Mothership2K Wiki

# ***MOTHERSHIP: SILO***

*Mothership: Silo* is a top-down perspective CRPG focused on the aftermath of an accidental Martian invasion of the United States’ deep south. The game follows a freelance news reporter as they traverse post-invasion Silo County, Tennessee, in a valley filled with aliens, rednecks, companions, and quests. The game features a large, reactive worldspace that is affected by the player's decisions in major plot elements, such as the fate of the mothership looming over the city.

Created by creakyboney.

## Gameplay

The game takes place from a top down perspective, with 16 bit sprite and low poly 3D graphics, with free (non-grid based) movement to accommodate for the game’s real time combat system.

*Mothership*'s world is segmented into different screens (Cells), each representing tiles in a larger worldspace. The presentation is similar to *Pokemon Black & White*, with 3D elements being layered onto sprite art to emphasize the scale of the world, especially near the city and larger set pieces.

NPCs are scattered across the world, all with different personalities, dispositions and loyalties. Depending on an NPC’s importance, different things will happen upon interaction with them. For unimportant characters, text will fill the area above the NPC displaying a generic greeting or statement. For semi-important NPCs, a dialogue box will fill the center of the screen displaying spoken text, and available replies. For important faction leaders and characters, a talking head with voiced dialogue will be displayed for the length of the conversation. Talking with NPCs, getting them to see your point of view, and helping them with their problems will be the primary way to drive the plot forward, but if the player provokes an NPC during dialogue, the window will be closed and combat will be initiated.

Combat in *Mothership* is real time, featuring both melee and ranged weapons, similar to many dungeon crawling games. There is no magic system, and mechanics that could be implemented through magic are used with realistic items instead.

The game features a game-time day/night cycle, and a seasons system that affects things like accessible areas, NPC locations, available quests, and enemy frequency/difficulty.

The player is able to rest and wait at many locations throughout the game, (benches, beds, chairs, player homes, etc.)

The game features several companions, all tied to different factions, with the amount available to take at once determined by player character stats.

## Setting

The game begins on a windy night in December 2004, as a train arrives through a tunnel to Silo County, Tennessee. After departing, the protagonist steps into the outskirts of Silo County, which sits in the center of the Tennessee Valley. Surrounded on the east and northern sides by the Mississippi river, the west of Silo rises up to the Great Smoky Mountains, and the south tapers off into forest.

The centerpiece of Silo County is the great nuclear powered slum city, Daria Minor - where the Martian elite suspend themselves above the common population they rule in a great, terrifying mothership. Daria is in a state of civil unrest during the game's opening, as the area’s factions are looking for any option to regain control of the once peaceful southern land that extraterrestrials now occupy.

Outside Daria Minor, the valley towns of Silo are much better off, with trailer parks, run down neighborhoods, and gas stations not looking much different than they did before the game's catalyst event, Y2K, which led to widespread technological failure on Earth and Mars, and the accidental invasion of Silo County.

Since Y2K, several factions have formed in the area, each with different worldviews, problems, and goals for the future of Silo. At the time *Mothership* begins, The Martians of America have emerged as a diverse, but organized faction warring with their enemies, The Silo Specters over the future of the county. The MoA believes that the Martian elite are working to improve life in Silo, and should be worked with instead of challenged or ousted. Conflict arises when the brash and extremist Specters take action against the Martian government, and make enemies of the MoA. These two factions spend the game’s duration scheming plans to decide the fate of the Mothership, influence those in power, and shape the future of the city.

## Story

The game begins on a cold night in December 2004, as a train arrives through a tunnel to Silo County, Tennessee. The protagonist of *Mothership: Silo* is The Reporter working for the Pale Press, who has arrived in town to investigate the sudden reactivation of the titular mothership's laser beam under the ship. The craft has been stationary for years, being used as a political center for the city's Martian elites, never moving from above the nuclear plant. But there are rumors brewing now, talk that the ship might be moved soon. By the time the Reporter arrives, all of Silo Valley is clamoring with rumors that the Martian capitol might be moved, the nuclear power plant might explode, or that the Martians are planning something sinister. It is then the Reporter's job to make their way through Silo to investigate these rumors, and discover the secrets that are held inside the mothership.

## World Info

* Locations
* Characters
* Factions
* Services
* Transportation

## Gameplay Info

* Combat
* Crime
* Items
* Mechanics
* Treasures

## Character Info

The Reporter

* Levelling
* Talents
* Skills
* Weapons
* Reputation

## Miscellaneous

* Concept Art
* Music
* Credits