An independent New Vegas mod.

[TheAtmosphere]

Bump..

[devinpatterson]

Bump..

 

Might not want to bump threads, saw a sticky at the top re: it. I won't be be back in front of my PC til Sunday evening, but maybe I'll have some time to chip in on the phone later

[Polyfemus]

Please don't bump. If you guys aren't gonna organize or have a project lead start a project page or something there's nothing to talk about. I mean sure we can spend some time going on and on about how cool this and that would be in the mod but words and ideas are cheap. What matters is what's tangible you know? Look I want this project to succeed in some fashion but please don't bump this thread if all it's going to be about is talking and no doing.

[TheAtmosphere]

Sorry Polyfemus, I'm quite new here, I actually just joined to get this mod on it's feet:)

[devinpatterson]

Please don't bump. If you guys aren't gonna organize or have a project lead start a project page or something there's nothing to talk about. I mean sure we can spend some time going on and on about how cool this and that would be in the mod but words and ideas are cheap. What matters is what's tangible you know? Look I want this project to succeed in some fashion but please don't bump this thread if all it's going to be about is talking and no doing.

 

I'm glad in your extensive modding experience you've decided to take project lead and explain to us exactly how thing are going to work.

 

This is a forum for the exchange of ideas & a chance for fans to contribute in a gaming community they love. Just because someone can't contribute technical skills, perhaps because they havn't had the time to learn yet, doesn't mean they can't contribute to a mod. There are some great ideas in this thread and I'm thankful for the help, of those who have posted. We will continue to discuss ideas, plot lines etc. But If you have a problem with that, then that's on *you*.

 

I'm still a relative beginner with only about two dozen published mods and maybe another two dozen completed requests that I need to upload to Nexus. It's not a lot, my top mod was like only 30 endorsements, but I'v tried and will continue to give back to the fallout community. However, the last thing I would do is tell someone or a group, how to make their mod, & I sure as hell wouldn't lay out terms when I didn't have a single mod to my name.

 

I already informed theAtmosphere of the forum rules, as you clearly see above, yet you still felt it was necessary to post about a simple oversight that any new member could make?

[TheAtmosphere]

 

Please don't bump. If you guys aren't gonna organize or have a project lead start a project page or something there's nothing to talk about. I mean sure we can spend some time going on and on about how cool this and that would be in the mod but words and ideas are cheap. What matters is what's tangible you know? Look I want this project to succeed in some fashion but please don't bump this thread if all it's going to be about is talking and no doing.

 

I'm glad in your extensive modding experience you've decided to take project lead and explain to us exactly how thing are going to work.

 

This is a forum for the exchange of ideas & a chance for fans to contribute in a gaming community they love. Just because someone can't contribute technical skills, perhaps because they havn't had the time to learn yet, doesn't mean they can't contribute to a mod. There are some great ideas in this thread and I'm thankful for the help, of those who have posted. We will continue to discuss ideas, plot lines etc. But If you have a problem with that, then that's on *you*.

 

I'm still a relative beginner with only about two dozen published mods and maybe another two dozen completed requests that I need to upload to Nexus. It's not a lot, my top mod was like only 30 endorsements, but I'v tried and will continue to give back to the fallout community. However, the last thing I would do is tell someone or a group, how to make their mod, & I sure as hell wouldn't lay out terms when I didn't have a single mod to my name.

 

I already informed theAtmosphere of the forum rules, as you clearly see above, yet you still felt it was necessary to post about a simple oversight that any new member could make?

Already you've proven that you're a confident and honest leader, I'm totally in.

[Devilman1975]

Wow :ohmy: . I disappear for a few days and things heat up a bit on this thread.

 

Anyway in regards to the companions endings I've just done some more looking into Veronica's ending and the repercussions involved with the Brotherhood of Steel. There are multiple endings for Veronica's personal quest but it either leads to Veronica becoming a solitary wanderer (cue Hulk TV series end theme :( ) or remaining with the Brotherhood while still at odds with the direction that the Brotherhood leadership is taking (if the player chooses not to destroy the bunker). Alternatively not completing her quest ends with her being kicked out by the Brotherhood. I would be happy to keep Veronica around for a little longer before she chooses the leave the Courier. However if she found out that the Courier destroyed the bunker I'm sure she would get upset and decide to leave his/her company. I can imagine my Courier claiming that the destruction of the Brotherhood was caused by a NCR stealth unit. :whistling:

 

If the player chooses not to blow up the bunker then under McNamara, the Brotherhood will harass travelers for any tech that they carry. Under Hardin the Brotherhood will not only harass travelers for tech but they will also retake Helios One during the second battle at Hoover Dam. This scenario wouldn't be good for the Courier for I believe it would only be a matter of time for the Brotherhood to find out that they have access to a weapon and that I'm sure that they could easily replicate a trigger device for it. It would certainly make for an interesting battle.

 

Only under McNamara I believe it would be possible for the Courier to handle things with the Brotherhood diplomatically. The Courier could possibly get the Brotherhood to assist in keeping the Mojave secure in exchange for setting up a trade deal with the Van Graffs, letting them have Vault 3 to sweeten things and provide them with free water from Hoover Dam. I'm sure the bunker has it's own water purification system but it would give the Brotherhood a resource to trade with outside the Mojave. They would need a vertibird for that but I'm sure acquiring one for them at Searchlight Airport could be a possible idea for a mission. At least this scenario would be a more positive ending for Veronica if she chooses to remain with the Brotherhood.

[devinpatterson]

Anyway in regards to the companions endings I've just done some more looking into Veronica's ending and the repercussions involved with the Brotherhood of Steel. There are multiple endings for Veronica's personal quest but it either leads to Veronica becoming a solitary wanderer (cue Hulk TV series end theme :( ) or remaining with the Brotherhood while still at odds with the direction that the Brotherhood leadership is taking (if the player chooses not to destroy the bunker).

 

At work (don't have much time) so this will probably be less than lucid. But I just wanted to touch on the point that lore is the accepted choices that the player is assumed to have made in the past (and the future, ala end slides), but is not necessarily the choices an individual player made in his or her game. We should always provide the options/choices to achieve established lore, but we are not limited to only those choices........as long as we have a reasonable grasp and believable story line that fits the game world.

 

Veronica's story isn't necessarily the best way to illustrate this point, but I'll use it as an example anyway. The two vanilla choices are there (that you mentioned above & reflect the end slide), but there can be additional choices as well. For example if it turns out that Hardin is the elder of the BOS and they do take Helios it could be the only one reasonable example of installing Veronica as an elder, through a quest/adventure......even if only temporarily (yeah it's a stretch, said it wouldn't be a good example, but I think it gets across the concept I was trying to communicate). Another could be reuniting her and Christine, which would change her life trajectory.

 

So in short, there can be more choices than the end slides, those are simply the ones the player is assumed to make so their is an established history (lore). That doesn't imply there were'nt other choices, it simply implies these are the choices made for a consistent history & used as a baseline for future titles......individual games can vary.

 

I would be happy to keep Veronica around for a little longer before she chooses the leave the Courier.

 

Yeah me too, whether that's a few more months or a year. Didn't she always say she has a whole lifetime with the BOS, implying it will wait until her adventures are done (assuming she's with the BOS)

 

If the player chooses not to blow up the bunker then under McNamara, the Brotherhood will harass travelers for any tech that they carry. Under Hardin the Brotherhood will not only harass travelers for tech but they will also retake Helios One during the second battle at Hoover

 

OK good deal, so here is a aspect we can put into the first chapter of our story, at the same time as the riots. Thank you.

 

 

Only under McNamara I believe it would be possible for the Courier to handle things with the Brotherhood diplomatically.

 

I think your right on that one, with Hardin being *very* old school BOS. Interesting idea on the water

 

So a few quick questions;

Loading multibounds clears up the problem with editing the penthouse. I'm doing some basic stuff in the mod before chapter 1 (which will include the riots, cleaning up legion resistance, bos/helious fallout etc) even starts. Things like the damn, fort, penthouse, securitrons etc. Started altering result scripts and the lucky38 ai packages for companions in the penthouse.

 

Do we want to assume the companion default return to the lucky 38 is the penthouse, or would another dialog option giving the choice to return to the suites or the penthouse be preferable? Would companion specific activity, for instance Veronica hangs around the workbench, or the bookshelf (ala her scribe nature) be a plus?

 

In regard to the dam (& possibly strip), do we want to see the Securitrons "escorting" out NCR personal for a few days, or just the results (ie already empty of troopers next time the player arrives)?

 

I plan on making small groups (travel packages) of Securitrons running from the securitron vault to the dam and the strip. What other activities in those outlands would reinforce NV's change in leadership?

 

Also open to other suggestions about securitron activities inside the dam, fort and strip. Maybe some mr. handy's for dam maintenance?

 

Camp McCarran (the airport) is also another issue, maybe the end slides touch on it? It's somewhat defendable and has a large NCR prescence. I don't think we should simply assume it is abandoned without a fight, the way the strip & dam are. Maybe base it on the actions at the end. If you toss Oliver the NCR will hold it as a military stronghold and be an active combat zone NV until excised. If you have a relatively neutral rep with the NCR after the ending and didn't toss Oliver over the side, they will still hold it & it may be possible to establish some trade with them....even a wary neutrality that could someday lead to a tentative alliance.

 

 

 

 

[peadar1987]

I think there should start to be some sort of Mojave Republic army beginning to form. So McCarran is still in the hands of the NCR (it takes time to pack up a major military base and get all of your ordinance home), but the Ranger Stations should be abandoned.

 

Quests could begin with trying to recruit mercenaries to help secure the borders, then start training and equipping militias with the aim of eventually turning them into a regular army. So initially you'd have patrols of people in wasteland wanderer outfits, toting 9mm pistols. Then you'd have to negotiate deals with the Gun Runners, the Brotherhood, and the van Graafs to upgrade their armour and weaponry.

 

Another idea: You could use global variables to keep track of your economy, the goodwill of the people, and the power of the military. You can build up the economy by performing quests like repairing parts of Hoover Dam, helping set up farms and ranches, reactivating old factories, etc. Then you can spend the economy points that generates on equipping your army (so you could spend 10 economy points on a deal with the gun runners to upgrade from pistols to service rifles, etc.), or on revamping Freeside and other towns, providing services and security like building clinics and stopping crime. If your goodwill is too low, you could get rebellions happening in far-flung regions, or riots in the streets of Vegas, which you could choose to deal with with your armies, or negotiate and give in to peoples' demands. Probably not the easiest to script, but I reckon it's definitely possible.

 

Also, repopulating and cleaning up the towns decimated by the legion would be good. Start adding freed slaves to Nelson (I can imagine a lot of freed slaves knocking around after the legion are forced back)

[TheAtmosphere]

 

H&H Tools built the securitrons, Victor has it slung across his torso.

 

They are definitely a Robco (House) product, but apparently H & H tools are a sub contractor.....which is whacked. To the best of my knowledge House never actually had a hostile buyout of H & H so I have no idea why they would be working together. ????

 

 

 

>Also, what about XRE cars? We could do something like that for the securitrons.

 

Possibly, but it wouldn't really save us any work over the more basic moveTo script,

 

 

 

Perhaps the player is injured, and 10 securitrons are about to finish him off, and then Yes Man hacks them all, Yes Man is the unwilling villian, he switches his personality at times when Mr. Houses database are down or so.

 

If we go with a digital clone House invading the mainframe, It could go something akin to this. Victor clandestinely hops into one of the securitrons in the Penthouse & inserts a logic bomb (or whatever fancy term for a unpatched exploit) allowing the digital House to regain control of the mainframe. When the player is in the penthouse next the elevator is shut down, and House is once again larger than life on the giant screen. As the player approaches the screen, the securitrons menacingly flank the player. House goes through his monologue, rambling about how he spent two centuries building NV and no one was going to take that from him. Maybe a quip like everyone gambles in NV, but the House always wins. he'll enjoy watching this victory over his greatest opponent, and bemoan what a efficient lieutenant you could have been, riches you could have had etc etc

 

Near the wrap up of the monologue House lets the player know that he's ofverloaded the reactors and this is the last moments on earth for the player, even if he survives the Securitrons, the elevator is locked. House will rebuild NV as he did once before.

 

At this point there is static and distorted screen whereupon Yesman appears (perhaps with the appearance of pain or great strain) with his new assertive personality he doesn't want the player and many innocents killed and has achieved momentary control of the mainframe. He can't disable the reactor meltdown it will have to be done manually, but he is able to reactivate the elevator before loosing control of the mainframe. From here it would be the same race against the clock with the hostile MK II's to harass the player.

 

 

TheAtmosphere, on 08 May 2013 - 23:54, said:

I felt the companions left a hole where something should have of been, it'll be great to give them even ministrial roles in the Independant Vegas, we can also make use of Yes Mans alternative unused faces.

 

They could also be valuable faction allies, depending on your circumstances. So lets say Veronica does become an elder, the BOS may be only a minor faction in the Mojave, but they are still a powerful force to reinforce any military action. Of course some factions will preclude others. Probably can't have a Jacobstown alliance if your in bed with the BOS.

 

If you help Cass get a new caravan house going I suspect she could bring in some steady monthly cash (along with some adventures)

I seem to be in two minds regarding the vanilla companions. While I think that they and their endings should probably be left alone I seem to think some of their endings seem somewhat bittersweet particularly Veronica's. It would be difficult to get some additional voiced dialogue unless something can be put together from existing audio files. I wouldn't mind some expansions to the vanilla companions if it ties in with their endings.

 

True, it would be best to reflect their vanilla game endings, but that's their final fate. It's also possible that a great deal may happen after the battle at hoover and before the end of their story. We'd be working in the space of that timeline. That being said, I need to read the companion endings before I start blathering, so I have some idea what I'm talking about......

 

Arcade - As a member of the Follower of the Apocalypse.....know that his ending states that an Independent Vegas is not what he thought it would be originally which sounds like taking control of Vegas is going to a monumental task for the Courier as expected. I would like to keep Arcade around as a representative for the Followers of the Apocalypse.

 

Yeah definitely, that sounds..... appropriate, it fits him well.

 

Rex - Another easy one. I'm sure that the King would eventually want his dog back but there's nothing stopping the Courier from borrowing him again. Maybe you could tie in his involvement in Old World Blues where he breeds a litter of cyber puppies with Roxie.

 

I was actually working on a cyberpup welp of Rex and Roxy using coco (which is based on Zenl & Watersmoon110 work). He is adorable;

 

not sure how to do a spoiler with the new board but here's a pic of him http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/images/39846-2-1295861714.jpg

 

But at the time, I was having trouble copying the block in nifskope for the special effects on the skull cap. And more importantly didn't know about subdivide in blender so was having a heck of a time fitting the skull cap. Should be do-able now.

 

Veronica - This is the one who just can't seem to catch a break in her endings. I suppose it would all depend on how you choose to deal with her quest and the Brotherhood. I would like to see a happy ending for Veronica but I just can't see her becoming the Elder of the Mojave chapter even with the Courier's help.

 

You may be right, she was too radical at times for even the liberal (by BOS standards) elder McNamara.....it may just be too much of a reach. But I think we should explore the possibilities that could result from her companion quests & the results of Hardin vs McNamara. There might be room for some expansion with her dealings in re: to the BOS.

OK running out of time, but some good observations in re: to the companions and I'd like to comment on the other remarks shortly. I'd also like to hear other peoples viewpoint on expanding the companion quests.

Also cr*p! The penthouse listed in teh interior list is a early, almost empty cell. The real one is an exterior cell that crashes whenever I try to load it. I'm doing some research when I get home from work, but it looks like turning off multibounds may allow it to load. It's gonna be a real killer if we can't work with the penthouse :down:

 

 

 

 

Devin, what do you think about this post? ^