How come Epic never expanded much on Rustlung?

[Scibadi]

It seemed at the time of Gears 2's release that they hyped it up but then it's only mentioned once in a 5 minute section early in the hospital level.

Do you think it will pop up again in gears 3?

I think they probably snuck it in gears 2 so that they could bring it up again. Kind of like in gears 1 we had the lambent wretches which hinted at the lambent in gears 2.

[Coalition's End]

It has been seen/mentioned in the comics/novels. Would be cool if the disease turned humans into zombies but this will most likely not be the case.

[Scibadi]

I read series 2 of the comics the other day and I think it mentioned Rustlung making humans more aggressive, along with other symptons.

Anyway, It had completely zero impact on the gears 2 story so I'm guessing that it will most likely return in gears 3, they wouldn't have mentioned it unless it had a purpose.

[Agent93cris]

what is it exactly ive never read the novels i want to thou

[JacktheBlack]

Driver: Wayne Mitchell Route: Timgad/Jacinto
Patient #1: 33 yr. old male Symptoms: Coughing up blood & brown mucus, nausea, minor bleeding from ears
Patient #2: 21 yr. old male Symptoms: Nausea, coughing up blood & reddish-brown mucus
Patient #3: 36 yr. old female Symptoms: Unconscious, blood & reddish-brown mucus coming from nose & mouth
Patient #4: 24 yr. old male Symptoms: Coughing up blood & dark brown mucus, complaining of severe chest pain & trouble breathing


Patient Name: Jonathan Harper
Occupation: Sergeant (Echo-9), COG Army
Age: 29
Height: 1.9 m
Weight: 91 kg
Patient is a 29-year veteran who has recently experienced vertigo, persistent cough, and insomnia. Was stationed at Timgad area for 2 months after Lightmass offensive, when assigned to Jacinto perimeter patrol last 4 months. Symptoms began about 1 month ago. Physical and diagnostic evaluation showed no chronic illnesses and no signs of bacterial infection. Prescribed a medium-strength antihistamine, released patient, and gave clearance for further duty. Expect a full recovery with no side effects.
Dr. Vivian Merriweather

Two official sources. Its a fact in the Gearsverse that many Gears are cracking from 15 years of war with the Locust. While, Dr.Merriweather is covering up the effects of Rustlung.

[Sgt. Grub k1ller]

What I find strange is that it is mentioned Zero times in the books. Maybe KT did not like the concept, so she decided to leave it alone. Still, it's a hole/loose end.

[rebelboy]

I was thinking perhaps it made certain humans, or those who end up with a pretty bad case of it, similar to the Lambent. Say the Imulsion does contain a parasitic organism like certain theories suggest, and it acts kind of like the Rage virus from 28 Days/Weeks later. Or the Las Plagas from RE4 and 5. It just takes a while to get to the later stages of mutation or control. Nothing over the top but just crazy, like a lesser form of Lambent, so they still keep their human form mostly intact.

[JacktheBlack]

Imulsion miners during the Gold Rush period had shorter life spans then the average human. Average lifespan in the Gearsverse i don't know, never had been given a source :P

But I do believe Rust Lung was mention once in the Books. Karen Traviss also only mention once the "farms" in her books.

[SKORGE]

I think KT does that because she'd rather her own ideas and whatnot. As well, it would leave that option open to changes in case Epic/other authors of the comics had a change of plans for the mentioned.

Anyway, as said above, it is mentioned. However, it could be mentioned later on and expanded on even further, but at the same time, it could also be left out entirely.

[JacktheBlack]

I think KT does that because she'd rather her own ideas and whatnot. As well, it would leave that option open to changes in case Epic/other authors of the comics had a change of plans for the mentioned.

Anyway, as said above, it is mentioned. However, it could be mentioned later on and expanded on even further, but at the same time, it could also be left out entirely.

I both Love and kinda confuse on what KT did to the Gearsverse, she made it VERY british.

EDIT:But I don't mind the South Islands and the Australian/New Zealand connection or the Gurkhas fighting for the Brits references, in fact I fracking love how the "Northerners" speak Commonwealth english.

[SKORGE]

I both Love and kinda confuse on what KT did to the Gearsverse, she made it VERY british.

Oh yeah, she definitely took A LOT of the Military aspects from the British side of things. Its only natural, seeing as how she's a Brit. But your right on that point.

- Regimental Names ex: Duke of Tollen, Royal 26th Tyran Infantry
- Unit Names ex: Commando instead of Spec Ops or an abbreviation


etc

[JacktheBlack]

Oh yeah, she definitely took A LOT of the Military aspects from the British side of things. Its only natural, seeing as how she's a Brit. But your right on that point.

- Regimental Names ex: Duke of Tollen, Royal 26th Tyran Infantry
- Unit Names ex: Commando instead of Spec Ops or an abbreviation


etc

The units named is what gets me the most. It seem the COG was based on a "Good" version of the Soviet Union and we are getting the Commonwealth. I don't want a Royal Tyran family. I don't mind if Nassar Embry lead a rebellion against the Royals or Royal means something different in Tyrus.

[SKORGE]

The units named is what gets me the most. It seem the COG was based on a "Good" version of the Soviet Union and we are getting the Commonwealth. I don't want a Royal Tyran family. I don't mind if Nassar Embry lead a rebellion against the Royals or Royal means something different in Tyrus.

I kind of like it. I mean its not what I'd expect from a fascist body such as the COG, but overall, I think it adds a bit of "history" behind the regiments. But I'd love for some more exotic looks on units and regiments. Have a few Royals, have a few 475th's and then some. Mix it up a little.

Your right though, the COG is like the Soviet Union. And the UIR was more or so NATO. However, in this case, NATO is seen as the bad guys, while the Soviet Union is seen as the Good guys. But I think by now many see the COG as a, perhaps, different shade of colour and not all 'good'.

[Scibadi]

Yeah I agree that the CoG seem more like the bad guys.

[The Forgotten Jedi]

You don't have to look much further than the school scene in the first flashback in Aspho Fields to get a good idea on what the COG is all about. Very socialist. Karen seems to have designed the COG as a SU that works, for the most part. It is democratic and highly socialist at the same time, but then you get the racism and sorta brainwashing of the youth through education.

EDIT: As for the Rustlung, I think it was a dropped plot point involving Humans turning Lambent. Which is good, because I don't want that at all. The Lambent are close enough to the Flood as it is.

[kix_mix]

I disagree with The Forgotten Jedi. You see the Rustlung disease appeared the following months after the Light Mass Bomb from Gears of War 1 because the bomb resulted in a lot of vapourised Imulsion in the air and was breathed in by a lot of people. They were clear that there were side effects and resulting in death but the studies did show unusal erratic behaviour before death. I believe they just brought that to add more mystery to the Imulsion and the effects it probably has in general. The Locust have other side effects than humans but the common ground is that exposure to Imulsion isn't healthy. The other reason to adding Rustlung into the fiction is to show a realistic aspect to the Gears Universe as for cause/effect, there will be consequences just like all the stranded and casualties to the Hammer of Dawn strikes, realistically how can one city hold the whole planet of Sera's population...once again there is a real human conflict and it makes you think. Reading the books has made me see with the level of details that it was really well thought out.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Humans can't go Lambent, you realize.

That's going to come up in Gears 3. They're the one thing on Sera that doesn't mutate under the influence of Imulsion.

Tyrus is very British in a way, and I like that. Sera isn't Earth, so having drastically different cultures (a country that's pseudo-British/American and is heavily socialist) works perfectly. Plus, the architecture just fits perfectly considering Tyran architecture is heavily European in inspiration.

COG - Soviet Union and satellite nations

UIR - United States and Allies

Except they've made it so that Sera's equivalent of the USA is in Sera's equivalent of Russia/France (Pelles) and Sera's equivalent of the Soviet Union is in Sera's equivalent of the USA/Britain. In a way it makes the COG more relatable even though it's the kind of thing the USA fumed at the mouth over back in the Cold War. It lets us get inside this socialist communist state, then break it on us that it's a socialist-communist state, so we're not only INSIDE it, but we see the truth of the whole thing without the lens of the other side's propaganda in the way.

Rust Lung is what killed Michael Barrick. Oh, you may say it was the "fighting Bloodmounts while shirtless with his bare hands" thing, or maybe "all the bullets ripping him apart as he fought Bloodmounts while shirtless with his bare hands", but no. You're wrong. Barrick survived all of that, then had a violent coughing fit while he was in the middle of pulping a few Beast Riders. :cool: