Pre-war Protagonist: What would you have done with it?

[Deleted918306User]

For those of you wanting to start right after the Apocalypse.

 

http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/18898/?

 

It's in alpha right now, but it might be what you're looking for.

 

As for the Institute, they're evil. Dress it up how you want, but they actively destabilize regions, assassinate people, replace normal people with Synths, and it wouldn't surprise me to find out they arm Raiders just to cause conflict.

 

The aftermath of the apocalypse isn't a nice place. Democracy is nice and all, but in a harsh environment, full of enemies, with limited (often damaged) resources, the time it took a Council to figure something out the threat might be casting their vote at the council table. The BoS is successful, the Legion was successful, the Enclave was successful, and now the Minutemen are becoming more successful, because of one strong leader with a vision who can bring the others in line AND delegate authority to trusted LT's.

 

The Institute has only their technology and the fact that their base is hidden to keep them pretty much like the Enclave. Removed from the outside world, but feeling as if they should own it, as if their will should supersede those who live on the surface. I mean, it's pretty obvious that the Supermutants plaguing the East Coast aren't from the Master's Army, or even from the Mid-West Supermutants that the Midwest chapter of the BoS fought.

 

They know they have the tech to help people, but don't. They have a secure base to coordinate survival and prosperity, but they won't.

 

They just want to wait until everyone is dead, or just kill them all, before remaking America in their own vision of Utopia. At least the Enclave was willing to let some people live.

 

They're even worse than the brains of Big MT, who were insane, but ultimately powerless since they couldn't live Big MT (except for introducing the harmless, playful cazador to the wasteland) and can't put any of their machinations into place.

 

Burn the Institute and let the Minutemen and BoS bring order to the wild and lawless wasteland.

[Moraelin]

But it all depends on what you make of it after Shaun is gone. Offscreen, of course. You can turn it into anything you want in your imagination. No such luck with the BOS or the Railroad, since you never rise to the top.

 

My favorite ending ist still the Minutemen. Not because I like dressup and history reanactors that much, but because they don't actually hurt anyone in the long run.

Well... you already know that my favourite ending is the Minutemen one, so we can agree there pretty quickly. As I was saying, I'm not saying that the BOS or RR are good or anything. They're not.

 

Just that, well, I can still rank a-holes by how big an a-hole they are. And my list would be with the Institute (currently) being the worst, the RR being second worst, and the BOS being third worst. Doesn't mean I like any of them. But the Institute still is at the top of my list of gangs I'd like to turn into a crater, and plough the crater with salt.

[Deleted918306User]

 

All the voice lines are still in there. The big question is whether or not you could enable switching back and forth and if the game itself could handle keeping track of two different sets of skills, perks, inventories, quest markers.

Quests would be the same for both, skills don't exist, inventories are already separate, and each NPC already has its own set of stats and perks. E.g., it's possible to give Danse all heavy weapon levels, while not having any myself.

 

Well... almost.

 

There are a few perks, mostly and notably all the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. perks, which apply specifically to the player for some deranged reason. If you try to give Danse all 9 perception perks, actually your character now gets +9 to perception.

 

So basically the switch script would have to explicitly setav those variables.

 

Also I doubt that you can reliably just tell the game that another character is the main one now. The ID of the player character is pretty much hard-coded. So basically you wouldn't be as much switching the active character as copying the face and stats and everything between the main character and the companion.

 

Fortunately enough, though, we do have the largely unused "Husband" and "Wife" NPCs, which just store the state at the beginning of the game, so I suppose those could be used to store the state regardless of which of them is currently copied to the protagonist and which to the companion.

 

I misspoke slightly. When I was referring to skills, I was referring more to the esoteric +5% to hit with energy weapons that magazines and Bobbleheads apply. I don't know, I always assumed that skills were still baked into the engine, just hidden with new values and new names.

 

You know, a workaround would be setting the "unused" PC location like you would with a companion you told "Sit. Stay.", and when you switch, you swap the location of the NPC spouse with the active player via a COC command, swap the looks and other stats via a script file that updates when you swap characters. Probably to keep the problems down, you could only switch at settlements as well as places like Diamond City and Goodneighbor.

 

Maybe. I don't know. I don't know how to Mod FO4. :(

[Moraelin]

Those +5% melee crit and and whatnot are simply perks. When you pick up the bobblehead, it gives you a perk. Hell, even some chems essentially give you a perk for a limited time. Overdrive is one such example.

 

So those wouldn't really be a problem. The game already keeps separate lists of perks for each character.

 

In fact, come to think of it, the actual problem would just be that the bobblehead then would only apply to the character who picked it up. You might need to do some copying if you want both Nora and Nate to get the perk. Not that it's complicated, but it's something to keep in mind.

 

As for swapping locations... well, I suppose you could swap locations. It's not even that hard. What I had in mind was the simpler solution of having the significant other as a permanent extra companion, so when you need their skills, they're right there. Saves a bunch of headaches like whether the other one should head to Sanctuary when you swap positions and whatnot.

[Deleted918306User]

Well, we'd also need a plotline for once the Institute is penetrated.

 

Once you reach the Synth Shaun, "Father" confronts the Sole Survivor.

 

Right here is where we'd need to do completely new voice lines and the like.

 

All right, let's go with the following:

 

• The "Father" in the first part is a Synth because the Sole Survivor is incredibely tough and took out a Coursier, so that makes them High Threat.
• The boy is either real, and behind the glass, to prove to the Sole Survivor that they have the boy, or the "boy" is a Synth and either it isn't revealed or it is.
• If it isn't revealed, then have "Father" go: "By all means, take the child, think about our offer. Replace Kellogg, act as our agent on the surface."
• Then have the kid melt down, or better yet, explode (reverse-pickpocket a mini-nuke for the effect) to kill off the Sole Survivor
• If the Sole Survivor agrees, they have the Sole Survivor do the standard missions for that plot line, each time allowing the Sole Survivor to meet with Shaun with Plexi between them and Synth Coursier guards.
• If the Sole Survivor shoots Father in the face, or tries to get away...
• ....the kid is killed. Plain and simple. Dead. They're evil, with no compassion or empathy for others outside their own little Institute.
• ....the kid is kept as a hostage to 'ensure' that the Sole Survivor doesn't go against them. After all, they're dangerous beyond even Kellogg.
• If the PC goes against the Institute, they'd need to recruit at least one group. Here's how they play out.
• ....Brotherhood of Steel: Brings Liberty Prime to do a frontal assault like in the standard game. It'll be a MUCH tougher fight alone. If there isn't any other groups to help, Liberty Prime is taken down, the BoS are assaulted, and may or may not be wiped out.
• ....Railroad: These guys may appear useless, but what they can bring in is the Fifth Column within the Institute itself. First of all, it will delay any counter-attack as an "agent on duty at the surface sensor panels" can delay the alert that Liberty Prime is on the way. Additionally, the Railroad can, once they get inside, get help with the Fifth Column in getting the non-combatants away. If there isn't any other group, it turns out to be a trap, and the Railroad agents and the Sole Survivor are ambushed by DOZENS of Synths when they teleport in. (The "agent" running the teleporter was working for the Institute) If the BoS and the Railroad both survive, there's serious problems, since the Railroad's additional objective is the Mainframe, to find out who's a Synth and who isn't, as well as to slag the Mainframe before the BoS can download it. This gives MORE missions after the Institute is gone.
• ....The Atom Cats are actually useful. They're experienced and tough power armor pilots, able to act as a fast strike force. They have a plan to get in, get Shaun, and get out. If that's the only group, make it a tough mission, with having to figure out a way inside. This is one of the only ways for victory with only one group. This is to cover any Sole Survivor who doesn't ally themselves with any group. To get the Atom Cats on the Sole Survivor's side, they want something cool, proof they're got what it takes: The Vim armor from Far Harbor, the Quantum and Nuka-Cola suits from Nuka-World, a specialized Vault Suit from Vault-88 (or we can just make a new Vault, say, a Vault-Tek vault at the bottom of the Vault-Tek HQ building), and the Sole Survivor will need to build manufacturing lines for power armor parts. (That should cover the DLC's)
• ...The Minuteman/Raider Faction are mutually exclusive, so we can use them together: They are the actual attack for the BoS diversion. (Following the old Murphy's Law of "The Diversion you are ignoring is the Main Attack/The Main Attack you are concentrating on is a Diversion...") Go in via the normal Minuteman way, through the pipe/tunnel, and seize the teleporter first. (When the Sole Survivor is almost inside Liberty Prime is taken out and the only way to get the BoS inside, to keep the Synths from overwhelming the BoS is to take the teleporter) Once that's done, either grab Shaun (if the Atom Cats aren't included) or help the BoS assault and go for the reactor core.
• ....The Synths of Far Harbor can help, but I'm drawing a blank, since I'm just pulling all of this out of my butt.
• ....Vault-88 can help. Create a teleporter for the Atom Cats to use perhaps.

Any assault that fails because not enough factions are united, you can have an Institute Counter-Attack on the stronghold of the failing group, and let the Sole Survivor attempt again.

 

Additionally, clearing the Institute leaves the cleanup. There are Synths all over the place.

 

Now, let's throw in another twist: The Synth is NOT Paladin Danse.

 

Remember the Synth from Fallout 3? Remember him? Yeah. Let's bring him back.

 

He replaced Maxon. Maxon knew that the Sole Survivor would be heading into the Institute, and warned them, so that Danse's name was put on the list to replace Maxon so that it would drive a wedge between a popular Paladin (Danse) and the Sole Survivor, possibly turning the Sole Survivor against the Brotherhood and getting rid of Danse from the BoS.

 

The BoS is there to sweep and clear the entire Commonwealth. The Institute could "defeat" the BoS to eradicate their presence as well as push back on the BoS and infiltrate the BoS by having "survivor elements" be Synths.

 

Anyway, when Maxon and the other Synths that have replaced BoS troops since they arrived in the Commonwealth (patrols and reclaimation teams) are revealed it causes a schism in the BoS ranks.

 

OK, now I'm going a bit far afield.

 

I've GOT to learn to Mod. LOL

[Moraelin]

To be honest, what I had in mind is MUCH more simple.

 

What you describe is good, but is a massive conversion, and people underestimate how much work goes into those. Hence the vast majority never get finished.

 

What I had in mind was more along the lines of the Synthetic Love mod, which keeps everything the same, except gives you Nora as a follower. In fact, possibly a mod TO the Synthetic Love mod, since the author already did most of the work.

 

Except in my version you'd go get your old army surgery kit and a super-stimpak from the basement, and go revive the spouse in Vault 111. At which point you'd get a stats and name menu for the spouse, and they join you. Then just replace the "Relationship" dialogue option (you START in love and married anyway) with something like "You take point." At which point you'd just swap to controlling the other spouse.

 

Now mind you, I still think that realistically it's pretty unbelievable that anyone would survive a .44 in the head and being left with no medical care in a freezer. But, eh, we're in a game where you can take two .44 bullets in the head and stumble on a mine, then eat some fried dog and be good as new. So I guess it wouldn't stretch suspension of disbelief TOO much.

[Deleted918306User]

To be honest, what I had in mind is MUCH more simple.

 

What you describe is good, but is a massive conversion, and people underestimate how much work goes into those. Hence the vast majority never get finished.

 

What I had in mind was more along the lines of the Synthetic Love mod, which keeps everything the same, except gives you Nora as a follower. In fact, possibly a mod TO the Synthetic Love mod, since the author already did most of the work.

 

Except in my version you'd go get your old army surgery kit and a super-stimpak from the basement, and go revive the spouse in Vault 111. At which point you'd get a stats and name menu for the spouse, and they join you. Then just replace the "Relationship" dialogue option (you START in love and married anyway) with something like "You take point." At which point you'd just swap to controlling the other spouse.

 

Now mind you, I still think that realistically it's pretty unbelievable that anyone would survive a .44 in the head and being left with no medical care in a freezer. But, eh, we're in a game where you can take two .44 bullets in the head and stumble on a mine, then eat some fried dog and be good as new. So I guess it wouldn't stretch suspension of disbelief TOO much.

That works good too.

 

I was just hyped up on too many Monsters and coffee.

 

So it probably could be done. Might be intersting to give it a shot.

 

Wait, the bunker behind the house in Sanctuary. You could put the emergency field surgery kit and the stimpaks there.

[Moraelin]

Well, I guess this time I was the one overthinking it. I was thinking of giving Nate his own basement, but I suppose it doesn't have to be HIS surgery kit. Yeah, the existing bunker could work.

[charwo]

I've seen Frost....not what I'm thinking of. I don't want more midless carnage. I'd want a full fledged story about survivng the apocalypse, maybe helping the military retain control of Boston, talk down starving rioters, make the hard choices about who to give the Rad-Away as people start dying from radiation sickness, help people evaucate, actually use the settlement building to build ad hoc medical fascilitiies. Shape what the Commonwealth will be for 200 years, based upon your choices of who to help and who to screw over.