- Fin5434p
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- gamertag: Fin
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"but you already knew that, I mean, how couldn't you?
Only when no Human brick is left atop another, shall we be satisfied with your destruction.
Well this exact topic came up a while ago, so I'll say what I did then, it's a long post btw.
You could get a pretty good story going from a Sangheili/seperatist-centric perspective.
(You would play as a Sangheili commando/spec ops)
Say your first two missions are standard search and destroy of loyalist bases on different worlds(new environments), you are deployed from a CCS-Class (eg the CCS By Honour Bound) in both cases (opportunity for insight into Seperatist military/social structure). Just as you (the player) are getting into the 'ok, I see how this is going' mindset you get the third mission:
Derilict Loyalist cruiser drifting in Sangheili space.
You board it, things are eerily quiet, blood is on the decks, much of the ships vital systems seem to have been intentionally smashed, but there are no bodies. You warily make your way to the control room, but just as you reach it two destroyers slipspace in and begin attacking the By Honour Bound. Flood-controlled destroyers.
Onboard the Derilict internal monitors show motion throughout the lower decks, Flood forms, previously quiet, have now awoken and are attempting to overwhem your team.
Cue about ten-twenty minutes of frantic action as you try to purge various sections of the ship, get some of it's systems online to help your Cruiser, and trying to prevent the Flood from retaking the ship.
In the end, dispite activating two plasma torp arrays, the CCS By Honour Bound has her shields overwhelmed, and one of the destroyers closes and makes contact, crashing into the superstructure and allowing the Flood to board(emotional connection to crew of that ship depends on good characterisation in missions 1&2). You are forced to defend your positions on the Derilict from renewd Flood assault as you hear your shipmates being overwhelmed on the comm. *Sombre music*
After the player defeats the last wave of Flood, we get a cinematic showing the By Honour Bound has stopped firing on the remaining Flood destroyer, and the crashed destroyer is extricating itself from the cruiser's superstructure. All three vessels flee as Sangheili reinforcements arrive.
(Debrief cinematic/more insight into the Neo-Covenant.)
Mission 4: A Sangheili world is under assault by hostile vessels, your battlegroup moves to assist.
The assaulting ship is a Flood-controlled former loyalist heavy troopship, capable of carrying and deploying troops in the millions.
Groundside positions are being overrun, fire and chaos is everywhere, you are sent in by drop-pod deployment to secure and extract a group of Sangheili councillors and Human diplomatic envoys.
(think Floodgate mixed with Exodus here, but with ODST-style deployment into a Neo-Covenant city).
You barely escape with the VIP's and their ODST escort as Cruisers start bombarding the city in an effort to quench the infestation, being extracted by Phantom as the area in the immediate backdrop is glassed.
Efforts at Groundside Containment fail. Neo-Covenant forces fall back to orbit. The entire world is subjected to a heavy orbital bombardment, destroying all compromised population centres and setting entire hemesphere's ablaze.
(This is to emphasise to the player the great thret the Flood pose)
A new contact slips in, a loyalist frigate, heavily damaged.
The Jiralhanae Shipmaster begs the aid of the seperatist faction, going down on one knee: They have already lost three worlds, and he fears the fourth, where he has just come from, will lose the battle that's happening there. Billions are at risk, the Flood stand to gain many ships. The shipmaster's arguments and humility are persuasive "Even after all that has happened between us, surely you must see the Parasite is the greater threat! The prophets may bar me from the journey for this but we need aid! The time for this talk of past heresies is far gone, I ask, no, I beg you to aid us! All may perish if you do not!".
While distrustful, the Sangheili Fleetmaster agrees, and you set off towards the Covenant world.
(Cue ODSTs being unhappy about helping the Covenant, character development showcasing the uneasy but strengthening alliance between humans and elites, the ODST commander being put forward as a major character, and the Sangheili's feeings that they have 'abandoned' the lesser races of the Covenant to the prophet's machinations.)
Level 5: Opens with a cutscene of the Loyalist fleet engaging a Flood fleet led by none other than the former CCS By Honour Bound. Ground incursions in multiple locations planetside are on-going.
You are tasked with the rescue and recovery of the Prophet of Restoration an old and somewhat kindly San-Shyuum (a covenat-focused story should try not to steriotype the races as much as a humanocentric one might, hence this guy not being a venal wretch) who is the leader of this sector.
Much street-fighting ensues, you prevail aided by Covenant Forces and ODSTs, all fighting side-by side against the Flood. We find the Prophet's palace has been breached, eventually you get to the upper levels where we find a dying Restoration tended by his last surviving honour guard.
He reveals the source of the outbreak: A great Forerunner Weapon-Ship that was recently discovered, drifting and damaged. It's crew having disabled it's drives eons ago.
The Flood was lying dormant on it, and the Covenant reclaimation expedition woke them up.
Restoration gies us a couple of plot points like it's location, and how scary it would be if the Flood got it operational, before visibly weakening.
He pardons all present "that their transgression not withhold them from the Path" prompting a snort from the ODST commander and causing the Sangheili present to bristle and stiffen uncomfortably, though none say anything overtly disrespectful to the dying prophet.
Restraint then dies, to the dismay of the Jiralhanae present.
Level six: Two parter; two Flood-held long range sensor stations mounted on an asteroid and on an ice-moon of a gas giant must be taken down before the fleet can assault the Flood stronghold on the Forerunner Relic.
Generic torch and wreck stuff gameply wise, provides new environments, maybe even a zero-g section.
Level Seven: ENDGAME: A combined Sangheili/loyalist fleet assaults the Forerunner (Flood hive) ship. Throughout the level Flood controled ships are inbound and arriving, threatening to overwhelm the assault force.
Your character pilots a strike-fighter initially, clearing minor weapons emplacements and Flood controlled drones for the Phantom bording parties. You then board the ship and link up with the ODST Commander and other characters for the final assault.
You fight through various sections of the ship, some zero-g some enclosed corridors, some wide open spaces. It is discovered that a mini-gravemind is present on the vessel, that's why so much of the Flood fleet is returning.
You disable several systems in key points on the ship, then cause an overload to incinerate the 'Gravemind' (say, twenty minutes playtime, 3-4 systems).
Then you rush to the control centre, which responds to the ODST's touch, linking with his mind and unlocking the higher-tier weapons systems for the 'Reclaimer'.
You utilise the Forerunner ships awesome power to smite the Flood Fleet.
Then you are given a choice; The ODST commander asks if you think we should fire on the Covenant Loyalist ships within your combined assault fleet.
Ending 1: You fire on a Loyalist ship. The Loyalists scream over the comms about Sangheili betrayal and begin firing on all your ships, but are quickly destroyed by the Forerunner weapons. Few escape.
Epilogue cutscene implies that fighting amongst Covenant and Neo-Covenant forces has renewed with increased bitterness, many Human and Sangheili colonies subject to punitive bombardment by Jiralhanae vesses that appear, fire a few shots at the world, and then flee again bfore being engaged.
Ending 2: Your character stays his hand, announcing over the comm that the Relic belongs to the Sangheili now, and that with the Flood defeated the temporary alliance between your forces and the Covenant has come to a close. The Jiralhanae fleet is instructed to depart in good faith, but not to attempt to contest the ownership of the Forerunner vessel.
After a few tense moments, they comply.
Epilogue cutscene implies that, while still in a state of active war, skirmishes between Sangheili/UNSC fleets and Covenant forces are becoming less common. Not having been provoked the Covenant seem content to try to rebuild what was lost to the Flood in this sector. Hints at possible improved relations in the future are inferrable.
So, you could make quite an ok game out of it.
If you read all that I thank you!
Apologies for the very long post!
[Edited on 08.25.2011 5:31 PM PDT]