[DEVBLOG#291] The General

Hey folks and welcome to another development blog, once again focusing on the upcoming Vanilla Quests Expanded - Deadlife mod.

This time, I'd like to tell you about the General.

All of our Vanilla Quests Expanded mods add some unique characters. The Generator added the Inventor, Cryptoforge added the Hero, and this mod is no different.

Except to make things a little bit more exciting, The General is not a friendly character that immediately joins you. Instead, The General is a sort of 'boss' that you will need to defeat if you aim to stop him from ushering the deathpal apocalypse.

Childhood: Officer’s shadow

[PAWN_nameDef] grew up behind reinforced glass, just beyond the war room where [PAWN_possessive] parent issued silent commands to a dying world. The halls were sterile, the uniforms always grey, and [PAWN_pronoun] quickly learned which doors never opened and which ones never closed. [PAWN_pronoun] was told the flickering silhouettes beyond the viewing screens were simulations, until one of them looked back. No one mentioned it afterward, and neither did [PAWN_pronoun].

Adulthood: General

[PAWN_nameDef] designed Operation: Deadlife from the first blueprint to the last breath, believing death could be structured, harnessed, and weaponized. When the Death Door was first opened, [PAWN_pronoun] stepped through without hesitation, alone, unarmed, and smiling. [PAWN_pronoun] returned days later, silent and burned from within, wrapped in binding cloth and sealed inside a containment sarcophagus that no one claimed to understand. The war ended. The door remained open. [PAWN_pronoun] sleeps still - but the seals are growing warm.

As you enter the final quest location, you will see a massive military complex - the headquarters of the Operation: Deadlife. The complex features barracks, research labs, munition storage, as well as two very important sections: the ICBM launch controls and the Deathdoor.

The Death door seems to be dormant, and the only effect it has on our world right now is that it slowly releases deadlife dust. I suppose the ancient military used that Death Door to experiment on deadlife dust. In fact, you can see that they have been loading that dust into numerous warheads, primed for launch.

The warheads are absolutely massive, and one can image their impact to be devastating. The plan of the Operation: Deadlife can be pieced together from the information you find in the descriptions of the items as well as backstories of the shambler soldiers.

After a short amount of time, the General emerges from his/her sarcophagus. Wearing military coat, General's cap and General's insignia, he's not a formidable foe at all. One could even say he's an easy kill.

A heavy military coat designed for harsh conditions, offering protection from cold, wind, and debris on the battlefield. Makes the wearer more confident. Since the coat has been mass-produced, individual items do not vary in quality at all.

A distinguished peaked cap with a stiff brim, adorned with embroidered insignia and a gilded band. While it offers little physical protection, its commanding design enhances the wearer's presence, greatly improving negotiation ability.

Decorative golden epaulettes adorned with braided aiguillette cord and a polished ceremonial clasp. Once worn by high-ranking officers, these insignia instill a sense of duty and composure, making the wearer less prone to mental breaks.

Except the General has a plan to make everything so much worse for you. Locked inside a securely sealed room, the General will travel from terminal to terminal, enabling traps and unsealing dangers stored within the compound.

An ancient computer terminal. It seems to still be connected to power, with some cryptic defensive protocols ready to be activated by a person in charge.

From these terminals, he will enable different traps that will slow down your approach.

A sealed containment pit lined with ancient restraints. Faint trails of deadlife dust seep from the cracks, and something inside constantly shifts, pushing, scraping, trying to crawl free. Heavy blast doors prevent the darkness from reaching out, but the mechanism seems well maintained.

The General can activate this trap from one of the terminals in the command room.

Upon activating it, the death pit opens up, releasing shamblers until you decide to seal it with whatever scrap you can find.

A large kennel that could hold several animals suspended in a deadlife dust-induced coma. Seems secure enough, for now.

The General can activate this trap from one of the terminals in the command room.

When unsealed, shambler animals emerge and will hunt you down in the dark corridors.

A closed chute with an unknown purpose.

The General can activate this trap from one of the terminals in the command room.

When opened, the chute creates impassable 'open chute' tile that you need to go around.

An ancient military casket that suspends a high ranking soldier using the deadlife particles.

The General can activate this trap from one of the terminals in the command room.

When the General unseals the caskets, high-ranking shambler officers emerge.

A free standing vent connected to an underground deadlife particle distribution system. If it reactivates, it will quickly flood the area with deadlife dust.

The General can activate this trap from one of the terminals in the command room.

When activated, the vent starts spewing deadlife dust, resurrecting any killed shamblers in the area.

A large vent connected to some revolting storage of biomass. It seems to be shut off for now.

The General can activate this trap from one of the terminals in the command room.

When enabled, rotstink starts rapidly filling the room. It's dangerous.

A dormant automatic turret. Belt-fed ammunition ensures it can fire continuously for long periods of time, but its dumb AI brain can't be directly controlled, which makes friendly fire likely. It seems to be inactive, for now.

The General can activate this trap from one of the terminals in the command room.

When activated, the turrets turn back online and will fire at you as you fight the hordes of shamblers.

Your goal is to get to the General before he decides to use one final terminal.

An ancient set of computer terminals. The displays contain information about the preparation to launch a series of ICBMs containing deadlife payloads. Once the launch sequence is initiated, it cannot be stopped. It seems only the person in charge of the complex can initiate the launch.

If you don't stop the General in time, the ICBMs will launch, and what events will unfold I will leave for you to find out.

Let me know what you think about this approach to the boss fight. I personally find it pretty original - I think it beats just a tanky guy with a minigun that I had originally planned.

By the way, yes, if you manage to capture the General you might be able to convince him to join your cause. He's a 'shambler overlord' creepjoiner, and comes with the 'release deadlife dust' ability!