Fallout 3's Very Own Holy Roman Catholic Church

[Deleted1943417User]

Hey everybody.

 

New to the Fallout 3 modding community, but have a little bit of experience modding Morrowind, Oblivion, and now Fallout 3, via the wonderful GECK.

 

Had a couple of ideas for a storyline involving the Roman Catholic Church in post-war America and have started work on a cathedral and a rectory, utilizing the Point Lookout DLC for world-objects.

 

I have built the interior cell for the Cathedral, using the Ark and Dove tileset. Used some neo-classical stairs for the steps and platform (Sanctuary) with the altar at the center. I threw new flooring down over top, so it wouldn't look like @#%^. I threw a lectern/pulpit on this platform, as well as ramshackle chairs (a hotel chair for the bishop, two regular wasteland chairs at each side for the priest or monsignor). There's a baptismal font with a pedestal to the left (facing the altar from the entrance). To the left hand side, I have made an impromptu confessional booth using an Enclave Deathclaw Cage, with doors attached lol...two chairs and an endtable in the middle with a book on the table's surface and a small desk lamp.

 

I've got pews lining the sides, made sure those were all neatly ordered, with the front three on each side being activators/furniture, for people to sit on.

 

Using Backsteppo's wonderful Roman Collar/Nun Outfits mod (see: http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10190), I have made a priest...still working on AI packages on him. I was thinking I would have him conduct a mass every Sunday, but I would need to toy with idle animations and pathing. Still working on him, any advice or resources would be appreciated.

 

I was wondering if anyone had any resources available related to Catholicism or anything churchy in general...would LOVE to find a real confession booth model, a crucifix (complete with Jesus hanging on it), relics, statues of saints, candles, sacramental objects, clothes/garb for the clergy (a bishop beenie, red robe, altar robes, ANYTHING lol...).

 

I have absolutely NO experience with making clothes or 3D objects outside of the GECK. I've got some Photoshop experience, but I doubt that would be helpful for something requiring wireframing, weighting, etc.

 

I've got some ambitious ideas, but any other suggestions would be VASTLY appreciated. I'd love to do a small storyline to add some backstory, as to what happened to Catholicism in the wasteland, BESIDES the Rivet City church.

 

Thanks for being THE #1 modding community for Fallout 3, it has greatly enhanced my game and my knowledge of modding the Gamebryo engine!

 

Drop me a PM or reply to this thread if you're interested. I will be prompt in replying.

 

Thanks again!

-K. Rodenberg

[coorscollector]

Maybe you could have the Church be more militarized. Like make them be a new faction and everything. They would be more willing to use force to recruit new followers to the faith. You could even throw in a quest where you have to help them fight a devilish entity lol. It would be like some super mutant that has been living since the beginning of the Great War. He is huuuuuuge and red and trapped inside a mountain or cave because a long time ago some wastelanders banded together and trapped him inside. And if you know what the show Doctor Who is yes I got that idea from it. I would definitely offer to help but i am just starting out with blender and all that so there is not much i can do. Good luck!

[Deleted1943417User]

Awesome idea!

 

I think that militarization is the only direction the Church could take in a post-war setting. I'll start work on a barracks/guard house for some modern "knights" or "crusaders".

 

Any ideas on what I should do for their armor? I think that Power Armor would be pushing it a little bit too far. Maybe some variant of combat armor?

 

I like the idea of a boss character for a challenge. Don't wanna take it too far, though. I'm not making a Doom 3 mod lol. :P

 

A mutant alive during the time of the Great War would have to have established some kind of symbiosis with his environment...are we thinking like the Master from FO1? I think it's a plottable idea, not entirely lore-unfriendly. I'll start work on a dungeon, regardless.

 

I will be scripting the confession booth to add a small boost to karma, with a minor penalty to luck or charisma for a temporary period. (Hey, penance is a pain.)

 

I found some resources on TES Nexus with some altar-related items. I will be working to implement them into Fallout 3.

 

I definitely want to make sure I don't do anything that will break immersion. Whatever the big baddie may be, I want to assure any interested parties that it will be tied into the Fallout storyline accurately and appropriately. I do my homework! :)

 

When this project becomes available for download, please know that this project will be of the highest quality possible. I take great pride in putting forth 110% on any creative endeavor. I'm not gonna release an unfinished mod.

 

I really hope you guys will enjoy it, as I am having a blast creating it and learning more and more. There is ALWAYS room to learn more, regardless of experience, and this is the best community to acquire that.

 

Still accepting any help or suggestions you guys may have! I definitely am in need of any resources/help/advice available, especially garb for the clergy!

 

Thanks again for the consideration! :)

 

-K. Rodenberg

[BadPenney]

Do you intend to portray the Catholic Church in a positive light or is this going to be a post-apocalypse Inquisition with pogroms, burning of heretics and laying waste the heathen?

[coorscollector]

Sort of like the Master from FO1 yeah except i was thinking like scale the size up ALOT and put some enlarged dathclaw horns on him to give him that "devil" feel. He could also be a boss character at the end of a quest. As for the armor i agree that power armor is a little much but maybe a modified lighter combat armor with a crusader type cross on the chestplate. Although maybe i am being a freeloader, i feel bad that i am currently to newbie to actually participate lol. I am still trying to figure out blender then maybe i could help some

[Deleted1943417User]

Thanks for the replies.

 

@BadPenney - Yes. I am a practicing Roman Catholic myself, and I felt that Fallout 3 lacked any real representation of the Church. Rivet City's idea of one is lacking, in my opinion. There's tons of Protestant chapels and churches in the wasteland, but Rivet City bears the only semblance to Catholicism. When I spotted Backsteppo's Roman Collar/Nun Outfits Mod, I knew I could go from there, because as I said, besides Photoshop, the GECK is the only utility I'm familiar with. I can assure you, there will be no disrespect for the faith (my faith, as well). So no "anime babes in hot scantily clad nun outfits fighting demonic creatures" lol.... And I'm not gonna bash the Protestants either. This will be a very positive reflection of the Church as a whole. The only real risk I will be taking is the creation of the knights and the quest plot. I'm checking facts as I go, just to be on the safe side (clergy dialog, outlook, behavior), as well as observations and reference points from my parish.

 

Not trying to make it sound so serious, it's just that I take my religion seriously and also any project I happen to work on. My goal is to not disappoint, and always to improve. And to accept criticism. This community is an excellent outlet for that, and I intend on sharing my hard work with others to enjoy; that's the pay-off for me. So again, I make the utmost assurances of my work. No heathen cleansing! =)

 

@Coorscollector - You are definitely not a freeloader, if you're sharing ideas and suggestions, that's an exchange as well. And I like the idea of a cross on the combat armor, maybe the Jesuit order cross on the left or right breast (depending on what is historically accurate, I will be checking into it).

 

And I am working on NPCs now at this time. I have started on AI packages for the clergy and some people in the rectory. I have yet to make a package for Mass, but I plan on it. Just doing all the groundwork up front, designing all of the interior cells today and tomorrow, placing activators, lighting, and objects, and then Friday it will be time for the exterior and the placement in the worldspace. Working on a script for the confession booth now. Should have that done pretty soon, maybe tomorrow afternoon. Have not touched the Oblivion resource with sacramental items yet. Still researching and making sure I can utilize it all.

 

Thanks to everyone for your input. I want to hear more! Throw it at me. And I still need help with clergy garb/outfits, as well as any objects or other miscellaneous resources relevant to the project. Would LOVE to have a confession booth, but again, I suck at life and can't use 3dsmax lol!

 

Still workin' at it, chugging along. Will post screenshots as I capture them. I'm gonna shoot for tomorrow evening, to get a good compilation of what I have developed so far.

 

Thanks again.

 

-K. Rodenberg

Edited July 22, 2010 by Guest

[BadPenney]

I like your approach then. I have often thought that the original Brotherhood of Steel had much more of a Knights Templar feel than the technology grubbers of Fallout 3 and had considered modding a branch of the Brotherhood of Steel that was more of a combination of religion, science and politics. It takes more than the promise of salvaging old technology to stir men to risk their lives on a daily basis. I may still play with that idea, but it won't be the main focus of my mod.

 

If you intend to create a military arm like the Knights Templar or Knights Hospitalier then I recommend full power armor. Why give them a handicap? The Crusaders were usually well equipped weren't they?

 

While creating a type of Diablo boss character to fight could be a nice touch, I think that the real threat in the Wasteland is that the apocalypse is not really over and humanity's survival is far from assured. The Supermutants themselves could be viewed as the army of the devil, since they are extremely powerful yet sexually sterile and their goal is to make everyone like themselves. If they win then humanity ends and finally the Supermutants will die off since they are unable to reproduce. I've always seen the battle between the BoS and the Enclave as a secular struggle for political control, but the BoS versus the Supermutants is a battle of good versus evil.

 

Besides fighting the good fight, there should be an attempt to spread civilization. The only school I've seen is in the Republic of Dave, and it teaches nonsense. There should be a school for children.

 

Btw, there are some objects that I made for my mod Return to Shady Sands that you could use if you like. In a house of one of the families in town is a crucifix with an image of Jesus that I borrowed from Michelangelo and an image of da Vinci's Last Supper retexed onto an Enclave poster. I also found objects in the game that I used, including a painting of Dante's Inferno that I found in the Underworld. You might actually find as I did that your Photoshop skills will be very useful if you get the .dds plugin that allows your images to be painted onto meshes.

[Thaiauxn]

My Jewish side would find all kinds of satisfaction in lighting the church on fire.

 

"how do you like it now, huh!? How do you like it now!?"

 

But seriously, if you do find a crucifix model, I need one for Project Brazil. There is is destroyed church that follows Fallout 1 & 2 cannon inside the upper Vault. God is an Atom Bomb, man.

[Quetzlsacatanango]

"I was sitting in a temple

I was minding my own business

I was listening to a lovely Hebrew mass

Then these papus persons plunge in, and they throw me in a

dungeon, and they shove a red hot poker up my ass

 

Is that considerate?

Is that polite?

And not a tube of Preparation H in sight"

[BadPenney]

Yes, religion is one of those controversial subjects like sex and politics that draws negativity like nothing else. Since people can give your mod a thumbs down if it doesn't fit their personal beliefs, you can expect some of that. At least people have to actually download the file to do it. That should cut down on some of the axe grinding.

 

Personally I like to see controversial approaches to games, since most game developers have to avoid controversy in order to get onto store shelves. It feels more like something that has really earned the Mature rating when there is something really of substance to be concerned with, since the mere sight of a female nipple is all it takes to get the big M+. But you have to have a thick skin if you are going to go there with your mods.

 

I don't think that any group has a monopoly on innocence, that people toggle between oppressed and oppressor with ease, and I feel no guilt for actions done by people long ago or far away who happen to resemble me, or by the actions of other people now for that matter.

 

So people can strut and fret their pretense at moral outrage if they want. At least you aren't proposing just more guns, armors, babes and monsters like 90% of the mods.