3 Reasons why the Events in Homefront aren't Plausible

[LightSpectra]

umm I think you need to check your facts cuz high altitudes aren't cold enough to freeze

So a couple miles of altitude, you get atmospheric temperatures like -50C. Helium has an extremely low freezing point, but not the latex rubber; hence why it breaks off into thin pieces. It doesn't disintegrate.

 

[Thrawn]

Look up weather balloons, apparently they can go high enough such that they don't freeze, they do actually burst.

The balloon expands as it rises, usually reaching an altitude of at least 90,000 ft (27,400 m) before it bursts.

Source.

Regular balloons might freeze and break though, they're not exactly built for the high altitudes like weather balloons are.

 

[attackfighter]

Look up weather balloons, apparently they can go high enough such that they don't freeze, they do actually burst.



Source.

Regular balloons might freeze and break though, they're not exactly built for the high altitudes like weather balloons are.

Well here in Canada we use only the finest balloons for our purposes. Hence why they do not break from mere temperature.

 

[Maniacal]

Look up weather balloons, apparently they can go high enough such that they don't freeze, they do actually burst.

Source.

Regular balloons might freeze and break though, they're not exactly built for the high altitudes like weather balloons are.

THQ didn't use those nice, large high quality weather balloons for the Homefront stunt though, they used something that looks a lot more normal.

 

[attackfighter]

I pity America and it's low quality balloons.

 

[Sonereal]

I pity the board for having a thread about Homefront interrupt a discussion about balloons.

 

[Thrawn]

This discussion about balloons is far more riveting than discussion about homefront though.

 

[The_J]

Moderator Action: Like the 2 previous already hint: Back to topic please.

 

[Aroddo]

actually, I like how the thread went from a game to stratospheric balloon physics.

But back on topic, even Crysis is more plausible than homefront. Aliens included.

 

[Tycho]

1. It assumes that the United States of America military wouldn't bother to harden any of it's hardware against EMP.

2. It assumes that United States of America military lacks the intelligence to detect the construction of a huge invasion fleet that would take years to build.

3. It assumes that United States of America also lacks the intelligence to detect a concentration of forces and materiel prepping for an overseas invasion of United States of America.

So in short this game doesn't portray a plausible event. It's sad considering the studio that made this hired military consultants to provide input on the plot. I guess you could also say that everything concerning North Korea becoming the world's new super power is also a bit far-fetched. Meh.

Thoughts on this game and the plot in particular:

1. It was shown the USA was experiencing financial and civil upheavel, which might have just focused all of their assorted interests inwards.

2. North Korea was shown to have assimilated Japan, South Korea, and large swathes of the Southeastern Pacific. How did they know that the invasion force was coming for America, rather than say Canada, Vietnam, or other parts of Southeast Asia?

3. Refer again to the internal collapse of society and the events in the Middle East which caused a spike in oil prices, which again would have caused them to focus elsewhere.

The entire scenario is plausible, but not very much so. I don't see a problem though for the most part.

 

[Sonereal]

1. It was shown the USA was experiencing financial and civil upheavel, which might have just focused all of their assorted interests inwards.

2. North Korea was shown to have assimilated Japan, South Korea, and large swathes of the Southeastern Pacific. How did they know that the invasion force was coming for America, rather than say Canada, Vietnam, or other parts of Southeast Asia?

3. Refer again to the internal collapse of society and the events in the Middle East which caused a spike in oil prices, which again would have caused them to focus elsewhere.

The entire scenario is plausible, but not very much so. I don't see a problem though for the most part.

1.) I guess that excuse flies.
2.) The point is is that you would still see something that large coming. If there's a large fleet on the way, the US would've mobilized forces period and to not do so is ASB.
3.) There's a difference between shifting focus and not noticing a gigantic fleet coming at you.

Of course, this isn't a problem. I've seen somewhat dumber in the Modern Warfare series and like MW, Homefront lives more by "rule of cool" than "plausible". Disbelief suspended? Not really but the game isn't aimed at anyone but the MW crowd anyway and those guys accepted Russians landing on the American East Coast.

 

[Tycho]

1.) I guess that excuse flies.
2.) The point is is that you would still see something that large coming. If there's a large fleet on the way, the US would've mobilized forces period and to not do so is ASB.
3.) There's a difference between shifting focus and not noticing a gigantic fleet coming at you.

Of course, this isn't a problem. I've seen somewhat dumber in the Modern Warfare series and like MW, Homefront lives more by "rule of cool" than "plausible". Disbelief suspended? Not really but the game isn't aimed at anyone but the MW crowd anyway and those guys accepted Russians landing on the American East Coast.

Very true on the first point, though I am inclined to believe that the Americans in this situation were caught off guard with something akin to Pearl Harbor of course. EMP pulse in the upper stratosphere knocks out spy satellites, North Korea is performing "military exercises" and is flexing their naval muscles out and about in the Pacific, and then they move in for the coup de tat right there.

And the MW example would never happen without massive casualties on the Russian and the American side.

 

[attackfighter]

So why does USA suffer from oil crisis and not North Korea? NK already has fuel shortages without a crisis. And also the USA's hardware wouldn't suddenly become vulnerable because of civil upheaval. That makes no sense.

 

[OrsonM]

Well, lets just put it this way, if you slashed the current defense budget by a quarter, it would still be the highest one in the world (China's would come a close second).

Now North Korea still has the largest army per capita in the world, but that really doesn't stand for much. Most analysts believe is just a smoke screen for a state that acts similarly to the mafia.

Also, because of the big dog status of China in the region, you would first have to cut ties with China first, or Korea would have to reach hegemony in the region, any of these seem likely within the time frame of Homefront.

A fourth problem follows:

North Korea, population: 24,051,21
South Korea, Population: 48,875,00
China, population: 1,339,724,852
USA, population: 313,370,000

Even both Koreas united... might not be able to yield out the logistics or the number of troops for a full blown invasion over a population over three times it's size (specially if spread thin, wouldn't China just invade them then?).

 

[attackfighter]

Not to mention lots of Korean troops would have to be stationed in Japan and the other places they supposedly conquered.

And again - how is Korea getting it's oil? It has no domestic oil so it would be even more dependant on APEC than USA.

So Korea, the micro state with few people and no oil, is invading and occupying big bad USA. Makes no sense.

 

[OrsonM]

Methinks they switched to North Korea at a point in production were it was impossible to shelve the game.

But after watching this pretty cool video I think that the plot might had made more sense if they had kept pushing the ridiculous factor. What if they are indeed supreme troops, as in robot North Korean soldiers. And screw that chubby kid from Up being the leader of North Korea, give me robot Kim Jong il!

Kim tron il?

I mean you fought Hans, Gretel, zombies and Hitler in the first Wolfenstein. The realistic approach of later games just took away all the fun.

 

[attackfighter]

Well they shouldn't even be robots. Just have them be the regular super soldiers that the North Korean government tells it's people they are. Make it so that it's actually the USA that had been telling lies the whole time - about how NK is poor and oppressive - when in fact it's actually a communist utopia with legions of virtuous super soldiers, trained to perfection and willing to die for their motherland. Meanwhile the Americans are all self-serving morally bankrupt capitalist swine who abandon their corrupt nation at the first sign of danger. NK steamrolls the sick country of America and begins purging it of degeneracy. You play the roll of a disenfranchised factory owner who wishes to regain his lost wealth and so joins the resistance along with other bourgeois elite.

This plot would be far superior. And this could be the box art:

 

[Skwink]

This plot would be far superior. And this could be the box art:

Well I guess that's pretty, but most Americans can't read that.

 

[attackfighter]

You mean they're illiterate? Or just that they can't read Korean? Because in the case of the latter the text could always be changed. That photo was meant for the South Korean release, you see.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

Disbelief suspended? Not really but the game isn't aimed at anyone but the MW crowd anyway and those guys accepted Russians landing on the American East Coast.

Drat, all I can think of now is Yahtzee's review of MW3:

"...Russia invades Europe. As in all of it. Simultaneously."

I think that the plot might had made more sense if they had kept pushing the ridiculous factor. What if they are indeed supreme troops, as in robot North Korean soldiers. And screw that chubby kid from Up being the leader of North Korea, give me robot Kim Jong il!