An independent New Vegas mod.

[greenknightfury]

Another option for the continuing villain is much more simple/lore friendly (though it might cause some severe headscratching as to why he didn't use the method before) as Vault Tec was a wholly owned subsidiary of RobCo by the war (he was buying up everybody but the family business, just so he could crush them for rejecting him as illegitimate) he may well have had a backup in case of him getting a serious condition that could not easily be fixed. Either the living on as a disembodied brain (al la the thinktank or the guy in Point Lookout) or using the mindcopy cloning technique used with the Gary clones; as it was revealed that the Gary condition was a result of, an undetected before the experiment, genetic condition in the original Gary. A recessive trait that the cloning unfortunately unlocked in the clones.

 

So House could have set up a system that would, if he was truly dieing, created a clone of him with his memories and personality, or one that could scoop out his brain and set himself up elsewhere...with his personality as it is and his choice not to be disembodied in the first place, I'd think that the clone option would be his favorite..and it gives a physical human enemy to confront, that would be reveling in his newly restored (which is how he would see it with all those memories of living as a withered husk in a life support machine for all those years) health and freedom. With all his old world knowledge and secrets to use to confront you and have his revenge/take back what is his.

[devinpatterson]

(though it might cause some severe headscratching as to why he didn't use the method before)

 

Yeah that's kind of the biggie right there (at least for me). There is a lot of quasi immortality in the fallout universe, but it's really hard to spin why he wouldn't have used it long ago. A important chunk of Houses back story actually revolves around his life support technology (falling into a coma for a year because of his life support systems botched OS upgrade, his seclusion etc).

 

That's part of the reason I'm really leaning toward having him continue in his physical form....and the iconic sort of Howard Hughes-esque aspect of his character. I know it's easy for those players that didn't kill him. But even if you did 86 him, I think leaving a entry in the terminal regarding an automated resuscitation succeeding would be a cool little twist. And it's not really too far fetched, it's the same thing you'd get if someone was in an auto doc. It'd let me keep him in character along with the ticking clock of his 1 year lifespan. Maybe he'll pick up some habits like never clipping his nails, wearing Kleenex boxes on his feet, bottling his urine etc. A fast tracked jump start of his obsessive-compulsive disorder with bacteria that will rival Hughes (although in this case House has reason to fear, so maybe it's not actually a disorder at all).

 

living on as a disembodied brain (al la the thinktank or the guy in Point Lookout) or using the mindcopy cloning technique used with the Gary clones;

 

All good ideas, but I think it just runs up against that same question of why didn't he before? I'm guessing that he just didn't have the tech, brain tech was the purview of Gen Atomic, BigMT, and the cloning was a secret experiment(?) . But maybe one way around that is that the tech was recently (recently for house could mean years) acquired? I have to admit it would be very interesting to have the player be under the assumption (partly because of the life support pod's logs) that House survived and when they actually meet him he's a disembodied brain. It would be a great 50's sci-fi twist.

 

Gary clones; as it was revealed that the Gary condition was a result of, an undetected before the experiment, genetic condition in the original Gary. A recessive trait that the cloning unfortunately unlocked in the clones.

 

I did not know that, very interesting :thumbsup:

Cloning is going to be one of the projects in the mars mission (to tie in with the whole vault-tec/enclave secret plan of recolonization), so I'm glad you tipped me off. I was thinking of going with a group of Kerry's to put a more sexy spin on it. And have their insanities, at least initially, be less obvious. They'll be just as dangerous, but much more subtle than the psychopathic Gary's. And the whole troop of sexy clones will be great for suckering in players to their doom.

 

as Vault Tec was a wholly owned subsidiary of RobCo by the war (he was buying up everybody but the family business

 

Could you double check that one for me? It would totally change my whole corp setup for the mars project. House is a very important contractor due to his OS, ownership of REPCONN etc, but that would make him infinitely more important in the scheme of things.

 

I'v always thought of Vault-tec as being like the federal reserve....a private company, but so tightly integrated into the Gov it was virtually a dept of it. House was no doubt huge, few companies could rival his empire, maybe General Atomics, West Tek etc. But Vault-Tec is a whole nother beast, an order of magnitude more resources and influence. Plus Vault-Tec is tied up with the shadow gov (precursors of the enclave) and had they're own world domination plans. I don't see them allowing themselves to be bought out, in addition the kind of cash vault tec was throwing around with over a 100 contracts for vaults costing 600+ billion each, makes me doubt any other private corp could buy them.

[greenknightfury]

Ok checked that..turns out he was trying to buy it out but they wouldn't sell, there is also mention of theft of the classified Vault data (which very well could have been House's agents). There were so many mentions of RobCo buyouts of Fallout companies is it any wonder I thought that one was on the list too? *chuckles*

 

I do like the idea of the Kerry clones, it would be interesting...and a cool little twist on the Amazons! *laughs* Nothing stopping them from being secretly crazy....seductress slaver/cannibals comes to mind at the thought of them.

[darkus37]

As far as I understood, Vault-Tec was a legitimate defense contractor that was being supported further by the Enclave who wanted to use the Vaults as part of an enormous experiment designed to test the limits of humanity. This was done so that when the Enclave finished their spacecraft, they would use that knowledge on a new world. As war began to get closer and closer, someone in Vault Tec apparently had a change of heart and they tried to make actual life-saving vaults but it was too late to undo most of what was already in effect. As for Mr. House and his backup - consider this - while Mr. House is in his pod, he is essentially immortal or as close to it as possible (although apparently Vault 112 had better systems). While the world is ruined and savage, he remains safe in his control room, directing his vision of the future. But as he said, eventually, he would rebuild enough infrastructure to go forward and also travel to a less damaged planet. He would not be able to remove the pod from the Lucky 38, and leaving the pod would have the same effect. He would need a new body to direct things there. So, why not have an additional room connected to the pod area that has a clone tube that automatically transfers the memories from his old body into a massive hard drive that then copies it over into a new clone body (like a mirror hard drive). Edited September 5, 2012 by darkus37

[devinpatterson]

there is also mention of theft of the classified Vault data (which very well could have been House's agents).

 

That's interesting, did the wiki or your source hint at who it might be, or is it a complete mystery. That little nugget right there would make a pretty damn good plot line. Stolen tech data, or just a glimpse into the dark minds of vault tec would be something to think about.

 

is it any wonder I thought that one was on the list too? *chuckles*

 

It's understandable, they just took over Repconn, can't imagine what House had in mind there.....unless it was a plan B, a way off the rock. Either way fits together well with our Mars project.

 

I do like the idea of the Kerry clones, it would be interesting...and a cool little twist on the Amazons! *laughs* Nothing stopping them from being secretly crazy....seductress slaver/cannibals comes to mind at the thought of them.

 

That's a cool angle. Like she was spec ops (the original) and each of her clones are deceptively dangerous, and to make it worse have her proclivities amplified by the cloning process? Maybe the original had serious anti-social behavior (ruthlessness, lack of effect/empathy etc, all things that would make a great killer), but the cloning process increased that to the N'th degree?

 

Or were you thinking more like genetically enhanced super/uber women/soilders?

 

I had in the back of my head, a slow boil story line. A honey pot scenario, where the prize may not be quite what the player was hoping for. The PC gets to play the hero, rescue these appreciative girls from their stasis tubes....very appealing right. However you start to notice things....It's subtle at first. One of the Kerry's has to knock on something each time after she finishes talking. Another has to do things in threes (click every light switch 3 times). Small things that that foreshadow the plot. There's a reason they were left in the stasis tubes/life support pods.

 

Almost seems like it might be worth duplicating or making a spin off for it's own mod....

[devinpatterson]

As far as I understood, Vault-Tec was a legitimate defense contractor that was being supported further by the Enclave who wanted to use the Vaults as part of an enormous experiment designed to test the limits of humanity.

 

I'v always found this aspect of fallout endlessly fascinating, so bear with me while I ramble.....

 

My understanding is pretty similar with a few differences, and we'll probably see things differently based on what part of the wiki we've read. I see it as "wheels within wheels" that boarders on teh most byzantine, sociopathic schemes imaginable.

 

The first layer appears to be a legitimate attempt to preserve humanity, that's vault-tec adn the governments public/official statement of purpose. Project Safehouse. Most of the gov believe that. I don't know if any low level vault-tec employees buy into that, certainly the higher up vault-tec personal know it's a ruse.

 

"Officially, the vaults were nuclear shelters designed to protect the American population from nuclear holocaust."

 

This was done so that when the Enclave finished their spacecraft, they would use that knowledge on a new world.

 

I love the space angle. Colony ships (which is essentially what the vaults were, in their self-sustained little biosphere), powered by atomic engines ( like project Orion) etc is so 50's sci fi. And due to relativistic effects it's not out of the realm of possibility. Love it.

 

I want to put a part in teh mars mod that had construction going on Deimos since it's about 6km across, or a nearby asteroid. Later to be revealed that it was to be the foundation of a colony ship. Maybe have some of the propulsion nukes already there, but just a tiny fraction done (1%?).

 

But I think space travel was a sort of a plan B.

 

The second layer is the "Societal Preservation Program". They vault tek & the shadow gov, which were composed of federal gov (I'm thinking senators, congressmen etc) and private corp heads see the vaults as experiments (as you stated above) in regard to space travel but also in recolonization of earth.

 

"The results of the vault experiments were intended to help prepare the Enclave for either re-colonizing Earth or colonizing another planet if Earth turned out to be uninhabitable."

 

Although I can't find it at the moment there is also reference to some weird shadow gov justification that the vaults were/are federal property, so when they opened the citizens within would be under gov jurisdiction.

 

An interesting point here is that the shadow gov (both Bona fide gov elite and corp heads), which I'm just gonna call the enclave from here on out, also had a separate system of vaults;

 

"The Enclave, responsible for the experiment (officially known as the "Societal Preservation Program"), considered themselves prime candidates for recolonizing the world after a nuclear holocaust and to this end commissioned the construction of their own shelters, isolated from the vault network."

 

and of course Vault-tec had at least one of their own;

 

"Vault-Tec instead created their own private emergency shelter facility for their top employees and their families, removed from the larger vault network, and kept secret from the U.S. government. This facility is now known as the Secret Vault."

 

But apparently their is also a third layer. I'm having a little trouble finding the source to cite it, but the vault-tec were hatching their own plans for world domination of the post apocalyptic world on the sly. Not only with advanced technology they kept secret from teh enclave (more advanced FEV, robotic systems, biological warefare, electric weapons, a type of power armor, rapid cell regeneration, etc ) but in a vault installation they had no knowledge of.

 

So kind of interesting to see these plots within plots, schemes within schemes. All the treachery......it would do Rome proud. Not to mention the conscious choice to take advantage of a nuclear holocaust killing Billions just to consolidate your power....that's some pretty crazy thinking that reaches the height of a sociopath.

 

Also cool that there are at least two more separate systems of vaults, and that's just in the U.S. "Vault-Tec seem to have constructed some vaults in Canada. In a letter sent to a rejected D.C citizen the company offered to provide a list of "Vault-Tec facilities with available accommodations, in exciting locales such as Oklahoma and newly-annexed Canada."

 

The vault-tec one is probably pretty small or just a single facility, but the enclave one could be extensive. Part of a massive gov complex that is reminiscent of M.A.R.Go.T. the underground monorail in broken steel....or just a lot of private mini vaults where important enclave (whether gov or corp) rode out the war.

 

A lot of potential locals :thumbsup:

 

As war began to get closer and closer, someone in Vault Tec apparently had a change of heart and they tried to make actual life-saving vaults but it was too late to undo most of what was already in effect.

 

I hadn't hear that one, sounds like an interesting story line.

[darkus37]

hey devinpatterson, just wanted to say that the part about the secret research, power armor, etc. is not strictly canon since the game it's from isn't considered so. I've been looking for the quote for the last quote, but I can't find it so forget about that for now.

 

Going back to the task at hand, are you going to have a visual difference at the Fort? What I mean is, the securitrons are being built there and would have removed the Legion as well as fortifying their birth place - there would also need to be a way for the securitrons to travel to the strip, meaning a path in between the Fort => Legate Camp => Hoover Dam.

[devinpatterson]

hey devinpatterson, just wanted to say that the part about the secret research, power armor, etc. is not strictly canon since the game it's from isn't considered so.

 

Is it from tactics or another one?

 

Going back to the task at hand, are you going to have a visual difference at the Fort? What I mean is, the securitrons are being built there and would have removed the Legion as well as fortifying their birth place - there would also need to be a way for the securitrons to travel to the strip, meaning a path in between the Fort => Legate Camp => Hoover Dam.

 

Yeah definitely. The fort and hoover see the biggest most immediate changes. As far as the travel, I'd like to make sure the player see's small groups of securitrons (half dozen or less) tearing up the asphalt as they race from their vault to the strip. I originally intended to have it happen for a full two weeks in game time, but I'm thinking it might be better to actually script it. I can put a activator near the entrance to hoover that has them enabled and barreling down the road. Same for one of the freeside entrances. I'll probably put some additional patrols in many of the cells that follow that highway, with no low level processing. They should activate when the player enters the cell.

 

Mostly I want to emphasize the speed as they race across the blacktop.

 

Re: the fort/legate camp. I hadn't given it too much thought other than having it empty of everything except securitrons. Even later in the game I'm not sure what if anything would occupy it.....probably just a skeleton crew of securitrons.

 

Any ideas?

 

I know if you make peace with the legion you could see them back there, the same holds true with the NCR and Hoover. But other than that I can't really see much in those two locations other than securitrons.....and only a few at the camp/fort.

[darkus37]

The information is from Fallout: Brotherhood Of Steel which was a game released for consoles when Interplay was on it's last legs as a video game company. By that time, everyone worth keeping in Black Isle studios, the creators of a bunch of high-quality games like Fallout 1 and 2, had jumped ship due to new ownership. Apparently, it was a real mess of a game and not very well liked. That's why it's not considered canon. As for Fallout: Tactics, it apparently is somewhat canon as it's mentioned, but due to the very nature of the ending (not unlike what you're suggesting here), it's improbable to continue as the Calculator and the robot army really made an impact in the middle part of the country.

 

About the Legion, I don't believe that there can be peace between the Legion and an Independent New Vegas. The Legion hates technology, using projectile weapons only out of necessity (I think having less weapons and ammo and having crossbows would have really benefited the game) and wiped out Nipton for being decadent and you have to admit, there's nothing more decadent than the Strip.

 

As for occupying it, yeah, that sounds about right. You're probably going to have to add a ramp near Lanius's Tent to indicate where the securitrons travel to-and-fro.

[greenknightfury]

there is also mention of theft of the classified Vault data (which very well could have been House's agents).

 

That's interesting, did the wiki or your source hint at who it might be, or is it a complete mystery. That little nugget right there would make a pretty damn good plot line. Stolen tech data, or just a glimpse into the dark minds of vault tec would be something to think about.

 

No they never reveal who it was, just memos and terminal entries about it being why there is more security at Vault Tec headquarters and it's mainframe. Saying it was House makes sense though..as some of the places he did acquire show him using inside agents and blackmail using insider info.

 

is it any wonder I thought that one was on the list too? *chuckles*

 

It's understandable, they just took over Repconn, can't imagine what House had in mind there.....unless it was a plan B, a way off the rock. Either way fits together well with our Mars project.

 

Yes it does..and when you think about it the companies House wasn't taking over were getting taken over by the Government or used by them....which may be an interesting angle to play with *chuckles* OWB already showed that the government scientists and House had some rivalry going.

 

I do like the idea of the Kerry clones, it would be interesting...and a cool little twist on the Amazons! *laughs* Nothing stopping them from being secretly crazy....seductress slaver/cannibals comes to mind at the thought of them.

 

That's a cool angle. Like she was spec ops (the original) and each of her clones are deceptively dangerous, and to make it worse have her proclivities amplified by the cloning process? Maybe the original had serious anti-social behavior (ruthlessness, lack of effect/empathy etc, all things that would make a great killer), but the cloning process increased that to the N'th degree?

 

Or were you thinking more like genetically enhanced super/uber women/soilders?

 

I had in the back of my head, a slow boil story line. A honey pot scenario, where the prize may not be quite what the player was hoping for. The PC gets to play the hero, rescue these appreciative girls from their stasis tubes....very appealing right. However you start to notice things....It's subtle at first. One of the Kerry's has to knock on something each time after she finishes talking. Another has to do things in threes (click every light switch 3 times). Small things that that foreshadow the plot. There's a reason they were left in the stasis tubes/life support pods.

 

Almost seems like it might be worth duplicating or making a spin off for it's own mod....

 

Oh most definitely the first one, I can just see them sorting through the newest batch of those lured by their charms and then taken prisoner: "We could get a good price for this one, she's firey." "This one will give us so good hard labor, he's big and strong." "This one won't do us much good, he's sickly and crippled. *headshot* You, the big guy! Drag him to the kitchens!"