#dispatch rewrite

[becasualcass]

Alrighty, so I'm slowly but surely piecing together my Dispatch rewrite. I've started with Robert first, naturally, and... I'm making him a single dad. I couldn't help myself.

It's not my fault his concept notes said he had a dad bod! And look, to me, the only way you can have dad bod is if you're a dad! Any bod is a dad bod if said bod belongs to a man with a baby strapped to his chest. That's just how it is.

[waterthefern]

Since I’ve written a lot about Dispatch and explored a handful of AU’s and headcanons, so now I wanna talk about the changes I’d personally make to the story (not to say the overall story is bad, but we all agree it fell flat in some areas)

General Changes:

Make the game take place over the course of a month rather than a week, there was too much that happened with not enough focus on building relationships (You cannot tell me Flambae’s hot headed ass went from hating Mecha Man to following his orders in a week)

Episode 1 Changes:

Change who’s with Flambae in the bar when he encounters Mecha Man. This seems like a minor and unimportant change, but why the fuck is he with Coupé and Punch Up? His best friend is Prism, why isnt she there? Doesn’t it make more sense to immediately imply who Flambae would have synergy with once you start dispatching?

So I have two suggestions: either have Prism with him, giving the player a hint that they know each other well and hence would have good synergy while dispatching

OR, replace Punch Up with Sonar. Why? Because then we get an equal footing opportunity to meet both of the character’s we’re gonna be forced to cut, making us know who they are outside of the minor dialogue we get with them in Episode 2

Episode 2 Changes:

I get why we didn’t get much from the Z-Team in terms of personality but also why the fuck do we only really get a one on one scene with Visi? At this point we don’t know much about her or anyone else, so doesn’t it make more sense to build up the other characters too?

So my suggestion would be to split the scene between Robert and Visi in the break room into two separate scenes, one in the break room and one directly after

While in the break room trying to discuss Visi disobeying Robert’s orders it keeps getting interrupted by the other members of the Z-Team. First it’s Sonar screaming, then Malevola comes in through a portal, Prism jokes about them being on a date, Golem’s footsteps keep Robert from talking, Coupé and Punch Up come in and their conversation over takes theirs, and finally Flambae comes in and insults Robert, which finally prompts Visi to leave, but he grabs her and tells her their conversation isn’t over

This leads to a scene where Robert brings Visi into a secluded room (maybe the bathroom since I would replace their other bathroom talk scene) and snaps at her disobeying him and everything, which would basically be exactly what happens in the actual game

The difference is that this time they’d get to talk a little bit more about and the reason Visi punches him isn’t just because he made her feel bad, it’s because his comments made her mask slip a little, and she punches him to keep him from seeing her cry

Episode 3 Changes:

Nothing, I think this is one of the best story wise because despite hating that I had to cut someone, I think it makes both Coupé and Sonar a lot more interesting

Episode 4 Changes:

I think the wet dream scene should’ve either been completely cut or it should’ve been moved to the end with either Flambae or Blazer having it rather than Visi because, say it with me, Visi shouldn’t be a romance option

While I think InvisiMech is a good ship, I think Visi being a romance option made her character fall a little flat, specifically because I think Robert and Visi’s relationship should’ve been focused on Mentor/Mentee first and a romantic couple second

Now why would the dream be moved to the end? Well because it would change depending on who you decide to romance instead of someone being shoved in your face (I also think it’d be funny if the episode ended with the date, cuts to dream which makes the player think they’re already fucking on the first date, then the character waking up and going “fuck” before cutting to the credits)

This leads to the second change of making Flambae the second romance option rather than Visi and this is for a few reasons

1. Flambae and Robert already have a shit ton of chemistry, especially with the very clear love-hate relationship Flambae has with Robert and Mecha Man

2. Give us a gay option you cowards. Flambae is literally a flaming homo and yet we can’t date a man?

3. Unlike Visi whose character gets undermined by being romancable, Flambae’s character gets MORE to it if Robert can date him

Now onto what Flambae’s date would be and that’s easy: the entire Z-Team at a bar which is followed by Flambae getting annoyed and kidnapping Robert so they can talk on their own without the others breathing down their necks

Just like choosing Blazer gives us more about her, choosing Flambae would give us a bit more insight into the Z-Team, but specifically Flambae as we would learn he’s extremely protective and territorial and so on

The last change is that no matter who you choose to date, Visi will crash it and you’ll be able to build a bit more relationship with her to help keep her a hero

Episode 5 Changes:

The only difference here would be a cool idea that I had:

If you tell everyone you’re just Robert, everyone will move on except for Flambae, as he’ll claim he can tell you’re lying about something, and you then can either double down or tell him the truth, and either way shit goes wrong

If you double down, he demands to know why you’re lying to the team, he thought everyone was finally bonding and yet he wants to keep secrets

If you tell him the truth, the same thing as canon would happen where he tries roast Robert UNLESS you went on a date with him in Episode 4, where instead he’ll stop himself and fly off without a word (which will happen if you immediately tell the truth as well)

Episode 6 Changes:

No changes, I love this episode as is

Episode 7 Changes:

I hate that we’re forced to keep/defend Visi from being cut to get the good ending, because the team’s right, at this point we already cut Sonar/Coupé for something way less and it’s not fair to keep her on the team

I don’t mind that this is the final point of her going villain, but with all the other variables, it becomes less of a player choice and more of a “do I want the hero or villain Visi ending?” And at that point, what’s the point of the choice?

With that in mind, I think we should get three choices: Cut Invisigal, Defend her Actions, or Disagree with the Team

Cutting her instantly gives you the villain Visi ending like in canon

Defending her actions or disagreeing with the team makes Visi appreciate you but there’s a difference between them: if you defend her actions, Robert specifically says that she’s in trouble and that this won’t go unpunished, but ultimately she did what a hero is supposed to do and that’s what matters versus disagreeing with the team which has Robert completely saying they’re wrong and makes the team slightly hate him since he’s being a hypocrite (this especially pissing Flambae off if you’re romancing him)

Episode 8 Changes:

The ONLY change I’d make is the ending where Visi turns villain, specifically I’d change it so the entire ending is the same as the hero Visi one up until you get shot and are given the choice to spare or kill Shroud

The ending as it is is fine, but I think it’d be a lot more shocking for the player to, for a moment, think they could either kill or spare him only for the choice to be completely ripped away and Visi kills him before you can choose (obviously this is the same as in canon, but I think having the ending near identical would make it more shocking)

Obviously the problem is who blocked the shot to save Robert and I know you guys are gonna hate me but it’d have to be Chase

Chase sacrificed himself to save Visi only to nearly die and then is shot because she turned villain just like he warned Robert about, full circle moment for Robert

And while this is technically another change, I wanted to also say that Flambae and Robert’s romantic ending would have Flambae grab him by the collar, kiss him, then say “you’re a goddamn idiot.” Before talking to him a bit about what happened

[cringyfuckassbitch]

guys I’m working on a dispatch rewrite but I have a great idea for invisigal

spy invisigal

by this I mean we give a more spy theming due to her being an ex red ring member thus she could utilize gadgets and such to win fights over just brute strength

Her power is turning invisible so why not lean into that and let her be some James Bond anti villain

[calsotis]

A Complete Dispatch Rewrite

Screw it, I’ve got time and I need to waste it somehow.

So, what is Dispatch?

It’s a game where you’re a hero – or rather, former hero. Your mech blew up, oopsy-daisy. Either way, you have a new day job – leading the ‘Z-Team’. A group of former villains who are trying to do good… but doing so poorly. It’s your job to dispatch them to the right locations and jobs, all while.

Anyone who’s seen my other post will know that I had… a lot of thoughts. And honestly, my feelings are mixed; I like the game’s premise, but I like a lot of premises within games, good and bad. What I don’t like are the microaggressions and the issues with the overall plot and how it doesn't tackle these themes with the weight they deserve. I think it needed to be longer and more meaningful rather than the equivalent of fast food. So, this is a proposal of how to change it.

Here are the requirements I’ve put on myself;

We can’t introduce new main or side characters to fix existing problems. Extras like at the Sardine and SDN HQ however can be created, as this wouldn’t be too resource-intensive. More on this later.

Their overall personality and themes can’t change. Whatever changes are made should still resemble the original in most ways. (This includes Prism, Invisigal, and Sonar; arguably the most problematic of the cast.) Phenomaman should have a little patheticness, Flambae will be hostile, etc.

The main plotline will be the same. However, I’m ok with adding extra romances between Robert and the other characters, and I mean all of them. 

At most, we can only add 4 more episodes. 

For the main physical design changes:

Give Flambae more of an Afghanistan accent, or give him a tan. He’s only white-passing, as the game lists that he is from Afghanistan. It helps to make it clear that he’s not really white; if skin color doesn’t work, then play around with his facial features a bit. I get that Flambae’s VA does look similar to Flambae, but I don’t think Robert looks like Aaron Paul or Invisigal like Laura Bailey especially. Also, Flambae is the only Afghanistan representation in the game, I wouldn’t push for it otherwise. 

Coupé has less grey in her skin. Her tone’s a bit muted, which I don’t really like, especially when she’s one of only two Black women in the main cast. Though to be fair, I’m pretty sure it’s because the entire cast doesn’t have any undertones. Don’t really know why, but I’m not experienced enough in 3D animation to be able to answer that. Additionally, Coupé will be more slender to fit the ballerina theme and make her body type a bit different, as well as a bit older.

Waterboy’s going to be Black. Yes, he can have the same pathetic appeal his original counterpart does, and yes, ‘Sparkling Water’ ship still exists. Yes, Phenomaman functionally counts as white, he passes as such. Though, speaking of Phenomaman…

…Phenomaman is now Phenomawoman! Phenomawoman would present the same as her male counterpart as we do need more body types, though she’d obviously be feminine as to match the masculinity of Phenomaman’s design. I think the closest example is Emma Frost from Marvel Rivals… with more clothes obviously. (No exposed thighs.) This is also to solve the issue I had with the ‘CUT’ in episode 3.

Make it so that Invisigal’s asthma doesn’t affect her invisibility. Rather, it’s just a focus thing, nothing more. Technically, Invisigal’s asthma would affect her if she ever dropped her inhaler in the middle of combat, but then it feels less like the disability was made to ‘balance her out.’

Prism’s also going to be wearing an afro, like in most edits I’ve seen made by Black artists. I recognize what her design is based on, but how cool does a reflective Afro sound? Plus, gives Prism a way to just flashbang an entire crowd at once. I think keeping her cake is fine since I don’t want to remove the appeal and I want her to be a parallel to Flambae. Plus, it’s not really sexualized in game, so I’m fine with it. She’ll be in the middle between Invisigal and Coupé age-wise.

Malevola’s going to look more… demonic. She’s going to have a build similar to Golem, or Sonar if we want to use partners. Dispatch is awful at body-diversity when it comes to its women, honestly. (Golem, Punch-Up, Sonar, and Flambae have different body shapes from each other. Prism, Coupé, and Invisigal have very similar body types.) As for age, it’s indeterminate like Golem is.

Mandy won’t be '''pretty''', or at least, not as idealized. Her normal form will have a bit of disheveled hair, messy clothes, stuff like that. If the point is that the amulet makes her ‘’perfect’’, then her regular form should look human, not like a supermodel. For that, we’ll make it so that while Blonde Blazer isn’t plus-sized, Mandy is. It’s not that the amulet makes her perfect, it’s that the amulet makes her society’s depiction of perfect. We’ll get back to that later. 

Blonde Blazer is bisexual, though Invisigal thinks she’s bisexual. (Invisigal will be graysexual (limited sexual attraction) with very inappropriate humor. Considering my own experience, asexuals having very sexual humor is not as uncommon as you’d think.) For sexualities, Flambae is gay and everyone else is how you imagine them to be.

Not as many goons have Asian / Black facial features. Some, yes; but not everyone. A lot of Shroud’s minions aren’t white, like Toxic who looks Asian. Or even some of the criminals you face like in chapter 1. I feel like the percentage is over 50-60%, but I am not watching this mediocre game a fourth time to determine that. 

Going over some character dialogue changes:

Blonde Blazer becomes more crass and less corporate in her mannerisms when she’s talking with you and/or Invisigal. Invisigal should be having an effect, let us notice that.

Sonar’s less… horny in his dialogue. He still has his drug addict problem, but he’s no longer as horny when it comes to the women. He’s not going to be a complete walking HR violation.

Invisigal is also getting a rewrite; she’s sexually explicit mind you, just less sexual harassment. It’s an ongoing joke in the fandom that she violates a lot of HR rules, and there’s some truth to that. Unfortunately, it is used rather carelessly in my opinion; it’s not used to properly develop her character. 

Prism’s going to be defensive; she’s a pop star, that’s going to come with overactive stans. However, a lot less focus is placed on her anger. I’ve come to realize that when it came to the dialogue people came up for her, they gave her a lot of anger; unfortunately, in the original source material, we mainly saw her angry. There weren’t too many scenes where she was actually talking in a normal mood, which… yeah, that’s being fixed.

Mechaman can now be Wreckawoman! This doesn’t change much, aside from a few dialogue options and interactions. Robert (F) will still be called Robert because her dad assumed that a boy would be born and he was too stubborn to change the name; she prefers Roberta or Robbie. 

Some stuff that goes unchanged:

Invisigal’s smoking with her asthma is a very subtle but also very good way of showing her self-destructive tendencies without it being spelt out.

However, with this being a longer game, we will need some extra gameplay changes. I get the feeling this became popular in the same way a lot of FNAF games did; it has a very short, effective, and simple game loop. There’s nothing wrong with this formula, I’m not bashing such games for doing so; it’s just that they worked under the context of a story being presented in a very short amount of time. Dispatch is a game that could have done this, but only if Z-team had 4-5 members. Regardless, based on the rules, we need to keep all 10. So, I’ve decided to make the following changes:

Heroes can get injured if they’re sent on a mission, even if it succeeds. There’d just be an easier check determining if they succeeded, and a difficult one determining how much they needed to sacrifice to get the job. This seems like a negative, and truth be told, it mostly is; however, it gives characters like Malevola more things to actually do. Additionally, some other characters will get healing perks as well to accommodate for this. (Flambae and Golem. Also, the fact that Waterboy has his Holy Water perk also makes it more enticing.)

All missions will have higher requirements, especially for 3-4 slot missions.

We’re going to remove the auto-fail condition as well; it just punishes you for not knowing what quests are coming up next. 

However, heroes can recover from being downed. It will take longer than a standard rest time, but they can.

There will now be three shifts per episode: morning, afternoon, and evening. Each of these are three hours in-game, roughly speaking. 

I could propose more, but I’m not a game designer; I tried coming up with ideas for second sets of perks, but that took far too long. I feel like that takes away from my focus anyhow; the story. So, any other gameplay changes from here will affect the actual story. But, there will be some important gameplay choices later on.

The structure, with this in mind, will be ‘Intro -> Morning Shift -> Break 1 -> Afternoon Shift -> Break 2 -> Evening Shift -> Conclusion.’ Some episodes, however, will muck up the pattern to make it less predictable. From here on out though, I’ll be referring to ‘Robert’ to make sure I don’t make too many typos.

[becasualcass]

Okay, brain fog is still kicking my ass so please tell me if this is something interesting or if I'm just waffling.

Shroud, in my Community Dispatch rewrite, who while is going after Robert for the Astral pulse is also paid and employed by some high up dickwads in the government to crush the SDN so they no longer have to fund it.

I think it just adds another layer of hypocrisy to Shroud that fits. He calls Z team turncoats while he's crushing a non-profit organization that's there to help anybody it can.

I feel like the hypocrisy is deeper than that, but I'm struggling to put it into words.

[calsotis]

Dispatch Rewrite: Part 1

Oh, I should include a link to the introduction part, right here

So, time to start...

Episode 1: Repivot

Actually unchanged, at least the first half is. There’s nothing wrong with it in my opinion, it does a good job setting who Robert is as a character and what his motivation is in the first place. 

However, we’ll introduce a brief gameplay section: A simple Beat-Em-Up mode. Robert has to sneak through the halls and punch his enemies and various scattered goons, with it ending the same as the original game: Robert beats up Toxic with his mech, though it’s treated as the boss fight of this area. None of the attacks will be complicated, and that’s by design. We don’t want this section to be too hard to program, after all. Additionally, depleting HP bars will result in quick-time cutscenes like in the original game.

We’ll also slightly change the scene after Robert is interviewed as Mecha-Man: Robert will have earbuds that quietly play one of Thot Squad’s songs. In universe, we’ll say Robert listens to rap, something he got into from the beginning of his superhero career. It was a good fight song and it helped him pass the time when making repairs to his mech.

Robert will be a bit more drunk and affected by the alcohol; Blonde Blazer will make a comment that she’s impressed that he’s keeping up with her, and Robert will go, “wha?” in an obviously drunken voice, taking a moment to realize.

First edit here: Blonde Blazer was expecting Robert to drink water, or a mocktail because of how injured he is. Did not expect him to chug an alcohol.

The scene with Flambae’s introduction is mostly unchanged; he has a reason to hate you, but we as the audience don’t know that. Regardless of if it’s Robert or Roberta, he will be throwing a punch… before losing a tooth or burning his eyebrows. 

Blonde Blazer isn’t going to be as friendly outside of the bar; meaning she won’t use “Trouble” like a pet name for Robert. I’m approaching Blonde Blazer as someone who’s insecure and lonely, wanting to connect with someone who seems more regular, someone without powers. She’ll instead just get to the questions while being relatively friendly, she just won’t be a close friend. 

When Robert says that ‘he expected to die in the suit’, it will be played off as a joke where “Hey, looks like I won’t be dying in it anymore!” (Hmm, I wonder if the parallel between him and Invisigal is being set up.)

Blonde Blazer won’t say “I’m not drunk enough to tell my origin story just yet:” She’ll instead deflect by saying, “Oh, I’ve known some others like that, some former friends.” I don’t like direct dialogue like that, and I don’t think anyone would normally say they have an origin story.

Blonde Blazer does not stroke Robert’s cheek or take off his mask. Or sleep on him. That comes at some other point. I do not sleep on people’s necks when I’m on an airplane, I don’t think that’d happen here. Instant-crushes happen, but this feels too unprofessional to express, considering the persona Blonde Blazer has. 

Robert will be a bit more ecstatic about the suit coming back online, or rather, the possibility.