» Fri Mar 04, 2016 5:55 am Hello, everyone. Time for a new experiment here on the forums: the Suggestion Drop-Box!
I originally began this series on the Suggestion Box for SWTOR, a game I honestly had high hopes for, but was ruined by terrible monetization. So, I decided that this would be a more universal thread type in a Suggestion Box or anywhere that would fit. Hope you enjoy my style, and be sure to give your own suggestions, hence the phrase "Drop-Box". This is a community thread, so feel free to give your input in the comments below.
A few guidelines are to be followed. Pay attention, because the same guidelines apply to you guys:
Regarding Popular Complaints: these ideas are to be excluded. I am only focusing on personal/original ideas, so topics such as an Improved Dialogue System or an Improved AI are excluded. I might mention them throughout, but only via context, and not from the ultimate final product.
Stay Lore-Friendly: A given in all regards. Although some of my ideas are quite outlandish and somewhat unrealistic, I'm going to try and stick to the lore, whether Canon or not (I will allow for use of Non-Canon sources on this thread. Just be sure that the Non-Canon sources fit the nature of Fallout 4 and are not from Fan-Fiction. This means that the Fallout Bible can be considered while brainstorming, but your Borderlands character cannot appear in Fallout 4. Not directly, at least)
Be creative: Don't just agree or disagree with my suggestions. I encourage everyone to create their own ideas. Every Drop-Box will be different, so if your suggestion doesn't fit with the topic in mind, keep tabs to see if I have released a Drop-Box for the topic you had in mind.
Be respectful: I don't care if the context of your idea is suggestive/edgy, as long as it fits within the lore. However, if you disagree with me or another's idea, give a legitimate reason, and DO NOT attack the commenter. That is a sure fire way to get booted from the discussion, as I will not tolerate direct attacks. Legitimate reasons can include lore inconsistencies, mechanics problems, taking too much time, or something else. These don't include being too general (although specifics are heavily encouraged), just not liking the idea, that another game has had the idea, or you really hate the community it might just pander to. Throw those reasons out the window and keep an open mind. I'll admit myself that one or two of the ideas in each Drop-Box will pander to one kind of community specifically, but I can't call which ones.
With all of the rules in place, let us begin:
Today's topic: Concept DLC!
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King of the Hill:
Now, this aught to be interesting...
So, what do I mean by King of the Hill? Now people will probably associate this with the popular FPS mode involving a capture point and a group of players killing each other to be the only ones (literally) at the top of the hill. However, I had something else in mind with this idea: a Strategy DLC.
What do I mean by Strategy? "Fallout isn't a Strategy game", many of you new fans are likely saying. However, Fallout 1, 2, and Tactics were all of a turn-based style similar to Baulder's Gate, so saying Fallout has never been a strategy game is untrue. However, I mean Strategy is a different light: this is a Settlement-Focused DLC that adds a slew of new pieces to settlements, much like one of the relatively recent DLC plans currently at Bethesda. These can include a massive number of functional and ascetic objects, including more advanced versions of existing objects. It'll also include extra features that help making exactly what you want, i.e. Turret Coverage and land viability... wait, WHAT?
Yes, several new mechanics would be added to Settlements (some of which can be enabled individually, but cannot be turned off once activated for a save), such as ground stability (which can affect the maximum weight of objects that can be placed on the ground floor), groundwater density (yes, water wells are more effective over an active groundwater source), and wetness (can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on the object). This would make for more strategic use of what limited land is already available. And it would also make it a bit more difficult to take advantage of choke-points, as a real architect would. Of course, they would be disabled for those who don't want it, but those who would like a bit more realism in their builds, this is it.
And finally, the grand attraction: Sovereign.
What's this? A new Settlement? Don't we have enough of them? Well, no, but Sovereign is unique. Allow me to explain.
Sovereign is meant to be an end-game Settlement, and will likely be the last settlement you will be able to access in Fallout 4. Why? Sovereign is by far the largest piece of land available in the game, by far, dwarfing even the largest settlements. It's building max is nearly ten times your usual maximum, and is almost devoid of any clear signs of civilization. A blank slate such as this would be a builder's dream, and the regular settlement tools will not be the only things players will have access to: they will have the GECK, a device with the capacity to turn a desert devoid of life into a lush haven. With it, you can do pretty much anything, as long as you have the materials required. This is the ultimate settlement, and the best part is that the location of Sovereign is incredibly strategic, and the most balanced settlement in the game by a big margin, only settlements dedicated to a single resource able to outpace the region. There is a side effect of this wealth, however: and this is where the term King of the Hill comes into play.
Raider attacks are far more frequent in Sovereign, so building the ultimate defense is key to maintaining Sovereign. Not only is Sovereign the most strategic location in the Commonwealth, it is also the ultimate test to settlement builders, as you will have to put your skills to their best to maintain the area. Luckily, with all the fancy new toys you have access to (and from other DLC and mods), the amount of ways to build the ultimate settlement is solely for the player to explore. Oh, and strategic management of your Settlements and Settlers will be even more important in Sovereign than before, thanks to the massive increase in capacity and build space. Good luck...
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Guild of Adventurers [Temporary Name]
This is basically a companion extension/overhaul, in its most basic form.
For the more advanced form, let's go over the main feature: the Guild itself. Of course, you will notice that the name is just a placeholder. I'm not exactly the person to ask for original names, so take the name with a grain of salt. However, the function is what matters: this is a location that, once access is given to the player, is where your current and future companions will go to hang out at after reaching a certain relationship milestone (but not the highest possible, but definitely higher than neutral). It's a convenient place to find your companions than to travel to their home to find them again. Direct access to the Guild is available from every settlement (and companions available from the guild can be called upon there, and can even be assigned as settlers), and several things are open to you the moment access is given, but more features are unlocked as your reputation with the guild rises. The options available from the start is access to all of your companions from any settlement with a guild booth, access to it's many adventurers, each with unique backstories, from melancholy to outright hilarious and strange, and Opportunities, which are randomized reputation missions with payouts depending on your performance. Completed before the day is out? Bonus. Completed without any collateral damage? Bonus. Clear an entire camp without any outside assistance? Bonus. Turn in something rare? Bonus. Honestly, the amount of bonuses you could get from opportunities is astounding, and different with every mission. You can even "hire" custom companions using the Guild's "creator". Seriously, I'm compiling all of my companion-based ideas into this one DLC experience.
However, there are drawbacks. Opportunities can only appear once certain conditions are met, and many are only available after achieving certain reputation and story milestones. Others are on a random rotation of random objectives, locations, and bonuses. Also, certain companions won't join you if you have a certain karma level, and some would rather work for a more experienced adventurer, and a select few will only work with characters of a particular gender.
Bethesda's writers and designers can have a field day creating the potentially wacky characters and tragic stories, even creating some incredibly out-of-place characters for the normally tame set of companions currently in the game.
I'm not going to talk about some of the high-rep features, for I'll leave that to those who really want to talk about it. Let's just say the degree of control you have over the Guild increases as your Reputation grows.
However, the most important change is to the Companion system itself. With the massive list of potential companions that could be added to the DLC, we will need an overhauled system to take advantage of the growing number of companions. First, the number of potential companions in your party will increase to 3, creating a party of 4 total. Each companion can play off the other, depending on their views of you and your companions, with some potentially hilarious banter, and the possibility of developing each companion further.
With the increase in party size, this can change the effects of combat drastically, increasing your overall effectiveness by a large margin. So balancing will need to be done to help with this. First, enemy numbers will increase universally. It would make a two person run a bit harder, but the reward for doing such things would be incredibly satisfying. Second, enemy AI will have to be improved to take advantage of your weaknesses, and those of your companions. Have a particularly deadly melee companion? Enemies will keep their distance. Have a long-range, high-damage weapon? Enemies will duck behind cover to avoid being shot. Have a quick character that can cover ground quickly? Enemies will try to stop the character with grenades or by leading their shots. And, to really shake things up, your companions can do that too. Companions with shotguns or melee weapons will try to close the gap between them and the enemy to be the most effective. Companions with sniper rifles will find cover and time their shots with as much distance from the enemy as possible, switching to a secondary weapon if enemies are a bit too close. Medical Companions will try not to get shot, but will focus their attention on their allies to make sure they don't get heavily wounded. Companions with heavy armor will get in the way of enemies to take shots for weaker companions.
There are a ton of opportunities to take advantage of when designing the overhauled Companion system. Feel free to give your own opinions, as it is heavily encouraged on this thread.
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Alternative Wanderer:
Here is possibly one of the hardest DLC Concepts to implement into Fallout 4, if not the most time consuming, because it could require a total rework of Fallout 4's dialogue system, add entirely new voice-work, character interactions, reactions, and a whole slew of potential problems with the lore of Fallout 4 in general. However, if done correctly, it could be one of the craziest and, possibly, among the best DLC Expansions Bethesda has ever created, and easily one of the most complex. Why? Here's how:
Currently, only two origin stories exist within Fallout 4, where as previous games only had a single one. Fallout 4 has an origin story for both the Male (Harold) and Female (Sarah?) versions of the Sole Survivor, the Male being a veteran of war, and the Female being his wife. Essentially the same background in terms of a military family. Both lose Shaun to the Institute, but the spouse of the protagonist is the one to die before you are unleashed upon the wasteland. And the rest is history.
However, what if your character had a completely different backstory. Maybe he/she was just an ordinary person who ended up in Vault 111, and the family that would have been the protagonists both died in the Vault, you being the only survivor. Or, perhaps, you were never even in Vault 111 in the first place. Perhaps, even, you aren't even human. Yeah, I'm going that far.
Ghouls and Supermutants are some of the more common characters people would like to play as in a Fallout game, either as Fallout's equivalent to Vampirism in TES or as something entirely different. However, I like to go the more ridiculous route when I talk about Alternate Starts, perhaps in the realm of utter insanity in some cases. What, you thought playing a Supermutant in a Commonwealth dominated by Humans and Synths was already ridiculous? Try playing an Intelligent Deathclaw who had escaped from an Enclave Research Lab and everyone and their mothers are looking to skin your hide! Even better, you take a hint from Boris (from Fallout 2), and use a cloak to disguise your appearance. Yeah, one can dream, right? And, what do ya know, someone had the same idea I did: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/10215/?
Utter insanity...
Like with the previous entry, this is likely one of the most outlandish concepts I can currently think of, other than turning Supermutant armor into something related to mi- oh, wait...
And, as with the previous entry, the writing and design crew of Fallout 4 are going to have a creative orgism (figuratively, to be clear), or end up having Wes Johnson drag them to crazy town after a session of brainstorming some of the ridiculously creative and hilarious backstories and scenarios these possible characters will have to deal with while going through the main story (and yes, the general timeline of the main story will still be there, which will be even more hilarious). Even I can think of some really awkward interactions between Valentine and an Intelligent Deathclaw standing in the same room. Or a Supermutant. Or another Synth. Uh... okay.
If anyone has some potentially wild or interesting Alternative Protagonists, feel free to let everyone know here. Oh, and nothing offensive, please. The racial stereotypes have gotten rather old rather quickly for me...
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It's getting late for me, and having returned to this after quite awhile hasn't made my creative process any better. So final thoughts:
Although I haven't actually played Fallout 4 (finances and having only an Intel Core i7 and a Nvidia GT 740m Laptop available to me at the moment), I can guess that Bethesda has some serious bug fixing to take care of. It's almost a Bethesda Trademark to release incredibly buggy games that, otherwise, are really great games in their own right. However, the last time I've played a Bethesda title was Fallout Shelter, and the last full game I've played being Skyrim more than a year ago (I've played bits of New Vegas, but I need to do some serious mod testing to get what I want). So, in terms of what to expect in a Fallout game, the best I can give is to mention Gopher's Let's Plays and be done with it.
I'll admit, I really got into the last entry of the Concept list, and was pretty much the reason I did this in the first place. However, I'm confident that the others were pretty good on their own. Ultimately, though, the main reason I make these Drop-Boxes is to have some place for the community to pool their ideas and create some truly amazing ideas and suggestions that don't just fix issues players have with the game, but expanding on those suggestions and really pushing what is possible.
Yes, I liked Boris's concept. Don't judge me.
For Bethesda's Devs/Moderators: If you are paying attention, feel free to mention the Drop-Boxes (although I wouldn't mind if you at least just read through each one, along with every new post, because I will certainly be doing that myself). Also, if you like one of my ideas, or someone else's within the Drop-Box, feel free to get in contact with them (or even myself), or mention them in a Sticky Post on the forum. I love it when developers take community opinions and/or suggestions and make them a reality. It shows you guys really care, and are willing to go out of their way to praise members for their support. Keep it up!
Well, that's it for me. Have a good week everyone, and remember to help expand the Drop-Box with your own personal ideas. It takes awhile to get these threads set up, especially if the topic I'm working with is painful to brainstorm with. So, be easy on me. Also, remember to follow the guidelines I posted at the beginning of the post.
Good night, everyone!
