Where is everybody? :: INFRA Story & Lore

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Alyx Freeman has INFRA

21 Apr, 2016 @ 1:00pm

Where is everybody?

I completed the game several times, and this is something it was around my mind all the time. Mark don't find anyone on his "trip", he's practically alone everywhere.

Ok, let's assume there's nobody on the abandoned places for obvious reasons, but what about the pumping station? that place is clearly new (or at least it haves basic manteinance). Even there is a game launched on one of the computers, so probably there were someone right after Mark come to there, why they left?

There is no one also at the hidden home at Stalburg Steel, neither at hacker's den, how convenient. Both of these guys (or girls) were talking on the same chat and seems like they know each other, but suddenly the netlink started to fail and, for some reason, they left their places too.

The cottage behind Stalburg Steel's offices is empty too.

At this point you can say this was just a huge coincidence, but the big part is the Pitheath Plant's Offices. Yes, maybe you arrive out of open hours, but that doesn't explain the control room. That place MUST be in continuous surveillance 24/7, and nobody was there, even Mark mentions it with surprise. The e-mails sent from the office suggests that there was people right there just before we arrive, considering there are different reactions to what we done on the pumping station, so this can't be unintentional.

Also I'm really intrigued about who was shutting down all the flow meters, and why he want to cover the state of the tunnels.

But in the end, where is everybody? Why they left?

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Showing 1-15 of 32 comments

Sebastian Nielsen has INFRA

22 Apr, 2016 @ 12:02am

I don't think they want to cover the state of the tunnels, rather those meters are debit meters to charge for the usage of water. They can also be reverse-charge meters, where the water company (Stalburg Water) pays for the water received. (In the same way people setting up solar cells and sells electricity to the local electricity company gets a reverse-charge meter installed that will count the electricity flowing to the grid).

I think with all the bribes involved before NCG took over, someone were shutting down the water meters to make sure somebody avoid having to pay for the water from/to Stalburg Water. Even if the local city council both "owns" say the tunnels and the water company, its still different accounts and moved "internally" within the council so somebody still has to pay.

Last edited by Sebastian Nielsen; 22 Apr, 2016 @ 12:16am

Night Fury [CZ] has INFRA

22 Apr, 2016 @ 1:10am

yes no peoples its most scary thing in this game :D

Nismo

27 Apr, 2016 @ 10:14am

That's what I thought too. From my first playtrough, I kinda expected a post-apocalyptic or hectic story from then on, seemed like everyone just escaped in fear.

But that was not the reason. It's still a mystery to me.

Alyx Freeman has INFRA

27 Apr, 2016 @ 6:04pm

Originally posted by Sebastian Nielsen:
I don't think they want to cover the state of the tunnels, rather those meters are debit meters to charge for the usage of water. They can also be reverse-charge meters, where the water company (Stalburg Water) pays for the water received. (In the same way people setting up solar cells and sells electricity to the local electricity company gets a reverse-charge meter installed that will count the electricity flowing to the grid).

I think with all the bribes involved before NCG took over, someone were shutting down the water meters to make sure somebody avoid having to pay for the water from/to Stalburg Water. Even if the local city council both "owns" say the tunnels and the water company, its still different accounts and moved "internally" within the council so somebody still has to pay.

I understand what you say, and also was thinking about that at first, but even taking it into consideration I believe there is no charge for water flow volume since it's just water coming from the river of hammer valley (to be more specific, that's what I WANT to believe). But maybe I'm wrong. For some reason I think it's a bit more complicated than what seems to be.

Originally posted by Nismo:
That's what I thought too. From my first playtrough, I kinda expected a post-apocalyptic or hectic story from then on, seemed like everyone just escaped in fear.

But that was not the reason. It's still a mystery to me.

I suppose we'll know it in part 2, but I just wanted to share this with you guys to theorize a bit about it. At this point everything is possible, and devs have a great opportunity with the story progression.

Last edited by Alyx Freeman; 27 Apr, 2016 @ 6:06pm

Sebastian Nielsen has INFRA

27 Apr, 2016 @ 6:17pm

Yeah, I found it unusual to have debit meters on the flow, but It could be reverse charge meters too, eg the dam owner earns money for water sent to Stalburg Water. Thats would suggest why the dam had chutes for the logging company aswell, as the dam owner hires out that space.
That they are debit meters is more confirmed by the large alarm lamp, that serve to detect tampering if the meter is turned off or communication with control room is turned off.

My personal tought is that if the water company just wanted to know the flow in the tunnel, they wouldn't install absolute meters (that count the amount of water flown), rather they would install relative meters (that would indicate m^3/second or m^3/minute or similiar) because such meters would both be easier to maintain, both technically and much easier protocol.

Last edited by Sebastian Nielsen; 27 Apr, 2016 @ 6:39pm

Silent Woodfire has INFRA

13 May, 2016 @ 11:03am

There is evidence that a LOT of people are beign affected by the local brew, and even indicators that people were abandoning work for it.

Mikel S

6 Oct, 2016 @ 3:05pm

Until you get back to the city, most of the locations you visit are abandoned or rural enough that it is plausible not to run into anybody, with the exception of the treatment plant after the tunnel collapse. It is implied by emails and notes that whoever works there had a morning shift, but gave up after realizing just how bad things were.

The water plant you arrive at right after the Steel plant is abandoned because when all the alarms started going off, the careless and drunk employees decided to just abandon ship.

The water treatment plant you arrive at in part 2 is abandoned because they went to check on the cities main input, back at the plant you had visited prior. This is mostly confirmed through emails.

The emptiness of the Metro is part of some sort of coordinated strike to keep people from voting I guess? I'm not sure if those references were to a previous event or the current situation, so I'm not 100% on this one.

Oh, the hackers den. Or, more precisely, the hackers dens. Most of them seem (I believe there are 2 discrete hackers, maybe 3, that you can encounter hideouts of, the obvious one being the den with the traps) aware that something is going on and are either investigating, hiding, or escaping before the ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan.

Pushing it at times, the game manages to explain the emptiness where it is most questionable.

Silent Woodfire has INFRA

13 Oct, 2016 @ 8:24pm

The most people you see (even if you cannot reach them) seems ot be the active protest that shut down the metro station.

Silent Woodfire has INFRA

28 Oct, 2016 @ 10:50am

UPDATE: When you look at files and such now that part 2 is out, you can see evidence that you seem to be masterfully evading whenever certain places shouldve been occupied. Like the first water treatment facility shouldve had 2 guys present (though they mightve been in the tunnels when they collapsed, or just decided to sod off and call it a day), and Pitheath Water Treatment sends a message you can find in part 2 stating that 'Some guy had been here when we were all out and ((depending on what you did in-game))' So again somehow Mark managed to miss everyone that one time that day they were absent...though personally none of those places shouldve been unmanned to begin with.

Alyx Freeman has INFRA

28 Oct, 2016 @ 12:16pm

Well you need to take in consideration that I wrote this when only part 1 was released, now with part 2 all that atmosphere of solitude was a bit diluted with lots of details here and there. I personally think that was a wasted opportunity of something bigger and more mysterious, but maybe and probably that wasn't the intention of the devs in first place.

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