Thread:Zathsu/@comment-30691033-20170628233716/@comment-32625436-20170629022630

Curtain of Steel is a narrative, probably going to be written in book format, that tells the story of Aero as he travels the Realm with his end goal being killing the Archprophet and freeing the Realm from the Cult of Panzer's iron grasp.

Contrast to Diep.io, Curtain of Steel is told in a humanized perspective, where instead of tanks, characters are humans who utilize various weapons and armors with names respective to the classes of Diep.io. Aero himself is a Lancer, or, a human being who uses a lance-like weapon in combat. The world is very fantasy, so instead of say guns and barrels, the weapons and armors themselves instead allow the blasting of projectiles in various patterns and strengths based on the weapon type (possibly but undecidedly could be magical in nature). Others can summon sentient minions from air, etc.

Along the way, Aero and his everchanging party of heroes traverse the various areas of The Realm in search of adventure, clues, and leads into what exactly is the bigger picture. Not many denizens of the Realm actually have the slightest clue what is going on, so Aero and his companions are left as outsiders trying to put puzzle pieces together while many others have welcomed the rule of the Cult out of fear, in contrast to the immediate response of the Tank Empire and its allies in The Tale of Diep. While ToD was a massive epic of hundreds or thousands of simple soldiers working in a joint effort to bring down the Cult with unity, Curtain of Steel portrays the world in a much darker sense, where there lacks a critical motivation to rise as one against the Cult, emphasizing that Aero and his companions are the only one that cares and are trying to piece together everything. They make many allies and enemies along the way, ranging from the Disciples of the Polygon Mother, the gladiators of Arena who have taken an oath of ignorance to outside affairs, many other prominent figures in the Tale of Diep, and of course, the Archprophet himself. Aero and his companions, stuck as the only freedom fighters in a world ruled by the Cult, are generally met with a lack of recognition, or among other things, pitiful warriors only out to seek the bounties put on their heads by the Archprophet. Because instead of there being a war to fight against thousands, Aero and his team are a small select group of people the Cult can put focus upon.

Ultimately, Curtain of Steel, while sharing characters, worlds, and themes with the Tale of Diep, portray the times in a darker sense with purposeful spins on the universe that shows how blind a world of ignorance can make people, and just how far people are willing to set aside to reach their goals. I would love to take this portrayal of the story far, where protagonists are clear cut in contrast to the mass attack of the Tale of Diep, but am currently lacking motivation as of now to move the story forward. It would make a cool side-game, but currently I believe Tale of Diep is more deserving of its focus due to it being my attempt at a prominent spiritual successor to the simple Diep.io that we have taken much farther. Curtain of Steel, if ever created, will not be tanks like Tale of Diep is despite using the same villains and world, for the same reasons the work in progress narrative does. Sometimes, even if we carried the boundaries of circles with guns far in Tale of Diep, that doesn't cut it quite enough to give the darker vibes that Curtain of Steel is meant to give off. It shows the clear divide, but presents it in a way where nobody cares enough to get anything done. Anyone effected by the Cult is too afraid to raise concerns, and everybody else is just as well off with their existence as if they didn't. The end as well may also prove a little something about the Archprophet at least in this Curtain of Steel continuity not present in ToD, but that would leave a huge spoiler for if I ever do finish Curtain of Steel.

Thank you for asking, because I do believe what exactly Curtain of Steel is has been terribly misinterpreted as 'just Tale of Diep but with people'. It is much more. It takes the entire world and changes the motives of nearly everyone to become a more cynical reality. Here, the Cult isn't a force of a million soulless crusaders who slay all who doubt them in their path. It is much more organized and more like a government that sweeps across The Realm and while definitely not the benevolent leadership, its no dictatorship that silences the opposition either, and the actions of Aero and his companions could entirely be interpreted as terrorism in this sense. Curtain of Steel brings dark truths that Tale of Diep won't and wouldn't, depending on tense. The actions of Aero could be entirely nonsensical to some, but as I stated, very few have the full picture put together. The Archprophet has dark plans, but nobody really knows that... and you shouldn't either... hee hee hee...

So... yeah. Curtain of Steel. I took Tale of Diep, the already overcomplicated mess that it is, and punched it up to 11. I doubt I could 1-up it again.