Ren'Py Desert Stalker [v0.19.4] [Zetan]

[Buletti]

Basement:
- Ain: 65%

This is what I was hoping for a long time! Good stuff and a Merry Christmas to all of you!

 

[Ummmh]

I've seen Lara Croft canonically climbing, bodying enemies armed with AKs and mad strong ancient relics with the similar outfit Shani is wearing in this Tomb

Shani was always clearly Lara-inspired (tho far kinder and much more giving than OG Lara), and her gear has always reflected this.

Ofc, like recent TR games, she has no guns (tho she rocks dual shortswords, whereas Lara classically had dual pistols), but no one has "hand cannons" in DS, for some reason, so this is not just her. The closest to guns we've seen, outside shotgun collars, was Chili with the flare gun.

 

[klas182]

Shani was always clearly Lara-inspired (tho far kinder and much more giving than OG Lara), and her gear has always reflected this.

Ofc, like recent TR games, she has no guns (tho she rocks dual shortswords, whereas Lara classically had dual pistols), but no one has "hand cannons" in DS, for some reason, so this is not just her. The closest to guns we've seen, outside shotgun collars, was Chili with the flare gun.

Shani uses two identical swords. This is because no one has firearms in Zeta, in this case these are quite equal to the weapons, even though they are not firearms like Lara's.

 

[maxthruster]

but no one has "hand cannons" in DS, for some reason, so this is not just her. The closest to guns we've seen, outside shotgun collars, was Chili with the flare gun.

From what I can tell, this is down to three factors: culture, maintenance, and resources.

Culture is obvious; Zeta doesn't allow technology. This still leaves outsiders, such as the raiders and mutants(who I believe do use some guns in the hive queen mission, but it's been a while since I played that one), but by and large the main civilization from which everyone else seems to take their cues doesn't use guns on principle. Merneith has her "dragon," and I'd imagine there are some deep in the vaults of the city, but they're not exactly going to broadcast such hypocrisy.

Next, maintenance. Guns get pretty easily clogged with sand when you live in a desert wracked with constant storms, and thus would require near constant dissembly for cleaning. That seems like something most raiders lack the patience for, most random settlers lack the discipline for, and which would make them far less convenient as a standardized weapon. Much more likely that the few who do have them keep them locked away as a last resort, to keep them in good condition; if you break them, after all, you can't exactly pop down to the store to buy another.

And finally, resources. I'm not sure how commonly carried guns would've been in wartime Egypt in this setting, before the collapse of civilization, but we can assume they can be acquired in the various ruined cities. Unfortunately, those are the locations where zones spawn, which are incredibly deadly to untrained explorers. The same goes for ammunition, which is expended upon use - unlike something such as Shani's crossbow, which has reusable ammo. In order to stockpile enough ammo to feel secure in relying on a firearm, you'd probably have to explore multiple zones to find it, which is simply not worth the risk for a weapon that is fairly limited in its applications.

At the end of the day, guns are just more trouble than they're worth. I don't doubt there are characters and factions who have some, but they're most likely limited to last line of defense scenarios for settlements which might find themselves under siege. Great for shooting over the walls of your city or village if raiders surrounded you, not so great for wandering into mysterious tombs. I do think we're likely to see firearms used by the Decayed in the near future - they're already operating industrial sites to manufacture gasoline, so why not bullets too? That would give them a huge leg up in the impending power struggle. Whether we'll see Zaton and his allies respond in kind of they'll find another way to deal with the superior firepower remains to be seen.

 

[PureoSpice]

Shani was always clearly Lara-inspired (tho far kinder and much more giving than OG Lara), and her gear has always reflected this.

I’d say she’s a combination of both, Croft and Eli. Lara for the look and most of the attire and Eli for the fighting style

 

[Pgsurprise]

From what I can tell, this is down to three factors: culture, maintenance, and resources.

Culture is obvious; Zeta doesn't allow technology. This still leaves outsiders, such as the raiders and mutants(who I believe do use some guns in the hive queen mission, but it's been a while since I played that one), but by and large the main civilization from which everyone else seems to take their cues doesn't use guns on principle. Merneith has her "dragon," and I'd imagine there are some deep in the vaults of the city, but they're not exactly going to broadcast such hypocrisy.

Next, maintenance. Guns get pretty easily clogged with sand when you live in a desert wracked with constant storms, and thus would require near constant dissembly for cleaning. That seems like something most raiders lack the patience for, most random settlers lack the discipline for, and which would make them far less convenient as a standardized weapon. Much more likely that the few who do have them keep them locked away as a last resort, to keep them in good condition; if you break them, after all, you can't exactly pop down to the store to buy another.

And finally, resources. I'm not sure how commonly carried guns would've been in wartime Egypt in this setting, before the collapse of civilization, but we can assume they can be acquired in the various ruined cities. Unfortunately, those are the locations where zones spawn, which are incredibly deadly to untrained explorers. The same goes for ammunition, which is expended upon use - unlike something such as Shani's crossbow, which has reusable ammo. In order to stockpile enough ammo to feel secure in relying on a firearm, you'd probably have to explore multiple zones to find it, which is simply not worth the risk for a weapon that is fairly limited in its applications.

At the end of the day, guns are just more trouble than they're worth. I don't doubt there are characters and factions who have some, but they're most likely limited to last line of defense scenarios for settlements which might find themselves under siege. Great for shooting over the walls of your city or village if raiders surrounded you, not so great for wandering into mysterious tombs. I do think we're likely to see firearms used by the Decayed in the near future - they're already operating industrial sites to manufacture gasoline, so why not bullets too? That would give them a huge leg up in the impending power struggle. Whether we'll see Zaton and his allies respond in kind of they'll find another way to deal with the superior firepower remains to be seen.

I imagine the mutants could have some in the base they found. But, it could also be that they were used up in the 400 years(?) since the collapse.

 

[Ummmh]

Spoiler

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Zetan culture is an absolute anomaly in openly rejecting tech. Not having firearms should technically have been their death knell, but the plot convenience of there magically being no guns has kept them relevant.

I have considered, but don't buy, the possibility that Desert Stalkers managed to collect every firearm within a hundred miles for hoarding or destruction in Zeta. It would simply be too hard a task, especially since they were apparently not using firearms to do it.

The only other possiblity for why Zeta even still exists is some hoarded, very advanced technology is secretly used by the Elders to somehow prevent invasions of Zeta: that they have some sort of secret weapon they use on the sly which allows them to survive.

(EDIT: well, actually since there are no guns in game, the actual reason is Zeta simply has the numbers advantage, since they go out of their way to breed like crazy. But if there were guns outside, Zeta would have been annihilated.)
...

The mutant party entering the hive did NOT have guns: it's one of the reasons they ended up in the situation they did. Ivy had her bow, and IIRC, it was the only ranged weapon they had.

The mutant base had been hard-sealed for centuries and had every other resource, yet no guns, despite it being a military depot/hardpoint. Not buyin' it. Again, it is seemingly a plot choice to allow preindustrual combat to predominate. I love DS, but this one glitch really stands out.
...

 

[Master of Puppets]

From what I can tell, this is down to three factors: culture, maintenance, and resources.

Culture is obvious; Zeta doesn't allow technology. This still leaves outsiders, such as the raiders and mutants(who I believe do use some guns in the hive queen mission, but it's been a while since I played that one), but by and large the main civilization from which everyone else seems to take their cues doesn't use guns on principle. Merneith has her "dragon," and I'd imagine there are some deep in the vaults of the city, but they're not exactly going to broadcast such hypocrisy.

Next, maintenance. Guns get pretty easily clogged with sand when you live in a desert wracked with constant storms, and thus would require near constant dissembly for cleaning. That seems like something most raiders lack the patience for, most random settlers lack the discipline for, and which would make them far less convenient as a standardized weapon. Much more likely that the few who do have them keep them locked away as a last resort, to keep them in good condition; if you break them, after all, you can't exactly pop down to the store to buy another.

And finally, resources. I'm not sure how commonly carried guns would've been in wartime Egypt in this setting, before the collapse of civilization, but we can assume they can be acquired in the various ruined cities. Unfortunately, those are the locations where zones spawn, which are incredibly deadly to untrained explorers. The same goes for ammunition, which is expended upon use - unlike something such as Shani's crossbow, which has reusable ammo. In order to stockpile enough ammo to feel secure in relying on a firearm, you'd probably have to explore multiple zones to find it, which is simply not worth the risk for a weapon that is fairly limited in its applications.

At the end of the day, guns are just more trouble than they're worth. I don't doubt there are characters and factions who have some, but they're most likely limited to last line of defense scenarios for settlements which might find themselves under siege. Great for shooting over the walls of your city or village if raiders surrounded you, not so great for wandering into mysterious tombs. I do think we're likely to see firearms used by the Decayed in the near future - they're already operating industrial sites to manufacture gasoline, so why not bullets too? That would give them a huge leg up in the impending power struggle. Whether we'll see Zaton and his allies respond in kind of they'll find another way to deal with the superior firepower remains to be seen.

They have cars. Guns are too much trouble, but cars are just fine? No. You either know nothing about guns, nothing about cars, or nothing about either if you think that makes sense.

 

[gomdnatybtch]

Shani is Tomb Raider, Zaton is the Womb Raider.
It looks like these renders are from the Elders hideout, with all those books and plants. It´s likely what comes after we save them.


A 3D animation made by Drills would go so hard.

well, it looks like I found the person that I wasn't looking for

 

[maxthruster]

They have cars. Guns are too much trouble, but cars are just fine? No. You either know nothing about guns, nothing about cars, or nothing about either if you think that makes sense.

Putting aside, for a moment, that cars have been shown to be troublesome within the setting too, you missed a key part of what I said: they are too troublesome as standard weapons. Because of the maintenance required and the difficulty of acquiring ammunition, they aren't reliable and are best reserved for defense. You wouldn't bring one out raiding or into a zone when a sword or a bow offers fewer limitations.

 

[dexterousgecko]

meanwhile the Dev: "I just thought it would be cool to have cars, but no guns"

 

[SaSteiner]

Zetan culture is an absolute anomaly in openly rejecting tech. Not having firearms should technically have been their death knell, but the plot convenience of there magically being no guns has kept them relevant.

I have considered, but don't buy, the possibility that Desert Stalkers managed to collect every firearm within a hundred miles for hoarding or destruction in Zeta. It would simply be too hard a task, especially since they were apparently not using firearms to do it.

The only other possiblity for why Zeta even still exists is some hoarded, very advanced technology is secretly used by the Elders to somehow prevent invasions of Zeta: that they have some sort of secret weapon they use on the sly which allows them to survive.

(EDIT: well, actually since there are no guns in game, the actual reason is Zeta simply has the numbers advantage, since they go out of their way to breed like crazy. But if there were guns outside, Zeta would have been annihilated.)

I might remember wrong, but aren't the storms around old Cairo some kind of artificial defense mechanism? Don't the Zetans even refer to them as "divine" or "holy"?
Maybe these storms always attacked gun armed groups trying to reach Zetan, thus their long survival without armed with guns themselves?

 

[PStonix]

I might remember wrong, but aren't the storms around old Cairo some kind of artificial defense mechanism? Don't the Zetans even refer to them as "divine" or "holy"?
Maybe these storms always attacked gun armed groups trying to reach Zetan, thus their long survival without armed with guns themselves?

They suppress the red mist from the Old Cairo and from other locations. Also, there was this unusually long storm the Old man was talking about. I'm pretty sure it was artificial too.

 

[Ummmh]

Gaddafi's

I might remember wrong, but aren't the storms around old Cairo some kind of artificial defense mechanism? Don't the Zetans even refer to them as "divine" or "holy"?
Maybe these storms always attacked gun armed groups trying to reach Zetan, thus their long survival without armed with guns themselves?

The storms (part of main plot) are

Spoiler

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The storm near Zeta was NOT NORMAL, and possibly a very bad sign of things to come. It was not a defense used by the city.

 

[Ummmh]

meanwhile the Dev: "I just thought it would be cool to have cars, but no guns"

Car go BRRRRRRR!

 

[Khan merry]

meanwhile the Dev: "I just thought it would be cool to have cars, but no guns"

Or Devs : "Rendering guns is so much hassle and complicated i don't want it"

 

[Ummmh]

So, Zetan is rendering Cars but smh would find guns as hassles aight Did I get it right?

When MC flexes, those are his "guns". When any of his girls show up, they are all armed with twin "rack"-mounted "bazookas".

 

[PureoSpice]

Or Devs : "Rendering guns is so much hassle and complicated i don't want it"

So, Zetan is rendering Cars but smh would find guns as hassles aight Did I get it right?

 

[buu4567]

THx

 

[maxthruster]

Having cars but no guns actually makes a lot of sense for a desert environment set hundreds of years into a post apocalyptic future. Most gun ammo would not last that long without going bad, but fuel for internal combustion engines or flame throwers could be made relatively easily from grain or corn.

It is pointed out in the game's beginning introduction that the Decayed are the only ones producing gasoline, and we later find out that it's because they have access to manufacturing plants. The average citizen of the wasteland doesn't have resources to produce either. Zeta probably could if they weren't deeply anti technology.