[WIP] The Siege of Firebase Zulu

[juansaman]

I've seen the trailer for the Inheritance. Eagerly waiting :) Edited January 9, 2013 by juansaman

[someguy2000]

All,

 

Thanks for the comments and endorsements!

 

I'm happy to announce that my next quest mod for Fallout: New Vegas is now available at the Nexus!

 

Be sure to download my master file first, and then you can try out The Inheritance (it's a beta build, but mostly finished).

 

Of course, once The Inheritance is patched up, I will be posting an update for Bounties I & II, then returning to Zulu with a vengeance! Thanks for the support!

Edited January 20, 2013 by someguy2000

[Xaranth]

I can't think of a better place to ask, so I'll throw it out here; Can we expect updates for NVB to link into the someguy series in the near future. ALSO, will there be a detection in NVB II then to stop it starting before NVB I?

[someguy2000]

I can't think of a better place to ask, so I'll throw it out here; Can we expect updates for NVB to link into the someguy series in the near future. ALSO, will there be a detection in NVB II then to stop it starting before NVB I?

 

Yes and yes.

[Xaranth]

Excellent, you rock. Now to get over to the Nexus and add some file tracking.

[PickleJar]

Just how much... well... 'Vietnam-ness' is Zulu shooting for? I mean, there probably won't be any Vertibird fly-bys to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries, but Good Morning Vietnam-style radio? Honest Hearts/Full Metal Jacket helmet writing, grenade rifles and .45s everywhere, Predator and/or Rambo daka levels?

 

This is like waiting for the next chapter of Puce Moose's stuff. D:

[JUSTIYT1]

 

This is like waiting for the next chapter of Puce Moose's stuff. D:

 

Is Puce Moose still working on FNV?

[JUSTIYT1]

All,

 

("bad" in a manner of speaking).

 

For about two weeks my progress on Zulu has tapered off for several reasons: XCOM, several addictive television shows, outside requirements, and one other matter, soon to be discussed. That could be considered "bad" in a certain light.

 

 

 

What is that "bad" thing?

[someguy2000]

Just how much... well... 'Vietnam-ness' is Zulu shooting for? I mean, there probably won't be any Vertibird fly-bys to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries, but Good Morning Vietnam-style radio? Honest Hearts/Full Metal Jacket helmet writing, grenade rifles and .45s everywhere, Predator and/or Rambo daka levels?

 

This is like waiting for the next chapter of Puce Moose's stuff. D:

 

There is a great deal of influence from the Vietnam War, whether from film, literature, or historic events. I'm also drawing from other conflicts, namely World War I, the Boer Wars, and the Anglo-Zulu War (as the title implies). I believe there are political and tactical parallels between Vietnam and the NCR-Legion conflict.

 

In terms of aesthetics, the base design is directly inspired by Vietnam-era firebases, with haphazard trenches, sandbagged buildings, and long rows of concertina wire.

 

In

, I discussed the conflicts within the wire, such as tension between officers and enlisted personnel, grunts and POG's, humans and ghouls (mimicing racial tension in Vietnam), etc. While some of these issues transcend any specific war, they were particularly salient in Vietnam. Also, the player will be confronted with some atrocious moral dilemmas, something I feel is integral to the experience. I sense my fingers getting poised to unleash a wall of text on the subject, so I'll just refer any interested readers to the aforementioned interview - I discuss all of these issues in depth.

 

That's high praise comparing me to Puce; I have the utmost respect for his mods, though our styles are as disparate as one can imagine. He's Orson Welles, and I'm the lobotomized lovechild of Sam Peckinpah and John Milius.

[DocGurgle]

Welcome!

 

As promised here's the list of some of my ideas, mainly oscillating around the art direction & weapons department.

My hubmle self can do all practical work in the 2D department, whether it's basic textures or in-game art, including slide-shows (expect FAR better stuff than the vanilla bland screenshot narration, something at least on par with the Old World Blues opening :] ).

 

Let's start with a set of some neat-looking lore-friendly modding resources already posted on the Nexus that just beg to be negotiated into the mod:

 

http://fallout3.nexusmods.com/mods/4303 - Classic Spear Mod – just what those lower-tier Legionaries needed! F1 & F2 sharpened spear ported as a 3D resource – I'd gladly re-skin it should the original author greenlight its use in TSoFZ

 

http://fallout3.nexusmods.com/mods/17080 - Spear – another spear, not as lore-enhancing as the former, but the mesh is OK, and it's nothing I can't re-skin :]

 

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/48045 - Arm Blades – a set of cool looking arm-blades, especially the Khutar, and the deathclaw versions; seems like a good, jury-rigged alternative to costly Ballistic or Power Fists, constructed within Legion ranks from scrap materials; if it goes green, I'd be happy to give them a more dirty, tribal look, with lots of straps, leather elements and decals;

 

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/43698 - Pointy Machete – could be a sharpened version of the vanilla ordinary machete, which, TBH is on par with a dull kitchen knife – how can Legion win in a single fight, when their primary weapon can't even scratch trooper's armor? This could have come with a nice damage boost. Also, it would make a badass spear tip, if someone could make a 3D model.

 

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/47798 - Wasteland X-Bow

 

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/47976 - Pre-War X-Bow Addon

 

- Crossbows - that's where the fun starts! Appropriately clunky for the Wasteland, made from plain materials, easily-craftable, silenced and packing quite a punch, they are a truly Road Warrior's choice! An excellent, lore-enhancing weapon for low-tier Legion recruits and scouts to make them more formidable foes.

 

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/43767 - Wasteland Hoods - some very fitting hoods, perfect for some Legionary assasins or scouts.

 

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/38055 - Tribal Power Helmet – the cult helmet that appeared on Fallout 2 loading screens. Since the Legion is composed almost entirely from former tribals, it could be claimed and adorned by one of the grizzled centurions as a spoil of war or passed down through generations and kept as a memorabilia of some long gone pre-Legion war (the early conflicts between BOS and tribal Vipers perhaps? Hauled east, as the battered remains of a once-great, snake-worshipping tribe fled for their lives... Some embraced civilization and resorted to petty raiding, in time forgetting their roots. Others made their way as far as Arizona, where their descendants were pressed into the Legion... A lot of possibilities for a climatic backstory here!).

 

Since it's still a conceptual phase, I've yet to ask the respective authors for permissions.

 

And here's some of my own concepts:

 

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r146/Lenin-Grad/LegionLightScoutArmorConcept001_zpscd9931fe.jpg

 

Legion Comitatenses Armor – think of Mad Max 3 desert dregs meet Arcani from Rome: Total War; got inspiration after playing Dragbody's awesome mod Caesar's New Regime. As he's currently working on armors for Firebase Zulu, I followed his logic of introducing more proper, Ancient Roman look to the Legion. While his higher-tier armors, especially the Centurions', Caesar's, Luciu's, Praetorians' and Vexilarii, shine with detail and badassery, visibly made from bronzed and polished metal plates, the lower-tier ones seem to be more “refined” than the warriors' rank would suggest – especially the chainmail and the glass/plexi elements, which are extremely costly to make in RL. I set do design a piecemeal armor, that would be something in-between the original Raider gear (since many tribes were basically roving scavs and raiders) and an early Roman Legionary/Gladiator outfits, plus an obligatory tunic (I think JE Sawyer mentioned somewhere that Caesar deliberately wanted to differentiate the Legion's look from surrounding cultures. Even if it meant they had run around in drag. : [ ) all while still retaining light weight and prevalence of leather and cloth over metal reinforcements. It's made roughly from thrown together and modified vanilla meshes and textures, to minimize any 3D modeling from scratch. I'll PM a detailed sheet where everything's properly described. :]

 

As the mod is said to be dependent on GRA, I whipped up some quick concepts for retexturing GRA unique weapons for mass-production:

 

 

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r146/Lenin-Grad/LegionDesertRifle001_zps6d556112.png

 

#1: Velites Rifle (working title, something like “Rubikon Rifle” sounds more cool, be a unique version of it) – retextured Paciencia, with more rusted, worn-out looking elements and a small legion flag wrapped around the grip. Idea: a mid-to-long range rifle, rechambered for more popular 5,56 ammunition, losing some of its power and precision, though sturdier and even more fool-proof than the popular Hunting Rifle. Manufactured from spare parts in large quantities in the Legion territory, it serves mainly the Exploratores (Legion scout troops and “external agents”), Speculatores (“internal agents” or special policing forces), Frumentarii (Caesar's spies and messengers) and various auxiliary units like the fledgling corps of Velites – (light skirmishers tasked with harassing enemy formations with precision fire, counter-sniper actions and providing long-range support for the regular infantry), recruited mostly from various keen-eyed hunter-gatherer groups roving the outskirts of Caesar's Empire (gotta dig that ol' war philosphy – both a simple fighting man's rifle and a proper tool for a sharpshooter).

 

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r146/Lenin-Grad/ScorpionGauntlet001_zpsfb20d12c.png

 

#2: Scorpion Gauntlet – a retextured version of the “Embrace of the Mantis King!” - just your regular Radscorpion's sting attached to a warrior's forearm with straps and pieces of metal. Packs a nasty punch and poisons the target with a limb-crippling venom. Typically found on crazy Legionary recruits who still very much remember their tribal ways – the kind that sometimes barks at the moon when nobody's looking and knows how to carve a giant scorpion's carcass so that nothing will be wasted.

 

I'll take the liberty to PM some of my other ideas, concerning gameplay and plot devices, just in case of possible spoilers should any of them be deemed worthy of the Mod. :]

 

Radioactive regards!

 

Dr Gurgul