Well, now that I got your attention.

I was thinking it would be neat to implement insanity in some fashion. The most obvious(to me) way of doing this is adding in an insanity counter. To be clear, a variable that increments every time you use a stealth-boy. Sure, during a certain quest, a doctor says stealth boys shouldn't cause you to go insane, but your just (un)lucky like that.

So my question is this, how do you think insanity should be tracked in game, and what should happen as you lose your marbles? Lets try and keep requests somewhat easy to impliment.Like no requesting Cthulhu to appear every now and then cause you to murder a random npc, as cool as that would be, I doubt anyone would create the monster(Though, I admit it would be neat.).

To get the ball rolling,
Insanity kept track by and increased from stealth boy usage

Insanity causes: Hallucinations that other npcs ignore, you cannot gain exp or loot from killing. A couple examples would be a Gary clone appearing.. Perhaps a death claw named snuggles, having a go at another hallucination, oh the horror! (Of course would have to clear it with snuggles creator.)

I'm fairly certain Stealth Boys only cause Super Mutants to go bonkers. The Stealth Boy has no prolonged side effects for Humans (And maybe Ghouls, but that's a little grayer area).

I would love to develop schizophrenia and have a clone of MYSELF following me around, committing hallucinogenic atrocities before my eyes.


Or hearing whispers in my ear from voices that aren't there...

Or having the ability to talk to inanimate objects! That would be amazing!


E.) Talk to Basketball

>>> Me: "WTF?! A talking basketball?"

>>> Spalding: "Haha! No... no... you're just going bananas!"

>>> Me: "Mmm... I like bananas. Bananas are good."

>>> Spalding: "So I keep hearing..."

It would be pretty hilarious if - with a high enough Insanity - you could talk to Antler instead of Davidson in the REPCONN basemant.

Well, apparently, there was something in the old Van Buren stuff about a group of Brotherhood of Steel members that defected after Stealth Boys were found to have side effects and were banned from use shortly afterwards. They thought there was some kind of conspiracy against them. Naturally, the side effects included paranoia and all that stuff. Anyway, the way I see it, Stealth Boys DO have a mental effect on humans, but more long-term than with the Nightkin

I presume that Davidson would hear the same things that Antler tells you? Not just similar things, or things worded differently, the exact same things

it could be tied into the sleep deprivation as well as stealth boy usage, with sleep deprivation being the fastest to set in and stealth boy use being the slowest



just a thought

a cool thought

It'd be damn near impossible to implement for a game of this scale, but limiting the character's dialog choices to increasingly incoherent ramblings would be awesome. Followed by an awkward pause on the part of the NPC you're talking to.

or.....find a way to mimic the apparations that occured in one of the vaults (cant remember which one) in FO3, then it might be possible.

Those apparitions would be fairly easy to emulate (and improve upon - is it just me or were they horribly done?), although they'd be much easier to implement in a controlled environment like an unpopulated vault.

The way I see it, http://geck.gamesas.com/index.php/SetGhost is basically a requirement for apparitions so they can't be damaged, and imaginary NPCs should be child races as well so VATS doesn't recognise them.

Cipscis

Okay... now I -really- want an insanity mod...


I mean, seriously... there's just something about being bat-[censored] wonkers... gibbering and screaming at people who aren't there... and randomly going on a killing spree only to discover that I've been shooting up cacti... that really appeals to my inner maniac.

Crackers don't matter?(Who can guess where that came from? No cheating via google!)

Anyhow, I really like that ghost command! Oh the evil tricks one could play. Spawn a flying bug(or deathclaw/raider etc) around the player when he/she is already in combat? You would constantly have to ask yourself, is your enemy real or just a figment? I suppose another way is to create a special npcs with weapons that do 0 damage, as it appears the ghost command doesnt allow the creatures to enter combat. Although, npc/weapon creation really isnt my thing

edit: Or a less nasty trick, spawn a friendly looking npc who is helping you out. Perhaps a script that makes it appear that said npc is taking damage during the fight, but in reality is doing absolutely nothing. Creating a conflict for you, do you help your faction friend out, or worry about yourself? Could prove sad, if you guess said person is a figment and are wrong.

edit2: or perhaps dropping a nice weapon or corpse in neat looking gear near you, only to have it disappear when you try and loot it. Less nasty, but its like taking crackers from a baby.

Crackers Don't Matter = An episode in the first half of Season 2 of Farscape. Funny episode. Awesome show.

This sounds like a pretty cool mod idea.

I would love to see some kind of restriction on Stealthboys, but you don't need 'prolonged use' to switch one on and rob the Van Graffs blind with 4 base sneak anyway .-.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Darkness:_Sanity%27s_Requiem :ahhh:

Wonder if it could be done by adding a temp. perk everytime you use a stealthboy and an 'insanity counter' which will modify things. Kinda beyond my level at the moment, but I have to agree that would be really fun to see.

Spalding: I thought you realized you were bonkers fifty posts ago, Jim.

Jim: Yeah, well, it's not every day you get to talk to a basketball.

Spalding: Well played. Well played.

Jim: What does that have to do with sombreros?

I really like the idea of insanity and everything that was mentioned but having it caused by Stealthboy useage is a bit off. On the first playthrough when I was digging for every piece of loot I could get my grabby hands on I never went past 10 or so. and used even less , twice at best. Would be sad to waste something as cool as insanity effects on something that might never happen as "stealthboy addiction". Having insanity tick with chems sounds more reasonable to me. If you pop, phsyco, buffout, med x and gulp it down with 3 bottle of scotch, complied with steady and to actually hit something through the haze.. That is something that should drive you to hallucinations and insanity.

I just wasted 3 on the Beyond the Beef quest.

Paul. I... I.... I.... I thought you were a GEP Gun.

Not a bad thought. Though, I can easily count the number of times I have used steady, that is zero. Never had cause to use it. Perhaps something as simple as a countdown of times the player is using pyscho/jet + booze. After x number of instances where you combine those drugs, you start to lose it. That combination of drugs, is something my character tends to do when facing a tough fight.

Yes, that's what I head in mind. I just threw steady in there as an example of crazy drug mix.

And when you go crazy, you can pal up with No-Bark Noonan and be crazybuddies.