No problem! Sorry it turned into such a huge wall of text--I didn't realize exactly how long that was until I posted it.



Heh, I should have known you would already have that planned out. I actually like the idea of finding his body--it doesn't raise questions about why he wouldn't come with you now, it means you don't have to worry about his effect on the quest, and it really hits home how much damage was caused in the escape. Finding the body of someone you actually knew, rather than generic vault residents, would certainly be a bit of a punch in the gut.



Great, now I'm curious. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to wait until the mod comes out. Another reason to look forward to it!

Most of those features are present in companions by default;
- Followers already drop into sneak mode when you do, though they do tend to blow your cover. I've implemented the basic tricks to minimize this issue, so he should be able to sneak alright.
- The ability to define a custom home is a feature is something I've implemented. You can also assign custom rendezvous points, and manage where he'll go to via a radio item. The radio command "catch up" basically teleports him right to you, so that should handle the fact there's no door to get there.
- Followers have sharing by default, so you can manage anything in his inventory. I won't be providing the ability to view his stats, though his tagged skills are part of a note that's added to your PipBoy upon recruiting him.
- NPC's in FO3 (and Oblivion) are known to pick up better weapons by default if their current ones are crap, and are decent with switching based on range.



I don't mind walls of text. I'm notorious for writing them.




Thanks. And I agree, it would be a nice representation of the damage done. Of course, I can't really see the point of using the mod if all one's going to do is talk a bit in the prologue and then ignore him altogether, but I'm a stickler for seamless game integration.



It's not a for-sure thing, but if I can get the spliced voiceovers to work properly, it will be part of the reason he joins you in the first place.

Oh, that came across differently than I'd intended--I definitely agree that downloading the mod only to leave Jason behind would be more than a bit pointless! I was just thinking of people with multiple characters, some of whom might work better with a companion and some without. (And some people are sure to leave him behind one time just to see what happens... ) Sorry if I seemed to be focusing on the implications of not making use of your mod!

Okay, I have another question for consideration; the frequency of Jason's "locational comments" -- one example being the Doctor Li line in the screenshots. Basically, should I make those lines play only once, or an infinite number of times but infrequently? If I play them once I avoid repetition (and fall back on generic "hey there" and "what's up?" phrases once they're exhausted), if I play them multiple times then I increase the overall variety of his greeting dialogue. Keep in mind that the locational comments are limited in number (I've only got 6 so far).

I'm deciding between:
- Having all lines flagged as 'Say Once'; they play once in their respective areas/scenarios, and then he'll only greet you with one of his generic greetings (there are currently 7).
- Have all lines flagged as 'Say Once per Day'; you hear them once while in the area, but never again until at least the next day. You will ALWAYS hear this line first before any of the generic greetings.
- Have all lines flagged as 'Say Once per Day'; and randomized; you have a chance of hearing that line while in the respective area (but not a guaranteed chance), and it can only happen once per day.

Currently I'm leaning towards one of the latter two options; I want the player to be guaranteed to hear the lines at least once, since they are some of my better splices (I'm particularly proud of his Tenpenny Tower comment, comprised of lines from 5 different NPC's). However, some are rather specific in that they might seem a bit too repetitive, even at once-per-day in a specific location.



I didn't mean to imply anything on your part --- I was just humorously reflecting on whether or not someone actually would purposely dash through the prologue and half the main quest just to see if the loose ends would be tied up in the event that the follower wasn't recruited. But I suppose that humor and intent don't always translate well in text form. Yes, I was thinking of people with multiple characters as well. My personal policy with my mods is that if you could hypothetically take the vanilla game, add on a set of mods, and let someone who'd never played the vanilla game before try playing your modded version, and they would be unable to tell what was modded and what was Bethesda's, then I've done my job.

Well in my opinion the third option is better...

Otherwise I think it will get a little bitt annoying after a while,
that jason will say the same line every day when to pc gets to a certain place.
the "locational comments" should be rare, (in my opinion)
so pepole won't remember every time,
what jason got to say when they are getting to a certain places.

Sounds awesome, I'm not too far into my new game I could just as easily go back and restart to get him.

Thank you for answering my reply, I am totally happy with the answer

As far as your question for us, I pick the last choice ( - Have all lines flagged as 'Say Once per Day'; and randomized; you have a chance of hearing that line while in the respective area (but not a guaranteed chance), and it can only happen once per day. )

Done. Though I'll probably have to give him a test-run just to make sure that it feels "right". Either way, there are now at least 21 different ways (so far) that he can greet you -- ignoring the "waiting" greeting and a few plot-specific dialogues.

In all honesty I can't wait to get back to my desktop computer. It's a lot easier to stay motivated when I can actually SEE what I'm doing. That and I'd like to get a good foothold on the prologue-integration sequences -- might have to improvise some of the dialogue though since it's really difficult getting people like Amata to say Jason's name without requiring bits of 4 different voiceovers to pull off. Given how much I've added while basically working blind, I might consider opening up a small beta phase with just the basic follower components to make sure everything works right in that department.

Since there haven't been any objections, I've begun integrating Operation:Anchorage lines into the mod, which means that it will now require the DLC to work. Once I'm done with the core work I'll take a look back and see if there are any places where I can take advantage of O:A's other resources.

Still haven't fully made up my mind about this 3rd G.O.A.T. result, though I'm leaning towards security officer, with increased combat stats and basic first-aid as the associated benefits.

Sounds awosme...
Regarding the G.O.A.T reuslt,
security officer is good. (regarding the stats)
becuse I dont think that Jason should be loyal to the vault.
after all I don't think that jason as a security officer would come with the LW outside of the vault...

I'm sure this posted somewhere, but in your "WIP" screenshots where did you get that custom text-box?

Hmm... you have a point there. Not necessarily because Jason would be 100% loyal to the Vault, but because the Overseer would probably not accept someone who didn't have that kind of loyalty in the first place. It would kinda contradict the current backstory. Back to the drawing board then...



http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=47

Hey, how did I miss this?

That guy's hot! You seriously need to include a romance option with that one. Ohpleasepleasepleasepleaseplease! My Kara character would adore him!

I'll see about it. No promises, of course, but I did see a few lines here and there in his voicetype that might actually work well towards a romance option.

+100 Vote from me as well



*crosses fingers*

In my opinion Jason should have a svck job in the vault (like Waste Management Specialist, Laundry Cannon Operator
or something like that)
maybe because he didn't took the G.O.A.T seriously...
so the reason that jason want to leave to the vault with the LW is not only becuse the LW and jason are friends. but because both Jason got a [censored]y and boring life in the vault and both the friendship with the LW :foodndrink: ,
so Jason feel like there is nothing to lose in the vault so he decide to leave the vault with the LW

A Few Of My Wonderfull Questions xD

1. What Happens To Him For Quests That Require Your Companion To Leave Like When You get The G.E.C.K Where Would he go?

2. What Would happen If i Dont Get O:A

My Suggestions:

1. He Bribes Mr. Brotch For a Good Job?

2. He Gives Some Sort Of Freindship Item (Bracelt Or Something)

3. When You go to get the BB Gun Jason Could Come And Then Also Get a BB Gun And Say 2 RadRouches Come And He Kills one while you kill the other?

4. For Him To some sort of Crush On Amata When you are Wondering about the Wasteland He Randomly Goes "i Wonder How Amata Is Doing"
And When it comes to trouble on the homefront he is More than happy to see her


(I have not goty Edition or no addons As my computer Cannot run the Requirments But i am getting laptop tommorow And Will Start to play Just Through Normally And Cannot wait until You Realise It Also i Know nothing About This So Best of Luck)

Uploaded 3 new screenshots to the first post. Well, not exactly "new" since I took them 2 months ago, but I forgot to upload them then and, hey, who doesn't love more pointless screenshots? I'll release a video update once my desktop gets fixed, since pictures can only show so much when the main feature is the sound.



1. Assuming that I just script it to fire him for the Raven Rock sequence, he would go to either his custom home marker or the place you fired him to last (Megaton and Tenpenny Houses, etc.). DLC "mass-firing points" like in the Pitt and Point Lookout will not be supported, since I would have to mandate the use of those add-ons in order to run the mod, and I personally thought the idea was BS anyway.

2. Well, since it requires the O:A add-on, your game would crash at start-up if you tried to load it without O:A loaded as well. Sorry about that, but I do have limitations with splicing voice files, and whatever makes my job easier I'll go for.





I wasn't really planning on making Jason into a total slouch -- my current concept of him is that he actually is pretty hard working and honest, if only because he's got a hard-working and honest father to live up to. Giving him a crap job beecause he didn't take the G.O.A.T. seriously would be kind've fun, but I would have to scrap my current concepts of how the G.O.A.T. result affects the overall companion. Still, it's something to consider.



TBH, that seems a bit too repetitive considering that Butch has the same reasons for leaving the Vault (minus friendship, of course). I've already got the backstory and related events in the prologue planned out, including his motivations to leave the Vault. Once he's outside the Vault he follows the LW because he becomes a bit clingy once exposed to a hostile, alien environment, but his reasons for leaving in the first place don't entirely deal with the LW. I don't really know if I should spoil the current story since that is one of the main things to discuss with him, but suffice to say that the Overseer doesn't really like his family. At all.



TBH, I think the scene functions well enough with just the player, Dad, and Jonas. Not to mention it would kinda cheapen the worth of the BB Gun present if some kid comes up 5 seconds later and points out that he has one too.



I'm not exactly far enough along to implement this yet, but Jason won't be returning into the Vault during "Trouble on the Homefront". He can be discussed at a few key moments, but he has no desire to actually re-enter. As for whether or not he'd crush on Amata... that remains to be seen.

Sounds good...

So how progress is going ?

A lot faster now that I'm back on my desktop.

Still haven't really been implementing the Vault sequences (and TBH, I probably won't for a while because developing main companion content is WAAYYY more fun ), but I will say that I have exceeded over 250 lines of dialogue so far on Jason's companion dialogue -- that are fully implemented and voiced, that is. Mostly just working on more detailed companion features right now -- I'd hate to go spoiling all of them, but I will say one is a new medical system, where you can treat his injuries with your own medicine skill or find someone with the required expertise (vanilla doctors, plus Moira, Dad, and Doctor Li since they qualify via plot) to do so for you. This would be for both combat injuries and plot-specific ailments, plus an attempt to just add more immersion overall to the character.

Edit: Oh, one thing I just finished implementing. Unlike Cross, who whines and moans about how she'll leave you if you do something bad but never does anything, Jason actually WILL leave if you prove yourself a very sociopathic person. Permanently. Bear in mind that it's not karma related (the way the system works, you'd be considered Satan himself if you stole enough discarded pencils), it's doing something that's just pure EVIL in a quest, and those options should be pretty obvious. It's just more of a common sense thing; I know that I certainly wouldn't be willing to tag along after my friend if he's guilty of blowing up entire towns for money or selling children into slavery. Unprovoked killing will bother him, but it's nothing something he'll strongly object to, especially after "hardening" his personality to accept it.

BTW, I will still be providing home support for Tenpenny Tower, but you'll have to acquire the suite by other means --- either cheating or using a mod so that you can purchase it.

This is looking like it'll be really good. Can't wait for it to be released!

I want this. I loved your Sydney.

So you're actually recording new lines for the dialogue or just splicing stuff from elsewhere?

Splicing from Maleadvlt04, which is the voice for Billy Creel, Ted Strayer, etc. Trying to keep it within a suitable range --- nothing too laid back (Strayer) or high-pitched (Sticky). It's been quite an undertaking, and some lines are comprised of bits from as many as 4 different NPC's -- rather seamlessly, I might add.

I can also say this is the LAST (and FIRST) follower I make that uses vanilla voicework and is a new NPC. Too much work. After this it's either vanilla NPC's or custom voicework.

Madness. I'd have thought you'd just do some recording. It's pretty simple to just talk into Audacity then hit Normalize and export as ogg/wav. Has to be easier than listening to all of ted strayer's dialogue a dozen times ^^

Maybe, but it's fun madness as long as I'm just randomly combing through lines instead of desperately trying to throw something together to accomodate one line.

Plus I can manipulate the player dialogue to solve what I can't splice. For example, there's no instance of 'Psycho' or 'Med-X' to be found, so I have him simply I say "I need more chems". Since that line's based on setting his Med-X or Psycho usage in the tactics, it's reasonable that the player would know what kind he was talking about, and it'd be reflected in the options. AKA: "If you're burning through the Psycho that fast, maybe you should lay off of it for a while" or "Here, I've got a few extra doses of Med-X you can use", etc.

Besides, my voice is not in the slightest bit suitable for the character. Nor my roommate's or anyone's voice whose readily available that I know of. I can inject maybe a minor character into the mod with my voice (especially for the eventual quest component), but I'm not going to force the player to listen to 300+ lines of me talking.

Cool...

It would be awosme if you could make Jason use stimpacks,and apply stimpacks to to the PC if the PC has low health and jason have some in his possessions and he doesn't have low health.