This is Patrick from the FlyAnvil Screenwriting Team, here with a development update! This time we'll be talking all about the various inhabitants of the Dust Bowl.
As the Red Daze set in, the people of the Dust Bowl panicked. The ensuing chaos proved just as destructive as the effects of the red mist itself. Those who survived through the initial dangers decided to band together, realizing that resource hoarding and power struggles were not to be tolerated if humanity was to endure this menace. The group had to come before the individual. With that in mind, survivors established trade relationships with the most unlikely allies to ensure the future of the human race. Thanks to the efforts of those pioneers, you can rest assured someone will always have your back.
Most humans divide up their time between guarding settlements, exploring and scavenging the wastes, and boast some of the most impressive firepower necessary to protect themselves and their fellow man.
The stable Merchants of the Dust Bowl hire Guards and Mercenaries to keep themselves protected. Each of them has its own stories, actions, and inventories. Their inventory updates almost daily, so check them out when you're passing by; you might find some of the best items in the game. They also all have a certain doggo with them, so keep an eye out for him as well.
Whereas Merchants technically appeared in previous entries in the form of menus for purchasing upgrades, Mercenaries are an entirely new class, especially the big, yellow variants. You'll find Mercenaries exploring the wasteland in search of work where the Red Daze has lifted and in Merchant camps after their contracts have expired. As for the allied Yellow Mutant Mercenaries, they can be found in their own settlements. They will make your squad much stronger than would be possible otherwise.
Within the Dust Bowl, Mercenaries symbolically represent tragedy and absurdity. Many of them are for hire not only by you but also by your enemies. Mercenaries often have stories to tell, as you'd expect in their line of work.
The most common enemies - Zombie and Zombie Dog - patrol together with their eyes mostly empty, but with an insatiable craving of flesh - Human and Mutant alike. A substantial amount of new Zombie types appear in this entry in the series, and all Zombie Dogs are entirely new. Many of the newer types are based around folklore both from the world of Decision and from our own cultures. Of course, sometimes we choose names just because they sound cool. Zombie Dogs are now capable of leaping across long distances to chomp on you, so watch out! My personal favorite of the new entries is the Zombie Gangster. They have a classic look mixed with an old western farmer. It oozes the style of the Dust Bowl, and the time it's set in before the infection. You aren't likely to find any Zombies with large firearms as their bodies are too decrepit to handle the recoil. You'll have to hunt bigger prey for that!
Each Zombie can be found performing patrols, and hiding from them won't be easy. The infected have a much better sense of smell compared to the Survivors. Though they appear to be falling apart, the infection sustains them and makes them harder to kill than you might expect. Take a look at their awesome designs!
Mutants and Werewolves are nothing new to the series, but we have expanded their lore and use. Many of the Dust Bowl's Mutants are actually much older than they seem. They'll use guerrilla tactics against you and have a great understanding of their surroundings. If you take a closer look at their actions, you'll see that they take on similar roles to Human Survivors. Mutants are much closer to people than their monstrous appearance implies. They don't exactly fit into the meathead stereotype that is so common, but they are certainly capable of massive destruction in close combat. They're the only kind of enemy you'll see using big weapons, so seeking them out to collect their arsenal would be a very smart, if dangerous, choice.
Werewolves have gotten an entire overhaul from a lore perspective. They now operate off of a religious, caste-based system centered around the in-game Old Church. With little left, after them turning, they found themselves becoming loyal to Mutants. As a fun fact from the lore, Werewolves have canonically only existed for around 500 to 600 years! Fans of our flash games might know their origins, but we'll save that for another dev blog.
Werewolves are the most basic type of Wolf-man Mutant and have several different tiers now, though not as many as the Mutants they are loyal to. They can leap great distances to take down their prey. Often, they stun with an initial attack and follow it up with a bunch of swift strikes to rip you apart. If that doesn't work, they might try a stealthier approach. Believe it or not, Werewolves can speak! They just don't like talking it up around their enemies. They certainly don’t want you knowing where they come from, but some well-studied survivors might spill some secrets if you are persuasive enough.
The biggest new additions to this game are the Alphas and Leaders! As their names imply, they lead each of their respective factions. Their leadership is divided between several areas, and thus there are several types of Alphas and Leaders. Each one is more formidable than the next. Most Alpha Zombies are ancient entities revived by the Red Daze. It seems to have a miraculous effect on them, bringing forth a power beyond what they had before!
Since Mutant Society is based on strength as well as words, those that were most benefited by the effects of the Red Daze quickly soared to leadership positions, quite literally dwarfing their competitors. Zombie Alphas adopt a feral and animalistic nature in their society. In contrast, Mutant Leaders are quite civil - at least among their own kind.
All of the Alphas and Leaders are only naturally occurring in regions with the Red Daze, but they have been leaking out into the world. Keep an eye out for them in future entries that might take place outside of a Red Daze infested area.
But the most exciting and recent addition is the Troll. Trolls are absolutely massive - over two times the size of a Survivor. It might not come as a surprise, but they don't use standard weapons. They prefer their arms, legs, and heavy scraps they can find laying around.
Trolls migrated to the Dust Bowl en masse after finding out that the Red Daze had regenerative effects on the infected. Unfortunately, this turned Mutant Trolls into ticking time bombs of berserk rage, with most of them unable to tell friend from foe. They are a unique and dangerous entity leaking out into the world. Essentially rabid, what remains of these titans is something to be feared. I personally recommend avoiding close combat. You might end up buried in the ground up to your head or ragdolling across the wastes. You never know! The Red Daze has certainly made them a lot stronger, and their regular-sized counterparts were already among the top of the food chain.
That’s it for today! We’re having a lot of fun writing these, so please, let us know what you’d like to read about next!