A secret Russian town in America

[Russianwalstelander]

Alrighty then, I guess I should contribute some ideas

a) If the exoskeletons can be in the project, I guess all the equipment the village has is from some stortage that contains a disent ammount of equipment from the USSR. Why the facility has such a stortage? Because this village is just a first part of the project, with the second part being creation of soldiers for infiltraion of the USSR army. For the training of such units the facility needed to have army equipment from Russia. Something like that could actually work out.
b) How the courier got in contact with the village ? Well the logical thing would be....get hit in the head by a scout party from the vilalge. After wich the courier is awekening inside the interrogation chamber of the village with two KGB agents ( who act as the sort of goverment in the village) speaking ( in russian I guess )about you and writing down unusual features ( maybe facemarks from bullets that you were hit with, maybe a possible script so that if you are wearing faction armor a comment on that armor). After some dialoge you would get an opportunity to speak, and at that moment players skills would play out
1) If you have enough intelligence you could try and say a few sentances in russian, after all courier learned some latin phrases. Why couldn't he somehow learn some russian?
2) Another way could be the use of finger language to comunicate with the agent.
3) The hardest way would be to maybe do something, or maybe break out of a prison ( wich might be mine for prisoners )for caught wastelanders ( possible questline)

Talking about the questlines, currently I've for only two in mind . The already mentioned Prison questlines that culminates into break out and total rampage inside the city, and another one could be started if you didn't uncover the truth behind the village. In it the courier learns that the "russians" belive themselves to be captured by the old USA goverment, and actually wish to get back home. They might be able to do so if they use a plane that is stationed in Searchlite Aeroport ( I actually don't remember if it had planes, but it's easier to use then the NCR filled McCarran ) the quest would make the courier to help the "russians" learn how to use a plane ( Nellis simulation program I guess), and get some radiation protection for them. After the quest a nice looking slideshow about the "russians" flying to Russia using old Navigation systems and learning something about the place.

[xaosbob]

This. Is. Cool. What a fantastic and atmospheric idea, Dev!

 

@ Russianwalstelander: I really like your ideas for dealing with the communication barrier, and the idea of sending the Russians "home" via a plane (maybe via Nellis?) is kind of cool and kind of funny (since Russia really isn't home for this bunch..lol). As an explorer type player myself, I lean toward the Courier finding a person, an item, or a passage (like a cleft in a rock wall they "never noticed" before) that starts things along. A simple nudge in the mod description would point that direction, without having to do a cutscene or remove player agency too overtly.

 

The villagers could definitely believe they are still in Mother Russia, but how about the directors of this grand scheme? Perhaps their descendants, in the vein of a secret order, are still keeping to the plan of an extinct US government, believing that the (appearance of) War is actually just another important (and Top Secret - Eyes Only) phase of a much larger plan that never actually existed? Partly a study into the effects of two centuries of isolationism (and potential inbreeding), and also as a novel way to more finely evolve and adapt the skills of the village subjects on a generational scale?

 

They may actually believe there is still an operational Washington DC (GNR doesn't count!), and this has been reinforced over the decades by prerecorded numbers stations and other looped government (and mystery) communications over the bandwidths they use. Their dedication was further encouraged a few years back by a smattering of direct contact with the Enclave. The Enclave's subsequent silence was actually expected, as this is, of course, a top secret paramilitary project, so they are not in the least disturbed. In fact, they are emboldened, and this may be why the Courier finally ran across them.

 

What are the new orders, whether from the Enclave, or as an initiative taken by the directors? How will it conflict with the understanding and desires of the locals? This doesn't have to be an antagonistic setup, more of a "right hand doesn't know what the left is doing," to keep things from feeling too polarized.

 

I will definitely be pondering this more.

[Rasputin258]

Red Dawn is coming!!!Mother Russia will rise again!!!

[Russianwalstelander]

@ xasosbob: I thought of Nellis. But really it's impossible to get a large amount of strange looking, armed and easily annoyed "russians" through the Boomer territory, especially counting the fact that Boomers look remotly like the US army Pilots. That is actually the only reason I have to use the Searchlight aeroport.

[xaosbob]

@ Russianwalstelander: Good point. It does seem like it would be equally difficult to bring them through the entire Mojave Wasteland, what with NCR and Legion all over. Perhaps, depending on how far north (or west, into the Sierra Nevada, maybe) the village is located, there might be another airfield available.

 

In a related thought, how plausible would it be for the Courier to get their hands on enough fuel that the "Russians" might think they could get home? Unless there was an atomic-powered plane, maybe. I was thinking it might be an interesting moral/ethical dilemma to choose whether to send them aloft with enough fuel for them to ~think~ they can make it to Siberia, or to send them with actually enough to get there. One way or another, they'll be gone from the Wasteland, but of course, in the former case, they'll drown in the Pacific (off-screen, of course, more of an implication than anything)...and whether that is a good or a bad thing may be entirely subjective.

 

At any rate, that part is sort of "end-game" for the mod, and can be explored more after the nuts and bolts of the mod itself have been hashed out. I'm waiting to hear devinpatterson's further thoughts before I devote too much more energy to it--working on a few projects of my own. ;)

[devinpatterson]

Yep, right here, just fighting a flu or bug or something so I'v been in a mini-coma. So my endgame was actually more of a classic fallout moral dilemma (but relatively simple in principle). Which is better a stark and depressing truth or a "useful" (and maybe even comforting) deception?

 

let me run it by you guys and see if you think it has any merit. Bear with me if it's a little bit rambling/confused, because that's pretty much the way I feel at the moment.

 

Some of the elite ruling class, which in my mind would be hereditary descendants of a sort of mix of KGB, Ministry of Internal Affairs, possibly ministry of defense & GRU (from here I'll just use the term MVD/KGB until I have a little more info on what I'm actually rambling on about), *do* know the true origins of the town (or more accurately strongly suspect it's true nature). Not all the MVD/KGB, but at least the highest level ones.

 

Their reason for suppressing the information is completely self serving. If there is no truth to their cultural/political way of life, and the lie is exposed, they, as the ruling class have the most to loose. Any legitimacy they had to rule is exposed as a lie they have perpetuated for two centuries. The MVD/KGB's secrecy, continual isolation of the town, persecution of "disruptive elements", citizen patriotism tests and the sometimes violent police actions to "protect" it's citizens, etc are all exposed as a lies. Self serving deception at the expense of it's citizens.

 

So they have buried the truth, especially the original underground facility which they have been unable to penetrate (protected by vault-tec technology) and they will do anything to keep it buried. This also applies to a fiction created about the USA; that although war torn and gravely wounded elements of the US military persist (and in a way they do via the enclave elements). Rampaging across America the heavily armed Pindos take whatever they wish, killing without restraint. If the town were ever discovered it would surly mean at best a quick and violent death for the small number of soldiers and citizens. And at worst? Well Chinese prisoners were used in many different experiments, from robobrains at General Atomics International to horrendous medical experiments at BigMT.

 

The citizens understand the grave danger they face, and are encouraged to cheerfully submit to the constant citizen patriotism tests administered several times a day by the KGB eyebots. They understand the dangers of any radio/tv broadcasts and gladly submit to having only the official soviet state channel through a cable, to the official telecasting viewers. They understand why these telecasters have special tamper proof seals whose removal will result in the harshest of penalties. They gladly accept the comforting fact of armed soldiers from the ministry of defense on every street corner, who are there only to guarantee the citizens safety. And of course it goes without saying that reporting any seditious questions or activity is of the highest importance.

 

So you see where I'm going with this? A mix of 1984 level suppression/oppression and surveillance with the hyper patriotism/paranoia that is typical of the fallout world. It is necessary for the MVD/KGB to have a shadowy, deadly external enemy in order to suppress any travel, prevent anyone from building a receiver for radio broadcasts, or prevent recovery & retention any "subversive materials" from the wasteland. Even KBG/MVD/GRU must abide by these laws.

 

But curiosity is a defining trait of humanity. A member of the Spetsnaz pockets a magazine on a mission, or during recon, overhears a wastelander's tale of winning big in NV. A tinkerer builds a small crystal radio set, and huddled in his basement, listens to "Mr New Vegas" and the strange world he describes. There are......questions. And sometimes they find other people that have questions. Not many, but some. They share information and realize that things are very different from what they are/were told.

 

The town itself is setup as a smallish town outside a small military base. This was designed to allow the training of spies from the simplest most unassuming farmer all the way to members of the ministry of defense, KGB etc. We have several factions, consisting of at least; 1. Rebels 2. MVD/KGB 3. Military (both standard and Spetsnaz special forces) 4. citizens (farmers, shopkeepers etc).

 

Now this all sounds very extensive and far reaching, how could even a high level courier survive as an enemy of the state? The MVD/KGB, military and even the citizens technology has been slowly failing for 200 years. So sometimes a citizen test failure isn't reported by an eyebot. A suprisingly large number of surveillance cameras in public and private residences don't work. Many of the weapons in the armory have been jury rigged time and time again. The citizen rebels have found low tech methods of foiling high tech surveillance. In addition the MVD/KGB has it's hands full trying to ferret out subversives in the civilians, military and even it's own ranks.

 

It may also sound like a gigantic project, but I have some strategies to keep it manageable. I'd like to make the "illusion" of a small town consisting of a hundred or maybe several hundred civilian and military. Most of these people won't be seen, we're just giving the facade or impression of that scale. We'll cap the NPC's at as small number as is necessary for the quests and missions.

 

I havn't started an outline or anything, but the basic plot revolves (as you would imagine) around the rebels and the MVD/KGB. The player will have the choice to choose a side (or play both). They may join the rebels or may work with the MVD/KGB as an outsider to be taken in by the rebels as their salvation while actually being the person that will ultimately end their rebellion. Eventually the quests will lead him/her to make an ultimate moral decision. Penetrating the underground facility will leave the courier with the choice of exposing the lies of two centuries and turning everyone into a people without a past. Exposed as victims of a grand shame in a strange world they have never known. Or to continue the oppression that has bonded and bound them as a people and a culture for over 200 years.

 

There are several ways to start. I'm not a fan of the "knocked out an now your a prisoner" idea as it makes no difference what a players choices are, and I believe the players choices should always matter. But that being said, it may be a useful tool to get the ball rolling. Another way to start is an escaped rebel the player runs across (or vice versa) that pleads for help for him/herself, family and people. A third way could reflect the recon/scrounging missions that the military would sometimes have to carry out. As special forces (night vision, training etc) they would be like ghosts among many of the typical wastelanders. A superstition could form around them as spirits of the night. Or a mission could go wrong, and all the wastelanders would have to be neutralized. The Spetsnaz would cover their tracks and it could appear like a whole settlement or small town suddenly disappeared in the night, no bodies, no survivors, no explanation. That just might attract a curious courier's attention.

 

I'd also recommend for the social structure, many positions to be hereditary, handed down for the last 200 years.

 

Anyway that's a very basic, unformed pitch of some of the ideas I had in mind. Let me know what you guys think, what you'd like to change, what you'd like to keep etc. We will see what we can cobble together.

[xaosbob]

First off (and by far, the most important): keep lying low and taking care of yourself. Lots of fluids, lots of rest. ;)

I really do like this, all of it. It's fun, too, to see that some of my thoughts coincide with what has already been brewing in your mind, and of course to see the broader scope of your idea. Honestly, this doesn't seem spectacularly huge, especially considering some of the other projects I know you're a part of. I'm envisioning it as sort of like the DLCs in structure, where the Courier goes there and really cannot leave until things are resolved one way or another. Yes? No?

Absolutely agree about the MVD/KGB faction--preserving power is what people in power spend most of their time doing, anyway.

 

Where are you envisioning this taking place, real-world-wise? I keep thinking snow, but partly because I'm Minnesotan, and partly because of every spy/WW3 movie made in the '80s. I know due north of Vegas (something like 50 miles?) is the real Nuclear Testing Site, and a bit beyond that is Area 51. To the northwest is Death Valley, and in Honest Hearts you go northeast (which could be a travel-through opportunity for those who have played the DLC and would like a chance to scout it again on the way up or back--nothing new need be added, just rely on what's already there to provide texture for the trip). Also, since New Reno was already a major settlement in FO2, it seems the majority of Nevada may be pretty well-traveled.

 

All that to say that north may not be the best direction--again, assuming snow; if not, disregard ;) --so perhaps the Sierra Nevada to the West? Deep in NCR frontier territory, but so isolated they haven't stumbled upon it (or are likely to).

 

I'm just trying to get a handle on the feel of the place a bit better, is all, so I have mental imagery to go with your ideas.

[Morgwynn]

I was going through my Nexus mod links for Fallout 3 and I came across this http://fallout3.nexusmods.com/mods/13937//? is this something like what your thinking about? Maybe if you get permission you could use some of the models and textures for your Fallout: New Vegas project?

[FaintUSMC]

 

Who is to say that China didn't annex the Russian states during the great war which caused the settings of the Fallout Universe.

 

Fallout is one of those titles that really anything could go, because we really don't know what happened to start the great war.

We do have a bit (very small amount) of history re: Russia and the U.S. in the fallout universe. It comes primarily from one of the premade player characters in the early series. Russia wasn't annexed, at least not at the time the great war started. They talked a big game about the U.S. being their enemy, but relations were actually much more cordial than one would expect, and far better than say during our cold war.

 

I like this idea and would endorse it if anyone could create it into a playable mod

I can make this mod, but some help would really speed things along (as I'm working on several projects). If you don't have modding skills, that's OK too, because ideas for quest lines are just as important, if not more so, than technical skills. If you want this mod to be made, contribute what you can, even if it's just brainstorming ideas. Right now it's in it's preparatory phase and if I don't feel like it has legs (especially in regard to the story line) it may be put on a back burner and forgotten.

 

 

I haven't played Fallout 1 or 2 in a very long time, and tactics really focused on the BoS and hardly had any prewar context to it, I was referring to Fallout 3's DLC with the Chinese as current lore. However since the lore isn't really set in stone, which I think is really why I love Fallout to begin with, you could work in anything really.

[devinpatterson]

PerfectPitch can do Russian accents for us, and since his range is wide he would be able to voice several characters :thumbsup:

 

Here is a sample of his work