An independent New Vegas mod.

[devinpatterson]

Hey,

 

I've been away and a lot has changed since I last posted, like, 30 more pages to read through! Wow! I'm still up and happy about this project, and I was wondering if there was a Steam Group? If not, it's best to create one for more instant and streamlined discussions.

Hey, good to see you buddy :D

 

No don't have a steam group, I'm not sure what advantages it has. Care to sing it's praises?

 

I was thinking of looking into a google projects page this weekend.

 

We have started a dev thread here for a little more organized layout, but it's only a day or two old.

 

But just found out I'll be working the whole weekend. Work sucks but I can use the money, just bought a motoactv, (freak'n android phone the size of a nano 6G clip, and it can be rooted, has current roms etc). So not sure how much I'll get done, but we'll see what I can throw together in the next few days.

 

 

I love it, that's exactly what I was hoping for - great job Devin!

Good deal, then we'll get that puppy going for you :thumbsup:

 

 

Could you clean up/open up the El Rey Motel?

I think it's very likely in the NCR ver, almost null chance in the House ver and up to the player in the Ind ver (ie the choice could be available).

 

 

Also I know I've been throwing a few ideas at you when you already have things on your plate,

No worries the subject we're discussing here is actually exactly what we need to go over.

 

but since in all of the endings the BoS bunker is either destroyed, occupants slaughtered, or the BoS opens up and patrols/explores.

Virtually all the big story events leave a glob var or a script var that I can tie into, I can check if it was demolished then check if several of the main BOS actors are dead. If the former is false and the latter true we'd be able to detect the situation your describing.

 

Could it be possible to have the NCR (in the NCR ending) occupy the bunker and surface if the BoS is slaughtered.

Yeah, makes good sense to me. Possibly other endings as well. House might keep a securitron garrison there if communication isn't a problem (ie if Black Mountain goes online) adn the same could be said for the Ind if the player chooses.

 

It's a good base and since it's close to the NCRCF it would allow them to get the prison running again and would be a lot easier to man and quell any uprising. If it's possible to disable the DERVISH Camouflage System then it would be neat to have tents above ground as well as having the main bunker and surrounding bunkers populated with NCR personal.

This would allow you too re-populate the NCRCF with guards and prisoners and have them working on the railroads again.

Sure, I don't see why not. Unless there's a reason to keep it secret I would expect troopers to bivouac when space becomes tight in the bunker.

[sgtKraigO]

I can't think of a reason why the NCR would need the base to be a complete secret, maybe the 2nd level of the main bunker being off limits to personal with clearance due to top secret prototype, and a Situation Room style of room for high ranking military personal. You can have some fun with the 2nd level, throw in some weapons and armour ranging from the practical to the bizarre, even make/design some yourself.

The destroyed bunkers near the main one could be a mess hall, storage, armoury, or barracks.

The problem I have with Mr. House garrisoning Hidden Valley is that how would the securitrons get into the bunker? They have wheels and as Claptrap found out in Borderlands, one wheeled robots don't work well with stairs. For the independent ending the Currier could garrison it with a miltia force and some securitrons on the surface guarding the entrance to Hidden Valley and the main bunker.

If you decide to clean up and make the NCRCF a proper prison with guards again it would be neat to clean up the rails, train stations, and have a few more trains at the station. They don't have to send the player anywhere, this will just show the player that they are working again.

Edited August 10, 2013 by sgtKraigO

[XTgrndr]

I downloaded a mod to allow me to keep playing the game after defeating the Legion.

 

One of the things I want to do is complete http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/No_Gods,_No_Masters for the NCR, not against them.

 

In essence, I'm replacing Mr House as the ruler of New Vegas, but since the NCR Idolize my Courier, they recognized the benefits of having their ally control New Vegas.

 

 

Also, I have some fairly specific requests about our favorite Securitrons:

 

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Victor_(Fallout:_New_Vegas)

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Jane_(Lucky_38)

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Yes_Man

 

I'd like them to remain in the Lucky 38 as personal staff.

I assume with the Platinum Chip, the Courier would be able to "adjust" Victor's and Jane's loyalty towards the Courier instead of Mr House.

 

Yes-Man is a more complicated concept, I don't want him to take over the master computer, but operate it manually with his hands, because I like seeing him more as a Securitron then as a face on a screen.

But he'll have to be "adjusted" as well so he only follows the Courier's orders.

I was told there is a ingame personality mod he uses that has that effect on him, but I've never seen it myself.

Still, if you can find it, you could reuse the coding to implement it on him as a Securitron.

 

I imagine Victor would still be a bellhop.

Jane would have to change her function though, perhaps an Aide or Secretary?

Yes-Man would run the computer for you.

 

An even more crazy idea would be to add them to the list of companions, so you can take them out with you!

Not sure if that is possible though.

 

And I'd like to see the Securitrons take a more active role in controlling the Mojave.

Like the Courier ordered them to reinforce key NCR positions:

 

Camp McCarran

Hoover Dam

Helios One

Camp Golf

 

I think those are all the major facilities which ensure NCR dominance in the region, so they are the ones that would be most heavily guarded by Securitrons.

Hoover Dam would be the highest priority, with Helios One number two.

So they should have higher numbers of Securitrons then the other areas.

 

 

Oh, and the Securitron Mk I/MK II bug needs attention.

To explain, when adding a mod that removes the wall dividing the New Vegas area in half, not all the Securitrons are fully upgraded.

They appear to be Mk II, but are really Mk I if you examine them more closely.

This is caused by the game not recognizing the mission if you added the mod after they are upgraded.

And since I did, the bug happened.

 

I don't feel like replaying half the game and all my mods to fix this bug, so a retroactive fix would be appreciated.

 

 

I'm not sure what else should be done, the only other thing I am interested in changing is Restoration Projects.

I found one for New Vegas and a Freeside one which is a work in progress (only a 3rd of Freeside has been restored so far).

Primm was restored with two mods, one for the area and another to fully restore the Bison Steve.

Well, mostly, I haven't found a mod that restores the rollercoaster yet.

Novac was more heavily fortified via another mod.

 

There's three more on my list that haven't been modded yet.

 

The first is a Nipton restored mod.

I found one, but because of negative backlash over a minor issue, the author locked it down and as a result, I haven't been able to download it.

That one should preferably have a strong NCR presence as guards, since it was attacked before.

But not a heavy military vibe, as it's a civilian area.

 

NCR controlled Cottonwood Cove is the second one I am looking for.

 

NCR restored Nelson is the third I want.

After the Courier kicks out the Legion and rescues the NCR held hostage, I want it to look like NCR rebuilt it and added more fortifications.

 

 

Trying to get a copy of Restored Boulder City as well, but the download is bugged.

Well, at least I know it exists.

Edited August 10, 2013 by XTgrndr

[devinpatterson]

I can't think of a reason why the NCR would need the base to be a complete secret,

Yeah I can't think of a reason either, unless it was made a ranger base. Being recon and highly skilled in "seeing but not being seen", the Rangers might be able to leverage Hidden Valley's camo system. That being said, it's probably unlikely, and it's the only scenario I can think of off hand, where the the bunker might be kept secret.

 

maybe the 2nd level of the main bunker being off limits to personal with clearance due to top secret prototype, and a Situation Room style of room for high ranking military personal. You can have some fun with the 2nd level, throw in some weapons and armour ranging from the practical to the bizarre, even make/design some yourself.

The destroyed bunkers near the main one could be a mess hall, storage, armoury, or barracks.

All those sound like good ideas, except I belive IMHO the bizarre weapons and armor should be kept to a minimum if any at all. I'd tend to believe that would fit somewhere else. The lone exception would be if some of Elija's equipment/experiments had been confiscated after he left and the BOS kept it (perhaps because they didn't understand it and wanted to study it). Maybe Elija's prototype LAER or some-such, in that case you might have a few interesting experiments, but the rest of the BOS just doens't have that cra-cra OWB theme going for it. Maybe they might have recovered a little alien tech though, like the terminals in FO3's brotherhood chronicle.

 

The problem I have with Mr. House garrisoning Hidden Valley is that how would the securitrons get into the bunker? They have wheels and as Claptrap found out in Borderlands, one wheeled robots don't work well with stairs.

Honestly I'd like to have that as lore, it's always interesting. It's in borderlands, the daleks etc. Plus it would throw a limitation on the securitrons, but I think it's pretty clear that the securitrons don't have any problem at all with steps and the their wheel is also all terrain. You can see this when they wheel up the lucky 38 steps to fight.

 

For the independent ending the Currier could garrison it with a miltia force and some securitrons on the surface guarding the entrance to Hidden Valley and the main bunker.

Sounds good, although the militia comes later in teh mod, I figure that's something we make the player earn.

 

If you decide to clean up and make the NCRCF a proper prison with guards again it would be neat to clean up the rails, train stations, and have a few more trains at the station. They don't have to send the player anywhere, this will just show the player that they are working again.

Absolutely :thumbsup:

[LuciaofArroyo]

sounds good, I'll try to add some ideas later, when my brain isn't mush. It would be good if we could also come up with some tasks for the player to do before the settlers come along. For instance I can clean up the town (ie remove fires, put a ton of scorch marks all around) and drop a whole bunch of vipers in there. Raiders probably wouldn't care if they live in burned husks/shells of buildings.

 

BTW the npc's look good. It might be more interesting to do gecko skin (higher price, nicer armor etc) in addition to or instead of canine pelts. If you decide to go that way I can work up some outfits with either choice of canine or gecko skins on them. I just clone some of the gecko texture on to any leather armor. Did a similar thing with deathclaw armor here;

 

I'd rather spare the tedious business of having the player become quested to clean up Nipton when the player hasn't likely been there since the beginning of the game.. I think it's better to introduce Nipton out of the blue, and have the clean up already having happened. It seems more realistic that settles would have appeared on their own, rather than it being a deliberate rebuild venture by NCR (they've got their hands full already) or another faction.

 

There are still building opportunities that the player can dictate later on after all.

 

Gecko pelts and hide armor would definately be an option... maybe have some extra hunting miniquests where one of the Trapper NPCs becomes a temp companion, and goes off huntin' deathclaws :devil:

 

I grabbed a few pics of a trooper and a ranger helmet and tweaked them a bit in gimp. Here is the alternate textures (alongside the standard ones for comparison) for Darkus and anyone else that doesn't like the NCR flag.

 

I'll probably go with the flag, as teh default NCR (it breaks Houses's cartoon theme and adds a good, patriotic, NCR direction) texture.

 

I don't really mind either way, I do prefer the flag though.. or they could be left with the mark 1 cop face maybe..

 

What roles will the securitrons have in the NCR version?

 

Actually that trooper face gives me an idea... I can't remember where this came from, but there must have been an old TV show were the soul or brain of a soldier gets uploaded into a robot... that securitron face reminded me of that. Weird stuff and an interesting storyline idea... lol

 

Boxcars (the powder ganger crippled by the Legion) also deserves a mention. If the NCR are around then I'm sure he'll be sent back to NCRCF assuming that the NCR retake it otherwise I'm sure his fate can be left up to the player. During my travels I found a wheelchair somewhere in McCarren Airport and I was wondering if it would be possible to turn it into something that Boxcars can sit in whether he is still hanging around Nipton or sent back to jail and give the impression that he'll never walk again.

 

That's totally got my vote ;)

 

I'm not sure if Marcus should be touched upon since there is a mod that turns him into a companion which could make things difficult (same would hold true for Mellisa Lewis, Sunny Smiles and Ulysses).

 

I had no idea there was already a mod for Marcus, that's pretty cool. I'm being mindful about characters who are already heavily involved in other mods, like Sunny. If there's no need to include them, then they shouldn't be interfered with.

 

And that goes for the massive World of Pain mod; when we get into detail on the mapping we're going to have to watch out for making locations which clash with locations from that mod. That's easily doable.

 

re: Securitron Stuff

 

After House gets cut off from the network, or dies, and the Securitrons don't turn hostile it suggests that there's some kind of backup program which keeps them performing their preordained patrol duties. But technically speaking, you would think they wouldn't function at all.

 

I predict painstaking quests involving the Followers of the Apocalypse and Fantastic as they try to figure out how to crack the securitrons and make them part of the NCR forces properly, instead of leaving them as police robots for the central Strip.

 

re: Nipton! for XTgrndr and anyone who missed it

 

http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/691109-an-independent-new-vegas-mod/page-77&do=findComment&comment=8709601

[devinpatterson]

In essence, I'm replacing Mr House as the ruler of New Vegas, but since the NCR Idolize my Courier, they recognized the benefits of having their ally control New Vegas.

We do have an option that mirrors that, but with 70 plus pages it's easy to overlook. I also plan to add the basic story outline to the dev page, when I get time and I'll make sure and include this info. So you have three options;

 

1. Continue the NV treaty which is essentially what your describing above. It adds a significant amount of NCR rep (and if your previous rep wasn't horrible, you'd be considered allies), continues to task the NCR with co-operationg in the security of key points in the Mojave etc.

2. The order of withdrawal which is also the same as House would issue and hits the NCR pretty hard. It causes an additional hit to NCR rep and although you aren't enemies with the NCR your by no mean allies.

3. Decleration of war, more of a stupidity test, honestly.

 

Also, I have some fairly specific requests about our favorite Securitrons:.....I'd like them to remain in the Lucky 38 as personal staff.

Most people would have killed Jane (during the penthouse confrontation, entering House's sanctum), but sure we can have an option to fix her. And we can have an option to reprogram her. The reprogramming is probably something a player with a 100 science (or maybe lower) can do on his/her own, but a less experienced player could also seek the followers help (OWB seems to imply reprogramming securitrons is tricky business) to recompile her behavior into a companion (or just a friendly NCP seving in the Lucky38).

 

Isabelle and I are working on a Marilyn securitron as well and I think if she has the time, she'd probably be willing to voice Jane and add some new dialog. Here is her audio at work (pretty amazing for a Swedish gal right);

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlwltPXTjNY&feature=c4-overview&list=UUhKTr5RPpqZOdIc4zt_StGw

 

 

 

She's still a work in progress, but if you want to help beta test her she's in this post of the dev thread.

 

http://fallout.wikia...out:_New_Vegas)....I assume with the Platinum Chip, the Courier would be able to "adjust" Victor's and Jane's loyalty towards the Courier instead of Mr House.

I don't believe that's the case with Victor, he has a far more developed AI, unique capabilities no other securitron has (his AI can "float" among other securitrons), and he's gone when House is out of the picture. And not to play lawyer ball, but the Platinum chip's capabilities are fairly well defined. It acts as a key to the securitron vault and an OS upgrade. We shouldn't assume it can do anything else (we don't want to get into the mindset of proving a neg, ie how do we know it can't reprogram securitrons) unless it's integral to the story line, and honestly we have already painted Victor as a villain for Houses revenge. Perhaps after that battle/quest line is done, he could be repaired and repgrogrammed to serve the courier as he served House (which would imply a sort of right-hand man).

 

Let me get back to you on the rest of your comments (which are excellent points/ideas BTW) as I'm pressed for time at teh moment

[devinpatterson]

I'd rather spare the tedious business of having the player become quested to clean up Nipton

No problem, it would be mostly filler anyway, just target practice.

 

Gecko pelts and hide armor would definately be an option... maybe have some extra hunting miniquests where one of the Trapper NPCs becomes a temp companion, and goes off huntin' deathclaws :devil:

OK I'll put together some demo models and we'll see what looks best. In re: to the hunting quest, if you need more material along those lines you can have some quests for the tanning recipes. I forget exactly what they were but I think an herb and kerosene were some of the requirements (maybe a bottle of nuka too?). If they are producing a lot of hides, they'r going to need a lot of materials to tan them.

 

I don't really mind either way, I do prefer the flag though.

I do too, but Darkus makes a good point and I'm sure plenty of players will agree with his artistic vision, so it's worth the extra work to give them a choice.

 

What roles will the securitrons have in the NCR version?

Well initially (right after the battle or maybe the first 24 or 48 hours of the NCR mod) they will perform their exact same functions but simply have the new NCR logo textures on the shoulders. This is just for convenience though. I have to do that at the beginning of the mod or perform a little PITA magic work arounds (like copying all the securitrons, adding the ncr texture, pluging them into their patrols and disabling them until needed. Or something like a texture swap or texture set swap function which I'm not even going to d*ck with, right now).

 

Why do the securitrons let a trooper with a stencil and a can of spray pain plop a logo on it? I have no idea, it's just one of those things we'll gloss over.

 

After the riots there will be choices that will affect how the securitrons are utilized in the NCR. My basic vision/concept is that they are used the same way the outcasts use bots in FO3, as supplementary support. They are no longer constrained to the strip, a NCR patrol may have one or two, they will probably also be prevalent at larger NCR military posts. There could (should?) still be the same number left on the strip, if the securitron vault was activated (as they will have plenty to spare), but if the game world only has the Mk I's (much fewer than if the valt was cracked) I imagine most will be moved out of the strip.....they'r needed more urgently elsewhere. Heck if the vault was opened up, *every* NCR patrol could have have a bot along. I think we estimated somewhere in the area of 100 to 250 securitrons (don't remember for sure).

 

But the above hinges on getting them both reprogrammed *and* whether Yesman is installed. Yesman could be a real monkey wrench in the players/NCR's plan. Imagine if the NCR brass isn't real big on a evolving/developing AI with control of some pretty heavy hardware right inside of their own state. And you can also imagine Yesman not particularly wanting to be disabled or shutdown now that he has more "assertive" programming. There is going to be friction. It might end with the player entering the lucky38 under the guise of speaking to Yesman (but actually with intent to shut him down) or even with a pitched battle on the streets with the player and rangers on one side and the securitrons on the other.

 

 

Actually that trooper face gives me an idea... I can't remember where this came from, but there must have been an old TV show were the soul or brain of a soldier gets uploaded into a robot... that securitron face reminded me of that. Weird stuff and an interesting storyline idea... lol

Yeah definitely. Seems like a lot of ways you could go with that one. And of course the digital House will probably be in a securitron when/if he's not in a mainframe in his sanctuary.

 

 

re: Securitron Stuff

After House gets cut off from the network, or dies, and the Securitrons don't turn hostile it suggests that there's some kind of backup program which keeps them performing their preordained patrol duties. But technically speaking, you would think they wouldn't function at all.

 

My take on it is a little different. If the mainframe shut down I don't think they'd conk out. I think they'd continue doing what they were last assigned until their very last gear ground away to dust. They have plenty of processing power and a very developed AI (compared to many other bots) so they are far from brainless. I dont' believe there is a backup program per se, they just continue to follow a pre-set batch of instructions whether previously given out (if the mainframe is gone) or continuously given out (if the mainframe is functioning) unless interrupted by House's orders. Doesn't mean the mainframe is sentient pre-Yesman, it's just a typical computer managing crowd control and various other functions. It will do it's job as long as it's running with or without House's interaction.

 

The weird thing about them not turning hostile is that if you attack another securitron on the strip, then the others mark you as an enemy...you'd think they would do that for killing House, or at the very least for killing the securitrons in the penthouse. But House's death/disablement is part of the NCR quest line so I guess the developers didn't want to complicate that quest with the player having to fight his way through every securitron on the strip.

 

I predict painstaking quests involving the Followers of the Apocalypse and Fantastic as they try to figure out how to crack the securitrons and make them part of the NCR forces properly, instead of leaving them as police robots for the central Strip.

Oh yeah, forgot about Mr. Fantastic. Didn't even consider him since the guy doesn't know jack about anything. But he's a kick.

[devinpatterson]

OBTW Lucia I thought it might be possible to use these two assets in the bazaar. Both a brahmin cark and shopping cart, give a good wasteland vibe to the transportation of goods. Both are jerky since they are rigged (I was hoping different weights would help, but no luck), however when walking it's not terrible. Neither is any more a strain on the system than a typical NPC (unlike the rideable creatures script if converted to make a cart). We'd, of course, fill up the shopping cart and brahmin wagon with mucho vendor junk. They can both be enabled/disabled easily so that a NPC could walk over to his stall pushing teh cart, then leave it there while he walks around. Same with the brahmin wagon too, I suppose, but I doubt people would unlatch a pack animal unless they wanted it to graze.

 

It'd be unique as I don't think either has been done in another mod (at least not that I'm aware of), and since the bazaar is turning out to be a real gem, I thought why not put some unique assets in there.

 

cart;

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-HWxi2A4kA&feature=c4-overview&list=UUhKTr5RPpqZOdIc4zt_StGw

 

 

 

 

brahmin wagon;

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMHPvgFdtjg&feature=c4-overview&list=UUhKTr5RPpqZOdIc4zt_StGw

 

 

[sgtKraigO]

I lol'd at the shopping cart and wagon. The wagon could be extended a bit as the hind legs are clipping into the cart.

Also are you planning on making the caravans larger since Blake at the Crimson Caravan said once things are settled they would run larger caravans. Speaking of Crimson Caravan, I usually report Alice McLafferty and the Van Graffs dealings to Ranger Jackson so it would be a nice touch if you removed them from the game seeing as the Gun Runners kill them, you could also turn the Silver Rush into a casino like it use to be or maybe just leave it abandoned. I could see Jackson getting a promotion for this as well, even if all he really did was pass on the evidence..

[PleaseHelpMeWithThis]

Sorry for late reply, in terms of the Legion ending, I see where you are coming from. Just sad that there is no Legion plans in the foreseeable future. Would be interesting to get a new world space after Legion Ending (Maybe become a Frumentarii and help CL conquer some new area/ go west to infiltrate and sabotage.

Edited August 10, 2013 by PleaseHelpMeWithThis