Gather round, the King asks a question....

King Ronald on 20/9/2003 at 17:07

Welcome all!

Welcome! To the carnival! The carnival of Invisible War. Gathered before you are:

-The terrifying "Black Market Cyborgs": they who believe that heavy augmentation is the way for humans to evolve.

-The Enlightened scientists/tradespeople of the "WTO": they who wear lab coats and invent gadgets.

-The singular "Order": the religious cult of the new millenium.

-The robe-wearing, leek-eating "Neo-Luddites": monks who shun technology, and seek a simpler world.

Each sitting in their seperate ideological cage. The question is, dear readers -

Which group will you side with, and why?

Joining one group as opposed to another has major in-game ramifications. I realise it might be a tad early to say, but I'd like to know what people are going to do, based on our first impressions.

= p.s: I got these groups pegged down via surfing different Deus Ex 2 sites. If I'm completely wrong about a group, or have missed one, then by all means say so.

= p.p.s: Just to get the ball rolling, I'd choose the Neo-Luddites, in the hope of some Baldur's Gate style Monk powers, and low tech gear. It would be more challenging than being a meched-up Cyborg.

Gusss on 20/9/2003 at 20:48

The first time i play i will side with The Order cause it is an underdog & may have an extensive underground network w/good contacts & allies. I will also be up against better equipt groups & like you i like the challenge.

when all is done all will submit to the Order.

Z on 20/9/2003 at 22:40

IIRC, there is not a faction that is actually called the "Neo-Luddites" I imagine you got the phrase Neo-Luddite from the preview at (http://www.actiontrip.com/previews/deusexinvisiblewar_i.phtml) ActionTrip. This preview doesn't actually name the factions, it just describes them.

Luddites were a group in 19th Century England that opposed certain aspects of the Industrial Revolution, and tried to burn down factories and destroy mechanical equipment because they believed that it was depriving human workers of their jobs. More recently the term has come to mean anyone who opposes technology.

As far as I can see, the Neo-Luddite group are called the Templars*, and are mentioned in many interviews and previews. In particular, it appears that the Templars oppose body-modification and nano-augmentation, and believe that humans should be "pure" and not have any technological modifications. As a nano-aug, it will probably be kind of hard to gain their trust, but apparently you can.

About a month ago I made a (http://www.ionstorm.com/forum/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP619612110&id=20134) post at the IonStorm forum where I detailed as much info as I could find on the factions in the game, garnered from all the previews I've seen. It's near the bottom.

You raise a very interesting question, though. I'd like to go with the Templars, or perhaps the Illuminati. My initial main goal in DX:IW will be to make contact with JC Denton. Mainly because I'm dying to know what he looks like in the sequel and how he's changed over the years.

Z

EDIT: The Templars are presumably the same, or descended from the same, group that was mentioned in the Paris Cathedral in DX1 - a secret society dating back hundreds of years which originated within the famous order of Christian warrior monks, the Knight's Templar. There's a whole ream of information about them in posts on this board alone, and all over the internet (They're big in conspiracy theories)

King Ronald on 21/9/2003 at 16:57

Ta for the link.

Okay, so these monks are actually Templars. That's still cool - perhaps some "Inquisitor" style future-tech knight armor and badass laser swords, on mechanical horses. Or not.

I hope the Templars give you robes to wear - that way I can choose a bald asian player model, and complete Invisible War as a Buddhist! Yes!

King Ronald on 21/9/2003 at 17:06

Okay amigos, the new-and-improved King Ronald faction thread now contains the following groups to select. Thanks be to hope-it-ain't-a-reference-to-Pulp-Fiction "Z" for his helpful info-splattered link.

Which group do you want to go with, and WHY?

The TARSUS academy - I believe these guys are the new version of UNATCO

The Order - A unified world church/religous group.

The World Trade Organisation - A global trade syndicate

The Templars - The neo-Luddite (Luddite's were a group in England in the 18/19th Century ((I think)) who opposed machinery and technology) secret society that wants to destroy body-modification. Not good friends with The Omar.

The Illuminati - Possibly the faction containing JC Denton, following on from the Spector-interview "Three endings merged" concept. (since JC joined the Illuminati)

The Omar - Probably the black market cyborg cartel

The MAKO Corporation - Weapons manufacturers

(yes, that is a blatant copy/paste from a post by Z, thanks again - don't sue)

I'm now tied in my love for The Templars, and the MAKO corp. Getting loads of high-tech weapons is ALMOST as fun as being a future-knight/monk.

Z on 21/9/2003 at 21:08

Quote:

don't sue

The inditement's in the mail now. $100,000 should cover it, I think. :p j/k

Yeah, I'd probably choose the Illuminati, although I don't know for sure whether you'll be able to join them. I certainly don't think you just walk into the "Illuminati Building" and ask to enroll. Whatever the case, I won't just blindly go with one faction. I'll ask questions first, and try to figure out what's what before I make my decision. Hopefully I'll be able to find JC.

Oh, and also, some new faction stuff:

The TARSUS Group
This group has been referred to in different articles as the Tarsus Academy and the Tarsus Corporation, amongst other things. Several articles hint that this might be JC Denton's organisation, but I can't corroborate this.

Also, you won't necessarily be able to join every faction I listed. I haven't heard anything about being able to join MAKO, for example. I just mentioned them because they are an organisation in the game. I've also heard the name ApostleCorp as a possible organisation, but nothing else about them.

Z

(And no, my alias is not a Pulp Ficion reference. It isn't a reference at all. I should probably have gone with another name, but it's years too late. At least it's quick to type.)

chris the cynic on 22/9/2003 at 00:26

I've heard, athough I'm not sure from where, that tarsus and the WTO are tools of the Illuminati.

I'll probably go with whatever JC's group is.

fatso the wombat on 22/9/2003 at 06:19

No real plan now, i'll just wait and see what I think will be the best option at the time. I am looking forward to seeing JC and will probably take the paths to meet him though

Chade on 22/9/2003 at 12:44

Although I do actually have several playstyles in mind that should be quite nice to try out with the newer tech, as far as the factions go my mind is just a big blank slate.

And anyway, for the first time through, I'm just going with whatever feels right at the time, for both playstyle and story. The reason being that it should be the most immersive path for me.

TreeTrunk on 23/9/2003 at 20:15

My goal will be to oppose JC Denton at all costs. He is an evil terrorist opposed to civilization.