Fusion Core Overhaul (Reimagined for Survival)

[Jeffman12]

Let me start out by saying this is a potentially game breaking request, and I am fully aware of that.

 

I like the idea of Fusion Cores, as in, power cells you can swap out, it's a good idea to keep them on you, and they hold the potential to be a major limiting factor in the game world, at least early on.

 

The problem is, you only ever can use one at a time early on, and you aren't gonna get the ability to use two until you're leveled enough to obtain laser gattling cannons. This coupled with the fact that you start finding 4 a pop in mid-game ammo crates, and you have a recipe for OP shenanigans, unless you've sworn off the easy mode that is PA.

 

I propose that fusion cores become a special 'key' item, and not so much a disposable Double A cell.

 

The Idea

Let's say the player has an object called a Fusion Battery, it's a belted or bandoliered device characters plug FC's into as needed. It can be used to charge up powered objects as needed, and only requires that at least one FC have any charge left. The Fusion Cores socketed in this device are the only ones in the game the PC is able to use. At first, the player starts with 2 sockets, but through subsequent upgrades, they gain more and more capacity in the battery, to the maximum of 8, 12, or maybe 16.

 

When a fusion core is depleted, it no longer ceases to exist, but leaves a single depleted unit in the player's inventory. Most of the generators hidden throughout the commonwealth that housed these cores now serve as single use charging stations, able to bring a single core up to 100% charge from 0%. Because of 'plot' reasons, these generators must fully discharge after each use, and will only be able to refill another core after the standard respawn period.

 

If the battery doesn't have enough slots for every fusion core the player is carrying, they have a weight of 2 when fully charged, and 1 when depleted.

 

Interacting with the battery is done through a misc item that brings up a trade dialogue, cannot be done while wearing power armor (Risk of electrocution?) You can use this dialogue to swap out spent cores for fresh ones, keep in mind, the battery has a limit to how many cores it can contain.

 

Armor and weapon behaviors don't need to change much, the only difference is that both will only display the bandolier's current capacity instead of the total pool carried by the player. Reloading the laser or depleting an armor charge means that one of the cores in the battery is now empty.

 

Players should be able to construct a charging station at a settlement to refill their depleted cores, these should draw a large sum of power, but allow the user to recharge a core once every 24 hours instead of the standard respawn period generators in the wild would go by.

 

 

All this being said, it doesn't necessarily mean that you would stop finding fusion cores at a certain point, and mods like Nuka Bench still have their place. But, I would also like to suggest that they get more uses. For instance, creating automatrons should take a fusion core for standard models, and another for robobrain and sentry chassis.

 

Maybe the Tesla Rifle, or other such energy weapons should get an ammo mod that allows it to take an FC?

[TwilightOne]

That would be so awesome for survival! Consider me interested. It would mainly balance the Power Armor... So yeah having the need for special batteries for PA is great and the 24 hour recharge is great as people will want to continue exploring with risk or maybe just fiddle arounf the settlements.

Maybe the naked fusion cores could still be used as power armor grenades and I like the idea of needing one per automatron because they have great potential yet cost not much to produce.

Color me interested!

[Jeffman12]

So, this was made. It reminded me of the thread, and I thought I'd come back for an update.

 

Now, I'm fully aware that game mechanics and physics rarely need to intersect, but when they can, and I learn of it, I tend to have more fun with it.

Assuming fusion cores are deuterium based:

Can one simply "charge up" a fusion core to prime the fusion reaction in the device? I mean, it works with basic exo and endothermic reactions, so why not nuclear physics as well?

 

It doesn't change the idea of the belt/bandolier, I suppose, but maybe you could "restore" found cores to improve their quality/duration providing statistical improvements to the things they're used in (even a benefit for automotrons?)