Right, so I've got some free time at work now, so let me go into a bit more detail about revamping DOC.
As I mention, the Deepground ShinRa intensive care facility would be found abandoned and apparently ransacked, but also so flooded with Mako radiation it's assumed no one survived.
Over the next three years, accidents, thefts, and disappearances happen worldwide, slacking off once Geostigma vanishes, but picking up again shortly before the game begins.
At this point, the WRO decides that it's time to do something about Midgar, cleaning up the area of trash, repurposing equipment, that sort of thing.
Then come the accidents. Our opening shots would be WRO survey footage showing them finding Rosso in the ShinRa building. They wonder what she's doing before she cuts them all down, after which she finds the camera and speaks to it that DeepGround is rising, and that Gaians have two options, to run, or to fight, and she hopes they'll fight, since she's had to refrain from killing for two years and she's got to catch up.
After that, we cut to Kalm. It would play out much the same, only with a lot more in the way of DeepGround releasing monsters and robots of all sorts rather than strict human wave tactics. They'd be numerous, but not Zerg Rush Kekeke numbers.
Basically, the idea is such- DeepGround, and Hojo's plan, have been fomenting for over three years now- yes, this was a Xanatos Gambit of Hojo's all along, he's responsible for most of DeepGround's supers, and he's pulling the strings. Some know. Some don't.
DeepGround is still a formidable force, but the vast bulk of its army are now beasts and robots, not humans.
Its major players are still the major players, but they'd all be tweaked in at least some way, either experimented on to grant them extra powers, or strange entities with special powers ShinRa wanted to be able to use and potentially recreate- Standard SOLDIERs being the most successful version of this effort. Azul's powers, for example, would be related to the same thing that allows Vincent to Transform into the Galian Beast, Freddy, Frank's Monster, and Chaos. Weiss and Nero would have been twins heavily exposed to pure and stagnant Mako extremely early in development, etc.
And that's just making DeepGround better, more interesting villains. I also think more levels as people other than Vinnie and Cait Sith are required, especially levels where Cloud fights Rosso, Yuffie fights Nero, etc. Oh, and the dead Tsviets from online? They're back in. More folks for the party to take down.
Speaking of Yuffie? Klutz Ninja extreme? If that's still around, it's made explicit that it's an act. And we definitely do more with her, even if it's small scenes of her aiding Vinnie in ways he's not aware of, but also seemingly doing so and escaping from DG generals almost by accident.
Until the Nero Fight, when the cloak and the kid gloves come off.
