The perfect realism mod

[gurachn]

I finished the game when it first came out, but just reloaded it again. In the meantime I have been playing a lot of ArmA and ArmA2, but for a change I decided to head back to the wasteland. Well, I'm not really enjoying it this time.

In the stock game, the weapons seem to be all airsoft/nerf inspired. Having to shoot a guys 10 times in the face to put him down is ridiculous. Likewise being able to take so many bullet hits.

I would like to see this change.

I know there are lots of mods out there that aim to boost realism, but frankly a lot of the descriptions are pretty vague and its difficult to tell exactly what they are doing.

 

Here is my list of things I think should be altered. I am hoping that there is already a mod (or mods) that does all this, but if not, perhaps someone could help me find ways that I could change these things myself.

 

Weapon changes

• Weapons damage needs to be increased (or hitpoints decreased). A bullet to the brain is always fatal. Rifle+ hits anywhere should be more than just a minor inconvenience. The Vanilla damage system is just silly, and a real immersion breaker. Getting shot even once should be something you should fear.

• Condition of the weapon should affect accuracy only (worn barrels, banged up/missing sights), but it should have a fairly major effect.

• Weapon damage should relate only to the round fired. Regardless of who fires the weapon the kinetic energy of the bullet is the same. Condition of the barrel will have some effect, but I am quite sure you would have difficult noticing the difference if I shoot you with a 9mm from my fancy new Sig P226 as opposed to an old dirty Luger.

• Weapons wear out too fast. Combat weapons are designed to be rugged, and (with basic cleaning) fire thousands of rounds without degradation. I have a 40 year old Mauser that still holds a nice group. Drastically reduce how quickly weapons wear.

• Most weapons should be in crap condition (they are 200 years old!), but repairs should be extremely expensive (tools and parts, and are rare too). They should jam a lot too.

• Good quality guns should be extremely expensive. Crap ones (with crap accuracy and reliability) much less so.

• Raiders and other scum should have very few guns, the majority of which will be crappy, inaccurate and prone to jamming

• Ammo should be worth its weight in gold. No major plants churning out rounds anymore. Same with grenades.

• Carry capacity is too great. Carrying a ton of stuff should have major penalties for mobility.

 

Damage changes

• Critical hits to legs should result in limping/immobility, to arms to major reduction in accuracy. All should affect vision (difficult to hold a calm, steady aim when you are screaming in pain and bleeding out.

• Bleeding? Can it be implemented? A gut shot should result in death if not treated promptly.

 

 

Effects of these changes:

Life in the wasteland is a scary one.

Death can be sudden. Only the paranoid, the sneaky and the fast will survive.

Getting caught off guard and shot is almost certainly fatal. You have to stalk your prey, use cover and be smart.

Crappy old guns are everywhere, and are basically sold for salvage rates, but ammo is precious. Bullets are horded, and you have to kill efficiently (1-round headshots are the goal). Spraying and praying could mean not having enough rounds to survive your next encounter.

This explains why melee weapons are so common.

 

This would make for a much tenser game. Keeping you hungry and nervous and forcing you to play smart. Easier to kill, but a quick death if you aren’t smart and careful.

 

Any advice on mods to create this atmosphere or advice on how to alter the game to this effect, will be most appreciated.

[Skree000]

i fully endorse this post, everything you suggest here sounds awesome, and would be a welcome change to the game.

 

As you mentioned, there are TONS of 'balancing' mods, but unfortunately if documentation is lacking, there is only one way to find out what each one does lol.

 

 

There was a few good mods which basically added basic Needs to the gameplay, such as sleep, food and water. it was REALLY difficult, but added SO much immersion.

check them out... i think one is called Basic Needs?

[gurachn]

i fully endorse this post, everything you suggest here sounds awesome, and would be a welcome change to the game.

 

As you mentioned, there are TONS of 'balancing' mods, but unfortunately if documentation is lacking, there is only one way to find out what each one does lol.

Thanks Skree.

Actually, I'm not interested in a mod that 'balances' anything. I really dont think balance is a state that goes with the idea of a post apocalyptic wasteland. I think survival should be a major challenge and the penalties for mistakes should be sudden, brutal and unforgiving.

This could be due to coming back to FO3 after playing ArmA2. That game forces you to be damn carefully, use cover like your life depended on it (it does) and be constantly checking 360.

I think putting some of that atmosphere of constant dread and paranoia into FO3 would be superb!

Giving the ai the ability to whack me with a single shot is only fair, they are handicapped enough as it is. As a (hopefully) more intelligent human, it is my job to not allow myself to get into a situation where the ai gets a good shot at me. In a battle of brains agains numbers, I know which way I will choose!

 

My first play through when the game was new, by about mid game I was almost a god, with enough weapons, ammo and gear to open a "Gunz R Us' superstore!

It was a bit of a laugh, but not much of a challenge. And frankly it doesnt really reflect how shitty and terrifying I imagine life in a post apocalyptic life to be.

I understand that this is definitely not to everyone's taste, but for my next go through, I would like to be hungry, fearful and desperate.

 

I will have a look for the sleep and food mod, cos that sounds like it fits well with my image.

But I am mainly interested in means (mods or info) of tweaking the damage and cost elements in the way I described earlier.

[BadPenney]

I would like to see a sort of post-Apocalyptic America's Army in this vein. But that took millions of dollars to develop and I don't ever expect to see anything like it.

 

[ http://www.americasarmy.com/downloads/ ]

 

That simulation attempts to show realism. Single gunshots are career enders.

 

I can imagine going through basic training with the BOS before actual missions begin in the same way, and not getting a free pass like the player does in Fallout 3. Then the missions would be much like guerilla warfare with limited resources and backup. Scrounging for weapons and ammunition would be necessary. Armor would play a much smaller role in tactics because it is tremendously less effective than vanilla FO3. If the player acted as a freelance lone wanderer character instead of BOS he would still be operating in the same realistic conditions with even less support and training.

 

That sort of realism would pique my interest in Fallout, but I don't know if it would be widely accepted or if it is even feasible as a mod of the current game.

[gurachn]

I would like to see a sort of post-Apocalyptic America's Army in this vein. But that took millions of dollars to develop and I don't ever expect to see anything like it.

 

[ http://www.americasarmy.com/downloads/ ]

 

That simulation attempts to show realism. Single gunshots are career enders.

 

I can imagine going through basic training with the BOS before actual missions begin in the same way, and not getting a free pass like the player does in Fallout 3. Then the missions would be much like guerilla warfare with limited resources and backup. Scrounging for weapons and ammunition would be necessary. Armor would play a much smaller role in tactics because it is tremendously less effective than vanilla FO3. If the player acted as a freelance lone wanderer character instead of BOS he would still be operating in the same realistic conditions with even less support and training.

 

That sort of realism would pique my interest in Fallout, but I don't know if it would be widely accepted or if it is even feasible as a mod of the current game.

Sounds like a cool idea. AA may have taken millions to develop, but I am guessing most of that was for the base engine and graphics, which with we already have.

I am also guessing that all it would take make what you are describing is tweaks to the current damage and economic scripts to arrive at the model I described, then someone with some mission making skills to put together a BOS guerrilla war style quest.

 

In any case, I have been checking out mods that might do what I have tried to summarize in my initial post, and by far the one that seems to fit the bill is Arwen's Realism tweaks.

This mod increases weapon lethality by reducing HPs in addition to increasing damage. I like it!

Also Arwen has reduced abundance of ammo, ranged weapons and food. Also very good.

Lost of other really nice features too. Overall, seems like a great package, and almost fits my dream list.

There are a few things that I am not in favor of, however:

 

• Repairs 25% less - I think repair costs should be significantly increased, for the reasons I stated in my first post. Similarly I think weapon repair lists should not be increased, but perhaps decreased.

• Gun condition should not have any significant impact on damage, instead it should have great impact on accuracy (see above)

• Maximum gun range should not be decreased for rifles. Typical ranges for rifle combat in FO3 are currently far below the effective max (~200-300m.) battle range. If anything rifle range should be increased.

• Skill should definitely be a factor in Melee damage. Spar with a skilled boxer or martial artist and you will quickly understand why.

• Weapon condition should not have a greater impact on melee weapon damage. I don’t imagine that getting hit with an old battered sledge hammer would hurt much less than by a brand new one.

• I don’t think it's necessary to globally increase the armor damage resistance to balance out the reduced HP. As I said earlier, I don’t see balance as a much of a priority as creating a realistic feel and a definite need to play smart or die fast.

 

I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but seems the major differences of opinion concern the issues of repair costs (I would personally like to see them much higher) and the impact on weapon damage in relation to condition.

Does anyone have firsthand experience with this mod?

[BadPenney]

...I have been checking out mods that might do what I have tried to summarize in my initial post, and by far the one that seems to fit the bill is Arwen's Realism tweaks.

Does anyone have firsthand experience with this mod?

Arwen has.

 

http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.ph...owtopic=1054783

[gurachn]

...I have been checking out mods that might do what I have tried to summarize in my initial post, and by far the one that seems to fit the bill is Arwen's Realism tweaks.

Does anyone have firsthand experience with this mod?

Arwen has.

 

http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.ph...owtopic=1054783

Thanks badpenny,

The more I look at her mod, the more I like it.

I think I will pop over there and bounce a few ideas off her.

Cheers

[Son_belial]

I use these mods:

A.C.E.

Enhanched Combat Tactics

FOOK2

Locational damage

MMM

Stealth Kills enabled

Burnification

Sprint Mod

 

It's pretty damned good and fun to me