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redmarsshit2019-07-19 09:07 pm
modblob) wrote in redmarsshit2019-07-19 09:07 pm
redshift: tdm #2
Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.
▶ Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.
▶ All TDM threads can be considered game canon, and current players are welcome to either top-level on the TDM so prospective players can tag them, or use the prompts for logs or network posts on the communities. All threads on the TDM can be used for Activity Check.
▶ All TDM threads can be considered game canon, and current players are welcome to either top-level on the TDM so prospective players can tag them, or use the prompts for logs or network posts on the communities. All threads on the TDM can be used for Activity Check.
a. smoke and generators.
It's early morning, and if any of Anchor's residents thought that taking a vacation in an abandoned hellscape would at least be relaxing enough to sleep in, they're about to find out they were wrong.
It's about 5:30 AM when a loud screeching noise of metal scraping against metal rings out and echoes through the entirety of Anchor, quickly followed by a plume of smoke coming from the topmost levels, near the Research & Development area and a loud series of catastrophic banging noises that simply refuse to let up. Once residents converge on the area, they'll discover a previously closed and completely impenetrable metal door that had comprised most of the back wall of a room full of burn damaged and broken down generators slamming open and shut, shrieking on unoiled hinges and sliders, and emitting plumes of smoke with every slam. A bit of technical finagling with the control pad (or a well-placed blow with a hard object or shot from a gun) will make the door creak to a stop at the top of its usual arc, exposing an enticing scene.
A pristine room sits behind a thick pane of violence-proof glass, decorated starkly with the walls white and white LEDs shining coldly on the scene, it's spartan except for a display of about 5 generators in perfect working condition, complete with pulsing blue-glowing power indicators. Sweet. Those would definitely come in handy for rebooting a few of the city's amenities and life support systems, with the main power grid offline as it is. The only trouble is getting inside. A bit of research would find a few ways:
There are a few options for getting into the room: through the air vents around the door, by hacking the door locking mechanism, by blowing through the door in some way. Each has its drawbacks (the vents are full of large mutated and possibly radioactive vermin such as rats and scorpions; hacking the door is incredibly technologically advanced and difficult to do; blowing up the door comes with a risk of any damage reflecting off the door and back at the people trying to blow it up, or damaging the generators inside, or the structural integrity of the area) and its advantages.
Whether residents want to try one of these options, or think of something on their own (feel free to pitch your ideas in the mod questions thread!), this treasure is definitely worth trying to get hold of.
It's about 5:30 AM when a loud screeching noise of metal scraping against metal rings out and echoes through the entirety of Anchor, quickly followed by a plume of smoke coming from the topmost levels, near the Research & Development area and a loud series of catastrophic banging noises that simply refuse to let up. Once residents converge on the area, they'll discover a previously closed and completely impenetrable metal door that had comprised most of the back wall of a room full of burn damaged and broken down generators slamming open and shut, shrieking on unoiled hinges and sliders, and emitting plumes of smoke with every slam. A bit of technical finagling with the control pad (or a well-placed blow with a hard object or shot from a gun) will make the door creak to a stop at the top of its usual arc, exposing an enticing scene.
A pristine room sits behind a thick pane of violence-proof glass, decorated starkly with the walls white and white LEDs shining coldly on the scene, it's spartan except for a display of about 5 generators in perfect working condition, complete with pulsing blue-glowing power indicators. Sweet. Those would definitely come in handy for rebooting a few of the city's amenities and life support systems, with the main power grid offline as it is. The only trouble is getting inside. A bit of research would find a few ways:There are a few options for getting into the room: through the air vents around the door, by hacking the door locking mechanism, by blowing through the door in some way. Each has its drawbacks (the vents are full of large mutated and possibly radioactive vermin such as rats and scorpions; hacking the door is incredibly technologically advanced and difficult to do; blowing up the door comes with a risk of any damage reflecting off the door and back at the people trying to blow it up, or damaging the generators inside, or the structural integrity of the area) and its advantages.
Whether residents want to try one of these options, or think of something on their own (feel free to pitch your ideas in the mod questions thread!), this treasure is definitely worth trying to get hold of.
b. it's all fun and games...
Getting the generators out of the hidden room was a trial, but finding places to hook them up is a snap - the only real problem is that there's way more spots to hook up to than there are generators. It's completely up to the residents where said generators get hooked up, but no matter what they choose, one room will power up. The VR Room.
Considered necessary rather than just an amenity by the previous residents of Anchor, the VR Room is a necessary outlet allowing the opportunity to relax and unwind for residents. And it's set up to divert some power from the system no matter where the generators were set up. When the room powers up, an automated message is sent out to all functional sat phones - a pretty little series of bells, and an audio announcement that the VR and Games Room is open and available for use, with an attached GPS map showing the room's location in the city.
Any resident who goes to the indicated place will find the VR Room open and powered up. Everything is dusty, but there are couches to lounge on, vending machines with snacks - some of which are decades past their expiry date and some of which are preserved or shelf-stable enough to still be edible - and a little coffee bar. The most important part, though, is the VR and the games.
One area of the room is set up with various interactive video games that two or more people can play together. They run the gamut from dancing games, racing games, first person shooters, and even some simple sports games and childrens' games. It's like a mini digital arcade and anyone is free to play. Some games function with the use of a handheld sensor, or sensors attached to feet or other body parts; some function via camera to track player movements; some have unique functions specific to the game style (players can use their imaginations for this one).
The VR area is a little more complicated. "VR Room" is something of a misnomer - there's one large room to the left, with a hallway sporting more, smaller rooms off to the right. The large room is an environmental simulation room with artificial sunlight and a default oceanscape that can be programmed to resemble a person's own world. There's a certain degree of automatic cerebral interfacing to make sure it gets the details just right. The smaller rooms have access to a library of VR games, some of which work and some of which will insult you in various languages before crashing. People can meet and socialize in the environmental simulation room, or in any of the smaller rooms through virtual reality. Additionally, there is a completely digital "shared world" that any character accessing the VR Room can enter, which represents the city at its peak of functionality and beauty - this VR shared world is the first place that some new arrivals manifest, as ghosts in the machine that can interact via VR before waking up physically in the arrival room.
Anyone accessing virtual reality will receive a warning spiel before entering their chosen program that states that excessive or long-term use of the VR services can cause users to experience mental and/or physical damage.
As long as it's been since the VR rooms were used, however, there's bound to be some glitches, and a few of the programs seem to load up fine only to glitch out partway into the scenario - whether it's an escape room, an in-depth virtual reality murder mystery, a dance party, visual novel, or any other program, there's a chance it might stall, freeze, glitch, and trap players inside until they can figure out how to unfreeze the program, or until they're rescued by someone on the outside recognizing their plight. Good luck!
Considered necessary rather than just an amenity by the previous residents of Anchor, the VR Room is a necessary outlet allowing the opportunity to relax and unwind for residents. And it's set up to divert some power from the system no matter where the generators were set up. When the room powers up, an automated message is sent out to all functional sat phones - a pretty little series of bells, and an audio announcement that the VR and Games Room is open and available for use, with an attached GPS map showing the room's location in the city.
Any resident who goes to the indicated place will find the VR Room open and powered up. Everything is dusty, but there are couches to lounge on, vending machines with snacks - some of which are decades past their expiry date and some of which are preserved or shelf-stable enough to still be edible - and a little coffee bar. The most important part, though, is the VR and the games.
One area of the room is set up with various interactive video games that two or more people can play together. They run the gamut from dancing games, racing games, first person shooters, and even some simple sports games and childrens' games. It's like a mini digital arcade and anyone is free to play. Some games function with the use of a handheld sensor, or sensors attached to feet or other body parts; some function via camera to track player movements; some have unique functions specific to the game style (players can use their imaginations for this one).
The VR area is a little more complicated. "VR Room" is something of a misnomer - there's one large room to the left, with a hallway sporting more, smaller rooms off to the right. The large room is an environmental simulation room with artificial sunlight and a default oceanscape that can be programmed to resemble a person's own world. There's a certain degree of automatic cerebral interfacing to make sure it gets the details just right. The smaller rooms have access to a library of VR games, some of which work and some of which will insult you in various languages before crashing. People can meet and socialize in the environmental simulation room, or in any of the smaller rooms through virtual reality. Additionally, there is a completely digital "shared world" that any character accessing the VR Room can enter, which represents the city at its peak of functionality and beauty - this VR shared world is the first place that some new arrivals manifest, as ghosts in the machine that can interact via VR before waking up physically in the arrival room.Anyone accessing virtual reality will receive a warning spiel before entering their chosen program that states that excessive or long-term use of the VR services can cause users to experience mental and/or physical damage.
As long as it's been since the VR rooms were used, however, there's bound to be some glitches, and a few of the programs seem to load up fine only to glitch out partway into the scenario - whether it's an escape room, an in-depth virtual reality murder mystery, a dance party, visual novel, or any other program, there's a chance it might stall, freeze, glitch, and trap players inside until they can figure out how to unfreeze the program, or until they're rescued by someone on the outside recognizing their plight. Good luck!
c. the crash.
A few days after the Generator Room opening up, residents of Anchor will experience another rude awakening, this time in the middle of the night. While they were sleeping, a red shift has occurred outside the city, and while they were shielded from the radiation and the chaos that comes with it, there are things outside the city that are affected.
Just after midnight, there is an extremely loud noise - it starts as ground-shaking crash, like something massive has hit the ground a few miles outside the city, and is followed by an ominous rumbling. Residents will feel the ground shaking, enough that items may fall off tables, anyone walking might lose their balance, and people might even fall out of bed. After a few minutes, however, it will die down and after a short, almost deafening silence, wind will start to whistle around the dome protecting Anchor from the outside elements. The impact of...whatever crashed in the wastelands...has triggered a massive dust storm.
Anyone who makes it up to the Observation Room near the Decontamination area and look out the wide glass windows (treated carefully to withstand the elements) over the desert will see the vague outline of a massive hulking form in the desert. With some observation, before the dust piles up too high outside the windows, they will get the impression that it's something artificial, created by people and not a natural formation or monster, though any details will be hard to make out. It could be anything from a building to a ship to something else completely alien.
As the day carries on, the dust storm rages outside the city with no signs of letting up, and with every passing hour more red sand builds up against the Observation Room's windows...and on top of the dome. By evening, what should've been a bright sunset is filtered through a layer of red dust thick enough to tint what little light makes it through a vibrant red, painting the city in psychologically jarring shades of crimson.
Just after midnight, there is an extremely loud noise - it starts as ground-shaking crash, like something massive has hit the ground a few miles outside the city, and is followed by an ominous rumbling. Residents will feel the ground shaking, enough that items may fall off tables, anyone walking might lose their balance, and people might even fall out of bed. After a few minutes, however, it will die down and after a short, almost deafening silence, wind will start to whistle around the dome protecting Anchor from the outside elements. The impact of...whatever crashed in the wastelands...has triggered a massive dust storm.
Anyone who makes it up to the Observation Room near the Decontamination area and look out the wide glass windows (treated carefully to withstand the elements) over the desert will see the vague outline of a massive hulking form in the desert. With some observation, before the dust piles up too high outside the windows, they will get the impression that it's something artificial, created by people and not a natural formation or monster, though any details will be hard to make out. It could be anything from a building to a ship to something else completely alien.As the day carries on, the dust storm rages outside the city with no signs of letting up, and with every passing hour more red sand builds up against the Observation Room's windows...and on top of the dome. By evening, what should've been a bright sunset is filtered through a layer of red dust thick enough to tint what little light makes it through a vibrant red, painting the city in psychologically jarring shades of crimson.
d. red-out (& network prompt).
The lack of light isn't the only problem going on in the city because of the dust storm - there are consequences much worse than a lack of Vitamin D for residents. Dust storms were a common problem when the city was created and inhabited by its previous residents, and there are failsafes in effect. As the dust clogs up the power generation apparatuses on the exterior of the city, power starts to fade. By the early afternoon, the backup generators kick in, but the power from the backup generators only lasts a few hours before technical problems from decades without maintenance cause them to power down almost completely, leaving the city dark and cloaked in red.
Good thing those generators showed up, huh?
During the red-out, power will be completely diverted to life support, and the Exit Area will be completely locked down, preventing anyone from leaving the city or re-entering it, apart from new arrivals. All amenities, entertainment, and anything non-essential has been completely shut down. This may result in residents stranded in strange places with or without company, and many other awkward situations, at least until someone can jury-rig the new generators into place to make the not-necessary-but-super-convenient parts of the city work.
The one thing that's completely unaffected is the network, and the city's failsafe includes another way of trying to keep residents from going insane during the red-out: a network game.
Every device in the city will pop up with an prompt:
Please input two truths and one lie about yourself. These will be posted to the network so other residents can guess which is the lie!
Well. It's. Something alright.
Good thing those generators showed up, huh?
During the red-out, power will be completely diverted to life support, and the Exit Area will be completely locked down, preventing anyone from leaving the city or re-entering it, apart from new arrivals. All amenities, entertainment, and anything non-essential has been completely shut down. This may result in residents stranded in strange places with or without company, and many other awkward situations, at least until someone can jury-rig the new generators into place to make the not-necessary-but-super-convenient parts of the city work.
The one thing that's completely unaffected is the network, and the city's failsafe includes another way of trying to keep residents from going insane during the red-out: a network game.
Every device in the city will pop up with an prompt:
Please input two truths and one lie about yourself. These will be posted to the network so other residents can guess which is the lie!
Well. It's. Something alright.
Mod Note: This red-out is set to last from July 22nd until August 1st, when the intro log goes up at the start of the app cycle.
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Oh, I'm sure we will, Mr. Robot! Thanks fer yer time, friend.
[With that, he places his hat back on his head and once he makes it to the door with Ami, short-tosses her the bottle.]
C'mon, let's get outta here before that thing figures out what we did.
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(Absolutely nothing is chasing them.) ]
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[When Ami bolts, Kieran follows with his dorky run.]
H-Hold on there! I don't think that feller is comin' after us.
[He's happy to get the exercise, but dang!!!]
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Ami just laughs and keeps running, though she does slow down after a bit to let him keep up. And because actually these shoes are kind of heavy and she can't run in them for very long. But sometimes you just wanna run, you know? She's a child, let her have this.
She'll run out of steam before too long and come to a stop near the VR Room, catching her breath and waiting for Kieran to catch up. When he's close enough, she straightens up and holds the OJ above her head. ]
Victory is ours!
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[Kieran catches up to Ami in no time, dorky run and all. He can't help but grin along with her excitement.]
Sure is!
[Man, victory is a nice feeling. Hopefully, he'll get to experience more of that here!]
Go ahead and have yerself a drink. You earned it.
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All that and we forgot to steal a glass!
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[Then he looks at Ami.]
[Then he looks back at the bottle.]
[Then back at Ami.]
Y'got the bottle right there. Just go ahead and. You know.
[He makes a drinking motion with his hands.]
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[ But then again... it would be the cherry on this delectable sundae of lawlessness. That fleeting moment that validates any and all actions leading up to it, no matter how atrocious. She purses her lips, considering the bottle. The perfectly spherical orange, pierced with a comically wide bendy straw. The archetypal fruit, and the ur-juice ensconced within. Directly from the source, untainted by glass or sippy cup. Yes... this was meant to be. Though she cannot pierce the primordial orange and taste of its nectar, she can embrace the spirit it embodies, free from such arbitrary human constraints as "dignity" and "knowing what germs are."
She can, and always could, drink the OJ straight from the bottle.
The pensive gaze morphs into a wicked grin. ]
I won't tell if you won't.
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[But hey! She’s also having a good time, and seeing how they’re stuck in a shitty situation, may as well have fun.]
Sure.
I’ll keep watch for any snitches.
[Cue that dopey grin as he keeps an eye out.]
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Snitches get stitches!
[ And with that, she DRINKS THE JUICE FOR GOD'S SAKE.
I mean, not all of it, obviously. It's a pretty full jug. But she takes a good hearty swig. When she's done, she passes it to Kieran. ]
Ahhh.
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[He raises a hand and shakes it before gently pushing the juice back towards Ami.]
You go ahead and keep it. I had plenty back at the bar.
[Kids need to eat and drink as much as they can! She's still growing!!!]
Thanks, though.
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[ Well, true, he did have a cocktail or two back there. More for her I guess.
Anyway! Where has their getaway taken them. Ami starts looking around, curious. ]
I don't think I've seen this part of the station yet. Do you know what it is?
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Can’t say I do.
I mean, most places around here look pretty new to me, so I dunno how much help I’d be anyway.
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[ She walks into the lounge area - it must be some kind of lounge, right? There's a coffee bar, vending machines, plush chairs and couches... Yet there's a veneer of disuse about the place. Ami runs her hand across a table, and her fingers leave clear streaks in the layer of dust. ]
Whoof. This place could use a good vacuum.
[ Still, it's powered, which is more than you can say for a lot of things. It's not what you'd call brightly lit, but the lights it does have are brightly colored. A chilled-out atmosphere for evening entertainment, like you'd see at a club. The oddest thing, though, is the faint music. Following it to its source, she comes across a corner of the room devoted to even more brightly-colored machines. Not all of them are turned on, but a few are, and though the branding isn't familiar, she recognizes their purpose at once.
Ami lights up, bouncing in place and beckoning to her new friend. ]
Oh my God, Kieran! Come here, you gotta see this!
no subject
[It's overwhelming. Everything is so new and strange and assailing every single one of Kieran's senses. Part of him wants to leave and go back to roaming the halls--at least they're a little more spacious than this.]
[But then Ami calls him over. He immediately obliges, careful not to touch anything out of fear that he may break it--or that it may break him. Both seem far too likely.]
Hold yer horses, I'm comin'.
[Trepidation aside, he can't help but chuckle softly at Ami's excitement.]
Whatcha find?
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It's an arcade! We've got - [ Oh right, he's cowboy. ] These are video games! I can show you right now!
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Sure. O-Okay!
[Kieran's a bit tangled up in the wake of Ami's excitement, still trying to make heads or tails of this new, loud environment. Electricity, although not a new concept, isn't a widespread commodity easily taken advantage of by the regular Joe, and seeing it all come together in such a relatively small area adds to that overwhelming feeling that Anchor has pressed on him since the first day of his arrival. Regardless, he's going to do his best to let the resident kid be a kid, so he keeps his own energy up as high as he can!]
So they're big, colorful boxes?
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[ Geez. How do you start explaining computers? She scrunches up her face thinking for a moment, then shakes her head. ]
Tell you what, it'll make more sense when you see it.
[ She approaches one of the machines and starts navigating the menu via touchscreen. Most of these don't sound familiar, but - aha! ] "Fruit Ninja"! I know that one. [ As she selects it, the music changes and colorful fruits fill the screen. Just a second while she reads the how-to... ]
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[Movies weren't really a thing back then. At least, not in the way they are in the modern era. They're more like slideshows or super quick black and white clips of random movement projected on a screen in a room filled with lots of people and no air conditioning.]
[While Ami reads the how-to, Kieran leans in to look closer at the screen, absolutely enthralled by the colors and the sound.][He hasn't even played the game yet and he's already impressed.]
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Okay. [ She holds up the controller for a sec - ] So basically how this works is, you pretend this thingy is a sword. The game will throw a bunch of fruit at you, and your mission is to slice it up like a ninja! Hence the title.
[ To demonstrate: There is currently a watermelon on screen labeled "Start Game." Ami squares up and makes a slashing motion at it, and with a flash of a white line, the melon is split in twain! Ami grins at him over her shoulder. ]
Ready?
[ TO WATCH, I MEAN... the game is already starting... ]
no subject
[MIND.]
[BLOWN!!!]
Hell yeah, I'm ready! Do it again!!!
no subject
The level begins, and it's pretty much just more of that. Brightly colored fruits sail in arcs across the screen, and Ami slices them up! They make appropriately fruity squishing noises, there are particle effects and score popups, and every so often an Announcer Voice proclaims something like "Astounding!" or "Incredible!" or (on one occasion) "FRRRRRRUIT NINJAAAA!"
The level only goes on for about a minute, but she's already breathing kinda fast by the end. This is more physical exertion than it looked like! But it's worth it - the game tallies up her score at the end, and she got an A rank. Yay! ]
Not bad. What do you think? You want to take a turn?
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[Kieran's already completely overwhelmed by all of the lights, sounds, and colors. He can't fathom even attempingt to take a swing (literally) at this fancy game.]
I-I dunno... I'll probably wind up breakin' it or somethin'.
[He chuckles.]
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[ It's too late bro she is already removing the wrist strap and tryna hand him the controller! You will get a turn and you'll like it, mister! ]
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[So he slips his hand through the wrist strap, fingers catching against the material with each clumsy movement. He takes the controller with an uncertain grasp. The plastic is unfamiliar against his rough palms. It's too smooth.]
So I just--I just swing this thing up and down?
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