Alternate History

Steambirds: Survival has a loose story set in an alternate history of World War Two and the Battle of Britain, where Nazi Germany has developed nuclear weapons and dominate the globe. Although a complete story is never revealed to the player, and information is only given in snippets, this page will attempt to string together these clues into a coherent story.

Other Clues
Much of the information about the scenerio the player finds themself in comes from short, 1-2 sentence tidbits presented to the player at the beginning of every wave. These do not appear to be exclusive to any one city, and don't seem to have any clear order at all. These clues include...
 * A dreary drizzle soaks the blasted lands below.


 * We cheered for the RAF, bled for the RAF, died for the RAF.
 * The steady drone of planes overhead masks any hint of bird song.
 * Spies tell us the Axis factories have produced over 1, 300 planes. Oh God...
 * Every bit of scrap matters; we cannot waste a single nail or screw.
 * A key difference from Pearl Harbor was the massive civilian casualties.
 * He saw a flash of light, and it was the last thing he ever saw.

1.     The priceless artifacts of the British Museum have been relocated to a secure area.
 * A bomb struck the ventilator shaft of an underground bunker. Its residents suffocated.
 * They found shrapnel in the bowels of his corpse. It is likely that he died slowly.
 * The feats of the Red Baron pale in comparison.
 * German barons fund this expansionism with the labour of Polish slaves.
 * Our people burn and suffocate. The smell of charred flesh is inescapable.

2.     The Australians have welcomed 50,000 of our citizens. Give them time to flee!

3.     The last railcar has left Swindon, perhaps forever.

4.     The refugees of Paris have been evacuated. First their city was nuked, and now this…

5.     The skies are growing dark, but not with clouds…

6.     Death will feast on us all, but his appetite will be bated by these German appetizers.

7.     The residents of Swansea have been evacuated; the gas shall not touch them.

8.     Avonmouth has been evacuated; its bustling port is still and silent now.

9.     What men would give for this chance at glory! Kill them all brave pilot. Kill them, and laugh!

10. Most of Clydebank has been evacuated. The town drunk wouldn’t leave.

11. The first wave of the Axis armada has arrived. Heaven help us.

12. The royal family has been spirited away to Jamaica. The Queen thanks you for your sacrifice.

13. The fusion plant in Southampton has been stripped bare; the Germans will not have it!

14. Liverpool has been evacuated. Someday, they will build a statue of you there.

15. The actors of the Palace Theater will entertain our citizens in other lands, thanks to you.

16. Parliament has been evacuated. Our politicians are saved! Hooray?

17. One million citizens have been evacuated. You have exceeded all our hopes.

18. Our fusion and our steam have not saved us from the Axis. You are all we have left.

19. You’ve bought enough time to evacuate Oxford; the faculty are safe!

20. Count yourself lucky that Japan’s floating fortresses are occupied in China.

21. Rembrandt’s art has been removed from the National Gallery and loaded onto a submarine for safekeeping.

22. The hospital in Plymouth has been evacuated. Who will care for its patients now?

23. Manchester has been evacuated. Its citizens will spread your legend far and wide.

24. Nearly all of London’s citizens have been evacuated. You are truly an angel of mercy.

25. Steam rises from the sodden ground, obscuring buildings and corpses.

26. A dreary drizzle soaks the blasted lands below.

27. A Manfield intermittent steamgun can shred the toughest duronium armor.

28. Clouds gather. There is little hope of sunlight today.

29. The clarion call of history asks, “What can one man do?”

30. Fall now and so falls England.

31. Genocide is never your fault unless you lose.

32. Fusion hotboxes power the enemy fleet forward unceasingly.

33. Unmanned drones flock like clanking mechanical pterodactyls.

34. One pilot was all that stood between this force and another glassed Paris.

35. The feats of the Red Baron pale in comparison.

36. Bright flashes of heavy artillery punctuate the horizon.

37. The end comes suddenly.

38. “My God.” The last transmission from HQ.

39. This was supposed to be the Good War.

40. A report from the ground: They came like locusts.

41. Smoke from the charred wreckage turns the wan sunrise red.

42. The skill of the Allies is impressive, yet ultimately futile.

43. Steam technology drives the pounding guns of this battle.

44. Robert Pendleton be damned. He wrought only chaos and misery.

45. The Japanese Empire is not part of this air seige[sic]. Their flying cities remain over China.

46. From the diary of a fallen soldier “We will survive. Not surrender!”

47. Spies indicate Axis factories produced over 1300 planes.

48. Is this the hopelessness that Paris felt as the nukes rained down?

49. In the end, the Allied scout’s body was never recovered.

50. In 1835, the heat engines heralded the dawn of a grand new era.

51. Running low on lead and steel, Axis cowards deploy the Gas.

52. The next Sunday there was no one left to pray.

53. Our war science did not prepare us for the carnage.

54. Radio is filled with static. Little evidence of anyone left.

On a second play-through:

2. Count yourself lucky that Japan’s… (occurs again)

4. The research lab in Birmingham has been evacuated. I hear the scientists found a way to turn steam into energy?

6. More scouts are approaching. The full armada can’t be far off now.

10. London will disappear beneath a poisonous cloud the moment you stop fighting!

12. 500,000 citizens have been evacuated. You are their savior.

13. The city’s orphanages have been evacuated. Those kids will never forget you.

15. The markets of Cardiff are quiet; its people have scattered to the four corners.

All the books in London have been moved into hidden bunkers.

Where are the Americans? Where are the Canadians? This war will touch them too!