division-universe

[gaunt ice]

the next big content drop will be that?

[sick lantern]

doubt

[gaunt ice]

i mean,we didn't expect Sam to be in R6 before

[magic sail]

i'm still holding out that maybe we'll see jess kandel again in a future content drop, but it's a slim hope that massive will bother to tie up that loose end

[sick lantern]

That wasn't Sam Fisher let's be honest

and they don't milk Div as much as Siege

[gaunt ice]

Kandel still owes the D1 agent a drink

[gaunt ice]

i mean,having Sam in there for the new content to be a prequel to Heartlands,which is f2p that opens opportunities for milking and they're trying something new,makes sense on some level

[sick lantern]

I could see Sam in Heartland if it takes off, probably to advertise the remake
But I doubt they'll put him in Div 2

[gaunt ice]

logically?nah

[gaunt ice]

you mean he's a shell of his own self or just literally not Sam and just some dude with a Echelon glass?

[sick lantern]

the former

He looks like a different person. he doesn't even have a sneaking suit

[gaunt ice]

he stole RE8's Chris Redfield's look lol

or is it the opposite?

[sick lantern]

and according to the wiki... they were planning to make him a PMC at some point 🙄 ruddy Ubisoft

[gaunt ice]

also even without Division in play,the 3 big games that are being connected to each other doesn't make much sense on their own,like why need R6 if Echelon is a thing?

[gaunt ice]

LMB skin for Sam when

[sick lantern]

they server different purposes
Echelon investigates and prevents terrorist acts, Rainbow intervenes when the threats emerge

[cold bramble]

Originally Echelon was doing mostly espionage stuff for the NSA, while Rainbow was the super secret international counter terrorist dream team

[gaunt ice]

also what's the deal with the baddies in TC games being PMCs?

[gaunt ice]

but...don't they just overlap with each other sometimes?

[sick lantern]

yes but that's how it be sometimes ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[magic sail]

having "terrorists" being middle-eastern mujahideen is kinda xenophobic, so PMCs are the next best thing for "well, they're obviously bad" without being outright racist

[cold bramble]

Of course, with the various plausible state actors being whittled down as the franchise went on, eventually Sam Fisher wound up going up against Third Echelon (we do not talk about whatever Megiddo was supposed to be). Then international terrorists.

[gaunt ice]

i think the Russians being bad is just about the same really,Hunters(theorised),Bodarks...

[magic sail]

for sure

[gaunt ice]

Sokolova is Russian too

[magic sail]

it's always easy to use "russia is the bad guy" in western media because gestures at cold war

[sick lantern]

because they are tacticool guys who you can give pretty much any motivation

[gaunt ice]

then just outright say "ITS LE RUSKIES",why PMC tho

[cold bramble]

Also after the last few times we really are out of riffs on Russians wanting to take over the world

cough cough MW3 Russians teleporting everywhere cough

[gaunt ice]

didn't the Wolves are about the same?

[sick lantern]

idk I don't play Ghost Recon

[magic sail]

it's this weird concept of trying to be somewhat original in your choice of antagonist and not simply using the same old bad guy tropes, but not doing a very original or good job of it

[gaunt ice]

i am convinced the Hunters used the same teleporting technique that the CoD Russians used to disappear

[magic sail]

at the end of the day, massive probably knows that its playerbase probably doesn't care all that much about the overarching story, so they applied a thin veneer of a story to keep people satisfied
which loops back around to "gee, wouldn't it have been nice for massive to try a little harder with the story"

[gaunt ice]

also where did the Tusk get the money for all those fancy robot dogs,massive flying Marauders and a fucking hovercraft FLEET that puts the US Navy to shame?

[sick lantern]

illuminati

[cold bramble]

Speaking of which I picked up the survival guide again for the sole purpose of becoming upset about how Manhattan Chinatown went from fairly OK all things considered during Div 1 and the immediate run up to its events to... its current state as of WONY

[gaunt ice]

they not only massacred Keener,they speedrun-ed it

pure evilness

[magic sail]

i mean, not to wander too far into the real world, but my impression of real-life PMCs is that there's a lot of money slung around in that world (not to mention how much money might be coming from DOD contracts and spending)

[sick lantern]

they No Russian'd Keener

[gaunt ice]

you mean Davis Family-ed him?

[cold bramble]

There is definitely a lot of money floating around, but most of it is the logistics needed to get fast food in Djibouti rather than multiple bigger-than-Zubr hovercrafts

Obviously, one sets the stage for the other, but you definitely don't see much money invested in big hovercrafts of that sort these days

[gaunt ice]

im willing to look past the dogs since Division toys are about the same but...the Marauder drone can probably flatten the White House before Green Poison,and they have dozens of them,and even reinforcements upstate

is this an Advanced Warfare moment?

[cold bramble]

Yeah it's pretty strongly implied that BT and their backers want the White House (mostly) intact for some reason, most likely legitimacy through symbolism

[magic sail]

the dogs also do have real-life counterparts; go look at Boston Dynamics' YouTube channel

[cold bramble]

Hence why Schaeffer takes poorly to Wyvern deciding to attempt MLRSing the White House out of existence

[gaunt ice]

also because Schaeffer has common sense too

[magic sail]

schaeffer definitely one of the... smarter people 'round those parts

[gaunt ice]

if only he's smart enough to avoid being captured

[cold bramble]

this is a certified Scorpio moment

[gaunt ice]

but yeah he definitely has more braincells than all of the BT bosses combined

which isn't saying much since each of them has like half a braincell,and they're on power saving mode

[magic sail]

i think schaeffer also has to deal with his fair share of idiots in black tusk
black tusk is still an organized corporation of some variety, which means you still have garden-variety incompetence to some degree

[gaunt ice]

i mean,the corp is ran by an idiot who uses a channel that has been warned to be not secure,sends her brother out in the field only to die almost immediately,and recruited this one dude who can't even speak properly only for him to kill her own men and not even succeeding in their job

also the Tusk lacks proper tactics other than body piling drones,robots and soldiers on the target until they die

like,fucking LMB did that better

they're much more amateur than LMB,and that's not supposed to happen

[magic sail]

yeah, got nothin' for ya

[cold bramble]

the general impression is that they were really reliant on the SHD network being down to make their moves, especially those outside Washington DC

[sick lantern]

Step 1: Make big army
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Take over US
Step 4: Profit

[cold bramble]

And of course, to a lesser extent those jammers their medics keep throwing

Without them... yeah I guess it also helps that the Sheriff is basically a clone of the D1 Agent in how ludicrously effective they are at killing all comers 95% of the time

[gaunt ice]

which is a plan that backfires so horrendously they just decides to run if they ever see another Agent

like,that Bard's engagement rules to minimise shootouts unless forced to

also i want to see my d1 agent in all his/her glory coming back at one point and just slapping these guys like little puppies

[gaunt ice]

Step 1:big army
Step 2:break random circuits with an orange circle on it
Step 3:expect the orange circle people to lose their wifi connection
Step 4:kill orange circle people
Step 5:fails and get their ass kicked

[sick lantern]

"These elite-trained stay-behind CoIN specialists will surely be no match for us when we turn off their wifi. What are they gonna do then? Shoot us?"

[gaunt ice]

tbf the shield is connected to the wifi too so maybe they were thinking about that

also apparently DC agents are all running skill builds,they died so much BT nearly won

[sick lantern]

which ofc makes sense

[gaunt ice]

I mean,the shield has to flip and fold in some ways,but then again that’s low key dumb

Virgin DC agent:reusable shield
Chad NYC agent:throws the slightly dented shield away and the nanomachines will generate a new one for them

[sick lantern]

those things obviously come cheap, they are a starting skill

speaking of shields

the intro cutscene to WSP in Div 1 shows an LMB rusher with a shield 🤔

[gaunt ice]

I’m glad they scrapped that idea

Like,imagine a named legendary boss just being a named LMB rusher with a shield

[sick lantern]

that sounds cool though

[gaunt ice]

Also shields are unbreakable in division 1 so technically they are hunters but worse

also yay it’s new year in my place now

[sick lantern]

happy new year

[gaunt ice]

Thanks

[sick lantern]

LMB shields are EZ striker stacks tho

[gaunt ice]

Yeah but…fucking rushers man

It is very odd that we never really saw a rusher named boss

[sick lantern]

There are three in Stolen Signal and I think they're the only ones in both games

[gaunt ice]

The pillar men of division

The Stone mask will just be random gold rusher with a shield

[sick lantern]

is this a reference to something

[gaunt ice]

…nvm

[sick lantern]

I'm terrible with references 🙃

[ashen jungle]

dw, I didn't get it either.

[sick lantern]

you wanna know something weird

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartland,_New_York

[gaunt ice]

Hah,Hartland

[sick lantern]

yea

it feels like a coincidence

but I really don't know why they chose the name Heartland

New York state is the heart of the US because of the war of independence?

[ashen jungle]

"heart land" is a term used for the kinda rustic centre of a country, "true country" is also used for that.
it's often short-hand for a kinda patriotic thing, which is what I assume they were going for.

[sick lantern]

yea the former is what makes it confusing, cus new york is not that

.

[ashen jungle]

in this case I suspect it's more about the people that are left, more-so than the physical location.

Far Cry 5 used the term too, if that helps explain it for ya.

[sick lantern]

well Far Cry 5 is set in a place where that term somewhat applies

[ashen jungle]

it's all a bit flowery for my taste, but that's video-games.

[gaunt ice]

What’s so patriot about that one abandoned section of New York though?

Could’ve gone to the West or pull a Far Cry 5 if they want to

[sick lantern]

New York state is where a lot of important events of the American Revolution took place

so the general area has the theme

[ashen jungle]

okay so as I said, it's less the location and more the people that are actually left.
people seem to forget that Green Poison killed like, most of the world.

[gaunt ice]

But should there be something super big,like bigger than DC going on there?

[sick lantern]

probably not, but we don't exactly know the stakes of Heartland's plot yet

so far it seems to be just "defend the town from the bad guys"

[sick lantern]

is a bowling alley really a smart choice for a base of operations?

[mighty zealot]

Fuck it, Dude; let's go bowling.

[gaunt ice]

i mean,it's massive so there's plenty of space to set up shop

[ashen jungle]

plus, free shoe rental.

[tiny wraith]

When I played Heartland I had fun

[woven basalt]

it wasn't a bowling alley.

[full fox]

better than the creepy arcade on Coney Island

[gaunt ice]

wdym that ballpark section was the goat

[sick lantern]

tf was it then

[mint citrus]

There's also the surprising lethality of bowling balls to consider

[full fox]

like that bowling ball launcher in Fo4

[gaunt ice]

It’s the bowling highway

[sick lantern]

🎳ofc

[woven basalt]

i'll dm it.

[cold bramble]

Is the movie expected this year?

I saw heartland may or may not release this year

[sick lantern]

No

[cold bramble]

Ah, man.

[sick lantern]

@cold bramble I doubt it

[cold bramble]

I bought broken dawn when div 2 released and just now getting around to reading it

[cold bramble]

Oh yeah if they're just filming this year it won't release this year I would bet

[ashen jungle]

with...what's happening in the world right now, I would expect the movie to keep getting delayed even if it is mostly filmed.

[cold bramble]

Right? So sick of covid.

I haven't even been activated yet 🥺

[ashen jungle]

I'd 100% pawn the watch off.

save the world? Nah, eBay!

[cold bramble]

I have the watch from the div 1 collectors edition, it's pretty cool

[sick lantern]

pretty sure that would get you disappeared by the government

[ashen jungle]

it's a good thing i'm an Australian then, they couldn't disappear a used tissue.

[sick lantern]

crackpot theory with no evidence: hunters are inactivated agents who are salty over it

[cold bramble]

Yeah that's pretty crackpot I think

[sick lantern]

I'm pretty sure I've heard worse though

[sick lantern]

it's less crackpot than the "third wave coverup cleanup crew" theory

[sick lantern]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33_Thomas_Street

potential summit location?

[gaunt ice]

possibly but it doesn't have 100 floors though

i kinda wanted to see the Empire States,but this is decent enough

[ashen jungle]

Hunters are weebs with guns, confirmed.

[gaunt ice]

average hunter:https://youtu.be/Tlwda9S58Lg

[ashen jungle]

ah, classic.

[sick lantern]

it doesn’t have windows though so it fits xd

[floral gull]

I know why it doesn’t have windows, cause I’ve been outside of the building

“Building” as a loose term

[gaunt ice]

i think we talked about this before but where did the prequel for d2 take place?

[ashen jungle]

oh, there's no confirmation, but most people seem to think "new england" area.

[gaunt ice]

so that also means that when Sanders send us to DC,we walked from somewhere near the borders of Canada to DC on foot?

in like,a couple days?

[ashen jungle]

Well, new-england ain't that far from DC, from what I understand.
and who says we walked the whole way? I like to think we drove and then the roads just gave out so we had to hike it.

[gaunt ice]

possible,but i kinda wanted to transition that point to the qualities of being an Agent physically.like,how strong does one have to be?

the average Agent carry a spec weapon,2 main weapons,loads of ammo,a bunch of armor plates and grenades,possibly a shield that's around 4-5kg

[ashen jungle]

I've seen footage of someone carrying that much stuff and still sprinting.
I think it's more about stamina for Agents.

[gaunt ice]

just the raw strength to carry those stuff is impressive on its own

[frigid pike]

What is this place?

[sick lantern]

this is the lore channel

(aka the best channel)

[gaunt ice]

the cool kids channel

except me because im not cool in literally anywhere

[sleek plover]

Hello I hate LMB

[fleet rover]

Us too

Bliss is a bottom

[floral gull]

What would you say the Division training regiment is equivalent to?

Seal Team? But if that’s true, agents like Theo wouldn’t have made it right?

[fleet rover]

Halo spartan 1 program level training

[floral gull]

[ashen jungle]

There's actually a thing ingame where the recruiters talk about the relaxed standards to pump up the numbers, since they never really intended to activate anyone.

[floral gull]

Mm insteresting, now I remember them saying that

[hoary halo]

probably a mix of big D and SAC

[gaunt ice]

Ex military background i presume,or maybe just being a really really good tech guy

Or a cop,heck,a mechanic with skills

[gaunt ice]

So that explains the failure of the DC agents before the reinforcements from outside DC came?

[floral gull]

Yeah, probably individuals who excelled in certain fields had some leeway

[ashen jungle]

All Agents really , NYC too.

IIRC a lot of it had to do with money.

[gaunt ice]

why would one pay just to be an agent?

[ashen jungle]

Well, pay for their kids. It's a status thing I assume.

all the bragging rights of the military, but no actual combat.

[gaunt ice]

but i thought they're suppose to be secretive about their job?

[ashen jungle]

rich people gonna rich.

[floral gull]

Prob why Kestrel and Viper joined

[agile cliff]

What are the absolute best Tom Clancy books? Not just the most famous. But the ones that are particularly good.

[woven basalt]

do you mean the ones he wrote, or the ones under the "tom clancy's" imprint?

[agile cliff]

the ones he wrote

[sleek plover]

Hello! Damn I hate LMB.

[hoary halo]

relatable.

[sleek plover]

Look at my profile pic

[gaunt ice]

Ridgeway and Bliss is oddly similar,you notice that?

[hoary halo]

yes.

[sick lantern]

I shall consult the good book

[sick lantern]

“Agency psychologists conduct intensive personal interviews, administer cognitive and psychological assessments, and closely monitor performances in VR mission simulators”
“The process is intensive and highly demanding, yet it must not put trainees in situations that arouse suspicion or threaten to compromise their cover. Therefore, most training activities are folded into a recruit’s day-to-day life, cleverly disguised as common civilian pursuits.”
“Most recruits train under top-tier operatives for nearly a full year before becoming privy to the Division’s true purpose and mandate.”
“Training continues year-round for the entire length of an agent’s service in the Division. During peace time, all agents maintain and improve basic skills- survival, combat, CBRN knowledge, intelligence gathering- through regular practice and exercise.”
“In addition, each local cell of sleeper agents is encouraged to coordinate and conduct regular, self-directed exercises and training sessions as they see fit.”

[sick lantern]

@north ruin Heartland is set here
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Creek,_New_York

[woven basalt]

or maybe one of the towns with that name in the other 11 states.

[sick lantern]

the thought legit never crossed my head 🙃

but the Pilgrims being in New York would make sense

[woven basalt]

the pilgrims irl where never in new york, they were in mass.

the new york colony were people sent by england because the pilgrims were successful

[sick lantern]

the colonial theme still applies

[woven basalt]

sure, but 100% of the US falls under that theme

and iirc theres also a silver creek in mass.

[sick lantern]

well yea but NY is one of the thirteen colonies

[woven basalt]

not to mention that the theory pretty much ignores the keyword "heartland"

[sick lantern]

it does

[floral gull]

Thx for the info

[woven basalt]

i figured they were "pilgrims" because they made the pilgrimage to the heartland, but you make a good point, it is a very americana term for them to use

[sick lantern]

there is a gun called the Alexandrian; Alexandria USA is in Virginia 🤔

Silver Creek, Virginia is a ski resort though

[woven basalt]

i looked over my files, no real clues, just a very generically rural place.

think they pulled what they did with the coastal town in the tutorial for div2; made it super ambiguous

[sick lantern]

well that was a tutorial area, this is the main setting of the game seemingly

[sick lantern]

So the base of operations in Heartland is a rollerblading rink
and just outside of silver creek NY there's a bowling alley which it could be a stand-in for

[woven basalt]

isnt silver creek in new york a coastal town, or at least a town on the edge of water?

[sick lantern]

on lake erie, yes

[woven basalt]

that's a major difference with the game setting then

[sick lantern]

really? the map in the BoO seems to have a body of water on it

[woven basalt]

where would that be?

not the map, the body of water. what side?

[sick lantern]

idk

it looked like a big gap in the ground

[sick lantern]

so in the leak the guy goes to a water tower and then north to a church
could be a coincidence ofc but the water tower in silver creek ny is south of a church

[woven basalt]

i think there not being a large body of water on an entire edge of the map is more glaring than there being a church and a water tower near each other.

[sick lantern]

true

[ashen jungle]

Like most geography in the Div franchise, it's either 100% real or it's an amalgamation of real locations tweaked to be more "game-y".

[gaunt ice]

i mean,is there a tweaked location that's changed more things than the name?

like,camp White Oaks is a location irl with a different name iirc

[ashen jungle]

Places outside of DC that are clearly inspired by real places but just....aren't? There's a few.
most notably: the zoo.

[magic sail]

camp white oak is probably camp david, if i had to guess

[ashen jungle]

well yeah, that's one of the "tweaked locations".

[sick lantern]

almost everything in div is

legally distinct

[ashen jungle]

the cop cars between Div1 and Div2 are the best example of that.

go to NYC in div2 and check the logo, then go check it in div1.

[full fox]

so is the summit, that tower with white lining and a long needle on top? the one you can see in NYC?

even though it doesnt have smoke on it

[ashen jungle]

tbh I've always assumed that the Summit building was a fake one, but that there was probably a location somewhere in the ingame map.

I kinda assumed it was just gonna be outside of the map.

[full fox]

I see, I was trying to cheese it since I could see the top of the Chrysler building (?) by standing on the summit's 100th floor

[ashen jungle]

It wouldn't surprise me if the devs did put it somewhere on the map, just replacing another building.

[full fox]

: O

[ashen jungle]

I do vaguely recall someone once finding a building with a similar looking front to it ingame, but I've been through 5 pages of google results and nada.

[full fox]

or just waiting for someone to make said reference (even though it is unofficial 😦 )

[cold bramble]

External appearance wise it's 30 Hudson Yards

[ashen jungle]

Called it.

[sick lantern]

i just got mandela effect'd so hard

[sick lantern]

Isn't that where Hudson Refugee Camp is

[cold bramble]

Yes. Which is why I'm wondering if I'm suffering the same thing with regards to how redeveloped that area was in D1

[sick lantern]

they took major creative liberties with how 30 hudson yards looks in div then right?

it is a new construction area (in game) in their defence

but also there's that big square/rectangle building nearby which i just can't see

it was called something apartments irl iirc

[cold bramble]

From what we can see of the outside and that one model in the lobby it's a near perfect copy

[floral gull]

@ashen jungle @full fox I’ll post some pics tonight in regards to the outside of the summit “building” heh

I can tell you now that the map is absolutely massive

Took me 40 min sprinting getting from the summit to coney island

[ashen jungle]

div2 is big, yo.

[tiny wraith]

@gaunt ice camp whiteoak :IRL Camp David

Morning rivens

[floral gull]

https://imgur.com/a/QsgfUGT

The summit maps aren’t random in terms of layout- you just get transported to a random floor map somewhere out in the badlands that also includes the Coney Island maps.

The summit roof background scenery is also there separately

I was running for so long to get to it, it changed to night time

So, if the summit building had windows, this is the scenery you would see on the outside, a desolate wasteland with floating rooms that stretches into the void

[woven basalt]

i must not play enough to understand what im seeing.

what are those buildings in the distance (in the bottom pics) supposed to be?

what you see from the roof?

sorry if the answer is overly obvious.

[floral gull]

Yeah, It’s the summit roof background props. Cause I went there and the roof map was next to it

[floral gull]

Looking from the outside, floor 100 looked like one long room- like a bridge all the way to the observation deck where you fight the hunters. It would have stretched past the building’s sq ft circumphrence the map was that long. The building background props weren’t right next to it, but it was close by so it gives you the illusion of distance, and make you feel you are still in downtown nyc.

So all in all, the summit building does not exist on the nyc overworld map at all

[sick lantern]

do you think there will be a mention of the division in rainbow six: zombie shooter™️?

[gaunt ice]

I mean,if it’s not canon to the main r6 storyline then yes.
But then again r6 canon is just the Olympus for covert operators?so does it even matter

A biological threat that attacks the US?sounds like orange wristwatch people’s job for me

[hoary halo]

arent the division and the rest of the clancy games set in different timelines

actually disregard that

[gaunt ice]

That’s why I said if Extraction is not canon to the overall story of the main clancyverse

[woven basalt]

i thought they were preparing for some engagement with the white masks that never came to pass.

[analog whale]

yes division is a what if scenario and is set in a different universe than the other clancy games

HAWX, GR series , Splinter Cell and R6 is set in the same universe or at least it looks like it

[gaunt ice]

i have no idea,i lost track after they somehow made Pulse and Japanese Ash became a couple

[sick lantern]

ubisoft be like: “white who?”

[gaunt ice]

who?

[sick lantern]

(are you being serious or not i can’t tell)

[gaunt ice]

im dead serious,yeah there's some biochemical threat and all is all i remember

the dude who made them is White Mask?

[sick lantern]

Yea, they’re the reason why Rainbow was reactivated

[gaunt ice]

and...it stopped there for the olympics arc?

[sick lantern]

they’re the guys you fight in terrorist hunt and situations

[gaunt ice]

i did not expect their name to be literally like that,i thought their budgets for the mask was tight

[sick lantern]

pretty much
Bartlett happened, that gets mentioned in passing in the intro cutscene to the zombie event, and they are then never relevant again

[gaunt ice]

yeah i think whatever extraction is going for is definitely better than the Rainbowlymbics

[sick lantern]

true

[gaunt ice]

division in clancyverse when

[sick lantern]

I saw a trailer for rainbow six zombie shooter™️ and the start of the cinematic was in NYC, there has to be a div reference somewhere in this game

[gaunt ice]

it'd make sense if division takes place a good while before the events of extraction

like,it hit an end or something?country's stable and all?or would it be better to happen after extraction?

[sick lantern]

it’s probably an asspull either way

[gaunt ice]

i'd take an asspull over r6 canon now tbh

[sick lantern]

[gaunt ice]

the only cool thing i can take from this phase of r6 canon is Pulse having a gf,because that's probably the most normal thing to happen yet

[sleek plover]

Hello, Damn i hate LMB.

[gaunt ice]

if we're not talking about how they're Naz*,then this is a pretty good example on why you shouldn't entrust PMCs with officials work

private security firms have been enforcing the law in some places,like the DUST guy in Detroit(somehow people trust him)

[ashen jungle]

thanh, let's just not go down that road. It only leads to problems.

[gaunt ice]

ok here's something that's not gonna start a hassle:
how does Keener's watch works canonically?

yeah you can tap into the rogue network but how about the various buffs?

[spare arrow]

i dont think the buffs are actually canonical to the watch

[gaunt ice]

yeah so what's the exact point of the watch though?

[spare arrow]

to get access to rogue systems.

[gaunt ice]

technically you don't need the watch to find the rogues right?

[spare arrow]

i mean you dont need it, but it helps

[gaunt ice]

also what's wrong with your name?

[cold bramble]

marginally less messed up version of the Hunters' collection of watches I guess

[spare arrow]

whats wrong with your name?

[gaunt ice]

it's...chairs

[spare arrow]

you cant just ask people that

[ashen jungle]

It says Aspect to me.

[gaunt ice]

Aslkdfhg is what im seeing

[ashen jungle]

you alright, Thanh?

[gaunt ice]

or am i getting pranked

i thought it was a bug or something,sorry

[spare arrow]

i'd say we are in your walls but thats old

[gaunt ice]

it's just random letter on my side

[cold bramble]

Although I recall Parnell's watch had access to a backdoor he inserted into ANNA because he's smart

[ashen jungle]

well as long as you're alright.

[cold bramble]

And presumably Faye takes it with her when she goes over to BT

[gaunt ice]

oh yeah it's the whole fake his identity thing

[ashen jungle]

we have to assume that that the "Rogue systems" access we get with Keener's watch does more than just what our regular ones can do, if I'd have to guess it's how we're finding the Manhunt targets from then on.

[gaunt ice]

but again,i don't think that's necessary since we're collecting intels to find them from the various CP/bounties

[spare arrow]

we know where they are vaguely

from the start

[gaunt ice]

it's not like the watch goes beep beep when we're close

[spare arrow]

find vague location through the watch -> follow up by collecting intel on targets -> find and dispose of target

[gaunt ice]

huh,neat

maybe it can buff our skills?or allow us to use rogue skills?

[ashen jungle]

my mind refuses to accept that the entirety of the end of WONY was built up to us getting a pokemon-go watch.

[gaunt ice]

get pokemon go-ed

[ashen jungle]

can't be rogue skills, since we were using those during the WONY campaign.

[gaunt ice]

we do pick up individual rogue's watch everytime we game end them though

[ashen jungle]

we Hunters now.

[gaunt ice]

so my take is that with Keener's watch being the master key,you don't need individual watches of the rogues who made the skills

[ashen jungle]

that would explain the manhunts actually.

[cold bramble]

TBH what confuses me the most is Achilles Pulse being called rogue tech when it's explicitly said to be engineered at the White House Base of Operations

[ashen jungle]

How I understand it, is that "rogue tech" is anything made after the Div started off in the world.

stuff in the testing phase, basically.

[gaunt ice]

i think because ISAC never registers that skill before so it's tagged as rogue skill

kinda like bluetooth when you connect to a new device for the first time

[sleek plover]

hey chairs

you a sofa or a bench

[tiny wraith]

Don't FORGET you can order the NEW Division book

[unreal widget]

🥳

I love Division books. 😄

[tiny wraith]

Happy new year isabel

Comic drops now and paperback you can now preorder for Feb the 3rd one isn't available yet

[sick lantern]

so I was levelling in div 1 again and found something interesting

one of the missing agents is a nurse with connections to street gangs

and you find her profile in the same building as a missing person side mission- the one about the nurse with a connection to street gangs

I wonder if there’s some leftover beta content connection there

[gaunt ice]

div1 has a lot of cut content if you look close enough

[sick lantern]

you don't have to look that hard let's be honest

[gaunt ice]

enough ain't much tbh

[worn seal]

Unless I missed it somewhere, I am curious to why is Critical Hit Chance capped to 60%?

[ashen jungle]

Balance, basically.

[worn seal]

Oh okay.

[ashen jungle]

It helps if you think of crit as something that should mainly be used on rapid-fire weapons.
like ARs/LMGs/SMGs.

[worn seal]

Those are weapons of choice. I guess it's time for a rearrangement of mods. More CHD it is.

[ashen jungle]

Exactly, you can choose to use a build based around crit, or you can choose not to.

tbh more people use Coyotes for crit builds anyway,s o 50% is plenty.

[sleek plover]

Hello, Damn I hate LMB

[late void]

If every hit is critical, then no hits are critical, they're all just hits.

[sick lantern]

Deadeye players: I missed the part where that’s my problem.

“Division Q-Branch has modified ISAC to allow for instant target acquisition with appropriate rifles and DeadEYE gear equipped with the requisite micro-camera positioning.”
does Deadeye facilitate canonical aimbot?

or maybe like a super-HUD relaying information from the cameras through ISAC

[gaunt ice]

Predator's Mark:
"Nano-trackers controlled by ISAC allow for expended ammunition to magnetically pull towards other ammo inside the target."

remember that one Chinese guy that points the gun on the sky and the bullet still hits you?
yeah this is close enough

DeadEye is soft aimbot while PredMark literally drives the bullet to the target's ammo

[sick lantern]

no it shreds your insides

[gaunt ice]

get this:they're attracted to the previous rounds that you hit them

[sick lantern]

yea the bullets pull themselves together inside the body

if there’s one thing you don’t want it’s metal fragments dragging through your organs

[gaunt ice]

that's way more disturbing and powerful than i've ever thought about wtf

being killed by striker or deadeye is way less painful

[sick lantern]

striker: compooter make boolets shoot better
predator: tried in the hague for inhumane suffering

[gaunt ice]

the geneva convention?more like the geneva suggestion

https://thedivision.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Tusk
"Reports coming into Division headquarters suggest that under cover of the Green Poison pandemic's spreading disruption, Black Tusk operations have already secured key strategic locations around the country: military bases, power-grid and utilities infrastructure, media-communications hubs, Internet server farms, certain financial institutions and high-tech corporate campuses, and so on."

so the Black Tusk effectively took out all major US forces in the country in 6 months?

and no one bat an eye?i get that there's a killer pandemic but someone has to notice something

"They operate based on their chilling vision of a new world order, and they fervently believe in their role as the harbingers and military guardians of that order."
when was this established?

[sick lantern]

those passages are taken straight out of The World of The Division

[gaunt ice]

oof,never read that book

also there's a comic i also miss that says Black Tusk funded the remains of LMB in NYC,how did that turn out?

[sick lantern]

everything related to div 2 in it is debatable canon because it was written before div 2 came out, or at least was trying not to spoil div 2

[sick lantern]

well as evidenced by the fact that as an independent faction they're effectively non-existent now, not great

[gaunt ice]

just hear me out:the LMB is still the strongest hostile faction even after their base fell,but the other factions like Rikers and Cleaners outlived them?

[sick lantern]

the most organised LMB remnants we've seen got whopped at the water treatment plant, then an amount of LMB went to join the JTF
in that way the LMB are the only ones who effectively dissolved, cleaners and rikers carried on as they were before

[gaunt ice]

water treatment plant...you mean the Incursion with the APC?

[sick lantern]

yea

[gaunt ice]

The whole BT backing LMB happened before that Incursion I assume?

[sick lantern]

no

they had a rogue agent with them but no one knew about the black tusk yet

[sick lantern]

we see that in the comic, and the agent who discovers it goes to DC so it happens some amount of time after div 1

[gaunt ice]

so the LMB still sorta exists even after the APC incident?

[sick lantern]

yea like benitez says, "there's still gonna be squads of them out there but no one is gonna be saying "join or die" at gunpoint"

[sick lantern]

speaking of which what was up with that rogue agent

she doesn’t even have a name, I would prefer it if they sprung a named boss on you in the middle of the fight

[sick lantern]

oh fyi, the main three agents in that comic are the ones from div 2’s intro cutscene

[gaunt ice]

Yeah I did realize that after finishing part 3

[sick lantern]

these guys have merch but they’re just not mentioned again

i think they’re mentioned in an echo

[gaunt ice]

Also the trailers for the seasons,or is it?

Last time I saw them I think it was the Pentagon trailer

[sleek plover]

They want to become martial nobilities of some sort while their leaders oppress the citizens with authoritarian rule of tyranny

[ashen jungle]

'LMB, you know the rules.

[sleek plover]

Yeah im not going to go further than that....but please dont call me that way

[gaunt ice]

to be completely fair the first part of your name is LMB

[ashen jungle]

fair enough, I'll use the first letter of the first 3 words of your name instead.

[tiny wraith]

Afternoon rivens

[late void]

#lfg-raid-pc

[sick lantern]

bruh

[ashen jungle]

Hey Saph

[tiny wraith]

Morning rivens

[ashen jungle]

see above.

[tiny wraith]

👍 🤣

[worn seal]

I wonder what the difference in The Division Heartland will be. For one, it will be under a different studio than Massive (or is it Massive taking the reigns on this to?). Then there is other questions like;

1. How will Character Creation/Customisation be different from Division 2?
2. How will the inventory system look? Will it be similar or same like Division 2?
3. How about skills? Specialisations?
4. Can a player Solo the game like they can in Division 2?
5. Factions? I wonder who they will be this time around. I also wonder how big the map size will be.
6. I definitely sense micro-transactions happening in this game as it will be F2P.

[gaunt ice]

i think this is the wrong channel

[worn seal]

It's Extended Universe. it doesn't belong anywhere else I think.

[unreal widget]

It's Red Storm, not Massive.

[worn seal]

Ah, I had a feeling.

[gaunt ice]

i mean,this is lore discussion

[unreal widget]

"Anything relating to the extended universe of The Division."

Which includes Heartland, since it takes place in the Division universe. 🙂

[worn seal]

😎

[woven basalt]

the last one isnt really a question.

most of the answers are "less".

i wouldnt get any hopes up that it'll be able to "replace" any of the mainline as far as weight of content.

i'm gonna just think of it as a fun little excursion.

[tiny wraith]

It does have its own lore

Goes from grb to sc to r6 to H

[sick lantern]

it does?

[gaunt ice]

yeah he's been saying that for a while now,something about heartlands connecting them together

[tiny wraith]

th connection starts in grb {ambersky}, its that story line that ends in H

R6 has 2 endings

[sick lantern]

huh what

[tiny wraith]

which

R 6 ending 1 you succeed, ending 2 you fail and they give you the easteregg

[sick lantern]

w a t

[sick lantern]

what is this

[tiny wraith]

if you play rainbow 6 it s the 3rd part of ambersky

[sick lantern]

and?

what happens and how is it connected to Heartland

[tiny wraith]

ok if you win you end the game , if you fail then you get the detonation in the Heartland

[sick lantern]

what detonation

[tiny wraith]

its the test that you are trying to stop the entire game

or dlc mission

[sick lantern]

and what does that have to do with Heartland

[tiny wraith]

im tring to tell you with out telling you

ive played heartland

[sick lantern]

right

[tiny wraith]

ok here goes in breakpoint the main dlc is to stop and put trackers on ambersky containers

then you help sam fisher capture or kill certain bad guys and turn the tracking codes over to him so he can get them to R6

one of the last transmissions is to r6 letting them know the shipments are on the way

story picks up in r6 wher they have to stop the bad guys from testing the gas in the US. ending 1 you win .Ending 2 you fail and get the message that they just detonated the bomb in the heartland

[sick lantern]

what was this in?

[tiny wraith]

its in all the games not on paper yet would be a hell of an audio

[sick lantern]

is this speculation or did this happen in an event or cinematic or something

[tiny wraith]

yes Amber sky is episode 3 in breakpoint, where you are joined by sam fisher{who you work with} and R6 who is waiting for the intel.

story then continues in a R6 event{dlc}

[sick lantern]

which one

[tiny wraith]

i dont know which one i dont play r6

but the ingame message said you could continue to follow the story in r6

just looked it up its called operation amber sky

[spare arrow]

there isnt a continuation in r6, siege atleast

[magic sail]

yeah, there's nothing like that in siege that i recall

unless they're referring to article 5(?)

[sick lantern]

was gonna say if that happened in Siege I probably would’ve heard about it

[spare arrow]

article 5 is probably what inspired the crossover but it happened years before BP's crossover

[tiny wraith]

ive got the page but how do i get it to you guys

[sick lantern]

post the url

[spare arrow]

if it gets yeeted i'll repost it

[tiny wraith]

https://rainbowsix.fandom.com/wiki/Operation_Amber_Sky

you guys see it

[sick lantern]

yes

[tiny wraith]

kool

[sick lantern]

this is the ghost recon event

[tiny wraith]

its where it sarts

[spare arrow]

so where does it continue

[tiny wraith]

aill have to find my old stuff

i figured it out for r6 it was a live evnt only

they didnt let it stay

[woven basalt]

too much of a stretch.

though i like the thought involved

nice theorycrafting. well done.

[tiny wraith]

hey barret can i send you something youll understand why i said ambersky

[sick lantern]

Ok

[tiny wraith]

oh and good moning to all

[full fox]

morning 😛

[sick lantern]

siege plot afterwards: gets thanos snapped

[gaunt ice]

@tiny wraith so how does it connect to bp?

Amber sky is the last event before op Greenstone ends and their team pulls out

And I don’t recall any comms/documents talking about split endings

Though I do remember the mission where you tag the chem shipment

[tiny wraith]

correct

hey chairs

they actually did a stand alone live event for R6

it was just for during the actual live event in bp

[sick lantern]

what was it called

[ashen jungle]

@raw yew okay so yeah, Schaeffer actually does live, at the end of the mission ISAC doesn't tell us he's dead.

[raw yew]

piece of shit wrist watch

[ashen jungle]

well he actually tells us he's alive :p

"vital signs critical" then kelso says something like "ah, he'll live".

I had to replay it like 4x for the comms, I remember every line lol.

[raw yew]

does she join you for that hunt or does she perfectly timed get stabbed again

[ashen jungle]

She just narrates, like normal.

[raw yew]

ah

Does she like

outrank you

[ashen jungle]

although a special guest does join you at one point, I won't spoil who it is. Just play it before it's spoiled.

Kelso is another Agent, technically all but the "Agent in charge" are the same rank, I'm fairly sure.

ya know, she's probably Agent in Charge of DC now that I think about it.

[raw yew]

she talks to you like you're fresh off the boat thats why 😂

not even Manny does that, he just gives you orders

[ashen jungle]

well, technically speaking you could be in div2, since it's grey-canon if you're the div1 Agent.

I actually appreciate that, getting tied up in canon can hurt an online game.

[raw yew]

i doubt the division 1 agent is the same one you play as in division 2

[sick lantern]

it's up for interpretation

[ashen jungle]

I thought I made that clear just above lol, but I guess not.

to be 100% clear, it is grey canon. It could be you from div1, it could be a newbie, your div1 agent could be a rogue, could be dead.
up to your interpretation.

[raw yew]

Man’s survived rikers

He ain’t dead

[sick lantern]

first agent to meet a hunter and live too

[gaunt ice]

Can people who work in government agencies be part of SHD?

Cuz I remember Kelso being in CIA(loading screen tips)

[cold bramble]

Yes, you have (now rogue) agents from the Secret Service, SOCOM etc

[gaunt ice]

What’s SOCOM?more special forces?

Also what?rogues from Secret Service?

I thought it’s only the 2 dudes who helped in the assassination of the last president

[spare arrow]

SOCOM is the United States Special Operations Command

[tiny wraith]

And don't forget MARSOC

[ashen jungle]

I always lose MYSOCS.

[gaunt ice]

YOSOCS has gone missing

[sleek plover]

Hello

damn I hate LMB and true sons and BTSU and Cleaners

[sick lantern]

you would think probably not, but then again in the intro for Div 1 we see an active duty firefighter is a Division agent so the SHD’s viewpoint of a conflict of interests is a bit murky, plus there’s the Secret Service outfit in Div 2

[full fox]

so does that mean that those different outfits in the shop represents existing agents who had a career previously?

ie firefighter outfit but then became an agent

[sick lantern]

presumably

and Manny was in the National Guard wasn’t he? so SHD agents are allowed to still be actively serving

probably as long as they stay in the US

[gaunt ice]

but Manny isn't exactly SHD?

[sick lantern]

i cant remember

yea he's just an associate

friend of a friend

lol

[terse raven]

is this discord channle for Div 1 or 2? Anyone know

[late void]

2

or both, arguably

[cold bramble]

this one in particular is for the overarching story of both games, and any books, audiobooks, short films, television programs, and movies set in the same world

[terse raven]

I was going to ask why there are 2 discord channles, the official has less people.

[spare arrow]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[woven basalt]

the other one is just "partnered" iirc

i think the big take-away from the div1 intro is that anyone could be a shd agent. anyone.

[ashen jungle]

well that certainly explains Wave 1.

[terse raven]

No idea what that meant

Which one will be the better choice to find a group to play with

[ashen jungle]

I'm curious about this other server, mind sharing a link?

[terse raven]

Om let me get it

[spare arrow]

This is the official server. That server you linked is the community ran server.

[terse raven]

oh

[ashen jungle]

ta.
oh the other one has 60k members in total. Honestly thought this one had more.

[terse raven]

Oh this one dose, the other has less.. got it the other way round

[ashen jungle]

Yeah what Aspect said, this is the official one and has (likely) tighter moderation.
tbh I usually avoid large community servers like the current plague.

[terse raven]

Its all the same to me, just blood hard to find groups... But both groups seem to be large enough for you not to know the difference..

[spare arrow]

As far as i remember the community server is more active for Division 1, while this server is more active for Division 2.

[ashen jungle]

being currently in another games community server with just shy of 400, 000 members, 60k seems quaint.

all down to active updates of the game, I suppose.

[terse raven]

I generally really only use the comms channels, not much else

[ashen jungle]

That's the one channel I'll never use, so hey whatever works for ya.
now, back to this being a lore discussion place.

[spare arrow]

lore lore lore lore

[ashen jungle]

Does it count as lore if it's just me complaining about BT's plan for an hour?

imma just excuse myself.

[terse raven]

Well that's one thing I can relate with at least.... BT and BG...

Grrrr

So this place is for Lore... Hm, I just learnt that the people that made this stuff are Swedish ..

[ashen jungle]

okay hol up, BG?

[terse raven]

British Gas ........

[ashen jungle]

BT = Black Tusk.

[terse raven]

lol

[ashen jungle]

endgame enemy faction in div2.

[terse raven]

I knew that, clearly....

;P

[ashen jungle]

if you haven't played the full story of div2 yet, get out of this chat.
it's nothing but spoilers.

[spare arrow]

Unless you like spoilers, then have fun

[ashen jungle]

(that's up to and including the 4xManhunts)

[cold bramble]

if the entire plot and setting were transplanted to the UK you actually would see Black Tusk rifling through a British Telecoms facility...

[ashen jungle]

I 100% can imagine the Outcasts being forced to all use knives, because fuel is at a premium since they left the EU.

[spare arrow]

Oi mate u got a loiscnence for that shd patch? Hmm? Left it in your other apocolypse kit? Straight to jail.

[terse raven]

Haha... So came up with the lore? Was it a Swedish company, just out of interest...

Ha, nice one Aspect, realistic...

[cold bramble]

yep, Massive Entertainment is Swedish

Although they've worked with Red Storm (best known as the game devs Clancy himself founded) among other studios

[ashen jungle]

that's as close to military service Clancy himself ever got lol

[spare arrow]

^^^^

[cold bramble]

"How did you learn all this stuff?!"

"I used a library card" - paraphasing Clancy shortly after the release of The Hunt for Red October

I think of this a lot nowadays seeing my colleagues mess up the most basic of things

[ashen jungle]

I would pay to see the expression on his face when he found out Sean Connery was being cast in it.

[terse raven]

I was thinking, would have been nice to have the lore based around another culture, at least once.... In another country or city... We always seem to do the same thing, The being with rockstar.. I guess theirs more Americans

[ashen jungle]

So, you may have missed the "Homeland" part of "Strategic Homeland Division".

America is kinda baked in.

[spare arrow]

I mean, the devs are just adapting what clancy and the ghostwriters put out

[cold bramble]

and of course the target market is American, plus ultimately more people want to run about virtual Midtown Manhattan than Downtown Kuala Lumpur

[terse raven]

Yes, you got it...

[cold bramble]

Which is summer DC hot all the time, so try not to think too hard about what the smell would be like in an actual Green Poison scenario

[ashen jungle]

Plus, MSV isn't solely made of swedish people.

[terse raven]

Just found myself getting triggered by it the other day haha... I want somewhere else to fight and die in! 😛

[ashen jungle]

it's not like it's their countries only export, like Poland and CDPR.

[terse raven]

But yes its Tom Clancy

All of them do it, Rocstar make millions doing it, with GTA and Red dead

[cold bramble]

Although if you're familiar with If Crisis or War Comes, Sweden actually has a history with stay-behind efforts (although you could say as much for nearly all of Western Europe). Except they probably don't have miniturrets with waaay more ammo than probably fits in there

[ashen jungle]

Dad's Army IRL

for real tho, that's better served in other franchises. Division is permanently tied to being in the US.

[terse raven]

Yeah, Sweden seem to be quite pronounced when it comes to game development, the British are aslo. Parodox own a large section of the market

[ashen jungle]

it's a US agency, made of american citizens, with clearance all related to the US government.
not a lot of wiggle room there for international franchises.

[terse raven]

Yes, as its a Tom Clancy thing

[ashen jungle]

I totally didn't know that, thank you for telling me.

[cold bramble]

If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.

If Crisis or War Comes, 2021 edition

[terse raven]

Yes just like I did not know it's a US agency, made of american citizens, with clearance all related to the US government... So did not know... But thanks

[terse raven]

Ill give hat a look

[ashen jungle]

You seem to be really into the idea of it being based outside the US in a game, that makes 0 sense and I was telling you why.

[woven basalt]

well, the story he wrote that seems to have been remixed into this was more international, it's because of the dark winter stuff they folded into it that it's pretty much a story that has to be within the US.

[cold bramble]

A couple of manhunt rogue agents have a ??? relationship with US citizenship or even a green card, but that's more of a "what are they doing with the manhunt writing" issue

[ashen jungle]

apart from the one that's Nat's brother, which one are you referring to?

[terse raven]

Its mostly coming from the fact, its every game devs choose of development as its a targeted audience thing. Rockstar do it even though its a British company, its where the larger market happens to be as Krieger pointed out.

[woven basalt]

the division wouldnt operate outside the US

[ashen jungle]

You both did miss the point that the games mentioned are intricately tied to the US, story-wise. It's not a simple matter of "market".

[cold bramble]

Viper, since being eligible for service in the SAS and relevant security clearances would probably rule out being eligible for their US counterparts

[ashen jungle]

GTA is a parody on the "american dream", div is a US agency, etc.

[spare arrow]

I mean, gta is a parody of american culture...

[cold bramble]

The US clearance authorities are not very forgiving on this front

[spare arrow]

Damn, riv is faster again

[terse raven]

Yes but its a choice by design...

[ashen jungle]

actually that's not true, there's a history of moving around if you've got parents in the other service.

[cold bramble]

(unlike the Office of Personnel Management and their security of the information on the cleared)

[terse raven]

You go where you are going to make the most amount of money

[ashen jungle]

oh bloody hell.

anyone got asprin?

[woven basalt]

the division's sole purpose is to re-establish US governance, it wouldnt make sense without being in a US territory

[ashen jungle]

new game idea: division 3 is set in the UK, they have no power, no gadgets and no support. Also their stuff doesn't work.
all dead in about an hour.

speedrun Wave 1, any%

[woven basalt]

better yet, division in SPACE

[terse raven]

Haha speak for your own country...

[ashen jungle]

I am, I'm in Australia lol.
it ain't happening here either.

[ashen jungle]

but like, not in suits. Just in the vacuum.

[terse raven]

Yes, clearly ..

[cold bramble]

The Malaysian government can do covert agencies, but something like SHD would be on the losing end of the funding wars

[ashen jungle]

genuine question: do you keep using the "..." on purpose or is that an accident?

[cold bramble]

also the civilian leadership has historically been a trash fire so they'd get labeled rogue in their entirety disturbingly quickly I guess

[ashen jungle]

nah, that leader is gonna be out soon, thankfully.

then I'll wait for the next british trained pollie to take over.

[woven basalt]

i keep forgetting which countries are or arent completely fubar after the initial attack. the story is so america-centric that i only think of the US and russia existing

[ashen jungle]

All. All are gone, most of the human population is dead.

in the intro to (I think div2) it shows it spreading world-wide.

[woven basalt]

wait... "other than the US", but they still choose "american culture"? don't know what you mean.

[ashen jungle]

I am aware of what marketing is, you really gotta stop sending that one message.

the primary goal of the SHD is the preservation of the US government. Anything else is after that.
a Chinese SHD agency would be real confused lol.

[terse raven]

Well nobody else seems to be upset about it other than you. Some attitude problems, no wonder you avoid the coms

[ashen jungle]

Yep, another one.

[woven basalt]

hmm... it would be interesting if there WERE a russian expansion, but you'd probably have to play as the BT

either that or introduce the div-universe equivalent of GR

more of a spin-off than an actual div game since there wouldnt be any div agents

[ashen jungle]

Division: Rogue, I'm sure it'll never be a thing but I'll always hold out hope.

[woven basalt]

that concept was backtracking into div1 dz tho, right?

or pre-div1

they have the assets, sure it'd make them a profit

[terse raven]

"wait... "other than the US", but they still choose "american culture"? don't know what you mean."

I simply meant, game development studios from Europe that choose to to base their games around American culture do it intentionally for obvious advantages.

There's many examples to Pull from.. every major rockstar title is based around American culture for that very reason.

[ashen jungle]

Well my version of it wasn't, however the idea may have come from another place the same time I thought of it independently.

[woven basalt]

oh my bad, was trying to remember the deets, was grasping

[ashen jungle]

mine was more of an alt-reality take on the story of div2 (div1 if you wanna stretch it) where instead of siding with SHD, you go into business for yourself.

think modern gaming of 5 years ago and taking over territories.

Make friends with one faction, another hates your guts, etc.

[spare arrow]

i still have no clue what excel's point is

[ashen jungle]

Mostly it was to send me angry PMs.

possibly a side note about how games set in America are only ever set there to make money.

[spare arrow]

ah yes, an american parody game is set in an american city because it makes money. that makes sense. but... why argue this?

[late void]

according to the audio files you get in the Lau mission, Europe and Asia haven't fared nearly as badly as America

thanks to more response time, strong public health initiatives and (in the case of Asia) strong government control

[ashen jungle]

well the current global pandemic put all that fiction to bed lol.

I mean wow, there's Nostradamus, then there's whatever anti-Nostradamus is.

a carnival psychic maybe.

[late void]

tbf asia did do better for that reason at first, it was only once delta hit that their track&trace systems got overwhelmed

similar to australia, I guess, although not as successful

[ashen jungle]

ah, yeah that's not going so great here even before that. But that topic is depressing so let's not.

not to get ...too current, but Green Poison was specifically designed to kill, so I think comparing it directly is kinda dumb, so that's on me.

[late void]

yeah but there are parallels on government response effectiveness to be drawn

but ok, moving on

[ashen jungle]

state vs federal plays a role, as does corruption,
yeah, moving on from the 92k confirmed.

anyway, Green Poison is a bio-weapon, so current plans would be ineffective against something that's already spread so far.

[empty crane]

mm

the issue with bio weapons are theyre either super deadly or easily spread

theres no and

if a bio weapon is super deadly it will kill the host before it has a chance to spread it

if a bio weapon is easily spread, that means its not super lethal because its not killing its host

[late void]

I think you maybe missed much of the explanation in Div 1

[empty crane]

i never played div 1

[late void]

it was designed to spread and incubate for a few weeks before it turned deadly

[terse raven]

I was not arguing it, I was sharing thoughts on it and then found people misunderstanding and one person becoming rude about it. It was a simple point based around my personal thoughts on it, nothing all that difficult to understand.

[empty crane]

mm that is a poorly designed bio weaopn because there would be a lot of friendly fire

or super great ig if you want to end the world

[magic sail]

the whole concept of the strategic homeland division as a storytelling point is rather american, specifically because it highlights the difference between what america hypothetically "stands for" (freedom, democracy, checks and balances, not investing power in one single entity, etc.) and what the SHD basically is (secret governmental agency with all of the power and none of the responsibilities, as paul rhodes put it)
it doesn't really work if it's set in a country that doesn't have the same international reputation that america has

[late void]

yeah the guy that made it was a 'all humans should burn' type, he wasn't after personal gain or anything

[empty crane]

interesting. i should play div 1

[empty crane]

SHD is the embodiment of the executive order

[magic sail]

eh, executive orders have a limited amount of reach and authority

[terse raven]

That's not aimed at me I take it

[magic sail]

well, it's just a broader point about why The Division works the way that it does

doesn't have the same narrative impact if it's set elsewhere

[terse raven]

Yes I'm already aware of that, I just made a comment about being triggered at some point with humour I might add and at the fact that every game I play is based around American culture. It was a light hearted comment and not one that needs to be be challenged or scrutinized

[magic sail]

tbf, it's still a bit of a fantastical scenario, in that it's kinda hard to actually do in real life what Gordon Amherst did
as far as i can tell, "industrial protein replicators" don't actually exist; most companies that want to do any sort of protein replication do them in cells, because it's far cheaper and easier to do than direct protein synthesis

well, most game companies are american
so it's to be expected

it is what it is

you can for sure find games that are set in other countries and cultures (e.g. sleeping dogs)

[empty crane]

well, it is a videogame

[terse raven]

I was referring to some of the biggest game developing studios in the world like rockstar which is British, responsible for the GTA series as well as red redemption 2. And I know why they do it because it's where the money is at, it's that simple

[ashen jungle]

Don't even bother arguing with that, you'll just get angry PMs.

You know they're wrong, I know they're wrong. Let's end it here.

[spare arrow]

largest by sales:
minecraft
GTAV- heres 1 for you
EA's tetris
Wii Sports
PUBG
Super Mario Bros
Pokemon's first generation
Mario Kart 8 (and deluxe)
Wii Fit
Nintendo's Tetris

[late void]

I'd guess it follows from american cultural dominance of film & tv - meaning american values and settings are more globally familiar to everyone than those of any other country

[spare arrow]

1 of the top 10 is set in the US

[ashen jungle]

Mario Kart is partially set in NYC.
checkmate, Aspect.

[woven basalt]

it wouldve been nice if there was something like that in watchdogs, on top of the good/bad tug-o-war. also somewhat like the system in sc double agent

[spare arrow]

ah, tru tru

[terse raven]

Yes indeed someone seems to get it

[late void]

tetris is clearly mirrored off of US cityscapes

[terse raven]

Finally..........

[ashen jungle]

ah well, it's clearly not gonna happen.

[magic sail]

that's 20th-century world history for ya

[terse raven]

That was not even remotely close to the point I was making. But kettle got it in the end.

[spare arrow]

ok

¯_(ツ)_/¯

[ashen jungle]

trust me, don't go there. Not worth it.

[terse raven]

Also the point I was making..

[late void]

favouirite setting for a game so far though for me would prob be far cry 2

[terse raven]

That's an open world game

[ashen jungle]

div2 is a corridor shooter now, y'all

cool, I was getting tired of the empty spaces on the map.

[late void]

bot alert

[spare arrow]

already on it

and done

[late void]

so fast

[terse raven]

Ha

[ashen jungle]

Aspect is the best-pect.

[woven basalt]

ugh, i hate hearing about tetris and how they ripped off a russian for it. i went to college with the dude who brokered the bad deal's son. he was cool. they had a nice mansion.

i think the most popular tom clancy games take place outside of the US

i know all my favorite far crys are non-US based (sorry fc5/new dawn)

[terse raven]

I personally like far cry 5 so

[spare arrow]

That's an open world game

[terse raven]

And

[spare arrow]

you tell me ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[woven basalt]

i get that it's a "swan song" for hurk, so they placed it in his hometown, but what a difference in tone

[ashen jungle]

Elephants are indeed, awesome.

[terse raven]

He said his favourite setting for any game is far cry. So I'll let you work that one out

[late void]

far cry 2 specifically, the plains of Africa

[spare arrow]

i'm dying here this is great

[late void]

although I'm with Aspect, I don't fully understand your point about it being an open world game

[terse raven]

Just picking up that you like open world games...

Am I not allowed to make references like that...

[ashen jungle]

do you bless the rains tho?

[late void]

no, I just didn't get it. Seemed like a random observation.

[late void]

when the fires get out of hand, definitely

[ashen jungle]

40 years old now, that ages me into the dust skeleton from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[spare arrow]

oh hey i watched that

[late void]

I'm 40 later this year, so I really hope it doesn't

[worn seal]

I was doing some searching on The Division Heartland and it states that, previous experience is not required. Judging by this statement, I am guessing the system in Heartland is going to be similar to that of Division 2. But I wager there will be some subtle differences.

[late void]

I suspect it will be significantly simplified

[sick lantern]

considering they’re going F2P they definitely want more mass appeal

[spare arrow]

dunno how you get "similar to div2" from "no previous experience required" but you do you

[ashen jungle]

as long as a swastika doesn't fall out of your coat when it happens, we cool. 😉

[spare arrow]

i took "no previous experience required" as "you dont need to have played the last two games to understand the story"

[woven basalt]

probably means less "baggage", as in no continuing lore.

[terse raven]

Just taking notice that you like open world games, not much more than that really

[ashen jungle]

Kettle, you like open world games? You monster.

[worn seal]

The way I read this statement is that, first, you might have a point in that, the previous two titles will probably be introduced in Heartland as a introduction cgi cinematic of sorts and then what I thought about previous experience is that, the layout of the system and controls will be similar. (e.x V for Armor Kits, etc), Crafting, etc.

[spare arrow]

¯_(ツ)_/¯

[worn seal]

But hey, it's only speculation and it could be entirely different as it is a different studio

[woven basalt]

settings, plural. i don't have one single favorite. i like them all, but one of them has a distinctly weaker "magical realism" aspect (which includes the old trope of anti-colonialism). at least new dawn did some throwbacks to the feral powers in instincts/instincts predator

[sick lantern]

Redstorm worked on both Division games

[worn seal]

Oh I forgot about that lol

[woven basalt]

yep, they had a hand

[worn seal]

So then, it would look similar in terms of art direction and stuff.

[terse raven]

Fair enough.. can't say I'm familiar with the titles you have listed, still I wouldn't nominate far cry as being one of my favourite settings as it's a limited game over all with limitations with its linear framework. Nice action flick with very little replayability.

[woven basalt]

most ubi games have one studio taking the lead and some others helping out

one big contribution to div2 that redstorm did was the accessibility options

i saw an article where the dev taylor was talking about it

i... think her name was taylor, been a while, could be getting that wrong

[late void]

it's true, I can't deny it sobs

[ashen jungle]

the other brothers, can not deny.

[terse raven]

Yes your moderating skills are quite provocative if not borderline mockery. Great mod :) Maybe I'll try the other server where moderators have a little maturity. :)

[spare arrow]

i am mature, but i hold myself to the same standards as every one else.

[ashen jungle]

"the community server, where mods are more mature"
well that's a sentence I never thought I'd read.

[terse raven]

Yes it clearly looks like it

[late void]

I was referring to the setting rather than the mechanics - Far Cry 2 definitely had issues with those (endlessly respawning enemies at checkpoints), but the setting was just beautiful

[terse raven]

Agreed

[spare arrow]

No-one else has a problem with what i do around here. Its just you. If you dont like it, thats fine, i dont mind.

[ashen jungle]

how about that div2 lore then.

wonder when the movie's dropping.

[woven basalt]

that was part of the design, the ludonarrative dissonance, the gameplay vibing with the themes of the game. it was meant to be punishing to emphases the "war is hell" message. i've said it a million times, the game is a work of art, deserves to be in a museum... it's just not great at being a "fun game".

[ashen jungle]

to me, the first thing a game should be is fun to play.
after that, comes everything else. But if I'm hating my time spent in it, I'll just stop spending time in it and get a refund/just drop it.

Story is of course important, but not at the expense of gameplay.

[terse raven]

Anyways I'm going to leave the banshee to manifest in the background. Nice chatting to the more civilized people in here. Laters

[woven basalt]

i spent most of fc2 crawling on the ground... not that much fun. then that ending with your "comrades", really gutting stuff. war IS hell.

[spare arrow]

the... banshee?

[ashen jungle]

and this is coming from a massive lore nerd in every game I've tried that has an extensive lore.

[spare arrow]

ah, the cmmg banshee. gotcha

[ashen jungle]

I think they're talking about the warframe.
terrible survivability, great at shouting at people.

[late void]

I am not sure I agree with the first bit (that it was a deliberate design choice) but definitely agree with the rest - it IS a work of art, and conveyed the truth of that kind of war very effectively

[ashen jungle]

can I admit something? the "war is hell" message is getting super played out when played flat anymore.

even Spec Ops: the Line didn't do it super well, kinda feeling a little too "gamey" in parts where it was trying to send a message.

[late void]

it really stood out for going against the usual message of the player being a super-agent and war being fun

[woven basalt]

the guy who designed it came up with the term "ludonarrative dissonance", it's his thing. having the gameplay reflect the themes.

[late void]

obv the message is more frequent these days, so it doesn't stand out as much

[ashen jungle]

that term is exclusively used by people who write 500 words for "it's got layers, man".

it was made fun of constantly back in the day.

[woven basalt]

it's for gamers to impress other gamers with

[ashen jungle]

oh god, that term.

[woven basalt]

my bad

it's for playas to impress other playas with

[ashen jungle]

i just threw up in my mouth a little.

[woven basalt]

mission accomplished

[ashen jungle]

okay brb, getting some eye bleach.

[sick lantern]

SOTL was less intended to be “anti war” and more “anti-call of duty”

[tiny wraith]

afternoon rivens, kettle and hopper

[late void]

hey saph

[gaunt ice]

I mean,CoD isn’t the symbol of unrealistic,glorified war that video games tend to go for these days

[sick lantern]

it was in 2012

[gaunt ice]

Fair enough.
But what makes you think it’s specifically targeting CoD other than…you know,being realistic?

[sick lantern]

not specifically but the genre of generic FPS games that it cultivated

[hazy yew]

So Division is connected to all other Tom Clancy games

[sick lantern]

You might think so but no

[hazy yew]

I never really thought i just asked if it was

[woven basalt]

wasnt really phrased as a question. plus it's pseudo debatable, depending on how you feel about crossover events. but on the whole, no, it's one of the parallel universes that make up the clancy games.

[spare arrow]

it didnt seem like a question, there was no question mark so/shrug

The update got delayed, but heartland was scheduled for, like, late 2022 or so

[sick lantern]

because Ubisoft

[sick lantern]

https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/the-division-heartland-quietly-delayed-by-ubisoft-3082668

[spare arrow]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[low bluff]

🤔
has anyone else pointed out the fact that Keener's shack in the final wony mission shimmers just like the decoy skill

[late void]

it's got a forcefield in front of it (same effect as the deflector drone)

[low bluff]

deflector drone doesnt shimmer tho

it flashes when you shoot at it, which the shack does not do

[late void]

shows a shimmery effect below it over the agent it's defending, doesn't it?

[low bluff]

not sure, but the shack's shimmering effect is the same as the decoy

[ashen jungle]

I don't recall a shimmer.

[low bluff]

it's def there, I noticed it and dropped my own decoy to compare. I should have filmed it

[ashen jungle]

I'm sure there's youtube footage of it.

[late void]

From what I remember, it's just the upper floor of the shack and it's a deflector shield to prevent you shooting keener while going through the whole 'destroy the missile' process, I think he deactivates it when he drops down

[low bluff]

what if the facade of the shack is fake

bigbrain

[late void]

there's metal poles on either side projecting it

[sick lantern]

@low bluff Hunters in Division 2 make no sense outright
The first one you meet doesn't kill you for no good reason and then besides the one in the Bardon manhunt (probably the only one that can be considered canon) they all appear when you do an eldritch ritual

[low bluff]

some of those almost seem like they are luring or baiting agents into a trap, like the burned body in the apartment complex
but the rest are so obscure that its narratively confusing.

I thought the whole purpose of the hunters were hunting agents specifically. Thats what sets them apart from rogues.

but they're completely removed from their original concept and, imo, far less fear-inducing as a result

the hunters in division 1 gave me goosebumps every time they appeared

[sick lantern]

plus the masks which makes them feel more like power rangers xd

[sleek plover]

So...February is fast approaching

and Damn, I hate LMB

[sick lantern]

play div 1 and shoot them then

[low bluff]

I'm confused
did division 1 rogue agents have access to their shd tech? I'm trying to understand the role of ANNA and how rogues are able to keep using their shd equipment
Does going rogue cut you off from access to ISAC or doesn't it?

[late void]

well all sorts of random named bounty bosses now have shd tech, so I guess most skills don't actually require isac

[sick lantern]

I think they hack the tech after disconnecting from ISAC

considering they can hack the skills we deploy also

[low bluff]

That's what the rogue network was supposed to be. According to the manhunt story.
Keener had ANNA piggyback off ISAC, creating a rogue network equal to the SHD

And in the DZ, the lore implies the only reason SHD are able to perform rogue actions is because they are cut off from ISAC

[sick lantern]

it's just Div's writing fucking up again

they act like the SHD and Rogue networks are super essential for reasons even though it was never stated or implied before

SHD tech can work in a hurricane and the DZ, rogue agents could use it before the Rogue network, so you would think you just need the ISAC brick to use it

[tiny wraith]

dont forget all the nano bots plus nano gear in the agents bodies

IE: the nano eye implant

[sick lantern]

well it’s just a high-tech contact lense

I don’t think they quite went to that level of Metal Gear lol

[sick lantern]

||yet...||

[tiny wraith]

I dis agree if you think about it they used nano tech for healing why not eues

[sick lantern]

https://thedivision.fandom.com/wiki/Contact_Lens

[tiny wraith]

ooooooohhhhhhh kool

[lucid zinc]

Scammer?

Nvm

He got banned

[tiny wraith]

Roflol

Dumbest will never learn

[lucid zinc]

Also the division is pretty stupid cause first how on earth does isac not activate tracking for rouge agent

Second like why even turn the watch red if

You can just shut it down

Forcing the rouge to not use SHD tech

[drifting lotus]

I mean, considering all the rogues we know were some of the top dogs of their tech, Im sure they figured out a way to use their tech without worrying about ISAC locking it down..... as is true with keeping themselves hidden considering even in the first game, Keener was able to blur his identity in ECHO playbacks.

[white cradle]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[balmy python]

???

[mystic acorn]

are any agents here also ghosts? whachya think about breakpoint its looking beautiful from what im seeing on youtube

[near ibex]

I’m one

It’s doing okay

[mystic acorn]

worth buying in 2022? i really wanna try the immersion mode they have

[languid mesa]

The immersion mode with all the difficulty settings at max is quite the experience

[tiny wraith]

Do the story regular then go full immersion is awesome

[gaunt ice]

or you can just skip the main campaign,it sucks balls deep

episode 2 and 3 is way better

also operation motherland

[balmy python]

I've been a Ghost for a long time now, I got Breakpoint last year, pretty fun in my opinion. Gunplay is better than Wildlands, a bit more realistic and acoustics are better in my experience.

Also yea, the recent update is pretty fun. I only started it but I love it more than the previous enemies we had to deal with.

I don't get that same satisfaction of the sounds with The Division or Wildlands. There are more options for stealth and going prone with camo. 3 AI Teammates are always more fun and the events they had which you can still complete and activate as part of the world are fun eg - The Terminators that will show up around the map. Fun to kill and spray for a bit.

The environment will get lonely and boring if you're coming from Wildlands, I do miss the different terrain I could switch from in Bolivia.

Driving feels a bit better though.

You can unlock Rainbow 6 AI Teammates as well later on with their own unique abilities, and I've kept them as my main team since they have more useful skills.

[gaunt ice]

also they have more interactions with your character,something that's missing compared to wildlands

[mystic acorn]

okay cool cause i was looking to pick it up i really loved socom and splinter cell and i played wildlands for a while too, never picked breakpoint up because on release i didnt see one good thing about it but now it looks like it would be worth it, i really like the sneak aspect of the game and the ground camo looked really cool idk just a bunch of stuff about the game finally caught my eye im glad there are other ghosts here too maybe well team up sometime

[sleek plover]

Damn I hate Sentinels

[tiny wraith]

@mystic acorn im a ghost as well i have everthing from the begining

love wildlands and breakpoint

wildlands for my predator setup and breakpoint for the multipul ways you can kill people with different knives

[mystic acorn]

awesome i think ill pick it up

[sick lantern]

whomst

[gaunt ice]

Bad guys in GR:breakpoint

Think budget black tusk without all the fancy tech,only a flying drone and a ground drone

[sick lantern]

another PMC?

[gaunt ice]

sigh
Yea

[sick lantern]

how many Ubisoft PMCs are there now then I wonder

like, 12+

[tiny wraith]

i like wildlands and breakpoint cause i can sneek around and kill people with out being noticeed

[sick lantern]

Siege's Nighthaven, Division's LMB and BT, Ghost Recon's Sentinels and also apparently one in Future Soldier, two in Splinter Cell (one of the good games and the penultimate game had one also), the bad guys in HAWX, Albion in W_D:L, the bad guys in HAZE (god remember that game?)

[mystic acorn]

do yo think well ever see a splinter cell remake?

[sick lantern]

already announced

[mystic acorn]

you

[sick lantern]

https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4adJLuhgYrPboHAPRfK7Oz/splinter-cell-remake-begins-development-at-ubisoft-toronto

[tiny wraith]

yup

[sick lantern]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH1_ZCSf_HY

[mystic acorn]

https://tenor.com/view/kronk-its-all-coming-together-gif-15058130

[sick lantern]

I wonder if Ironside is coming back or they'll reuse the Siege VA

[tiny wraith]

He's 71

[sick lantern]

he did the Ghost Recon games

it probably comes up to his health and if they want to do mocap

[tiny wraith]

👍 💯

[gaunt ice]

you'd think those PMCs should be out of business because...you know,they're literal terrorists?

also if all of them except Division is in the universe you'd also think they banned all of PMCs by now

[cold bramble]

Splinter cell is just an OG game, remember playing it with my brother back on the XB360.

[tiny wraith]

i loved all of them but they wont run correct any more

[hoary halo]

how many of them were hired to do what they did though and how many deviated from their contract

[tiny wraith]

pmc are ex something

good and bad

[pulsar oracle]

Wildlands is top notch, I need to give it one more chance to finish it.

A bit late, but today I got the "The World of the Division" hardcover...

[tiny wraith]

@pulsar oracle there's 2 endings

[pulsar oracle]

You're killing, Saph! That's good stuff to hear! But I will try not to spoil myself! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

PS: Appreciated for the quick reply!

[tiny wraith]

And don't use the same knife killing techniques change with different knives

But I'm running my predator build,I love killing while invisible

[pulsar oracle]

There's so much to do there, the map is gigantic!

[tiny wraith]

Na it's only 3rd biggest in all of gaming

[pulsar oracle]

True! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Still need to work on The Division 2 first, I got hooked up bad!

[tiny wraith]

Neither are in the top 30

[sleek plover]

Hello

damn I hate LMB

[mint citrus]

The Wolves from Breakpoint look cool, at least

[pulsar oracle]

Oh, by the way, @tiny wraith! I have my Wildlands guide hardcover book as part of the collection, because well, its a great game!

I'll help you take down some LMB, @sleek plover!

🤣

[west dock]

I remember talking about the Ambushers and how they could be a formidable faction and whatnot.

[low bluff]

🤔
Why do division agents have arm phone holders but only use them for patches?

[ashen jungle]

cell-phone network is probs down by now.

[low bluff]

yeah but its like
the arm thingie is almost part of their unofficial uniform

[ashen jungle]

I imagine that the initial idea for Agents was to use them when there was still a humanity to run stuff.

"global death plague caused by a crazy scientist" was probably not at the top of apocalypse bingo.

[tiny wraith]

Naw more nuke warfare

[gaunt ice]

Why?

If anything we need more of the virus stuff

[barren patio]

that was the div 1 plot

this plot is more about the aftermath or some bullsh

[tiny wraith]

Correct

Your more of a oldtime Texas ranger

[gaunt ice]

True,but it’d make for a more interesting story than “evil Russians lol”

And like,the virus rampaged through the entire world,collapsing society.So to make the aftermath only full of insane people is just…meh

[sick lantern]

Div 3 in texas come on

colt single action army

cartels coming across the border

[tiny wraith]

It's a metafor

[gaunt ice]

Black Tusk pretending to be a drug cartel to cover their operations in the border

[sick lantern]

ik

[sick lantern]

have you seen the footage of cartels with like a convoy of military equipment and vehicles? they're crazy enough as is they would be a good enemy in the world of the division

also you know what's typical?
like one minute after i pick up new york collapse, my power comes back on