First Law: Override - Rebooted & Restarted

Greetings friends!

So after my post last week some major changes are coming with the planning of First Law: Override.

As you can probably guess from the title of this post it is being restarted and rebooted!

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If you hadn't ready guessed I am taking the leap and leaving the entirety of the Outer Fringe alone, instead focusing on the newly settled Human world of Honos.

You might be wondering why I would make such a sweeping change including removing space travel from the game entirely as a gameplay mechanic?

It's simple really:

When you look at the game from a multi-solar system view it is very much top down in approach, this is both detracting from character immersion but also begins to limit locations to generic stereotypes.

By focusing on a single world you get a bottom up approach which allows for greater character development and a real connection to the world itself.

You might be worried that removing other worlds removes gameplay elements. Well I'm here to tell you that is far removed from the truth!

The world of Honos is a rich and diverse one:

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Previously derelict with little of use in terms of natural resources, Honos had historically been ignored by the indigenous inhabitants of the Outer Fringe.

When Humans arrived searching for a world to call their own it was Honos they selected because of its atmosphere. In no way was it like Earth's, but it was similar enough that it would not take long for terraformation to get well underway allowing for proper habitation.

Always the X-Factor; it was Human's arrival that drew the attention of the other races. Both the Kratel and Hydan knew that this new race would throw their normal way of life into disarray and dispatched agents of their own to establish whether these Humans would ultimately empower or destroy the Outer Fringe and their own power bases located throughout.

Like Earth, Honos has two frozen poles and an equator. It is in the Northern frozen pole that the Honos Mining Corporation (known by you all previously as the Outer Fringe Mining Corporation) established a series of research stations in order to analyse unusual seismic readings they had began to detect following the commencement of terraformation. Recently three of these stations located within close proximity of the northern most point ceased broadcasting and the HMC are in need of Sponsored Agents to investigate these sites.

Along the heat battered equator lies the Bad Lands; a region where little grows and the surface is covered in strips of dust and wasteland. It is within the Badlands that the independent city of Free Port was created. Frequented by outlaws and raiders their bounty boards regularly offer handsome rewards for trophies including the heads of giant beasts and even enemy gang bosses.

Nestled in between the Badlands and the Frozen North stands the varied and lush midland region consisting of dense jungles and large stretches of vibrant greenery and sea battered coast lines. Within one of the larger jungle expanses stands New Brasilia informally known as Capital City. Where Free Port and it's Badland settlements consist of shanty towns, New Brasilia is towering spires of glass and metal. The ruling body of New Brasilia is the United Earth Force. Previously focused on the military protection of their home world of Earth, the UEF now thrust into a political leader role are uneasy with how to best lead their people in the new world and are regularly looking to sponsor agents in both peacekeeping and research roles.

Within the Badlands on the opposite side of Free Port is the Block; a sprawling space of tower blocks and support girders. It's own eco bubble providing it with a constant supply of acid rain and noxious fumes for those who venture below the purifying filters. The Block is the home of the freedom fighting Red Claw Kratel who use the site as a base of operations to further their fight against the Kratel Empire and push the black market to fund their own agendas.

High above Honos orbits the planet's singular moon. Previously it was of little interest to those colonising Honos. At least that was the case before AI transmissions were detected originating from it's surface. Now the UEF fears for a secondary attack from the AI and the possible destruction of all organic life in the Outer Fringe.

Across the world you will also find Hydan research sites and listening posts. The Hydan do not trust either the newly arrived Humans nor their time long enemies the Kratel. Meanwhile the Reborn set up churches of Reformation at most settlements as part of a recruitment campaign that no one outside of the Reborn could even begin to explain.

South of the Bandlands lies the Deadzone, a region 1/3rd of the planet that has yet to complete it's Terraformation. The region is largely unexplored covered in a toxic atmosphere with temperature extremes that range from the instantly freezing to the eternally boiling. The few settlements and HMC outposts located on the southern reaches of the Badlands have reported unexplained attacks in the middle of the night, of multi limb clawed beasts that moved and attacked as if controlled by guiding force before capturing injured civilians and retreating into the Deadzone. The Kratel call these creatures "Pha'Nur"; the Walking Shadow and to date only one person has ever survived a Pha'Nur attack but currently no one has been able to make sense of the babble that he has spurted none stop since his rescue.

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This is where you as the player come in. As a Sponsored Agent or Spag (working title) in search of adventure and glory you will team up with other Spags as you venture across Honos performing tasks and missions for your sponsor and unlocking the many mysteries the world holds in cooperative PvE encounters.

In your downtime perhaps you want to mix it up a little and take a visit to Free Port's Thunder Dome style arena where you can pit your own survival and combat skills against your friends in competitive PvP arena fights!

It's all there all locked within a single world. All we need now is to build the game to unlock it.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley