An Idea (Alternate ending to Dead Money)

[devinpatterson]

Just a question, and knowing how sci fi's go. What if the explosion in the vault didn't completely destroy it. So it is after the end slide that Christine requests your help to "finish the job" ??

 

Yep I'm on board with that. I think Darkus37 had some misgivings (and rightfully so, because dead money tech can be weaponized), but I think he's ok with it, simply as a means to an end, to facilitate the mod.

[darkus37]

I have considered that point again and have come up with what I think is a viable alternative: The Sierra Madre Casino is the heart of this area, thus everything is regulated and/or controlled from it. Now, the vault itself was just a vault, where things were stored. But what about an actual control room? What about the vault exploding causes damage to the control room, and Christine needs help to fix it. There is a sense of urgency since the damaged machinery is causing the toxic cloud to build up and damage further systems. While the resulting explosion may not be immediately catastrophic to the Mojave, it will impact all the area around, poisoning the land even further.

 

To get to the machinery room, you're going to have to go through a new cave system, one that acts like an exhaust for the cloud. If you've seen The Incredibles!, this is like the cave used by the two children that turned out to be one of the exhaust tunnels used when the rocket blasted off. Inside, are the mutated deathclaws you mentioned before. You eventually get to the control room where you can fix the machinery and you discover a possible place for a ZAX unit. This ZAX unit, once probably programmed, can be used to Warden the Sierra Madre, and when the world will be ready, release it's secrets. With this alternative, Christine knows that the only way to get one, is at BigMT...

 

Even though she doesn't want to go, she meets you there, and using the Think Tank, you eventually assemble and program a ZAX unit. While doing the Think Tank quests to convince them to assemble the ZAX, Christine begins to wonder about what she will do once her "job" will be complete. There is nothing for her at the Sierra Madre, and even less with the COS.

 

Some possible endings:

 

If she is convinced to return to the BOS/COS, she can not be hired as a companion. She gets the "heart of steel" perk (to be determined later), and can be found at the abandoned bunker joined with two other COS members who have arrived to keep an eye on the Mojave Chapter. (Possibly, she can randomly appear when you enter combat as a sniper).

If she is convinced to repair her mind and body, she can be hired as a companion. If she is further convinced that going back to try and be with Veronica is a waste of time (and you give the BOS any ending in which they are destroyed), she can be hired as a companion, and can be found at the Clinic, helping patients.

If she is convinced to repair her mind and body, to give love a try, she can be hired as a companion. If Veronica has a "positive" ending, then they will be found together at the 188 or Lucky 38. If one is hired/fired, the other is automatically hired/fired as well, no matter what the limit is for companions.

[greenknightfury]

Well it is certainly true that the control room is in another part of the Sierra Madre that you never see as it's where Elijah is coaching you from once you get inside, and it would have control of all the systems of the Casino itself. Not the Cloud however as it was being used as a covert test there, or the vending machines either as they are separate systems...but you could at least manipulate the systems..perhaps even shut down the broadcast (or perhaps tune it in a way that would make it keep the Ghostpeople back).

[devinpatterson]

Not the Cloud however as it was being used as a covert test there, or the vending machines either as they are separate systems...but you could at least manipulate the systems..perhaps even shut down the broadcast (or perhaps tune it in a way that would make it keep the Ghostpeople back).

 

That's what I believe is the case as well. The workers (that eventually became ghost people), were surprised by the cloud, when it contaminated the ventilation system. There was also some old world blues info (maybe a terminal?), that listed it as a secret/covert experiment. So the Sierra Madre (and it's former inhabitants) don't exert any control over the cloud and are just it's unfortunate victims.

 

But that doesn't mean we couldn't follow your storyline, Darkus37 about a control room. Personally I don't think there necessarily is one (I suspect Elijah hacked into the system, and the terminal in the vault is as close to a control room as the developers intended). But I don't know for sure, and I don't think it's a bad idea to add one.....adds a little game time on the dead money side. So that could be useful.

 

We would just need to change the impetus (for finding it) from the cloud to something else. Also we could see Elijah on the monitor for a last FU (assuming he's still alive in teh vault). Knowing Sinclair, if there was a control room, I tend to think it would be in his personal suite, but that's just my opinion.

 

@greenknightfury; so yesterday I learned the AddItem and RemoveItem functions can take a formlist as a parameter. If other commands can take it as a parameter then that is going to save me a world of typing/scripting when dealing with the martian suits. Instead of typing if/else for every suit that can protect you from a vacuum I can just type MarsSuitFLST :thumbsup:

 

Also finished getting FONV and gimp installed before I left for work. Just need FO3 and a few minor utilities and I should be able to start modding again.

Edited August 21, 2012 by devinpatterson

[greenknightfury]

Very nice, that does simplify things a lot.

[greenknightfury]

Just replayed OWB and yep it's a terminal that lets you know that the cloud is a covert test of one of the Innovative Toxins, and that the ghostpeople suits are a secondary test to see if they can protect from that toxin. Basically all the tech in DM is stuff that is being tested from Big MT, or developed specifically for it (i.e. the Hologram guards).

[devinpatterson]

Basically all the tech in DM is stuff that is being tested from Big MT, or developed specifically for it (i.e. the Hologram guards).

 

Greenknightfury could you give me your impression on one of z-38's terminal entries, if you happen to run across it. In the Wiki, whoever edited it believes the holograms were handed off to a secondary contract with a company called N. E. I got the distinct impression they were referring to an individual and saw no evidence (if I remember right) for the wiki's assertion.

[greenknightfury]

From what I understand N.E. is one of the shell companies used to make money to fund the Big MT research. Selling the things non-classified/ wanted to be tested on civilians while hiding it's true origins. That is why the notes/terminals identify N.E. as the source of the holograms in DM, even though they state in the entries in OWB that they dealt directly with Sinclair.

[WolfHawk]

I guess this kinda died out, huh? :confused:

[devinpatterson]

I guess this kinda died out, huh? :confused:

The last reply was over 3 years ago, so yeah it's a pretty safe bet. I was never able to find good voice actresses that could play Veronica and Christine.