This is not the first time vehicles in Brigador Killers have been mentioned - a handful of these were seen in a previous entry and another one outlined what went into the production of one of the cop vehicles - but they've not really been placed side by side for scale. For the purpose of this post, the vehicles are grouped into roughly four categories. As in previous news posts, this is only what's currently in the game; many other vehicles have been designed and modelled, though they're more complex to render out as sprites and won't feature here this month.
Civilian vehicles
Fifteen vehicles are visible here. At the back row from left to right we have a Chibimoto, a regular motorcycle, a Teddy Boy hover scooter, a Liliputter one-person car, the Rennpappe sedan and a mobility scooter. The portable motorcycle and the mobility scooter are recent additions and are fully textured.
The middle row features a white panel van, a people carrier called the Sprat, the Ovo electric vehicle, the muscle car that's served as a test vehicle since the early days of wheeled vehicle implementation, and two vehicles that are untextured. For those who have read or listened to Brigador Killers: Pilgrim (you can listen to the first half for free here), the first vehicle is one of the armored sedans used by Mar Nosso security teams to escort Brigadors. It's named the Thekla. The second vehicle is the family hatchback that appears in the novel's highway escape scene, called the '42 Lark.
The front row has three vehicles: an untextured Shortbus, a wheelchair and a gurney. While the wheelchair and gurney won't have engine noises, they can still be "driven" around by the player - and from a gameplay data standpoint they count as wheeled vehicles.
Corvid & Chobber vehicles
Twelve vehicles are present in this category. In the back row are the Tuk Tuk variations that were mentioned in a previous news post. Depending on what the goal of a mission is, you might opt for one variation over another such as trading carry capacity for speed or armor.
In the front row first from the left is the Chobber Lowboy. Chobbers are a faction on Mar Nosso who are conscripted delivery personnel, and the Lowboy is a meal delivery vehicle with multiple food warmers mounted on the side.
Accompanying the Lowboy are a regular forklift and an up-armored version, an extremely slow agrav hauler, an untextured but affectionately named Garbotruck, and the Killdozer.
Police & Security vehicles
Just five vehicles in this section. The police motorbike comes in two variations, a normal version and a "bubble" version. The cop sedan has also been in the game for some time. The version of the SWAT APC here that got its own post is the variant with all the armor plating on. The security truck is untextured for the time being.
Spacer vehicles
Three vehicles appear here. The Arlo agrav, the Rounder tank and the new ball tread bike. The first two are uprezzed variants you might remember from Brigador, and Dave forgot to turn off the shield generators on both. The ball tread bike is a speedy new addition to Brigador Killers.
Why have so many vehicles?
Different vehicles not only have different storage capacities - a tac-rig is not going to fit into the basket of a mobility scooter - but also behind the scenes they can be used as a way to gate off areas of a map. For instance, a cop car can get into the backlot of a police station. Alternatively, if the player intends to go about their mission another way, they might pick the heaviest thing they have available and instead slam through those barriers, though they should expect to be met with resistance.
Wait, where are the mechs?
Currently the Fork exists in-game, you should have already seen it at the start of this video, but other mechs or powersuits have not yet been put in. Part of the reason for this is we really want the player to feel the difference in power and scale when they finally get their hands on a Mongoose (never mind a Touro). The process to get there is one of iterating on the various data values and repeated playtesting. This is a lengthy procedure, not the most exciting thing to read about, and we're conscious of people's time and attention.
Next month's post will revisit the narrative system of Brigador Killers, which has been updated significantly since the last time it was discussed.
