ZIM: A Mothership Zeta Follower Mod

[Cyberweasel89]

Hi. You may remember me from... almost a year ago. I was a fairly active member on the Nexus. But a virus wiped out my Fallout 3 files, so I took a break from Fallout 3 and the Nexus.

 

Well, I'm back. And I'd like to restart a project I was just beginning. It adds an alien follower to the Mothership Zeta DLC, named Zim. It's a working name that I may keep for the final project, since it's a reference to an awesome cartoon series.

 

Quick note... I didn't complete Mothership Zeta before I lost my Fallout 3 files. I only managed to get out of the cell, so forgive me if I'm totally wrong about how Mothership Zeta works. I only know most of what I know from research on the Fallout Wiki.

 

 

Basic Zim Plot

 

After the Lone Wanderer's escape from his cell, he'll discover a non-hostile alien. When spoken to, the alien will explain, in English, to the cautious Lone Wanderer that he doesn't like what his people are doing to Earth's humans, and would like to help the abductees escape. As he follows the abductees through the ship, he gradually grows a bit attached to them, and must come to terms with the ultimate takeover of the mothership.

 

Zim doesn't become a follower until the end of the DLC, though. And even then, it's optional. He probably won't even be recruitable until later versions of this mod. This mod'll likely start out as an NPC mod and graduate to a follower mod. Instead, for the entire DLC (at least until the end of the Mothership Zeta plot), he's counted as an NPC like the other abductees. When the conclusion of Mothership Zeta is reached, Zim will decide to stay on the ship to help look after the remaining abductees, but he can be convinced to join as a follower with a Speech check. If the check fails or the player simply doesn't want Zim as a follower, he will remain on the ship and sell the player Alien items for normal caps (Zim explains he'd like to collect them).

 

 

Zim's Purpose

 

Though equipped with alien weaponry, Zim's not a very combat-oriented NPC for Mothership Zeta. He doesn't want to reveal his treason to his people, so he'll only engage in combat against the robots and abominations, and only if his people aren't around to see.

 

Rather, Zim's true role is as a supporting NPC for navigating the mothership. Zim can help with using the various devices around the ship and explaining how they work or what they do. For example, the alien captive recorded logs near the holding cells wouldn't be readily apparent to new Mothership Zeta players, nor would they be to the Lone Wanderer. But Zim could explain what they are, what they do, and how they work.

 

Usually, Zim follows the Lone Wanderer to the next area with no enemies, where he'll stay put until the group gets on the move again. It's here that he opens shop, selling the Lone Wanderer various Alien items (including ammunition) in exchange for Alien Crystals (which he explains are his people's currency). It's possible he could also provide the Lone Wanderer with clothes and a weapon to start him off after breaking out of the cell, having stolen them from the Earth artifact storage cell, though not very strong weapons or clothing. Just to tide the Lone Wanderer over until something better is found. He may also sell a few Earth items during the safe zone moments, also stolen from the Earth artifact storage cell, such as Stimpaks, chems, and food.

 

It's during the safe zone moments that Zim can be asked questions about various things so as to add more depth and lore to Mothership Zeta. Questions include his race's biology (like, is Zim male or female?), culture, Mothership Zeta's mission on Earth, the experiments with the abominations, how Epoxy works, the alien food, the Buttercup toys, and even Zim's personal life and job on the ship. I'd really love to have Zim make a subtle implication that the aliens urinate from their fingertips. And I'd love to have a tie-in between Mothership Zeta, the crashed Alien spacecraft with the Alien Blaster, and the Firelance event. At first, only a few questions can be asked, but more open up as the plot of the DLC progresses.

 

 

Zim as a Follower - General

 

As Zim reveals, he's not a combatant on Mothership Zeta. He's actually a doctor and scientist. Zim's job as a doctor and scientist would be no doubt useful to players who like to roleplay their followers as filling roles on their team, like cook, doctor, mechanic, etc.

 

He has good enough stats to be useful to even high-level players, but he's nowhere near as strong as, say, Charon or Fawkes. Still, he's probably a bit stronger than an un-modded Dogmeat or Butch so he doesn't die constantly. Zim doesn't count towards your total follower count and will join players regardless of Karma. He's built from scratch, so he doesn't use pre-made companion systems or follower modding tools, like Sharing and Caring Companions or CMF's pet script.

 

 

Zim as a Follower - Special Abilities

 

* Doctor Examination: At any time when Zim is with you, the player can ask him for doctor's services. He can treat injuries, heal radiation, and even cure addictions. He charges a fee of caps like any doctor, though, and this fee is significantly higher than what most wasteland doctors charge so as to balance out the convenience.

 

* Biogel Compounding: For no fee at all, Zim can turn one Alien Biogel into an Adapted Biogel using only a Nuka-Cola (or other food or chem item, depending on what we all think is best).

 

Stash Sharing: When asked, Zim will give one random Alien item to the Lone Wanderer from his own personal stash for no charge. Naturally, there are limits similar to Wadsworth's free water to prevent gamebreaking. Items Zim can give include

* Alien Epoxy

* Alien Biogel

* Alien Worm Food

* Alien Squid Food

* Cryo Grenade

* Cryo Mine

* Alien Power Module (of varying quantities)

* Alien Power Cell (very small chance, so as to prevent gamebreaking)

* Alien Crystal (a free giveaway dud, but it can be used as good Rock-It Launcher ammo)

 

 

Zim as a Follower - Combat

 

In battle, Zim comes equipped with an Alien Disintegrator as a firearm (set to non-playable for unlimited ammo) and a Shock Baton as a melee weapon. Though not super-powerful with both, his stats are balanced enough for him to defend himself and even help against most enemies without dying constantly. He can level with the player and he can be set to essential or non-essential in dialogue (he's essential by default during the events of the Mothership Zeta DLC).

 

 

Compatibility and Integration

 

I'd like the Zim follower mod to possibly be optionally compatible or integrated with the following mods:

 

* Phalanx

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1925

 

* Companion Behaviour Overhaul

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3441

 

* Followers Relax - AKA Sandbox Mode

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2581

 

* Mothership Zeta Crew

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8747

 

* Mothership Zeta Reloaded - City in Space

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8630

 

* Standardized Alien Ammo

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8232

 

* Alien Aroxy

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11486

 

 

This Project Needs...

 

* Idea Factories: To help solidify the alien lore than Zim reveals

* Character Builders: To build Zim a unique personality and backstory

* Writers: To help with Zim's dialogue

* Modders: To help code Zim as a follower without shortcuts like SCC

* Voice Actors: To give a believable alien voice for Zim

* Fan Support: To ensure that this mod gets noticed!

 

 

Job Details

 

* I'm the project head, but it'll be a pretty informal operation. I just need all drafts and ideas to go to me, either through this topic or forum PMs. Ideas would best go here so they can be discussed as a group.

* Anyone can feel free to jump in with ideas for alien lore for this mod. You'll be credited if your idea is used in the finished product.

* I haven't finalized Zim's overall personality or backstory, so ideas from character builders would be great.

* Dialogue is my specialty as a writer, but I could always use help. Not just proofreaders, but a bit of help here and there to make sure the dialogue isn't stale and Zim doesn't come across as too two-dimensional.

* The modding job is very important. Make sure you have the time, skill, and will. I'll understand if you get busy or lose interest, but I ask that you don't abandon it without telling me and give me updates on your progress. Whatever your reason to want to stop, I'll understand.

* Experienced voice actors, please. That means you need to be able to emote when necessary. I'd suggest trying out different voices to see what sounds best for Zim. A voice editor would be awesome for this.

* No need for new meshes or textures. Zim'll look just like the other aliens. That is, unless someone wants to volunteer their skills to make Zim look different from the rest of his species somehow. In which case, I'm all for that.

 

So... that's it! Lemme know what you guys think, okay? And if you want to help make this mod idea a reality, that's even better!

[rgx02]

Cool, one of the best cartoons indeed.

I dont think beying a doctor fits him, if you get him to be a fighter his history could be that he was sent here to conquer the planet but other aliens came as well and he was captured while trying to destroy their ship. He could be found at the cell.

 

Could you also add gib? His story could be easy, he was going to be thrown on the garbage pod and you released him, end of story.

[Jay33721]

Please, oh, please, can I be Zim's voice actor? It'd be loads of fun! I'm great at doing higher-than-usual-pitched voices with strange accents, and I know I can speak their alien language, too, since my sister asked me to explain how it sounds to my mother and it ended up sounding almost exactly like in the game... And I can help come up with ideas for scripts and so on. And I like aliens! And talking! And... Well... You get the drift... Right?

[tnu]

looks very good I'd love to help. I'm usually an idea guy buyt tryign to figure whats been established already so its Lore-Friendly is pretty tough. it looks like one of his most basic attributes is My Species Doth Protest Too Much

 

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlienTropes

 

all Tropes related to Aliens

 

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch

 

My Species Doth Protest Too Much

[Cyberweasel89]

@rgx02: Well, the idea with him being a doctor/scientist is that some people like to roleplay their followers with "crew positions", or professions. And there currently aren't any followers, canon or modded, who can properly play a doctor or scientist. The closest is Fawkes, but he's more of a scholar or scribe, with hands and fingers far too huge to properly wield medical instruments. Similarly, I've yet to see a follower that can repair equipment on the fly. So doctor survices from a follower would be the first of its kind and very useful for the harder difficulties, but the much higher price to balance the convenience would prevent gamebreaking. I'm not sure what you mean by Gib. GIR, perhaps? Because I've encountered modded followers who can summon a temporary ally, which made me consider the idea of Zim summoning a personal drone. Possibly with a GIR-like AI, but I imagine Zim being nothing like the Zim of Invader Zim outside of name-only. But him being a rogue alien soldier is something we could discuss. My concern is that we already have several followers on the Nexus who're very much rogue wild cards with attitudes, but very few leaned more toward support or gentler personalities.

 

@Jay33721: Great! And here I was afraid finding a voice actor would be the hardest part. Make some samples and I'll see if you're the right guy for the job. But at the moment, I'll take all the help I can get. Scripting would be useful, but I'd rather not put too much on your plate. Thanks so much!

 

@tnu: TV Tropes! It'll ruin your life, but it's perfect for making a basic outline for new characters. I find the Characterization Tropes particularly useful. I'll have to check out those links when I have the time to spend hours distracted by trope after trope. Thanks for the research material!

 

Actually, speaking of the "My Species Doth Protest Too Much" trope... GameInformer said something interesting about Fawkes. Namely, why he's so awesome. They said that, after playing through the game and fighting off all these Super Mutants who want to kill you, finding one that's civilized and on your side is just awesome. There's a similar principal going on with Legion in Mass Effect 2, who's a normally villainous Geth robot used to subvert the "all Geth are evil" thing. I suppose Zim is my attempts to make the Mothership Zeta aliens less two-dimensional just like Fawkes does for the Super Mutants and Legion does for the Geth.

Edited November 26, 2010 by Cyberweasel89

[Nadin]

I support this. But, you know, there's going to HAVE to be a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy reference.

[tnu]

The question here is does it support savegames in which you've already gone past certain pars of and or completed the quest?

[apaosha]

You mentioned expanding the background on the Giddyup Buttercups on the space ship.

 

I'd love it if you could stick in a line implying that the huge horde of them in that big room is some sort of Alien invasion force.... that their appearance is meant to lull the humans, and as soon as they get close...

 

dotdotdot.

 

They just have to be death machines. :biggrin:

 

With regard to having followers who repair/heal, the Sydney mod allows her to repair the currently equipped weapon in exchange for 1 piece of Scrap Metal, with a cool-down so it's only once per day. You could look at the script for that and copy it.

[tnu]

also check out the Dad Lives companion

[Jay33721]

I'm glad I can be of some use! I'm quite a creative guy, so I can help with scripting, too, in fact, I'd like to help in any way I can. If I make some voice samples, where should I send them?

 

Added Later: Do you have any lines for me to do yet? You know, for the samples?

Edited November 28, 2010 by Jay33721