I've FINALLY managed to figure out what was causing the gun to crash the game, so with Version 1.3 any and all crashing issues should be finally put to rest.
As it turns out, the cause of this whole mess wasn't the gun, or a mod on the gun, it was the muzzle flash. Why was the muzzle flash of all things causing the game to crash?
It was because a node in the muzzle flash nif didn't have a name. Yes. One nameless NiNode was at fault for all this. But, it's finally fixed now, with the added bonus of a bit of animation to the flash itself, so it'll now vary in size when firing the rifle.
I decided to take this thing on a little test drive and while the weapon is solid. Here are the nitpicks I encountered with it.
1. Why are the blaster bolts so slow? The DC-15A, like most Blasters from Star Wars, isn't a Plasma weapon by Fallout Standards, it is a Tibanna Gas-fueled Blaster, when you look at it in almost all forms of Star Wars material (maybe except LEGO Star Wars) Blasters including the DC-15A are MUCH FASTER than Fallout plasma projectiles.
https://youtu.be/-v30UfcF_t4
2. Why isn't the weapon break-action?
The Clone Wars 2003 TV Show (in an awesome little clip of animation, mind you)
https://youtu.be/dRLyJ2g3d0M
Shows that the DC-15A is actually a BREAK-ACTION Blaster when it comes to replacing the Tibanna Gas Cartridge and it is a damn shame I have never seen it replicated in most media involving the DC-15A outside of the Clone Wars Show. I think you could use the Double Barrel Shotgun Reload animation to replicate it.
3. I feel the Science requirements for receivers for the DC-15A are quite low in some areas and options for mods are somewhat sparse. With a minimum of 1 for the base receiver mods and a max of 3, the thing picks up steam bloody fast and hits hard compared to some of the early game weapons. I think the earliest receiver mods should start at 2 and the most powerful receiver mods require a Science skill of 4. I feel it would also make sense because the DC-15A is technically an alien weapon to Earth, and like the alien blaster, it would require someone VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE in Science to mess with alien tech without failure.
(Aside from sight mods lacking models at least for me) I feel Iron Sights and Scopes for the DC-15A should be visually recycled from other weapons like Hunting, Combat, Laser, and Assault Rifles because the Sole Survivor has no idea what proper mods look like for the DC-15A and are working with what they know. Plus I feel it would give the Blaster somewhat of a fused aesthetic of Star Wars and Fallout. A Military Blaster in a world where it doesn't belong, but has a service well lived in a post-apocalyptic future.
4. I feel that like the Alien Blaster, the weapon should start out AT FIRST using ACTUAL TIBANNA CARTRIDGES which likely can't be gotten anywhere else or VERY RARELY found around the map. But as your science perk levels up, you get access to the ability to use Plasma Cartridges (albeit you'd have to turn the Plasma Cartridges into Plasma Cylinders that would fit in the gun, likely changing the projectile from a blue tibanna bolt to a green plasma projectile with damage reduction like the Blaster, but more noticeably adversely effecting damage to put it in line with the Vanilla Plasma Guns) instead of Tibanna Gas Cartridges
At Science 4 (Likely with a Nuclear Physicist level of at least 2) You can create your own Tibanna Gas Cartridges by mixing Plasma Cylinders with Oil, Asbestos (likely to keep the cartridge stable while you make it.) and Steel to create something similar enough to Tibanna that will enable the blaster to operate normally again, but to facilitate using Plasma Cylinders later on, the cost for creating Tibanna Cartridges should be VERY High in the Oil, Asbestos, and Plasma Cylinder department.
It could also have a Wooden Stock option if you want to copy the Senate Guards.
5. The Overcharged Receiver could have either
A. a Smaller Clip size.
B. Increased ammunition consumption by 2 per shot (couldn't divide anything for a clean 300 shots from 500, so 250 will have to do.)
regardless of what approach you chose, they bot should add an explosive effect and cut the firerate down a little, making the DC-15A into a DMR or Sniper Rifle.
6. The Weapon should not be found in Hubris Comics. I think it should be hogged with the the BOS given their obsession with gathering technology (if they do, maybe they sell Self-made or scavenged Tibanna Cartridges?) or possibly even as a random encounter with a Wastelander that likely took it from a dead member of the G.A.R. or maybe even is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, displaced in time and trying to stay low-key in the wasteland by looking like a common Scavenger.
That being said, I like the weapon despite everything I listed. I was just suggesting ways to possibly improve the experience the player has with it.
I wonder what you think?
(Also thanks for the SFX Mod you're cool by the way.)
It's not expressly stated in the mod but, the DC-15a you find isn't a real DC-15a, but a replica, hence why it uses the vanilla Plasma Cartridges and not actual Tibanna gas cartridges. That's also why it's in Hubris Comics; it's in a similar boat to the Blastech E-11 in that it was built by some nerds and the comic shop was going to display it somewhere before the bombs dropped. Why said nerds made it a functional replica is a mystery for the ages.
As for the bolt speed, I used the same speed as a vanilla Plasma projectile since the gun is, essentially, a plasma weapon. This kind of falls back into the "not a real DC-15a" camp, so it wouldn't necessarily have the same speed. Plus, how fast blaster bolts go seem to vary depending on the medium, though overall they're generally not as fast as a proper bullet (though at 130 MPH, you'd still wouldn't be getting out of the way of it). I kind of chalk this up more to personal preference since the bolts never felt too slow to me (and it's something I can't please everyone on; I changed my approach for the DC-17 and still got complaints, this time about the bolts not being visible because they were moving too fast).
As for why it's not break-action, I built the DC-15a following the movie design, and there isn't really a good place that I can see for the break action in that design. I was, however, aware of the Clone Wars element and considered making it break-action, but I realized rather quickly the double-barrel shotgun's animations wouldn't work for that, because the player would end up not holding the DC-15a by the pistol grip, which would end up looking weird and people would complain. Hence, I used the Plasma Rifle's animations instead. I didn't want the player to just be reloading empty space, so I inserted a small Plasma Cartridge so they'd be reloading something, even if it breaks up the silhouette of the gun a little bit.
I don't really want to recycle vanilla sights and scopes for the gun because I feel like it'd look too out of place. I feel like if pushed, the Sole Survivor could put together something that'd look at least homogeneous with the rifle's aesthetic. Given the rifle's form-factor though, it's hard to imagine what other sights could look like. One of my plans for the scopes was to have a glass panel be placed on the rifle's "hump", but I got hung up on the logistics of it ("if it's solid in the back but split in the front, how could you see through it?") and ultimately scrapped the idea, but I may revisit it at some point.
I might rethink how the Science requirements are handled for it, but not with the consideration of it being an alien weapon (since it's a replica). The Overcharged Receiver is basically meant as a flat damage increase, so I'm not sure I'd revise it to facilitate a sniper role, that'd probably be better for a different set of modifications. Some players would want to just keep the weapon's functionality the same, just with more damage, so it would end up being limiting for those sorts of players.
Didn't know it wasn't supposed to be an ACTUAL DC-15A, but a copy.
I think some lore entries around Hubris Comics should have talked about the weapon being a Plasma copy and not the real DC-15A
Maybe the Nerd who built the replica was a Doomsday Prepper who started hogging it from the other Hubris Comics workers because they were afraid that they'd need to use it, fearing global war.
Well he was right, just not about the "Him surviving" part.
Maybe the weapon actually comes broken, but the Sole Survivor actually needs to fix it to make it functional again.
Maybe make the bolts have a slight greenish sheen to them because it's actually a Plasma weapon?
(I will admit, I found the potential "alien element" of the DC-15A somewhat fascinating. I hope a "real" DC-15A with the Alien element, possibly with a small quest behind it, arrives someday. I wonder how people would realistically feel about something totally Alien to the wasteland possibly fighting over it and hogging it to themselves EVEN MORE because of the weapon's exclusivity.)
I had wanted to add some lore to explain its presence, but didn't have any decent ideas at the time I made the mod. I think if I ever do another update to this I'd add something lore-wise, possibly even revise aspects of its ammo so plasma cartridges are a conversion instead of the default, which would bring with it green-colored bolts. Since break-action is impractical from an animation standpoint, I'd probably turn the spot where the plasma cartridge currently sits into a power cell bay, and have a standard power cell that's designed to be flush with the body of the gun. Could even have a Fusion Cell conversion that makes the bolts red. Mostly just thinking out loud though, not sure what I'll ultimately end up doing.
I would like the Break-Action part of the weapon to be brought back somehow.
Maybe team up with an animator to have that done? I think the Break-action bit would be amazing to see, considering how a lot of DC-15A depictions skimp out on it.
I think a good part to put the "Break" part would be where the Squarish part of the gun meets the barrel
Maybe the DC-15A the Survivor can find in Hubris Comics is named the DC-15R to differentiate it from the actual DC-15A. With the real DC-15A potentially being a mid to late-game weapon the player can find as a quest reward.
Something I could do is use the Gauss Rifle animations; it's not quite break-action but it looks like it'd be close enough, and it's still a pistol grip weapon. I'd have to figure out how the DC-15's model could be revised to suit those animations though, and if I could twiddle things enough it'd look break-action. I'm also kind of eehh on changing things around in terms of the gun's nomenclature, much less adding a unique version that's a "real" DC-15a as a quest reward. I prefer tucking unique weapons in various out-of-the-way places rather than building quests for them (also because quests are kind of complicated to work with and I have little experience in making them).
I wonder if you could make the DC-15A have the sound it had in the Pandemic Battlefront games? (Or create an optional variant using that sound)
https://youtu.be/8eQ3rG4m2Xw?t=63
I feel it gave the weapon a distinct character that I can't mentally link with any other blaster but the DC-15A and I am sad it wasn't used as the sound for the DC-15A outside of any other medium.
Could you make an alternate .ba2 alongside the unpackaged normal SFX?
I'm having trouble configuring non-.ba2 SFX because when I tried the "STRINGS\, TEXTURES\, MUSIC\, SOUND\, INTERFACE\, MESHES\, PROGRAMS\, MATERIALS\, LODSETTINGS\, VIS\, MISC\, SCRIPTS\, SHADERSFX\" thing to fix the SFX replacement thing. The Game replaces it... But then quits when I try to pause.
Not sure what method that is but you should be able to get loose files to work by setting up Archive Invalidation. All that entails is editing your Fallout4Custom.ini (or creating it if it doesn't exist) and adding the following to it:
No need to edit BA2 archives or any similar arcane nonsense. The game prioritizes loose files over archives when this is active, so as long as the sound replacer is installed correctly, it should work without any hiccups.
Idk if anybody will answer this, but Dmagnus, is it possible for you to port this to xbox, cause I've been trying to make a star wars run for the mm, but the replacer mods refuse to work even though the individual mod is in different mod that has it as one of them?
It means Plasma Cartridges, which is a base game ammo type used by the game's plasma guns. The DC-15a is supposed to come with 1000 already loaded into it, but that's only with the one found in Hubris Comics, the crafted version doesn't come with ammo.
Doing so would require me to learn how to put an MCM together and coding things so custom hotkeys could be assigned and all that, which is a headache to even think about. If I wanted to add the ability to quickly switch between firing modes, it'd be simpler to set up something similar to how the Hand Phaser handles changing settings. That besides, there's the Tactical Attachment System mod, which lets you change modifications on a weapon in the field. Not quite as fast as a hotkey, but I do highly recommend it nonetheless (Though I'd recommend getting the 2.0 version instead of the more recent 3.0 version, since 3.0 seems to be a bit too fussy).
Use the command help "dc-15" 4that will get you the IDs of the rifle and its modifications. Ignore any results with (OMOD) by it because those are the actual modifications, and can't be added to your inventory, you'll want things with MISC by it for mods. The rifle uses vanilla ammo (plasma cartridges) so you can the code for that through the console with help plasma 4
110 comments
As it turns out, the cause of this whole mess wasn't the gun, or a mod on the gun, it was the muzzle flash. Why was the muzzle flash of all things causing the game to crash?
It was because a node in the muzzle flash nif didn't have a name. Yes. One nameless NiNode was at fault for all this. But, it's finally fixed now, with the added bonus of a bit of animation to the flash itself, so it'll now vary in size when firing the rifle.
1. Why are the blaster bolts so slow? The DC-15A, like most Blasters from Star Wars, isn't a Plasma weapon by Fallout Standards, it is a Tibanna Gas-fueled Blaster, when you look at it in almost all forms of Star Wars material (maybe except LEGO Star Wars) Blasters including the DC-15A are MUCH FASTER than Fallout plasma projectiles.
https://youtu.be/-v30UfcF_t4
2. Why isn't the weapon break-action?
The Clone Wars 2003 TV Show (in an awesome little clip of animation, mind you)
https://youtu.be/dRLyJ2g3d0M
Shows that the DC-15A is actually a BREAK-ACTION Blaster when it comes to replacing the Tibanna Gas Cartridge and it is a damn shame I have never seen it replicated in most media involving the DC-15A outside of the Clone Wars Show. I think you could use the Double Barrel Shotgun Reload animation to replicate it.
3. I feel the Science requirements for receivers for the DC-15A are quite low in some areas and options for mods are somewhat sparse. With a minimum of 1 for the base receiver mods and a max of 3, the thing picks up steam bloody fast and hits hard compared to some of the early game weapons. I think the earliest receiver mods should start at 2 and the most powerful receiver mods require a Science skill of 4. I feel it would also make sense because the DC-15A is technically an alien weapon to Earth, and like the alien blaster, it would require someone VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE in Science to mess with alien tech without failure.
(Aside from sight mods lacking models at least for me) I feel Iron Sights and Scopes for the DC-15A should be visually recycled from other weapons like Hunting, Combat, Laser, and Assault Rifles because the Sole Survivor has no idea what proper mods look like for the DC-15A and are working with what they know. Plus I feel it would give the Blaster somewhat of a fused aesthetic of Star Wars and Fallout. A Military Blaster in a world where it doesn't belong, but has a service well lived in a post-apocalyptic future.
4. I feel that like the Alien Blaster, the weapon should start out AT FIRST using ACTUAL TIBANNA CARTRIDGES which likely can't be gotten anywhere else or VERY RARELY found around the map. But as your science perk levels up, you get access to the ability to use Plasma Cartridges (albeit you'd have to turn the Plasma Cartridges into Plasma Cylinders that would fit in the gun, likely changing the projectile from a blue tibanna bolt to a green plasma projectile with damage reduction like the Blaster, but more noticeably adversely effecting damage to put it in line with the Vanilla Plasma Guns) instead of Tibanna Gas Cartridges
At Science 4 (Likely with a Nuclear Physicist level of at least 2) You can create your own Tibanna Gas Cartridges by mixing Plasma Cylinders with Oil, Asbestos (likely to keep the cartridge stable while you make it.) and Steel to create something similar enough to Tibanna that will enable the blaster to operate normally again, but to facilitate using Plasma Cylinders later on, the cost for creating Tibanna Cartridges should be VERY High in the Oil, Asbestos, and Plasma Cylinder department.
It could also have a Wooden Stock option if you want to copy the Senate Guards.
5. The Overcharged Receiver could have either
A. a Smaller Clip size.
B. Increased ammunition consumption by 2 per shot (couldn't divide anything for a clean 300 shots from 500, so 250 will have to do.)
regardless of what approach you chose, they bot should add an explosive effect and cut the firerate down a little, making the DC-15A into a DMR or Sniper Rifle.
6. The Weapon should not be found in Hubris Comics. I think it should be hogged with the the BOS given their obsession with gathering technology (if they do, maybe they sell Self-made or scavenged Tibanna Cartridges?) or possibly even as a random encounter with a Wastelander that likely took it from a dead member of the G.A.R. or maybe even is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, displaced in time and trying to stay low-key in the wasteland by looking like a common Scavenger.
That being said, I like the weapon despite everything I listed. I was just suggesting ways to possibly improve the experience the player has with it.
I wonder what you think?
(Also thanks for the SFX Mod you're cool by the way.)
As for the bolt speed, I used the same speed as a vanilla Plasma projectile since the gun is, essentially, a plasma weapon. This kind of falls back into the "not a real DC-15a" camp, so it wouldn't necessarily have the same speed. Plus, how fast blaster bolts go seem to vary depending on the medium, though overall they're generally not as fast as a proper bullet (though at 130 MPH, you'd still wouldn't be getting out of the way of it). I kind of chalk this up more to personal preference since the bolts never felt too slow to me (and it's something I can't please everyone on; I changed my approach for the DC-17 and still got complaints, this time about the bolts not being visible because they were moving too fast).
As for why it's not break-action, I built the DC-15a following the movie design, and there isn't really a good place that I can see for the break action in that design. I was, however, aware of the Clone Wars element and considered making it break-action, but I realized rather quickly the double-barrel shotgun's animations wouldn't work for that, because the player would end up not holding the DC-15a by the pistol grip, which would end up looking weird and people would complain. Hence, I used the Plasma Rifle's animations instead. I didn't want the player to just be reloading empty space, so I inserted a small Plasma Cartridge so they'd be reloading something, even if it breaks up the silhouette of the gun a little bit.
I don't really want to recycle vanilla sights and scopes for the gun because I feel like it'd look too out of place. I feel like if pushed, the Sole Survivor could put together something that'd look at least homogeneous with the rifle's aesthetic. Given the rifle's form-factor though, it's hard to imagine what other sights could look like. One of my plans for the scopes was to have a glass panel be placed on the rifle's "hump", but I got hung up on the logistics of it ("if it's solid in the back but split in the front, how could you see through it?") and ultimately scrapped the idea, but I may revisit it at some point.
I might rethink how the Science requirements are handled for it, but not with the consideration of it being an alien weapon (since it's a replica). The Overcharged Receiver is basically meant as a flat damage increase, so I'm not sure I'd revise it to facilitate a sniper role, that'd probably be better for a different set of modifications. Some players would want to just keep the weapon's functionality the same, just with more damage, so it would end up being limiting for those sorts of players.
Didn't know it wasn't supposed to be an ACTUAL DC-15A, but a copy.
I think some lore entries around Hubris Comics should have talked about the weapon being a Plasma copy and not the real DC-15A
Maybe the Nerd who built the replica was a Doomsday Prepper who started hogging it from the other Hubris Comics workers because they were afraid that they'd need to use it, fearing global war.
Well he was right, just not about the "Him surviving" part.
Maybe the weapon actually comes broken, but the Sole Survivor actually needs to fix it to make it functional again.
Maybe make the bolts have a slight greenish sheen to them because it's actually a Plasma weapon?
(I will admit, I found the potential "alien element" of the DC-15A somewhat fascinating. I hope a "real" DC-15A with the Alien element, possibly with a small quest behind it, arrives someday. I wonder how people would realistically feel about something totally Alien to the wasteland possibly fighting over it and hogging it to themselves EVEN MORE because of the weapon's exclusivity.)
Maybe team up with an animator to have that done? I think the Break-action bit would be amazing to see, considering how a lot of DC-15A depictions skimp out on it.
I think a good part to put the "Break" part would be where the Squarish part of the gun meets the barrel
Maybe the DC-15A the Survivor can find in Hubris Comics is named the DC-15R to differentiate it from the actual DC-15A. With the real DC-15A potentially being a mid to late-game weapon the player can find as a quest reward.
A little reward for exploration of the map.
https://youtu.be/8eQ3rG4m2Xw?t=63
I feel it gave the weapon a distinct character that I can't mentally link with any other blaster but the DC-15A and I am sad it wasn't used as the sound for the DC-15A outside of any other medium.
If you do decide to honor my request...
https://www.sounds-resource.com/pc_computer/starwarsbattlefront/sound/9658/
You can find it in the file in the "cw" folder under the name "wpn_rep_blaster_fire.wav"
I'm having trouble configuring non-.ba2 SFX because when I tried the "STRINGS\, TEXTURES\, MUSIC\, SOUND\, INTERFACE\, MESHES\, PROGRAMS\, MATERIALS\, LODSETTINGS\, VIS\, MISC\, SCRIPTS\, SHADERSFX\" thing to fix the SFX replacement thing. The Game replaces it... But then quits when I try to pause.
[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=
No need to edit BA2 archives or any similar arcane nonsense. The game prioritizes loose files over archives when this is active, so as long as the sound replacer is installed correctly, it should work without any hiccups.
Maybe include a notice for people who may be confused to check for things that may be wrong?
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3244688880
Also I took this pic after Barney claimed his gun was the finest in the Commonwealth...
https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4056862
help "dc-15" 4that will get you the IDs of the rifle and its modifications. Ignore any results with (OMOD) by it because those are the actual modifications, and can't be added to your inventory, you'll want things with MISC by it for mods. The rifle uses vanilla ammo (plasma cartridges) so you can the code for that through the console withhelp plasma 4