In search of coders and a host to bring an idea of mine to life.

[celestialwolf]

Well, the title says it all. I have a pretty ambitious idea that could be done to take Fallout 3 to a whole new level. And I'm laying this idea to the table here since this site probably has the biggest amount of coders and people who know the mechanics of Fallout 3 the best. Anyways to the crux of the idea.

 

The request:

 

I need a team of people who are willing to assist me in setting up a community server and building the game to run on a mass multiplayer online scale. Now before the critics say this cannot be done I beg to differ since someone turned GTA san andreas into a MMO (www.sa-mp.com for my proof) so it could be done here. I am coming to you guys since I know next to jack in terms of coding and yet I would love to see this idea come together. I'm even approaching the heads of this site if they want to help host this idea. (Anyone who is willing to host this idea is welcome to step forward.

 

The Basic Idea:

 

The basis of my idea is to create a sort of a roleplay faction war server where players fight it out to ultimately see who will rule the DC ruins. The idea is that this be in a roleplay- FPS format where you take the role as civilian on joining the server then you rp your way into a faction (how the faction decides to recruit people will be up to the leaders etc) the ultimate goal is for the factions to rule over their territory and destroy all opposing factions in an attempt to rule the DC waists.

 

What is roleplay?:

 

Before people jump the gun no this is nothing out of Shakespeare. The concept of roleplay is to act out an alternate life its where you become the character in the game and you roleplay the characters life. In a way FO3 already supports this since you are roleplaying as a person who came from vault 101 and taking the reigns of their life. This is in essence the basis of the idea. To run the life of a person in a MMO environment and run it in a way that supports the ongoing events in the DC waists. Like for example the wars between the super mutants and the humans. Hence how I'm trying to merge roleplay with heavy action FPS

 

Mechanics of the server: Connecting to the server

 

My idea is to do exactly what they did with GTA San Andreas One primary client to download and install then just run the new multiplayer exe file to launch the game. The client would use the origional fallout 3 program files to operate and will auto download and install any files that the server requires (this enables the community to potentially add mods and new weapons, Armour, you name it to the server and all connecting players will receive the same thing so its all 100% compatible. Since its not the main exe running for single player Mods on your single player will not run (except things like mesh mods for already existing armors) The only mods that would run is the mods that the server has installed. (Refer to Mechanics of the server: Mods And Auto Updater)

 

Mechanics of the server: Mods And Auto Updater

 

I know how tenacious you guys are for the never ending need to expand and improve the game you play. So if this server is put to life We will need a auto updater so we can have endless control over new content we apply to the server and that upon downloading the client is up to date with the server and any new content that is added to the server the client will download and install to make the client compatible with the server. The content Range is endless. From the ability to script new factions in to put new weapons, armor, and oh hell, we could put nuclear banana's in if we wanted to (I don't think this will happen. meh, maybe as an admin tool but whatever :rolleyes:). This would give us the ability to apply a wide range of the existing great mods their are for FO3 and have it so people could experience all these mods while roleplaying or beating each other Scott senseless.

Mechanics of the server: The Factions and Races

 

Needless to say this is the bread and butter of what I'm preposing for the server. Yes you can be a civilian on the server living , Fighting , existing on your own However the factions and races are probably the most vital things in terms of how a player will best survive in this desolate world. The races are the foundation of the server. The 3 primary races I hope to focus on are the Humans, Ghouls, And Super mutants. You decide what race you will be upon creation of your character and it will help govern what factions you could join. The next Teir is the factions themselves. Factions are a group of people who are fighting for the same cause or purpose. this can range from just about anything from domination, Exploration, Theivery, Weath, or Diplomacy to so much more. The factions will originally start out as "civilian factions" A group of people building up and working towards their cause. If they prove to be active, And good at roleplay then they will be scripted officially into the server with the basic turf and headquarters (See Mechanics of the server: Scripted factions for details) to start with. (If they are starting in an already existing turf they must win that turf from the opposing faction). The faction then can then set out with whatever goal or aim they are looking for and go for it. The factions will exist until they ether structurally fall apart or they get wiped out by an apposing faction (the leaders being killed in the faction).

 

Mechanics of the server: Scripted factions

 

Scripted factions get perks that civilian factions don't. Going over each perk in fine detail below. Scripted factions will be the governing force in the server and the main entities behind the wars that will happen in the server.

 

- Scripted factions get Turf set on the map. This is the founding turf and where their Headquarters will be hidden in. Its the factions job to attempt to protect this turf at all costs. Or they could lose it to another faction and potentially be wiped out. Factions will have to consider their turfs very carefully as different terrain and areas could make the difference between a small force ripping apart a whole army or a Massive force being able to successfully control and maintain their territory. The turf is the biggest asset to the server as things like weapon spawns hidden all over the world, medical item spawns and vital things like room and board are within these boundaries and if a faction controls these resources it could make a huge difference. Between destroying or being destroyed.

 

- Scripted Ranks Will give the factions A scripted rank system that will enable the leaders to organize their factions and give members certain perks. These perks may range from leaders having triple the HP of normal members, to Armory access rights at certain levels and set jobs for each rank etc, Ranks will make the difference between weather your just a dumb grunt doing the dirty work or a leader calling the shots.

 

- A scripted HQ. Factions can Have an arranged place to be where they spawn if they die in the battlefield And generally would be placed anywhere within their turf. Often the leaders will run things from here and this is where a stockpile of the factions resources would be stored. The hq can be graphically scripted into the server or the faction can choose to use pre existing buildings or landforms as their base. (I wouldn't be surprised of a faction calls dibbs on a vault to serve as their hq) This place would be heavily defended and often will receive a gate with a very hard computer lock or equivalent very hard lock. Bases can be upgraded with auto defense turrets that will not fire at allies or members, Mines that will not trip for allies and members (this makes mines infinitely more useful.) and booby traps etc, and even force shield grids. If an enemy punches into the hq and destroys a target objective that will be scripted inside then the faction will be destroyed. Making the HQ the most important place to defend.

 

- A armory. Self explanatory. Factions gotta find weapons and equipment for their war efforts and they gotta have a place to hide it. A part of every hq will be a weapons armory to store these weapons and equipment. The server will auto save anything stored in these inventories. These rooms can be upgraded in size as the faction grows to hold more equipment. The faction can have things set so only certain people or ranks can access the room or its cabinets. This makes recon and salvage operations vital for factions, They must search for weapon , ammo and equipment spawns and Collect them then store them. Or a faction can use the funds to buy equipment from other factions or NPC's This would be the ultimate reward for a faction who takes down another faction is the sheer collection in resources they would earn ontop of crushing their opposition. Or... if the faction that lost their hq was smart they would gutt it.

 

 

Mechanics Of the server: Weapon and equipment spawns.

 

Scattered throughout the wasteland will be caches of weapons, medical equipment, food, water, ammo, armor and every other vital resource. These spawns once their looted have a cool down time until these spawns regenerate and can be looted again, These spawns will range from locked boxes to safes, cabinets or scattered weaponry. Bodies can also be looted for whatever the player had in their inventory at the time. Whenever you die you do lose your weapons and basic equipment (reference to "server mechanics: Player inventory and death penalties" These resources are vital to a factions survival so having people with high science skills and lockpick skills to do recon and equipment recovery detail will make a huge difference. If a faction is smart and their recon guys are sneaky enough they can encroach onto enemy territory and loot the spawns found in those places. This will enable weapons of varying rarity to be placed onto the server easily. All we would need to do is govern how many spawns of that particular weapon are on the map. As well this will grant the ability for factions to acquire medical equipment, buffs, and other agents to assist in turning the tide of battle.

 

Mechanics of the server: Things that will be removed/changed (discussable if this idea goes forward)

 

- Wait time will be removed due to the world time will remain permanently consistent. (following standard game time flow)

 

- Cheat console will be removed/and or reserved only for server staff. This is a no brainer since we want a fair community for guests and other people to come to. and the console is useful for admins to control allot of aspects of the game without much effort. if it cannot be implemented then server commands will be added and console wiped from the multiplayer version of the game.

 

- Sleep time will show you laying down (for a player to get full hp they must rest for about 10 irl minutes on the bed. Time will pass normally )

 

-Quest AI and all quests removed from the server. (Some quests will be added like weapons smuggling etc)

 

- Plan on some changes with pip boy to make it a potential communication source for factions and other things relating to multiplayer

 

 

Mechanics of the server: AI / NPC's

 

- The server if its stable enough should host AI and Some npc units like vendors, traiders (non quest related filler npc's) and monster AI in the server. In terms of the Monsters. it would add another danger threat but as well another potential source of resources. As players could loot the monsters for their weaponry and ammunition and... whatever else.

 

Mechanics of the server - Administration and Game Master Team

 

Every server needs its staff. Ours would be no different. We would have to have a 24/7 staff roster to keep hackers, bug abusers, and those who want to ruin the community for others off our server. As well the admin team would help players if they run into a technical issue. Like if they get stuck somewhere etc admins could /gethere them and instantly teleport them. Our gm team would help the players with any questions they have and help our new community members learn to RP and otherwise become a better part of the community. A no brainer admins will have the server controls at their fingertips so its important we find responsible people to run things.

 

 

 

Mechanics of the server - Player based details

 

-Skills / SPECIAL / Level up points

Players would level up in very much the same way as they do in singleplayer. All player- to player skills would still apply (PTP meaning skills like black widow damage related skills etc) Levels would be harder to obtain though. Their xp requirements would be ramped up considerably. (This would encourage people to try and specialize in one thing so they can prove themselves useful to whatever faction they join. Ie a sniper would go with maximizing light guns, repair, etc and all the marksman related perks or a recon to have maximized science and lock pick skills)

 

-Death penalty

Players who get killed their corpses will remain where they are for 30 minutes to an hour. This enables the killing players to loot the body of weapons, items and ammunition. (However certain armors relating to factions etc will be unmovable) As a possible perk to encourage donations to help with server hosting a player wont lose their weapon if they are killed. (See donation ideas below) NOTE: Addressing AdamV's concerns No the player will instantly re spawn after a 20 second cool down However the body will remain as a corpse to be looted for 30 minutes the body will be renamed to something like "corpse" once the player dies.

 

-Critical / Hidden damage

Critical damage would still apply to head, arm, legs and sneak damage would still apply. However for sneak damage it will only do critical if the player does not see you on their screen. if you are in their LOS but they haven't spotted you you will only do normal damage. Critical damage will only apply if they are not looking towards you or you are at a range of over 100 meters (about half the length of the rivet city flight deck is about 100M) If a players arms or legs are shot or blown off they player will slowly bleed to death unless they get rushed back to their HQ to healed. (Player animation for player carrying another player will probably be implemented. And yes with 2279 technology an arm can be probably reattached without much problems. )

 

Mechanics of the server - Player to player synchronization

 

This server in order to get the best results and prevent lag from being too too much of a problem should try and adopt a FPS synchronization system. We shouldn't be skinflint with this and we will have to make it count. Lag is always a problem but if we make the sync system as perfect as possible we could reduce that.

 

Server support ideas

 

Ok I know a server is expensive to maintain. So a few perk ideas that could encourage players to donate are below. These can be set into donation ranks ranging from basic (like 10 dollars) To Godly (500 dollars or more)

 

 

- No weapons loss from death.

 

- Leaders who donated can get a advanced HQ scripted (Twice as hard to take and has larger storage, living space. A base could be constructed instead of a HQ that serves better as a fortress than what a HQ could serve as.

 

-HP Increase. you donated. you helped us. so the gods are going to help you. get Double your hp.

 

-AP Increase (Alternative to hp increase) Gods gave you a guardian angel for helping the server All armor you wear doubles its protection!

 

- Receive points towards player perks. You donated so you should be able to purchase more perks.

 

- Weapon damage reduced 75%. The gods favor you. They have added supreme durability to your weapons. They wont sustain much more damage

 

In Conclusion

 

This is a discussion your welcome to add ideas to it however those wanting to bring this idea to life and join the team to bring it to reality Please step forward. I will be honest. This is a Huge undertaking and will take a large team to bring it to life. This is just a dose of the general idea. If we get the go ahead and start the project New ideas would be welcomed by anyone who joins the team to put this together. This is possible. But it will take a allot of work. However if we bring the server to life It would turn into a community we could all look at and be proud of.

 

 

Bethesda won't have a problem with it I imagine since Once word gets out about the server once we bring it live people would be scrambling to get Fallout 3 so sales would increase. Since this is a mod to the game technically Bethesda would welcome it. I Did my homework and this idea isn't that much different to content mods. So were not infringing on any of their copyright laws etc just so long as we give credit where credit is due.

 

If I get enough people to step forward on this project we will set a date for a meeting on a VOIP or Live chat program to get this project off the ground. (Will probably be ventrillo, Xfire, Or MSN for the meeting source.)

 

Ideas on the table. So. What say you soldier? Want to bring the war of the century to life?

Speak your mind :P

 

- Chester Matlock (Blackdragon226)

 

(Yes i posted this on my girlfriends account. I'm going to be creating my own account shortly lol)

[AdamV]

Sounds promising but unless you have a whole team of people dedicated to making this a reality I doubt it will go anywhere

 

Perhaps you should divide this into a bunch of smaller projects so no one gets overwhelmed. Like respawning loot first, then work on factions ect. Don't put a little work into each of your ideas and quit

 

Forcing people to stay dead is stupid, how about make them drop random non-equipped items/caps.

[celestialwolf]

Nono the bodies would remain there but the player would respawn back to whatever point we designate. the player instantly re spawns after a 20 second cooldown but the body or remains will remain behind as a "temporary container" And absolutely that's why I'm asking for a large team so we don't rip our hair out over this.

[AdamV]

Oh. Like diablo 2?

[Interfer0]

I don't think this would work. If you can get a proof of concept running, in which I you can get the game to play multiplayer, I bet you could get the modders to come.

[celestialwolf]

I don't think this would work. If you can get a proof of concept running, in which I you can get the game to play multiplayer, I bet you could get the modders to come.

 

Hence why I'm getting people together to try and get this proof of concept. Multiplayer to a degree has been done on oblivion and Looking at the games the codes hardly vary much. As i said I'm a bit of a dinosaur to the programming and scripting concepts but I do understand allot of the mechanics to the game. So thats why I'm approaching people to help bring this idea to life.

 

And yes that's sort of the idea adam the corpses remain behind to give people time to loot them and add a really epic effect after a massive battle but they do dissipate after a time. Hell if we want to we could even add a rotting script so the bodies would decay.

 

also my proof of concept it could be done is partially here. GTA SA was not ment for multiplayer yet its now one of the most popular games on the net. SA-MP Official Site

[Drakron]

Let me get this ...

 

You want for people to create a multiplayer mode for Fallout 3 as you have ... what skills?

And your proof of concept is ... a completely UNRELATED game that does not even use THE SAME ENGINE have a multiplayer mode?

 

...

 

Do I REALLY need to say anything?

[Circuitous]

No, you didn't.

 

This CAN be done. It was done with Oblivion. It wasn't very good, but it was never finished, either.

 

As for Multi Theft Auto, that took years to reach a playable state. It still isn't all that great. And San Andreas did have unused multiplayer code.

 

Best of luck but unless we've got an uber-skills coder that really, REALLY wants to see this made a reality it ain't gonna happen.