History VideoGame / Starsiege

** The New Terran Defense Force--to hear them tell it--are actually descended from survivors of a TDF rescue expedition that crashed on an orbital station near Neptune. The Empire hires their services to act as a garrison on Titan, rather than stationing actual TDF forces there. (Aside from the Long Patrol, that is.)

** The New Terran Defense Force ([=-NTDF-=]) gets the most attention. Not only do they receive a namedrop in the Compendium and mentions in the in-game Scannex and Timeline, your second mission on Titan requires you to meet up with one of its members, Sgt. Cassell. (The ''actual'' TDF find them to be misfits, as per the namedrop in the Compendium.)

** The Sons of the Brotherhood are another named mercenary group, present for the final battles at Titan, but beyond that nothing more is said about them. Given they appear to show up out of nowhere in the story, it's possible they were another mercenary group hired by the Empire to stand guard over the outer planets. By this point they, much like the Black Death Union, had been reduced to a scant few survivors. (As a note, the player squad [[PromotedFanBoy upon which the Sons of the Brotherhood are based]] had [[http://web.archive.org/web/19991011210045/http://www.vortexstudios.com/brotherhood/history.htm a very different backstory]] for themselves.)

** The [=StormKeepers=] ([=[SK]=]) get mentioned in both the Scannex and Timeline as the Stormkeeper Order, an enigmatic organization that seems to better understand Cybrid society more than other human groups.

** The Sons of the Brotherhood are another named mercenary group, present for the final battles at Titan, but beyond that nothing more is said about them. Given they appear to show up out of nowhere in the story, it's possible they were another mercenary group hired by the Empire to stand guard over the outer planets. By this point they, much like the Black Death Union, had been reduced to a scant few survivors.

* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: The Dies Irae mission, several {{Sleeper Ship}}s launched from Titan to preserve the human race in case the war with the Cybrids is lost. It succeeds in the Human campaign, but in the Cybrid campaign they manage to destroy at least one of the three escaping ships by launching a small asteroid on a collision course.

* StandardSciFiArmy/StandardSciFiFleet: ''All'' military and paramilitary forces in the Great Human Empire fall under the umbrella of the Terran Defense Force. Or, it might be better said, that the armed forces of the Empire are instead referred to as the Terran Defense Force. By the numbers--

* AxCrazy: The Cybrids. Their credo ''is'' "HURT//MAIM//KILL."

* {{Determinator}}: ''Everybody.'' Bonus points go to the Venusian colony of Sa Thauri, one of only two to survive [[RobotWar The Fire.]] They prided themselves in being from "The toughest rathole on Venus." To elaborate, Venus' environment and the lack of [=HERCs=] to go around made it [[CurbStompBattle nigh-impossible for humans there to effectively combat]] the rebel Cybrids, [[WeWait whom wound up parking outside colonies and waiting for]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath them to starve.]] [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty Most colonies did not fare well.]]

* EliteMooks: The Imperial Knights are far better equipped then the police. There's also Prometheus' [[PraetorianGuard Platinum Guard,]] who are mentioned in compendium to be composed of surviving examples of [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld original Cybrids]] from The Fire.

* FanSequel: When it became clear that Sierra (and later Vivendi) had no interest in releasing another HERC-based game, instead focusing on the ''Tribes'' series, ''Starsiege'' veterans banded together to try and develop a direct, chronological sequel called ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD1ZjRtD_PA Starsiege: 2845.]]'' The team included not only well-known community members such as NTDF's Vyper, but also recruited Dynamix alumni such as Blake Hutchins, the writer for ''Starsiege'' and ''Tribes''. Unfortunately, even though Sierra (and Vivendi) supported development of SS: 2845, the project languished in DevelopmentHell and was eventually cancelled.

* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: The Dies Irae mission, several {{Sleeper Ship}}s launched from Titan to preserve the human race in case the war with the Cybrids is lost.

** The schoolyard chants featured in the opening pages of the Compendium (and one in the OpeningMonologue, as seen at the top of this page) are said to be "circa 2800." They appear to summarize Emperor Petresun's Fortress Proclamation, the subsequent rebellion on Mars, the Imperial strikeforce sent to put the rebellion down, and the Cybrids capitalizing on this opening to strike Earth--all of which happen between 2828 and 2829 in-universe. Depending on how accurate that "circa" dating is, these chants were ''quite'' prophetic.

** Though uncommon, Imperial organizations are sometimes referred to as "the Wings," as they often use wings in their logos. As for Terran Defense Force personnel in general--be they Imperial Legionnaires, the Navy, Police, Orbital Guard, or Knights--they're occasionally referred to as "Teddies."

* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Early in the game, the Cybrids are shown to have a very poor understanding of English, and use a lot of bizarre (but still intelligible) vocabulary when trying to communicate their invitations to surrender to the humans. They get better over time, and by the end of the game are speaking perfectly. When playing as a Cybrid, some members of your <unit> (particularly [[CloudCuckoolander <pLaGUe-DoG>]]) chatter includes odd phrasing and out-of-place pop culture references, owing to their immature alien understanding of human language and culture.

* NearVillainVictory: Twice humanity defeated the Cybrids in situations that seemed impossible for the Cybrids to lose. During The Fire and the first [=EarthSiege=], Cybrid forces comprised most of the meta-nation militaries as the meta-nats retired human forces to rely on Cybrids alone. Thus, when Prometheus started The Fire, it seemed that the Cybrids would effortlessly purge any human resistance. It was in fact sheer luck that a RagTagBunchOfMisfits in the form of veteran HERC pilots at a decommissioned base managed to form the Terran Defense Force and claw humanity BackFromTheBrink to live another day. In ''Starsiege'', while the Cybrids crippled Earth's defenses and killed their nemesis Petresun, the suicidal "one final chance" human assault on Pluto--an act of pure desperation--beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus, causing a civil war between loyal "Promethean" Cybrids and the Metagens.

* RoboSpeak: The Cybrids communicate at the speed of wireless Internet with one another, but when speaking to humans they do this, using a unique grammar system complete with CreepyMonotone. Proper nouns and, sometimes, pronouns are encapsulated in inequality signs, such as ''[=<First-Thought>=]'' and ''[=<Giver-of-Will>=]'' for Prometheus. Names and concepts are sometimes compounded together with backslashes, such as ''Homeworld\\Desire'' for Earth. Actions also get compounded with regular slashes, such as the ubiquitous Cybrid greeting and sign-off, "ACKNOWLEDGE//SUBMIT!"

* SecretPolice: The Cybrid Exemplar Sect.

** As for battles involving the Cybrids, that suicidal tendency among human AI pilots isn't so much overconfidence as it is ''determination''. Every human knows what's in store if the Cybrids win.

* NearVillainVictory: Cybrids were at least twice defeated in situations that seemed impossible for them to lose. During the Fire and the first [=EarthSiege=], Cybrid forces comprised most of the meta-nation militaries as the meta-nats retired human forces to rely on Cybrids alone. It was in fact sheer luck that a RagTagBunchofMisfits in the form of veteran HERC pilots at a decommissioned base managed to form the Terran Defense Force and claw humanity BackFromTheBrink to live another day. In ''{{VideoGame/StarSiege}}'' , while crippling Earth's defenses and killing their nemesis Petresun, the suicidal "one final chance" assault on Pluto--an act of pure human desperation--beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus and causing a civil war between loyalist Cybrids and Metagens.

* MessianicArchetype: Jake Hunter, the protagonist of ''Hunter Hunted'', is a messianic figure by the time of ''Starsiege''; there's a whole "Hunterite" religion devoted to him with a "Book of Hunter" formatted in the style of TheBible. Many characters swear in his ''and'' Christ's name. As for why--when the Masters brought about the Devastation leaving few humans alive, Jake fought in a massive tournament against them with the aid of [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent Garathe Den]]. The two escaped, thus solving "the riddle" and forcing the Masters to leave. After bringing people together and laying the groundwork for rebuilding, he and Garathe then left to defeat the aliens on the far side of the moon.

** Petresun was also a Big Good in the time of the ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games--but it is only in Starsiege's RetCon that we learn of his role during The Fire. He and his Immortals are probably who Gierling refers to whenever talking about the TDF's Intelligence unit. In the Compendium we learn that Petresun worked very hard to save humanity from his rebel creation, and this is what makes him a FallenHero by the time of ''Starsiege''.

** As such, the protagonist of ''Hunter Hunted'', Jake Hunter, is considered a messianic figure by the time of ''Starsiege''; there's a whole "Hunterite" religion devoted to him, and many characters swear in his ''and'' Christ's name. Why? Because he fought in a massive tournament against the Masters, escaped, thus solving "the riddle" and forcing the aliens to leave. After bringing people together and laying the groundwork for rebuilding, he then left to defeat the aliens on the far side of the moon.

** BigGood: Petresun was one in time of ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games, working very hard to save humanity from his rebel creation, what makes him FallenHero at the times of Starsiege events.
*** Ambrose Gierling, supreme commander of the Terran Defence Force, is another BigGood of the EarthSiege era.

* CataclysmBackstory: On several levels. The SharedUniverse created by ''Starsiege'' and ''Starsiege: Tribes'' changes the ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games into an apocalyptic RobotWar, rather than a Robot War fought after an apocalyptic WorldWarIII. More importantly, however, the Shared Universe places ''Hunter Hunted'' as ''the'' cataclysmic backstory to ''all'' games in the universe. In that game, an alien race known as "the Masters" swiftly conquer Earth, drastically reducing the human population to a scant few survivors.

* ContinuityNod: Despite the SharedUniverse RetCon, many details from ''[=EarthSiege=]'' and ''[=EarthSiege 2=]'' remained intact and used as-is. The "On-Line Manual" for ''[=EarthSiege 2=]'' details Sentinel Cybertronix, Inc. as the creator of Prometheus and the Cybrids, for example. And of course, Prometheus is the BigBad of both games, explicitly mentioned by General Gierling in-game. Both ''Starsiege's'' Compendium and in-game timeline depicts the events of The Fire as they appeared in ''[=EarthSiege=]'', right down to sporting the TDF's original emblems.

* DarkestHour: First EarthSiege game starts during The Fire event, at point when humanity is besieged in starving cities, with Cybrids winning war all across the board.

** If you're from Earth, expect to get called "dirtborn" or "dirtboy" by colonials. If you're Martian, expect to be disparagingly called "dustrag" by Imperials. If you're Venusian, you'll be called a "Veen," and if you're from Titan, an "icegrub."

** Though uncommon, Imperial organizations are sometimes referred to as "the Wings," as they often use wings in their logos. As for the Terran Defense Force, they're occasionally referred to as "Teddies."

* GenreShift: As ''Starsiege'' and its companion game ''Starsiege: Tribes'' welded together a number of other series into a SharedUniverse, one can see changes in gameplay and scope take place throughout the in-universe timeline. By the numbers--

* NearVillainVictory: Cybrids were at least twice defeated in situations that seemed impossible for them to lose. In EarthSiege 1 humanity had all their armies on Earth rebel or obliterated and had to rely on RagTagBunchofMisfits to make impressive BackFromTheBrink to live another day. And in ''{{VideoGame/StarSiege}}'' , while having defence of the Earth crippled and their nemesis Petresun killed, the suicidal "one final chance" assault on Pluto, being the act of pure human desperation, beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus and causing civil war between loyalist Cybrids and Metagens.

* SharedUniverse: ''Starsiege'' and its companion game ''Starsiege: Tribes'' together created a comprehensive {{Retcon}} that tied together a number of titles and series, some which dated well before the first ''Metaltech'' title. The amount of titles tied together this way is quite impressive, second only to Namco-Bandai's United Galaxy Space Force timeline. By the numbers--
** The original ''[=Metaltech=]'' subseries is a set of relatively small-scale and comparatively realistic RealRobot military simulators. Before the {{Retcon}}, the plot of the the two ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games held that the apocalyptic decimation of humanity was self-inflicted via a nuclear war over ''who'' got to control and develop Cybrid technology. The Cybrids saw mankind as unfit to be their masters as a result, and proceeded to (try and) wipe out the survivors. (''Metaltech: Battledrome'' is unconnected to this plot, and probably represents a time just before the [=EarthSieges=].)
** The ''VideoGame/CyberStorm'' subseries is of a different genre (turn-based strategy) entirely. Originally a DistantSequel of ''[=EarthSiege 2=]'' on an interstellar scale, the ''[=CyberStorm=]'' subseries instead helped bridge the gap between ''Starsiege'' and ''Tribes''. The {{Retcon}} also changed the [=BioDerms=], who originally debuted in the first ''Cyberstorm'' game, into a midway transition between the cybernetically-converted convicts of ''Starsiege'' and the bio-engineered creations of ''Tribes 2''.
** The ''{{VideoGame/Tribes}}'' subseries represents the ''really'' far future of the SharedUniverse, quite distinct from all the other games that came before. Here the events of previous games happen before the Diaspora that leads to the development of the Tribes, with ''[=CyberStorm=]'s'' sequel happening roughly fifty years before the Diaspora specifically.
** ''VideoGame/HunterHunted'', implicitly tied into the backstory via the Starsiege Compendium, is one of several titles that had absolutely no prior connection to the Shared Universe whatsoever. It now serves as the PointOfDivergence for the entire SharedUniverse, being responsible for the Devastation and the way the world developed in its wake. The alien technology caches in ''Starsiege'' are heavily suspected in-setting to be the work of either protagonist Jake Hunter, the Masters, or both.
** Dynamix folded a whole originally-unrelated sci-fi tank simulation series into the setting with the inclusion of ''{{VideoGame/Stellar 7}}'' and its sequels ''Arcticfox'', ''Nova 9: The Return of Gir Draxon'', and ''Stellar 7: Draxon's Revenge''. Gir Draxon, the antagonist of that series and Supreme Overlord of the Arcturus Empire, had been retconned into the leader of the [=BioDerm=] rebellion against the Great Human Empire. The events of these games are mentioned taking place some fifty years before ''Tribes 2'', and are meant to partially explain why the Empire hasn't attempted to pacify the Wilderzone with [=HERCs=] and other heavy weaponry.

** Though this stretches the definition of "computer virus," Prometheus employed "daemons" during the Shadow War for social engineering purposes--attempting to influence public opinion to loosening restrictions on AI. Prometheus' goal was to eventually get the NAP to give IT enough autonomy that it could openly wage war on humans.

* GuiltFreeExterminationWar: Neither Cybrids nor humans feel any sympathy towards their adversaries and are ready to continue the war until one side drops dead.

* MercyKill: Harabec has to remind everyone that anyone captured by the Cybrids should be shot without hesitation. Not just because they might be turned into TrojanHorse infiltrators, but because whatever happens to them after that point is a FateWorseThanDeath.

* ContinuityNod: {{Retcon}} or not, the Compendium depicts [=HERCs=] during the events of The Fire as they appeared in ''[=EarthSiege=].'' And Prometheus was mentioned by name in the intro to ''[=EarthSiege 2=]''. His role is greatly expanded here.
* ComputerVirus: Prometheus gradually eroded human control of IT and the Cybrids by seeding computer "Deamons" throughout the internet.
** This comes back to bite IT much later, however, as the humans take a liking to the tactic and start flooding the Cybrid Command Network with viruses at every possible chance in the ''[=EarthSieges=]''. An early ''[=EarthSiege=] 2'' level sees the very first computer virus you upload turn what is otherwise a very difficult and desperate effort to defend a base into a mission you can basically relax in, as most of the Cybrids affected by the virus become confused [[EnemyCivilWar and start shooting each other while perceiving the humans as friendly]].

* GuiltFreeExterminationWar: Neither Cybrids nor humans feel any sympathy towards the opposing forcess and are ready to continue war until one side drops dead.

** BigGood: Petresun was one in time of ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games, working very hard to save humanity from his rebeled creation, what makes him FallenHero at the times of Starsiege events.

* NearVillainVictory: Cybrids were at least twice defeated in situations that seemed impossible for them to lose. In EarthSiege 1 humanity had all their armies on Earth rebelled or obliterated and had to rely on RagTagBunchofMisfits to make impressive BackFromTheBrink to live another day. And in ''{{VideoGame/StarSiege}}'' , while having defence of the Earth crippled and their nemesis Petresun killed, the suicidal "one final chance" assault on Pluto, being the act of pure human desperation, beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus and causing civil war between loyalist Cybrids and Metagens.

* NearVillainVictory: Cybrids were at least twice defeated in situations that seemed imposiible for them to lose. In EarthSiege 1 humanity had all their armies on Earth rebeled or obliterated and had to rely on RagTagBunchofMisfits to make impressive BackFromTheBrink to live another day. And in ''{{VideoGame/StarSiege}}'' , while having defence of the Earth crippled and their nemesis Petresun killed, the suicidal "one final chance" assault on Pluto, being the act of pure human desperation, beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus and causing civil war between loyalist Cybrids and Metagens.

* NearVillainVictory: Cybrids were at least twice defeated in situations that seemed imposiible for them to lose. In EarthSiege 1 humanity had all their armies on Earth rebeled or obliterated and had to rely on RagTagBunchofMisfits to make impressive BackFromTheBrink to live another day. And in ''{{VideoGame/StarSiege}}'' , while having defence of the Earth crippled and their nemesis Petresun killed, the suicidal "one final chance" assault on Pluto, being the act of pure desperation, beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus and causing civil war between loyalist Cybrids and Metagens.

* DarkestHour: First EarthSiege game takes place during The Fire event, where humanity is besieged in starving cities with Cybrids winning war all across the board.

* NearVillainVictory: Cybrids were at least twice defeated in situations that seemed imposiible for them to lose. In EarthSiege 1 humanity had all their armies on Earth rebeled or obliterated and had to rely on RagTagBunchofMisfits to make impressive BackFromTheBrink to live another day. And in ''{{VideoGame/StarSiege}}'' , while having defence of the Earth crippled and their nemesis Petresun killed, the desperate final assault on Pluto beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus and causing civil war between loyalist Cybrids and Metagens.

* NearVillainVictory: Cybrids were at least twice defeated in situations that seemed imposiible for them to lose. In EarthSiege 1 humanity had all their armies on Earth obliterated and had to rely on RagTagBunchofMisfits to make impressive BackFromTheBrink and live day. And in StarSiege, while having defence of the Earth crippled and their nemesis Petresun killed, the desperate final assault on Pluto beheaded their command structure by destroying Prometheus and causing civil war between loyalist Cybrids and Metagens.

* CataclysmBackstory: On several levels. The SharedUniverse created by ''Starsiege'' and ''Starsiege: Tribes'' changes the ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games into an apocalyptic RobotWar, rather than a Robot War fought after an apocalyptic WorldWarThree. More importantly, however, the Shared Universe places ''Hunter Hunted'' as ''the'' cataclysmic backstory to ''all'' games in the universe. In that game, an alien race known as "the Masters" swiftly conquer Earth, drastically reducing the human population to a scant few survivors.

* BrainUploading: The minds of Solomon Petresun and a number of his most loyal confidants, collectively called "The Immortals," were transferred onto cybernetic substrates that render them, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin immortal.]] This is what enables Petresun to continue his reign as emperor for two centuries, though his body continually decays and has to be hooked up to increasingly complex life support devices (to avoid the personality "bleed" effect that goes with taking a new body, he refuses to do so). It's also the cause of much {{Angst}} for his son Victor, who also underwent this process.

* GoldenAge: The time before The Fire was considered one of these: [[MeaningfulName The Age of Hope,]] an age of high technology. [[BigBad Prometheus]] [[EndOfAnAge brought that to a violent end.]]

** The Peace Childer movement also helped foment animosity between colonials and Earthlings. Their rejection of technology drowned out those who called for relief missions to help any survivors on the other planets--something that the colonials, particularly the Venusians, would not easily forget. (''Especially'' when, once help finally arrived, returning corporations and the Imperials acted like nothing had happened and reasserted Earth control of colonial holdings.)

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The Cybrid campaign's version of the in-game timeline explicitly refers to the NAP requisitioning Prometheus and using IT to create expendable Cybrid pilots for the War Economy as "rape." This also overlaps with SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil and WhatMeasureIsANonHuman, because the timeline says Prometheus considered the Cybrids "children born into slavery."

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Prometheus and his Platinum Guard, because they're robots. Petresun and his inner circle thanks to [[BrainUploading their organimech brains]]. Since Petresun eschews {{Body Surf}}ing and instead is reliant [[ManInTheMachine extensive life support machinery]] to preserve his body, [[AgeWithoutYouth Petresun looks his age]]. The other Immortals routinely get new bodies to preserve their youth and ability.
* RedBaron: As noted in the Compendium, Imperial Knights receive a nickname of this caliber upon initiation. A short story penned by the writer for ''Starsiege'', for the aborted fan sequel ''Starsiege: 2845'', explicitly called this "nom de geurre." This notably averts the real-world military tradition of assigning {{Embarrassing Nickname}}s to new blood, although a short story in ''Starseige's'' manual shows that such things still happen among the common rank-and-file.
* RestrainingBolt: "Behavior inhibition programming" (or "BIP") in the Compendium is mentioned as another component of converting someone into a [=BioDerm=]. The Compendium also notes that [=BioDerms=] might require "rebipping" if injured or stressed.

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Prometheus and his Platinum Guard, because they're robots. Petresun and his inner circle thanks to [[BrainUploading their organimech brains]]. Since Petresun eschews {{Body Surf}}ing and instead is reliant [[ManInTheMachine extensive life support machinery]] to preserve his body, [[AgeWithoutYouth Petresun looks his age]]. The other immortals routinely get new bodies to preserve their youth and ability.

* SuicidalOverconfidence: All computer controlled AI deeply enjoy wandering away from the group and getting themselves killed; nobody really knows when to stop until they're near fatally damaged; and even if you're a group consisting of heavy vehicles with the deadliest weapons, an extremely poorly armed Talon still thinks he can take you.

* WorthyOpponent: For all of ITS hatred of humanity, Prometheus developed a grudging respect for [[FourStarBadass Ambrose Gierling]] over the course of the two ''[=EarthSiege=]s'', and upon hearing of his death, had him noted in the "Great Record" as being a key contributor to the evolution of the Cybrids.

* AfterTheEnd: The ''EarthSiege'' games preceding ''Starsiege'' already depicted a world laid low by WorldWarIII--but the comprehensive {{Retcon}} that changed the story of the ''EarthSiege'' games from a nuclear apocalypse to a robot uprising created a SharedUniverse with multiple franchises created a ''second'' apocalyptic event in the distant past by including the events of ''Hunter Hunted'' as the "Devastation."

* BecomingTheMask: See IHateYouVampireDad below. When addressed by his birth name, Harabec retorts, saying ThatManIsDead and that he is Harabec Weathers now, embracing the body and face he currently possesses. Ironically, [[spoiler:it is Harabec who is dead, and the [[BrainUploading uploaded consciousness]] of Victor Petresun is occupying his body.]] In an effort to demonstrate just how much he hates his father, he goes to Mars and incites a revolt there under the name "Bek Storm."

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: The "Methuselah" Process created a [[BrainUploading removable, digital consciousness]] for it's recipient, to be placed in new bodies as the old ones wore out. An unforeseen side effect called "[[GeneticMemory Cell-Memory Drift]]" (CMD) meant that these new bodies could cause anything from personality changes to outright madness. It's implied that this is why Petresun never changed bodies, and that it's partly responsible for [[spoiler: Victor Petresun [[BecomingTheMask embracing the identity]] of Harabec Weathers.]]
* {{Cyborg}}: The "Immortals", given their [[BrainUploading digitized consciousness.]] Much later, there were the [=BioDerms=], hormonally and cybernetically reconditioned criminals used for hard labor. The name was chosen mostly because it sounded nothing like "Cybrid."

* ImmortalRuler: EmperorScientist Solomon Petresun lived and ruled Earth for at least several centuries via BrainUploading technology he invented. He also extended this privilege to his most trusted advisors.

* CassandraTruth: After their mental link, Petresun realized how alien Prometheus truly was and tried to warn the North American government of IT's mad plans. He was ignored.

* AfterTheEnd: The ''Metaltech'' series preceding ''Starsiege'' already depicted a world laid low by a RobotWar--from which humanity took centuries to recover--but the comprehensive {{retcon}} that created a SharedUniverse with multiple franchises created a ''second'' apocalyptic event in the distant past by including the events of ''Hunter Hunted'' as "The Devastation."

* FinalBoss: Prometheus. "The Big Glitch itself," as Harabec calls IT. IT engages you in a unique warform that resembles depictions of IT in the compendium. [[ThatOneBoss IT's also tough as shit.]]

* IHateYouVampireDad: [[AllThereInTheManual the compendium]] reveals that Harabec Weathers is in fact [[spoiler: Victor Petresun, the emperor's son. Victor's brain, like his father's, underwent the [[BrainUploading "Methuselah" process.]] The real Harabec Weathers [[FateWorseThanDeath suffered irreparable brain damage]] in an accident as a child in 2801, his brain was replaced with Victor's, and Victor [[NightmareFuel grew up living a lie.]] Not even Caanon knows who he really is. Victor despises his father, one of his reasons for going to Mars and inciting a revolt. Furthermore, Victor strongly suspects that that accident which put his brain into Harabec Weather's body wasn't.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Solomon Petresun created Prometheus, the first AI. Prometheus, in turn, designed the [[BrainUploading "immortal" brain system]] [[{{Immortality}} that preserves]] Petresun and his inner circle. Both would come to regret their actions. On a grander scale, Earth's abandonment of the colonies during The Fire created lingering colonial resentment and eventually rebellion against TheEmpire.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Most of Petresun's scheming and empire-building was for the purposes of defending humanity from Prometheus and ITS minions. This was also the driving force behind the Fortification Proclamation, and the stripping of colonial resources, he reasoned that Earth was far more valuable to human survival then Mars, Venus or the outer moons. [[LaResistance For obvious reasons, this didn't sit well with a lot of people.]]

* IronicEcho: When Petresun brought Prometheus online in 2471, he claimed IT would "[[RuleOfSymbolism spark a new fire for civilization.]]" The Cybrid rebellion would later be called "The Fire."

* MegaCorp: Prior to Petresun and the Cybrid rebellions, the Earth was divided amongst six powerful meta-national conglomerates, themselves a merging of warlords and arms dealers in the wake of [[VideoGame/HunterHunted The Devastation]]. The North American Prefecture (NAP) bought out Petresun's company when his immortality research spooked investors and the money dried up. NAP's funding and a need to perpetuate WarForFunAndProfit while decreasing loss of life led to the development of the Cybrids. The other nations included United Africa, Pacific Rim Community, European Alliance, Inca-Brazil Axis, and [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld Greater China]]--all of which participated in the same "War Economy."

* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: The series went from ''[=Metaltech: EarthSiege=]'' to ''[=EarthSiege 2=]'' to ''Starsiege'', plus the various spinoffs. Initially, ''Starsiege'' was set to carry on the ''[=EarthSiege=]'' name as ''[=EarthSiege 3: Future Wars=]'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bOhY-0PtlY as this early trailer]] indicates. By the time of the first Alpha Tech Release, it had been renamed to ''[=EarthSiege 3: Starsiege=]'', and then finally ''Starsiege''.

* RobotWar: A core theme of this game, its predecessors ''[=Metaltech: EarthSiege=]'' and ''[=EarthSiege 2=]'', as well as the chronological sequel ''[=Missionforce: CyberStorm=]''. Per the {{retcon}}, the ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games now (partially) encompass a period known as The Fire, starting in 2602 when the Cybrids first rebelled. Though the end of the first ''[=EarthSiege=]'' in 2622 brought a brief reprieve to Earth, the second [=EarthSiege=] began in 2624 when Prometheus rallied off-world Cybrid forces for a second assault, and only ended in 2627 when ITS moonbase was destroyed.

** The original ''[=Metaltech=]'' subseries is a set of relatively small-scale and comparatively realistic RealRobot military simulators. Before the {{Retcon}}, the plot of the the two ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games held that the apocalyptic decimation of humanity was self-inflicted via a nuclear war over ''who'' got to control and develop Cybrid technology. The Cybrids saw mankind as unfit to be their masters as a result, and proceeded to (try and) wipe out the survivors. (''Metaltech: Battledrome'' is unconnected to this plot, and probably represents a time just before [=EarthSieges=].)

** ''VideoGame/HunterHunted'', implicitly tied into the backstory via the Starsiege Compendium, is one of several titles that had absolutely no prior connection to the Shared Universe whatsoever. It now serves as the PointOfDivergence for the entire SharedUniverse, being responsible for The Devastation and the way the world developed in its wake. The alien technology caches in ''Starsiege'' are heavily suspected in-setting to be the work of either protagonist Jake Hunter, the Masters, or both.

* WorldWarIII: Before the {{Retcon}}, this is what led to the ruined state of the world seen in the ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games. After the {{Retcon}}, once the world recovered from the Age of Devastation seen in ''VideoGame/HunterHunted'', the resulting "meta-nations" of Earth fight a perpetual war with each other--with the only real goal being to keep their respective economies booming. Interestingly, this is known to everyone and is openly referred to as the War Economy. It's also why the North American Prefecture was so interested in replacing human pilots with Cybrids, so that the wars can rage on without loss of human life. [[RobotWar (Oops.)]]