"Pull the view back inside the hive city," Medici commanded.
The virtual scene shifted instantly, zooming from the cold expanse of space, plunging sharply downward into the depths of that desolate hive city.
The light dimmed abruptly.
Only sporadic flickering fault lights and the eerie glow leaking from pipes barely illuminated the twisted, corroded metal corridors and collapsed concrete structures.
The air seemed thick with a mixture of dust, machine oil, and something else... an indescribable biological decay.
"Life here hasn't been completely extinguished," Medici's voice echoed in the darkness with an unsettling calm, revealing the horror within.
"Lurking here is a group of xenos called 'Genestealers.'"
As he described them, twisted figures took shape in the dark corners.
They roughly maintained a humanoid outline, but the details were bone-chilling: pale skin, hunched postures, and most critically, an abnormal second pair of skeletal arms protruding from beneath their shoulder blades!
A thick, powerful tail swayed restlessly behind them.
Their faces still faintly resembled human features, but their eyes were hollow, mouths slightly agape, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
"They were once human," Medici revealed the tragic origin.
"Due to the influence of certain... forces I'm not ready to disclose yet, their bodies underwent horrifying mutations."
He deliberately held back the foreshadowing about the Tyranids; that would be part of a grander narrative.
"Ironically, these xenos haven't completely abandoned their past faith.
They still remember the 'Emperor,' but their object of worship has been twisted. They worship the 'Four-Armed Emperor.'" A concept filled with blasphemy and tragedy was laid bare.
"Their social structure is, in some ways, even more... 'progressive' than the rigid Imperium."
Medici used a term dripping with irony. "Led by the most powerful 'Patriarch' or spiritual leader 'Cult Leader,' the entire brood hides in the shadows of the hive depths, like a lurking cancer, slowly and steadily expanding."
AI Cortana worked efficiently, rapidly constructing a complete model system for the Genestealer faction:
• Genestealer Hybrids: Numerous in number, with four-armed claws as their primary weapons, frenzied and bloodthirsty.
• Purestrain Genestealers: Larger and stronger, with thicker carapaces, serving as the backbone warriors of the group.
• Genestealer Patriarch: Massive as a small tank, with heavy armor plating, claws and tail spikes capable of tearing through light vehicles.
• Genestealer Cult Leader: Draped in a "luxurious robe" cobbled together from scrap fabric and metal scraps, mimicking Imperial ecclesiastical vestments, wielding a staff embedded with unknown crystals, capable of releasing weak psychic powers to inspire the brood.
Next, Medici began constructing the attacking faction: the Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii.
"In contrast to the biological horror of the Genestealers, the Adeptus Mechanicus represents cold mechanical fanaticism."
The Skitarii models appeared on the opposite end of the scene:
• Servitors: Endless in number. Most had been modified to retain only the bare minimum life-support systems, their torsos and limbs replaced by cold machinery, wielding simple laser weapons or serving as meat shields. They had no self-awareness, merely consumable units executing programs.
• Skitarii: Retaining more flesh, but still heavily mechanized, equipped with radium carbines, plasma weapons, and more. They were both technicians and combat personnel.
• Tech-Priests: More advanced cyborgs with multiple mechanical tentacles and tools, capable of efficiently repairing vehicles and mechanical units, as well as wielding powerful arc weapons or data-attacks to disrupt enemies.
• Ironstrider: Bipedal walking fortresses, equipped with twin-linked heavy stubbers or neutron lasers, serving as powerful fire platforms.
"The Adeptus Mechanicus's confidence lies in their overwhelming firepower and endless mechanical tide," Medici explained.
"Furthermore, because they worship the 'Machine God,' their combat personnel typically possess basic mechanical maintenance skills, essentially making everyone half an engineer, able to perform emergency repairs on vehicles and teammates' mechanical components on the battlefield."
After introducing the two drastically different new factions, Medici revealed the most revolutionary change in this update:
"This time, I'm completely abandoning the traditional single-class system."
His words were decisive.
"Players will no longer merely play as soldiers charging into battle. They can choose to serve as small-unit commanders."
The scene shifted, displaying two different command interfaces.
Genestealer Faction:
• Players can choose to play as a "Purestrain Genestealer Squad Leader."
• Authority: Direct command of an assault squad composed of 20 to 30 Genestealer Hybrids.
• Gameplay: The player themselves is a powerful elite unit, while also needing to macro-manage their hybrids' attack directions, focus-fire targets, and even issue simple flanking or ambush orders. The player's survival is paramount; once killed, their squad falls into chaos.
Adeptus Mechanicus Faction:
• Players can choose to play as a Tech-Priest.
• Authority: Command a reconnaissance detachment consisting of 10 to 30 Servitors, plus possibly 1-2 Skitarii or light combat robots.
• Gameplay: The player is vital technical support and core firepower, needing to properly allocate Servitors for frontline blocking and damage output, utilize their own skills to repair units, hack environmental facilities, or operate heavy weapons. The player's commands determine the squad's survival efficiency and tactical execution.
"This will completely transform the gameplay experience," Medici concluded, his eyes gleaming with challenge. "Players will need a more macro battlefield perspective and tactical thinking.
You're no longer just responsible for yourself, but for the survival of an entire squad. Victory will depend far more on command and coordination, not just shooting skills."
He seemed to already envision players in the new mode, operating their powerful commander units in combat while shouting orders at their AI squadmates.
It would be an experience closer to the brutal essence of warfare in the Warhammer universe: the fusion of individual prowess with massive-scale military engagements.
"The shadow of the dead hive city has been cast," Medici murmured, like a proclamation.
"Now, we only await the fearless explorers and lurking xenos to stage a new round of survival combat in this steel tomb."