The Story Of Frostpunk - Thus Far-

[Imperatordavius]

So i'm making this suuuper long thread to tell the super long story of Frostpunk as we wait for 'Over the Edge' to come out, and change the story.

Will also include the 'alternate' timeline as i picture it happening based on the decisions the captain in charge of Site 113 (the player in Last Autumn) takes.

Let's Begin

(Starting with Last Autumn)

The captain and his team of workers and engineers take charge of Site 113, the site of one of many 'Generators' to be constructed by the company at the request of London established for the evacuation of cities across the empire, yours is one of three for the city of Liverpool. For queen and country, you and your team sets to work establishing the foundations for the generator. Your deadline is strict, you have just over a month to finish the generator as the great frost is approaching.

As the days pass and things progress, the first accidents spark outrage and demands from the workers who are risking their lives and demanding better conditions or they will stop working. After negotiations are made the captain chooses to back either the workers to form a labor union to fight for their rights, or the engineers who are heading the project, either way work resumes, but the perils of the project begin to scale upward as the generator progresses.

Soon word from across the empire gets to your site, the situation is dissolving rapidly, and one of your sister sites, Site 107 suffers a catastrophic failure and the generator there has been halted, leaving only 2 for the hopes of Liverpool.

As conditions on the generator continue and you finish the second stage of the generator's construction, news from London reaches you about your other sister site, Site 120. With conditions deteriorating, they lost contact with the site and you are asked with finding out what happened. You eventually discover that site 120 had a rebellion just as it neared completion. With the generators at your sister sites lost, Liverpool's hopes rest on Site 113, your site.

As time passes on and you complete the third stage of the generator, the captain's scouting teams make a discovery of a crate meant for Winterhome. Inside the crates are various materials meant for the construction of a generator, very important pieces. Depending on the actions the scouts take, they are either left or taken by them and either taken back to the generator site to speed up construction, or returned to those who lost them.

(See alternate timeline for alternate outcome)

Its most likely implied that the scouts take them and keep them for Site 113, to speed up construction as the first snows start to hit the site, and soon the realization that this is 'not' about pay anymore but pure survival hits the workers and engineers. Now its a race against time, as soon support from the empire will be cutoff, leaving you alone to finish the job of completing the generator.

As the generator completes, you have just enough time to provide additional, critical upgrades to improve the chances of survival for those of Liverpool. Depending on your actions you can provide increased power output, an overdrive function, and an increased range output.

Depending on your efforts, you get a 'poor' quality or a 'normal' quality of the job. If you succeed Liverpool will be able to save 800 souls for site 113, and your crew is given the chance of a lottery system to join them. If you fail... Liverpool is skipped in the evacuation...

(Winterhome, Doomed to Death from the start)

Without the vital materials for the construction of the generator, Winterhome's generator is made 'subpar' compared to New London and other sites that completed on time. The captain in charge of Winterhome at the time ignored the problems of the generator for weeks and weeks on end. Due to the insufferable and unbearable cold the citizens were forced to endure, and brutal responses from the 'militarized' dictatorship of his leadership, a rebellion occured that resulted in a large loss of life, and eventually teh death of the previous captain.

The new captain, after taking over the reigns managed to restore the city, rebuild much of the infrastructure and restored hope into the citizens. Yet when the generator starts to creak and groan, steam escaping rapidly... it is eventually discovered that the generator was built in a flawed manner, leaving it in a rapidly deteriorating condition. The problems of the generator will only grow, there was no way to fix them, eventually the generator 'would' die, Winterhome is lost.

The new captain either lies or tries to tell people they can't give up, and all eyes now turn to the last remaining Drednaught, for evacuation. Yet with limited space the situation soon begins to unravel again...

As evacuation commences, the generator begins to break down, 'first' shutting down and causing the stress levels to rise. The heat zones of the generator soon begin to decrease, as do the power output with each break down that occurs, and as the generator breaks down the first time, a second time, and then a third time, panic rises and people try to leave for the dradnaught by force, resulting in harsher and more desperate measures to keep people from panicking and leaving. The only saving grace is that the nearby automoton is keeping a steel bridge clear of snow constantly, allowing Winterhome to send a continual supply of iron and steel for them to use in the evacuation efforts.

As the generator breaks down for the last time, and stress builds up continually, the end has come as the generator can no longer function... but the drednaught finally is fully staffed and ready to depart with ample food and coal, but with no space left (depending on the efforts of the player/captain), everyone begins to desperately leave for the nearby freshwater springs in a vain hope for survival.

Yet a spark of hope arrives at a nearby outpost where researchers have made an amazing discovery, a trail of smoke off in the distance. A scouting team is sent and they discover a trail, freshly made as well as lost supplies... but there is no way the drednaught can follow the trail as it is impassible to the mighty vehicle. They can return to Winterhome with the supplies or follow the trail, but if they go there will be no hope to join the evacuation in time, but they go anyway, so that if indeed there is a nearby city they hope someone will know the fate of Winterhome.

When the generator finally explodes, those in the drednaught set off... into the white void, unsure if there is hope for survival, but at least alive and taking their chances...

(New London, the breath of hope)

The people evacuating New London found their generator abandoned, after many of their group were seperated in the evacuation and are now lost in the white wasteland. But things begin to look up as they get situated, establishing simple tents, getting coal to start the generator, and everyone being given vital jobs, even the children perhaps (depending on your actions).

Soon the rest of their group are found nearby, first lost on the trail, in a gloomy cave being accosted by polar bears, and even a nearby observatory taking shelter. Hope begins to grow and soon the search for another city begins. The first hints of another city is a nearby weather forecast station. Then they find an automoton on a steel bridge, and it is either sent back to New London or dismantled, but with this discovery more and more fears creep as things don't add up. If there is a nearby city why wasn't this machine under the watch of an engineer?

Soon a nearby outpost is discovered, abandoned as if the people there fled in a rush... and hope begins to waver as the situation begins to scare people, but Winterhome is nearby, the scouts don't see the smoke in the distance so they assume the generator is down for maintanance.... but when they reach the city... they find it destroyed and in ruins... the generator exploded and bodies lying in the streets. Notes indicate that the people there starved and ate their own, with rebellions and strife destroying the city internally, and eventually the generator finishing the job with those who remained alive...

Leaving New London alone...

Panic grips your people and you must give them purpose, for many now want to return to London, seeing this place as a frozen death trap, not realizing what happened at Winterhome was the result of a generator doomed to failure from being rushed to completion without the full materials needed to ensure it functioned properly. Survivors of Winterhome are discovered nearby, first some people who fled to a nearby freshwater springs, then some children who were left alone by the adults who no doubt perished in the wastelands scouring for food, and other people who were making their way to winterhome who were lost.

The Londoners fight the captain with messages of fear and doom, trying to convince as many to return with them. Depending on the captain's actions they deal with it peacefully or brutally... either way as time goes on and more londoners join, or begin to leave, the situation is resolved... one way or another.

A nearby city is discovered alongside Winterhome, Tesla City. People who were deemed unfit to be a part of it were cast away and left to die in the wastelands, and the few who could tried to find help but perished. They are either brought back, left to die or are robbed and left to die...

Tesla City is found and its discovered that it fell due to how advanced it was and with foolish attempts to protect the city from the weather through the power of electricity. The tower keeping the weather at bay killed everyone inside, but when shut off people could scavange the city for precious Steam Cores. More survivors of Tesla City are found, and the man himself is found dead after they enacted justice for his crimes.

With the situation of the Londoners resolved, and the city stronger than before, things begin to look up once more... and hope rises as the flame of New London's generator burns brightly... until refugees start to arrive in massive droves talking about 'The Great Frost' approaching.

With so many to house, feed and nurture, the refugees are turned away or allowed in, and then New London sees what they are running from... a massive weather front, a storm of unbelievable size that stretches from one end of the horizon to the other... and heading toward their tiny hole in the ground...

The storm is discovered to be impossible to believe, the weather will freeze people to death in minutes. Food will be impossible, and unless they can prepare themselves with enough supplies and heat... so too will they.

Panic once again grips the city as survivors are brought in, every man woman and child if possible is working together to prepare enough food to last a week for every citizen. Automotons are rushed out, everything is pushed to the limit... as the storm approaches day by day. All outpost teams are recalled, all scouts disbanded eventually... the fate of Nanson is learned and valuable technology is brought back to aid the city... but still the sheer power of the storm is unbelievable.

When the storm finally hits... it hits the city hard, every day it gets colder, every day more get sick... the generator creaks and groans under the strain of keeping everything warm, even the overdrive is pushed to the limit as 'more' bad news arrives.

The coal mines, the very coal mines established to proved enough coal to supply the generator are starting to crumble under the cold. The captain chooses either to sacrafice people to secure each mine... or sacrafice the mines, in the hopes that they will still make it. Panic grips the people and soon refuse to work.

Eventually the final push is made and the cold hits such an unberable level that its impossible to stay warm... not even the health care facilities are warm enough...

But then the winds die down... the sun comes out... and silence envelops the city as everyone realizes... they survived. Everyone still alive... is alive as the temperature begins to drop rapidly...

New London's flame survives...

(The Arks, Seedlings of Life)

The small city of only a few engineers at an established generator, the best and brightest are here to ensure the Seedling Arks, which house precious seedlings from around the world in the hopes of one day replanting the green world we know and miss.

The only way it could be accomplished is with automotons, so that even if the engineers don't make it, their work will endure so the Seedlings survive.

They get to work, first finding their lost plans for the factory and steam cores to build automatons.

Things go well, the seedling arks are kept warm, food is growing in specialized industrial hothouses, and coal mines are built with the automotons running almost everything... but then a survivor makes his way to the city.

The survivor is from a nearby city, New Manchester... they are desperate, they will not survive and he begs you to help them, but the engineers face a problem, do they help the city or do what they came here to do, which was their mission that they are charged with by the 'world'.

The captain decides to either help or not help, and depending on how they act, New Manchester is sacraficed... or not.

If not, then the search for the city begins, and its soon discovered how 'dire' their situation is... They are truly desperate, the generator is barely functioning on what little coal they have, their housing is poor, and they just lack 'everything'... without the engineers and their automotons they will die as a nearby storm is approaching that will doom anyone unprepared to a frozen death.

Arguments arise as the first automoton bearing food is sent over them saving the city and its people and sacraficing their mission, but the captain is resolute and saying he won't endanger their mission but neither will he let them die.

As the next two automotons are sent with steel to help them build houses needed to survive the storm, any more arguments are quieted and the engineers are now behind the captain all the way, determined to save New Manchester.

With the last 4 automotons sent to the city bearing enough coal to get them through the storm... all eyes now turn to their city and readying 'it', having been delayed... they now rush to complete their mission, and do so 'just in time'.... or not. Either the city of New Manchester is saved and the Arks are saved, or one or the other, or even both are lost... depending on our actions.

(Refugees, Pilgrims of the Stolen Home)

When all the chaos was happening in london, the Lords were given special treatment and had their own generator set aside for them. But they did not count on the peasants, the workers and people who found this home when they were left to die in the evacuation.

As your people make their way to their new home, scouts are sent out after a beacon is raised to help more people find their way home. With more and more people arriving, your city begins to grow exponentially until everyone arrives (hopefully alive).

But soon word reaches you of a threat to your home, The Lords whom this generator was meant for are on their way, and soon you will have to deal with 'them'.

The first lords to arrive are unarmed, desperate and starving... If you choose to accept them you have to feed them all and house them, and deal with the social problems because your people hate the lords for what they tried to do. If you send them away, they will set up a camp nearby...

Regardless of how you act, a second group of lords will approach, and you will then have to deal with not only housing them, but healing the sick among them... one way or another you resolve it.

The third and final group of Lords approaches... and the one leading them is Lord Craven, whom you discover in the wastelands that he ordered your ship be shot at if spotted. You either let him and the other lords in or send them away, but either way Lord Craven is at your mercy now.

The social class seperations and issues are to be resolved, Lord Craven deals with a lynch mob and is either saved or hanged, and if you save him he leaves saying he sees hes not welcomed or wanted there, and so saves you the trouble of keeping him alive by taking his chances in the wastelands. But he gives you advice, unsolicited advice about being a leader, being both a good leader and a bad leader.

Depending on how you deal with it, you either save the lords and resolve the conflicts, or the lords leave or are killed off...

===

this is our storyline thus far... but there's another storyline starting from Winterhome depending on Site 113's leader when establishing the generator for liverpool.

===

(Alternate Timeline)

Thanks to the parts recovered by the scouts from Site 113, and given back to those heading for Winterhome's Generator site, these vital components are used to build the generator properly.

Thanks to these parts, the generator does not suffer the same malfunctions or problems as reported in the other timeline, and the captain there 'supposedly' maintains order and doesnt have to act brutally to keep everyone in line.

Because of this, when the scouts from New Home encounter the people at the weather building, they soon make contact with Winterhome and the two establish a relationship with one another, helping each other out and helping one another survive in this frozen wasteland.

When the storm approaches, both cities unite and work together to save themselves, and though contact will 'inevitably' be lost because of the storm, thanks to their united efforts, both cities survive through the harsh storm, and soon reestablish together, rebuilding the sense of 'community' between two cities.

Their combined flames help spark the life on the frozen world, as soon other flames are found and eventually become connected, thanks to the knowledge that New Home or Winterhome is not alone anymore. Thanks to this information, scouts are sent out, and they come across the cities of New Liverpool, or Site 113... the Refugee City, where the lords and peasants work together instead of against each other, having resolved their class conflicts

The City of New Manchester is discovered, and the nearby Seedling Ark city, soon automated transportation is established and a new 'empire' is born as each city adds to the collected whole... the fires from the generators burning and warming their tiny corners of the frozen world...

Together they make a new whole, New London is no longer 'the last city on earth'... as they now work together to find other generators, such as those found in the Endless Scenarios...

The world has changed, but it did not change the people who inhabit it...

at least... not 'too much'...

===

sorry if i missed anything, if so please tell me, but i think this is essentially the full story as it is now~ what you guys think of it?

I truly believe that those parts were meant to be taken by us in last autumn, and they were absolutely vital to completing the winterhome generator, based on the achievement 'It was Me all Along' which implies 'it was us' who stole the parts that resulted in The Fall of Winterhome. Without them they would have been forced to complete it like we do in the endless mode, in a damaged state with faults... this is my 'what if' scenario and what if timeline... since there are now 2 cities, perhaps not close together but close enough that they could communicate with one another. The journey to winterhome and back to new london is about 2-3 days total if they know the path, so it wouldnt be hard to establish regular contact eventually between the two

But what do you think?

[Somarda]

I think you nailed on how the aproach to Frostpunk should go from now on in your alternative timeline. Even if Winterhome has to evacuated, the whole premise of the game so far is that New London is not the last city on Earth, quite contrary, the proyect of the generators by the IEC has been a moderate success. With the main storm apparently out of the way, the main challange should be the dynamics and relations of the several new cities and the conlicts that could arise with the differents opinios of how this new world should run.

[Aturchomicz]

In what real way would on the Edge change the already exsisting story? I very doubt its some pararel universe stuff and its simply another story about what happened at a diffrent Generator Site

[Aturchomicz]

Originally posted by Imperatordavius:

1.Panic once again grips the city as survivors are brought in, every man woman and child if possible is working together to prepare enough food to last a week for every citizen. Automotons are rushed out, everything is pushed to the limit... as the storm approaches day by day. All outpost teams are recalled, all scouts disbanded eventually... the fate of Nanson is learned and valuable technology is brought back to aid the city... but still the sheer power of the storm is unbelievable.


2.The coal mines, the very coal mines established to proved enough coal to supply the generator are starting to crumble under the cold. The captain chooses either to sacrafice people to secure each mine... or sacrafice the mines, in the hopes that they will still make it. Panic grips the people and soon refuse to work.

3.Eventually the final push is made and the cold hits such an unberable level that its impossible to stay warm... not even the health care facilities are warm enough...

1. Laughs in having thousands of every resource before the Londeners event is over Seriouslly its not that hard to be well stocked on everything at that point even on survivor, the only real problem is having enough stockpiles to store everything but at somepoint its enough to win with a surplus anyway. So yeah its up to interpretation to how many resources and what kind of stress the people were under during the storm even though the game pushes you into the believe that its gonna be a "hard time".
2. Not everyones uses Coalmines, there are playthrough using not even a single Coal mine on Survivor. Again thats a "up to interpretaion to whats canon" bit
3. Not true, even on Survivor if you have researched all avaible heating and insulation tech for you medical Infermaries even with -150 Celsius outside you can cram everyone into chilly Infermaries in wich its either overcrowded or the patients are being fed extra meals to heal or whatever. The bigger problem would be to get everyone OUT of them before they get cooked alive when the Tempature RISES by 130 Celsius and the Infermaries become a Human Oven.

[Aturchomicz]

Originally posted by Imperatordavius:

Thanks to this information, scouts are sent out, and they come across the cities of New Liverpool, or Site 113... the Refugee City, where the lords and peasants work together instead of against each other, having resolved their class conflicts

Ok but why wouldnt this happen in our Timeline where New London already has a superb Economy set up (but is alone) making it possible for them to concentrate on exploring?? They never stoped exploring even when the Storm was seen the first time....

[Aturchomicz]

bump

[Talon]

Excellent Story! Now I have something that found to contribute to the Frostpunk community.

This is a full story-based game-centered narrative series that should hopefully interest everyone in the community forum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgGynjZs8mg&list=PLeunFtMS5KNIp_Mtb7aCNfTfCLa3guQ10