An independent New Vegas mod.

[darkus37]

Lanius & Rival General - I actually didn't mean for the rival general to take Lanius' place, simply that he was the arch-type for the legend as he is infamous in his own right. I basically want a bogeyman to make the choice harder. I keep imagining him upon on a throne sitting on top of a mountain of blood and bones, with crucified people surrounding him, moaning in agony (how's that for a visual?).

 

Helios One - I agree about the Archimedes II weapon - I set Helios One to divert power to everyone equally as I honestly have enough high-powered weaponry. As part of the overall improvement of the Mojave, I would really have liked for a way to improve Helios One further so that the power output is increased safely so that there are no brownouts. I would recommend a BOS related side-quest dealing with Helios One if it's online, where if Hardin is the BOS elder, there will be an attack on Helios One that can only be stopped if you are in good terms with the BOS or if you have an extremely high speech skill, maybe even a combo of both.

 

Vault City - the original Vault City in Fallout 2 was actually rather similar to New Vegas, with an inner section that had a clean, well laid out city protected by high walls and turrets; and an outer section that was for everyone else, protected by a chain link fence and some turrets. This is where I figured this idea was going. The New Vegas location would make sense as it is the seat of power and should look accordingly.

 

While I like your idea in theory Devilman1975, I don't think that would work here, in this specific case, since it would require the building of a new city in enemy territory with limited resources and supply trains. The original Vault City had years to build, and a GECK to fertilize the land with - I imagine Legion raids would start immediately to remove the invaders and they have numbers on their side.

[TrooperScooperMKII]

What would be the chances of Joshua Graham making a power play for legion supporters? he could be the "rival" so to speak; IIRC he was quite... zealous... pitting a hell-fire religious crusader against the Legate would be a bloodbath.

Vulpes would be the other big contender, at the very least as the "man behind the throne" or even more than that. Not sure how openly he can fight/move, but there's no reason to think that he couldn't be at least somewhat capable in a fight. I'd expect if he could pull off a major sabotage or asassination... if we need to "prune the story" so to speak one of the characters could be killed by him if they survived the epilogue, like say, benny, or one of the Van Graffs.

 

As far as Helios One, the Brotherhood would probably demand it as part of the terms for their alliance, especially if Hardin ousted McNamara. Perhaps Veronica could be made chief scientist? It would be quite a deft maneuver, assuming she was still nominally part of the Brotherhood; as she'd probably look more favorably on the Courier using it to power something other than the weapon- or deny that it existed- and the Brotherhood probably didn't have more than strong suspicions, or else they would have tried to trigger the defense system when the NCR attacked. So I'd put her there (as the Brotherhood/your agent), with the Followers, or maybe as the ambassador to Vegas, assuming you're allied. If not and hostilities break out under Hardin then she might try to lead an outcast style breakaway, either to Helios One (holding up in the tower with her finger on the death beam to keep the BoS loyalists away or something) or one of the other Hidden Valley bunkers... though I don't think she'd be allowed to stay so close to the mainstream brotherhood.

 

What about the Remnants? They could be quite useful as mobile shock troops or air support; maybe allowing the Courier to call in the odd air strike/air support every once in a while?

 

The Boomers would also be natural allies, so long as they were intact; even if you didn't complete the quest you could probably approach them on your own behalf as an alliance against the Legion- essentially completing the quest (volare?) after the fact, maybe even copy-pasting >90% the vanilla plot wholesale, with a few dialogue tweaks and the like.

 

Looking at the endings, Raul could either show up as a "Mysterious Stranger" Zorro figure every once in a while, or in that robot shack of his, surrounded by robots.

 

Cass could try to start a caravan on your behalf, be a romance for a male courier, or just be drunk and dead somewhere. Who knows? In fact a lot of the companions could be consorts. IIRC there was a marriage mod somewhere...

 

Marcus, benny, and Harland are all viable mod-in candidates. The first two are already existing mods; and Harland would be relatively easy, he doesn't show up for long, has a fairly blank slate, a well articulated skill set, and a ghoul voice shouldn't be too difficult to imitate.

[darkus37]

Joshua Graham is an interesting character that I felt was wasted in Honest Hearts (not my favorite of the DLC's), but this Rival General would have to be another person entirely. The backstory would actually fit Graham - but in the event he is killed, it might mess up the storyline, plus how would we explain Graham getting control of the Legion again? He apparently hates what it turned into (from the wiki: "What he believed may have been the start of a society of equals under one banner has become a totalitarian culture dominated by one man.") and Cesar made it pretty clear he wanted Graham dead, which means the die-hard Legion fanatics wouldn't accept him - and you have to pretty fanatical to attack guys armed with rifles with just short swords and leather armor for defense.

 

Vulpes would be a contender, however, I killed him. I realize not all people did so, and the "turn coat" is actually based off of him. Of course I'm sure that sort of thing can be tracked by the game, so all we would need would be a new conversation topic: "I killed you!" "You killed a body double - or perhaps you killed the original... does it really matter?". My only problem with that hypothetical situation is that I wouldn't trust the turncoat, no matter how helpful he would be.

 

The way I see it, Helios One was inoperable unless you completed the associated quest; which means the BOS wouldn't have much interest in it, especially after their crushing defeat caused by Elijah believing he could get it working and not retreating when it was clear all was lost. If Helios One is restored, then it might be used as a bargaining chip. As for Veronica, I don't know - most of the endings don't end with her associating with the BOS in any real positive fashion.

 

The Remnants have several things against them right away:

A) There is only one base they operate from, which means when the vertibird is used, it can be tracked back to its hanger.

B) They are older, with only a handful members. If one is lost, they can't be replaced with an equal candidate.

C) The Enclave is probably the one group that most people can unite together enough to fight against.

D) The strikes at the Dam, both by vertibird and bomber, were effective since no one was expecting them. It really won't be that hard to make a working AA gun to prevent their use again.

 

The Boomers remain a viable ally to use against the Legion and NCR, the bomber being a really great way to stop troop columns from invading.

 

Yeah, looking forward to seeing it. Too bad there aren't ride-able vehicles in this game - having him riding around on a robot horse or mutant animal would have been awesome.

 

I don't think Cass would start another caravan, a romance is possible I guess, and depending on how you complete here quest - a very possible scenario. My idea is for her to run a saloon in Freeside, like her father was in Fallout 2 before being recruited.

 

Benny can be killed as part of the quest line, so I don't think he should play an important part. Marcus probably wouldn't leave the super-mutants again for fear Keene would try and take over. Harland is a good idea, but he too can be killed when escaping if you don't clear out the Nightkin. For every established character, there would have to be a stand-in created as well so the quest-line isn't broken.

[Devilman1975]

darkus37, on 25 May 2013 - 01:12, said:

I don't think Cass would start another caravan, a romance is possible I guess, and depending on how you complete here quest - a very possible scenario. My idea is for her to run a saloon in Freeside, like her father was in Fallout 2 before being recruited.

Stating that Cass wouldn't start another caravan is too big an assumption to make. During the quest where the player convinces her to sell her old caravan she is told that there is nothing stopping her from starting up a new caravan under a different name when passing a speech or barter check. Saying that I do like your idea for giving Cass a saloon to run in Freeside. There is no reason why she couldn't have both the saloon and a new caravan. The new caravan wouldn't require her presence during the trade run anymore than her old one did. She just hired people to work for her until they were killed by the Van Graffs.

 

Regarding the romance option for Cass, it was planned in the original game but was cut out. There was also a ending where they got married by the King during a heavy drinking session. I'm not against the idea but I think that any plans to romance companions should be optional. However my player character is in a relationship with Willow and I don't think she would be up for a threesome. :smile:

Edited May 25, 2013 by Devilman1975

[devinpatterson]

 

What would be the chances of Joshua Graham making a power play for legion supporters? he could be the "rival" so to speak; IIRC he was quite... zealous... pitting a hell-fire religious crusader against the Legate would be a bloodbath.

 

I really love the idea of Graham's life coming full circle back to the Legion, but lets mix that up a bit. I don't think he can ever hold a place in the legion even if he wanted to. He's sort of the proverbial legion boogyman. Plus he's a changed man, even down to the core. In a way Graham really did die on that fateful day. The burning man is a champion of a tribe of innocents and is a different person on so many levels (IMHO).

 

So how about if completing the circle was to bring down the legion he was instrumental in constructing. It's conquests were his triumphs as Legate. He knows their tactics, heck he probably constructed their strategy and warfare. And I can't imagine a man more devoted to teh cause of seeing the legion fall. He saw the damage & destruction it caused/causes, personally, before and after his rebirth.

 

 

Vault City - the original Vault City in Fallout 2 was actually rather similar to New Vegas, with an inner section that had a clean, well laid out city protected by high walls and turrets; and an outer section that was for everyone else, protected by a chain link fence and some turrets. This is where I figured this idea was going. The New Vegas location would make sense as it is the seat of power and should look accordingly.

 

I like that idea. Right now it's lower levels are filled with concrete, maybe some bots can clear it and restore it.

 

 

Regarding the romance option for Cass, it was planned in the original game but was cut out. There was also a ending where they got married by the King during a heavy drinking session. I'm not against the idea but I think that any plans to romance companions should be optional. However my player character is in a relationship with Willow and I don't think she would be up for a threesome. :smile:

 

Cool. I remember one end slide (?) where Cass came back after teh battle at hoover with a bottle to celebrate, but the courier was out. However there was a trooper that struck her eye.

 

I wonder if any of the assets are still in there from the cut....

 

Crap a lot of good ideas an no time to respond >:(

[Devilman1975]

Regarding Vault 21 I remember Sarah being particularly happy when the player informs her of Mr House's demise. I'm not sure if she intends to restore her old community or continue to run it as a hotel. I'm sure that some of the former Vault 21 residents have settled into new lives such as Doc Mitchell. If the vault got restored then I'm sure that it would make more money as a hotel. Perhaps the player can loan her the money to restore the vault and locate some of the former vault residents to return to work as staff. It would be nice to see more casino games added to the vault.

 

Another change on the Strip I would like to see is the player no longer being asked to hand over his/her weapons when entering the casinos. Allowing the player to play the casino tables again after being asked to stop playing would also be welcomed. Perhaps the player can win up to certain amount and then after a week has passed be allowed to play again. I suppose wining at the tables could result in a smaller cut from the casinos profits.

 

I would also like to see something done with the NCR MP barracks if the NCR military is removed from the strip. It could serve as something similar to a police station staffed by human security guards.

[darkus37]

Cass - @Devilman1975 - you're right, I am making an assumption on Cass that is based off of several factors such as her drinking herself to death after her caravan died; not being able to get justice without screwing over the NCR; and her general lifestyle. One can make a different set of conclusions off the same facts, but based off of her behavior, I think that's the most reasonable direction for her part in the quest-line. Of course, if she were appointed head of the Crimson Caravan, say to appease the Courier, that too would make sense and be proper compensation for her loss.

 

I actually would have liked to see that scene with Cass and the Courier waking up afterwards and not knowing what the heck was going on - like every Vegas-based comedy movie.

 

Vault City - I'm sorry, I think I'm not understanding what you guys are talking about. Vault CIty, aka Vault 8, was an above ground city that used their vault as a power generator and for storage. If anyone is interested, there was a good mod made for Fallout 3 that used the Vault City design style, and it can be found here. Vault 21 is just a vault, mostly filled in with concrete; excavating it would take a lot of work, as would restoring all the components Mr. House stripped out - but in the end, it would still be a vault and thus limited - I think the biggest commercial vault was designed for 2000 people max.

 

Vault 21 - sure, it would be cool to see the Vault restored. I would like to see the Gate Room rebuilt as well.

 

Joshua Graham - the thing with using him as a weapon against the Legion is that I just don't see him working for the NCR; and without a strong Legion command or replacement leadership, the whole thing will fall apart into anarchy with tribal groups ruling supreme. This may just be me, but I see him more like The Man With No Name from the Sergio Leone movies - traveling around the Wild West being basically neutral - sometimes doing bad, but being mostly good; and following his own code of honor.

 

NCR Embassy - I don't know, even enemies have embassies in each others countries.

Edited May 25, 2013 by darkus37

[Devilman1975]

 

NCR Embassy - I don't know, even enemies have embassies in each others countries.

 

I agree that we should keep the NCR embassy, I was actually referring to the military police building across from it.

[TheAtmosphere]

Maybe we could do a hangover-based quest, where you have to find The King on top of the Lucky 38 or something? That'll be so cool!

Also, I've been messing around in the G.E.C.K trying to build a MK III Securitron, and how about replacing the face with the Angry Yes Man Face? they can aligned along Hoover Dam and triggered by the start of the quest, "Viva New Vegas" or something.

 

They should also be more securitrons in the strip and, if the player is on good terms with the King, in Freeside too, helping out the kings.

[Devilman1975]

After exploring some of the locations in the game I have come up with a few more ideas for the Independent path. In one of his endings Chief Hanlon directed the evacuation of the Rangers to Mojave Outpost if the player chooses not to expose his involvement in falsifying NCR records. I thought that Camp Golf would serve as another military base for an independent Vegas army. The place does look like it needs to be cleaned out a bit though as the NCR didn't seem to mind living in squalor.

 

The camps that the player visited during the quest Return to Sender can have the NCR rangers replaced with soldiers from the New Vegas army but I remember that the one located near Novac was already emptied. However in The Inheritance mod it is repopulated with rangers again and a small Legion camp nearby which always respawns legionaires. Unless a patch is made to remove them I suppose it could be looked as something like the rangers had decided to settle down in the Mojave and to remain at the camp to protect Novac from the Legion.

 

Setting up a Mojave based army and militias would be an interesting quest in itself in the very first chapter. Making deals with companies like the Gun Runners to secure weapons and armor, finding qualified instructors to train the army and running a recruitment campaign. Another welcome touch would be to replace the NCR propaganda posters with new ones. Maybe the player can convince Sarah Weintraub to model for some recruitment posters. A quest to find any Legion infiltrators in the army would also be interesting.

 

The Boomers would be a major asset for the player to have in the game however I think they would choose to remain isolated even if the player can set up trade deals between them, the Crimson Caravan and the Gun Runners. I think that having a Boomer companion who can act as a liaison for the player would work out pretty well. If the player wanted the Boomers to do a bombing then he would have to talk to the Boomer companion and hand over some caps for the munitions bill.

 

Another scene I would like to see is the player making a victory speech in the White Glove's Society's members room to some of the key players on the Strip and the Mojave. This speech can be relayed to the public through the securitrons.