About this mod
Unleash total atomic annihilation upon your foes with the reworked Fat Man, featuring new mods, greater damage, and improved overall performance!
- Permissions and credits
- Donations
Despite not being introduced in neither of the first two Fallouts but the third, the Fat Man has become a staple of the series due to its unique appearance and the fact it launches miniature nuclear warheads. However, its latest iteration is hardly impressive. Like many of the vanilla heavy weapons, it lacks customization options, sports considerable weight without any real way to reduce it, and does far less damage then one would imagine it should.
However, all that has been fixed and more with the introduction of the M-42 Tactical Nuclear Catapult.
Dealing 400 damage on a direct hit and 1600 more points upon detonation for a grand total of 2000, the M-42 Tactical Nuclear Catapult is truly a weapon to behold and fear. The blast radius and knockback caused by it has been doubled, spanning an area that is more suited for an nuclear explosion. The effects of the blast also penetrate walls and the environment, meaning that even behind cover, the detonation of the warhead can still kill you and anyone else caught in it. In addition to this, two new mod slots have been added to increase the variety of options when it comes to tinkering with you M-42 Nuclear Catapult.
Frames quite literally make up the bulk of the weapon, determining how much it weighs and sways. There are three available options: Steel (Standard), Aluminum, and Weighted. Steel offers a balance between weight and controllability. Aluminum drastically reduces the weight but increases weapon sway and felt recoil. Weighted, on the other hand, reduces both but at the cost of greater weight.
Tanks are what propel the Mini Nuke out of its launcher, a burst of gas causing the warhead to sail through the air. There are three types as well: Low-pressure, Standard, and High-pressure. Low-pressure reduces range but also weight as well. Standard is what the M-42 comes with by default. High-pressure increases range but comes with a minor weight penalty as well.
Lastly, ammunition. The M.I.R.V. mod remains largely untouched in terms of functionality. However, it cannot be crafted anymore due to its experimental nature. Instead, it will have to be found at the birthplace of the M-42 itself. Access to it is gained via quest. Otherwise, the path to it will be blocked by rubble.
All mods barring the regular ammunition and frame mods require ranks of Gun Nut, the highest necessary being rank 3. There are no other requirements so firearm users of any type can modify the M-42 Tactical Nuclear Catapult regardless of their playstyle.
DLC Support
An update has been released for the mod adding support for Nuka World and Far Harbor. These can be found under the Optional files section. There's individual patches for each DLC and a combined version for both Nuka World and Far Harbor.
Far Harbor: The Striker mod ups the impact damage to 600 which is x6 more than the vanilla's and 200 more than modified Mini Nuke's 400 impact damage.
Nuka World: The Nuka Launcher does 400 impact damage but does 2700 explosive damage now, 700 more than the standard Mini Nuke. However, Nuka-Nukes require Science! rank 3 and Nuclear Physicist 1 in order to make it more difficult to spam.
Future Plans
I'm aware of the mods introduced in Far Harbor and Nuka-world for this weapon. In the near future, I plan to release optional files contain the incorporation of these mods into the rework. Until then, the mod will most likely be left as-is for the time being unless there's a serious issue. Non-vanilla unique variants and genuinely-unique effects/mods for Little Boy may be added if I can get them to actually spawn properly.
Recommended Mods
These are the mods I used in the screenshots and/or ones I suggest to enhance your nuclear catapult. However, they are not included in the mod itself and must be downloaded separately.
The Fancy Fatman - A tastefully-done, high-quality retexture that makes the weapon has a better look and generally more appealing overall.
Nukabill and Fatbob - A Mario-inspired Fatman retexture for those who want to fire nuclear Bullet Bills at everyone.
My Other Mods
Broadsider Weapon Rework
Cryolator Weapon Rework
Fort Hagen Satellite Array Overhaul - Automatron
Minigun Weapon Rework
Missile Launcher Weapon Rework
Railway Rifle Weapon Rework