgun through the window if the door didn't open, one of the gangsters finally decided to just pull on the door. It opened up and out fell the dangling arm of the deceased driver. Immediately one of the bodyguards shouted, "Get away! He's diseased! He's diseased!" and nobody bothered to check twice before fleeing from the truck. Jack went to retrieve Dr. Balthazar. The doctor cautiously came to examine the slumped-over body of the man and moments later climbed up into the cab. He closed the door and shouted to the rest, "I'll check out the inside!" and could be seen examining all of the interior compartments. Florida Man figured he was thoroughly making sure there were no diseased animals inside. Eventually Balthazar stepped down and came over. "He's clean. Died of a drug overdose, probably within the last day." Then he added, "Didn't seem to have any drugs on him, though, so, uh, maybe he was poisoned." Florida Man didn't care anymore, though. He had two Goons pull the body out of the cab and called over for someone who knew how to drive one of the things. An older grey-haired man who had recently signed up said he used to drive trucks for a living. He got up in the driver's seat and the thing started up like a charm. It was a mid-90's Freightliner sleeper cab, a powerful diesel. It did not take long before they found a semi-trailer to hitch up to it, and the Gator Goons now meant serious business.  With a near-limitless capacity for storage and enough space for almost the whole gang to sleep inside, the Gator Goons rapidly began to expand. No one was sure yet if they were going to really give much control to the town, but at least they weren't trying to actively keep others out of the city's best supply areas.  By the next day, their numbers were swelling to nearly a hundred members. Most of them were raw and hadn't the slightest clue about how to handle a firearm, let alone a car in the middle of a battle, but their quantity just couldn't be argued with, and as long as the food held out, there was little to keep them from complaining.  Of course, food wasn't much of a problem, since the basket on the Cat D5 was already pretty full, and there were still a few places to be found with small caches of food. Fuel, on the other hand, was definitely going to be an issue once again. They only had enough to make short trips around the city; they could not leave, and as big as they were now, those Survivalists had to be preparing for a showdown.  And then, when it came, it was over almost before it started. It seemed about half of the town's controlling group had simply grabbed up some guns and skipped town, apparently heading off into the Canadian wilderness. Those that remained were hardly a match for the Gator Goons. On a warm afternoon they all came rushing, focusing fire on the trailer, but there just weren't enough of them. In the end, twelve gang members had died, but now, there was no one left in Ottawa to oppose the gang.  "Well hell, looks like you own this town, now," remarked Jack as they looked out over the river. "I guess you can set up a government, and run the whole country!" he joked. Florida Man was a bit confused. He didn't think having control of one town would make much of a difference. Canada's a big country, he thought. "I wanna take that castle. That'll be ours," he almost demanded of Jack as he pointed out a squat, strong-looking structure near a park. "Don't want the Parliament? Probably pretty nice inside," responded his friend, gesturing behind them. "Besides, this is where the government, uh, used to be." Florida Man gave him a squinty look as he stared over at the new American Embassy building. "I'm pretty sure I can see where the government was. That's the government flag, there, see? Right by the castle. But that building's all shiny glass. Doesn't seem too safe." Jack pointed out that his government's flag was the one flying on most of the other buildings in the city. Florida Man told him with a laugh that he guessed it was okay if Jack had his own flag for his mercenaries, but he wanted to keep the Gator Goons together so he shouldn't try to wear it too proudly. But it did give him the idea that maybe they did need a flag of their own. They were big time, now. They had a city. Florida Man wasn't sure if he really wanted to be thought of as an emperor, that seemed a bit too crazy, but it sure would be nice if the gang could just have some peace and quiet. Gain control of a town, and you could raid it in peace.  Food was in fact a lot easier to come by, now. The Gator Goons stashed several weeks' worth in the truck and the bulldozer, and left the rest for the locals to divide up. Then they starting scrounging for more fuel. One of the New Yorkers who'd stuck with the gang for a while came forward and said he'd heard a rumor — out in the west end of New York, or maybe Pennsylvania, he wasn't sure, there was supposed to be some oil wells still operating. People had set up their own refining operation there, so they said. If it was true, it could spell an end to their fuel troubles, at least for a while.  Even to check on that rumor, however, they'd need at least enough to get to the next city, so they had to keep searching around Ottawa. One patrol discovered an empty hideouts left behind by the survivalists that had formerly ruled the town. There were enough guns there to nearly double their supply, so Florida Man cached the bulk of them in his 'castle'.  Before heading out on the trip back to the US, the gang asked for more volunteers to join up. It was clear that sometimes the folks that joined up were just looking for a safe group to travel with before jumping ship in another town. Losses were to be expected, but heading out with too small a group meant they'd be a lot more vulnerable on the return trip.  One of the people in the group, a round-faced friendly looking fellow, introduced himself as Harper Stevens. He used to be involved in the government, he said, but he got fed up with the system and got out, even before things started to collapse. "We must stand together," he told the gang, and offered his services to them. He figured they could use someone who could talk to people, maybe get them to understand how the gang could improve their life, so there'd be less chance of conflict. Politicians are cronies that can improve success when recruiting new members. They also can help out in a specific situation we'll see later (and which actually allows for a concrete measure of their ability).  The Gator Goons finally found a bus depot that had a little more fuel. Florida Man had the cars fixed up and told the gang to get ready to move out. Jack was still troubled, saying that there wasn't enough to make it any farther than Montreal, and he didn't want to be stuck out of gas there, or go another way and get lost in some little nowhere town. Florida Man said he had a plan: He was going to go straight south. He knew the south had to be the way to go, and the highways were patrolled by the bigger gangs, so why not skip the major roads? Jack asked him if he even knew whether there was a bridge over the river on that route. Florida Man figured it couldn't be that hard to find one, or just somehow drive through it. Jack was nearly ready to split when Stevens showed up to defuse the situation. He said the gang could only survive if they stayed together, and it was indeed possible to make it over. It was after all, the most direct route. "We're all headed south," he insisted. Florida Man allowed Stevens to install some of his friends as managers of the town while the Gator Goons were away. He stressed that no one should mess with the 'castle' until he came back. You do not actually have to assign people to hold the cities you control; and you don't really have to worry about them turning against you, either.  It was hardly a few hours after they left Ottawa that they arrived at the border crossing. They were relieved to discover an intact bridge that easily supported the trailer truck. Stevens mentioned that the little town reminded him of Halifax. Despite the roads being a bit in need of repair, the rest of the trip was without incident, and even though it took them a full day to make the drive, they ended up in Syracuse the next morning.  Unfortunately, their scouts revealed that this town, too, was under the influence of the Invaders. Florida Man was getting nervous about the aliens. He asked Jack if he thought they had control over all of Albania, but Jack just looked at him oddly. Then Jack asked what they were going to do about fuel in this hostile town, since the 'brilliant plan' to head out had gotten them stuck there with less then a day's worth of fuel to go. Florida Man scratched his cheek and said he was sure he'd think of something.  As luck would have it, they found a gas station with a solid amount of fuel in storage. Someone must have filled it recently. It gave them hope that there really was a source of oil to the west. Florida Man flashed Jack a smile and the Goons headed west on the highway.  They arrived that evening near Rochester, and the Goons sent out another group of scouts. The report came back an hour later. The good news was that the scouts heard tell of an 'oil city' off to the southwest, so their hopes of a solid fuel source seemed to be coming to fruition. The bad news was that this town, too, was controlled by Invaders. Dr. Balthazar asked if the whole American country had been overrun. Florida Man was sure they couldn't have got to Florida, though, could they? He realized that before long, they might be powerful enough to fight their way back down home, and was filled with a renewed sense of purpose. He led the gang straight into Rochester, grabbed some extra supplies, and then ordered them to head out. They were going to get that gas or die trying. This week's movie: Solarbabies
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Oct 28, 2020 20:54
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Oh boy, looking forward to the Solarbabies analysis.
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Oct 28, 2020 22:51
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Did you seriously recruit a former conservative Prime Minister and leave his friends in charge of Ottawa? It's 2004 all over again.
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Oct 28, 2020 23:10
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No, no, he's completely different. Different name and everything. And it's only 2000, so he wouldn't be Prime Minister... yet. Watched Solarbabies for the first time yesterday, and it sure wasn't quite what I expected.
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Oct 29, 2020 21:55
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Solarbabies (1986) "Where's Bodhi? He's gone. --He's left us. --No. Look. --He's all around us!"  Synopsis A voiceover at the start establishes that the world has changed drastically; fresh water no longer flows freely, but legend tells of some savior that may come from the sky to fix it. We then see a young boy turn on the power for what looks like a skate park. A bunch of teens on roller skates show up and play a roller hockey-like game (it's maybe called 'skateball' in their world), until a police force arrives and they scatter. The boy, Daniel, heads into a cave, where he discovers a glowing ball named Bodhi* that seemingly communicates with him psychically. He also finds that he can now hear without his 'electronic ears'. The orphanage turns out to be part of a police state known as the 'E-Protectorate', which controls all access to water for at least a 100-mile radius. It is overseen by the ruthless Strictor Grock. He chastises the warden (the man who gave us the voiceover set-up earlier) for being too tolerant in allowing his charges to get outside the walls. He also tears into his junior lackey for losing to the ragtag team, who are known as the Solarbabies. Daniel reveals Bodhi to the group and they experience a brief thunderstorm inside their dormitory, which is doubly unusual as none of them have ever even seen rain before. The group decides that Bodhi's power must be kept a secret, though they later go out to play skateball with it. Another boy (named Darstar), who has spied on their surreptitious sporting events, steals Bodhi and flees into the desert. Daniel goes missing as well; the rest of them figure he has gone after Bodhi, and they leave to search for him, knowing that they cannot come back this time. Darstar, meanwhile, has managed to find one of the tribes living out in the desert. They call themselves the 'Tchigani'[?] and live at an abandoned carnival. When they discover Darstar has a pendant on his neck that came from them, and also has an affinity for birds, they declare he is one of their own. Darstar reveals Bodhi and is taken to a shaman of sorts. From him they learn that Bodhi would be of immense value to the E-Protectorate, and that they would stop at nothing to get it. The E-Police show up, wreck the Tchigani village, and interrogate the leader with psychic hallucinatory torture. He reveals that Darstar has Bodhi, which Grock refers to as 'the sphere of Longinus'. Grock sends some bounty hunters to look for the Solarbabies. The Solarbabies, having escaped from the orphanage, find Daniel in the smoking ruins of the Tchigani village. They then end up at Tire Town, a somewhat bustling village where tires are recycled. Daniel leads them to a locked storage container that he is sure holds Bodhi. A sadder but wiser Darstar shows up and tells them the combination. As they are about to recover Bodhi, the E-Police show up again, so they have to escape by rolling away in tires, but one member of the group, Terra, is left behind. Strictor Grock takes the sphere to the 'aqua bunker' and shows it to his superior, Shandray. She commences an attempt to destroy Bodhi by shooting lasers at it for a while. Once Bodhi's outer surface is weakened, Shandray brings out a robot named Terminack that is supposed to finish the job. The bounty hunters catch the kids, but on the way back to the orphanage they are rescued by Terra and a group of white-clad desert soldiers known as 'Eco-Warriors'. She turns out to be the daughter of their leader. Daniel wants to rescue Bodhi from the aqua bunker. Terra initially thinks they have no chance to break in, but later gives them a map and heads with them to the aqua bunker (which is of course a dam). The gang breaks into the aqua bunker and finds the lab where Bodhi is. Terminack has apparently failed to penetrate the surface. The Solarbabies use their skateball skills to damage Terminack, and it crashes into a control panel. That triggers some sort of emergency situation that will destroy the entire aqua bunker, and an evacuation alarm sounds. Daniel retrieves Bodhi and they escape as the dam bursts. As the water from the dam flows out and a thunderstorm starts, Bodhi glows brightly and disappears. Then Daniel and the group realize that Bodhi will always be with them. The film ends. Over the credits the kids go swimming and manage to not drown. *Daniel insists that it's pronounced 'bo-DAI', but another character uses 'BO-dee' (like the name Bodie) and he half-seriously says that it talks to each person in its own way. I guess they were trying to avoid lawsuits from the Sanskrit language and its millenia-old trademark on the concept of enlightenment, since nobody attempts to pronounce it any other way. They also say 'Longinus' with a short 'i', but that alternate name is a stab at a clever pun that just comes off sounding silly no matter what.  If you found any part of the above confusing, rest assured the film is more perplexing by far, because much of the time there is no context given to the events of a scene until well into it, or later on in the film. The characters' actions frequently make no sense based on what is happening at the time, and their motivation is either not given or only becomes known well after the fact. This is compounded by the fact that at any given time, the explanation for something might be 'this was caused by Bodhi's psychic influence' or just 'future society works this way'. The end result is that it is extremely difficult for the audience to get invested in what is happening, because we must wait for the film to tell us why it is happening. About the only saving grace is that it does give some sense of wonder in learning more about the world. In broad strokes, the plot is pretty easy to follow because it's a standard children's movie set-up, where the heroes leave their limited world to go on a noble quest and discover more about the wider world. We don't really need to know why Grock destroys a village -- he's the bad guy, he's trying to get the powerful thing the kids have, and they have to stop him at some point. We can root for the kids, we can see that the E-Protectorate's tight control of the water supply is nefarious even on this ruined planet, and the kids skill at roller skating is of course going to be critical at various points. There is actually some subtlety and complexity going on but it requires a lot of work to get at it. The film is a near-perfect failure of movie storytelling. To illustrate, here's one example: Daniel's hearing. At the start of the film, Daniel is alone, so there's no need for him to interact by speaking or listening. He is wearing headphones that just look like quasi-futuristic headphones any kid might wear. When he first turns on the power, he has to pull his hands back to avoid the sparking switch, and there is a loud whining noise from the generator. He pulls off his headphones. The sound gets quiet, and we see him smile, but there really is no way to know that the generator hasn't just gone quiet on its own since all we see is Daniel's reaction, and in fact we still hear some sound, it's just different. Moreover, since the headphones are metallic-looking, he might have just been pulling them off because he was almost just burned by sparking electricity. That's the only indication we have of how he hears, since while watching the match he is able to hear and even speak fine, even when his 'electronic ears' are not on (that can charitably be a continuity error, but it does not help). Just before he discovers Bodhi, the headset gets crushed by a rolling mine cart. It's a devastating blow, but again we might think that's merely because he's an orphan in a future where technology like simple headphones is precious. Then when he first picks up Bodhi, he starts staring at the cave ceiling, and we hear the water dripping. For him, this is the first time he's heard it on his own, but until the point that he actually says, "I can hear", we really cannot tell what has him so fascinated, because he is also seeing this part of the cave for the first time (It was revealed when the mine cart breaks the wall, which is how he gets to where Bodhi is). I will say that sometimes the minimal explanation after the fact works well. When both Darstar and Terra are found by their respective tribes, we gain a better understanding of how the E-Protectorate's "orphanage" actually operates, without anyone having to really explain it. (There is a suggestive exchange between Grock and the warden about it, so it is decently foreshadowed.) We also get occasional glimpses of how the E-Protectorate's propaganda is influencing the kids, even when it's mostly only shown in the background or as a set-up to another scene. There is clearly effort behind the film, but it is a too-often squandered effort. The acting is mostly good, but unfortunately it's the kids who are the weakest, and we spend more time with them than the other characters. Daniel (played by Lukas Haas) is infectiously bright-eyed and enthusiastic, but the film can't rest on him. Richard Jordan is particularly great as Stricter Grock, though, finding just the right balance between hammy and menacing.  This film is infamous for being a massive flop that nearly ruined Mel Brooks financially. It made back less than 10% of its budget of $25 million, and although the expense can often be seen on-screen, it seems like it really wasn't worth it. Sometimes there are elaborate sets or visual effects, but they aren't terribly impressive within the film, and can often seem unnecessary. There's a whole sequence of an arm withering away that only shows off Stricter Grock's torture device, and while it's a decent display of how sadistic he is, it never really comes into play any other way. The one big set that does look good is Tire Town, but it is so transparently inspired by Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (right down to the bounty hunters seeming to be characters from that universe) that it again seems hard to really praise it for that. This film is a failure on many levels, but it is somewhat interesting as a flop. It's too confusing to be enjoyable, and not really worth watching except as a way to learn how not to construct a film. I would not fault anyone for having fond memories of it, though, since it does have some charm and the individual bits are interesting. I'd love to call it an ambitious failure, but I think it didn't fail so much due to too much ambition as in just failing to tell its story properly. Connections to Roadwar 2000  This movie is set a fair deal further into the future than some of the others, given the rather drastically different society that water rationing seems to necessitate. I say 'seems to' because of the hints that maybe there are other pockets of civilization still remaining. The warden says it is 'Year 41' and can recall fresh water running, or at least knows legends of it. When we see Tire Town and the Tchigani it's clear the E-Protectorate isn't in control of all of the supply, so it may be just be they control the desert. It's not far from the game world of a collapsing society to one in which specific factions run their fiefdoms in very different ways. As said, though, Tire Town owes maybe a bit too much to Mad Max, so anything along those lines will be similar to the Mad Max influences on the game. There is the other aspect of the roller-skating 'gang' making use of those skills to fight. We don't really get that in the game, since it's all either vehicular or on-foot combat, but it kind of feels related. Alternate, simpler forms of transportation that don't rely on fuel are of course considered the norm in post-apocalyptic settings. Interestingly, though, there are some 'futuristic' dune buggies and motorcycles that the E-Police use to get around, suggesting they have control not only of water but other energy sources. As we will see in the next update, the more precious resources will be the ones most fiercely guarded once society has broken down. Kangra fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Nov 5, 2020 |
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Nov 2, 2020 19:49
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Well, uh. That... sure was apparently a movie. 
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Nov 2, 2020 20:08
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Florida Man Reclaims Canadian City from AmericansGUB Director Herrell posted:July 8, 1999  It was early morning when a crewmember spotted the first oil well from the highway. Soon they saw several more, and Florida Man could no longer wait. He gunned the Gatormobile's engine and drove straight off the road into a field of derricks. The rest of the gang hesitated, but had no choice but to follow him away from the pavement. Florida Man shouted out that the oil was clearly being pumped from there. He knew that meant they could get it somehow. Jack, driving the van, pulled up alongside the Gatormobile. "What's the plan? You really think we can just take it out of one of those things?" Dr. Balthazar poked his head out from the rear door of the van. "It's not that simple. You can't use it raw." "Sure thing," responded Florida Man. Then he continued "But if there's a well there, all we gotta do is wait for somebody to come after it, to pick up the oil." Just then they saw a flashing yellow light, and a yellow-painted tractor rolling across the field towards them. A loudspeaker blared, "This is Hard Hat territory. You must leave or you will be shot." "Well I think that's our supplier right there!" hooted Florida Man as he fired up the car's engine. "Let's go! We got a truckful of guns now!"  The Gator Goons trailer truck had been lagging behind but still was able to catch up. They'd modified it with gun ports all along the trailer, and many of the less-experienced goons were inside, ready to shoot at any enemy in range. Florida Man wheeled the Gatormobile back around and encouraged them to prepare for a gunfight.  The Hyundai and the van were actually closest to the approaching tractor, and they got ready to take on the challenge.  It was slow going in the scrub grass, but the Gator Goons tried to close to firing range while maintaining some speed. They didn't want to end up in a collision with the much more solid farm equipment.  The Gatormobile, as usual, got well ahead of the rest of the cars. One of the backseat gang commandos spotted a second tractor approaching from the eastern direction.  An impressive spray of gunfire erupted out of the side of the truck, but hardly any of the shots even pinged against the tractor.  Likewise, neither the Chevy van nor the Stellar landed a hit.  Florida Man veered right to cut off the escape route of the second tractor. He figured the trailer would eventually knock it out, just by volume of fire.  The driver of the Hyundai realized too late that he was dangerously close to the enemy. He pushed as hard on the accelerator as he could and just barely whipped past the tractor before it could hit his car.  This fortunately made for an ideal position to unload a barrage. The van had turned one side toward the front of the tractor as well.  Flanked by fire from the two vehicles, all the occupants of the tractor that had warned them off were killed.  As he maneuvered around the bushes past the second tractor, Florida Man fired a shot out the window that picked off the driver. "Got lucky!" he beamed.  Seeing the other tractor knocked out and their own driver dead, the vehicle made a turn back away from the trailer truck. The goons on the roof of the Gatormobile fired once again.  With no real way to escape, and no chance to survive, the tractor slowed to a stop and surrendered.  Mr. Stevens told them they could live, as long as they gave up all their supplies. The Gator Goons then drained the fuel stored on the other vehicle, and looted a large amount of food stored on board it. Then they grabbed a rope and tied up the men to the tractor. When you do the 'loot' action in an oilfield, you normally end up in combat like this. Afterward, you'll usually get a huge amount of fuel, so it's not worth going here unless you have the cargo capacity. As a side note, you may see in the following screen that our fuel is higher by even more than this amount; I actually fought a second combat and omitted it, as it's basically the same thing again.  Having taken about as much gas and food as they could store, the Gator Goons triumphantly headed away from the oilfield. Jack suggested that they continue to scout a few more cities to the west, since there had to be some that weren't controlled by the Invaders.  But Buffalo they found that this side of the border seemed to be all under the thumb of the mysterious Invaders. The Canadians in the group asked if anyone in the gang had ever even seen the 'Invaders', let alone fought them. Florida Man stayed silent, not wanting to let the secret out about the Invaders' true origin.  A lot of the gang members wanted to see Niagara Falls, and since it was near the border crossing, they pulled over the vehicles and ventured as close as they dared to the rushing water. Although the original plan was just a short trip to avoid attracting any local attention, one of the scouts cried out that the bridges nearby were all collapsed. That led to another hour's delay, which turned into some extra relaxation time for the group. Some of the couples ran off to have their own private time at the famously romantic locale. It wasn't long before an intact bridge was discovered a few miles to the north. It was guarded by a rough-looking gang of men on the far side, some attired, much to the Gator Goons' surprise, in threadbare American military uniforms. Mr. Stevens was able to convince them that since much of the group was Canadian, they really ought to be allowed free access. The men at the guardpost said they were mainly making sure there were no 'large-scale invasions' and told the group that they'd better not start any trouble.  Further scouting revealed that the town of Hamilton had been taken over by a group of American soldiers. It appeared they had been part of a National Guard unit headquartered in Buffalo, and had probably fled when the stronger army of the Invaders arrived. They maintained a tenuous but benign command over the city, despite technically being foreign invaders themselves.  Florida Man told the gang to drive on through Hamilton, to the much larger city of Toronto to the north. Toronto, however, seemed to be in the grip of a gang of ruthless 'business leaders'. Rumor had it they did not exactly rule by outright bloodshed, but would take advantage of anyone who appeared to be acquiring too much loot and just claim it for themselves.  The city was large enough that the Gator Goons were able to find a convenient parking lot to fix up their vehicles without being disturbed. They hadn't really attended to them after the fight in the oilfield, since they'd driven off in something of a rush. Thankfully none of the cars had suffered any structural damage this time.  Before the day was out, however, they ran into trouble in the city. A group of men and women dressed in black suits arrived with an entourage of gun-toting thugs. They demanded payment. Florida Man was about to tell them where they could put their payment, when Mr. Stevens intervened. He said he would rather this be a "day when nobody died". And he guaranteed he would cut those taxes the gang was demanding, if he only had a few minutes to work out a deal.  In the end, the Gator Goon handed over a good chunk of their food, and more fuel than Florida Man was comfortable giving away. He spat out the window of the Gatormobile and simply said they should head back to Hamilton. He considered finding some other way deal with those bureaucrats .  The next morning they had an encounter with some people wearing white clothing with red crosses on them, and said they were not part of any gang. They had been mostly nurses and other staff at Wellesley Hospital in Toronto. Initially they were trying to treat people who had the virus but they got fed up with the continual interference from the bureaucrats, and moved operations to Hamilton. They started to make regular visits to people in the neighborhoods, since they knew many were afraid to venture out once the gangs were taking control. They didn't seem to pleased with the Americans coming in, but acknowledged that the Lake Erie Guardsmen had at least kept things quiet.  Dr. Balthazar told them that while nobody in the group really needed treatment, he would be interested in seeing what sort of medicines they had access to. After a brief discussion, he traded away the gang's current stocks of antibiotics for as much as he could get of the 'antitoxin', a cocktail of drugs that could counteract the effects of the viral contagion.  The leaders of the gang had a meeting that day are decided that they should probably secure one of these local cities to use as a refuge that was close to the oilfield. Jack advised taking Hamilton, since it wasn't as risky as the unknown strength of the Invaders, and was a little closer to the border and smaller than Toronto, so easier to control. Florida Man agreed, and they started to stockpile guns and prepare some of the less-experienced goons for combat.  But in that small town, it didn't take long for news to travel that the gang was looking to take over. The Lake Erie Guardsmen came at them the next afternoon. After a tense shouting match in which they claimed that the territory was being held 'for all free people in the name of the United States', the former militiamen opened fire. It was their first time up against a better-trained gang, and a number of the unskilled Gator Goons rushed into the open and got themselves killed.  Losses were fairly heavy, with over 25 dead on the their side. It turned out that the entirety of the Guardsmen group had been the 20 or so men who'd arrived to do battle, or at least the Gator Goons never heard from them again. Afterward, they heard a loud whooping coming from one of the nearby houses. Out bounded a lithe brown-haired woman in her late twenties. "Now that was fantastic!" she exclaimed. "Hasn't been this much excitement in this town in forever. I thought it was more American army men coming over the border, but I guess it's just... you guys." She gave the Gatormobile an appreciative look. "Hey, nice car," she said, gingerly tapping its hood. "So, you...looking to take on any new members?" She told them her name was Cecile, and was only too eager to try her hand at fighting, or driving, or anything as long as they were planning on leaving the city soon. Florida Man said they were probably going to head back to Ottawa, because as he said, "I own it, you know." Jack favored doing a little more scouting of the cities to the west, and Mr. Stevens agreed it'd be a good idea to see what was out in that direction. Dr. Balthazar felt they might be closer to sources of more medicine "of the kind we need" if they went that way. Most of the gang seemed to favor the idea, so Florida Man said they should do it since they had the fuel. Cecile was delighted.  At dawn the next day, while attempting to pull in a few more recruits before moving on, they encountered a curious group of people who wore white and black facepaint. They said they were headed to "the gathering", and would go westward, but didn't want to travel with the Gator Goons at all.  After a day, the Gator Goons stored some of their supplies in a large air hangar outside of the town, and made their way off to the west.  When they reached Windsor, the nearest city on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, they saw more of the strange people with the black-and-white facepaint. There seemed to be even more of them here. Scouting in the town proved dangerous, and the gang encountered increasingly hostile behavior, with some people on the street attacking them on sight. The whole town seemed to be controlled by this peculiar cult.  Florida Man told the group to ensure that the cars were ready to travel, because he wanted to head back to Ottawa. The gang agreed that they did not want to stick around to find out when or where the 'gathering' was happening. Even Cecile seemed fairly unnerved by this first trip outside her city.  Arriving back in Hamilton, the Gator Goons accepted a few more of the people right off the street to be in the gang. Jack wasn't too pleased, and said he thought this rabble was only going to get themselves killed.  Finally, after the two-week run around Lake Ontario, the group found themselves back in Ottawa. There was a new city in the Gator Goons 'empire', and the gang had swelled to over 100 members, some of whom had battle scars already. Another meeting was held in Florida Man's 'castle', and when they considered what to do next, he made the declaration that now was the time to take Montreal. This week's film: Battletruck (aka Warlords of the 21st Century)
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Nov 5, 2020 23:10
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