To create a mod? Yes it takes effort and ability to make and most of all creativity, but to open up FNVEdit, see what exactly it is a mod does and edit it slightly? Very little, depending on the complexity of the mod. Say you liked Arwen's mod on the whole, but thought that damages were to low? Well that's not hard.

I'm an ART veteran from FO3. Always have a spot in my heart for ART, now more than ever since FWE is not going to be making the transition (well...NV basically built FWE into it xD).

And Arwen's having to rebuild New Vegas' ART from the ground up, so if you don't like something check back in a couple weeks. Chances are she's fixed it or given you options about it.



Arwen, if you get a flag I'm sure you'll be surprised at how many wave it.



But as far as suggestions go, I have only two small things and as always they are not requests but suggestions. If you could slightly bump up the damage multiplier and slightly bump down how fast Surplus ammo wears your gun down, I'd be set. I have a feeling you've already tweaked the surplus ammo thing, but I'm not sure in which direction since I didn't use surplus ammo in my pre-mod run through.

Keep up the great work, pleases.

This happens in the default game . . . yet you're acting like this is something that my mod added . . . which it didn't.



No, I'm not assuming that you played FO3. But I am assuming that users of mods for Fallout 3 and FO New Vegas have a basic understanding of the game to at least have some concept of the game's alternate reality. If you want a combat simulator, then buy one. New Vegas is a ROLE PLAYING GAME!!! All you had to do was take the the time to read my ReadMe, or just follow my Link (either in this thread or in my Nexus description) . . . you know, the hidden one in bold that states:
'The full details on all my changes are listed in the Realism Tweaks section my Fallout New Vegas Journal. , you would perhaps understood that this mod is still in development . . . AND you would have read what I meant by 'Realism."

But you found it easier to make a video as a way to bash my mod, not for what it is suppose to do, but because it doesn't do the things you wanted it to do.

Just some food for thought:

In mostly vanilla-play I reached level 29 after doing mostly ALL available quests. Thus it does not seem like the leveling rate is that broken compared to FO3.

I am at the moment using my experimental Pointiac build with 3 less skill points per level, no education and an automatic Intense Training every 5 level. Also using the More Perks mod, so that the perks available from the loss of educated and intense training can be put somewhere fun. I'm testing your mod in conjuction using 75% xpr (and have overridden the changes you did to VATS damage to condition as a personal preference).

I don't know if you are building your mod around using 25% xpr, or if it's quite universal, but the fact that you have to do quite a lot to max level, might be something to think about. In my opinion leveling is fun, we just have to keep the character from getting godly.

Keep up the good work. Really enjoying the changes so far, apart from the stuff I myself override as personal preferences.

when i play open world rpgs, i tend to "live" in the world more than do quests and follow the storyline, specially on the second and succeeding playthrus. and its when i really appreciate the reduced xp so that each level gained is that much more of a milestone.

anyway, Arwen's made the xp multiplier optional/modular so it can easily be made to suit individual preferences.

@ Shabador: I'll be reducing the amount of SPECIALs, the initial Skill points you receive, and the points you receive at level up, in my Hard-Core module . . . pretty much exactly as I did in my FO3 Realism Tweaks (well, I had to do a few things a bit differently, but the results are the same). I'm already play testing my own game with my skill points and stats reduction and they make a hugh difference.

@ To Everyone who has supported my mod and myself: THANKS!

I know that many here will not want to hear this, but I may put my NV Realism Tweaks on hold for a while. I was going to release v.1.3 later this week, but I'm really tired of trying to defend my work . . . it just takes way too much of my time and energy. Perhaps it would be better if I just spend the next month or so working on trying to get all four modules to a semi-complete state, and then just release version 2.0 with all 4 modules.

while im sad to hear that we wont be getting updates for a while, you take all the time you need Arwen. besides, i really am waiting for the other modules before i do a more serious playthrough.

anyway, itll probably be for the best to have all the modules up and running before release that way there'll be less "why is it this way instead of that" questions. but i hope you'll still be on the threads to whet our appetites with updates and teasers

Sounds reasonable. At this point it looks like you're mostly getting questions/complaints about things that you simply haven't gotten around to doing yet, rather than on what the mod itself does.

And all these balance issues we might encounter now could very well be gone once progress on the mod is further along.

And the modding itself should be a lot more fun than writing readmes and arranging file uploads every week.

Arwen, I have been around from the beginning of ART, and before, reading your journal and I am not the only one. One thing you need to know is that you have a lot of fans, and people who appreciate your work. Most of us try to offer constructive opinions and bug reports. Yes, there are a few that tend to bash and simply criticize for whatever reason. It is unfortunate, but I have looked at many mod discussions and you are not alone. While the community is generally very good, it is a community and like most all of then, there are issue/differences. My suggestion is this: It may be hard, but put much less energy into defending your mod or maybe not even try to do so. Sort of like a tough skin. Imho, you have earned the right not to have to defend your work; i.e. by giving plenty of information on your mod site, readme, journal etc... Modding is not easy. Having to check and recheck, test and retest hundreds of settings. Tracking down unusual bugs, and doing your best to create a balance. All with a game engine that is old, inefficient and buggy. If someone only wants to read the title and nothing else, then it's their fault. I can't count the number of times that you have had to repeat, on the forum or the Nexus, things that you have already written for all to see. In any case, my idea is to maybe make up some default comment for anyone that is unfairly critical or wants things “their” way, like, "please read all my materials. This is my vision of Fallout New Vegas, I hope you like it, but if not, you have a choice to use something else" Then just copy, past and move on.

Arwen Quote: "In the end, 90% of my changes are based totally on my own game play testing, combined with a mess of intuition"
Yes! In the end this is how it should be!

In the end, I think we all have to take a step back and realize that this is your mod, your vision, and your gift to us Fallout fans. Is is perfect? No. Is the default game perfect? A big No way!! You do all this working with a poor game engine to begin with and make it much, much, better.


If ultimately you need a month break from the melodrama of some of this then by all means you should take the time. Work on it without distractions. I am hoping that you will feel the support from us all, use that to boost your energy, and leave the naysayers behind and come back sooner. Either way we are here for you.

Mahalo,
Nemesis.

I do not doubt that the default game worse off. It is. Even tragically so. At the same time I don't think I ever suggested otherwise. I don't really know where you got that impression. Perhaps I slammed in a bit bluntly, but perhaps the front page (or title) could be a little clearer for FO newbies.

I would argue that even this isn't all that accurate. You specifically add things to the game in order to make the RPG aspects more intense and decrease the realism (such as gunshots that can penetrate more armor the higher the skill level of the person firing the weapon).

I wouldn't call this a realism or immersion mod or anything like that and just call them 'Arwen's NV Tweaks', since that's indisputably accurate and wouldn't confuse anyone. Probably too late to change the name of the mod now, though.

It isn't her fault that you failed to read what was posted on her website, an outline of exactly what the mod does. Perhaps if you would have done that (instead of downloading a game overhaul without even knowing all it does, something you need to be careful about doing if you don't want to screw yourself) things would be a bit clearer to you.



The whole point of the mod is to be realistic in the roleplaying environment of the Fallout games. IF you take into account that the game takes place in a setting where the cold war era never ended and the future is a vision of what the past thought the future would be, it is quite immersive and realistic.

No, it isn't. Realistically, increased skill at firearms use does not result in you penetrating thicker armor, for example. Her goal isn't increased realism - it's increased RPG gameplay. This has absolutely nothing to do with the setting - it's a gameplay decision, not a setting one.

Better skill can let you aim for weak points so there is some room for the point.


Still I agree with the point.

The game play has to work to support the genre of the game.

In this case Arwen's vision of the genre is a bit different than the average Fallout New Vegas player.

For which I'm grateful.

I really enjoy your work and hope that you will continue to share it with us.

Please don't let our comments prevent you from enjoying what you create.

My only issue is that I like about half of the ideas... this mod doesn't seem very "modular" for lack for a better term.

Someone knows very little of game design.

Realism within a game, any game, has to be tempered by the genre of the game. As FONV relies upon the genre of RPGs, there is an intrinsic method of skill level measuring that is based on the character's decisions. One of the methods of these decisions is the level of skill points, as you see in FONV. That skill point decision reflects the character's ability to react, giving the avatar the tools it would handle in a 'real world situation.'

An example: A highly skilled sniper may, for instance, shoot for a certain part of the body.

Your situation: Said shooter must take down a target. However, the target must be identifiable. The shot must therefore be a full kill but at center mass. Just so we have the necessity of going up against supposed body armor on the target.

A skilled shooter will (may) know where the body armor is necessarily weakest, and therefore where to aim to achieve this shot, whereas a lesser shooter does not. That knowledge of the weakness in the designs of a body armor (not necessarily a particular peice, but in general. For instance: The sides of body armor are weaker than the front. ) translates to the game world by an increase in armor penetration via skill points.

So what she's done is exactly what should be in place. And it is MORE realistic. Therefore, her name is apt.

If you want a perfect realism shooter, don't play an RPG.

Fallout 3's ART used to be a bit more modular.. But it turned out very confusing and annoying to update each individual module I think, so things were merged.

There are a few more modules coming, but you can't easily divide everything up in different modules. Balance is achieved with a large number of changes working together, and if you'd be able to install only this and that feature then you probably wouldn't get a properly balanced game. Much is interconnected.

I don't see anything in the realism core that would be worthwhile to separate from the core and upload/update as a separated module. The reduced XP multiplier could work as a standalone mod, but that's all I can think of.

Oh and Arwen, as one of the few people that broadcast a modded FO3/FONV, I'd beg you to keep releasing. People love your stuff, not just those who play the game, but those who watch it played.

Personally I don't agree with every change Arwen incorporates in her mod, but it is an interesting option if you want a more challenging experience.

Arwen, don't be discouraged by random comments from people who don't share your view on how your mod should be. It's your mod, your ideas and ultimately your choice to make. I know a lot of people appriciate the time and effort you put into this.

i think the XPR of 25% default is too much for nv, as someone said, you can get to round 29 from quests on vanilla, at 50%, i got to lvl 6 by nipton (compared to primm in vanilla), i think 50-75% should be the default for new vegas

+1

Nobody's working harder right now on an overhaul mod like this, and it's sorely needed to balance out gameplay.

100% this.

I use ART for Fallout 3 and I am happy.

Arwen mod for her and she's nice enough to share with us.

You don't like it? Then learn to use G.E.C.K. or go somewhere else.

EDIT: I don't point anyone in particular.

for those who belabor Arwen's use of the word Realism, she's already explained in her website AND in this thread what she really means by it and even that she shouldnt have used the word. Besides, i find that her tweaks DO make the game more realistic than vanilla so the name is still appropriate.

Arwen, would you mind sharing some of your plans for thrown weapons? i would really love for some way to make them recoverable. Im currently using Improved Throwing but the change to make them recoverable also makes them bounce of things like they were blunt objects

I'd be sad if you decided not to release it like you have been, don't let a few people discourage you. I'd get it if you wanted more time with the game, though.

On a somewhat similar note, are you going to be altering the rates at which your character gets hungry, sleepy, etc. in hardcoe mode? I've just started playing with that and I thought I'd throw out there that my character never seems to get that hungry. You'd thing running through the wasteland all day wrestling with radscorpions would make a man tired.



Then change it in the options menu, bro.