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DXTF NYC skyline image cropped

Cropped portion of an unused skyline image of New York City found in the game files

New York City was originally planned to be a major location and story segment for Deus Ex: The Fall, but was never released due to the cancellation of the continuation of Deus Ex: The Fall. This page documents known content developed for this part of the narrative, which is known primarily from unused assets in the game files of the released game, and is therefore considered to be cut content.

In the early draft of the story (when the game was still being developed under the early title Deus Ex: Icarus Rising), the New York City segment would have followed after the Australia segment (which would have followed the Panama City segment, but was also cut from the game). According to the known information, the New York City segment would have featured a major city hub along with multiple main missions.

Plot summary[]

The story follows directly from the unreleased Australia segment, at the end of which Ben Saxon leaves Zaaphire Biotech's facility to head to New York City onboard Alex Vega's VTOL in order to pursue the Tyrants. The following plot information for the New York City segment is known from data found in the game files of Deus Ex: The Fall.

After Alex lands on the helipad, Ben exits the VTOL and heads to the hotel, where Anna Kelso is waiting. After receiving Anna's scrambled comm message, Ben tries to convince the receptionist to tell him Anna's room number. Once Ben finds Anna, she sends Ben to the LIMB clinic to get his Argus Implant removed. She is suspicious that they are being monitored in the hotel and suggests that they leave.

New York City is described as home to the biggest, best, and brightest in the world. In New York City, Ben has access to New York's LIMB Clinic, the helipad, Metridyne Bank, the subway, and the hotel. At the LIMB clinic, Ben is surprised to find Isaac Tiven, whom he had previously met in Australia. Tiven has had a change of heart. He removes Ben's Argus Implant and says that the Tyrants manipulated Zaaphire Biotech's finances, which could contain evidence that might lead to what they're planning next. They decide to follow the money and look to access Zaaphire's financial records. Anna knows the hacker Widow who could get the job done and who resides on an old carrier at Pier 19.

Pier 19 is home to all kinds of riff raff and undesirables. Docked at this pier is a carrier, the USS Intrepid, that was once a proud military vessel, but has since been taken over by a group of hackers headed by Widow. Ben asks for help accessing Zaaphire's records at the Metridyne Bank in return for the financial benefit Widow can receive if they are successful. Before they can start, Ben must physically infiltrate the bank to plant an uplink. After getting the uplink from Widow, Ben infiltrates Metridyne to plant it. Deep within Metridyne, Ben plants the uplink and escapes back to the carrier where Widow is waiting to hack Zaaphire's financial records. After successfully placing the uplink, Ben returns and Widow begins her hack. By hacking Metridyne's central server, she recovers evidence of VersaLife's involvement in setting up Zaaphire Biotech. It is not long before they are traced and a Belltower strike team attacks the carrier. Ben sees through Anna's eye augmentations that she is kidnapped by Sam Duarte. Ben is forced to escape.

The New York subway has become a dangerous place lately, overrun with Anarchists. After Anna is kidnapped, Namir contacts Ben and tells him to watch the news. Ben sees that the UGSE (United Global Stock Exchange) is under siege and heads there to save Anna. Ben infiltrates the UGSE to find Anna. He makes his way to the roof, where he finds Anna and confronts Sam for the final showdown.

Locations[]

The following locations associated are mentioned in game files.

Context data and loading screen images[]

For most locations, the game files include loading screen images (found in the resources.assets file) and corresponding context data for each location (found in the mainData file[1]). Context data use the older spelling of "Zaphire" (with only one "a"). All spelling errors shown in the context data are original.

Location Context Data Loading Image
Helipad
New York Hub The big apple is home to the biggest, best, and brightest in the world. Here Ben has access to New Yorkssicsic Limb Clinic, the Helipad, Metrdyne Bank, Subway, and the Crystal Hotel. NewYork Hub (cropped)
Hotel Lobby After receiving Anna's scrambled comm message, Ben tries to convince the receptionist to tell him Anna's room number. NewYork Hotel Lobby (cropped)
Hotel Rooms Once Ben finds Anna, she sends Ben to Limb to get his Argus Implant removed. She is suspicious that they are being monitored in the hotel and suggests they leave. NewYork HotelRooms (cropped)
Limb Clinic Once at Limb, Ben is surprised to find Isaac Tiven who has had a change of heart. He removes Ben's Argust Implantsicsic. They decide to follow the money and need access to Zaphire's financial records. Anna knows a hacker who could get the job done residing on the old Carrier. NewYork LimbClinic (cropped)
Subway The subway has become a dangerous place lately, overrun with Anarachists.sicsic Here Ben can access the Pier, New York Streets, and the UGSE. After Anna is kidnapped, Namir contacts Ben here and tells him to watch the news. Here he sees that the UGSE is under seige and heads there to save Anna. NewYork Subway (cropped)
Pier The Pier is home to all kinds of riff raff and undesierables.sicsic Docked at this pier is a Carrier that has been overrun by hackers. Ben seeks their help in tracking down the financial records for Zaphire. NewYork Pier (cropped)
Carrier Once a proud military vessel, the Carrier has been taken over by a group of Hackers headed by Widow. Ben asks for help accessing Zaphire's records at the Metridyne Bank in return for the financial benefit Widow can recievesicsic if they are successful. Before they can start, Ben must physically infiltrate the bank to plant an uplink. After successfully placing the uplink, Ben returns and Widow begins her hack. It isn't long before they are traced and Belltower attacks the carrier! Ben sees through Anna's eye augmentations that she is kidnapped by Sam. NewYork Carrier (cropped)
Bank Lobby After getting the uplink from Widow, Ben infiltrates Metridyne to plant it. NewYork BankEntry (cropped)
Bank Server Deep within Metridyne, Ben plants the uplink and escapes back to the Carrier where Widow is waiting to hack Zaphire's financial records. NewYork BankServer (cropped)
Sewers NewYork Sewers (cropped)
Stock Exchange Ben infitratessicsic the UGSE to find Anna. He needs to make his way to the roof. NewYork USGE cropped
Rooftop Ben finds Anna and Sam on the roof of the UGSE for the final showdown. NewYork USGERoof (cropped)

Location names and related data[]

The following table lists names and identifier used to refer to the locations across different contexts in the game files.

Location stringtable01 Loading Image Context data Game Script
Helipad the Helipad StartNYCHelipad
New York Hub New York Streets NewYork_Hub New York Hub StartNYCStreets
Hotel Lobby NewYork_Hotel_Lobby NY Hotel Lobby StartNYCHotelLobby
Hotel Rooms NewYork_Hotel_Floors NY Hotel Rooms StartNYCHotelRooms
Limb Clinic New York Limb Clinic NewYork_LimbClinic NY Limb Clinic StartNYCLimb
Subway the Subway NewYork_Subway NY Subway StartNYCSubway
Pier Pier 19 NewYork_Pier NY Pier StartNYCPier
Carrier the Carrier NewYork_Carrier New York Carrier StartNYCCarrierInterior
Bank Lobby Metridyne Bank Lobby NewYork_BankEntry Metridyne Bank StartNYCBankEntry
Bank Server Metridyne Bank Server NewYork_BankServer NYBankServer StartNYCBank
Sewers the Sewers NewYork_Sewers NY Sewers
Stock Exchange the Trading Floor NewYork_USGE Stock Exchange StartNYSEBasement
StartNYSETradingFloor
Rooftop the Rooftop NewYork_USGERoof NY Final Battle StartNYSERoof

In the above table:

  • The "Location" column displays the simplified name used to refer to locations in this article.
  • The "stringtable01" column lists location names appearing in the Stringtable01 XML file. These location names are also localized in French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
  • The "Loading Image" column lists the filenames of the loading images.
  • The "Context data" column lists the location names/identifiers appearing in conjunction with the context data in the mainData file.[2]
  • The "Game Script" column lists the corresponding class names that appear in Assembly-CSharp.dll, which contains the game scripts for game locations.

"White box" location names[]

The following "WB" (white box) entries are mentioned in the mainData file of the released game, or in Icarus Rising build v0.6.1.[3] Entries marked by an asterisk (*) are mentioned only in Icarus Rising v0.6.1, and not in mainData.

  • WB_NYCHelipad
  • WB_NYCStreets*
  • WB_NYCHotelLobby*
  • WB_NYCHotelRooms
  • WB_NYCLimbClinic
  • WB_NYCSubwaySouth
  • WB_NYCSubwayNorth
  • WB_NYCIntrepidExterior* – This entry likely corresponds to the Pier
  • WB_NYCIntrepid1stFloor
  • WB_NYCIntrepid2ndFloor
  • WB_NYCBank
  • WB_NYCSewers
  • WB_NYCStockExchangeBasement
  • WB_NYCStockExchangeTradingFloors
  • WB_NYSERoof*

Notes on locations[]

  • The Hotel is named "Crystal Hotel" in the context description, "Thalassian Hotel" in the name of one of the mission objective, and "Hotel Nautica" in the description of a different mission objectives. No explicitly explanation for this discrepancy is known. These names may have been different candidate names considered during development.
  • The Carrier location features the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, as confirmed by the "WB"-prefixed data and the game script data described below.
  • The Sewers location does not have a corresponding game script file, suggesting that it may have been discarded.

Missions and objectives[]

The following data is found in Streamedassets0/Missions.xml of the released game.

Mission Name (ID) Objective Name Description of Objective
FIND ANNA KELSO
(NewYork_FindAnna)
GO TO THE THALASSIAN HOTEL I recieved a message from Anna. She's in New York, staying at a hotel. She didn't give me any more information than that.
FIND ANNA'S ROOM NUMBER Anna is staying at the Hotel Nautica. But I don't know what room she's in. Maybe I can find some information in the lobby.
TALK TO ANNA I have access to Anna's room. She's waiting for me upstairs.
ARGUS IMPLANT
(NewYork_RemoveImplant)
VISIT NY LIMB Anna tracked down a doctor who can remove the Argus Implant from my head. He's preparing a room for my surgery at the NY LIMB Clinic.
UNCOVER THE TRUTH
(NewYork_GetEvidence)
GET ABOARD THE CARRIER Isaac says the Tyrants manipulated Zaphire Biotech's finances. If we can find evidence it might lead to what they're planning next. Anna suggests I contact the hacker Widow on the carrier at Pier 19.
TALK TO WIDOW I'm looking for the hacker Widow aboard the old carrier. I need to convince her to help me hack the Metridyne Bank, and uncover Zaphire Biotech's financial records.
INFILTRATE METRIDYNE BANK Widow agreed to hack Metridyne's central server and recover Zaphire Biotech's financial records. But I have to plant an uplink inside the bank before she can launch the cyber attack.
RETURN TO WIDOW The uplink is in place. I asked Widow to hold off on the cyber attack until I return.
ESCAPE THE CARRIER
(NewYork_EscapeCarrier)
ESCAPE THE CARRIER After hacking the Metridyne bank server and recovering evidence of VersaLife's involvement in setting up Zaphire Biotech, Anna was captured by Sam Duarte and a Belltower strike team attacked the carrier. I have to escape.
RESCUE ANNA
(NewYork_RescueAnna)
RESCUE ANNA Sam has taken Anna and he's holding her at the United Global Stock Exchange.

Mission progression details[]

The following details on progression through the missions are indicated by the game scripts in Assembly-CSharp.dll of the released game.[4]

Helipad[]

  • Starting this location sets the primary objective to the helipad's exit (m_HelipadExit).[5] Presumably, the exit leads to the New York Streets.

New York Hub[]

  • The New York Hub is the central hub that links to various other locations. When the player is in this area, the game script will set the quest marker to one of the following objects, depending on the the story progression flags that have been set: m_EnterHotel (entrance to the Hotel), m_EnterLimb (entrance to the LIMB clinic), m_EnterSubway (entrance to the Subway), m_EnterBank (entrance to the Bank), and m_EnterNYSE (entrance to the Stock Exchange). According to the context data, the city hub also provides access to the Stock Exchange.
  • Entering the city hub for the first time begins the mission "FIND ANNA KELSO" and the objective of "GO TO THE THALASSIAN HOTEL."
    • The flag NYCHubStarted is set.
    • The quest marker is set to the entrance to the hotel (m_EnterHotel).
  • The script mentions the object m_AnnaInviteTrigger, which appears to correspond to the "message from Anna" described in the mission objective description. This object is removed from the player later during the mission.

Hotel Lobby[]

  • Entering the Hotel Lobby completes the objective "GO TO THE THALASSIAN HOTEL" and starts the new objective "FIND ANNA'S ROOM NUMBER." Additionally, the quest marker is set to the receptionist's location (m_ReceptonistLocation).
  • The script for the Hotel Lobby includes a function "AcquireKey." The context suggests that the player is required to obtain a "key" in order to get to the Hotel Rooms, and that the key can be obtained by speaking to the receptionist, possibly involving a dialogue challenge.
  • Acquiring the "key" completes the objective of "FIND ANNA'S ROOM NUMBER" and begins the new objective of "TALK TO ANNA."
    • The story progression flag NYCVisitedHotelReception is set. Once this flag has been set, the conversation with the receptionist is no longer available (the object m_ReceptionistConversation is removed).
    • The quest marker in the area is set to the elevator (m_ElevatorAccess)

Hotel Rooms[]

  • Visiting Anna in the Hotel Rooms completes the mission "FIND ANNA KELSO" and begins the new mission "ARGUS IMPLANT" and the objective of "VISIT NY LIMB."
    • The story progression flag NYCVisitedAnna is set (as is NYCVisitedHotelReception if not previously set).
    • The quest marker in the area is set to the elevator (m_ElevatorAccess).
    • Anna's character object (m_AnnaObject) and the door to her room (m_AnnaDoor) are removed or otherwise made inaccessible.
  • Upon returning to the Hotel Lobby after visiting Anna, the quest marker is set to the street access (m_StreetAccess).
  • Upon returning to the New York Streets after visiting Anna, the quest marker in city hub is set to the entrance to the LIMB clinic (m_EnterLimb).

LIMB Clinic[]

  • Entering this area during the "VISIT NY LIMB" objective sets the mission objective marker to m_IsaacLocation. However, if either the previous or next mission is active instead, the quest marker will be set to m_StreetAccess (the exit to the city hub).
  • The script defines a scene that depicts an operation in which Isaac removes Ben's Argus Implant. The cutscene defines the following events and includes three infolink messages, but the content of the dialogue is not known.
    • The cutscene starts (m_OperationStarted is set) and the camera position changes after 3 seconds.
    • 0.5 seconds later, an infolink message from Anna plays (m_AnnaIntroComm).
    • 11.5 seconds later, an infolink message in which Isaac explains something plays (m_IsaacExplainsComm).
    • 32 seconds later, another infolink message from Anna plays, wrapping things up (m_AnnaWrapsComm).
    • 11.5 seconds later, the cutscene ends (m_EndOperationSeq is set).
  • When the operation of removing the implant is completed, the mission "ARGUS IMPLANT" is marked as complete and the new mission "UNCOVER THE TRUTH" begins. The mission objective is set to "GET ABOARD THE CARRIER"
    • The story progression flags NYCVisitedIsaac and NYCImplantWasRemoved are set.
    • The quest market in the area is set to m_StreetAccess (the exit to the city hub).
  • Upon returning to the New York Streets after having the implant removed, the quest marker will be set to the subway (m_EnterSubway).

Subway and Pier[]

  • The Subway provides access to the Pier (m_PierAccess), which in turn provides access to the carrier (m_IntrepidEntrance). According to the context data, the UGSE can also be accessed from the Subway.
  • After the implant has been removed (but before having visited the hackers), entering the subway sets the mission objective marker to m_PierAccess, and entering the pier sets the mission objective marker to m_IntrepidEntrance.
  • In various other stages of the mission sequence, the quest marker will be set to direct the player towards the city hub instead, via m_SubwayAccess in the Piers, and m_StreetAccess in the subway.

Carrier - Initial visit[]

  • The script for the Carrier location appears to be incomplete in handling the proper sequence of progression flags.[6] Nonetheless, the script indicates the intended design that first entering this area would complete the objective of "GET ABOARD THE CARRIER," initiates the objective of "TALK TO WIDOW," and set the quest marker to Widow's location (m_WidowLocation).
  • Meeting Widow completes the objective of "TALK TO WIDOW" and begins the new objective of "INFILTRATE METRIDYNE BANK."
    • The story progression flags NYCVisitedHackers and NYCHaveUplink are set.
    • The quest marker in the area is set to m_Exit, which is the exit back to the Pier.
  • The "uplink" is a device that Ben must plant at the Bank, as described in the mission objective description ("...I have to plant an uplink inside the bank before she can launch the cyber attack").
  • Upon returning to the New York Streets, the quest marker in the city hub will be set to m_EnterBank.

Bank Lobby and Server[]

  • After obtaining the uplink, entering the Bank Lobby causes the quest marker to be set to m_LadderAccess, which presumably refers to location used to access the server room.
  • Entering the server room sets the quest marker to m_UplinkLocation.
  • Planting the uplink completes the objective of "INFILTRATE METRIDYNE BANK" and begins the new objective of "RETURN TO WIDOW".
    • The story progression flag NYCPlantedUplink is set.
  • When the flag NYCPlantedUplink is set, the quest markers at the Bank Server, Bank Lobby, New York Streets, Subway, and Pier, will be respectively set to m_Exit (exit from the Bank Server), m_Exit (exit from the Bank Lobby), m_EnterSubway, m_PierAccess, and m_IntrepidEntrance to lead the player back to Widow.

Carrier - Return visit[]

  • Upon returning to the carrier, the quest marker will be set to Widow's location (m_WidowLocation).
    • Returning to the carrier also sets the object m_JanusMonitor to active. No description of Janus' involvement is known from the game data. It is possible that Janus engages in conversation or can be conversed with via a monitor in a manner similar to what is portrayed in the released game. Icarus Rising v0.6.1 includes an image with the filename char_janus_monitor as shown in the gallery below.
  • Returning to Widow presumably causes the hack to begin. This part of the story is described in the context data as follows: "After successfully placing the uplink, Ben returns and Widow begins her hack." Additionally, the mission objective descriptions refers to "...hacking the Metridyne bank server and recovering evidence of VersaLife's involvement in setting up Zaphire Biotech."
  • Next, the context data states: "It isn't long before they are traced and Belltower attacks the carrier! Ben sees through Anna's eye augmentations that she is kidnapped by Sam." The game script defines this sequence (referred to as "AnnaSeq" in the game script) as follows:
    • When the sequence begins, the object m_AnnaScrenCamera is set to active.
    • 1.5 seconds into the scene, an infolink message plays. This part of the sequence is triggered by the internal variable m_AnnaOpticsComm.
    • 11.5 seconds later, an infolink message plays (unknown dialogue), the object m_AnnaScreenCamera is set to inactive, and the object m_AnnaSamCamera is set to active. Based on the context data and the internal variable m_SamBreaksIn used to trigger this part of the sequence, it can be inferred that the camera changes to show that Anna being abducted by Sam.
    • 7.5 seconds later, an infolink message plays (unknown dialogue), a Belltower attack group spawns, the sequence ends.
  • Initiation of the above sequence completes the mission "UNCOVER THE TRUTH" (along with the objective "RETURN TO WIDOW") and begins the new mission "ESCAPE THE CARRIER" along with the objective of the same name.
    • The story progression flags NYCHackedBank and NYCAnnaWasAbducted are set at the end of the sequence.
    • The quest marker in the area is set to m_Exit, which is the exit back to the Pier.

Pier and Subway[]

  • Upon escaping to the Pier, the quest marker is set to the subway access point (m_SubwayAccess). The game script also indicates that a Belltower attack group spawns in the area.
  • Upon reaching the Subway, the story progression flag NYCEscapedBelltowerRaid' is set, and the quest marker is set to a display screen (m_DisplayScreen). This corresponds to the description in the context data in which Namir tells Ben to watch the news ("After Anna is kidnapped, Namir contacts Ben here and tells him to watch the news. Here he sees that the UGSE is under seige and heads there to save Anna."). The game script includes function name "NewsBroadcast" which is then invoked.
  • Watching the news completes the mission "ESCAPE THE CARRIER" and begins the new mission "RESCUE ANNA."
    • The story progression flag NYCDiscoveredUndergroundRoute is set.
    • The quest marker is set to m_TunnelAccess. The context suggests that this refers to an underground route to the basement of the Stock Exchange.

Stock Exchange[]

  • The Stock Exchange building has three locations: basement, trading floor, and roof, which have their own respective scripts.
  • Upon reaching the basement, the primary objective quest marker is set to m_StairAccess, which presumably leads to the trading floor.
  • Upon reaching the trading floor, the primary objective quest marker is set to m_RoofAccess, which leads to the Roof.
  • Upon reaching the roof, the primary objective quest marker is set to Sam Duarte (m_SamLocation), while the secondary objective quest marker is set to m_BombLocation. This secondary objective is not elaborated upon in the game files.
  • Sam Duarte's script (Enemy_Boss) and audio line "Fine, if you don't want to talk, let's get this over with" indicate that the the encounter with Sam would have included an optional dialogue sequence. For Sam's audio lines found in the game files, please see the article Deus Ex: The Fall Cut Audio.

Deus Ex: Icarus Rising early builds[]

Few assets pertaining the New York City Segment are found in the known early builds of Deus Ex: Icarus Rising, in contrast to the Australia segment which was a fully playable vertical slice presumably completed early on during the game's development. Icarus Rising build v0.6.1 contains a blockout map ("NYC Whitebox"), as well as two maps with partially-completed textured environments ("NYC Bank" and "NYC Subway"), as named in the map selection menu. The screenshots below are taken from a user-uploaded video.[7]

NYC Whitebox[]

This blockout map appears to be the "Helipad" mentioned in game data. The presence of the helicopter and the dialogue with the pilot also indicate that this is the starting point for the New York City segment. Based on the placeholder labels shown in the map, the helipad is located at the tip of Manhattan, and the city hub would have been based on the real-world Financial District of New York City.

NYC Bank[]

NYC Subway[]

Related gameplay content[]

  • The game files also include "New York City" versions of two weapons. For further information, see Deus Ex: The Fall Cut Weapons.
  • The game files describe three enemy/NPC classes that would have appeared in New York City: "NYCop", "Anarchist", and "Boss."
  • The game files include the following turntable flags that appear to be intended for use in unlocking turntable models depicting characters and NPCs that appear in New York City:
    • Turntable_Widow
    • Turntable_NYMaleCivilian
    • Turntable_NYMaleHacker
    • Turntable_NYFemaleCivilian
    • Turntable_NYFemaleHacker
    • Turntable_NYCop
    • Turntable_Anarchist

Miscellaneous images[]

The following images can be found in the game files of the released game.

The following images for characters associated with New York City can be found in the Icarus Rising build v0.6.1.

See also[]

References/Footnotes[]

  1. Context Data is located in the mainData file located at: Steam version: Steam\SteamApps\common\Deus Ex The Fall\DeusEx_steam_Data\mainData iOS version: Deus Ex. The Fall 1.36.0.ipa\Payload\dxm.app\Data\mainData
  2. For example, the entry for the rooptop appears in mainData as a set of four entries: "NYStockRoof", "NY Final Battle", "NewYork_UGSERoof", "CONTEXT: Ben finds Anna and Sam on the roof of the UGSE for the final showdown." The second entry here is listed in the "context data column," while the third entry appears to be referring to the filename of the loading entry and the fourth entry is the context description. The first entry ("NYStockRoof") appears to be a reference to the sound file that is to be played in the location.
  3. Based on the filenames in Assets > Scenes > Sandbox >Design > Blockout > _NewYork of the exportable file archive of Icarus Rising build v0.6.1.
  4. The scripts can be viewed using utilities such as dnSpy. See TCRF page "Deus Ex: The Fall (Windows)/Unused Script" for transcripts of the game script.
  5. The script for the Helipad has inconsistencies with the script for New York Hub. In script for the New York Streets, if the flag NYCHubStarted was not previously set, then this flag is set to true and the main mission is initiated. However, the script for the Helipad also sets that flag to true it was not previously set. Therefore, the flag is already set by the Helipad script, then the script for the Streets will not initiate the main mission.
  6. Specifically, multiple function calls are conditioned on NYCHubStarted not being set, suggesting that the script was, at the time, used in conjunction with manual triggering of flags. The script also includes multiple Debug.Log calls.
  7. "deus ex the fall cut new york bank level" and Deus ex icarus rising "full playthrough". That darn raven YouTube channel.
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