"Multiple Survivors" Game play change.

[Ekayne]

This is a MASSIVE undertaking. I understand this. I'm not requesting this lightly, I'm more just throwing an idea out here to see what sticks.
--> insert other obligatory groveling, and apology for the impending blog post.

when I was playing the other day, I set up a series of .Bat Files with the intent of playing multiple characters. I then used a "Custom bodyguard" Mod, and the Facemenu, with the intent of essentially populating my settlement with companions which were like loadouts, able to be switched into.

E.G.I was running around as a sneaky assassin type, Clearing out a dungeon, then would go back to the nearby settlement and Tag team out for the higher strength builder dude who could actually carry the scrap, better determine what was needed for the settlement (Because he had points in scrapper) and then proceed to build better gear for the assassin, and infrastructure in the settlement.

This process involved me shuffling around inventory manually, calling a bat file to clear all perks, putting on a ring to change my features, calling a second bat file to set my special and perks (which I had to spell out in the file, with a Player.Addperk), entering the character's name in the special menu that popped up as part of the bat file, Calling a third .BAT to return "Bonuses" like the I'm Special book, or the bobbleheads I'd collected, and adding any perk points equal to the number I hadn't spent with that character. Needless to say, it worked, but I came loathe having to do that switch.

Oh, and PS: the game doesn't seem to support down leveling your characters, at least with the "Player.Setlevel"

--> now onto the wishful thinking portion of the program. since this request is... Big?

The number one thing I'm looking to do, is setup a way to store a character, and change between them. that could be as simple as a Holotape, that swaps between SPECIAL/perk load outs, and opens the face menu for you, so you can change the face to a preset, piggybacking off that, or it can be like point 2...

1A: AND If possible, make the time and date in game back up when you swap characters, to give a sense of Simultaneous events.

1B: If possible, make it so new characters start at level 1, even if that breaks leveling, and makes them under-leveled. IMO a second character can end up

getting them good gear to mitigate the level differences.

1C: Manage affinity with companions via this system too? allowing for further role-playing capability. as piper or cait or codsworth never have met Joe shmoe, fresh from

the vault.

Second in the hierarchy of desires is (potentially) Seeing the characters that you are not currently playing as, as settlers, or companions, allowing a

"Press X to become this character" type deal. managing Special, perks, Inventory and appearance in a hassle free way.

2A: Potentially Change dialogue so that Sole survivor specific dialogue doesn't happen? IE: No "hello General" or "where's my son" for these not Sole

survivor characters.

2B: Potentially create a way to dynamically assign an affinity system for these companions? IE if the character is a raging Psycho doped Lunatic, using

drugs around him boosts affinity? boosting to max affinity, boosts your SPECIAL by one point, when they're following you, of the attribute that they have

as their highest? (EG, max affinity with high perception sniper means a +1 to perception when the sniper following you)

The Third part would be forcing a swap to a different survivor on death. with the intention of leaving a corpse that you have to go retrieve loot from, or leaving a downed, NPC, that you have to go stimpack (In the case of the sole survivor? Or allow customization of who perma-dies). IF all other survivors are dead, It's my consideration that either a typical death happens, a new character is spawned at vault 111, or one of the "Downed" survivors wakes up at a random settlement with some of their gear missing...

I think that describes what I'm hoping for. anyone reading, please understand that I recognize and fully admit this is wishlist level request. I'm describing every last feature and detail, and keeping only point 1 I'd still be smitten... so yeah... (I feel like this is necessary to be re-iterated, as some people give a bit of Feist when you request a large project such as this)

Edited July 6, 2017 by Ekayne