#helldivers II

[helldivers-2]

MAJOR ORDER

In an impressive display of tenacity and overwhelming firepower, the Helldivers fought back the gloom eruption with apparent ease. In an unexpected double defence of both Estanu and Crimsica, the terminid menace had its momentum thoroughly broken.

With this victory, the time has finally come to ignite the massive engines of the DSS, and haste is essential. The Jet Brigade has resurfaced on Vernon Wells and is threatening the DSS logistics hub. Amass the needed E-710 so that the DSS can come online, and protect Gaellivare from the Jet Brigade onslaught.

Fix bayonets Helldivers! Charge!

[drunkenskunk]

whoops my hand slipped and I made some absurd helldivers propaganda lol

[aacedust]

I spent like an hour or two making this after being struck with inspiration

[johnlocsin-johnyakuza]

[zhjake]

helldivers comm bug squish sfx

[sapphiel]

Feeling a little bit undemocratic today, boys.

[doomsdayartificer]

Using the Helldivers vs Sony battle as an illustrative example to teach gamers about the power of unions and collective bargaining as effective tools for opposing corporate chicanery.

[profdragonlord]

[sanshiroiv]

space dudes who kill aliens

[helldivers-2]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Outstanding Patriotism

[crippledgiraff]

We did it Helldivers!

[captainsaturnart]

“Automaton patrol sighting.” Automatons from helldivers 2 art by me!

[chaoticshort]

Different game, same fear

[drunkenskunk]

So I've been playing a lot of Helldivers II, and it's really fun!

(at least, it is when the servers are working lmao)

However: there is one thing about the game that annoys me. It's the same thing that always annoys me whenever drop pods are mentioned in science fiction.

Nobody ever seems to get them right!

Whenever drop pods show up, they always seem to depict each pod as a single projectile rocketing towards the surface of a planet, usually behind enemy lines. They're the logical sci fi evolution of airborne infantry dropping in by parachute, because a lot of military sci fi tropes have trouble moving past WWII. And, y'know, that's fine. That's not the issue I have.

The issue is the single projectile part.

It's almost like every writer who includes drop pods forget that anti-aircraft weapons and SAM sites are currently a thing in the real world and would almost certainly still exist and be better in the science fiction space future. Those drop pods rocketing towards the surface would present the juiciest targets imaginable and would almost certainly get shot out of the sky before they even got close to impacting on the surface.

Annoyingly, the only sci fi that I know of to ever get drop pods right is the first one to ever do it: the Starship Troopers novel by Robert Heinlein.

Now, say what you will about Heinlein - and I do, quite often. For the most part, he's not that great of a writer, and his politics are terrible. The man was an asshole who loved writing wet farts of fascist porn, and the novel absolutely pales in comparison to Paul Verhoeven's 1998 masterpiece of satire, where he took one look at the book, rolled his eyes, and started making jerk-off motions.

But when I first read the novel when I was, like, 6 years old, I was a dumbass child and didn't notice (or care) about the... I mean, I'd call it "fascist subtext" except that it's literally just The Text. No, what drew me in was the one singular thing Heinlein was actually good at writing: technical sequences, written from an in-universe lens.

The way he described how the drop pods actually work in the first few pages of the novel - and, more importantly, how they don't immediately get shot out of the sky - is great! It makes sense, it's easy to understand (because Johnny Rico is, let's be honest: an idiot, he's not going to give you a complicated explanation), and it fills in a plot hole you never realized was there.

For as many faults as the man had as both a writer and a human being, and for all the many problems the rest of the book has, that first chapter - and specifically the drop pod sequence - is a great hook.

Like, this is the template for drop pods. This is The Thing that people are referencing whenever drop pods show up in sci fi, like in fucking Halo, or Starcraft, or Warhammer 40k. And everyone always seems to forget the single most important thing about this infantry delivery system: the countermeasures.

I dunno. This is just one of those things that's always annoyed me.

[howlingday]

Salem: What a shame... It seems our little game is over... Little Knight...

Jaune: Oh, you think I'm losing? Nah, bitch! WE LOSING! Here's a poem!

Jaune: Roses are red.

Jaune: Humanity will prosper!

Jaune: With this technique, I summon...

Jaune: 500KG BOMB, GRIMM STMPR!

UP! RIGHT! DOWN!

DOWN!

DOWN!

[niccamon]

we dive (featuring @dat-soldier and @goodoldfisticuffs)