SBURB Hardmode (Dead Session)

[slothfulAmphibian]

So, as of the latest intermission, it turns out SBURB has a secret mode. A single player campaign that doubles as hard mode, as though trying to play by yourself wasn't bad enough. So does this mean anything for the AU?

It's likely that the FAQ community would at least be aware of it, enough to put triple bold warnings at the top of every FAQ not to attempt a one-player session. I also think that there would be a few recorded attempts, mostly relative n00bs who stumbled upon this thing and were slaughtered within minutes of arrival on their planet. A few hardened veterans who really should have known better might have managed to get further, enough to get some information about this mystery into the FAQs.

But not a single record exists of someone actually succeeding. Even leaks from future timestamps indicate that there isn't going to be one. If you play on hardmode, you will die. Yes, "you will die" always applies, but this time you don't even get a chance to prolong it. And it's your fault. As the game itself will tell you, this is punishment for your hubris in thinking you didn't need allies.

One of the few things we do know is that the end goal is something completely different. The Ultimate Reward is beyond your reach now, and the game has changed. Rumours persist among the FAQ community that the differed ending of a hardmode session doesn't involve the bugged gate and end screen. That you can leave the game if you somehow manage to win. The more sensible members remind those people that the only way out of the game is death, and playing on hardmode in fact guarantees that.

Any more thoughts?

[tenaciousTheseus]

I don't think introducing the concept of a solo game is really a smart idea. I can't help but think that it's going to be abused and not treated as rare and dangerous as it really is. Because with the exception of Caliborn doing the whole "Becoming an invincible demon" thing, you know that anyone and everyone who does this is dead. And people aren't going to want to kill off their characters.

[grinningcat]

Well, that's the poin't isn't it. It sounds like a pretty easy way to kill off your character, and let them go out with a bang.

[tenaciousTheseus]

Yes, because there aren't any ways to do that in regular Sburb, which we know is safe and no one dies. . But seriously, there's a billion ways to kill your character, and they're more poignant than shoving your character off in isolation to wither away. Solo mode just seems a bit much.

[tenebraMagistra]

I concur. Solo mode seems a bit silly, if you ask me. I'd rather have my character die surrounded by friends than die alone in isolation.

[wanderingDreamer]

Actually, I think it would be a fairly interesting idea to explore.
...You know, on the OOC area. Take your character, and toss him/her into Sburb, alone.
Might not be a Space player, meaning you might not be able to breed the Genesis Frog.
Unless you act as the whole Player Chain, being your own Server/Client, the only way to stop the Imps from invading your Dwelling Spire is by jetpack or other flying device, or ignoring that entirely and leaping, using either a parachute or something like the Aperture Science Long Fall Boots or the Advanced Knee Replacements to cushion your fall.
Let's face it. Sburb is hard. But it's impossible on your own.
Being unable to self-terminate thanks to being exile-blocked, at best, you'd have to convince Jack to shank you into being God-tiered. Or, you know, ask the Merchant of Darkness to. And, assuming you made it that far, you'd need every advantage you could get to defeat even a once prototyped Black King. And you are just plain SOL if you get a Ringwraith, Scepterwraith, or Saccharine Doppleganger on your hands.
Assuming you hit Awesometier, were pretty dang smart, a master of Fraymotifs, Alchemy, and coming up with strategies to maximize damage and ARC, and/or offered yourself to The Others or The Angels, you MIGHT be able to pull it off. MAYBE. But unless you are God-tier, speaking in Horrorterror, dripping absolute corrution wherever you walk, and have something like the Pop-O-Matic Vrillyhoo Hammer? Not likely.

As an actual in-game thing? Tch. No.

As a hypothetical non-canon scenario where we point out how long our characters can last by their own merit when all odds are against them, even more than they already are? I approve.
For example, assuming he remembers how to do portals, I can estimate wD would last at least two minutes on his Land. Optimistically speaking? Three minutes after touch-down. If he's exceedingly lucky? As in "Walk between five Tesla coils running on max wearing chainmail and soaked to the bone without getting so much as zapped" lucky? He might make it to his first Consort Village. Maybe.
If he's anything other than a Space aspect, though, he might as well be dead on arrival.

[mislaidLullaby]

What consort village?

I think I need to step in and point out here - Dead sessions don't start by giving you your Land. The entire planet you replay on is dragged in. There are no imps or other underlings. There are no consorts. You have no sprite. Skaia goes dark and frankly I have no idea what state the battlefield is going to be in. Probably not in good shape to deal with a Genesis Frog though, I'll bet. You get no alchemiter, so no super awesome weaponry just yet.

Your main quest is unlocking your Land. We don't know what that involves yet. In terms of the RP, I don't think this is an idea that could ever really work.

[wanderingDreamer]

Sorry.
So... Basically, it's like "Last Woman/Man/Other On Earth/Alternia/Beforus/Whatever: The Session"?

[mislaidLullaby]

From what I can make of it? Pretty much, yeah.

When you couple this with the mechanic of 'Session Decay' we've got here, this can be a very dangerous thing because there's no guarantee that it won't kick in before you actually get to your Land.

Sorry. I am just a bit iffy on the idea overall, as generally we already have a way of stimulating what it'd be like for a Player going it alone: They're called 'Those session where everybody else dies'.