Ren'Py Desert Stalker [v0.16c] [Zetan]

[Jericho85]

Well no matter how many times I do the sleep with Zarah tab to get to next day the game always puts me in Ain's room with her either a BJ wake up, or just some random scenes. It was funny at first but not every time you go to sleep with wife only to be shown Ain's scenes when you never even slept with her at night. I have tried deleting saves and starting new games, only to get same repeating issue. I am just starting to think Dev likes Ain's new scenes so much that wife got dumped for Ain. I know there are some random scenes for after going to bed with wife, and Ain that happen but as with dinner scenes nothing working right. I get 3 options in Dining room 1. Waiting on dinner, 2. tell family to join with options of eating, or having Maid service you while eating, and 3rd option is I am fine which ends dinner scene no interaction with anyone. Kat never shows up even though the ! is on dining room all the time. Sadly it was funny first souple times but, not every time you visit same scenes nver advancing story line. As far as the Zarah Ain issue I recall a few random scenes supposed to occur story related Like Ivy randomly showing up and talking to MC, but with buggy sleeping scenes she never shows up. Shani and zone talk shows up in list, but I have not even done any of the prerequisites to even get to that point. Oddly enough I played 15c again from start without mods and I got all the random scenes, ending up in right bed for whom I slept with, and story advanced with talks to wife as intended not out of context before doing anything to actually get them to show to advance story lines. Is anyone else having same issue, or similar with newest game update? Thanks in advance for reading my rant. "Ranting off now"

Zaton is not waking up in Ain's room, he's waking up in his own bedroom. Ain sneaks in for the BJ.

 

[Porthas]

Dude why you diminish Shani that way, she is a STALKER, period. She went in the zone and survived the trial as every stalker before her, she trained the whole life for this task. About the rapists she killed already one and his other 3 companions, she saved his little sister from slavery, the psych..hemm the queen respect her. If after the trial in the zone you still think she is useless i don't know what to say, maybe she need to wipe out an entire raiders clan alone. Why do you think the mc didn't fuck her until the trial despite desiring her? Because she is not a fucking breeder.Also i don't doubt females are weaker physically in our world but i cited all IN GAME facts as you say.

If anything, this story diminishes Shani. She has the best super power in the world, and that's the ability to have kids. In an apocalyptic setting, women who can have children are worth more than their weight in platinum. Dudes being Stalkers makes sense, men are stronger, faster and more expendable.

But let's not bring too much common sense into the setting.

 

[riuquendo]

someone have a save of 0.15 i lost mine

 

[lucky65]

Zaton is not waking up in Ain's room, he's waking up in his own bedroom. Ain sneaks in for the BJ.

LoL well it is every time breaking the randomness of the game, and I do not mind the waking up that way part. It is the fact that no matter who MC is sleeping with it always shows Ain's scenes, and never Zarah when sleeping with her as it used to.

 

[Ummmh]

I agree with everything you said pretty much except the above.

Idiots have kids (at a young age) all the damn time, whether they can afford them or not. I don't see Zetan society being any different to any other current modern society, especially given the apparent lack of birth control (which unfortunately gives us more questions).

Affording, wealth and children, have NEVER ever correlated until very recent times in western culture.

LOL

TRUE DAT!

My parents only married because I was already on the way... And that worked out sooooooo great...

That said I came across a conversation in the early Rebaia Zahra scene where younger MC was saying he would get Reb a servant so she didn't have to do any work, which indicates he at least believed he would have the money early on. There was a strong indication that he was pretty financially responsible and aware (so likely to have a good understanding of what they could or could not afford) to the point where Reb was teasing him that he was already planning for their retirement .

By the way that exact sort of conversation going on is one of the reasons I love this game is that it does actually feel like real people to an extent despite it being over the top Mad Max deal, and a harem fvckfest.

Also, I just went back to an alternate choice in the early Fairy basement scenes and it turns out that that Zahra does actually say that with *Fairy* (likely specifically because she's a mind-broke perma-fvcktoy incapable of making her own decisions anymore), since MC is about to rail her hard and come inside her, any baby from her would be sent to the temple.

Again tho, that's probably because Fairy specifically is incapable of fully rational conscious thought anymore (after the Decayed and their human lackeys beat and graped it out of her), so can't be trusted to do much of anything, much less raise a child, even with assistance.

 

[Xythurr]

3 things (CONTAINS SPOILERS)...

1)

Just just wanted to put in a bit of shout out appreciation to the devs.

Even if this game (which gives us great scene after great scene and awesome dialogue) had somehow delivered nothing of value to us aside from sending Lirah to her humiliating and (hopefully) fertile fate (if she chose to remain a guard), it STILL would have been worth the trip.

The other option (to help Lirah quit and head out into the wastelands) is a good route, without a doubt, but the apology-to-humiliation route is GOD TIER. I only have a slight quibbles: that they should have given her a bit more cross-eyed/white eyed look when she climaxes, and probably had her cherry-pop and climax cries/moans be in all caps. Otherwise, they really understood the assignment.

Eventually, though, Lirah REALLY needs to end up in the Harem at some point. **Right next to Shani when she finally gets her 4ss fully there, which she really needs to, ASAP.**

2)

While we've seen a shotgun collar has anyone actually seen any GUNS in the game?
I don't recall seeing any guns anywhere but if you can maintain cars, which they've definitely got, you can definitely maintain guns. Even assuming you don't want to try using 400 year old ammo, Black Powder is not that hard to replicate and I'm sure someone out there knows how to do it: if we've got a whole industry to keep the oil refineries going I'm sure there could be arms and ammunition manufacturers.


3)

Now..

SKIP ALL THE REST IF YOU ARE DISINTERESTED IN THEORIZING BASED ON INGAME EVIDENCE WITH REAL-WORLD FACTS APPLIED.

ALSO: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!

THE FOLLOWING **MASSIVE TEXTWALL** IS ENTIRELY CONJECTURE, AND I'M PROBABLY WRONG, but...

A REALLY sad thought arises, and there seems to be some evidence backing it up..

Does anyone else find it odd that our boy and his wife have been fvcking like bunnies for 20 years **but somehow only had TWO kids**?

OK, so...I realize the devs are probably just reflexively going off 21st century norms, without thinking it through, and probably didn't want to have to add any more NPCs to the roster. That's probably the real world reasons.

However, this still begs an answer IN-GAME, and there are some weird side issues that coincide with this problem w/these side issues actually helping answer the main one.

So...

In-game, the world is in a pre-industrial state (despite them probably being in the 25th or 26th century), especially in and around tech-rejecting Zeta) and, in pre-industrial societies, everyone pumped out as many kids as they could for pure survival: more kids meant more would survive into adulthood, as life was never certain and any number of things could wipe out your entire lineage if you didn't have enough kids. Also, entertainment venues were limited, so copulation was abt as fun as fun got.

MC's not away in the zones for years at a time, but only days or weeks, so that's not a reason they wouldn't be popping out kids. MC even has a discussion with Shani about how coming back from a fight or from the zones resulted in Zahra getting a sexual wave from him due to all that pent up adrenaline releasing into desire. So we know they've been going at it the whole time.

The MC also has to be thinking about wanting a MALE heir to take over as stalker, as it's definitely a better and safer choice: size REALLY DOES matter in a fight, actual real world experience has shown that women don't do as well in environmental torture tests as men (including some US Marine women who ended up going STERILE from all the punishment when they tried to do a male wilderness survival test), and attractive women will find what would always be just a nice easy neutral encounter for a man, can suddenly slide into sexual assault against them, because they, as women, are themselves inherently attractive commodities, the law is nowhere within reach, and men are men (Mandisa's advice to play possum and then attack when a man's guard was down was right, but it was absolutely not a guarantee of success and safety). Shani might be practically spec ops in her training, but the odds say she (as a LONE WOMAN of small stature and hot, cute appearance out beyond the reach of any backup) will almost certainly eventually get brutally graped (likely repeatedly), and very possibly bound into permanent sexual slavery, even if she does not outright just get flat-out murdered, eaten, or killed by exposure. Training only goes so far, it doesn't really change anything that she's basically a Lara Croft stand-in, and she has to sleep sometime, even if she sleeps light (which we know she doesn't, since her father is seconds away from sleep grape-ing a baby into her after her workout, until she FINALLY only wakes up AFTER he's been pounding her pvssy like a damn jackhammer for who knows how long).

So where is the expected horde of kids from our ever-horny Mom and Pop team? They're obviously still eager to go-go DECADES into the marriage, had two kids in quick succession, and he's clearly got the cash on hand to support more brats, because he keeps taking in stray pvssies to pump babies into.

We get it implied in MC's internal monologue that he sired SIX kids with Talia in the same 20 yr time period (although the queen flat-out states Talia fvcked pretty much every man in the palace, so the parentage of those kids is maybe not really all that certain, despite Talia clearly wishing it were so).

Sooo...

WHAT THE HELL GIVES WITH THEM ONLY HAVING 2 KIDS IN 20 YEARS???

Sadly, I think the most likely in-world answer, is that sometime after they had Ain, at least one of the pair became incapable of producing children.

It's theoretically possible our boy became sterile from radiation/biological/chemical exposure in the zones/cities.

Problem with this theory is that he's a pretty well-read individual of a very well-trained lineage, so would have known the risks, recognized the possible symptoms if those risks got him, and, if he had seen evidence that he was sterile, or that the risks were that high at all, probably would have pater-familias-style DEMANDED Shani pop out two or three kids (likely his own, unkess he's shooting blanks) before she ever went to her first Zone, so that idea seems a bit unlikely.

Alternately, Zahra could be a low fertility woman in general or could have had something like a catastrophic miscarriage which took out her ability to have kids ever after.

We know for a fact that Zahra was able to QUICKLY pop out two kids, so she is likely not a low-fertility woman. Rabiah, who only had her twins (who are not Omar's: are they also the MC's, on the down-low?), is being commented on as being behind schedule. Now, Rab probably had LESS time than Zahra, because Zahra straight-savage TOOK her man, kind of literally out from under her, and went to work on a family with him immediately, leaving Rabiah high and dry (appropriate, since Rab was leaving the MC high and dry with balls of purest azure). That said, Rab serms to LOATHE Omar, so maybe she just decided not to have kids with him. So let's nix the sisters being of low-fertility.

Most likely answer is that, although we weren't told this, sometime after Ain's birth, Zahra had a catastrophic miscarriage which caused permanent uterine damage (or maybe as a complication from Ain's birth causing same). This has an increased chance of probability in a society (Zeta) that has intentionally limited its medical technology. Miscarriages, which can happen randomly, can absolutely have (or at least coincide with and be caused by same) permanent negative consequences, especially if medical coverage is not adequate.

Zahra being rendered permanently barren by a miscarriage matches the evidence exactly. To wit:

The pair isn't arguing about why they haven't had kids. When people who want kids but can't, and haven't figured out the reason, they tend to agonize over it, possibly fight about it, and obsessively look for answers and alternatives. And yet, our pair are lovey-dovey and calm. If they have been trying to have more kids and failed, it sounds like they know the deal and have calmly settled on some sort of solution.

BTW, they clearly do try. A lot. Zahra's comment to Igor that if MC wants more kids he can w/her, was probably just covering up why they haven't had any, because he's clearly banging away.

Very importantly..

I don't think there's been more than a handful of mothers out there throughout all history who have been okay with their husbands fvcking their daughters. Not even Egypt or other similar cultures where siblings married was Daddy's delving into his daughters considered acceptable. Even in Greek myths, where young gods would kill their fathers and grape their goddess mothers, the idea of daddy banging daughter was still a no no. And even in sexually permissive Zeta, it doesn't sound like dads into daughters is happening as a general thing. And yet, Zahra's not only fully on board with it, she's ACTIVELY ENCOURAGING it. While she did say she was glad her husband shared her kinks, this seems a little bit beyond that, and begs the question of why she's going there.

Also, despite Zara looking like she's probably at least a decade away from menopause, she's PUSHING AIN TO CONSIDER TAKING OVER DUTIES AS THE NEW HEAD WIFE. Shani wants to be a desert stalker and is fighting her nascent but emerging urge to carry her father's children, so Ain is initially the only option.

Ain is far more sexually and socially trained than Shani, and is endlessly willing to go there with Daddy, while Shani watches from the sidelines, so Zahra is focusing on Ain as her replacement, with one caveat: Ain is irresponsible, selfish, and short-sighted. Zarah has resorted to BDSM punishments to try to discipline her into being more attentive and responsible. That, and Zahra clearly also likes the BDSM (if you've got Kyra in the cage next to Ain's basement punishment scene, she accuses as much).

More, Zahra would be aware that if her husband brings in an OUTSIDE new head wife (not concubine or slave), so for kids who will actually INHERIT from the MC, there's a chance Zahra and her children could find themselves out in the street/sands if the MC dies and the new wife disowns them, especially if that wife had "provided" a MALE heir, which Zahra never did.

So what's the logical choice for Zahra? And why does it match what we see?

Easy. She encourages our boy to fvck his own daughters (initially only Ain but eventually also Shani), who SHE ALREADY HAS LEVERAGE OVER since she's their mother, and she also further projects power over the girls by putting them to work eating her out every now and then, so establishing dominance.

Thus, she assures that her husband is only getting acknowledged and inheriting children with HER girls, WHO REMIND HIM OF HER, so he remains interested in and loyal to her as well, and everything's kept within her lineage while the daughters are disinclined to kick her out because they love her and feel loyalty to her.

It's sick and twisted, but makes complete sense as a desperate but highly calculated response to messed up circumstances from a very family-focused woman who was cruelly cut away from her primary asset in marriage, and doesn't want to end up out on her ass and losing her husband and everything else after a patient lifetime of striving within servitude.

BTW,

Ain's increasingly entitled attitude might be partially Zahra's fault, because she is too-quickly pushing Ain to consider taking over motherly duties ASAP. What the girl is of course getting out of it is the image of all the PRIVILEGES of motherhood in her head (ordering servants around and getting fvcked by her well-endowed father) but none of the attendant RESPONSIBILITIES. Thus, Zahra must keep reminding her of her place so that she doesn't accidentally create a monster by pushing her too fast: otherwise Ain might end up going full-bore narcissistic and kicking her mother out. This might explain why Zahra goes to such extreme measures to discipline her daughter.

Also, tho Zahra actually says Ain could possibly take over as someone else's wife, OR take over the household here, the reality is Zahra knows Ain only wants her father, so would not choose some other man, and it thus looks more to be a coy trap to get her to take over as head wife from Zahra, while LOOKING like she's leaving open the appearance of other choices. She also discusses Ain's options with the MC, but nothing comes of it on that end: Ain is endlessly encouraged to go after pregnacy w/her father and that's that. The only thing that changes here is when Shani finally opens her legs to daddy: Zahra suddenly laser focuses on getting her into the harem. As Shani is the eldest daughter, and a VERY RESPONSIBLE AND OBSERVANT woman, Zahra might actually start targeting HER for first wife, tho that would probably really piss Ain off, who's basically been training for exactly that role pretty much her whole life, when Shani specifically wasn't: Ain actually has a hell of a lot of identity issues specifically linked to this.

Anyway, that's the theory, and I've seen no evidence that could theoretically refute it. Feel free to chime in. Please keep it polite.

Obviously not proof itself and the devs probably just didn't consider the low baby count (despite commenting on it with Rebiah) but it's definitely something that would make sense if it were real world.

Fascinating reading and some of it might even be the dev's intentions but regarding father daughter incest it's stated plainly that it's a cultural norm. Ain even talks about other girls doing stuff with their fathers even one girl who sucked hers off in front of everybody at the school.
Zahra talks about it being normal and how Zaton restraining himself when it comes to Shani is what's highly unusual.
Forget every moral norm you know of in the past and current present. DS is set in a very different epoch with very different morals to our own.
If you wanna speculate it's likely incest became normal among the survivors after the apocalyptic war centuries ago because initially there were so few humans left it was literally necessary to propagate the species and stave off extinction.
Any genetic dead ends that resulted from these unions would've been weeded out and died off in the harsh post-apocalyptic world.
Hell it's likely most harmful recessive genes that incest tends to bring out were largely purged through nature's own eugenics program called the barren wasteland.
Incest isn't new or rare in our own ancient history either. People that are mapping the genome and studying DNA have proven this. Humanity once came close to extinction in real life and from a population of around 1000 we now have billions.
Look it up it's interesting reading.

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

Public version has been released.

 

[Fairlight0306]

If anything, this story diminishes Shani. She has the best super power in the world, and that's the ability to have kids. In an apocalyptic setting, women who can have children are worth more than their weight in platinum. Dudes being Stalkers makes sense, men are stronger, faster and more expendable.

But let's not bring too much common sense into the setting.

In an apocalyptic setting maybe, in this apocalytic setting not much sorry: cool super power indeed to have very special since priestess, palace guards, prostitutes, restaurant waitresses, slaves, even queens can be pregnant, how many stalkers besides Zaton and his ex master you saw? If you want to see Shany preggo for your kink say it don't try to find silly reasons.

 

[Yngling]

The funny thing about the first muskets was that their accuracy was shit, also recharging after one shot is a pain in the ass. At that point a blade can be the better option for a fight. Now some good old cannon can make a big difference during sieges.

The accuracy of the musket was shit compared to a rifle. Compared to massed bows, massed muskets are obviously superior and nations like Zeta would have enough manpower to make use of massed musket formations. A musket must be accompanied by a blade (bayonet or sword) for close quarters combat but the musket would still be the main weapon.

Perhaps Desert Stalker Egypt lacks some raw materials to make gunpowder?

 

[SonsOfLiberty]

Desert Stalker [v0.16b Public] [Zetan]


0.16b:

Minor changes / Bugfixes:
- Fixed Lirah's quest not starting under certain conditions (for real this time, I hope)
- Fixed an old corner case where playthroughs that started in version 0.12b didn't have subsequent save compatibility fixes applied.
- Fixed grammar errors and typos that were reported
Translations:
- Updated the Italian translation to 0.16 (courtesy of Eagle1900)


Win/Linux/Mac/Android:

You must be registered to see the links

 

[kosoyey]

I'm afraid he probably expected something other than just a meeting between husband and wife

Could you please tell me what game is in your signature? The picture to the right (with the mask)? Thanks.

 

[Rehwyn]

In an apocalyptic setting maybe, in this apocalytic setting not much sorry: cool super power indeed to have very special since priestess, palace guards, prostitutes, restaurant waitresses, slaves, even queens can be pregnant, how many stalkers besides Zaton and his ex master you saw? If you want to see Shany preggo for your kink say it don't try to find silly reasons.

This 100%. In this setting, a person with the skills, knowledge, and temperament to be a Stalker is a far rarer and more valuable commodity than a fertile woman to have children. Having one more woman birthing children isn't going to significantly affect society, but having one more Stalker out there exploring Zones very well might.

 

[alex13_zen]

Desert Stalker [v0.16b Public] [Zetan]


0.16b:

Minor changes / Bugfixes:
- Fixed Lirah's quest not starting under certain conditions (for real this time, I hope)
- Fixed an old corner case where playthroughs that started in version 0.12b didn't have subsequent save compatibility fixes applied.
- Fixed grammar errors and typos that were reported
Translations:
- Updated the Italian translation to 0.16 (courtesy of Eagle1900)


Win/Linux/Mac/Android:

You must be registered to see the links

Still doesn't want to start Lirah's quest, no matter how many days I skip.

 

[Cynicaladm]

A few considerations and thoughts to put out there, as I have read some wild speculations, some guesses, some good ones and also some things that put simply are not in the game.
This will not be comprehensive or exhaustive in any way and be based on me skimming through a bunch of comments.
Facts: Things that are clearly stated in the game or that are background elements to the game but may have remained not expressed.

Headcanon: my own speculations, interpretations, preferences, that are NOT to be considered Gospel even though I am involved in the making of this game. Any and all of this might be entirely subverted or negated in future developments. it IS true that some of my headcanons might become one day actual canon if it is a direction that the boss likes as well, but there is neither a guarantee nor an obligation in that direction.

Rabiah has had Nadia sometimes after MC became involved with Zahra. Was he still the father? it is unclear and remains not expressed nor insinuated. you can make up your own mind about this until the game tells you otherwise. for now, any opinion is valid.
The twins: Rabiah is not one of the twins.. the twins are her babies.. they are still nursing and will not appear on screen or anywhere else. It is not explicitly stated, but there is a heavy implication that Omar is the father and that Rabiah has settled for him several years ago and has become a bit more "boring" until moving back to Zeta.
Nadia has the biggest "you're not my dad" energy towards Omar and it is explicitly stated that she knows he is in fact not.
My personal take is that Rabiah probably was married to someone else before Omar, and that person would be the father. Rabiah has missed the babymaking train with MC when he went after her sister. I am personally not bothered either way, but I would think that MC would have been too busy enjoying his new wife and building his career to have time for the ex with the bad attitude.

MC and Zahra's finances: the compound they live in has been developed over time and is still susceptible to changes. this is to simplify the job for the boss and the narrative for everybody. At present, MC is rich and renowned. He is part of the 1%, so to speak. This is the result of 3 decades of work. Their approximate ages are: late forties to early fifties for him, around 40 for her. there's some discretion for you to give them whatever age works best in your mind.
MC had started going on explorations already, by the time he tied the knot with Zahra, and he might have gotten lucky a few times and struck gold. In other words, monetary concerns are background noise to the life of the MC, and even early on they were not hurting.
It should be noted that the spouses of Zetans who were in service of the city, specifically in the military, on missions and, one could argue, also Stalkers on official business, are awarded protection by the Palace.
So "if" Zahra had been financially unstable during the early years, as long as MC was doing jobs for the Queen of the day, she would have been provided for, granting some measure of stability.

Zahra's fertility over the last 18 years is an interesting topic. I would submit that they might just have decided that 2 girls was enough for them.. and that they took measures to ensure that things would stay that way. you may make up your own reasons or methods.
My personal take is that maybe the pregnancy with Ain was complicated and dangerous, and that Zahra, in agreement with MC, decided to use a fantasy version of the pill to stop it from happening again. maybe now she's reached an age where pregnancy is just extremely unlikely so she has stopped taking the pill.. maybe she's become barren in time.. maybe she will pop out a surprise baby. it is not particularly interesting to me, but there are dozens of ways or reasons for this to be perfectly justifiable.
likewise, maybe the multiple experiences in various Zones have left the MC able to procreate only in special situations, or maybe on command... or maybe the reason that they haven't had any more kids or that he hasn't inseminated every girl presently in the game, is that it's a game and if there's a pregnancy kink to explore, it probably should be done with active participation and choice in the matter on the part of the players.
these are all thoughts of right now, do not hold me to any of this.

The hit and miss realistic approach to historical impossibilities or scientific inaccuracies or technological implausibilities is due to the nature of the game, the limited resources when it comes to show things (there are only so many ways you can portray post-apocalyptic reality without getting lost in the weeds of what can't be, especially this limitation is true if we consider the existing library of 3D models and tools. none of us are actually 3D artists who draw objects from scratch).
What we do toss in is to reflect the movies and games and other forms of artistic expressions that are inspiration to the game.. and yes, sometimes people who have even only surface level knowledge of a specific topic will be pulled out of the narrative because of such an inconsistency.

Having been around horses a lot, I experience the same when I look at the charge of the Rohirrim at the siege of Helm's Deep. those horses should have rolled all over each other, on such a steep incline... and yet I am perfectly fine with Elves, Ents, Nazguls and so on.
A solid amount of handwaving is demanded to be able to enjoy this game. we try our best to make things somewhat believable and my personal interest goes into making this as coherent and logical as possible, but it will never work if you look too closely...
I believe that our best shot is to make believable characters have believable and meaningful relationships and reactions to one another (within the logic of occasionally going all porny for the sake of porn).

P.S. don't come at me for technical issues. I know less than you about them.

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

Still doesn't want to start Lirah's quest, no matter how many days I skip.

Strange. It worked for me. Did you load a the 0.16a or 0.16b save file? Do you have a 0.15 save you can try?

 

[alex13_zen]

Strange. It worked for me. Did you load a the 0.16a or 0.16b save file? Do you have a 0.15 save you can try?

I tried with a 0.16a save and also an older 0.14c. I guess this fix just doesn't cover all scenarios either

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

I tried with a 0.16a save and also an older 0.14c. I guess this fix just doesn't cover all scenarios either

If you're willing to provide the saves, I can pass it on.

 

[SonsOfLiberty]

Desert Stalker [v0.16b Public] [Zetan]

COMPRESSED:

Win/Linux:

You must be registered to see the links

-

You must be registered to see the links

-

You must be registered to see the links

-

You must be registered to see the links

Mac:

You must be registered to see the links

-

You must be registered to see the links

-

You must be registered to see the links

-

You must be registered to see the links

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


There is a BUGFIX posted here if that one quest still won't start for you.

 

[xapican]

I tried with a 0.16a save and also an older 0.14c. I guess this fix just doesn't cover all scenarios either

Here try this one, I never had that bug, and it is from 15c
check for virus to be on the save side hope that helps

 

[Ummmh]

100%. Steel doesn't just go bad, if it is kept dry so it doesn't rust it will literally last thousands of years. The desert is the perfect place for it, in the middle-east it's still fairly common to see guns left over from the mid 1800s still in use a hundred and fifty years later. And you're even overestimating the problem of barrel wear, it isn't typically dangerous, the barrel doesn't crack, the rifling just wears out eventually so your accuracy suffers. The main problem is the ammunition, which would definitely not be good after 400 years. Hell, ammo left over from WWII is likely to have gone bad, and that was less than one century ago. And you can't easily replace smokeless powder with black powder in most gun designs, it would work OK for single-shot or bolt-action guns, but nothing semi or fully automatic, plus it's a lot weaker too. That isn't really an issue though since smokeless powder is actually easier to make than black powder. Take a mix of nitric and sulphuric acid and dip cotton in it, boom, gunpowder. (Don't actually do this, because... well... boom)
I have no doubt that there would be a big pile of perfectly serviceable weapons in the bunker, they just don't have the ammunition for them. They in particular want nothing to do with the decayed who could make new ammo for them, since the decayed specifically target mutants to kill and eat.

Thank you for the clarification! I didn't realize the barrels would survive that long. I've seen enough barrel failure vids that I assumed metal fatigue was relatively rapid. My suspicion, then, in light of what you said, is those have more to do with idiots ignoring squibs.

I didn't realize smokeless was easier. I would say that although Egypt was a land of cotton Once Upon a Time to our heroes, it's likely the supply of it would be pretty low after End of Days.

Yeah I can't imagine wanting to cozy up to get ammo from the very people who are trying to use that ammo against you, either at range or via a shotgun collar once they get you close and decided it's easier for their meat to walk along rather than be carried.

That said, if you consider that the Decayed would have all the tech, including guns and likely **mil spec radios and possibly organized comm networks** yeah they would be a pretty nasty fighting force, compared to everyone else.

And yeah, if you can keep a car running you can damn well keep a gun running.