We’re excited to talk about the newest mission coming to Darktide: Clandestium Gloriana (AKA Atelium Foundryplex Omega V). For this, we interviewed Lead Level Designer, Fredric Grapensparr and Narrative Lead, Michael Knight, both of whom were part of the team responsible for crafting this new zone for players.
When reviewing feedback from the players around the last mission we designed (The Carnival), we saw the strong response from players regarding the lore and narrative woven into the level. This is something we enjoy doing more of, and that was a key starting point for the design of Clandestium Gloriana.
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Setting the Scene
From a narrative perspective, our goal was to create a temple-like facility in the Void between zones. We landed on the idea of lost facilities peppered deep within the bowels of the Hive. These fabled facilities, Machinaria Gloriana, are long-forgotten wonders constructed to support Saint Messalina's crusade through the Moebian Domain. Each is rumoured to house some technological marvel that significantly aided the war effort. Unfortunately these have fallen out of service and become lost through the centuries. (It didn’t help that record keeping was never a strong point for the Adeptus Administratum.)
The machine in this particular Foundryplex was centuries old, and it generated a lot of heat when it was running. This required massive cooling systems. And while the forges have been quiet for 1000s of years…no one seemed to remember to turn off the coolant system. This is the setting of our newest mission: the grandeur and prosperity of the past, contrasted with the decay and neglect of the present. This contrast is then further highlighted by the snow and ice which covers the level as a result of the forgotten coolant system. It’s visually different from anything we’ve delivered before. This setting also allowed us to introduce new gameplay mechanics and objectives.
Introducing Swagger
As a vehicle to further deliver narrative to this mission, the team landed on the new NPC, Swagger.
Swagger is an enigmatic character whose origins remain unknown. He is more capable than players might credit him based on his manner and appearance alone. For example, how did he have the codes to the Mourningstar Vox Network? How does no one seem to know where he is from?
Swagger is the mission giver and unlike our regular NPCs, Swagger will actually be present in the level directing the strike team from the ground. This added an additional technical aspect in terms of audio that we’re pretty excited to share with players.
We can also confirm this is not the last interaction players will be having with Swagger. He will be sticking around.
Navigating the Mission
In this mission, players are tasked with meeting Swagger, who has provided the location of this Foundryplex rumored to hold the secrets of true Moebian steel. The objective is to get the facility running, obtain samples and fulfill Hadron’s motivations (whatever they may be). The mission objectives and the end event itself will depend on the players’ capabilities more than past events. If players are a coordinated team, they’ll be able to clear the objectives more quickly and efficiently.
The mission starts with a sense of claustrophobia in order to foster a sense of danger and tension for players. As they progress, the environment opens up to allow for more freedom of movement and good ole’ hack and slash. This is an intentional design choice to make the initial stages more challenging, before providing players with a sense of relief and progression as they move further into the mission.
We don’t want to say too much more without letting players be able to experience it for themselves. But we can say we’re particularly excited for players to reach the end event. (Jesper Kyd is a genius.)
Please stay tuned for more updates and dev blogs for Secrets of the Machine God! We look forward to seeing the reactions to this new level.
