The GZ Story *spoiler*

[Oremus]

I am also interested if I get this story right:

So, Soviet forces, at the permission of NATO, intervened with their fancy equipment to tackle the unknown threat, an army of robots, driven by a rogue AI derived from bitter scientist mind and soul, calling itself FNIX.

But things went wrong with those new machines as well: after landing, someone (or something - FNIX???) reprogrammed them. The result is the soviet machines still attack FNIX, as they were previously programmed to do, but also perceive any human, be it their own soldiers, as a foe.

And FNIX does not care much if the newcomers attack its own machines, as long as they attack humans as well. Furthermore, soviet AI driven machines have development skills too (just like some FNIX evolved into apocalypse class), since we see new drones now, that weren't there at the landfall.

Am I missing anything here? Apart from the new guns and motorbikes of course, that *could* only arrive with intervening forces, but it's a very shaky explanation for their current presence.

Happy New Year to all GZ crowd and developer team, keep harrassing these robots!

[Zackmar]

I believe the Firebirds were made by the Soviets (you can find a note from a scientist hating how terrifying and inhumane the weapons they use are and they designed those weapons) and it's simply the Soviets escalating things. I don't know *why* they would bring in a new type of robot when the previous ones seem to be disobeying them, though.

[🤪CrazyWolf🐺]

Where did you find the info about NATO.

[Oremus]

I guess we can assume that it must have been agreed on some higher international military level, considering the FNIX threat, since Sweden was neutral in the 80s and any unilateral Soviet intervention would be against balance of powers. Remember that we have lots of USA - made weaponry at our disposal, so we can safely assume NATO was helping the Soviets at least to some extent.

[Oremus]

Originally posted by Zackmar:

I believe the Firebirds were made by the Soviets (you can find a note from a scientist hating how terrifying and inhumane the weapons they use are and they designed those weapons) and it's simply the Soviets escalating things. I don't know *why* they would bring in a new type of robot when the previous ones seem to be disobeying them, though.

Thx, valuable input, I never found or must have missed that note.

[🤪CrazyWolf🐺]

Thanks for the clarification. I thought missed some NATO-related missions.

Anyway I consider the 1980s Sweden more as a fictional time and place reference where and when machines are battling humans . The names of weaponry used during that time are mere reference to something familiar, and that's all it is.

I really think this is one aspect of the game that was never explained by the game's narrative.

[SniperGirl]

I don't think NATO has ever had anything to do with the in game conflict. US weapons would be something the Sweden could just have, zero reason given in the game story. If NATO was involved in any way, there would be other country forces and weapons involved as well.

Since the introduction of the Soviet machines the story went to pieces with no real reasoning as to why the US weapons are there, why the Soviets are there. But if you follow the forum, players wanted a base building game, then want more and different machines, wanted flying machines and so on. Forget there is a story that links any of it to the game and history of the time.

Think of it, the game is about untrained teenagers that can do better at fighting these machines than the trained military with their tanks, fighter jets and cannons. We are taking out the machines with hand weapons and with spit, dirt, wood and duct tape, making better defenses than the solid bunkers the military had.

[Zackmar]

Originally posted by SniperGirl:

I don't think NATO has ever had anything to do with the in game conflict. US weapons would be something the Sweden could just have, zero reason given in the game story. If NATO was involved in any way, there would be other country forces and weapons involved as well.

Since the introduction of the Soviet machines the story went to pieces with no real reasoning as to why the US weapons are there, why the Soviets are there. But if you follow the forum, players wanted a base building game, then want more and different machines, wanted flying machines and so on. Forget there is a story that links any of it to the game and history of the time.

Think of it, the game is about untrained teenagers that can do better at fighting these machines than the trained military with their tanks, fighter jets and cannons. We are taking out the machines with hand weapons and with spit, dirt, wood and duct tape, making better defenses than the solid bunkers the military had.

So basically no game should ever have a story? There's so many games where plot doesn't make sense when directly compared to gameplay, doesn't mean it shouldn't be there.

[wesnef]

Originally posted by SniperGirl:

Since the introduction of the Soviet machines the story went to pieces with no real reasoning as to why the US weapons are there, why the Soviets are there. But if you follow the forum, players wanted a base building game, then want more and different machines, wanted flying machines and so on. Forget there is a story that links any of it to the game and history of the time.

That's a shame. Played through the first Archipelago and thought the story was the interesting part. Was hoping to continue it. Honestly finding the combat kind of tedious & repetitive (especially tanks & firebirds, ugh).

Luckily, it was just $5, so the ~35 hours I got out of it is fine. :)


edit: I feel like I read the first two chapters of an interesting sci-fi story, and now every so often someone hands me a random page from chapters 6-12. :D

[Oremus]

Originally posted by SniperGirl:

I don't think NATO has ever had anything to do with the in game conflict. US weapons would be something the Sweden could just have, zero reason given in the game story. If NATO was involved in any way, there would be other country forces and weapons involved as well.

Since the introduction of the Soviet machines the story went to pieces with no real reasoning as to why the US weapons are there, why the Soviets are there. But if you follow the forum, players wanted a base building game, then want more and different machines, wanted flying machines and so on. Forget there is a story that links any of it to the game and history of the time.

Think of it, the game is about untrained teenagers that can do better at fighting these machines than the trained military with their tanks, fighter jets and cannons. We are taking out the machines with hand weapons and with spit, dirt, wood and duct tape, making better defenses than the solid bunkers the military had.

I know there are a lot of incosistencies in the story, just trying to explain them. Why the Soviets are there? Well, we must keep in mind that FNIX threat is something absolutely new to any military (which adds to game atmosphere). AI has wiped the population of several villages and towns ez and its target are humans overall. NATO and Warsaw Pact must be aware that if this AI infection spreads further, mankind is basically doomed. We see clear signs that best military equipment, like war jets and normal tanks fail miserably, even when entrenched. I don't think even dropping the atom bomb would help here. What counts then? Well, somehow it is modified weapons hitting robot's crucial weak points, operated by a slick, intelligent and ultratalented teenager, that is you, the player. You somehow happen to be extremely fit for the job. At the same time the game still sticks to as much realism as it can by clearly giving you unwinnable fight. No matter how many robots you destroy, the terrain is still crawled with them and you actually never win in terms of land clearing and final liberation.
And we see clear signs of continuation of the story in journals.

[⭐SEA Sniper⭐]

This game had a good narrative, which the Alpine Unrest picked up on and Fnix Rising continued. Since then, the game has taken a detour.

I am waiting for the continuation of game's main narrative.

At the end of Rising Rising DLC, Veronika vowed to find Finx and would dismantle every line of code in its system. She also wanted to keep Elsa safe, Elsa was the jet fighter pilot the player had saved in the Alpine Unrest DLC.

[flick]

Figuring out the story is hard because it's been retconned and it's a mess. Originally, there were no soviet machines. It went like this. The later missions had the soviets task you with taking a briefcase into FNIX's base for some purpose, and the facility blows up. The original material is still in the game, but now there are extra missions with the soviets sending in robots, so it's all disjointed now.
There's no reason for the soviet machines to be there, but yes, their's malfunctioned and killed their own soldiers. There are two characters from the soviet side that offer a bit of plot.

[wilrk05]

Originally posted by SniperGirl:

Since the introduction of the Soviet machines the story went to pieces with no real reasoning as to why the US weapons are there, why the Soviets are there. But if you follow the forum, players wanted a base building game, then want more and different machines, wanted flying machines and so on. Forget there is a story that links any of it to the game and history of the time.

Think of it, the game is about untrained teenagers that can do better at fighting these machines than the trained military with their tanks, fighter jets and cannons. We are taking out the machines with hand weapons and with spit, dirt, wood and duct tape, making better defenses than the solid bunkers the military had.

IMO the only good thing the "Landfall" update did storywise was it gave a bit more insight into the "Iron Church" subplot, lore that I find much more interesting than...whatever mess the fanboys on the forums demanded. As much as I like Firebirds (at least they gave a UFO a gun this time), I think they should've belonged to the FNIX line (like Glinthawks and Stormbirds in "Horizon Zero Dawn"). This whole Soviet spiel is just another example of convoluted plotholes and excessive retconning making nothing but total garbage.

[❌️▶️👱]

The devs had betrayed the "Resistance" by abandoning its cause years ago.

They are now just making up new stories as the game goes.

Those who played the base game, Alpine Unrest Dlc and then Fnix Rising DLC will have a different view of the story line from those who have not played them. The DLC players will know that Anita and her team are building a resistance against Fnix. Non-DLC players will tend to understand the game as a three-way fight involving the player, Fnix and Russian bots.

Non-DLC players might have read or hear the word "Resistance" in the promo materials of the devs but the concept of a "resistance" will be foreign or will not connect with them as their game play will lack the substantial missions that can connect them to concept of a "resistance" being built.

As of now, any devs' mentioning of the word "Resistance" in ther promo materials are just that — "promo". A lip-service to the original story line just to give new players a sense of purpose, especially if they bought Alpine Unrest and Fnix Rising DLC.

[kamikazi21358]

Originally posted by SniperGirl:

I don't think NATO has ever had anything to do with the in game conflict. US weapons would be something the Sweden could just have, zero reason given in the game story. If NATO was involved in any way, there would be other country forces and weapons involved as well.

There was a little lore given with the weapon pack descriptions I remember.

Originally posted by US Weapon Pack:

Since the fateful day of the "Cataclysm", NATO and the USSR have each been closely monitoring the situation in Sweden, raising their preparedness levels and weighing options.

When proof was obtained that there were survivors hiding in multiple locations in Östertörn, resolution "Reaction: Phase 1" was passed at NATO, as an urgent, temporary solution: large quantities of standard-issue weapons used in the American military were to be dropped all over Östertörn, in order to offer immediate assistance and support to the various groups of survivors.

Originally posted by US Weapon Pack 2:

While the survivors of Östertörn have already managed to scavenge some US and Soviet weapons, NATO has decided it’s time to broaden the arsenal even further, dropping another shipment of American weapons across the Resistance controlled territories. While this is still not enough to stave off the machine invasion, it should help the fighters tackle most situations and battles.

Not much but gives a little.
Based on this, it indicates the events are localized in Sweden too, it does not mention even that the attack left the country.

Also in fairness, the US not getting involved against major threats and just sending more guns is completely realistic. If the Swedish military couldn’t take on the machines, it would probably involve some insane preparation before NATO even considered taking on giant death robots and give a reason for FNIX to spread further, if it stopped in Sweden by it’s own accord.

[Mooman]

When you clear up the radio masts the Soviet voice on the other end mentions they are working on NATOs behalf.

The other odd thing is you are only called the Resistance after the last mission on the DLC island, the pilot mentions how it is a good name.

If you never own/play the hotel defence you are just some person acting on their own (Pontus and Teresa don't count).

I still hold the theory you work for FNIX (named by Veronica as it is a UNIX based system) and have infiltrated The Resistance to destroy it from the inside, like all good Terminators are made for.

Edit: Screenshot of lore mentioning NATO.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2910895420