[Open BETA] Solar Scorcher : Fallout 3

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:12 am

Return to Vault 13: The Solar Scorcher
Travel through the Guardian of Forever gateway back to vault 13 and find the fabled solar scorcher weapon!

by WillieSea
version b0.4 - 07/31/2010

BETA v0.4 Download:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ng9msz

Screen Shots
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher001.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher002.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher003.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher004.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher005.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher006.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher007.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher008.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher009.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher011.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher012.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher013.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher014.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/WillieSea/SolarScorcher/SolarScorcher015.jpg

History
The Guardian of Forever is a special encounter in Fallout 2. It is a giant time portal which lets the Chosen One travel back in time before the start of Fallout 1 to break the water chip in Vault 13. This is how Fallout 1 starts, with the chosen one looking for a new water chip.

Vault 13 in this encounter was limited to where the player could go and there also were no vault inhabitants. It was like an 'alternate dimension' vault 13, not the real thing. I took some artistic liberty in my recreation but mostly followed the original layout of vault 13.
The 'Guardian of Forever' is a reference to the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever".

Requirements
- Fallout 3

Story
Wandering down a lonely broken road, lights ahead catch your attention. You see a line of streetlights leading up to a lighted building. Managing to sneak your way in, you come across a strange looking gateway and a voice booms out...

Reward?
You find the solar powered 'Solar Scorcher' weapon. It will only recharge in daylight, so you must be outside and have it equipped.
There are also vault 13 suits and security armor.

Known Issues and Caution
Not compatible with v1.5.
It is compatible with v1.6 or above.

Starting the Mod
Head towards the Fairfax ruins and look around for an illuminated and protected building. Find the entrance key in the parking lot in order to activate the card reader to get in.

CREDITS
WillieSea - Entire mod
Solar Scorcher weapon - Initial design by Madcat221, finished up by falcon8204 with final touch up fixes by DaMage. Texture by WillieSea

And most importantly to:
Bethesda for the game and construction set.

Play Testers
* WillieSea
*

Legal and Permissions
* When this mod is in Beta test nothing can be resued or copied from this mod.

Version History
Version 0.1 - 07/27/2010 First Beta

* * SPOILERS * *
If you need them, look at the bottom of the readme file in the download archive.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:31 am

The gun has a yellow beam, the only yellow beam in the game.
The gun only recharges during daylight hours and you are outside. You must also have it equipped for a faster charge rate. Otherwise it will take forever to charge.

The Receptionist terminal can be used (after you get the weapon) to upgrade the weapon if you wish, or to set the maximum number of charges the guns capacitors will hold. The upgrades are dependent on your current level. Level 10, 20 and 30 will allow different, more powerful versions of the gun, if you wish.

FOR THE BETA TESTERS!

Please let me know of any conflicts or issues with the mod.
I will assume right now that it conflicts with the mod that 'lights up' the wasteland with lighted streetlights.

If you are going to tell me something you don't like, please also tell me something you did like.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:39 am

All right, downloading now. It'll probably be later in the morning before I give you a full run-down on my testing. This time, I'm going to try and track down every bug I even suspect might exist.

:EDIT:

Willie...That. Was. AMAZING.

Near flawless execution! There's only a couple minor things I'd mention, if you feel the need to nitpick. I'm going to wrap it all in spoiler tags so that I won't give any of the fun away.

Spoiler

First I noticed the Guardian of Forever liked to repeat his line whenever you walk back in front of him. Probably 'cause you used a trigger box, maybe? Anyways, after that - when you activate the control panel, all electrical hell breaks loose, exactly as planned. Then, if you activate it again, it does the shock thing again. Supposed to?

The first deathclaw...was he supposed to run across the hall, and disappear? Because he ate a bug and then tried to eat me. Unfortunately for him I was packing 12 gauge.

After that, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The elevator was pretty wicked, as were the automatic doors (is that a simple script, per chance? I'd like to get one like it) . The weapons and armour lockers were so decked out with gear it's not even funny. You may want to tweak with that. I got spawns upwards of fifty grenades from one cabinet. Also, wasteland armours spawned in some of the cabinets.

The Solar Scorcher is epic! Purty yeller beam, recharges itself...too bad my energy guns skill isn't that high. I did notice a faint lag from what I assume to be the script firing. It was periodic, sometimes more laggy than others, sometimes not at all. My rig isn't the best, either, so I could attribute it to that. The gun works as advertised, though.

Also - one last, teeny, tiny detail I noticed : when you pop back out, you can still hear The Guardian's humming noise, even though he's not supposed to exist anymore. (Also, and this isn't your doing, The Guardian's voice file is a bit grainy. Hard to make out what he's saying.)

And that about wraps it up, as far as reports go. You have done most excellent work.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:22 am

Awesome! Thanks for the report.

Spoiler

Most of what you asked about was done on purpose, the repeating Guardian sounds. I wanted it to talk when you approached. And yes, activating the control panel again causes a dire shock to you again. I wanted this for those who can't help themselves in playing with a shorted out panel.

Yes, I wanted the eerieness of the deathclaw flashing by in your vision as the elevator door opens. I planed this very carefully.

The automatic doors are a bit complex as I have them. It takes into account other entities leaving the door trigger zone and only tries to work off closing when the player leaves its vicinity. If you throw a weapon into its trigger zone, it will open, then close as it falls to the floor, out of the trigger zone.

Not sure what 'lag' you mean on the weapon. I am not using 'huge' textures, so that should not be the problem.

:lol: I will get the hum fixed, thanks! And yeah, unless I get a new recording of the guardian sound, it will be 'grainy'. That is why I let you hear it again when you move away and then back towards the gateway.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:22 pm

Finally out! Downloading... Will report my experience soon.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:04 pm

Nice one. A little bit short for my taste but maybe I played already to much Fallout 3. Love your solutions for rewarding the player they fit very well.

Only some minor things I noticed after the first play through:

Spoiler

Vault13 armors are not repairable? And the 77 shines through at the vault suit (normal or glowing map maybe?).

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:51 am

I downloaded it last night, but it was getting too late for me to do anything else with it. I'll get it installed and try it out this evening, and let you know how it works out.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:47 am

Deleted - double post.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:16 pm

Alright, just finished testing out the Solar Scorcher and I must say that I'm VERY impressed. Some notes:

Spoiler

- The amount of Weapons and Armor was just ridiculous. I say that you should tone it down a few notches.
- I died in the cavern part in the most unfortunate way: as the Deathclaws were closing in on me, I tried step back but the automatic door closed. They tore me to shreds. Any way of doing something about that?
- The porm part was an awesome touch

- The Solar Scorcher is way overpowered. It did 75 damage while A3-21's Rifle did 47. Add the fact that it's a laser beam (meaning immediate hit), recharging ammo and the fire effect and you have one overpowered weapon. I think that the damage should be around the low 30s or high 20s.
- How about you contact the maker of EVE and make a special critical death animation for the Solar Scorcher? Maybe the enemy will have light coming out of him and then explode?

Amazing mod! Totally worth the wait!

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:41 am

Downloading as I type this. I didn't read any of the spoilers, but after I test out this mod, I will be sure to read the spoilers so I don't double post an issue (but I will say "confirmed" if I ran into the same issue. I look forward to this

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:46 am

@sesom - Its much longer than the original special encounter from Fallout 2.

I will get the textures fixed as well, its probably the normal map. :thumbsup:

@EliteKill -

Spoiler

Yeah, I need to work on the 'equipment' a bit. Its a 'sealed' vault so it would not have suffered the ransacking that has been going on for the last 200 years, so you should expect more equipment than you normally see. You are under no obligation to take it all, just the best of what you can carry. Now, if you have cheat mods so you can carry more, then its your choice to carry all that stuff.
- The door will close when you move away from it. If you move towards it while its closing, it must still finish closing before it can open again, which it will do. You just got unlucky.
- There is no porm in this mod.
- I was still playing with the weapon model 'power' and will be lowering the Mk 1 to around '20'. The other models will go up significantly from there.
- I am not familiar with 'EVE'. A death animation would be neat, but the flaming works too.

I look forward to more comments to come!

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:36 am

@EliteKill
- There is no porm in this mod.
I mean the computer log where the guy rants about replacing the PC because someone downloaded porm. Cracked me up XD
- I am not familiar with 'EVE'. A death animation would be neat, but the flaming works too.[/spoiler]
EVE (Energy Visuals Enhanced) is a mod that adds a crapton of critical death animation for Energy Weapons. I though that a few or the Solar Scorcher would be awesome. You need to see the mod to understand its awesomeness.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:53 am

(Just please don't make EVE a requirement or anything like that --- while I certainly understand that many people love that mod, others find it a bit too envasive in what it changes, and do not care for several of the changes that it makes)

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:02 pm

'If' I use any resources from another mod, it will be a copy into my mod. I do not like to make my mods dependant on anything other than FO3 or possibly the DLC.
So, no worries.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:46 am

'If' I use any resources from another mod, it will be a copy into my mod. I do not like to make my mods dependant on anything other than FO3 or possibly the DLC.
So, no worries.

One of the many reasons why I like you, Willie.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:29 am

Hey, I tested it out. Only thing I noticed is that it's incompatible with CEI(Caesarrulez Excessive Interiors). The building you use is the building he uses for the raider HQ. Other then that, it was fine. I enjoyed it, and I like the Solar Scorcher. A little overpowered right now, but you already know that.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:34 pm

I'm going to test it out for you, Willie. I'll post back with results in a bit.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:26 am

Testings is: Fun, few problems that I noticed, and there were some parts I don't understand.

Spoiler

First off, yes, I don't know if it's from this mod, but I located another perk, the name of which escapes me right now. Something about licking batteries and gaining energy cells from bots.]
Second: I rather enjoyed this quest. I spent a while searching for the key to the solar scorcher, but found that the vents sometimes hold ammo, which was cool IMO.
Third, I kinda remember hearing of the ability to upgrade the weapon, but I don't remember how it's done.
Forth: Very fun, and I wouldn't mind doing it again. Of course, the 100+ frag grenades I hauled out might complain a bit.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:29 am

@YX33A

Spoiler

First off, there are no perks in this mod. None at all...
Second: Yeah, in the original fallout games, there were some 'vents' with energy cells in it. (Rattle, Rattle) :lol:

Third, The Receptionist terminal can be used 'after' you get the weapon for upgrades. I have already made this a better menu and you will be able to see it with the updated beta later this week.
Fourth, I will be adjusting the contents of the lockers.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:05 pm

Hey Willie! I've downloaded the mod to test, because I definitely didn't download it because I'm impatient and want an awesome weapon (DISCLAMER: I totally downloaded it because I'm impatient and want an awesome weapon

)

So far, I've found three oddities:

Spoiler

1. When I activated the security door to the building, and didn't have the keycard, a message came up about "the gas pressure not being high enough," or something like that. To be fair, I *did* repair a gas main near a Fairfax building... but I still shouldn't be getting that message, methinks

2. In the main room of the building (The level above the Guardian of Forever), I found several boxes bunched up in the corner. Some boxes were clipping into the wall... but, again, this may be my fault, as I was tossing grenades like crazy to try to kill the turret.

3 (And I'm certain this isn't my fault): In Vault 13, there's a wall-mounted first aid kit that seems to be off-center. The kit is attached to the doorframe that leads to the Elevator.

This is really awesome, by the way. I'm not done with it, so I'll report things as I find them... and I'll try to post images.

OT: Does anyone know of a free-image hosting site? After all, a picture says a thousand words... and saves me from having to type

EDIT: Hoo boy... I may have a bit of a problem... It seems I've somehow sequence broke.

Spoiler

Looking at the readme, it says that you need to fiddle with a console to short out the wires and open the medical bay. I never did that... and can get in the medical wing anyway. I'm gonna try to see if I can fix this, or if I'm just losing my mind. Will update when I have a better grasp of the situation.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:59 pm

OT: Does anyone know of a free-image hosting site? After all, a picture says a thousand words... and saves me from having to type

Hi EruditeDragon!

I use ImageShack for all my pic sharing needs.

:) llama

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:15 am

@EruditeDragon -

Spoiler

1.

I just changed that message not remembering it was used by the card reader as well. I just made two new messages for the key card reader.
2. Yeah, I will have to move the milk crates further from the wall, and havoc them.
3. Moved the kit. :thumbsup:
4. When I redid the automatic door trigger zone, I forgot to add that requirement! :lol:

Its fixed now.

I use Photobucket. Its free.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:16 am

This'll be great. Ill test it later.
On another note, look up " Energy Visuals Enhanced " On FO3nexus, it is a very nice mod.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:45 am

Just finished it up and got the Scorcher - Bravo!!!! :tops: :clap: Terrific mod and a great little quest.

Most of the issues I noticed with it have been mentioned, but I did notice a couple of other very minor things -

Spoiler

When I destroyed the turret on the south side of the building, I lost 20 karma points - I had not aggro'd it, though. Destroying the other two turrets didn't cause a karma loss - I did aggro the one on the north side, but not the one on the east side.
I was able to pick up the teddy bear in the baby carriage on the east side of the building, but not the rattle. I got a Take message, but the item label was blank and I could not pick the rattle up.

A couple of observations on issues already raised -

Spoiler

The amount of loot in the vault was incredible, as has been previously mentioned. However, you may want to leave it in, since you apparently get only one trip through the Guardian to the vault. That would force the player to travel light to WillieSea Research, and choose what loot he/she really wants to take.
I was also able to access the medical room before shorting out the vault door panel. However, the elevator didn't work until I shorted out the panel. You may be able to go with this, just fix the spoiler in the readme. (BTW, I only used the spoiler to find the key to the building - everything else I figured out on my own).
FYI, I have MMM installed, and I had three Deathclaws spawn in the final cavern. Two were small ones, one was a full sized one. I'm using Increased Spawns (1 -3) and the lowest Soft Unleveling setting. My character is Level 19.

I took a bunch of screenies - here are some of them.

http://i30.tinypic.com/6j0f42.jpg (Thanks for the Trekker homage - it looks fantastic!)
(ETA - just noticed the pipes clipping through the Guardian at the top).
http://i31.tinypic.com/jihnq1.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/fkti8m.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/2wmoq2s.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/s5eruv.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/2qv5jlz.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/33l313p.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/6sa0p0.jpg (Fantastic work on the texture and model - it is a very nice looking weapon).
http://i32.tinypic.com/25s3j2r.jpg (FYI, my EW skill is in the high 60's - low 70's range).
http://i29.tinypic.com/2yuk4gm.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/2cfpi4z.jpg (As you can see, the mod works just fine with the streetlights mod).
http://i25.tinypic.com/242shhl.jpg (He was at medium range - two or three shot kill. By then I had upgraded to the Mark III Scorcher).
http://i28.tinypic.com/25z777q.jpg
http://i32.tinypic.com/qyfog8.jpg (These guys were one shot insta-kills at close to medium range with the upgraded Scorcher - it's damage is rated at 103 with my EW skill and perks).

I'll keep testing it and report any other issues that pop up. And I'll let you know how it works on the denizens of Point Lookout - I'll be going there in the next day or two.

Again, thanks to you, Madcat221, falcon 8204 and DaMage for a great mod!

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:08 am

I've messed around with EVE a bit and here's what I got and made a critical death animation. What it does is on impact, the enemy bursts into flames and the body is sent flying. The bones, on the other hand, stay in place (if it's a human/ghoul/super mutant). It's awesome, requires EVE, and I'll have a video up soon (damn long processing time on YouTube).

EDIT: Video is up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_8rbJLt54w