By Tarrant

Second-and-a-half release version of Phalanx for Fallout New Vegas - - v 0.03 Last update Oct 24, 10:30 AM EST.

I've "hidden" this file on Nexus for the time being because it's reported to break the EDE follower really badly. I'd like to know that it's a bit better than that before having more people download it.

Link is normally here:

http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35155

;--------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't use Nexus comments if you are trying to reach me about this mod! I do not read them. Post here.

This is about as beta/wipz as it gets. You could call it a follower overhaul in progress but I hope to
not actually tear into it too deep.

********************************************
INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS - -

Before using this mod, save your game into a brand new slot.
Then, put the mod in, load your save, and make another NEW save,
NOT overwriting the save which was free of this mod.

This way, if my mod breaks your game, you have something to
step back to which you know is good.
*********************************************

V. 0.03

Removes debug script function accidently left in place.

V 0.02

- - Passive mode with followers has function - it does nothing at all in the vanilla game release at the moment.
I have made it work as close to the game's text description as I know how to. It's not perfect, minimally because
the correct conditions and script evaluations do not exist to reliably create Obsidian's description of the wanted
behavior at the moment. The conditions I use are a best guess.

The above thing has only been tested on one follower (Raul) but I've implemented the code in all. So, youall should
let me know how it goes on the others. I have no idea how well it works (or fails) in them.

- - The frequency of follower comments in reaction to player actions is in most cases decreased greatly. Those lines
are great and add character but, when you hear them so often, I think that it destroys the presentation and turns it
all into a nuisance.


KNOWN CHARACTERISTICS:

If you are sniping at enemies from seriously long range, passive mode followers will not start an attack based upon that.
If a follower itself is attacked while in passive mode, it WILL fight back.

KNOWN ISSUES

Followers in passive mode in some cases may not start to fight alongside you immedietely after you attack a target.
I don't know all of the situations which can cause this. I've only had this working for a little while.

There are some cases where a follower may be fooled into thinking that you are attacking but you didn't fire yet. One is,
if an already-damaged enemy begins to attack you and you point your weapon directly at it.

KNOWN ISSUES THAT I DIDNT CAUSE

I've seen Raul get stuck in place, wanting to attack a somewhat distant target, but not willing to move. That one's not mine.




Note to self - - from the PC problems forum

Very cool. Question, though - what else are you planning on adding to this mod?

Wow! Phalanx is back! Very cool... I've ALWAYS used Phalanx, as well as the integration into FOOK2 (this is Sativa420, if you remember me, I was always complaining about Phalanx for fo3 ) Good luck with this, man, I can't wait to see how you improve NV followers!

A few suggestions:

I'd like the NV followers to be rebalanced back to decent levels. As-is, it looks like most of them are super-strong, super-tough, and with super-powerful-weapons that use no ammo. If it's within the scope of the mod, rebalancing them could be very nice.

I'd also like it if telling a follower to Wait would set them to roam around and interact with the environment rather than just sit there, and I'd like an option to 'fire' a follower but have them remain within the cell I fired them within rather than sending them back home. That way I can collect all my followers in one location and have 'em stay there.

You already know I want a 'hold fire' command in addition to the normal 'passive/aggressive' commands and to make ED-E heal via repair rather than stimpaks.

Changing the limit on number of followers from 1 to half Charisma would be cool, too.

Well, what's on my mind at the moment is,

I expect to hijack parts of the Companion Wheel, building my options menu and doing some other things. Some of the things you'll be able to configure are, whether or not you want to bypass the maximum-followers-hired limitation, whether you want followers to wait and stand still or wander around and interact while waiting (sandbox mode) (this is not to demean the mod which was already released which does this), if a follower dies in combat would like it restored for you, and other things. I expect to cause the nearest followers to run to you and stim you if your health gets low and they themselves are not in trouble, and the follower's name will carry it's approximate health status (Wounded, Almost Dead, etc, per the Fallout 2 descriptions). I'll examine the in-combat stimming of followers and see if I like it as is (I might).

In terms of group commands, I expect to at least do group-wait and group-wait-release. I have to see how the gameplay goes to know more, and my character is only level 7.

Its a few functions that I'm porting over from Fallout 3 Phalanx ( http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1093050-relz-fo3-phalanx/ ). It's not getting the great bulk of it.

Of course I remember you!

Fo3Phalanx is not dead or discontinued. If anything, seeing NV is encouraging. It started out as Fallout3.esm. I can tell because um, well Jericho's hire quest is still there for example, aaaaaand somehow I don't think we'll be seeing him show up in New Vegas any time soon.

Can you make a companion-command headset or other item that would open up the Companion Wheel without actually clicking on the companion in question? That could be pretty useful in an actual firefight, especially if there were more options for setting combat behavior.

This takes about 2 minutes to create and put in.

..... but I hate it so much, that, FO3Phalanx does not have it. It's tremendously overpowered.

I might make an option to add one to yourself, but only because I keep getting asked about it, and when I'm done making it I'll spray the room with air freshener.

Great to see this coming together! Followers have already been pissing me off, especially on hardcoe when they act like retards and get themselves killed. Gah. Don't know how many times I'd had to reload because that robit was a [censored].

-Instance

Phalanx finally~~~~~~!!! oh how i have missed you so .. cant wait till the command " Hold postion here and shoot any enemies you see " is put back in .. its so damn useful x3

Ummmmm if you downloaded this


.... get the new upload 0.03 please.

I forgot to take a piece of debug code out of 0.02. You'll get a messagebox in your face with a random number every 5 seconds with version 0.2.

haha. god.

Eh? How is it overpowered? It's just a convenience item so you don't need to turn around and run up to your companion in order to tell him to start attacking/hold fire/use a stimpak/whatever (when realistically you could just shout and give those commands).

It means you don't have to monitor followers' positioning in the fight to help ensure their well-being, and you don't have to change your own position in response to where the follower's portion of the fight is going. It means a follower can run off on its own and you can ignore this, because no matter where they are, you can keep them up with stims and access their inventories and such. Like, magic!

I didn't say I wouldnt put it within the options for the happiness of the people who want this. Just that after I do it, I'll find that can of air freshener, and try to pretend to myself that I didn't.

Maybe it's just the nexus acting up, but it seems I'm getting the outdated 0.2 version when I download - and the debug messages as well. You sure you updated it?

You're right, let me upload again. darn.

Try this thing.

http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35155

Lol, Jericho in NV, and air freshener

I see where you're coming from when you say you don't like the "headset" idea, but isn't there any way to implement it with the share inventory and stim options excluded, but only while giving at distance orders? Or make it so you command them to use one of their own stimpaks on themselves?

BTW: I LOVE NV so far. I think it's miles ahead of FO3 in many ways, not the least of which is the fact that it FEELS like a FO game. Not just because of the story continuation, but the feeling, mood and setting (plus all the new features that were brought back from FO1/2)

NV feels right so far... the towns and cities and the character of the people and.. well, everything. FO3 has a different identity from it.

Actually, I did the implementation you're thinking about in Phalanx for Fallout 3. I made your pip-boy into a satellite phone and you could purchase pip boys for your followers, and communicate with them. You could also call the intercom system at your base. It would refuse to work if you were in combat, though (I did that on purpose).

I'm not expecting to put that exact function into NV ... Its kinda not the same sort of .. game.. I will probably do like I said and make it possible to deliver a device to yourself which allows remote activation of followers and call it history.

Tarrant, interacting with ED-E turns it hostile towards me if I'm using Phalanx =\

Alright - - was this when you put it into passive mode or just, loading the .esp?

I don't think that passive mode can work on "Boone" as it is written right now actually. They have some special faction stuff done with him that my code doesn't account for this second.

Kso this .esp seems to break EDE, and Boone's passive mode will need to be fixed.

That reminds me. Some way to yell at a follower to come back to you (some kind of regroup command) would be extremely nice. They keep running off and you can't do a thing about it in the base game. I don't want to access their inventories/stims if they're far away - I just want to be able to give them orders like 'get your ass back over here' without having to break off combat and run up to them.

I assume that you've checked the ED-E issue out for yourself right? It happens when you interact with ED-E and bring up the companion wheel. You don't have to do anything, just exit and it'll turn hostile on you.

Nope I have checked almost none of them (check the fine print in the first post I made, hehe).

The only follower I've actually hired in the game is Raul and he's working as expected. The code and such which makes Raul work has been expanded into the others.

I'm finishing up the multifollower menuing function now so that I can hire more (I've gained access to Arcade, seen Rex, and am about to meet Cass, so the time seems right).

It sounds like I have a mistake in EDE's follower wheel handling and it is making an adjustment to his player teammate status when it's not necessary, and, that adjustment happens to make him aggro on the player.

I have some ideas on how to fix it, but I will need to have the follower hired. If you want to speed that process up, upload a savegame of yours from right before you hire him and let me know the link, and I'll make him the first follower I fix.

It is the case though, that there is something funny going on with mobs aggroing unnecessarily in this .exe.

I'm wondering why your mod has been put to invisible or something among 'em lines. I was about to download it but wanted to refresh the page but to be unable to download your mod. Would like to try it out as soon as possible.

~Dashacker