GOOD EVENING FOLKS! LONG TIME NO SPEAK? HOW ABOUT A BIG OL' UPDATE FOR YOU ALL ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE MAP?
As many of you are no doubt aware, it's been an awful long time since any news really surfaced on the map. Some of you are wondering if it will ever come out, or if the project is dead or maybe you're even wondering if I'm dead? Well, yes it will be coming out, the project is still alive and so am I. I'd like to, as always, thank those who continue to show interest in the project and have somehow stuck around for so long while we've been working away on it in the shadows.
As many of you know, this is a project that is mainly done by just two people in our spare time. While I was once in school way back when, I have since been and left college and now work full time. M is no longer the child whizz kid he was and he's now a fully grown whizz kid instead! And he's just come out the other side of a bunch of exams so kudos to him too! Other people have helped along the way of course and I'd like to thank them too!
We've learnt a lot in our time working on this map. Design and building have greatly improved. Technical wizardy from M has greatly improved (though he's always blown my mind with his work!), writing from both of us has greatly improved and our organisation has greatly improved to. While we once kind of winged it and had a paper notes everywhere. Now we've got a google drive with detailed breakdowns of weapon stats, dialogue trees, locations, lore, sound files, world backups, quest outlines and more!
The map has changed a whole lot in the years we've been working on it. I think I'm safe to say that very little, if anything at all, hasn't been redesigned since the first released version so many years ago. This is all no doubt for the best and the map is leaps and bounds better than it ever used to be and (rather annoyingly and often game-breakingly) moving forward into later Minecraft versions has allowed us to make use of a bunch of great new features! So here's a break down of what's new:
QUESTING
Just as before, the game is split between a chunky main questline and then sidequests around it. The main story has been completely redesigned and rewritten and doesn't at all resemble the old story of chasing after the Overseer for what ultimately led to nothing. Instead, you're now investigating the disappearance of your friend Farcain, the Vault engineer. As you explore the Valley and try to find answers, you'll soon come to realise that you've become involved in events far larger than you could have ever imagined. Embarking on various other quests will take you to all corners of Haydon Valley and have you searching for pre-war treasures, tending to a delusional ghoulified granny, challenging Raider bosses in combat, defending and fortifying settlements, discovering other Vaults and more!
WORLD DESIGN
The map is now far more than just a small expanse leading to the City. Now, after leaving the Vault, you'll have free reign to travel where you please with the map now opened up. While there used to plenty of invisible barriers or closed off single-route areas in the original map, we've redesigned the City dramatically so that you can travel where you please. We've also decided to make the City feel far more layered; while there are expanses of more open wasteland all around the City (far more than there was before) the City is now more vertical. With underground Metro tunnels, the surface level and the towering heights of the City skyscrapers, the City is now bigger and better than ever.. and more dangerous. And, as already mentioned, the City outskirts stretch out even further with more to see and do. Should you want to explore a more open expanse, we've got that for you too.
MOBS AND ENEMIES
Jumping forward through so many later iterations of Minecraft has meant we can now make use of so many of the new mobs. While we have retooled some of the older ones to allow us to bring in hostile Liberator Bots, a new hostile faction that's achieved a worrying level of dominance in the Valley and more. Likewise, with newer mobs added we've been able to bring in Yao Guai, Horses (that you'll be able to acquire from one of the settlements) and some regional beasties like the Valleys mutated Prairie Dogs aka Prairie Hounds. With the Villagers having seen a makeover too, we now have the chance to include a whole host of unique merchants throughout the map, as well as various Protectron models and security robots native to the large automated prison you'll find in the East.
COMBAT
In the original map we were pretty limited with what we could do, having players a collection of melee weapons and a bow reskinned to look like a Hunting Rifle. That is definitely no longer the case. We're now offering up over 20 melee weapons that all have varying speeds, damage outputs and damage types. Better yet, you'll be able to modify some of them. What's really cool though is the framework M has cooked up for ranged weapons. Rather than just the one, we are aiming to include over 20 ranged weapons of differing ammo types, fire rates and types. 10mm Pistols, Plasma Rifles, Hunting Rifles, Combat Shotguns, Anti-Material Rifles, Revolvers, Laser Pistols and more! With each weapon handling in its own way but with multiple different weapons using the same ammo types, you'll have to choose your arsenal wisely. We are also including a handful or throwables too like dynamite, molotov cocktails and frag grenades.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L
With branching dialogue and a big wide world ahead of you, we wanted to incorporate a system like S.P.E.C.I.A.L within the map. We also figured that players would need some kind of progression as they move through the map and complete/discover more and more. That said, having a system that intricate, trying to balance it and trying to create it within the limiting confines of Minecraft isn't exactly an easy task. Instead, we've decided to use what we have dubbed the "S.P.E.C.I.A.L.T.I.E.S" system (acroynm pending) that allows you to select a stat you specialise in; doing so unlocks a handful of perks for you. Should you decide to player as a group, you'll be able to each take on your own role but don't worry if you're playing alone as you'll be able to earn more points to spend in the system through the course of your adventures.
CRAFTING
As you explore the wasteland, you'll be scavenging and most likely looting food, weapons, junk items and more. What we are implementing is a crafting and component system from the later Fallout games. You'll be able to break down the various items you find into their basic components and use these to craft bigger and better things. Scrap those tin cans, Abraxo Cleaners and coffee cups and use the components to upgrade melee weapons, build armour types and rake in the caps. You'll also be able to harvest plants from the environment and combine them with food items to create buffed food, chems and more.
MECHANICS
Along with all of these changes, we are working on functioning and salvageable Power Armour, branching dialogue and NPC's (as already mentioned), an in-game soundtrack, voiced dialogue where relevant, in-game customised posters (that will allow us to have custom signage etc), customised player heads (which we are using for NPC variation/identification and world design), player visual customisation and more! We've also implemented traps and hazards in the environment like Bear Traps, Frag Mines and poisonous flowers. Perhaps the biggest thing to worry about within the Valley though is radiation levels; we couldn't possibly not include a mechanic and feature that is where Fallout derives its name from in the first place! Radiation levels will need to be managed as you explore the wastes so you'll have to balance that risk/reward and make sure to keep an eye on your Geiger counter. You'll pick up rads from long-dumped nuclear waste, from isolated pockets of radiation and from the frequent concentrated storms that have plagued the Valley for as long as people remember. But never fear, you'll be able to use RadAway or locally sourced recipes to help reduce those rads if you've got them to hand.
I'm sure those of you that have stuck around are fed up of waiting, especially as I don't have a solid date for you, but I just want to reassure you that it's still being worked on, it's coming along really nicely and it will hopefully blow you minds when it's released! In the mean time, I'd love to hear what you guys want to see from us whether it be screenshots of new locations, mobs or something else. And if you're after more details, by all means ask away and we will elaborate. This is still a passion project being worked on in our spare time but we are dedicated to delivering an adventure map like no other, so we hope you guys are looking forward to it (still...)
I'd also encourage anyone who wants to get ahold of me to just email me at [email protected] and I would also ask that if anyone is willing to volunteer and is willing to help us out on this project in order to speed things up, we'd love to hear from you. As it stands, we kind of have things covered as we continue to work on the map but if anybody has experience with texturing and resource packs, we have a whole bunch of ideas for mobs...
Thanks again for you support and patience guys!
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