New game, old (well, not really) engine

[Yossarian22]

Well its possible to "store" the character values for the time being while he is inside the Virtual World. But it needs a bit of scripting. Also it will be difficult for Perks. Everything else should be no problem.

 

Here another Idea:

 

Make it as a alternative Start Mod. Means, the Player begin the Game inside your Virtual Machine Scenario. Lets say his Brain is stucked inside the Machine like Brown in Tranquility Lane and he must come out. He play trough your Mod and with the End he is released to the normal Fallout World and ends up in a Tranquility Pod in Vault 101 for example. I think that would be very cool and you would get many Fans with that. Also you dont have to bother about Characterlevel.

[eezergoode]

Well its possible to "store" the character values for the time being while he is inside the Virtual World. But it needs a bit of scripting. Also it will be difficult for Perks. Everything else should be no problem.

- duh.... Tranquility lane, I'm such an idiot.. I didn't even think of it already being in game for me to look at.....

 

Alternative start sounds interesting, but if I manage to make this even half as long as I want, that would make for a VERY long period before you actually begin the real game. I might break it up though, make it like a VR video game, and make it a long drawn out side-quest where you have to travel around finding other pods to continue the game..... each pod acts as an expansion pack or module :)

 

 

For example, the first pod could just have you run through the escape from the lab, and stop when you walk out the front door. Then if you want to continue the game, you have to go to wherever the next module was being tested at the time.

 

Since this is 'the most advanced VR in the entertainment industry', we could assume that it adapts to your real life skills and abilities, AND it could account for you gaining experience and such in the game that carries over to real life.. kinda like Op Anchorage

 

I doubt I'm going with the true alternative start, though. I'm thinking about putting the first pod into a new/modified building in Springvale, well, right outside actually. Maybe add the ruins of the PenguinSoft Games offices, and have the pod, and some info about the 'game' on a terminal in there. You have to complete each 'module' in order to be able to activate the next.... like a serial version of expansion packs. And since PenguinSoft was a small company, they maybe had to send out the different stages for outside play-testing?

 

This approach would also allow me to release it in stages, and see what the response is like. I was already thinking of ways to add it to the game as "the ultimate in consumer VR entertainment" this morning, and have already written a series of in-house e-mails back and forth between the CEO and the lead designer of the project....

 

Breaking it up into modules isn't too much of a stretch, and would probably make things easier in the long run. And as I said, would allow for a series of smaller releases instead of one big release, probably a long time from now.

 

I think I'm going to start on the layout of the CDC lab tonight, since that is the first step in the mod, and if I am releasing in stages, it is probably best to do the work in linear order....

 

I may add some non-linear quests (i.e. can find the modules and play through them in any order) later on down the line, but the main quests will need to be played in order... with maybe 2-3 non-linear things added in between each stage of the main quest. For example, you NEED to complete stage 1 and stage 2, and then at any point after that, you can play around with the 'free-play' modules that are scattered throughout the world. I may also not have the pods all over, just he software, and you need to find it and bring it back to the first pod to play through it. That way, if someone really wants to play it from start to finish, they can do all the traveling and gathering first, then come back to the PenguinSoft offices and play through all at once.

 

Hmmm... need to update my web page now with some new info...

 

 

Yossarian22, thank you again for some great ideas on how to implement this into the game without breaking anything..... The idea of playing your video game character going on a quest to play a video game.... I love it.

[eezergoode]

Okay, just a quick and dirty little placement, mainly making sure there was room and I didn't interfere with anything already there. I'll pretty it up later... adding a small parking area, maybe some sidewalk, and the billboard with the actual logo on it. Of course, it is just a shell right now, I haven't even started on the interior cell, but i want to talk to the rest of the team and go over the floorplan before i really start mapping it out.

 

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/large/f6ae101de802d9fd3c0b1085c5d8adb4d071b9a2.jpg

 

I removed two ruined houses overlooking Silvers shack on the outskirts of Springvale and replaced them with PenguinSoft.... If there is a mod that this would conflict with, I could always move the location.

[eezergoode]

Update : Looks like it may be a little while before I get to making the actual Worldspaces for the mod. Both of my computers have trouble with the GECK crashing when I try to generate the meshes... I'm going to check with my one friend and see if his comp can make it through, and if so, it's all good. If not, it will have to wait a month or so, until I upgrade rebuild my PC.

 

Still working on the interiors for now though.. I really wanted to add the worldspace(s) first, but the whole opening sequence is an interior setting, so that's still on track.