Having released DK_BulletTime for New Vegas, I am starting to look at how I might rejuvenate Bullet Time for the New Vegas world.

In a world where Turbo exists, Bullet Time doesn't really seem to sit alone in the space it used to, and it seems a little redundant.

The sorts of things I want to look at include:

1. Different levels of PC speed while time is slowed.

For the moment, bullet time works the same way it used to, but I have added a Turbo option that works like the chem. It definitely feels like cheating in this mode, but perhaps a less pronounced version of the Turbo, where the player is less than full speed, but not as slow as the NPCs.

2. Jet or Turbo to power Bullet Time

I am thinking about an option where the Bullet Time device needs to be charged with Jet or perhaps, super-charged with Turbo. The basic idea would be that Bullet time needed these chems to work, but would make more efficient use of the chems. For example, you could charge Bullet Time with a dose of Turbo, and get more use out of your Turbo.


3. Perk track to access Bullet Time

Add a series of Perks to make full use of Bullet Time. I have generally resisted this as players didn't need a perk to access VATS, but perhaps its time to consider this as an option.

If you have a suggestion, or a comment on how you think Bullet Time should work, this is the place to add your voice. Any suggestions are welcome

I think having Chems or Perks required to use Bullet Time would be a bad idea, but I'm not at all opposed to Chems or Perks benefitting Bullet Time.

Jet already has a function that effects Bullet Time in that it increases your AP, allowing bullet time to last longer, but Turbo could well interact with Bullet Time to increase the Player's speed while under the effects of Bullet Time. The main improvment I'd like to see made to Bullet Time though is some effects provided by the VATS specific perks. Currently when you're using Bullet Time instead of VATS the VATS associated perks such as Commando and Gunslinger end up being perfectly useless, but I think it would be neat to have them effect you whilst in Bullet Time as well.

A couple of examples:

Commando might reduce the spread of all your two-handed firearms by a percentage whilst in Bullet Time.

Grim Reaper might restore your AP by a number for each kill you score whilst in Bullet Time.

Center of Mass might simply increase the damage inflicted in the chests of oponents during Bullet Time.


Basically, I'd like to see the VATS related feats as useful picks even when VATS has grown obsolete. I dunno if that's in your interest though, but that was the main issue I had with Bullet Time back in Fallout 3.

Forral,

Integration with existing Perks is definitely worth considering. I probably would have done this for FO3, but by the time I got around to thinking about it. FO3 was ageing and there didn't seem much point in putting effort into the mod.

With New Vegas of course, its all new again.

Hey that's a great idea! I stopped taking vats perks when I started using BT.

About the turbo-mode. How about making AP usage dependent on distance instead of time. As an example, say it takes X AP to move from A to B in normal bullet time. In turbo bullet-time it would take the same amount (or more if further balancing is needed) but in a shorter time interval. Basically you'd use up the same AP to travel the same distance but at a greater pace, this means that turbo bullet-time would eat through your AP in a much shorter time than normal bullet time thus giving you less time to think out your decisions. You trade speed for time. I think you can balance it if you played with the values, with how much AP is needed by turbo mode when compared to normal BT.

Can't wait for NVSE, hot-keying the device is taking up a potential hot-keyed item.

I'm getting the strong impression I should be looking at the VATS Perks.

I agree with this statement. On one hnad I hate VATS: it is awkward and annoying system that was put in place for console users. In my opinion it has not place in computer version of the game. On the other hand there are tons of perks related to it, in my play-through (I try to stay away as much as possible from VATS) I have to trend very caruflly about what perks I choose and sadly the selection is very limited. I would like to have Bullet Time as a reasonable alternative and have it affected by the perks, or to be completely honest, I'd like to see perks affect every aspect of combat: VATS, Bullet Time or Real Time.

I second Forral. I don't like the idea of having to use chems to get access to Bullet Time, but chems enhancing the effects of it sounds about right.

im one of those who dont use VATS so VATS perks are also useless to me. what i would like to see is the counterpart of VATS perks to bullet time. for example, theres a VATS perk that lets you recover AP if you kill a target in VATS. a perk that restores AP for every kill in bullet time would be nice.

Bullet Time should be a peer of VATS and perfectly integrated into the game. It should be a first class citizen.

If you want to make BT balanced with turbo..... You can rationalize a difference between BT and Turbo meds because Turbo actually makes you move faster in the game time continuum. It would make you win a foot race. But BT can be made to only speed up your aiming (meaning your mouse view moves normally while in BT), but your feet move slowly like enemies do.

Maybe balancing the VATS perks to include BT can also balance BT with Turbo, by making BT more and more like Turbo as you get more VATS perk ranks.

^This could work!^

A perk that has different levels that makes you faster and faster in BT.

IMO, I'd leave the default perks alone - that way folks who use both BT and VATS are happy, as well as avoiding conflicts with any other mods that change those perks, etc.

That having been said, there is plenty of room for new perks that interact with BT.

- a perk to speed you up a little bit, in relation to everything else during BT
- a perk to give you a bonus to crit chance during BT
- a perk to give you bonus DT during BT
- a perk to speed up your reloads/weapon swaps during BT
- a perk that gives you a little bit of regeneration during BT


As for using drugs to "power" BT... personally I am against the idea as a "this is how BT works". Using drugs to "enhance" BT however, that I could certainly see, and think has some good potential.

- charge your BT system with a hit of jet, and you get a "buffer" set of AP - charge it with more jet and the buffer gets bigger. Then whenever you're using BT, when your normal AP run out, it automatically starts draining the buffer - until you either turn off BT or the buffer runs dry

- charge your BT with... that new drug that restores AP (can't recall the name)... and the next time you turn on BT, the AP drain rate is reduced

- charge your BT with turbo, and for the next X seconds of BT you move at full speed

etc...

So many wonderful possibilities!

The plan would be not to disrupt existing perks, but make sure that a VATS Perk also had a comparable advantage in Bullet Time.

For example, the Commando Perk, which increases you chance to hit with rifle weapons in VATS, might also reduce the weapon spread, and increase the chance of a critical when Bullet Time is turned on. A similar thing might occur for the Gunslinger Perk.





I like the way your thinking. Most of these should be doable. Speeding up in relation to everything else, I hope that's possible, it wasn't in Fallout 3 as far as I could tell. Unfortunately Turbo is no help, it has a single effect "Turbo" which takes no parameters. The investigation continues on this.



I think I'm leaning to this point of view also.

Thanks for you thoughts DarkUncleBoh, plenty of food for thought here.

Note that while this would fulfill the "don't mess with folks who use both BT and VATS" suggestion, it would still cause conflicts with any mods that alter these perks (unless you got fancy and just had BT detect the player having the perk and applied the effect based on that?)

It's probably not possible, but I think it would be nice if the VATS cost of the weapon you were using when you went into bullet time affected the AP cost of BT.

I have a suggestion:

If you do not have the perk this happens
It should be powered by adrenaline so as your health decreases to like 10 or something, bullet time occurs and you gain bonuses to strength, endurance and perception but at the cost of reduced luck, intelligence and agility.
I also think that temporary increase in weapon spread and decrease in accuracy should be there. This could also be given to enemies to even the playing field.

If you have the perk this happens
You get to have short controlled bullet time mode where you could voluntarily activate it. You also do not have the negative effects but to balance this you have a long cool down before you can activate it again.
There could be masteries that affect an aspect of bullet time(duration, how much is slowed down, cooldown) and that you could only have one only.

For getting the perk
through a quest or something?

Personally while this suggestion sounds interesting, to me as a long-time BT user... it sounds like it would be better suited as a completely different mod, rather than an appropriate direction for BT to move in.