Fleshing Out The Wasteland

[SeanBlackwell]

I've just taken my second character through The Superhuman Gambit at Canterbury Commons and it's hit me once again how totally bare the place is, leading me to put my RobCo Certified perk to use in providing defenses for the place through a whole bunch of Robobrains and Sentry Bots. Just walking around the town - which is supposed to be one of the more notable locales in the Wasteland yet consists only of about five people - reminds me of how Canterbury is quite unimpressive. In addition, a random attack on Lucky Harith just outside the Commons on the Caravan Circle by a rogue Sentrybot and Protectron led to two residents getting killed along with the entirety of Harith's caravan team. Shouldn't Canterbury realistically be defended by more than two ex-Raiders, due to its importance as a commercial center?

 

I am completely ignorant to the G.E.C.K. despite my several hours of attempting to learn the ropes. I'm more accustomed to simple text editing and coding for other games - the G.E.C.K. is pretty much beyond me, even with the Bethsoft tutorials. I figured I'd post up my ideas here in the hopes that somebody who knows how to make these small changes wouldn't mind using their skills in fleshing out the Wasteland.

 

All that the town needs are a few tweaks to make it a bit more homey. It may sound odd, but the biggest grief I have with Canterbury Commons is how it possesses one of the few diners in the Wasteland not populated by Raiders or corpses and it has next to NOTHING in it - no generator outside providing electricity for just one hanging light, no Nuka-Cola Machine, no booths or even just a GNR-tuned jukebox. What I assume are tiny changes within the G.E.C.K. would make the place much more welcoming. The entire town, in fact, could benefit from a few lights here and there even in the form of burning barrels - as of now, it and Old Olney look equally derelict.

 

Canterbury's Caravan Circle, too, could use some sprucing up. The place is supposed to be a trade hub, but the only guy offering any trade services based out of the town itself is the proprietor of Dot's Diner (and his selection is majorly limited - possibly also something that could be looked into). Merchant stalls like those possessed by Rivet City would be a welcome addition with maybe a Scavenger or two populating them - nothing requiring any massive amount of work, but it would contribute to the community's character.

 

The town also lacks some things that benefit Megaton and Rivet City greatly - Settlers and Guards. In order for Canterbury Commons to seem like it has any life outside of the handful of residents it boasts, some tents in the rear of the town (a space filled with rubble connected to the main road and blocked off from the rear, making it perfect for them to reside) with beds and maybe a table or two for supper. In addition, the settlement completely lacks any protection outside of Dominic and Machete who most likely couldn't take more than a few Raiders let alone something like a single Deathclaw (which would empty out the town on its own). The Settlers could help by carrying around a few weak guns, but it wouldn't be a horrible idea to add a few meager 'Canterbury Mercenaries' equipped with mid-level armor and weapons. Perhaps the Regulators could have an outpost within Canterbury limits - after all, it's within range of their HQ and the place (once properly revamped) would be full of innocents needing protection. On top of all of this, the place is woefully open to attack due to the existence of a number of unguarded (and potentially unprotectable, due to their size) entryways. The central plateau outside of the Caravan Circle could be used as an extension of the town (perhaps as the formentioned Scavenger camp) as well as possessing a scaffold or two for a guard post, as two major entryways into the town hug the base of the plateau.

 

It may seem like a fruitless thing to post, but these are my ideas on how to turn Canterbury Commons into something other than toast at the hands of even a small-sized Raider party. I've tried to revamp the place using the G.E.C.K. but I'm sadly completely unable to due so despite making an effort. If anybody's willing to help me in doing all of this, I'd be quite grateful and I'm sure that many others would also like to see the place have a bit more character.

[knucles222]

Supp'ed.

 

I agree on everything there. A lot of people were talking about the Cantebury Commons and yet, there was barely anyone there.

[SeanBlackwell]

I'd say; on my first playthrough, there was so much talk of Canterbury Commons from just random encounters with people to Three Dog. I was sorely disappointed by the time I got there.

[MechanicalPirate]

I too was disappointed about this...Maybe I could *remedy* it somehow. I'd love an extra mini-city that functions as a proper tradepost, not a tiny little settlement like this.

[SeanBlackwell]

Another thing that wouldn't hurt would be possibly using CC as a way of explaining the Wasteland economy as a whole. Lucky Harith could associate with Gun Runner NPC's who cross the map's border every few days in order to deliver new weaponry, displaying how and why there's loads of available ordinance. The same could go for Doc Hoff - the randomly encountered Wasteland Junkie could have a new home, sitting on a chair in the alley next to Dot's Diner in Canterbury and supplying Hoff with locally-produced chems. There are so many more possibilities for expansion of Canterbury Commons in comparison to Big Town, Arefu (which is still a very cool location) Girdershade, etc. due to its supposed importance.

 

(As an addendum, I spawned a Deathclaw in CC earlier and watched as it killed off the entire place unopposed. While this supports my idea of defense being an important change to the new and improved CC, I should also mention that I did the same thing in Megaton and the Deathclaw killed at least seven or eight people before being gunned down by Billy Creel. Deathclaws are just brutal.)

[Cannyone]

Another thing that wouldn't hurt would be possibly using CC as a way of explaining the Wasteland economy as a whole. Lucky Harith could associate with Gun Runner NPC's who cross the map's border every few days in order to deliver new weaponry, displaying how and why there's loads of available ordinance. The same could go for Doc Hoff - the randomly encountered Wasteland Junkie could have a new home, sitting on a chair in the alley next to Dot's Diner in Canterbury and supplying Hoff with locally-produced chems. There are so many more possibilities for expansion of Canterbury Commons in comparison to Big Town, Arefu (which is still a very cool location) Girdershade, etc. due to its supposed importance.

 

(As an addendum, I spawned a Deathclaw in CC earlier and watched as it killed off the entire place unopposed. While this supports my idea of defense being an important change to the new and improved CC, I should also mention that I did the same thing in Megaton and the Deathclaw killed at least seven or eight people before being gunned down by Billy Creel. Deathclaws are just brutal.)

 

Well as long as you don't go making the Republic of Dave more than what it is... I mean Dave's gonna DIE! I need his key. (Seriously all of this sounds Great! CC and Bigtown could both use some modding.)

 

Oh and speaking of Deathclaws being brutal... I think there should be a mod where you can take a uniform and some device from an Enclave Officer, then take command of one of their "Mind Control" Deathclaws. :cool:

[SeanBlackwell]

The weird thing about the spawned Deathclaw in both instances is that it was friendly to me; I guess it was an Enclave Deathclaw because it had a mind control device that someone in Megaton eventually shot off and frenzied it. No matter how many Deathclaws I spawned with various ID's, they were all friendly to me. Not so with the 80+ Feral Ghouls I sent into Megaton on my next load (way more entertaining, reminded me of a zombie movie) or the few Talon Mercs who followed me into Megaton at the start of my game (I have the Eagle Strikes The Nest mod which is an awesome one).

[Cannyone]

I'll have to try that Eagle Strikes the Nest mod. :thanks:

[SeanBlackwell]

Just watch out - for new characters, it can be very overwhelming especially when paired with the increased spawn mods. My new LV3 Melee/Explosives/Repair guy armed with a Combat Knife and six Frag Grenades had to take on an eighteen man Talon Merc company, which totally throws level scaling out the window.

[Amoveo]

This idea is great, I'd love if there was just a huge mod that expanded on the cities and made them into places that actually felt somewhat different than the wasteland. In the event of an apocalypse most people would want safety in numbers so it only makes sense to have larger settlements.