A new novel by Ian O'Dowd · Available now
COLLISIONThe same man, seen differently.
Daniel Mercer knows exactly who he is online. As StillMerc, he is calm under pressure, respected and decisive. In the real world, Daniel is far less convinced those qualities belong to him.
The man people trust through the headset may simply be the part of himself he never learned to recognise.
Same person // different view
Who are you looking at?
Switch between the version Daniel sees in himself and the version everyone else already knows.
Quiet. Capable. Not convinced.
Daniel is good at solving problems for other people. He is much worse at believing that competence means anything about who he is.
Collision // public game manual
Learn the rules before the worlds collide.
This is the actual rule structure Daniel is playing inside — spoiler-free, but no longer vague. Open each system record to see how a season works, what injury means, how command is earned and what happens when two surviving worlds finally meet.
A persistent world built to narrow.
Collision begins with 500 players in one world. A full Collision event brings two surviving worlds together: 1,000 players total.
Players begin separated into alliances. Over the season those groups are forced to cooperate, merge command structures and eventually defend a single world together.
Sample reader · shortened opening
Chapter One — Last One Standing
COLLISION
The western ridge disappeared from Merc’s tactical map at 03:17.
Not literally.
The terrain was still there.
What vanished were the friendly marks that had been holding it.
One after another, the last blue positions blinked out.
Waymark’s latest recon ping remained for a few seconds longer.
Then that went too.
At the top of Merc’s HUD, the warning that had been there for nearly an hour continued to pulse.
WORLD HQ UNDER SIEGE
RECOVERY DISABLED
Merc pressed his Discord push-to-talk.
“Waymark.”
Gunfire rolled through the game audio from somewhere beyond the northern wall. Another burst cracked closer, followed by the hollow boom of something heavier landing far enough away not to matter yet.
Waymark didn’t answer.
Merc tried again.
“Waymark. Talk to me.”
A second later, his voice came through Discord.
“West is gone.”
Merc dragged the tactical map toward the ridge.
“I can see that.”
“No,” Waymark said. “I mean properly gone. They’re already past the old checkpoint.”
HalfMag cut in.
“Excellent.”
A mouse clicked faintly through his mic.
“Absolutely fucking excellent.”
Lockstep answered immediately.
“HalfMag, shut up for ten seconds.”
“Ten?”
“Start with five.”
Merc ignored them.
“What did you actually see, Waymark?”
“Three groups crossing the ridge before I pulled back. More movement behind them.”
“How many?”
Waymark hesitated.
“I stopped counting at eighty.”
Available now
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