Tides of Avarice arcs
The Tides of Avarice DLC (ego_dlc_mini_02) ships 2 distinct story arcs focused on espionage gameplay — a fake-identity cover faction system with Sobert as the agent, ship acquisition via mysterious “Cypher” research, and multi-faction diplomatic intrigue.
At-a-glance
Section titled “At-a-glance”| Arc | Script | Size | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unbihexium | story_unbihexium.xml | 250KB | Espionage main arc — Sobert agent + Paranid cover faction + ship claim |
| Cypher research | story_research_cypher.xml | 6KB | HQ research arc unlocked after Cypher ship claimed |
Plus DLC support scripts:
setup_dlc_mini_02.xml(16KB) — DLC initialization (includes timeline.xml library + Stances)gs_dlc_mini_02.xml(5KB) — Tides of Avarice game start
Tides factions
Section titled “Tides factions”| Faction | Role |
|---|---|
faction.alliance | Alliance (Paranid sub-faction) |
faction.paranid | Godrealm Paranid |
faction.holyorder | Holy Order of Pontifex |
faction.trinity | Trinity (Paranid sub-faction) |
faction.ministry | Teladi Ministry of Finance |
faction.outlaw | Outlaw faction (Tides-introduced) |
faction.argon | Argon |
faction.teladi | Teladi Company |
faction.civilian | Civilians |
faction.xenon | Xenon |
faction.ownerless | Ownerless |
Sectors touched
Section titled “Sectors touched”Unbihexium spans 7 base game + DLC sectors:
| Sector macro | Role |
|---|---|
cluster_13_sector001 | Setup location |
cluster_14_sector001 | Setup location (Wayward Scion default sector) |
cluster_30_sector001 | Morning Star III |
cluster_31_sector001 | Heretic’s End |
cluster_40_sector001 | Tides-specific sector |
cluster_41_sector001 | Tides-specific sector |
cluster_46_sector001 | Tides-specific sector |
Persistent characters
Section titled “Persistent characters”Unbihexium creates 6+ persistent NPCs:
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
Courier ($CourierActor) | Story messenger / antagonist |
Clone Courier ($CloneCourierActor) | Clone twist mechanic — story-distinguishing duplicate |
Relief ($ReliefActor) | Relief NPC |
Squadron Leader ($SquadronLeaderActor) | Combat encounter NPC |
Betty ($BettyActor_v2) | Misc story NPC |
| Boso Ta (anchored) | HQ research support (cross-arc) |
| Dal Busta (anchored) | Cross-arc oversight (cross-arc) |
Sobert ($Sobert_Fake_Identity) | Player’s cover identity — Paranid agent persona |
The Sobert cover identity mechanic
Section titled “The Sobert cover identity mechanic”A unique feature: the player operates under a fake Paranid identity (“Sobert”) during Tides content. Vanilla code includes:
Setup_Sobert_Fake_Identity— initialize cover identityUpdate_Paranid_Coverfaction— manage cover faction relationsUnlock_Sobert_Agent— unlock agent capabilitiesRecruitment_Sobert+Placement_Sobert— recruit Sobert as your agentAgents_Unlocked— agent system unlocks
This is the earliest implementation of the agents/diplomacy system that later expanded into Kingdom End’s diplomacy intro.
Mod conflict risks (Tides-specific)
Section titled “Mod conflict risks (Tides-specific)”- ❌ Tides of Avarice DLC required — both arcs fail to load without it
- ❌ Mods that change Paranid faction relations at start affect Sobert cover
- ❌ Mods that disable Outlaw faction affect Unbihexium combat
- ❌ Mods that disable Boso Ta + Dal Busta break cross-arc continuity
- ❌ Mods that override agent/recruitment mechanics break Sobert
- ⚠ Custom faction mods that don’t register with cover-faction system confuse Sobert paths
- ⚠ Diplomacy mods may collide with Embassy unlock path
Related
Section titled “Related”- Mission encyclopedia — landscape
- Unbihexium arc — main story
- Cypher research — research follow-up
- Game starts catalog — Tides game start
- Wiki: DLC handling — Tides of Avarice required
Tides of Avarice introduces the espionage/cover-identity gameplay mechanic that later became fully realized in Kingdom End diplomacy. Your mod’s interference with cover factions, agents, or research mechanics breaks both arcs simultaneously.