[spinoff game concept] HELLDIVERS: INSURRECTION

#1

Had this idea bouncing around inspired by what Firaxis did with the plot for XCOM2 – what happens if you lose the campaign in their first XCOM game? – and by all the times a Helldivers player asks, “What happens if we lose the galactic campaign?” In XCOM2’s case, this resulted in a truly different followup game where you’re taking back the earth from aliens and traitorous humans; instead of fighting to protect the earth from alien invaders.

I’ve suggested this Helldivers concept in passing at the Steam suggestions thread and on Reddit, but what’s the point? Gets lost in 27 pages of comments, and nobody cares.

So I’ll create this thread on my idea here and vomit up my stream of consciousness thoughts here (and if anyone likes the idea, I’d welcome any suggestions too). This first post is just an improvised storyline to get things going for this spinoff game idea. :slight_smile: Future posts will cover how the campaign might work, the differences in weapons and delivery of stratagems, ideas for new mission objectives, new events on Super Earth itself, new environments, and some other rambling ideas. :slight_smile: I guess think of it as a kind of “Helldivers fan fiction.”

I confess it’s harder to inject tongue in cheek humor into a “serious” underdog plotline like this. Although I consider myself funny – I’ve been told online on more than one occasion I’m not as funny as I think I am :smiley: – I’m better at writing melodrama.

HELLDIVERS: INSURRECTION
STORYLINE

Super Earth has fallen, overrun by the vengeful, invading armies of the Cyborgs, Bugs and Illuminates.

The three factions divided Super Earth into three regions: Super Americas; Super Europe-Middle East-Africa; and Super Asia. Each taken over by combined occupational forces of the three factions.

Occupational forces executed the leaders of Super Earth and the chief officers heading up the Helldiver Corps. The Helldivers Corp has been dismantled, their destroyed aircraft and vehicles littering the ruins of Super Earth.

The Helldivers faded into legend. The three factions think the war for Super Earth is over. “The Helldivers can’t save you now!” their propaganda insists on TV, online and in print. Super Earth’s citizens have lost hope.

They’re wrong.

A few Helldivers went into hiding, scattered across the ruins of Super Earth. Their name has become legend. Folklore.

They need someone to bring them together. To start an insurrection, using any weapons, equipment and vehicles that they can salvage. They need YOU!

Welcome back, Helldiver! Your battle to take back Super Earth starts today!

#2

Helldivers: Insurrection

CAMPAIGN
So I haven’t sorted my ‘manifesto’ for the campaign just yet, but a rough idea:

Instead of Cyborg, Bug and illuminate planetary sectors ringing Super Earth at the center; you instead have a campaign map set ON Super Earth, where the center represents the hidden bases of the Helldivers fomenting this insurrection

And instead of planetary sectors, you have the three regions of Super Earth:

  • Super Americas
  • Super Europe-Africa-Middle East
  • Super Asia
    Obviously this is a simplification; it’s just to have three ‘branching’ choices of areas for players to play in; just as we do now with Cyborgs-Bugs-Illuminates

And instead of having 12 planets in each enemy faction planetary system; you’ll have 12 places — city, town, village, etc. – you can battle through within each “Super” region of Super Earth. Click on one of these places, and the interface zooms in to show 2-3 missions at various locations within that ‘place.’

Essentially this would free up game environment artists to use any environment we have here on earth, albeit maybe ‘souped up’ a bit to represent the ruins of Super Earth. :slight_smile:

Ultimately the idea is in this case the “Super Earth Campaign” is something all players contribute to. And instead of an enemy faction being eliminated, success in this case is more measured by successfully freeing each “Super Earth region,” one at a time.

Helldivers Insurrection Event: Secret Base Defense

Instead of an occasional “Super Earth City Defense” Event mission, you’ll battle instead on a Secret Base Defense event to save it. Objectives on this might include marking certain old Helldivers equipment and vehicles for salvaging. You’ll experience “Helldivers nostalgia” because of all the wreckage of familiar vehicles and evac aircraft from the first game. :slight_smile:

Helldivers Insurrection Event: Free the Region’s Capital City

Instead of defending the Super Earth Capital City, we’ll instead work together on occasion to Free a Capital City in one of the three “Super Regions” from their occupational force. If we fail as a player base, then we lose campaign progress in the region where the capital city was located. If we succeed, it accelerates our progress in that region.

#3

Helldivers: Insurrection

NEW VEHICLES

Concept: So my general concept is that while we remaining Helldivers work to gradually salvage some of our old equipment, in most cases we can only salvage weapons and key parts. So maybe you salvage the 30 mm cannon from destroyed exosuits and Helldivers aircraft, turrets from APCs, maybe some treads from a tank.

So the idea is a sort of Frankenstein’s Monster improvisation where new types of power suits and vehicles grow out of the need to work with the parts and scraps we can put together. You may be melding civilian vehicles (pick up trucks, vans, tractor trailer/semis, dune buggies, sedans, sports cars) with salvaged Helldivers weapons and equipment. Whatever you can scrap together. :slight_smile: I’d visualize a bit of a “Helldivers Meets Fallout” vibe going on. :slight_smile:

NEW VEHICLE
The Technical: Pickup truck with room for three in the cab.

FEATURES:

  • Kevlar plates welded to the truck body to provide modest protection against light-to-medium weaponry.
  • Driver and passenger can fire one-handed weapons (SMG and sidearm or pistol perk) out the truck cab’s side windows.
  • 3rd passenger in pickup mans single barrel 30mm cannon on pivoting mount (salvaged from ruins of a Helldiver gunship)
#4

Is that GTAV I see

#5

What if you die in that mission? How would you be “ressurected” ? Because there is no space ship on the orbit to send another Helldiver.

I think this idea requests too much. It’s too many changes that devs would have to make… so it decreases the chance they will make it happen.

#6

Fair enough - good, tough question. :slight_smile:

I haven’t gotten around to the mechanics of how things would work differently. I’m hoping eventually people will suggest stuff like that and this could be more of a ‘community’ idea.

And who says we wouldn’t have spaceships anymore? The idea is you start with salvaging, and then improvising. Maybe that would include a different kind of ship, and given that this takes place on earth, it doesn’t need to be a spaceship per se. Maybe improvisation somehow of a different type of reinforcing Helldivers.

I think the answer might be a friendly mad scientist type (a Super Earth Nikola Tesla (and no I don’t mean the electric car company :)) who helps concoct new equipment for the new Helldivers, and maybe he could in some way replicate the Reinforcement system.

I harbor no illusions this ‘game concept’ would ever get made. In real life I’m a trade media journalist (not in gaming alas), not a games guy. I don’t know squat. :slight_smile:

#7

Ha, actually I’m ripping off Command & Conquer: Generals! :sunglasses:

I believe the GLA in that 2003 RTS had a unit called “The Technical,” which was a pickup truck with a .50 caliber (or thereabouts) machine gun mounted in the truck bed. I hated running into those things. :slight_smile:

#8

Honestly… your suggestions are very unrealistic :smiley: of course it would be great if they implemented it. But, chances are like 0,01%

#9
#10

The story setup basically makes me think Hellrisers. Since everything will be on one planet, and you are emerging from hiding, you wouldn’t be landing into the fight from orbit, you will be rising.

Yeah, a new kind of Hellpod that rises. Then you come out and kill a bunch of Alien scum while completing objectives and at the end you call in a Frank the Tank who now operates a boring machine. It comes out of the ground killing everything right above it, then you board and it dives back into Super Earth.

If they is ever a Helldivers sequel, it can change the scenario but the core game design, the thing that makes it endlessly enjoyable has to stay including easy drop in / out, variable length of play sessions where player can play just one mission or many and of course procedurally generated maps / missions and dynamic engaging AI to keep things engaging.

Of course new scenario can lead to new threats, objective types, needs for different stratagems and weapons even all new mechanics.

#11

Very interesting concept, I would rather see us permanently conquering the 3 alien races but a civil war breaking out in the galaxy. Could be more focused towards pvp like Magicka: Wizard Wars, just a quick thought.

#12

thread_hijacker.exe running…

HELLDIVERS: COLISEUM

The 3 races have taken over Super Earth and raise them for entertainment in the form of combat.
Only some old weaponry and gadgetry remains, the majority is newly usable tech from the other races like miniguns and plasma shields and neural link to a tentacle.
You have three race-exclusive character loadouts with separate progression trees for each race, and you go into a coliseum fight against other players + various minions.
Calling equipment in doesn’t get delivered via hellpod, it’s burrowed, teleported, or crash-landed to you, of course.

You can choose to play as any 3 (random matchmaking) or restrict matchmaking to just 2 or just 1 if you want to focus on a tree, but the matchmaker tells you how many of each race are matchmaking at the moment, to avoid 300:0:1 Cyborg:Illuminate:Bug matchmaking queue stalling.

Gameplay is simple, the arena can be arena sized to planet sized, with one or two objectives much like HELLDIVERS; escort, destroy, etc.
There could also be plain duels.

But I’m sure someone has thought of this already :stuck_out_tongue:

#13

I love it, Cusman. :crazy_face:

In fact, when I thought more about this, I envisioned us Helldivers litererally RISING FROM HELL in angelic “Hell Capsules.” :grinning: This would sort of make sense if we operated from underground secret bases scattered around Super Earth.

Then instead getting comically splatted by falling things, we’d get skewered from beneath the ground itself. :sob:

#14

OK I gotta start adding some ideas, I’ve been busy devouring Thanksgiving leftovers and leftover wine. :star_struck:

New HELLDIVERS: INSURRECTION Vehicle

TRASH-93 Salvo Trash Mobile
Improvised by mounting a multi-tube rocket launcher into the back of a large garbage truck. The challenge is that the BACK of the truck must point towards the Helldivers’ target area. These can fire only a limited number of salvos, and can’t be reloaded. This unleashes a salvo around a designated location that can breakup large enemy wave attacks but does not do severe damage to heavy tanks.

When firing, the garbage truck’s back lid quickly retracts, and two makeshift metal braces shoot into the ground to brace the truck for firing (think Starcraft’s upgraded “Siege Tank”). This vehicle requires at least TWO Helldivers (one to drive, one to aim/use salvo rockets), so a squad could only use two at a time, at the most.

If we’re pretending this game would ever actually have a chance to be developed (remember the Dumb and Dumber creedo always), devs would determine a reasonable salvo “ammo” limit – not too few so as to be useless, not too many to be “Too Op”), based on internal testing. :slight_smile:

A welded steel battering ram on the front aids the garbage truck in running over enemy units. Base variant has no mounted guns, but the driver and a 2nd passenger can fire one-handed weapons from the left and right cab windows.

Upgrades
Trash1: Basic variant, no upgrades.
Trash2: Adds a passenger-side machine gun, with limited aim radius out the passenger side window, roughly equivalent to the 1st upgrade for the MC-109 Hammer motorcycle.
Trash3: Adds more “ammo” for the rocket salvos launcher.

INSPIRATION:
The U.S. WWII Sherman “Calliope” Rocket Launcher Tank

Game footage (Company of Heroes):

The Real thing (WW2 footage):

Garbage Trucks in Action (see the 6 min, 5 sec truck for what I’m referencing)

A Helldivers: Insurrection version would need to be tempered so as to not be overly Op. :slight_smile:

Actually, I dig this so much, I’m gonna suggest a Bastion hybrid version for Helldivers itself.

#15

Might be funnier if staying over shaking ground as Hellpod emerges just launches the player upwards going aaaaaAAAAHHH with funny rag doll animations.

#16

My other mundane and really more of a cosmetic suggestion includes the Research Sample system (wiki link):
https://helldivers.gamepedia.com/Research

So in Helldivers today, you look for and pick up Research Samples, and every 10 gives you a Research Point to use to upgrade a weapon or stratagem. Once you’ve upgraded everything, then the samples and points serve no purpose anymore.

This would be sort of replaced by the…

HELLDIVERS: INSURRECTION SCRAP/COMPONENTS SYSTEM

  • Instead of picking up Research Samples, you pick up Component Parts
  • With every 10 Component Parts, your “Mad Scientist” back at the Super Earth Underground Helldivers Base concocts a Component
  • You then use the Component to upgrade a weapon or stratagem

Now the New Thing when you’ve upgraded all your weapons and stratagems and hit that ‘wall,’ usually around character L25-L30 or so, where Research Points served no purpose, is…

HELLDIVERS: INSURRECTION VETERAN WEAPON MOD ATTACHMENTS SYSTEM

  • Upgrading all your weapons and stratagems unlocks the new Veteran Weapon Mod Attachment System (I’m gonna say it’s riffing off of how Tom Clancy’s The Division allows various attachments on pistols, SMGs, rifles, LMGs, sniper rifles etc.)

  • So you can keep building up Component Parts and Components, and then use these components to choose attachment mods for your favorite weapons. These would be built on the Helldivers philosophy that any ‘good’ thing also has a ‘bad’ side; and for game balancing sake, nothing would be too op.

For example, maybe you could attach a larger magazine on the railgun, but this might effect your movement speed when using it. You might be able to add a hand grip to the barrel of an LMG, but maybe this would have some drawback. Perhaps you could tape two Defender SMGs together to fire at once, but this would cause aiming and recoil issues.

While assigning these weapon mod attachments/reconfigurations would be optional, the idea would be to have a sort of upper-mid/late game ‘components sink"’ system where you’d still be able to assign the component points to something as you moved towards the level cap.

#17

I don’t like the replacement ideas for simpler research point system.

The biggest deal breaker is the idea that you first upgrade ALL weapons and stratagems to certain point and then get option to do additional upgrades.

It would promote elitist player separation of “veterans” vs not yet “veterans”.

I wouldn’t mind if the game had weapon attachments as part of progression system, but the acquisition and upgrading should remain non-linear for the most part like in Helldivers.

#18

What if that system only gave you temporary boosts? It could be more than “just” weapon attachments but also other gameplay altering items, especially if they have negative effects.
It could just become another selectable on the loadout screen, but its use would be limited per mission or planet, or time-based (e.g. 1 hour). Also, I’d just enable all players to use that system very early on, so it would be possible to start researching these boosts at very low ranks, allowing players to skip upgrading all their gear (which would objectively be a waste, yes, but would fit right into the spirit of Helldivers / Helldiggers not holding your hand).

EDIT: oh, I see BlackjackGT named his idea HELLRISERS, not HELLDIGGERS. :stuck_out_tongue:

#19

Oh. I forgot that one tweaked objective for this Helldivers: Insurrection game would be…

Insurrection Truth Transmitters
This time the morse code says…

“The Helldivers Live! Join the insurrection and take back Super Earth!” :helldivers:

But if you write the morse code backwards and translate it, it says.

“We’re still not going to tell you anything about our secret next game. Love, Arrowhead.”

:poop: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#20

Just awesome