Here’s my idea on implementation so far:
Articles each have a unique id (possibly composed from the period followed by the article number)… This will be used to retrieve the article text when reading the Newspaper. If objects can recall the items used to create them, then a series of ‘articles’ are randomly created from a single period-pool, then combined to create a newspaper from that period… If they don’t, then when they are chosen, their ids are seperated by commas and stored as a single value on the newspaper (like other values such as how many charges on item has)
OLD CONTENT (NOT LORE FRIENDLY, TOO REVEALING)
[spoiler]
Year 0 DDA (Year 0 of ‘Dark Days Ahead’) - Most common
- “PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: ‘Dispose of dead’. If you have no choice but to fight a zombie, use a sharp knife to butcher them to pieces after. ‘They can revive in 12 hours if not properly destroyed’ says emergency spokemen”
- PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUCEMENT: ‘Towns declared Unsafe’. Do not try to defend your property in towns, Zombies may be attracted to smell, please retreat to your nearest Evac centre outside town and await extraction.
- “MONSERT MASH-UP: Mutations associated with Cannibal Cold are escalating, causing Zombies to speciate into new types, ‘Brutes’ with extreme strength, ‘Spitters’ which throw acid and ‘Zombie Toughs’ whose skin acts as armor.”
- “ZOMBIES - BAD TO WORSE: New types seen, in addition to Brutes, Spitters & Toughs, we now have reports of ‘Shockers’ which cause lightning fields and reports of mobile clouds of smoke which may be caused by new mutations.”
Year 4 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 4 year before) - Most rare
- “WORLD OF POSSIBILITY: Portal generators open ‘holes’ to new world, expected to solve peak-oil and provide new opions for genetic study. ‘It’s already given us’”
- "HE WILL BLOW YOUR WORLD: Scientist Kevin Granade invents ‘Reality Grenade’ based on portal-tech… Could be used to weaken enemies or improve own troops. ‘We’re still in Alpha testing’ says Kevin, ‘It really needs a Bugfix’.
- “A WHOLE NEW YOU! Augment your world with CBMs! This ad features a man covered in solar panels with a miniture flashlight in the midle of his head.”
- “The Future… powered by COFFEE! Atomic industries brings you the greatest revolution since Espresso. Why wait for milk to boil? Have your coffee ready instantly with the power of THE ATOM! (powered by plutonium fuel-cell)”
- “Securibots: Keeping your home safe, ready the second the alarm goes off… Who needs people?”
- “ROBOT HOLOCAUST: Protesters were gunned down with no survivors today outside a Military base with new automated turrets. ‘We warned them, turrets will open fire on anyone without a military ID badge’ a general said.”
Year 3 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 3 year before) - Less rare
- “RACE TO DISCOVER: Scientists discovered whole new races after venturing through portals. We call them blobs, contrary to appearence they are quite intelligent. No news on what breakhroughs to expect.”
- “DIGGING UP PLANT-PEOPLE: After discovering ‘blobs’ Scientists discovered another species they call Triffids. ‘They are inexorably linked to plant life arround them and may help us reverse climate change’ says scientist”
- “NEVER BE LEFT IN THE DARK! New Atomic-nightlight uses ‘inexhaustable’ plutonium fuel cell, provides light, feeds power back into your grid!”
- “Sick of FUEL PRICES? Bus stops too far? Get your driving fix from THE SUN! Solar powered electric cars: Silent, Cheap, Powerful.”
- "GRANADE SEEKS FUNDING FOR GRANADE: Kevin Granade seeks funding for reality-warping weapon called ‘the Granade’. ‘It works by patching reality. I’m thinking of crowdsourcing via Kickstarter under the term Project Cataclysm’
Year 2 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 2 year before) - Less Common
- “MUTANT COLD: Scientists have isolated a new version of the common cold, ‘It’s completely non-fatal, but can cause serious mutations and violent fits for elderly or young, please renew your vaccinations’ says scientist”
- “NEW COLD CAUSES CANNIBALISM: Leaked documents show those heavily infected by the mutant cold often go insane and start attempting to eat people. ‘Only those who suffer serious trauma undergo this change’ says hospital official.”
- “BLOBS SWAP DNA: After being long kept under wraps, Scientists revealed that blobs exchange genetic material and mutate. ‘It’s exciting, this is exactly the mechanism we need to design our genetic infusions’ says Scientist”
- “ROGUE PORTALS - TRUE OR FALSE? Civilians report portals opening randomly in the countryside. A sceptic expert claims ‘This is highly unlikely, like UFO hysteria they are thinking about portals because they are in the news’”
Year 1 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 1 year before) - More Common
- CANNIBAL COLD CAUSES ‘ZOMBIES’: Those who survived Cannibal Cold may express the disease later, victims who suffer near death events recover through mutation and become violent if intact. “No cause for panic” says General."
- ZOMBIES ROAM STREETS: Accidental deaths may result in victims returning from the dead (see Cannibal Cold) causing traffic accidents and homicides raising more. “Shooting sick people is still murder” says general"
- 'LEAVE ZOMBIES ALONE – GENERAL: ‘Do not attempt to deal with zombies yourself, our troops have the CBMs and Mutagens for military action, civilians may attract more zombies than they can kill with the noise of a shotgun’"
- “GENERAL SAYS AVOID BUNKERS: Do not attempt to flee to your nearest military bunker, understaffed bunkers are defended by Turrets which shoot those without Military ID. ‘We expect Evac shelters done in 3 months’ says official”
- “ROGUE TRIFFIDS: TRUE OR FALSE? Civilians claim to have seen rogue Triffids hiding in the forest. Expert scientists insist ‘That is impossible, we keep the Triffids we brought through under lock and key’”[/spoiler]
NEW CONTENT
[spoiler]
Year 0 DDA (Year 0 of ‘Dark Days Ahead’) - Most common [14 Potential Articles]
[spoiler] - “LABS BOMBED: In further invasion proof (discounting earlier suggestion of a riot drug) most of New England’s scientific labs were bombed simultaniously yesterday. No word yet from the military about who the aggressors are .”
- “CHINA INVADES?: Communications were muddled by a large influx of aggressive armed individuals. ‘We have this’ says Police Chief ‘We are authorising Securibots and Turrets to use lethal force on combatative humans’”
- “INVADERS NOT HUMAN?: An earlier command by the Police Chief has backfired. ‘The invaders don’t register as human. The securibots turned on us when we tried to fight them. We don’t have enough people left to reprogram’”
- “INVASION IS GM TROOPS: Reports of invasion by as yet unknown soldiers have been confirmed, and our paper has gained first hand footage proving genetic modification, with examples of extreme strength, speed and natural armor”
- “INVADERS ARE SUPER SOLDIERS: Further proof of mutation, in addition to Strength, Speed & Toughness, we now have reports of Enemies which causing lightning fields, spitting acid and reports of mobile clouds of smoke.”
- “MILITARY HAS GM TOO - GENERAL: ‘We want to reasure the people, these invaders are not the only super-soldiers, our GM-tech is more advanced than china, we were safety-tesing, which china obviously skipped disastrously.’”
- “PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: ‘Aid Delayed’. Fighting by the military at the edge of the New England Disaster Area is expected to delay civilian extraction. Civilians will be forced to supply themselves over the next weeks.”
- “PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: ‘New England Cut Off’. New England has been quaranteened for the saftey of the rest of the USA. No rescue attempts will be funded, it is assumed there are no survivors in the area.”
- “BEWARE UNDEAD PROPAGANDA: Stores about the dead ‘rising’ may abet the enemy, a general said today. 'These stories have been tracked to communist sources tied in with the presumably chinese invasion.”
- 'LEAVE TO THE EXPERTS – GENERAL: ‘Do not attempt to deal with Invaders yourself, our troops have the CBMs and training for military action. Loud gunfire may attract more enemy attention than you have ammo to deal with’"
- PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUCEMENT: ‘Towns occupied-territory’. Do not try to defend your property in towns, Invaders use advanced tracking, perhps scent. Please retreat to your nearest Evac centre outside town and await extraction.
- PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUCEMENT: ‘Beware Acid Rain’. Several caustic chemicals in the air react with rain clouds to cause deadly Acid rain. No word yet on if this is a deliberate tactic or a side result of the earlier bombings."
- “GENERAL SAYS AVOID BUNKERS: Do not attempt to flee to your nearest military bunker, understaffed bunkers are defended by Turrets which shoot those without Military ID. Please seek Military personnel if you need access”
- “PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: ‘Dispose of dead’. Recognisable enemy dead left lying in the street may give away guerilla positions. If forced to fight an enemy combatant please smash or butcher with a knife til unrecognisable”[/spoiler]
Year 4 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 4 year before) - Most rare [12 Potential Articles]
[spoiler] - “QUANTUM LEAP: An undisclosed project has yielded results in the form of short range teleportation. ‘This is just the tip of the iceberg’ said a source ‘I can’t disclose, but this development is the LEAST in this exciting vein!’”
- "HE WILL BLOW YOUR WORLD: Scientist Kevin Granade invents ‘Reality Grenade’ based on teleport-tech… Could be used to weaken enemies or improve own troops. ‘We’re still in Alpha testing’ says Kevin, ‘It really needs a Bugfix’.
- “Securibots: Keeping your home safe, ready the second the alarm goes off… Who needs people?”
- "ROBOCOP BEATS CRIME: Due to the common usage of Securibots and their ability to respond more rapidly than people, Crime is down 54% and dropping. Police chief says “Don’t trip an alarm and you have nothing to worry about’”
- “ROBOT RAMPAGE: Three Protestors injured when surrounding a Military base, protesting automated turrets which put guards out of jobs. ‘We warned them, turrets will open fire on anyone without a military ID’ a general said.”
- “GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES GUN SUBSIDIES: In a move the government says will boost the economy, encourage military production and support defense militia, the government has dropped taxes on guns and applied a subsidy for the poor”
- “US IGNORES UN DEMANDS: The US embassador today turned down UN requests to begin nuclear disarmament by China, the US and North Korea. ‘We have a right to defend ourselves’ insisted embassador ‘We’ll back down when they do’.”
- “A WHOLE NEW YOU! Augment your world with CBMs! This ad features a man covered in solar panels with a miniture flashlight in the midle of his head.”
- “The Future… powered by COFFEE! Atomic industries brings you the greatest revolution since Espresso. Why wait for milk to boil? Have your coffee ready instantly with the power of THE ATOM! (powered by plutonium fuel-cell)”
- “GLAMOPOLITAN! We’ve got ALL the latest tips! Wether you want to know what the elite are eating, wearing or discusing, Glamopolitan is YOUR magazine! So pick up a copy today and Sizzle like a star!”
- “POPULAR MECHANICS: People say mechanics is boring, we say, Prove them Wrong! We’ve got all the articles that make it interesting to talk about, so you can… make Mechanics Popular!”
- “CRAFTY CRAFTERS QUARTERLY: Macaroni isn’t just for eating anymore! Learn how to make jewelery and art from it as well! We also discuss the correct way to use superglue without glueing your hands together!” [/spoiler]
Year 3 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 3 year before) - Less rare [11 Potential Articles]
[spoiler] - "GRANADE SEEKS FUNDING FOR GRANADE: Kevin Granade seeks funding for reality-warping weapon called ‘the Granade’. ‘It works by patching reality. I’m thinking of crowdsourcing via Kickstarter under the term Project Cataclysm’
- 'GOVERNMENT SCIENCE BOOST: The government has drastically increased defense R&D after UN disarmament Demands. ‘This not only keeps money in our country, but keeps our lead on china and keeps us defended’ said President."
- “HOME GROWN SCIENCE: The New England mayor today relaxed laws that limit the distance a laboratory or factory can be from a city. ‘This should boost local traffic, with all the military Cybernetics labs are producing’ says Mayor.”
- “DRIVING ON A WING AND A PRAYER: A New England man has proven it is possible to create a new car from scrap using almost nothing but Duct tape. When asked why he had done it, his answer was ‘Well, I didn’t have a Welder.’”
- “NEVER BE LEFT IN THE DARK! New Atomic-nightlight uses ‘inexhaustable’ plutonium fuel cell, provides light, feeds power back into your grid!”
- “A WHOLE NEW YOU! Augment your world with CBMs! This ad features a man covered in solar panels with a miniture flashlight in the midle of his head.”
- “Sick of FUEL PRICES? Bus stops too far? Get your driving fix from THE SUN! Solar powered electric cars: Silent, Cheap, Powerful.”
- “Coffee of The Future… RIGHT NOW! Noone has really has the time to make great coffee, but now you don’t have to! We give you the Inexhaustable ATOMIC power! To make boiling hot coffee the MINUTE you want it! Atomic Coffee.”
- “GLAMOPOLITAN! We’ve got ALL the latest tips! Wether you want to know what the elite are eating, wearing or discusing, Glamopolitan is YOUR magazine! So pick up a copy today and Sizzle like a star!”
- “POPULAR MECHANICS: People say mechanics is boring, we say, Prove them Wrong! We’ve got all the articles that make it interesting to talk about, so you can… make Mechanics Popular!”
- “BIRDHOUSE MONTHLY… This month we look at some Dutch innovations in Birdhouse design, and compare with the often confused Scandinavian Birdhouse design, and our article on sheet metal design will have you riveted!”[/spoiler]
Year 2 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 2 year before) - Less Common [13 Potential Articles]
[spoiler] - “SHOW THEM YOUR GUNS: In response to China’s latest threats, the government has further relaxed gun control, expected to increase the economic boost of earlier gun subsidies and relieve public tension.”
- “READY FOR THE WORST: The government has proven it is ready to deal with China’s threats. In the event of an actual attack, we have established Evacuation centers, within a short distance of most towns.”
- “MUTANT COLD: A new cold virus has emerged in the New England area. ‘There don’t appear to be complictions, but many sufferers are developing large ammounts of benign tumourus tissue, A pound or more’ said a doctor”
- “GRAVE BUSINESS: Recent reports show an large spike in thefts from and assaults on funeral homes in the last few weeks. Described as highly strange but not especially dangerous, homeland is ‘looking at the connections now’”
- “SPACE TELEPORTATION - TRUTH OR FICTION? Scientists addressed a growing conspiracy theory today ‘The plutonium consumed is massive. We cannot use teleportation to reach aliens, unless they live on some kind of parallel world’”
- “LASERS - NOW POINT AND KILL: The Military revealed a prototype today. ‘We are still working on it, the laser gun lacks power, but has a technically almost unlimited range’ said a developer”
- “DRUG USE ON THE RISE: Recent statistic suggest drug use has climbed more than 40% in the last two years. ‘People are scared for their jobs, their counry, even their life… of course some will turn to drugs’ said an expert.”
- “WAR ON DRUGS DEAD: The government has finally reacted to long accumulated evidence that suggests that decriminalized drugs cause fewer health problems and are generally better managed while providing tax.”
- “FEELING BLUE? Try ‘Greens’ for Magazines! Your local Supermarket! Nothing cheers you up like a good magazine… Unless it’s JUNK FOOD! Or why not buy an MP3 PLAYER or a GAME CONSOLE? Chase those Blues away at GREENS Supermarket”
- “GLAMOPOLITAN! We’ve got ALL the latest tips! Wether you want to know what the elite are eating, wearing or discusing, Glamopolitan is YOUR magazine! So pick up a copy today and Sizzle like a star!”
- “POPULAR MECHANICS: People say mechanics is boring, we say, Prove them Wrong! We’ve got all the articles that make it interesting to talk about, so you can… make Mechanics Popular!”
- “BIRDHOUSE MONTHLY… Which wood would a woodpecker prefer? This month we discuss hardwood versus soft woods, wether to lacquer, oil or paint, and which type of nails you should use!”
- " …What do you know about surviving in the Wilderness? If you can’t make a snare you don’t know TRAP! Hunt down a copy of TRAPPERS’ LIFE and learn about wildlife!.. And how to kill it. This week, a BEAR-TRAP!"[/spoiler]
Year 1 PC (Pre-Cataclysm, 1 year before) - More Common [12 Potential Articles]
[spoiler] - “SUPPORT THE COUNTRY THAT SUPPORTS YOU - PRESIDENT: Unexpectedly and unpopularly, the president today instituted a peacetime draft in response to China massing troops. ‘We must pray for the best while preparing for the worst’”
- RIOTS CAUSED BY ‘NEW DRUG’: Rumours of riots were quelled today. ‘These are isolated incidents’ says police chief. ‘The violence is random and senseless, our current theory is a street drug gone terribly wrong’"
- EVACS UNSTOCKED: TRUTH OR FICTION? A Government whistleblower has suggested Evac centers are unstocked, having ‘alredy accomplished the goal of calming the people’. He later retracted the comment and is unable to be contacted."
- ZOMBIE DRUG: TRUTH OR FICTION? A blogger suggests recent riots are a chemical attack by china. ‘They are jealous of our cybernetic superiority, they teamed up with Haiti to put hoodoo drugs in the water making people Zombies.’"
- “NEW WEAPON UNVEILED: Defense today lifted the lid on a long held secret project. ‘We can’t discuss the specifics, but it generates a burst of plasma which accurately follows a path of laser-heated air’ says general”
- “UFO CRASH: TRUTH OR FICTION? One Civilian account claims a shining disk appeared in his field. ‘It kind of glowed, and I could see a strange grey world through it. Then a shambling mushroom man came through’”
- “TIME TRAVEL: TRUTH OR FICTION? Leaked federal documents describe the formation of a new Federal agency XEDRA, to oversee ‘4th Axis technology’ already in use. Expert opinion suggests time-travel or paralel worlds.”
- " …What do you know about surviving in the Wilderness? If you can’t make a snare you don’t know TRAP! Hunt down a copy of TRAPPERS’ LIFE and learn about wildlife!.. And how to kill it. Classic BEAR-TRAP returns in this issue!"
- “PICKLED MEAT IN A JAR! Just like your grandma used to make! It will last for months or longer, and when you’ve eaten it, you can refill and seal the jar! Stock your emergency supply TODAY!”
- “HUNTING GOODS! Food prices getting you down? Why not get a crossbow or compound bow and Hunt Your Own!? Our arrows and bolts are completely reusable, so why not hunt animals like Mother Nature intended?”
- “BAGS, BAGS, BAGS! They’re very useful things! If we didn’t have BAGS, what-would-we-use… to PUT a lot of things in!? (Ad by the ‘Play SchoolClothing Co.’)”
- “FEELING BLUE? Try ‘Greens’ for Magazines! Your local Supermarket! Nothing cheers you up like a good magazine… Unless it’s JUNK FOOD! Or why not buy an MP3 PLAYER or a GAME CONSOLE? Chase those Blues away at GREENS Supermarket”[/spoiler]
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