Encased News

The history of the Dome began with a hazardous, solitary expedition comprised of military personnel and a handful of scientists. Since then, much has changed. CRONUS was formed, the number of permanent citizens of the Dome grew to 27,000, and the lifeless desert is now littered with settlements and outposts. One thing remains the same: the people in charge are scientists and military personnel.

And where you find military, you’ll find weapons, as well as good reasons to use them. In today's update, we’ll tell you a little bit about the Encased arsenal.

CRONUS is a wealthy and influential organization, and many corporations vied to have them for a client. The firearms market under the Dome is divided among four competing firms: Horizon I&R, Vixen, Westminster Defense Solutions, and Forge Co.

Each of these manufacturers has its own lineup and own philosophy. Forge Co. are the most cynical, combining mass-marketing and mediocrity to appeal to a family audience. The only distinguishing feature of Forge Co. guns are average price and average quality. Forge Co.’s ideological opposite is Horizon Industries and Research (Horizon I&R), which fabricates high quality weaponry and distributes it via sales agents who travel the Dome, suitcases in hand. While these agents are now lost to the dunes, the Vixen shops are still standing. Vixen has outlets in every rundown village and town. Their second-rate SMGs can often be found at huge discounts. The last corporation in the weapons market is Westminster. Westminster specializes in older, but time-tested, rifles.

Products from different manufacturers vary not only in price and features: upgrade potential and firearms-related perks also differ.

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Upgrades allow the player to improve the accuracy, rate of fire and magazine capacity of firearms. You won’t find two identical rifles in any one Encased walkthrough: two guns of the same model will differ at least slightly in their upgrades and degree of wear.

Firearms can be disassembled on a special workbench, creating some interesting game options: weapons stripped for parts can be sold piecemeal for better value. Or, having obtained a dozen identical rifles, disassemble them all and pick the best parts to create one superior weapon.



Aside from these considerations, each weapon has a scale of Familiarity. Regular use of one particular firearm leads to small but fun bonuses. At the same time, focusing on a particular type of weapon (from pistols to sniper rifles) increases your Proficiency in all weapons of that type.

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If you’re not a fan of guns, Encased has still more to offer. The game arsenal includes dozens of melee weapons, many of which were suggested by our community. Several different companies are engaged in production and supply of these items, but the biggest player is Danny Reynolds Supplies. Reynolds produces a huge catalogue of bladed implements, ranging from kitchen knives and machetes to more exotic types, like the kukri.

Combat for a melee-spec’d character is risky and adrenaline-driven. While the shooter requires a high skill level and proper use of cover, the main catalyst for victory in melee combat is inventive juggling of abilities: you can backstab someone, block an incoming attack, or (with the rights skills) disarm your opponent.

In addition, the player who prefers melee will appreciate the ability to manage the distance between himself and his prey. Reynolds’ shops sometimes carry harpoon guns, the perfect tool to encourage distant enemies to get a little closer, and even jetpacks(!), allowing you to immediately access different height levels on the map.

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Jetpacks and harpoon guns are very useful, but throwing weapons, including darts, knives, Molotov cocktails and, of course, grenades, have an even greater influence on tactics.

Who doesn’t love a nice, bloody explosion? Here come the grenades! There will be several grenade types in Encased. In addition to the classic frag grenade, the protagonist will have access to smoke, flashbangs, incendiary, and EMP grenades, which completely shut down the enemy's electronics.



With the right grenade, you can change the tactical situation on the battlefield in just one throw: cover your retreat with smoke (greatly reducing hit probability), or block aisles and chokepoints with incendiaries. And thanks to flashbangs, you can render even the strongest opponent helpless for the next couple of moves.

In designing weapons for Encased, our goal is to get away from the “war of numbers,” where the side with the biggest guns and thickest armor always prevails. Instead, we offer our players dynamic battles based on ingenuity, tactics, and competent use of many different equipment features.

We love items with a great backstory: not just an energy pistol, not just a visor or Blue Wing cutting torch, but something with a past, with scars that can be read.

A suit of gray, high-tech body armor is peppered with bullet marks and burn patterns from explosive charges, as well a custom paint job and a thin coat of desert dust. Standard gears and hydraulics have been replaced with handtooled mechanisms… This armor remains locked in a bunker for several years.

And then the player finds it.

Remember that we unlock additional content when certain social goals have been met. Each new share, subscription, or Like on Facebook and Twitter earns our community achievement points. These points grant access to rewards we will add to Encased.

Together we unlocked 36 points

Read more about the system here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkcrystalgames/encased-old-school-isometic-turn-based-rpg/posts/2297047

Today, our community reached another reward - a special servoshell color scheme!

Servoshel coloring is now unlocked

A gloved hand snaps away a dusty tarp with Black Wing insignia. Lamps flare a little brighter, illuminating acrylic painted armor. Chrome servo hoses shimmer in the dim light.

The original soldier’s name and rank have been erased. In black, it now simply says “Mike”.

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Far out in the uncharted desert there is a database center containing CRONUS employee records. If you open the personnel table, you will find a total of 43 people on the Committee named “Michael,” and four more registered as “Mike”. Narrowing the search to Black Wing employees gives you four “Mikes” in total. Their employment status was updated to “Deceased” soon after the incident with Maelstrom.

Because the right Mike, the Mike who made this armor, is not Black Wing. Nor Blue Wing (eight people, one dead), nor White (twenty-three), nor Orange (seven surviving, two dead).

Mike is a Silver, perhaps the craziest Silver under the Dome.

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Michael Hurd Jr. could have written a book about his life if he had been able to hold still long enough. He did try writing a book once, at the age of fourteen, when he wished to become a writer. He also loved sports and planned to become a professional baseball player, as well as a sailor, a surfer (as if the climate in New England is conducive to surfing!), an automobile designer, and a financier. In the end, it was that last profession which led Mike to the Dome, and the financial department of Silver Wing.

After a year of working for the Committee, Michael realized he was in trouble: he lacked the perseverance and discipline needed for career advancement, and without the right education there was no way to transfer to a different Wing. Mike would have preferred to leave the Dome altogether, but of course that was not an option.

But in the midst of a gray depression, Mike came up with a plan: rob the vault at his base, occupy one of the hundreds of cozy, uninhabited objects in the distant desert, and live life the way he did before, exactly as his whim would have it.

After considering the many different angles, he declared his plan flawless. Now came the execution.

Well actually there is more than one, but which one you like the most?

On the appointed day, Mike removed the beacon from his CaerOS so that he could not be traced. Then, using a stolen management override, he breached the vault and seized close to 1,700,000 combonds. Overnight he became the wealthiest Silver on the base.

But no matter how perfect the plan, the unforeseen can always derail it: in the midst of the heist, the base’s electrical systems flickered and died before switching to emergency mode. The alarm linked to the vault, which Mike had previously deactivated, rebooted. The moment he touched the door, the sirens began their terrible song...

Mike fled, but ended up cornered in a warehouse. While the engineers were readying equipment to break through the doors, the administration was gathering all available forces just behind them.

The security doors fell in with a hollow boom. Mike stood before his former colleagues in a servoshell which for some reason he had wrapped in a dozen CRONUS-issue synthetic warehouse storage bags.

As it reads in the operations log, M.Hurd Jr. responded to their offer of surrender with his middle finger. With negotiations now over, Black Wing forces unleashed a storm of gunfire and the great chamber lit up with a dozen powerful flashes. Mike had planned a couple of surprises however. Beneath his robe of bags were two additional layers of security. The first was a carpet of bulletproof vests. The second was a necklace of flashbangs, which defanged the gunmen immediately.

The ops log went on to say that Mike came out of this exchange completely unharmed. The servoshell had deflected both bullets and the effect of the flashbangs, while the thick wads of cash stuffed between his clothes and the armor no doubt helped to dampen the concussive effect of the grenades.

In a smoking armor suit, now a walking vault full of money, Mike exited the base.

And immediately got lost in the desert.

Project funding info: 10 days left! We still have time to wrap it, and maybe even touch some stretch goals. We are 93% funded, with $93,012 pledged by 2,152 backers! Thank you! See you next week with new exciting info about the game! Don't hesitate to ask questions in the comments section.

If you don't have enough of Dark Crystal Games check this interview article by Chris Picone! Thank you for reaching out, Chris!