Friday 31 August 2012

Updated Credits List

I've updated the Credits list on the mod page at the Nexus. It's not on the description page, there is a separate button for displaying credits on the site. Here is the revised version of the credits, for anyone interested. If you were involved in the project, and you think the list should be edited it some way, just let me know.

------------------------

MODDERS:

RJHelms84 - Project Director, Lead Programmer, Lead Writer, and level designer. Did most of the programming for the mod, basically everywhere except Boulder Underground and the Ranger Station. Also wrote the main quest line, a lot of the sidequests, and most of the dialogue. Did a lot of the level designing as well, such as Boulder Mountain Park, The Colorado Wastes, Outer Boulder, The Brain Center, The BOS base, and the outer boundaries and Crawler for Nellis Airplane Graveyard, as well as various other interiors. Also did Blender work, such as creating animations like haunted books and Oran Utan idles, and getting new models game-ready. Also did a small amount of voice acting.

MontyBrad - Lead Level Designer. Created the level designs for Nova Industries and the smaller areas that surround it, as well as all the Death Fall Caves. Also did a lot of work on Inner and Outer Boulder, the Airplane Graveyard, as well as improvements to Boulder Mountain Park. Also created the Control Level interiors for the Dome, and made improvements to the other areas of the Dome as well.

KazFoxsen - Programmer, Writer, Modeller and Texture Artist. Wrote, designed and programmed the Deadpan companion, as well as the various characters and quests of Underground Boulder. Also created the characters of the Ranger Station: Cricket and Mu. Also created the Caroline vendor and co. Also created new posters and small misc items and apparel, such as Deadpan's hat, egg figurines, and notably the large stage curtain and texture in Underground Boulder. Also did some voice acting.

Xenoo - Lead 3d Modeller. Modelled and textured the Environmental Armor, both the Death Squad armors, and the Mutant Cannibal. Also created the Disintegrator Canon, the Compact Gauss Rifle, and the VBR pistol.

Ionis - Level designer. Created the Rogue Ghoul Camp, the underground military compound where the ants are, did most of the work on Nellis Airplane Graveyard, made a lot of improvements to Boulder Mountain Park and Outer Boulder, created the Engine Levels of the Dome, as well as the outside area to the Brain Center. Also created the level designing for Underground Boulder, and the connected outside area that leads to the Dome's second entrance. Also created the custom albino textures for the ants. Also set up the scripting for the gladiator battle in the Dome's engineering section.

MikeHancho - Level designer. Created ALL the interiors of Inner Boulder (aside from the Dead Factory stuff), as well as Harcort Positronics in Outer Boulder. Also scripted the ghosts and the accompanying mission.

Crawlius - Sound FX Expert and Voice Actor. Created all of the custom Sound FX, for things like the elevator, the cryo chambers, the new weapons, and more. Also the voice of Elder Guile.

DrakeElvin - Programmer / Companion Creator. Created the Kate companion and handled most of her programming. Also programmed the basic companion functions that Deadpan was built upon.

DonKnotts - Texture Artist. Created the clean Dome textures, as well as custom pieces exclusive to BBD. Created the outer models for the Dome, and various other textures, like the textures for Deadpan's Cane.

NateNeurotic - 3d Modeller and Texture Artist. Created all the Chimps and the Orang Utan, including Lester. Created the Mutant Cats.

AlexanderJVelicky - Level Designer. Created the Inner Boulder worldspace.

Ozren Fuerst - 3d Modeller and Texture Artist. Created the Dome Suit.

Kanoba - Level Designer. Created the Mobile Base Crawler interiors.

Riven1978 - Mash-up Artist and Rigger.

Moburma - Programmer. Handled bug-fixes for our early Beta release, while RJHelms84 was away.

Quetzlsacatanango - Rigger and Mash-up Artist. Rigged Lester in particular and various other models.

se7enraven - 3d Modeller and Texture Artist. Created various items, such as the Poster Stands.

commander_tak - Created the BBD official logo image.

G33k3dGam3r - 3d Modeller. Created Deadpan's cane, as well as other models.

Werne - 3d Modeller.

dragbody - Rigger. Worked on Death Squad Armors, the Dome Suit, and more.

Kuroitsune - Expert Programmer. Merged the mod's previous two esm's into one.


Supporting Writers:
Jathis
Bdthemag
ComfortablyBum
Roslin Thelso
Sarra Rohr

Posters Only:
Nathan Skaggs
Katie Daysh


Very difficult to remember everyone involved and any free resources we've used, so if I've missed anyone out, please let me know, and I'll update these credits asap! -R

Used a truck by Hengebobs STvehiclesResource mod.
Used an elevator from SpeedyB64's Speedy Resources mod.
Night sky by Vurt, from Vurts Dramatic Night Skies mod.

ACTORS:

Crawlius - Elder Guile
Jason Steele - Captain Despot and Doctor Field + others
Winston Romanoff - Doctor Harold Johnson
Nile Zam Jones - Deadpan Companion + others
Kristyn Yearington - Kate Companion, Cricket + others
Don Graham - Sentinel Grant, Initiate Young + others
Pippa Winslow - Sarah Johnson, Mu
Larry Bailey - Doctor Savant, Bliven + others
Berkeley Pickell - Lester, Metalhead Bashers and Crushers
Brandi Harnish - Connie, Bree + others
Kris Roberson - Doctor Fabler, Scribe Elington
Kevin Powe - Edison Blake
Dan Conlin - Mickey + others
Jean-Gobert De Coster - Doctor Franko
Matty Smith - Officer Andre
Brian Post - Neil

Quentin Yung
Daniel Bernardi
Phil Schinbein
Mark Stenhouse
Edward Ashley
Nathanial Jacobs
Kurtis Young
Marie K
Jamaal Ephriam
Mike Wagner
Marcus Noble
Daniel Hill
Suzanne Rose
Rachel Eckensviller
Beccy Henderson
Sarah Slaughter
Nudge and XIII
Nick Taber
Robert J. O’Melia
Kaz Foxsen
Andrew Chung


MUSIC

MontyBrad
Peter J. Kaszyk III

VIDEOS:
Unoctium

Cubemaps used by weijiesen

FONTS:
"Forque" and "Snickles" fonts by Tup Wanders.
"Old Standard" by Alexey Kryukov.
"Becker Black NF" by Nick's Fonts
"Noodle Script" by Dave Bastian
"Handserif" by 5inq.

Programs:
Audacity, WavePad (converting), Meow MultiSound (converting), GIMP, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Blender
Geck, Nifskope, FNVEdit, FOMM, the Conformulator, TES Construction Set (lip synch)
Maya, 3ds Max.

Once again, I did my best to make this credits list accurate, but if I've missed you out, then please let me know, and I'll update this asap. I'll also improve this list, and add more details/links for various team members, when I get chance. -R

Beta Version 0.82

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/46907

Just added a new update file (0.82) to fix the Nova Drainage corrupted cell of doom. Somehow the cell got corrupted during file merges or something. All I had to do was create a new copy of the cell and that worked a treat, thankfully! Never seen a bug like that before!

If you already have version 0.8 or 0.81, then you only need to extract the esm file from the 0.82 archive. Otherwise, follow the instructions in the Readme file.


-Rob

Thursday 30 August 2012

Endless Walkers?






Endless Walkers to feature in the wastelands of Colorado?


"The Endless Walk is the punishment in which a ghoul is stripped of every worldly possession, including clothing, and sent marching into the wasteland. No ghoul has ever come back from the Endless Walk.

On those rare occasions when one survives more than one year in the wasteland, they turn into wandering, voracious creatures on an endless quest for flesh. Due to their prolonged, open exposure to the desert sun, high radiation, and other hardships of the wasteland, these unfortunate ghouls, who were banished naked, look like walking, sun bleached chunks of beef jerky. Their constant exposure to the hot sun and high levels of radiation has caused their skin to toughen into natural, hardened leather, but at the same time, their brains have been completely cooked.

Endless walkers who have been in the wastes for so long become creatures of instinct and will attack anything that moves in a vain effort to quench an appetite that can never be quenched. Also, their skin is very tough and they strike with their claw-like hands with surprising quickness. Fortunately, endless walkers do not travel in groups. In fact, it is a rare occasion when someone comes across one, though most who travel this side of the wasteland like to keep their distance from the ravenous creatures. Though encounters with Endless Walkers are rare, when someone does encounter them, they are assured to never forget the encounter, if they survive."


--Info taken from http://fallout.wikia.com
--Sketches by Payton Quinn

Beta Version 0.81

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/46907

Just added a new update file (v0.81) which fixes and improves the weather/sky/fog. It fixes the issue of black clouds sometimes appearing. If you already downloaded the 0.8 version, then you only need the esm file from this archive. If in doubt, just extract everything from the update and overwrite when it asks.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Beta Version 0.8 is Released

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/46907

The new update has been released, that includes many bug-fixes and improvements, and also combines the two esm files into one, thanks to the work of Kuroitsune. Here is a list of some of the changes:


- Two esm files merged into one
- Main quest endings improved.
- Dialogue corrections
- Missing voice audio files added
- Mobile Base Crawler easier to navigate
- Missing quest markers added
- Fixed quest marker error for opening quest
- Fixed Kate errors, such as her appearing at the Lucky 38
- Fixed recurring pop-up bug with gasoline and ignition key messages
- Fixed various texture problems
- Added new quest markers
- Fixed various quest marker errors
- The Last Resort quest marker bugs fixed
- Various cosmetic fixes, such as holes in landscape, floating cans, etc
- Vanilla companions are fired automatically before player arrives in Colorado
- Elite Death Squad helmet added to Scylla's guard booth, outside Nova
- Added C4 to Sentinel Grant's inventory
- Removed door sounds from various cave entrances
- Added activation text overrides where appropriate
- New lines added for the Boulder Zax

-And many more changes.

And some more change-lists, from KazFoxsen:



MISC

Fixed hydrant angles corrected
Replaced remaining Searchlight fire engines with Boulder ones
Replaced radios playing Mr. New Vegas with the generic station
Fixed hole in canyon of Boulder Park
Bionics Personnel door can now be removed by Super Sledge, Chainsaw, and Hatchet.
Caroline carries more rare weapons and caps. She carries some ammo (including some armor piercing 556mm) and a small amount of chems, food, drinks, and med supplies. If using an old save, some types of item won’t appear until the container respawns.
Fixed Caroline’s trading quest so it relies on the player returning to her with news, rather than a timer. Makes it clear that the player can trade with Boulder after.

COMPANIONS
Kate now has companion ammo and non-playable weapons.
Fixed glitches to Deadpan and Lenore’s health when hired together. This also got rid of the bug that made DP nearly invincible.
If the player convinces DP to move on and leave the ghoul cat behind, he’ll gain the Show Must Go On perk upgrade, which improves Writer’s Block (PC gains 75% base health, while DP only loses 25%). Lenore and corpse will both disappear once player leaves Catacombs.
Clarified some dialog when DP finds Lenore (will further clarify when voice files are done)
DP will retell cat story if player asks, even after Cat’s in the Crater quest is completed.
During cat story, player can no longer suggest that Lenore could be a ghoul if DP has found corpse.
DP will force greet player near entrance to town to show that he is recruitable.
DP now performs a short idle when told to follow again to interrupt his reading idle (w/o that, he continues to read, sliding around after the player!)
Gave DP more animations during his story.

FERAL TRADE
Listening to Cricket’s back door first will no longer start Feral Trade quest, but if the player does it, allows option to tell Franko right away.
Fixed the ferals not following Mu problem with a compromise. They follow her out the door, and all three are teleported to end location (to avoid issue where ferals get stuck on stairs and drop ai packages), then Mu follows a patrol path back to the Ranger Station.
Fixed fail conditions for Feral Trade. It fails when PC kills both Cricket and Franko, attacks Franko or Young before confronting Cricket, or attacks Franko or Young while luring Cricket to trap (Cricket and Mu, not knowing Franko is bad, will turn hostile to PC)
If Cricket is lured into a trap, Mu now follows like she should, Cricket yells again and plays an idle when Mu is killed, and once the scene ends, the Ranger Station shows evidence of having been raided of ferals (Bob has gone home, and Alice was vaporized in a struggle).
Improved Feral Trade objectives
Added map marker to Ranger Station
After quest ends, the deathclaw in the cave will be enabled if it hasn’t already
Removed scripts from dead versions of Franko and Young (in cave), so if their bodies are struck while fighting deathclaw, it won’t fail a bunch of BOS quests.

BOULDER UNDERGROUND
Added map marker to Boulder cave
Moved chair near stage down so it doesn’t float
The corpses of invaders and Andre will disappear after a day. I’ll fix the other townspeople to disappear in a future update. In Andre’s case, his hat and key will appear on his desk if he hasn’t been looted by that time.
Fat Cat and Night Light will no longer attack each other.
Andre now gives the player C-4 to blow up shrine instead of relying on timer. Dialog needs re-recording.
Reputation messages are now displayed
Designated “Andre’s Cabinet” as new hiding place for log book and replaced fake First-Aid box with normal one.
After talking to Andre about Firefly, a countdown begins. If Renato isn’t killed and the Boulder map stolen within 2 days, a mess of death squad soldiers will appear in the town.
If Connie is exiled, she’ll appear as an enemy in Inner Boulder.
Enabled extra speech option to confront Firefly if Player has heard Renato’s plans.
Player can now ask Firefly about Dullahan with all but very low Charisma.
If player starts Connie’s prank, the deathclaw in the cave with the eggs is enabled.

Sunday 26 August 2012

A Great Review

Thought I would share this review I recently received via email. I thought it was particularly well written, showing both positive and negative aspects of Beyond Boulder Dome. -Rob


Review and Critique of "Beyond Boulder Dome" (version 0.7; hardcore mode)
by Michael Andre-Driussi (a.k.a. "MisterSirius" at Nexus) 24 AUG 2012



"In my opinion, this mod is solidly in the class of official Fallout DLC. Some DLC are better than others, and while we don't always agree on which, I find "Beyond Boulder Dome" to be in the middle range, better than the weaker DLC, and occasionally it breaks through into superior territory.

Two cases of its superior quality stick out in my mind. First was Deadfall Cave. I came through the first time trying to find a way to the NCR base (rather than on the manhunt portion of Monster Blood 2). The area design struck me as being very intriguing, with a lot of mood, and the danger of falling into a very deep pit. It was like something from Gustave Dore'.

The second case was a sequence of play at Inner Boulder. I visited the Toy Store, which was very satisfying. Then I went over to Nova Industries, where a sniper killed the gatehouse guard, starting off an incredible run to find a secret back entrance. As I was playing Hardcore mode with the Jsawyer mod, my fatigue level became an ongoing struggle, adding to the challenge. (I used up my Coyote Tobacco Chew and kept looking for a Nuka!) The secret entrance adventure then led to the "race the radiation" adventure inside the factory. Great stuff.

The premise of the two groups both having a different technique to deal with the harsh radiation seems especially strong. The BOS uses robotized ghouls (similar to the control helmets used by the Enclave on deathclaws in Fo3); the NCR uses ghoulified soldiers (similar to forced "dip into FEV" used by the Master in Fo1). Both techniques are creepy, yet both rise naturally from the source material. Well done!

Overall I found the mod to be as rich, engaging, and professionally crafted as a solid DLC, with a few bursts of even higher quality. The voice acting was very good. The death cage match sequence in the Boulder Dome was very exciting, and in hindsight I suspect it is a sly reference to the gladiator combat in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."

On the other hand, I will now detail the bits that struck me as weak.

AIRPLANE GRAVEYARD ADVENTURE

The airplane graveyard adventure at the opening felt weak to me. The landscape was incredible, but the scenario itself seemed so improbable to me (Chinese forces on the ground in Nevada? Combatants locked in battle for hundreds of years?) that it seemed more like a parable about the absurdity of war set in a "weird valley" that time forgot. With a few changes the scenario might work as a "weird Western" (the Blue and the Gray still fighting), or a generic fantasy story a la Conan (remnants of extinct empires still fighting), or something set on Barsoom, but as it stands it didn't quite fit for me within the Fallout franchise. That is, the Chinese presence in Fo2 are all descendants from a Chinese sub; the Chinese presence in Fo3 are all ghoulified spies (and terrorists and urban guerilla commandos) at the nation's capital, and regular soldiers holding Alaska in the VR simulation "Operation: Anchorage."

I can appreciate how this opening adventure might act as an overture to the entire mod, by suggesting that a peaceful solution can be found to Boulder Dome just as it was found for the ancient combatants. That seems like a solid Fallout type of fake-out, and I approve of that aspect.

While the voice acting in this opening adventure was good, there were some points where I felt there was too much talking. The back and forth between the crazy leader and the sidekick was a technical marvel, but it also dragged on for me, becoming like a tedious cut scene. This temptation for characters to speechify crept up again later, and it seemed like there were odd breaks in a speech because program limitations were being ignored. (I don't recall this happening in any DLC or main game, where a character talked on without prompting for multiple screens, but maybe my memory is faulty.) Again it felt to me like "too much talking," and I think it would be stronger if the writing could be tightened up enough that each speech unit would fit on one "postcard" screen.

WHITE ANT DUNGEON

This is an excellent maze. The white ants are great--it is fitting that they have a poisonous bite, which found use for my snake-bite tourniquet and all the anti-venoms I had acquired in journeys across the Wasteland.

But the story-logic applied to the dungeon leaves me scratching my head. The place seems like an abandoned installation that has been overrun by giant ants. Then it becomes clear that the mist areas are technological rather than ant constructs. Finally you get through and meet the NCR, and thankfully there is a quick way out. (I appreciate the repeated use of "long way in, quick way out" dungeon-design in this mod!)

The part I don't get is, if I have been invited to meet with the NCR rep asap, then how come I have to work my way through their death maze first? I mean, what is the point of the death maze? If it were an ant colony, that would be its own point (defend the colony); if it were a mad scientist's defense system, to keep outsiders from his "vital essence" formula, that would make perfect sense. But I can't see it as a recruiting tool for joining the NCR side in the Boulder Dome problem. So my easy fix solution for it would be to separate the dungeon from the NCR bunker--having the quest marker for meeting the NCR lead directly to the hatch which is currently the short cut, and spinning up a rationale for a mad scientist designed maze.

WORLD MAP ODDITIES

In my playing of the mod, the world map seems really scrambled. In the beginning, this placed the airplane graveyard as being someplace in the hills around Black Mountain, iirc. Once I got to Colorado, it felt like there was a disconnect between compass directions "on the ground" versus "on the world map."

For example, the travel point to Inner Boulder leaves you facing south. The portal to Mountain Park is north rather than east as the wp (world map) would suggest. From Inner Boulder to Outer Boulder is by walking south on the ground, yet on the wp, Outer Boulder is north of Inner Boulder.

On the wp there are two markers named "Nova Industries," widely separated. They should be close together: the south one should probably be "Nova Ind. courtyard" and the northern one might be "Nova Ind. Gatehouse."

METALHEADS IN THE DOME

That there are raiders in the dome makes sense, like the Fiends in the Vault.

OTOH, their presence makes no sense at all in story logic, since the outside area is so incredibly radioactive that both the NCR and the BOS have special suits and extreme methods. (The raiders seem straight from the wasteland, with no special radiation gear or clever trick, other than being able to talk their way into the dome before dying of radiation poisoning.) So either the raiders came in by some unknown "clean route," which makes NCR and BOS look stupid, or the raiders are actually mutants. That would make simple sense, if the invaders were supermutants and/or some non-feral ghouls, since these groups are immune to radiation. (In fact, this might be the pay off for the mystery of "Why are the robo-ghouls going offline?" In that they are being liberated by this mutant group.)

There is a hint that some of the raiders are mutants (e.g., "Little Brian" and the other hulking crushers), so maybe it just needs more emphasis in that direction.

TYPOS

In my day job I do a fair amount of copy editing, so typos tend to jump out at me.

Keith: only too left -> two left
Lester: sedatives were off -> wear off
Savant log #2: I know alot -> a lot (x2)
Follow up on S.A.R.G.O.N.: manufacturing isin't ->isn't
Personal Journal Entry (Richard Mudd), This has to be done: lose it's -> its

IIRC, the druggie scientist at the Brain Center in his pre-war journal said he was using Jet. I believe this goes against canon, which says that Jet was made after the War."


Thursday 2 August 2012

Vessboy Joins the Team!

3d-modeller and texture artist, Nathan Vess, has been working on new assets for our Denver mod, the sequel to BBD. Check out some pics: