I am settling on the scavenger idea. Actually, I have a lot of the background and setting for the mod worked out now, thanks to input from people here and at Nexus. Essentially the town is a loosely held together group of scavengers, explorers, and adventurers, not unlike many of the characters each of us has played through the game. Most of the resident are fairly tough/high level, as they need to be to have been accepted into the town. They are generally broken up into two factions, the 'old timers' who have been in Hightown for some time, and the 'new blood'. There are some tensions between the two that will be exploited for various quests.
I am getting into Dialogues and Quests now, and as it is turning out to be a little easier than I though, I am pressing ahead full steam. As such, I need a lot of ideas for characters. If anyone has a character they would like to insert into this town, to live in infamy, then by all means post a little blurb about their background, traits, style, sayings, attitudes etc. Of course, don't mention the part that every character we play came from a vault.

I also added two features to the structure of the town itself, both of which I am not sure about.

The first is a moving drawbridge. I built a custom .nif from various pieces, and have it working via a script. It raises and lowers the trailer of a truck, much like a drawbridge of old.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/images/10084-1-1259944175.jpg
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/images/10084-2-1259944175.jpg

The second is a player home, built from scratch on top of the high tower. I always meant that to be a player home, but I went a little beyond Bethesda style and made it completely external.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/images/10084-2-1259683629.jpg

Could you make a short video demo of the bridge perhaps? If you have time ofc.
I'd love to see how it works as I can't really figure it out by the pic and your description.
And the house looks great. Good size.

I'll see if I can think up a character. And don't you want us to PM characters to you? If we post em here everyone will see them even before the mod has been made.

The bridge extends the truck trailer, moving slowly along the 4 rails, until finally it just touches the opposite highway platform. That platform is just outside the screenshot, to the right.

The player home is a little small on the inside but has the benefit of windows, from out which you can observe your domain.

I could make a video if I have time. However I am not certain that I will keep the drawbridge. It just seems a little too substantial for this town.

I don't mind either posts or pms for character descriptions. What actually shows up on game may be different enough to still be a surprise, or interesting.

Just wanted to poke in and see how this mod was progressing. Freeway settlements/houses are a weakness of mine, and I really liked the look of Hightown (not to say Arefu Expanded, Skyforest HQ or Fort Freeway are bad. Quite the contrary. Though I did disable all the trees in the second one...).

I know Arefu Expanded in its first version was a bit draining on CPU (large settlement in outside world does that), how's Hightown concerning this?

Hightown will bring your average computer to its knees, and will be a serious gut check to faster ones. I have optimized it, and will do a final optimization with scol, but the town is pretty much finished. Very little more can be done to change this.

As for progress, there has been plenty. I am moving into quests and finding it much much easier than I thought it would be. I am updating at Nexus for now, but will update this thread when there is a little more substantial news to report. Things are moving along nicely.

I'll take that as a challenge, good sir! *to the RAM store*

And very glad to hear it's coming along.

I am working on numerous quests right now. I think I have some decent ideas and storylines. Perhaps. However, I began to wonder what exactly the point of any town is. From the point of view of the player, what exactly does one expect of a town? Did Bethesda miss some crucial, or not so crucial requirements? Are there things that I just must include, for Hightown to be a decent town?

Any thoughts on this?

Really? No thoughts at all? !

Just a little update. Progress continues. Spent two weeks battling navmesh problems. Have mostly solved, or fixed via a kludge.

Quests are all I do now. Working on about 12 simultaneously. They link up in many ways, so it is hard to simply finish one and move on.

There will be an 'Entry' quest, as Hightown is not open to the average wastelander. Traders or people who have some worth to the town are let in. So the player will have to prove him/herself before entry is granted.

Once in the player has the option to just use it as a town to visit, base out of, quest in/from, or they can attempt to become a member of Hightown. Become a Hightowner.

Becoming a Hightowner will be a somewhat involved quest. It also has multiple paths. These paths can run from simply currying favor with Hightowners, up to running specific missions for specific heavies in the town.

There are also a couple of quests which may not directly involve helping the player become a Hightowner.

After becoming a Hightowner, the player will have a home/bed in the town. I plan to make this home customizable. A bit. Nothing extravagant though.

I should also say that quests are in line with Fallout and Fallout 2 quests, at least in terms of morality, and advlt content. There will be quests that are seriously 'advlt' in nature.

Numerous quests also aim to physically change Hightown. The player will be able to make a visible, physical difference in the town. This may range from simply cleaning the place up a bit, all the way to the addition of new buildings/structures.

Okay, that is all for now.

Ok, you have me hooked! I love choices and customization options! I love the fact that we can't just go straight into the town. It really makes sense that we have to show that we are "safe" to be let in first. I wouldn't want some stranger that I know nothing about to walk around in my town (in that time with all the threats out in the wasteland). Bravo!

I guess what would make me go to a town more than once, is the stores (weapons, grocery, armor, mini walmart? lol) to trade my treasures for their treasures. A hospital with a doctor is another must have. I suppose a sort of hang out area (a bar or pool hall) to talk to people after a long day is always welcome. An idea you can throw in would be a place to test out your weapons...like a gun range I suppose. You can pay to have live targets to have released on the gun range

Okay, got a doctor already, with a clinic.

Have a bar -- The Radiation King

Pool hall in, though not completely public.

Weapons range is in, but it is small. You gave me the idea that perhaps the Hightowners have a favorite place to snipe from. Perhaps set up a spawn of molerats or something that the player can join in the sniping of.

No 'stores' really, however. Generally everything is traded out of the The Radiation King. Some of the Hightowners will be willing to trade, and will have the equivalent of a store's inventory out of their houses. So the stores won't be so clearly defined as 'stores'. You may have to work to find the good ones.

Thanks for the comments!

Awesome I actually think your idea of the hightowners having items to sell is a much better idea than multi stores. It would make sense that they go out into the wastelands and find things. I mean that is how the town people would survive, trade. Yes, I would love a spot to practice my weapons on spawned creatures

See, you don't need our ideas, yours are great! Keep up the great work!

very nice. :thumbsup:

Well, Hightown had a foot in the grave...the grave of Navmesh Hell. There he was struggling to get his foot out of that grave, when suddenly he slipped in the blood and sweat soaked mud that surrounded the open grave, and in was thrust his other foot. Yep. Two feet in the grave. Quests and Dialogues looked on, transfixed with horror at the sight of old Hightown, waist deep into his own grave. Down he slid, inexorably drawn into the maw of hopeless confusion and failed attempts that is the Navmesh Hell. It seemed that he was surely doomed, when against all hope he managed to hook one elbow over the edge of the grave's cruel maw. Desperately he threw his other hand up and over the edge, even as his body slid further into the pit. For a few brief moments his muddied hands scrabbled wildly at the slippery, filthy edge of the grave, but found no hold. Then, with a last surge of super-human effort, Hightown dug his fingertips into the hard clay beneath the mud, sweat and blood, with enough force that the bones of his fingers were driven through the flesh of his finger tips. And his decent into the grave was halted.

With a groan of pain and exhaustion, Hightown pulled his body up, just enough that he could throw his left knee up and over the edge of the grave. Then he lay still, balancing precariously on the edge, both afraid to move, and too exhausted to try.



Just a little update. Progress has been considerably slowed by 3 or so weeks of hideous Navmesh issues. The issues *may* be solved now. At least enough that I can press on with Quests and Dialogues.

That is all.

Just a little update for those interested,

I am working steadily through the Dialogues for all 40 of the towns inhabitants. After studying the way Bethesda handled things, I was quite surprised by how little effort they put into making the reactions of NPC's to the PC vary. There was a token attempt at it in Megaton, but after that it is sporadic or absent in most NPCs.

In Fallout 2 it was always fun to have good or evil players react differently to you. My favorite was how many of the the NPC's reacted to the player wearing Powered Armor. It definitely helped to make you feel bad-ass. It helped that a majority of NPCs seemed to react appropriately to characteristics or equipment of the PC (at least as far as I recall).

In any case I want to have those reactions in Hightown, so I am currently building in alternate reactions for Karma, Charisma, Vault suits and Powered Armor. Additionally, Good, Evil and Neutral NPC's react differently to each of those values. Not always obviously either. Deceptive characters will react like good characters, even though they are evil. This means more work, but without it things wouldn't be up to snuff I think.

At the rate Dialogues are going, Hightown already has more than any town save Rivet City, and it will likely pass that town as well soon. I can't comment on the quality of the dialogue, but there is lots of it so far, and it varies greatly depending on what kind of PC you are, and what you are equipping.

Back to modding.

:clap:

Very impressive!

I like that there looks to be very little wasted space. Megaton has large empty volumes that really makes little sense. Hightown has a much more dense and realistic feel, where as many people as possible wants to squeeze into the limited area of security the bridge offers.

I also saw several inspiring new uses of architectural components, that also reinforces the impression that it was constructed over a long time by various scavenged materials, dragged there from nearby sites of different type.

The interior with the "loft" (don't know the english word for it, the extra floor indoors supported by a wooden wall) was also spot on, giving the impression of a cobbled together solution to increase living space and living standard.

I like the little details like the fact that the three chairs around a table were all different - finding a matching set in usable condition would be difficult so it makes perfect sense! Makes it so much more believable.


Keep up the good work!
The Nonsense Factory

This is incredibly fascinating...

I look forward to playing this mod. All the hard work you've put in so far seems astonishing. And having a real city compared to the rest of the game will make a massive difference in a person's playstyle.

this really looks brilliant! I'll be sure to download it once its done

Hightown looks like I thought Arefu would when I first played the game....

It looks magnificent.

I hope this is finished ! The progress already looks amazing - especially the exterior shots of the town perched atop the freeway.

I'm not a modder - but if you need someone to go through the dialogue and correct I'm a fairly decent proofreader.

I think, in terms of quests, that real life politics is always best - quests that lead to new options/payback/revenge and change the landscape of the power factions in the town make the player feel a real part of what happens.

J

I have kept an eye on this mod for a long time now. I love new places and the game lacks a little when it comes to new and interesting towns.

I hope it is not too far away from at least a beta release?

That looks really interesting!

From the screenshots - - holy [censored] do you know how to clutter and build stuff, or what?

Heck of an interesting piece you've got going!

There may have been a reason that Bethesda went with the big empty volumes...it makes the navmesh and AI work a lot better. I have had a hellish time getting the navmesh to work in those confined spaces. It works though.


I built the town organically, without any plan. I assumed the role of wastelanders as I was building it, imagining what they would do and use to maximize space on the limited area of the overpass. I also built the town in several passes, imagining what successive generations would do to expand their usable, liveable space. So your impression is really exactly what I was looking for.

@Carenzi - Sorry to disappoint, but it is nowhere near a Beta release. It will take plenty of time yet. A realistic time frame is 6 months to several years.

@jwh - I will certainly need a hand proofreading eventually. Right now I am just racing through dialogues, banging them out as fast as I can. Nothing has been checked, whether for spelling, punctuation or quality. However, it is not done yet, so I don't think I need any proofreading done just yet. Perhaps in the months to come though. I'm with you too - I imagined Arefu to be a bit more than what we got. I'm a little jealous of their location too. It would be the perfect place for Hightown.

Thanks for the praise, all those who posted. I'm getting back to modding now.

Sounding better and better each time I read an update from you! Great mods come to those who wait, so yup, I will wait for as long as it takes! I am not going anywhere *plops down a tent and camps out* Canned beans anyone?

Progress on Hightown continues at break-neck speed. I have 'finished' the base dialogues for each of the 40 Hightowners. That includes greetings, goodbyes, queries about what they do, and delvings into the town's history. There are also plenty of alternate reactions, particularly for greetings, based on karma, charisma, armor being worn etc.

I have also inserted Hightowners into the wastes and towns of D.C. They are actually out there, scavenging etc. Depending on the day of the week you might find a Hightowner in Megaton, Paradise Falls, Canterbury or just roaming the wastes.

Now moving on to complete the 10 or so quests I previously sketched out. Things moving along there too. The quest to enter Hightown is interesting, as it has at least 7 different ways to complete it, most of which don't involve gunplay. That may or may not be good depending on your point of view. I tried to adhere to the old Fallout precepts of providing multiple paths through quests for multiple player types. I may or may not have succeeded in that goal.

Back to modding.

Sounds great