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Biopunk Capitalism Simulator 2021 - Let's Play Cruelty Squad Warning: This game contains scenes of explicit violence, gore, and a complete disregard for any concept of pleasant visual/aural stimuli which could be considered dangerous to people with and/or without history of photosensitivity or epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised. Explain Cruelty Squad Cruelty Squad is a first person tactical shooter/immersive sim released by Consumer Softproducts, or more specifically the person behind the company name, Ville Kallio. A Finnish artist whose prior work has existed in all manner of mediums from artworks, to animations, to installations, and so on. All of which are made with a very bizarre perspective and some amount of influence from video games. Some of them even got featured in notable museums such as Helsinki's SIC Gallery. It's important to bring up this guy's background because what Cruelty Squad ultimately is, is an artist's horrifying picture of a corporate dystopia that explicitly eschews multiple artistic conventions, and a few gameplay ones, all while wrapping it around a game that is shockingly fun to play. It looks like the most painful thing to a passing viewer, but the game earns itself that right when it's built this loving good. What Is The Cruelty Squad? In universe, the titular Cruelty Squad is a wetworks group owned by an unnamed conglomerate that the protagonist is hired for after being fired from his last job. Going from a steady salary as a lethal security enforcer...to a gig economy dependent contract killer. You take missions from your handler, all of which involve assassinating certain people who are working against the holding company's interest, and sometimes exacting petty revenge or violence for the sake of it. That last one might be all the above though. It's hard to tell in this absurd world sometimes. It's a disgusting, biopunk hellscape where the very value of human life is in the negative as death and un death are a regular occurance. And there's even weirder poo poo lurking beneath the surface. Yes, weirder than an actual in game stock market that is as volatile as the real thing, or a creation myth derived from someone reading The Accursed Share for the first time. There's a lot to find in this game. What's the Format This is a comprehensive video LP, with Kaboom Dragoon joining me on co-commentary, that goes beyond simply completing every single mission, being the completionist that I am. All missions will be completed the first time on Punishment mode, a difficulty modifier that makes you take twice as much damage with twice the money payout at the end. Along the way I'll be acquiring every single weapon, every single augment, breaking the stock market in my favor at the earliest opportunity, unlocking the secret missions, and demonstrating each mission an additional four times with routes for S rank times, using unlocked weapons and augments to achieve it. Why that many times? That's a secret. Think of the first run through as a demonstration of the more reserved, methodical approach one should take when accomplishing their tasks in Cruelty Squad, with occasional revisits to showcase something extra that might not have been feasible in a single session. Following that, the subsequent runs are to demonstrate how, in classic immersive sim fashion, smart use of the game's simulated systems can break the challenge in front of you into a million pieces, and the game as you'll find absolutely revels in the jank that ensues. The double damage penalty of Punishment mode might seem a bit much for a starting playthrough, but it does have an important benefit besides the 2x payout. All will be explained in time. Contents                        
ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Nov 12, 2022 |
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Aug 24, 2022 22:37
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| # ? May 3, 2024 19:57 |
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Part 0: Introduction - Cruelty Squad HQ "An oasis of love and friendship." Our story begins with a depressive cold shower, and news of our new employment in the murder gig economy. This first part is more to give time to establish some of the mechanics behind Cruelty Squad and what kind of game it is. From movement, to shooting, and even investing in the stock market. It's a safe haven, minutes before we gotta start murdering people to sate our corporate overlords. Weapons The game starts you with a choice of four weapons: two lethal, and two non lethal. Naturally, the latter are not especially practical in the rest of the game, so I justify their uses at HQ while I have the chance.  Parasonic D2 Silenced Pistol "Uses special 10mm subsonic ammunition for extremely silent operation. Popular among high-end private security and wetworks services, as well as tactical wannabes."  K&H R5 "One of the most widely used submachine guns since the 80s. Unmatched reliability and ease of operation."  SNOOZFEST Animal Control Pistol "As the cost of human life is low, there has been no real attempt to create a tranquilizer gun for security or military needs. Some have however adopted these animal control pistols as a less messy way to get past overly vigilant security."  Expandable Baton "A standard device for knocking people out cold. The design has been the same since the early middle ages, only the materials have been improved."
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Aug 24, 2022 22:38
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Oh boy! I've been waiting for an LP of this ever since I first heard about it!
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Aug 25, 2022 01:41
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Solitair posted:Oh boy! I've been waiting for an LP of this ever since I first heard about it! Same. I tried the demo and bounced right off it, but everyone was singing its praises and now I’ll know why thanks to the LP.
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Aug 25, 2022 02:09
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Looking forward to seeing more!
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Aug 25, 2022 03:51
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I haven't had a chance to watch the intro, but I look forward to watching this descent into madness.
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Aug 25, 2022 23:32
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Part 1: Pharmakokinetiks "Sigismund of the Pharmaceutical Department has been embezzling company funds and using them to gamble with highly speculative biological currencies. This would already be bad enough to warrant his immediate liquidation but he has also become increasingly deranged, flying into fits of rage and vomiting blood all over the office. While you're there you should also dispose of his accomplice, Jerry. He's scheduled to be hosting a meeting in the conference room with other executives." First gig at our new job and we gotta murder a couple of Big Pharma execs. This level is fairly restrained compared to what the game gives you for environments later on, but it serves for a good introduction as to how to approach an objective. If you have any Immersive Sim experience, you can tell the game expects you to find a vent to sneak in through and to never use the front door. Ever. Unless you're feeling bold, headshots are pretty deadly against your enemies. Weapons  Balotelli Hypernova "Following the rapid proliferation of advanced high quality body armor and the subsequent move from traditional buckshot to more effective flechette based shells, Belatelli Hypernova has proven to be the most cost effective solution."  Security Systems Anti-Armor Device "At some point arms manufacturer Security Systems managed to convince the world that it was absolutely necessary for corporate security to possess military-grade rocket launchers."
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Aug 27, 2022 20:32
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Elephant tranquilisers put humans to sleep very effectively. They may not wake up again afterwards, but the spec was for 'a gun that puts people to sleep'. Product delivered!
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Aug 28, 2022 05:03
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I am excited to see this game presented in a ... digestible way.
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Aug 28, 2022 11:31
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I hate fleshrats. I had actually finished the first mission without dying and had the missile launcher, then made the mistake of exploring rather than just making a hasty retreat, killed the System Shock Midwife, and then had a fleshrat poison me and I died. And it's never one or two of the little fucks, it's always a swarm of them.
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Aug 28, 2022 11:39
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I can already tell that there is a world of difference to knowing what you are doing and going in blind. Most people for example would not think to harvest random organs for later.
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Aug 28, 2022 15:55
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The Lone Badger posted:Elephant tranquilisers put humans to sleep very effectively. Tombot posted:I can already tell that there is a world of difference to knowing what you are doing and going in blind. Most people for example would not think to harvest random organs for later.
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Aug 28, 2022 21:51
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Part 2: Paradise "We recently gave the goofood and biocomputing startup G-TECH a significant seed capital of around five billion dollars. We have also been helping them by supplying proprietary research data which it turns out they have been selling to our competitors for large sums of money. On top of this they have not produced any results and have wasted most of their funding on purchasing chunkopops and expensive properties at an elite gated community built on an ancient mass grave, which will soon hopefully have an addition of three fresh new bodies. Good luck." The first "open" level of Cruelty Squad, I would say. Compared to the limited corridors of Pharmakokinetiks, Paradise gives you a lot more places to explore in any order, which means a lot of chances to easily die and lose progress. So I'm show as much as I can in this satanic gated community, even with this being the first death of the run. Including such sights as a pitch black basement, a private pizza restaurant, the home of a Chunkopop enthusiast, and a recreation of the compound that Osama Bin Laden was hiding out in before his assassination. That last one I am not even kidding. Ted Kacznski's Forest gently caress Shack can even be seen on occasion. Weapons  K&H X20 "The Karl & Heinrich X20 immediately became a huge hit with elite security. It fires extremely accurate 3 round rapid fire bursts with very manageable recoil. The rounds are completely caseless meaning it can hold a large amount of ammunition without becoming cumbersome to carry, and doesn't leave behind as much evidence."  Stern AWS 3000 "The AWS 3000 uses a special sabot round with a 30 cm long depleted uranium penetrator. It is of course designed to counter armored targets but when it hits something soft it often tumbles and leaves more wound channel then target."
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Aug 31, 2022 23:00
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I think I recognise those two weapons, they are considered real workhorse weapons that can probably carry you through most of the game. Also, I feel that we will be coming back here at some point, same as most of the levels.
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Sep 1, 2022 04:45
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The music direction in this game reminds me of mid-80s/early-90s DOS and Win 3.1 game audio. Just that level of ambient, 'it's here but don't pay too much attention to it' sort of thing. Stuff like this in its various versions (mostly the ProDOS 8 and Commodore 64 versions).
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Sep 1, 2022 11:03
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i don't think i could personally handle the way the entirety of the game, visual, sound, music, concepts depicted etc is dedicated to assaulting your senses from all sides. it's so thoroughly, purposefully unpleasant and ranging to actively repulsive at times. but god it is funny. it's so good. it has a lot to say evidently and it is very interesting loving the way you are presenting it here
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Sep 1, 2022 11:10
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I wonder what kind of aesthetics this can be considered - this deliberately unpleasant assault.
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Sep 1, 2022 17:13
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Samovar posted:I wonder what kind of aesthetics this can be considered - this deliberately unpleasant assault. "Ugly Retro"? Cruelty Squad, GOHOME and Crypt Worlds are all good examples of the "stylistically bad, actually good game" that all seem to lean heavily on a PSX-era design for everything.
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Sep 1, 2022 18:25
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I don't know why, but I was not expecting a Funkopop joke in this game.
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Sep 1, 2022 19:46
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I have a little bit of a soft spot for funkopops, but that's more because when they came out, they covered more niche things, so I have some Who Framed Roger Rabbit ones, because when was the last time Disney acknowledged that film existed before the Rescue Rangers film?
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Sep 1, 2022 20:10
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Samovar posted:I wonder what kind of aesthetics this can be considered - this deliberately unpleasant assault. Shitpostpunk.
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Sep 1, 2022 22:36
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Samovar posted:I wonder what kind of aesthetics this can be considered - this deliberately unpleasant assault. Tombot posted:I think I recognise those two weapons, they are considered real workhorse weapons that can probably carry you through most of the game. Also, I feel that we will be coming back here at some point, same as most of the levels. Also, while I can't remember all of the gun names to bring it up in the commentary as it happens, most weapons in Cruelty Squad have some very direct inspiration from real world guns. A good chunk of which coming from existing firearms that are either known or unknown, while some are based on fictional guns, or in some cases are based on guns that were never produced due to being full of design flaws. I can at least say with certainty that the three guns under the brand "Parasonic" are explicitly not based on any real world design (our starting silence pistol is one of those). I'm sure plenty of gun experts out there will be more familiar with the rest of the arsenal's inspirations as we see more of it.
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Sep 2, 2022 04:39
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Part 3: Sin Space Engineering "It has come to our attention that the CEO of Advanced Orbital Instruments has been doing too good of a job trying to increase the survival rate of our mission to Mercury, currently estimated at around 20%. This simply won't do as it is first and foremost a sacrificial mission designed to satiate the appetites of some of our higher ups. Once you get rid of him we'll be free to install our own CEO who is more attuned to the concept of mass scale human sacrifice." Another open level with plenty of ways to kill the head of a space company, this area more importantly is home to a very important item that is helpful to many a player. Not an implant, not a gun (technically, despite being used like one), but rather a fishing rod. If you don't mind going for a little swim to get it, you'll be granted a tool that helps a lot with having a passive source of income when money earned from missions alone isn't enough. Of course, with how I'm planning to manipulate the stock market for the next few levels, the fishing rod is used more just to show it exists. Still, probably the most relaxing thing you can do in a game that is designed to render you dead in 5 seconds. Weapons  Minato M9 "Imported in great quantities by people of taste after being featured in the anime Haato no DokiDoki: Zankokudan."  Fiberglass Fishing Rod "Enter the World of Fish and become who you were meant to be."
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Sep 3, 2022 21:25
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I'm curious how sending people to Mercury as a mass sacrifice operation works in a world where, in theory, anyone you sacrifice can easily come back. Is Mercury far enough that dying there is permanent? Or would they just be stuck in a semi-permanent cycle of "Die. Come back. Try to reach safety. Die. Come back. Try to reach safety. Die. Come back." until they become part of the 20%?
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Sep 4, 2022 03:33
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Randalor posted:I'm curious how sending people to Mercury as a mass sacrifice operation works in a world where, in theory, anyone you sacrifice can easily come back. Is Mercury far enough that dying there is permanent? Or would they just be stuck in a semi-permanent cycle of "Die. Come back. Try to reach safety. Die. Come back. Try to reach safety. Die. Come back." until they become part of the 20%? People who die die for real. They can be brought back as a flesh automaton animated by neurotransmitters, but their divine light has been severed. Whatever a soul is they don't have one any longer.
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Sep 4, 2022 04:45
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Right, but when you are brought back, would you be brought back on Earth or Mercury, and if you're brought back on Earth, would you be immediately thrown onto the next rocket for Mercury? Or is Mercury far enough away that if you die there, you're out of range so either the machine that brings you "back" doesn't get your latest copy of you, or doesn't register that it needs a new copy of you to be "made"? Basically, I'm asking if dying on Mercury will kill you once and for all, or if they'll just take your new self and immediately ship you back out there because drat it, you're supposed to be on Mercury right now, so Mercury is where you'll be (or made on Mercury so you're still stuck there).. At which point, statistically speaking, you'll die again. Which will lead to a new version of yourself being "made" and rolling the dice again.
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Sep 4, 2022 07:34
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I do admit that when it comes to whether someone is killed or "killed" in Cruelty Squad, it is designed to be intentionally obfuscated. Sure, there might be a limit on the range at which a genetic recombiner will spit out a new person and sending to people to Mercury might be a way to get outside that range. Or maybe not. We've been killing high profile targets, but with the game having a level select structure where one mission can be replayed, it could very easily be them set up to resurrect repeatedly so that they are in an infinite death loop, or just not come back at all and make room for other people to go through the same process. Though one important detail to note when it comes to reanimating people after death. There's a 500 dollar fee for using the genetic recombiner. So if there's a plausible theory to go with for why these corporate arch demons would want to send people to another planet where the goal is to die in transit/on arrival, they probably are doing it knowing that $500 is coming their way at some point. From multiple people. Anyone can die easily and come back, might as well make a profit when that happens (in addition to the organs harvested from their cadavers). Basically a scam where the goal is death followed by financial inconvenience. Or it could just not have that much more thought put into it than what's on the surface. We are dealing with a setting formed through stream of conscious by a Finnish artist who spends half his time making shitposts that read like NPCs in this game.
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Sep 4, 2022 08:15
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we all know who this level in particular is mocking with the laborer's quotes and all but I'm drawing a blank on what the reference could be with the architect guy. waste management in suffering sounds like it should ring a bell, I dunno.
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Sep 4, 2022 08:50
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ArclightBorealis posted:Weapons ...This self-referential humor is amazing. It literally translates to "Time After Time: Cruel Team".
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Sep 4, 2022 15:43
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For all we know the space program is some sort of tax haven that would go away if for some reason the program ever actually succeeded. Money is clearly involved, but it's intentionally obfuscated as to how because it's a need-to-know basis where money is actually concerned.
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Sep 4, 2022 18:04
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Fishing can bring in large amounts of money, significantly more than your main job often does. In fact I'd even go in so far as to say that Cruelty Squad part of Cruelty Squad is least profitable thing you can do, at least if you consider all of the fines you get from dying repeatedly.
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Sep 4, 2022 19:10
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Part 4: Androgen Assault "Mark, the chief of the Cult of Order PD has long been useful in enforcing our will on the general populace but has recently started to get sloppy and uncontrollable. His messages, when he actually manages to respond, are completely incoherent and increasingly violent. We believe this rapid change in character has been caused by the experimental steroids supplied to him by the leader of the narcotics unit, Magnus. Kill both of them and the Cult of Order can begin its healing process." The first spike in difficulty for a game that is already quite difficult for newcomers. Going from big open levels to a level with long, narrow corridors marked with intersection is a recipe for paranoia over where enemies may come from. And they're all toting shotguns and revolvers. By extension, this also makes Androgen Assault the first level where the atmosphere feels less "weird" and more "scary." Like there's a genuine unnerving feel to walking through this precinct building that looks like a cathedral because of the soundscape and what danger might be hiding around the corner. Or in the walls. Weapons  Riot Pacifier "Fires a grenade filled with corrosive gas. Eats through almost everything. Hasn't seen much use since the food riots of the early 00s."  Flashlight "A simple flashlight, not very useful. Or is it?" Implants  Life Sensor Slot: Head Often said to be able to sense the life energy of any living being, the mechanism is actually the opposite. Allows you to sense holes in the background death matrix.
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Sep 7, 2022 23:05
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I'm pretty sure there is a way into the precinct from the roof where the guy with the flashlight hangs out that doesn't involve fall damage.its been awhile, but I remember using that way to get in. I thunk it's a thin ledge that you can use to get to some second-floor windows where one is large enough to jump into?
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Sep 8, 2022 03:27
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good lord this is bleak. a lot of reviewers called it a scream of nihilistic frustration at the state of society and this LP is putting it into perspective as to what they meant exactly by it. The flavor text for the eye enhancement and for the grenade launcher are excellent. Just casually dropping how they threw corrosive grenades on people rioting for food. And the grid of death seems just like the artists' weird sense of humor but I'm sure it's hinting at some deeper metaphor he will explain further along no doubt. Plus the cult of order PD. This actually sounds less like a scream and more like a piece-by-piece dressing down of current society, dripping with utter contempt. Reminds me of a disco elysium quote, 'building a meticulous model of this grotesque, duplicitous world.' That's what it feels like I would guess.
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Sep 8, 2022 13:23
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So much of the early game is without upgrades, I imagine it's almost a completely different experience once you can start to afford them. I can already see what the life sensor does with helping you stay alive (even if that didn't happen the first few times).
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Sep 8, 2022 17:39
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Mmm, bacon buffet! 
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Sep 8, 2022 20:48
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I was told this was very good and also ugly and I tried looking at it and my eyes hurt within seconds, so thanks for making this more manageable. By the way, in mission 2, the qurbit guy? the second target you went after, he's actually a parody / reference to Curtis Yarvin / Mencius Moldbug, a guy who was controversial for being accused of openly saying that black people are naturally adapted to be chattel slaves, which happened because he did, and the qurbit poo poo itself is about urbit, a programming language he created that is inspired by cryptocurrency poo poo and feudal manorialism. It makes no sense, doesn't work, and generally makes less sense than templeOS, itself a loving nightmare. As a proud techno-monarchist who sings the praises of the ultra-rich and every kind of horror under the sun, and you don't need me to fill in all the blanks implied, he is currently employed by Peter Thiel to find and funnel cash towards like minded artists. So, that's that. Holy gently caress do my eyes hurt. SIGSEGV fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Sep 9, 2022 |
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Sep 9, 2022 02:18
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SIGSEGV posted:I was told this was very good and also ugly and I tried looking at it and my eyes hurt within seconds, so thanks for making this more manageable. moldbug of all people
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Sep 9, 2022 13:22
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One of the things I appreciate about this game is that even the guns that show up are generally weird real-life prototypes. The workhorse scoped assault rifle is a G11, the first sniper rifle ArclightBorealis found is a Steyr IWS2000. The shotgun is pretty normal, but it got the weird flesh texture as a result. I think it adds to the vibe of the setting being a comment on our world and society by having a lot of real-world weapons but most of those weapons being odd and rare prototypes.
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Sep 10, 2022 00:28
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Part 5: Mall Madness "Governor Bill Gurney is going to be hosting a campaign rally in the Cancer City Megamall. He has made a name for himself taking a strong stand against multinational corporations and monopolies. It should be obvious even to a meathead like you that this isn't very good for us. Thankfully our interests align with those of the shadow president and we've been given free hands to do with Bill as we wish. Expect heavy security and keep in mind that the Megamall is ancient and has many forgotten passages." The 5th level of the game introduces us to our first armored enemies of the game. The necromechs serve as a warning for how Cruelty Squad increases the difficulty the further in you get, in that if you don't have any high powered explosives or a heavy machine gun, you are poo poo out of luck. Also this level has some extremely dangerous passages that I do not show as they are not worth using as an escape route due to the abundance of fleshrats. You saw a random one show up when it was not supposed to and what the consequences of it were. Plus, you'll notice the start of some "interesting" behavior on the stock market after we kill our target this mission. Weapons  AMG4 "Traditionally a weapon of the highly augmented military grunt, it has recently seen increasing use in the corporate setting. Extremely high rate of fire and good armor penetration thanks to the DU rounds it usually comes with."  Precise Industry AS15 "A fully automatic shotgun capable of tearing almost everything into shreds up close. Complete overkill but popular with killers emotionally dulled by battle drugs." Implants  CSIJ Level 11B Body Armor Slot: Chest Improved light body armor utilizing advanced material technology. Armor: 15
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Sep 10, 2022 21:38
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