Fallout 4: How it should've been.

[RogueMatriarch]

the loot system in fallout 4 is pretty crazy lol

fixing that's gonna require more OCD than fixing the armour/damage system lol!

 

I've already asked the guy who made horizon: survival something or other (another overhaul) but, if you find it hard to balance power armour as per vanilla, what you could do is do what you can, and then make an optional patch for unnaked power armour mod users where the PA pieces themselves mostly are just adding a little bit of DR/ER and the upgrades mostly just add extra durability with a tiny bit of DR/ER per upgrade (really small amounts here)

the reason for this is because unnaked makes it so that when wearing PA, your normal armour values also count towards your score/armor values, so that when you're wearing it, it's just an extra flat boost, and then it's not OP, and the fusion cores are justified in being reasonably easy to get ahold of (even if they're nerfed a bit)

it helps avoid the disparity of OP or meh power armours if that's an issue

 

the amount of work would be something like, knocking off 80%-90% of PA values and then making durability go up per rank of mod by about 20%-50% more than it already does (ABCDEF)

this makes it so that PA is literally a boost but not a godsend, at the cost of using fusion core juice, and picked as a boost for known combat situations without stealth ability, or for people who just prefer to go in guns blazing anyways, but isn't the difference between night and day for game balance reasons - PA now becomes just another layer of armour instead of a replacement you have to balance everything for in frustratingly insane and eldritch ways

 

this is the mod

http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/6977/?

 

 

The loot system isn't just crazy, it's a complete mess. Like previous titles, it seems like it was done with little consideration and put on the backburner for as long as possible. That or somebody just worked on it whenever they felt bored. I'm currently working on the Loot Lists for ammo right now, not going terribly in-depth on the moment but renaming what I find for later editing and making a few tweaks here and there. I'll give you guys updates on this later on.

 

Balancing PA is indeed going to be a challenging task, making it effective in the proper situations but not an OP, game-breaking item isn't something many could pull off. However, I believe it can be done with the right changes.

 

Here's a few ideas on how I plan to do that.

• Removal of the level-based PA parts. You're not gonna stroll into a cave in one game and get a half-built suit of T-51 and a full suit of X-01 in another game anymore.
• T-45 will be a hella lot more common, the most common PA you'll actually come across. The Capital Wasteland, the former heart of America, was swarming with T-45 suits, yet Boston has a bajillion T-60 models and less-but-still-a-lot-more T-51 models.
• T-51 will be more common than it was but still relatively rare.
• T-60 may only be found in SPECIFIC LOCATIONS or on BoS Paladins, Sentinels, and Lyons himself. This is because it was suppose to be a new armor that hadn't quite reached mass production but was getting there.
• X-01 is more of a unicorn then ever before. It will only be found in predetermined locations and will typically be heavily guarded one way or another. The ones who left it there don't want anyone nabbing their stuff.
• PA Frames will also be far more rare then it was in vanilla FO4. With 210 years having passed, most, if not nearly all, PA frames would have been scooped up by one faction or another or beyond use

[RogueMatriarch]

That reply was actually intended to be sent long ago but, alas, it got lost in my many browser tabs. Still, it's not the last one you guys will see!

 

Fallout 4 was giving him a hard time some time ago when one of the updates for it went wrong, made it unable to finish and made the game unplayable. But, a new update came out and fixed that! So, with me being able to play again, and having motivation once more, progress on Project Phoenix will continue as planned with updates and ideas for it being posted here again.

[RogueMatriarch]

Quite some time has passed since a real status update has been made so I figured I might as well make sure everyone knows that Project Phoenix is still alive and kicking by announcing that a playable version of the mod will be released within a span of two months or so.

 

When it is released depends on when I can finish completely overhauling the weapons available in vanilla and DLC. Some other elements have been changed up but for now, I'll be focusing primarily on weapons - this includes their weight, names, effects, stats, and so forth. I'll make sure to post what changes have been made when the V1 of Project Phoenix is released, a link to it on the Nexus will be provided here as well.

[SirTwist]

I do want to comment on this, make a few suggestions, if you don't mind.

1) talk to the MCM team, and see where they are with things. They could be working on Skyrim SE, and not Fallout 4. But it would be good to talk with them.

2) make smaller mods. First would be the dialogue change. Then the others. I would leave off weapon and armor degradation until later. But make them compatible, and modular.

3) when you have your completed work, using a FOMOD script, you can have the users pick and choose what they like, don't like, etc. in their game, and they can adjust accordingly. This way, you can incorporate all the previous modules into one, and have a big overhaul.

4) remember the KISS method. That, right there, will help more than anything else.

5) Eliminate all pipe weapons. Or barring that, with a random chance generator, have them either completely jam or explode in the firer's face. I would rather use a 10 mm pistol that a pipe sniper rifle that I am not sure that will fire, or explode in my face. I usually scrap them, and use the parts for something else.

6) also talk to the armor keywords author, or authors, and see where they are with things. They maybe able to help out as well.

 

Personally, I want the dialogue overhaul, special/perks overhaul, and a couple other things. But the weapons/armor thing, I could take or leave it.

[dainsgames]

That reply was actually intended to be sent long ago but, alas, it got lost in my many browser tabs. Still, it's not the last one you guys will see!

 

Fallout 4 was giving him a hard time some time ago when one of the updates for it went wrong, made it unable to finish and made the game unplayable. But, a new update came out and fixed that! So, with me being able to play again, and having motivation once more, progress on Project Phoenix will continue as planned with updates and ideas for it being posted here again.

Very good to hear you're still engaged with this project! Nice commitment brah! I gave FO4 a break when it broke again. I'll keep checking in to see how things are going.

 

Had another early-game suggestion. Instead of getting a very good pistol to start (seriously that's an OP starting weapon), how about they have a .38 service revolver instead? It's a perfectly adequate weapon for keeping the peace, whereas the 10mm is much more of a military-style sidearm. Given the Vaults were not full-military installations, a police-style weapon as a backup for civil emergencies wouldn't be out of place. And it would provide more of a graduated early-game progression.

 

Thanks again for all of your time and effort!

[Perraine]

TL;DR ...

 

Bugthesda should have left the franchise alone after the release of the final DLC for FO3 and let Obsidian take it over permanently 'coz they did/do a far better job.

 

FO4 would have been EPIC, if the same guys who gave us all the cool additions to New Vegas, Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road.

[RogueMatriarch]

 

That reply was actually intended to be sent long ago but, alas, it got lost in my many browser tabs. Still, it's not the last one you guys will see!

 

Fallout 4 was giving him a hard time some time ago when one of the updates for it went wrong, made it unable to finish and made the game unplayable. But, a new update came out and fixed that! So, with me being able to play again, and having motivation once more, progress on Project Phoenix will continue as planned with updates and ideas for it being posted here again.

Very good to hear you're still engaged with this project! Nice commitment brah! I gave FO4 a break when it broke again. I'll keep checking in to see how things are going.

 

Had another early-game suggestion. Instead of getting a very good pistol to start (seriously that's an OP starting weapon), how about they have a .38 service revolver instead? It's a perfectly adequate weapon for keeping the peace, whereas the 10mm is much more of a military-style sidearm. Given the Vaults were not full-military installations, a police-style weapon as a backup for civil emergencies wouldn't be out of place. And it would provide more of a graduated early-game progression.

 

Thanks again for all of your time and effort!

 

The Vaults pretty much were military installations, as they've been shown throughout the entire series to be stocked with military-grade weapons, the 10mm Pistol being no exception as it's actually been spotted in pretty much every vault that's been explorable so far, with Vault 84 in New Vegas sporting a literal armory. However, 10mm is a BIG caliber for a pistol, more powerful than .44 rounds, and it's going to punch you in the face if you don't handle it right (IE: meeting the strength requirement for it once that's implemented). The 10mm is gonna be the proper beast it should be instead of the pea-shooter it's made out to be in the series, but you're gonna have to be able to tame it first.

 

 

TL;DR ...

 

Bugthesda should have left the franchise alone after the release of the final DLC for FO3 and let Obsidian take it over permanently 'coz they did/do a far better job.

 

FO4 would have been EPIC, if the same guys who gave us all the cool additions to New Vegas, Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road.

And yup, 100% agree with you there. We were all hoping for a souped-up, next-gen version of New Vegas but all we got was... yeah, this. Fun fact: New Vegas was rushed and there's actually a number of features and content that got cut due to Bethesda wanting to ship the game before it was properly ready. Seems like they've got a habit of that, no?

[RogueMatriarch]

Update incomming!

After several months of silence, which was hardly intentional on my part, I am excited to say that I have made quite the progress on Project Phoenix! An important thing to get out of the way first though is that this is something I'm working on in my spare time, ​meaning that I'm not constantly working on it due to things like classes, work, and other things going on in my life. As much as I would love to pursue this full-time, I cannot due to the demands of life and my tendency to get distracted/hop from one thing to another at moment's notice. However, due to my own ambition, stubbornness, and love for Fallout, Project Phoenix isn't going to be falling off my radar anytime soon. As such, I'd like to give up guys an update on what I've been up to.

First up: unique weapons! Poking around today, I literally just found out how they're implemented. It's basically a Loot List with the base item along with whatever is desired to be on it. IE: a scope, full stock, and a legendary effect - there is no 'unique' item technically, just one that's spawned with a special name and attachments. Compared to previous games, where they was a legit unique item with modified stats, this seems unnecessary and pretty lame since you can create these "unique" weapons more or less with some time and luck.

With Project Phoenix, a hybrid system is utilized: A unique item is created and assigned to the Loot List, spawning with whatever else is put on it. However, the difference is that the legendary effect, if applicable, is transferred to one or mods that correspond to the respective weapon; thereby allowing you to take it off or slap it on another at your leisure. The Sacrificial Blade and Lorenzo's Artifact are proof-of-concepts of this that are actually in the game, the former proving to be very fun when I slapped it on a Gamma Gun with a Kneecapper effect.

Speaking of the Kneecapper from Fallout 3, it and other unique weapons from previous titles, along with a few inspired by those found in Fallout Shelter, will be returning in one form or another with similar effects/bonuses. Compared to New Vegas and 3, Fallout 4 pales in comparison to them in genuinely unique weapons thanks to its awfully legendary loot system which will also be getting an overhaul in the future.

While I'm on the topic of weapons still, I want to mention ammo subtypes and my plans to implement them as well a la New Vegas: at the tap of a button, you'll be able to swap from one type to another depending on your situation. I've expanded the number of subtypes for pretty much all known ammunition, barring a few which wouldn't have logical options or that I've overlooked for the time being, with some being craftable, others not, along with introducing crafting components to make your own boolets. That's right, Explosive Expert, SCIENCE!, and Gun Nut are coming into play once again and give you a genuine reason to take the damn perks instead of just increasing your damage (which is frankly just ridiculous).

On the topic of damage, combat will receive an overhaul as well. Straight-up damage-buffing perks will be modified and/or removed entirely, which will be balanced by everyone dealing the same amount of damage, more or less, with the same weapons and enemies not being bullet sponges in harder difficulties. They'll hit as hard as you, so you'll have to play your cards right and not get made into swiss-cheese.

Armor will also play a role in that, with the hopes of reintroducing Damage Threshold for armors so that those dinky .22 rounds being shot from some cheap, scrapyard gun cobbled together at night while squatting over a dying lamp won't actually deteriorate your armor. However, those .50 BMG high-explosive, armor-piercing rounds are going to punch straight through you like Mike Tyson through paper so watch your ass as it's still likely to get penetrated

I'll give you guys more info next time around as it's nearly midnight and I've been up since 7 AM this morning. Feedback, comments, and ideas are all appreciated so feel free to respond and share your thoughts!

[Fkemman11]

@ Mavrickhunter2 Not wanting to discourage you from what seems like a great project, I already use a game overhaul called War Never Changes. It already does some of the things your talking about. Such as eliminating the health and damage resistance buffs from leveling. In other words, your player char. will not gain hit points every time they level and basically neither will enemies. Also revamped the perk tree, factions, weapons, while also fixing some bugs(though I cant verify).

 

So what are you doing different? The PA idea is a good one. It never made sense to me to find PA as often as I did. Also pipe weapons are just silly. Like someone said they either need to be removed from the leveled lists or replaced somehow.

Reintroducing some favorite unique weapons from past games is another good idea. The best IMO. Burnmaster from FO3 was a great weapon! Many others I cant remember- still something that needed to be done by Beth but somehow didn't.

So I will watch for this to see what you come up with as it looks promising so far. So good luck and such! :smile:

[RogueMatriarch]

@ Mavrickhunter2 Not wanting to discourage you from what seems like a great project, I already use a game overhaul called War Never Changes. It already does some of the things your talking about. Such as eliminating the health and damage resistance buffs from leveling. In other words, your player char. will not gain hit points every time they level and basically neither will enemies. Also revamped the perk tree, factions, weapons, while also fixing some bugs(though I cant verify).

 

So what are you doing different? The PA idea is a good one. It never made sense to me to find PA as often as I did. Also pipe weapons are just silly. Like someone said they either need to be removed from the leveled lists or replaced somehow.

Reintroducing some favorite unique weapons from past games is another good idea. The best IMO. Burnmaster from FO3 was a great weapon! Many others I cant remember- still something that needed to be done by Beth but somehow didn't.

So I will watch for this to see what you come up with as it looks promising so far. So good luck and such! :smile:

 

Frankly, it's easier to tell you what Project Phoenix doesn't change since it's intended to be a complete overhaul of the game; which means there's going to very little that isn't tweaked or adjusted in one way or another.

 

To give a general overview, though... Combat mechanics, SPECIAL, carry weight, VATS, the perk system, a new skill system akin to Skyrim's use-and-learn, a genuine economy, realistic weapon functionality (overheating, different firing modes, ALL energy ammunition functioning like fusion cores (multiple shots per unit), and so forth, non-charisma speech checks, looting overhaul, enemy overall, better AI, expanded and/or more factions, realistic crafting requirements, ammo crafting, unique weapon mods that can be swapped around a la Lorenzo's Artifact and the Sacrificial Blade, and so much more are introduced and/or changed in Project Phoenix. It's not just an overhaul. It's the overhaul for Fallout 4, much like Project Nevada was for New Vegas and Wanderer's Edition for 3 but on an even larger scale than both.