Editor’s Notes: There has been some confusion over how the Black Locust Faction should behave in the world of Östertörn. You are reading Part 3 of the Black Locust Faction series. I advise first reading Part 1 for the origin story.
I know I titled this forum Black Locust Faction - Unleashed, but I do not talk about the Black Locust for the first half of the forum. Please bear with me while I say a few points first.
Note: I am not a professional game designer or producer so what I say below is my opinion; others may feel differently.
Before, Now, and Into the Future
All games change over time, and Generation Zero is no exception.
Launch Day
Reflecting on the origins of the Generation Zero game.
I introduced the Black Locust Faction to Gen Zero for many of the same reasons expressed by community members of Generation Zero today. Generation Zero has lost many of its original core game features
The image below is taken from the Steam’s Generation Zero’s home page. It has not changed since launch day.
Notice these keywords described in the game description:
- Stealth
- Guerilla Warfare
- Lethal Enemies
These listed features at one point did exist in the game, but over time they have grown insignificant or have fallen short of veteran players’ expectations.
Also, please note there are other features. The three above are good examples.
My Experience Back in the Day
My nostalgia with Generation Zero, sharing my experience as a new player.
Back in 2019 during my first 100 hours of playing, it was easy to see Generation Zero and how the three above game features existed in the game.
I still remember most of the first 100 hours of Generation Zero I played.
- I ran for my life when being chased by Prototype Hunters.
- I spent hours sneaking around to avoid being detected as I explored farmhouses, military bunkers, and small urban cities.
- Looting boxes and machines was rewarding because ammo and supplies were difficult to find. You knew each looting opportunity could give you what you needed to face your next machine.
- It was also rewarding to find clever ways to destroy machines by setting traps or using the surrounding environment by blowing up cars, gas tanks, and power boxes.
I bring up my experience because the first 100 hours were the best hours I played in Generation Zero. I would love to relive those 100 hours again, yet as we all know we cannot simply erase 100 hours of gameplay and relive them.
The concept behind The Black Locust Faction is to bring back similar core experiences to veteran players, and I plan to explain how in this forum.
The New Player Experience
How recent changes to Generation Zero have affected the New player experience today.
A meme made by an anonymous player.
The experiences I shared above can still be enjoyed by new players today, but not to the same degree as when Generation Zero first came out.
Many players have expressed that new game content introduced to Generation Zero has indirectly changed the early game’s atmosphere by accelerating the player’s progression too quickly. What was a mysterious, eerie, survival game where you explore a post-apocalyptic world, was transformed into an endless grind of “Destruction to All Machines!!!” mindset mid-way into the game.
Looking Forward
The Black Locust Faction was created to bring back some of the game atmosphere elements Generation Zero once had.
I am not asking to revert Generation Zero to the way it was at launch but to reintroduce game content that brings back the core game features that have been lost.
The Black Locust Faction was meant to become the force that bridles the “Destruction to All Machines!!!” mindset. Please understand we must not discourage players from having fun hunting down and destroying machines. In a roundabout way, The Black Locust Faction should encourage players to destroy as many machines as possible and as quickly as possible, but only during the late-game experience.
To help explain what I mean I need to point out the types of players The Black Locust will be facing.
The Players
The Black Locust should behave appropriately with its target players. This introduces the player base.
Above is a chart that illustrates a healthy community of players with Expert Players who set the standard of excellence in gameplay. Veteran Players are the strong core group that keeps the game alive. Casual Players make up the bulk of a game’s player count. Each group of players demonstrates a certain level of skill and progression in the game.
Each Player Base contributes to the game and the community in different ways.
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Expert Players
devote large amounts of time to the game. They strive to beat the game’s most rigorous challenges. They share their experiences and make game guides. Many play for the glory, while others make playing their life’s work. Export Players expose the game to the world and are a major influence for new players to join the game and its community. -
Veteran Players
will play the game regularly and often and enjoy sharing their game experiences with friends. Their many hours devoted to the game have allowed them to master the bulk of the game’s content. Veteran Players are what make a game feel alive. They support community members and encourage new and casual players to engage in the game. -
Casual Players
play for the experience the game provides them. They may not play all the time, but they will come back to the game for nostalgia, or when there is new content for the player to experience. Casual Players can play the game simply because it is a favorite pastime and they enjoy the community atmosphere.
For Generation Zero I would see the following as examples of the Player Base.
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Expert Players
Tenebris Infinite- Wired Gaming
IGPNeebs Gaming
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Veteran Players
- Forums
AliasDJA- Gysbert
- Madchaser
- JuanEyeJack
- Saazm
- Discord
- Forums
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Casual Players
- You can assume everyone who follows Generation Zero socials
Content for Veteran and Expert Players
The veteran player's appetite for substantial content is not being satisfied.
A game producer should strive to maintain a player count with ratios similar to what is shown above in their game community. When producing content for a game ideally you want to create something for all players, but when resources are limited we should focus on the player base that is struggling the most in the game.
I feel Generation Zero struggles the most in providing a challenging game experience for Veteran and Expert Players.
The Black Locust Faction
How is the Black Locust different from their doppelganger machine equivalent?
I wish to introduce the Black Locust as a new threat and a force that can ignite a sense of fear in the hearts of veteran players and will give an adrenalin rush to expert players.
If you want to get up to speed on The Black Locust Faction, this would be a good time to review it.
Why would the Black Locust outperform their doppelganger machine equivalent? It is because the Black Locust’s reaction times are faster, they are harder to hit, and they are more aggressive in a fight. The most important key attribute of the Black Locust is that they are elusive in nature.
When the Black Locust are exposed to the player, they can quickly appear, strike hard, and just as quickly disappear. Players only get one chance to fight the Black Locust and win. When a player has been defeated this will end the fight, and all Black Locust machines will disengage and retreat.
Below is one example of how a Black Locust fight might happen.
When a player is KO by a Black Locust machine, they are paralyzed preventing the player from self-recover for a short time before continuing the fight. Your teammate can recover your character quickly. If the player’s team has all fallen everyone can only return to a safe house to recover.
Removing the players from the fight after defeat would force players to learn how to defeat the Black Locust by experiencing repeat fights, but only after some effort in exposing them. Significantly reducing the number of encounters a player has with the Black Locus.
What is currently happening with machines is that they stick around until they are destroyed. In one machine fight the player can study all the machine’s AI behavior in that one encounter. Every machine uses every trick they have at the player exposing all of the machine’s tactics.
It would be important that every Black Locust fight is not always going to be the same fight, by randomizing fighting styles (see here). Given enough time Players will learn old fighting behaviors, so I would advise to consistently and secretly add new fighting styles for randomly selected fights in future releases to give players a fresh fighting experience. This will give players an incentive to return and play the game during every game release.
The Player’s Journey Among the Locust
How the player experience can be with the Black Locust at each stage of the players game progression.
The player’s chances of encountering a Black Locust machine do not have to be rare.
At any time in the game, if the player gives enough aggression toward host machines, they can trigger the Black Locust to appear. I would encourage some Black Locust activity as early as the Farmlands. This should establish awareness that even elite lethal machines still await the player within Östertörn.
What is important is how the Black Locust interacts with players at different levels of progression in the game.
What the Black Locust Looks Like
When the player encounters a Black Locust machine there should be some subtle visual indicators to help distinguish a Black Locust machine from a regular machine. For example, imagine using a dark fog that shrouds the machine’s body. Maybe a cloud of bugs or nano-bite machines. As the machines increase in each stage discribed below the fog increases in density.
Stage 1: Larvae or (the Dormant)
- Some Casual Players may never become exposed to the Black Locust faction. Perhaps they would rather explore the mission systems in the game, or they just want to ride motorbikes across the map.
Stage 2: Nymph
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Many Casula Players will most likely find destroying machines appealing. They should encounter a few Black Locusts called Nymphs traveling in small groups most likely in stage 2 of their evolution.
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The Nymphs would prefer not to confront enemies and will avoid players, if a player gets too close they can often give off eerie alarming sounds in hopes of terrifying players away. But if a player shows enough aggression with them, they will turn on the player. If the player is not prepared for the fight they will soon realize their mistake.
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Examples of places you might find Stage 2 Nymphs could be on the deserted battlefields south of the Farmlands military air base (F23 Overby Air Base) or the abandoned settlement of Aso off the Farmlands’ south coast. However, any locations where machines have been recently destroyed and left abandoned are prime locations where Stage 2 Nymphs would migrate to.
Stage 3: Locust
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In most cases, Veteran Players are well-equipped to face multiple large host machines and quickly deal with groups of smaller machines. There are some occasions when they would encounter groups of Stage 2 Nymphs, and with some degree of effort scare the Nymps away or destroy them.
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With enough machine destruction maintained for a long enough time, a Veteran Player can encounter large groups of Nymphs that have reached Stage 3 of their evolution. These large groups of Nymphs will comb over large fields of abandoned machines to remove any threats in the area. These Nymphs are not afraid of players and will quickly overtake players who are caught inside their perimeter.
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Attacks from Stage 3 Nymphs can be avoided if the player quickly runs to nearby cover like a barn or a heavily forested area not occupied by the Nymphs. In other words, “Get out of the path of the oncoming Nymphs!” and stay hidden.
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Sometimes these large groups of Stage 3 Nymphs will be accompanied by a Locust. The player should know a Locust is patroling within a group of Nymphs by spotting additional attachments found on their machine frame. Locusts may have heavier armor than normal or a larger weapon salvaged from a large machine. Locusts are often larger than normal-size machines. The most identifying feature of a Locust is the terrifying war cry they occasionally announce to bolster the ranks of nearby Nymphs.
Stage 4: Broodmother
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Broodmothers are a high-value target and are hard to destroy. Many Expert Players or highly experienced Veteran Players would hunt Broodmother for their rare loot. Players can also trade Broodmother hearts with NPC for the best gear or schematics in the game.
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Be careful Broodmothers should not be underestimated. They may not be the strongest Black Locust but they can still cause harm to players and can call upon powerful machines to their aid.
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In most cases when a group of Stage 3 Nymphs are seen with one or more Locusts within their ranks you can almost assume a Broodmother can be found inside the same group or following close by. These Broodmothers are not easily identified among the Nymphs, but one of the best ways to identify a Broodmother is that they will not engage in a fight with a player. This means if you were to get the attention of a group of Nymphs and most likely any Locusts, a small group of Nymphs could break away from the majority of the group. That small group has a high chance of containing a Broodmother.
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Another chance at finding a Broodmother is to find technology within Östertörn that can track down these Broodmothers but be aware this technology may not be easy to find or be cheap to acquire. When hunting for Broodmothers be careful not to spook them. Stealth may be required.
The Conclusion
Final words about the Black Locust in the game.
The key factor to making sure the Black Locust Faction does not disturb the natural flow of the game is to allow the player to control the Black Locust rules of engagement by choosing to either hide and not engage machines or to pursue and destroy machines. Of course, other factors will be involved but this is in its simplest form of engagement.
Hopefully, with a successful degree of difficulty, the player community at all stages of progression can experience the atmosphere of a mysterious, eerie, survival game where fear and adventure of a post-apocalyptic world can be experienced.
