Dead Money mod ideas?

[someguynamedjoe]

Hey everyone, I've been practicing with mods, and I think I'm going to make my first major mod when Dead Money is released.

 

After having played Dead Money on the 360 (yes, I have it for both the 360 and the PC, sue me), I've had some ideas given to me by both my friends, and the Vault. So far, I've got some ideas, but I was wondering what the mod community at large would like to see. I've never done anything large-scale, but I wanna set my goals high, because that's how I am.

 

So far, I've had the following ideas:

 

• Be able to return to the Sierra Madre after leaving via railway.
  
• Once [spoiler:]Father Elijah

is dead, the Sierra Madre will be yours to do as you please with it. Reopen it to the public and collect income, turn it into a private resort just for you and your companions, the choice is yours. I always thought the player should be able to truly own a casino of their own, and the Sierra Madre sounds like the perfect one, since it's empty.
Acquire the Hologram technology for yourself. Assuming the coding is still in the game files, this shouldn't be hard. It would just need to be elaborated on.
Once the Sierra Madre is yours, you can mass-produce items found in the vending machines. Will need ideas for what to do with them.

 

Right now, what I'm looking for are ideas and possible partners to work on this with. My strengths are mostly in coding and scripting, but I'm awful when it comes to modeling and in-game environments. So, if anyone is able to help with this, I'd REALLY appreciate it. Thanks.

Edited February 14, 2011 by someguynamedjoe

[Neariox]

I have it also for the pc and xbox. I like the first and second ideas.

 

Plus u should be able to exterminate the ghost people.

 

Another thing that would be cool is if you could get the ghost people hazmat suits

[someguynamedjoe]

I have it also for the pc and xbox. I like the first and second ideas.

 

Plus u should be able to exterminate the ghost people.

 

Another thing that would be cool is if you could get the ghost people hazmat suits

The mod would have to be released in parts, but yes, exterminating the Ghost People will be the first one-third of the quest line. I don't think they'd be reasonable, and couldn't possibly co-exist with the Courier and his/her companions. They gotta go.

 

Considering this long quest would basically be the genocide of an entire tribe, it would be a long, drawn out campaign to wipe them out. First you would need to cleanse the surrounding area of the casino, then the inside of it, and finally, they'd have a 'last stand' where they set up defenses in the Casino Vault, where they are hiding their women and children. We want to keep the mod fairly uncontroversial, so you won't be killing the kids. What you COULD do ranges from trying to rehabilitate them into employees or your personal army, kick them out and make them fend for themselves, or maybe even sell them as slaves to the Legion for mucho profito. This will likely be the only combat-heavy part of the mod, considering you're wiping out a pretty tough group of people.

 

The second part of the mod involves reconstruction of the Sierra Madre. This is gonna cost a CRAPTON of caps! When it's all done, the clutter will be cleaned up, the holograms will be repaired, and the lights will be working. The dust particles will be gone, and when it's all said and done, it will be as pristine and flashy as any of the casinos on the strip. After, you'll need to pay for the construction of a railway capable of transporting a large amount of people through the Cloud, assuming you want to open it to the public (more on that in part three).

 

The third part of the mod is where the the bulk of the action takes place. First, you'll need to re-program the holograms before re-activating them. This will take a lot of Science points to pull off, but to do it, you go to the mainframe in the Casino Vault, reprogram the holograms to follow your orders, and when it's done, "Samantha" will appear. Samantha will be discovered to be the main AI of the casino, coordinating security, main casino functions, and the anti-cheating functions of the vending machines. It's from here that you officially become the registered owner of the Sierra Madre, and decide what you want to do with it. You can decide to open it to the public, or turn it into a private resort for you and only a few others. You also set which factions the security holograms will kill on sight, and which are 'trusted.'

 

If you decide to open it to the public, you have several options for the 'style' of the casino. For example, you can turn it into a brothel-style casino like the Gomorrah, a fun, partying atmosphere like the Tops and Lucky 38, or a fancy, ritzy atmosphere like the Ultra Luxe. The decorations will change as a result, as will the amount of income you receive, and the type of people that show up.

 

For example, if you turn it into a Gomorrah-type casino, sleezy types like Fiends, Raiders, and Powder Gangers will show up, and you won't make as much money simply because these types don't have that much. On the other hand, if you turn it into an upper-class casino like the Ultra Luxe, you'll see well-dressed people coming in and you'll be making a ton of money.

 

This is where the true casino-owner simulation comes into play, and as a result, WILL require NVSE. Depending on how much attention you pay to your casino, you'll develop a reputation. If you neglect things like the upkeep and security, you'll start hearing reports of patrons doing things like attempting to steal from you, getting into brawls, abusing prostitutes (if you choose to have them), and trying to skip out on tabs and casino debts. You'll need to handle these issues carefully, because if people think you're too lenient, they'll attempt to rip you off and you'll lose money and respect. However, if you handle things too roughly (like killing people too often), the rough types will be reluctant to show up at all, and you'll lose money.

 

The shady, sleezy types ARE valuable. While they're more likely to cause problems, they're also more likely to blow all their caps on drinks, party favors, and chips, so you do want them around. The wealthy, well-dressed, moderate types don't spend as much money, but they increase your reputation because people think your casino has class for having them around.

[VincentIcarus]

All I want is a weapon that can kill the holograms. :wallbash: :wallbash: :wallbash:

[critcalcritic]

im not sure if anyone knows this but there is a hidden dead money ending where u may side with elijah and he carrys forward his "wipe the slate clean plan" for this to happen The following conditions must exist: 1) You've recruited Veronica and talked with her enough to know that Elijah and her were close. (need confirmation, completion of a certain dialogue tree or mission, possibly I Could Make You Care after visiting Gibson's shack?) 2) You have a Vilified or Merciful Thug reputation rating with the NCR.

 

After you access the terminal with the note to Vera Keyes while "stuck" inside the vault, dialogue with Elijah initiates. The fastest way through the tree:

 

You have a lot to answer for. // Before this goes any farther, I had questions. // You're Veronica's mentor. The Elder who lost HELIOS One. // You want to attack NCR? All of NCR? // (Negative NCR reputation speech check) If you want to kill NCR, that's fine with me. // Then we better get to killing them.

 

Please note, this triggers a premature ending that effectively closes out the game for the player. so i wish to continue the game after this ending and make the dialogue option depend more on bos fame then ncr infamy and show the mojave always night time covered in the cloud leaving only a few quests are or adding new ones with the BOS risen to power and elijah i guess partying at the lucky 38 or helios one or seirra medre and some kick ass weapons for the trouble. I always saw Dead Money as having the same potential for epic mods as Mothership Zeta, and the epic mod that spawned from it. The fact that there is an abandoned casino protected by a toxic cloud, full of advanced technology capable of destroying any army that dared opposed it... not to mention the Ghost People... I see the possibilities as endless.

 

Imagine, if you will, the fact that all of this technology is at your fingertips. A veritable self-sustaining fortress that an evil, power-hungry Courier could use to turn himself into a God capable of rivaling New Vegas, NCR, and the Legion in terms of power, just like Mothership Zeta did for the Lone Wanderer in the MZC mod. But what does the Courier do? He just leaves it behind, never to be remembered or returned to again.

 

I reject this notion. Just like if I were the Lone Wanderer, I'd use the alien mothership to eradicate the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel and conquer the Capital Wasteland. I would have done the same with the Sierra Madre.

 

I honestly can't believe I'm the only person who thinks this. Imagine an army of Holograms marching towards the Hoover Dam. Imagine conquered Ghost People scaling the face of the Dam like Goblins in Lord of the Rings, and throwing down NCR rangers. Imagine the Cloud descending on the Fort and the Legate's Camp, and then on Camp McCarran. Imagine Dog/God, clad in Power Armor, holding up General Oliver by the throat, and then biting his face off, and then a holographic AI informing the Courier that the battle is being won. Mr. House, Kimball, and Caesar pleading with you to accept their surrender, and once it is done and over with, you're free to create your own empire.

 

Ambitious, right? But it's the same vision the people who started the MZC mod had. I wouldn't just let the Sierra Madre sit there; I'd kill Elijah, take his notes, and then unlock the secrets of that pre-war treasure trove and make the world my oyster.

 

And can you honestly tell me that this doesn't sound amazing?

Edited April 15, 2011 by critcalcritic

[ncrrangerer]

even all 3 factions put together would be no match for elijah and a hologram army with toxic cloud their fire power is more then a securitron and basically invincble unless their emitters are destroyed a ending where nearly everyone is dead is realistic for any modder and basic

[Ruadhan2300]

tbh, I'd disagree that the hologram's had a lot of firepower. it was enough to pwn most lighter enemies, but against the tougher enemies, like the NCR veteran rangers and the brotherhood power armoured guys, it'd be a lightshow. I mean, its basically a laser-rifle in terms of damage and RoF

on the flipside, its a laser rifle mounted to a unit capable of ignoring any and all return fire. so its pretty much unstoppable.

the threat of the holograms was mostly due to the weakness of the player during dead money

[apixaez]

Acquire the Hologram technology for yourself. Assuming the coding is still in the game files, this shouldn't be hard. It would just need to be elaborated on.

 

Couple of things.

 

Depending on what you had in mind for them you can either keep them as them as they were; security and dealers limited to the Sierra Madre because of the emitters.

Or for example with the help of the (former) mute develop technology where you can have portable holograms with you as your "personal bodyguards" (for example) or where they can be deployed by a portable hologram emitter (I guess), but to develop those it will cost you resources, lots of caps, and certain skills.

 

Once the Sierra Madre is yours, you can mass-produce items found in the vending machines. Will need ideas for what to do with them.

 

Exchange your resources with for example the NCR/Legion/Strip/Casino's in the Strip/BoS etc to higher your reputation with a certain faction which in exchange gives you more patrons from that faction (at the cost of other faction's reputation obviously, you don't see Legion soldiers running around on the Strip being buddies with the NCR either) or maybe options to an "alliance" ("truce" if you have a high infamy level with a certain faction), personnel for your casino (or like for example you get a more elite Ghost People squad that learns how to use different weapons, trained by the NCR if you choose to save the Ghost People and employ them in your personnel and get on really good terms with the NCR).

 

But obviously you could do resources for resources aswell. Trade with the Gomorrah-casino for hookers/strippers, trade with the BoS for advanced weaponry, trade with the Legion for slaves(servants), Followers of the Apocalypse for medical aid and so on.

 

Might actually be nice if you allign yourself with a certain faction that they get a sort of "embassy" next to the casino where you first wake up. Maybe random attacks from so-called "nemesis" factions to protect your casino with your holograms/ghost people/slaves/faction alliance/mixture.

 

If you actually feel like you want to expand in the way that you rival the NCR/Strip/Legion and so on as the other guy suggested, it might be nice to create a new worldspace where you decide to start up (a few) villages/cities (which will also attract raiders and so on which you need to protect the villages/cities from).

 

Another detail is probably certain outfits/armor/weaponry that is specially made for your army/personnel etc. ie. develop a certain armor that rivals the NCR/Legion outfits or if you're really feeling bold (as the mute is a former(?) BoS member) develop a power armor for your casino/faction.

 

.. But that would be quite a big project. And those are just the top of the iceberg (for me then at least) :P

[ncrrangerer]

well seeing how this ending would require BOS fame of at least accepted they certainly are someone u would see on the vegas strip as elijah is in control the ending implies he would not tolerate NCR or caesrs legion what im thinking is kill off all non BOS characters (except companions of coarse) and replace everyone or simply rename them and give them power armor (ex, freeside paladin) i assume if black mountain wasent dealt with the super mutants would remain the same, the boomers are very isolated so they shouldnt be effected much ethier

[kevkiev]

For my 2 cents, and assuming all the innuendo about Christine being Veronica's long lost love is true, I'd like to be able to re-unite them. Even for a brief while. They're such awesome characters and I thought the lost love angle was so sad.