Modding ideas/suggestions

[SzU]

EDIT:

This is not a thread for start-up projects. If you're a guy who wants to do something himself but needs help in understanding the modified Gamebryo engine or is looking for people to help, start a new thread. Please consider your idea before firing it off to us.

This thread is more a free-for-all. Just post any ideas or suggestions you have for modders to read. A kind of brainpool.

- Brother None

I noticed that:

- many FO fans do not like Fallout 3 in its current form
- Oblivion had vast modding community and wasn't so hard in modding

What if modify Fallout 3 in a way it could resemble original FO and FO2?
If skilled people from around the world gathered, some kind of mega-mod could be created.

What would be achieved and who will be needed?

(of course, someone will be needed to coordinate the team)

- changing game mechanics (mostly fight mechanics) so it would be less action-oriented and resemble original FO mechanics.
Action mode could depend on PC skills, not player agility. Poor small gun skill = crosshair is flying around screen and you cannot aim well. Excelent small guns skill = game is helping to aim. And every other skill, You got the idea.
VATS could be replaced by full turn-based system, like in FO.
Programmers and game designers (at least someone with good knowledge of old FO mechanics) needed.

- camera? When outdoors, especially in turn-based fight mode, camera could be like in IZO view. Programmer needed.

- more quests and dialogues. Did You like FO characters, conversations, richness of the world? Quest writers and people who will put it in the game needed. Fuck voice acting, who needs it?

- better and more FO-graphic-style textures. They are looking really shity for me now. Too much contrast etc. Texture artists needed. I can also change or make some.

- better, more FO-graphic-style and new model assets. 3D modellers and texture artists needed.

- new locations and maybe modyfying current ones. Level designers, level artists, 3D modellers, texture artists and quest writers needed.

- better lightning, colors and postprocess. I do not like current ones and I will make a mod fixing it. I will probably need a programmer or technical artist to explain to me some stuff.

I am working in game development industry as a Level Artist and I played in original Fallout games many many times, so it is not some kind of wish list but serious initiative.

Who is willing to participate?

Also, please let me know about similar initiatives. It is better to get people together and make something really good than working completely separately.

 

[mvBarracuda]

Re: Fallout 3 modification

I am working in game development industry as a Level Artist and I played in original Fallout games many many times, so it is not some kind of wish list but serious initiative.

Proof?

Who is willing to participate?

You'll have a hard time to find other people before FO3 gets released. AFAIR it was mentioned in some interview that Bethesda doesn't plan to release a modding SDK for the game. That means you won't be able to modify hardcoded aspects of the game (VATS, camera, etc.).

My general advice is: let's wait for the release and see if there are proper modding tools for the game.

 

[Lexx]

Ah, dreams... the most time they are just what they are: dreams.

I don't think, that this all will be possible. Iso and real turn based combat? You can modify the oblivion engine well, yes.. but as far as I know, it is still not possible to change core elements and I bet, Iso view and real turn based combat would need changes in the core of the game.

 

[Per]

Re: Fallout 3 modification

Programmers and game designers (at least someone with good knowledge of old FO mechanics) needed.

Programmer needed.

Quest writers and people who will put it in the game needed.

I will probably need a programmer or technical artist to explain to me some stuff.

This is what we call "not some kind of serious initiative but wish list".

We'll be opening up a Fallout 3 modding forum when release draws near and we (hopefully) know more about moddability prospects. Until then, if you want to talk modding, focus on what you can do and not what you can get others to do.

 

[SzU]

Just throwing out ideas, game is not released yet, but I am sure that many people will come up with similar ideas and it would be great to gather them.

Posting info only about what I can do is useless, I wrote ideas so everyone can judge in their mind if he/she can and want to help.

If modyfying F3 will be possible, I will do several graphic changes regardless of whether someone will be willing to help or not.

But when it comes to programming, someone else must say what is possible or not, after game is released.

 

[mvBarracuda]

Posting info only about what I can do is useless, I wrote ideas so everyone can judge in their mind if he/she can and want to help.

Let's see what you said in the initial posting:

I am working in game development industry as a Level Artist and I played in original Fallout games many many times, so it is not some kind of wish list but serious initiative.

Who is willing to participate?

It looks like you're trying to convince people to get involved by stating that you've experience as you're working in the industry.

So how about providing proof?

 

[Per]

Just throwing out ideas, game is not released yet, but I am sure that many people will come up with similar ideas and it would be great to gather them.

Yeah, then we can have not only speculative wish lists but redundant speculative wish lists.

Posting info only about what I can do is useless,

It is if you can't do anything, sure.

If modyfying F3 will be possible, I will do several graphic changes regardless of whether someone will be willing to help or not.

That is encouraging. It's also premature, however.

But when it comes to programming, someone else must say what is possible or not, after game is released.

And that's why posting wish lists isn't useful until someone who does know is actually taking orders.

 

[Josan12]

Interesting. Talk of modding a game long before it's even released! But i sympathise. From what i've seen i think there's very little doubt FO3 will need modding. IMO it's very likely it will be watered-down and probably heavily lacking in character and depth. So the way i see it, that's where we come in! Also, Beth has a proven track record of producing incredible graphics so i would imagine the visuals can mostly be left as they are which would make things easier.

But, as MvBarracuda says, the key question is what tools will be available? (or made by modders)

 

[Karel]

Well, you say that you "work in the game industry", so you should be able to imagine how hard it is to create new 3D art without a lot of "art-monkeys" (for boring textures, boring slightly altered characters, etc.) It's already very hard to find people who are willing to do that in 2D and tiny resolution of Fallout...

 

[SzU]

I am working in game development industry as a Level Artist and I played in original Fallout games many many times, so it is not some kind of wish list but serious initiative.

Who is willing to participate?

It looks like you're trying to convince people to get involved by stating that you've experience as you're working in the industry.

So how about providing proof?

What kind of proof do You want to see? Screenshots from game that wasn't even announced yet?

I am no shure what are You trying to achieve by Your posts, mvBarracuda and Per. But I don't care.
I understand that talking about modding before the game is released may seem weird to some people. But I've struggled with this idea for many months and want to see if someone is interested.

Mentioning my experience and "serious initiative" words was to state that I am not some teenager without knowledge.
But I agree that I stated some things incorrectly - everything that I cannot do, is actually a wishlist.


To make it all clear:
Lightning, colors and postprocess, some textures - if possible - I am in.

Everything else - it is NOT my plan which i want to accomplish, just ideas and suggestions for potential participants. If You are some of them - please comment. If not - wy are You wasting Your time?

Clear?

 

[BReal]

I believe they try to say that don't haste before you know what is possible and what is not

 

[Lexx]

Interesting. Talk of modding a game long before it's even released! But i sympathise.

I have to think about all this big Stalker total conversion mods, before the game was released. Now, some times later, the most of them never even started. Thats the reason, why I think, that starting to work or think about a mod for a game that hasn't been released so far isn't worth the time.

 

[Wolfehunter]

Re: Fallout 3 modification

I am working in game development industry as a Level Artist and I played in original Fallout games many many times, so it is not some kind of wish list but serious initiative.

Proof?

Who is willing to participate?

You'll have a hard time to find other people before FO3 gets released. AFAIR it was mentioned in some interview that Bethesda doesn't plan to release a modding SDK for the game. That means you won't be able to modify hardcoded aspects of the game (VATS, camera, etc.).

My general advice is: let's wait for the release and see if there are proper modding tools for the game.

Sure you can if you know some one who knows Hex editing. Anything can be changed. There is always a way.

 

[Lexx]

How many guys hex edited Oblivion?

 

[Blackened]

I don't know anything about programming, graphics or anything about modding at all. But I am willing to be a part of the Fallout 3 RPG conversion mod. I can learn what it takes. I will never quit before this is done, if it's ever started. Take this, Bethesda!

 

[mvBarracuda]

Re: Fallout 3 modification

Sure you can if you know some one who knows Hex editing. Anything can be changed. There is always a way.

I hope this comes from someone who has actually used a hex editor and did edit some files with it.

I'm not saying that it's completely impossible but that it's very hard. It's not even completely impossible that a rich Fallout fan buys the Fallout IP from Bethesda back and hires developers to create a Fallout 3 game for free. Is it likely that this happens? No! Is it likely that you can hex your way around certain engine limitations in _a reasonable timespan_? Not IMO.

 

[Continuum]

Why just not leave Fallout 3 as it is? Why trying to make something that feels and looks like previous titles? Why is so hard to understand that every aspect of the game was designed to be played as FPS? Are you going to rewrite whole game? Will Toddler give you a source code?

And yeah, by hex editing you'll implement TB combat, remove RT/VATS, you'll change whole mechanics and a lot of other things. Can't wait to see it

 

[Jotisz]

I don't think that modding could make a big difference people don't tend to buy a game cause its has a good mod, also I know nothing about hexediting but I gues too much things has to be changed to bring it near to the original that it would be easier to make a total new game...

 

[Slaughter Manslaught]

I like the idea of modding Fallout 3 to make the game better, in fact, I was thinking about it one of those days...
I was thinking about making a wish-list topic for suggestions and ideas for a future mod to make Fallout 3 more closer to the two other titles and also make it better. I, of course, am no modder, so the least I can do is humbly suggest:

- Try to find a way to separate Traits and Perks (Probrably impossible, but who knows...).

- Making a more complex system of weapon durability, including critical failures.

- Give more importance to stats and skills.

- Putting a end to the "Exploding Car" bullshit. No making cars explode with gunfire. Maybe, MAAAAAAYBEEEE (as in "Almost Impossible") if you are lucky, you can find a two-centuries old microfusion cell or car components still usable.

- Adding a car moved by Micro Fusion Cells with many ways to obtain it. Something kinda like Fallout 2's car quest, but with more ways to play it.

- Fatman to be deleted/Or turned into a VERY-DANGEROUS Nuclear Artillery weapon to use. Remember the Davy Crickett, that had a firing range barely above the radiation spread range? Something like that. It would be a suicide weapon if you didn't had a high skill with Big Guns. And it would be tied to the plot, something kinda like Nuclear Nelie of Van Buren. Fatman would gain more firepower (enough to level a medium town and kill the remants with radiation), but radiation would be dangerous to anyone nearby for days. Almost EVERYONE would hate your guts if you used it.

- Add more variety for and of weapons. Think Pistols and Revolvers: Pistols fire fast and carry more ammunition, but jamming is disastrous. Revolvers do not fire as fast and carry low ammounts of ammo, but they rarely jam, if they jam you just need to cycle the cylinder, they are a little more accurate and carry more firepower. Any weapon not consistant with Fallout would disappear or be changed.

- More kinds of ammo. For example, FOT had a pletora of Shotgun ammo: Buckshot (average), Flechette (Against Unarmored Targets), Rubber (for non-lethal takedowns), Slugs (against armored targets) and EMP shells (for taking robots down). I used all but rubber (I think they were only on Multiplayer, but I remember rubber making a lot of knockdowns).

- More stealth action. Silent kills, camoflage, stealth boys (with bad effects, like in Van Buren), poison, unarmed atacks, silenced guns and flash bangs.

- Going rambo on people would be pretty hard, so stealthboys and diploboys would be more powerful than before.

- Option to make the game harder, maybe add a secret dificulty level: "Atomic Hell."

- Groin Shots (Freedom Shots) and Eye Shots.

- The hability to use Unarmed and Melee Combat to hit many bodyparts with diferent effects.

- Killable children, with consequences of your acts (like being hunted by Bounty Hunters).

- More uses for VATS (using inventory during fights, for example).

- Possible storyline changes. Need to play the game to be sure.

- Return of the textbox. Gory description of enemy deaths, like in the good ol' times. Blood sausages, anyone?

- Enclave Vertibirds would have guns to shoot at you. That's not a big issue, but damn, why they didn't just shoot at you instead of just sending soldiers down and going away? It would make more sense if the 'Bird shoot at you until the soldiers drop from the Vertibird, then the Vertibird begins to shoot at you while moving in the air, helping the troopers bellow with support fire.

- Make the graphics less "Grey" and boring. Fallout 1 and 2 had 256 colors. Fallout 3 has millions of colors. Fallout 1 and 2 graphics still are better for the eye.

Why just not leave Fallout 3 as it is? Why trying to make something that feels and looks like previous titles? Why is so hard to understand that every aspect of the game was designed to be played as FPS? Are you going to rewrite whole game? Will Toddler give you a source code?

Implementing things like adding TB Combat or removing RT/VATS would be impossible, but I think that changes to make the game better would always be welcome. I hope they release something which modders can use.

 

[Wolfehunter]

Why just not leave Fallout 3 as it is? Why trying to make something that feels and looks like previous titles? Why is so hard to understand that every aspect of the game was designed to be played as FPS? Are you going to rewrite whole game? Will Toddler give you a source code?

And yeah, by hex editing you'll implement TB combat, remove RT/VATS, you'll change whole mechanics and a lot of other things. Can't wait to see it

Because not everybody is happy. Some want more from a game. So they mod it. If your happy thats cool dude.

@ Lexx didn't need to for Oblivion.

@ mvBarracuda I know a few who are very good at it using Hex Workshop editor. I've tried it and its like reading in the matrix. Hard to do but not impossible. Beth's isn't going to release a SDK pack because their gearing it for consols not really PC. They're worried that the mod community will add nudity and child killing that could change the ESRB rating, get band from some countries and loose profit. I think?