Vault 106 Scariness Mod...

[Deleted922044User]

Note, if you haven't finished Vault 106, yet, there's spoilers in this topic.

 

 

So, maybe I've been playing too many horror games... But I thought Vault 106 was a huge waste of potential, and was really disappointed after reading countless topics about people asking what was in there and if it was any good because they couldn't possibly play any further, etc. So, I propose a mod to overhaul this section and make it into the awesomeness that it could be! Only problem is... I've never modded ANYTHING before, I have only a very, very basic knowledge of Python and Java, and not much else... But I'm willing to learn and try!

 

Here's the major points and what I think should be done...

 

 

Insane Survivors

Rubbish. They destroy the entire atmosphere. I think they should be there, but they need MAJOR changes.

 

- Most importantly, they need new voiceovers (which, actually, I could do. I've been acting for about 10 years now and I've got a mic). The canned voices say things that sound way too normal, the voices are too normal sounding, and the fact that they're the same canned dialogues that you hear from NPCs over and over again really takes you out of the moment and reminds you that it's a game. I don't think they should be like feral ghouls or complete blathering idiots, but they should definitely sound like people who have been exposed to mind-altering drugs for an extended period of time and driven insane by it, dammit!

- The Vault 106 Jumpsuit needs... Something. It should be bloody, dirty, and torn in places. It's ridiculous to think that these people who will shank you on sight, living in a rust-covered underground facility would find the time to maintain and launder their clothes perfectly. (See: reminds you it's a game)

- I don't think I encountered any female survivors... Maybe it was pure coincidence, but if the game is set up to not generate any female survivors, that should be fixed for realism and variety.

- Their face randomization needs to be fixed. The males should all use the "Survivalist" beard or some other scraggily, non-humorous facial hair. (See: laundry) For that matter, what's up with almost all of them having green or blue mohawks? They need long and messy or one of the close hair styles, and not dyed a crazy color. It looks more like I stumbled into a punker's meth ball than an abandoned Vault. If they wanted it to seem like the chemical exposure caused this, then at least generalize it into a light, almost-white shade of blue or purple.

- Make them more powerful. They're complete pushovers. I understand they're crazy, likely malnourished, and just wearing vault jumpsuits, but maybe these drugs enhance physical abilities as well? Also, insane people can sometimes tap into reserves of strength or ignore the body's safeguards against "going over the limit". I think they need slightly more HP and DEFINITELY need to do more damage.

- They need more makeshift weapons. Half of them came at me with knives, and some even had swords! Where the hell did they get those?! For that matter, where's the vault security stuff? No batons, no riot gear? Odd.

 

 

Hallucinations

These are mostly pretty good, but there could be improvements...

 

- There needs to be some kind of gradual visual and possibly audible clue that a transition is about to happen. As-is, it looks pretty unprofessional when it just pops-in, and I know some people even think that it's a graphics glitch the first few times.

- The fact that there's no sound from the hallucinations is pretty cool, and I see where they were coming from... But I think there needs to be sound. It should be quiet, and sound as if it's far-away, possibly with an echo effect to it. Or, alternatively... Cut out ALL sound from ANY source during the hallucinations. >:D

- Some of them are too short. I didn't even realize what was going on, and then it was over. At least two of them, I didn't see ANYTHING happen except my screen got purple...

 

 

Computer Scene

This scene is HILARIOUS. It also destroys the atmosphere by being such a departure from the rest of the vault.

 

- More creepy, less campy. I like the idea of your brain talking to you through the monitors, and as if it were a separate being... But I think we could find a better, less-goofy way of doing it. The "To: ME" tagline is silly. I think it would be better to swap in the player character's name there. That should be possible, since I know the audio log you can pick up from assassins has your name in the item title...

- Should end in more of a, "Don't worry, you'll be safe in here... With ME... Forever." creepy sort of ending tag, rather than the humorous nonsequiter of "Fine, be that way..." that it is now.

 

 

Radio

There's a radio about halfway through playing Enclave. I think it could be better...

 

- Why Enclave? Why not a modified version of the Vault 101 radio? Enclave works alright, I guess, but... Eh.

- Why is the signal so... Clear? Everything else in this vault has fallen into disrepair, but this radio looks like it's in perfect, pristine condition and plays a signal accordingly. Should be more static, and maybe even make it skip some, and slow down into a really creepy, deep crawl on occasion.

 

 

Bathrooms

There's two bathrooms near the dorms, and they're surprisingly boring.

 

- Nobody jumps out? Come ON! That's a staple of horror movies/games! Can't we script someone to stay put in a stall until you open a door, then they'll attack you?

 

 

UI

I think the UI should have some tweaks...

 

- I don't know if this is at all possible, but could we have your Pip-boy go on the fritz, here? Make it so that your compass doesn't display the red blips showing you where enemies are, no matter how high your Perception is! >:D

- In the same vein, could we disable/darken the Pip-boy's light?

 

 

Tunnel Snakes

An unexpected visit? I actually really liked this part, but...

 

- I'm not sure what it is, but something didn't sit right with me here. I have no idea why, or what could be done, but I feel like this just needs... Something.

 

 

Science Labs

Oooh, a bobble head! Wait...

 

- Come ON, the windows looking out into the caves are a PERFECT chance for a cheap, harmless jump-scare! Or, if nothing else, a creepy encounter! If it doesn't slam against the glass, AT LEAST script a Yao Guai, a Deathclaw, a Molerat, SOMETHING to walk by one of the windows. It'll make the player all the more tense when they reach the last part that ends in an exposed tunnel...

 

 

Hallway Runners

Not sure what else to call them... The hallucination where a door opens up down the hall and three people come running at you down it, then disappear.

 

- Fallout 3's running animation looks goofy as hell. Make them WALK! It'll be 10x creepier, I guarantee!

- For that matter, I think it would be more effective with only one person. With the mob of three like they have now, you start gearing up for a fight with some gangbanging chumps. With one, you start getting ready to run from a psycho!

 

 

Storyline

The plot of the vault is great as it is, but...

 

- Lower all plot-related locked doors and computers to a maximum difficulty of 50, if not 25. A lot of players seem to visit 106 early in the game rather than later, and none of these doors/terminals give you anything useful but plot. There's no reason to deny players the extra creepy factor because they're using a certain build or are low-level, and I find that a LOT of players don't even bother and so they have no idea why they just imagined all of this madness. Alternatively, provide a "master key" and passwords along with the overseer's key.

 

 

 

Hmm... Well, that's about all I can think of right now. If you've got any input, feel free to add on! If you're interested in taking up the project, go ahead! I'll try to help someone if they need it, but I honestly don't even have the first idea of where to START with this!

[ngendk]

Good ideas!

 

I was thinking you could at least change the vault jumpsuit (re-texturing, shouldnt be a problem) and then do some pitch/audio work on the voices - but Im looking through the voice archive and for some reason Beth decided not to call its filename anything with 106 or vault like they did with all the other vault voices (stupid **** #¤"¤"!) - and theres literally thousands of voices in that archive.

 

Ill see if I can find the specific voices when I get home from work.

[davidlheppner]

It would be really awsome but I wouldn't get my hopes up on such a mod till the CS comes out sadly.

[Deleted922044User]

It would be really awsome but I wouldn't get my hopes up on such a mod till the CS comes out sadly.

Yeah, I know... I'm not really familiar with modding, but some of this stuff seems like it could be a little difficult even WITH a CS. Then again, it's not really one big change so much as it is several little changes... Maybe we'll get that kit sooner rather than later? :D

[davidlheppner]

I'm not extremely familier with modding myself but based on mods I have seen with morrowing and oblivion I think its possible, it really makes waiting for a CS hard because I can't wait to see all the things people come up with

[ngendk]

I tried do some re-texturing on the suit. Since its the first time i do textures for games, I thought I might as well start the test here.

I tried to make the belt more gritty, to fit into the scenario that these clothes have been neglected for the better part of 200 years. Its a bit blurry, might be that I took the screenies in windowed mode and with no AA.

 

Its just preliminary and for seeing if I was smart enough to figure out how to extract and insert new textures in the game :)

 

 

 

http://www.n-gen.dk/stuff/fallout3/test1.jpg

 

http://www.n-gen.dk/stuff/fallout3/test2.jpg

 

http://www.n-gen.dk/stuff/fallout3/test3.jpg

 

http://www.n-gen.dk/stuff/fallout3/test4.jpg

 

 

Now that I know how it works I can do some more serious stuff.

[Deleted922044User]

Wow, that actually looks really good! Only thing I could point out is that it's too... Symmetrical. I know this was just a test and you probably know that (and how to get around that) but the blood splatter on the legs looks a little silly matching so perfectly. XD

 

Still, that's a really good start! I bet we're gonna get some awesome mods out of you!

[davidlheppner]

A good start to cosmetic aspect of it, do you think its possible to add some rips and such right now?

[felixir]

- Most importantly, they need new voiceovers (which, actually, I could do. I've been acting for about 10 years now and I've got a mic). The canned voices say things that sound way too normal, the voices are too normal sounding, and the fact that they're the same canned dialogues that you hear from NPCs over and over again really takes you out of the moment and reminds you that it's a game. I don't think they should be like feral ghouls or complete blathering idiots, but they should definitely sound like people who have been exposed to mind-altering drugs for an extended period of time and driven insane by it, dammit!

 

Wow, it's not often that people offer voice talent to the modding community, it would be fantastic if you were the first one to record new dialogue replacers in FO3 (assuming your voice acting is as good as you sound).

[ngendk]

Wow, that actually looks really good! Only thing I could point out is that it's too... Symmetrical. I know this was just a test and you probably know that (and how to get around that) but the blood splatter on the legs looks a little silly matching so perfectly. XD

 

Still, that's a really good start! I bet we're gonna get some awesome mods out of you!

 

 

yeah i noticed the symmetry as well. Not sure how to avoid that - Since theres only one trouser leg in each texture file. Can you assign another file for the other leg?