Power Glider

[AgaiLazen]

I don't think I'm alone when I say that the vanilla Power Armor jetpack...sucks. First time you see it in the mods of your power armor it looks like the coolest thing ever. That, combined with the jetpack loading screen and the Tesla Science cover, really builds up how cool this thing is going to be. But it requires you to max out both Armorer and Science!, essentially making it an endgame piece of equipment. Hell, a T-60 jetpack is one of the rewards that the Brotherhood gives you for destroying the Institute in the original ending, so this would have been a post-endgame item.

But after all that leveling, after scrounging together the materials or taking down the technologically superior Institute, you get...a double jump. That's really it. The Vanilla jetpack with all of this buildup, is an AP and FC-draining double-jump. The kind of double jump you get at the beginning of most platforming games. It isn't even an effective glide because you lose altitude VERY quickly. It sucks.



Lots of different modders have tried their hand in making the jetpack actually worth the investment, but this would be a little different from simply altering the values in case you can't tell from the topic. When I think of heavy-ass power armor flying through the air, I'm actually reminded of a game I used to play on the PS2 that had REALLY fun gliding mechanics: Transformers.

In that game one of the powerups you could use was a Glider that would unfold from your back where you could control the pitch as you flew. If you pitched downward you would accelerate and if you pitched upward you would decelerate. This means that if you went to the highest point in the area, you could basically take the glider to anywhere else in the level.

 

https://youtu.be/TYjoJ_w0qKk?t=205

I want to implement this gliding mechanic into Fallout 4, and have a two-fold implementation. The glider itself would have mid-level requirements to craft, (Two in Science and one in Armorer?) but would also be found on top of Greentech Genetics already built into a power armor piece, since it's the first high point you see in the game and that will incentivize you to test it out.

The second upgrade of this would be the Power Glider, which you would similarly acquire from the Brotherhood or craft with maxed Armorer and Science! The difference between this and the normal low-requirement jetpack would be that anytime during flight you can activate a jet boost that gives you greater speed and lift at the cost of extra FC drain and low AP drain. This will allow you to take off from basically anywhere without having to rely on a high point like the Greentech Genetics building.

I've seen people make models and animations, but how possible would it be to introduce these momentum and lift-based gliding mechanics into the engine?

Edited November 30, 2018 by AgaiLazen