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About this mod
Art of War vastly expands the weapon material options for Fallout 4 - with an emphasis on lore-friendliness and viability in the wasteland. Explore and acquire dozens of new designs, finishes, and paints for vanilla weaponry!
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Mirrors
- Changelogs
- Donations
If you like what I do, consider endorsing and/or supporting my work!
Additionally, fans of my work can read the development diary for this mod on PATREON when you join as a free patron!
But, most importantly, enjoy my work!
Additionally, fans of my work can read the development diary for this mod on PATREON when you join as a free patron!
But, most importantly, enjoy my work!
Hey you! Yeah, YOU!! ...Can I rant at you for a second? Therapy's expensive.
You know what I've always liked? Old school, progression-based cosmetic systems in video games. We're talking Halo 3 and Reach, Modern Warfare 2 (2009), and Black Ops 1.
The glory days, am I right?
No insidious ulterior motives, intrusive corporate mandated agendas, or gaudy visuals that clash with the game's style. Nah, just awesome unlockable cosmetics that fit the environment of the game AND reflect your status and reputation as a player.
The thing is,
and this was true even back in the day, these types of systems were pretty rare for singleplayer-only titles. And it always made me wonder, why couldn't a similar system exist for RPGs? Why can't I rep build-specific cosmetics that really reinforced my sense of identity in the world? What if that system ALSO integrated those cosmetics into the game world to add variety to all those duplicate weapons you're always finding?
Wouldn't something like that be cool?
The glory days, am I right?
No insidious ulterior motives, intrusive corporate mandated agendas, or gaudy visuals that clash with the game's style. Nah, just awesome unlockable cosmetics that fit the environment of the game AND reflect your status and reputation as a player.
The thing is,
and this was true even back in the day, these types of systems were pretty rare for singleplayer-only titles. And it always made me wonder, why couldn't a similar system exist for RPGs? Why can't I rep build-specific cosmetics that really reinforced my sense of identity in the world? What if that system ALSO integrated those cosmetics into the game world to add variety to all those duplicate weapons you're always finding?
Wouldn't something like that be cool?
It's a rhetorical question. The answer is yes, and that system is Art of War. Let's boogie.
Featured Above: Art of War Full with Gunmetal Weapon Skins support add-on, The Attachment Pack, and Conversions. Early game (level 20 character).
Featured Above: Art of War Full with Gunmetal Weapon Skins support add-on, The Attachment Pack, and Conversions. Early game (level 20 character).
Overview
Why did I make this mod?
While developing Mutant Menagerie over the years, a few specific parts of the development grind would stick out as particularly comfortable and/or interesting to me. As an artist, I've had a growing desire to express myself creatively through modding much more directly, and texture painting using graphic design tools like Gimp allowed me to scratch that itch. And for my next project, I wanted to lean into that aspect of the development cycle.
I always liked the idea of weapon and armor materials as they were presented in Fallout 4, but disliked their implementation both in the Creation Club and the modding scene. On paper, the idea could solve a big problem for sandbox RPGs - all equipment looks exactly the same. Skins and cosmetic options are a great way to add diversity to a sandbox, developers have rarely ever capitalized on this concept in a meaningful way outside of the looter shooter genre (Borderlands, Destiny, etc.). The Creation Club is content with charging players a hefty sum for skins that are largely exclusive to the player, and do not appear in the wild. Meanwhile the few mods that use this system, like Gunmetal Weapon Skins (which I love, don't get me wrong), tend struggle a bit in my opinion with regards to either implementation, compatibility, and/or the available material options themselves. The options aren't always lore friendly, the implementation doesn't rhyme with the vanilla game, and the mods themselves can easily be overwritten by (or overwrite) other mods. Even Bethesda's newer titles, Fallout 76 and Starfield, don't do anything meaningful with cosmetic options for weapons and armor. And that's a total bummer.
What Art of War IS:
Dozens of New, Lore-Friendly Skins For Your Game!
Spoiler:
Art of War adds dozens of new cosmetic skins to the various vanilla weapons of Fallout 4. Similar to Mutant Menagerie, these new options were either crafted by myself or compiled and heavily altered by myself from publicly available resources. New skins are derived from preexisting camouflages and design aesthetics that have either shown up in Fallout before, or that are period-accurate and could exist in Fallout. Think Mutant Menagerie's lore philosophy, but applied to cosmetics. Many schemes, both pre-War and post-War, are ideal for blending into Fallout 4's dusty and dingy urban setting and the pockets of autumnal wasteland wilderness peppered in-between. You can also expect to find many pre-War designs that were likely to be looted from military stockpiles or the homes of Bostonians. Finally, you can expect to find a selection of post-War designs that function as tools for intimidation or peacocking - making them perfect for expressing your inner raider!
To this end, you can expect to find Cold War era camouflages, designs from fictional military operations detailed in the Fallout canon, and even some thematic retextures for specific weapons. Everything is meant to feel like it belongs in Fallout, and coexist with pre-existing CC weapon skins. I tried to avoid faction skins or commercial branding, so you won't find any Brotherhood of Steel or Nuka-Cola styled cosmetics in this mod. I feel like such designs are low hanging fruit that have been covered time and again elsewhere - including through the Creation Club.
Show
Art of War adds dozens of new cosmetic skins to the various vanilla weapons of Fallout 4. Similar to Mutant Menagerie, these new options were either crafted by myself or compiled and heavily altered by myself from publicly available resources. New skins are derived from preexisting camouflages and design aesthetics that have either shown up in Fallout before, or that are period-accurate and could exist in Fallout. Think Mutant Menagerie's lore philosophy, but applied to cosmetics. Many schemes, both pre-War and post-War, are ideal for blending into Fallout 4's dusty and dingy urban setting and the pockets of autumnal wasteland wilderness peppered in-between. You can also expect to find many pre-War designs that were likely to be looted from military stockpiles or the homes of Bostonians. Finally, you can expect to find a selection of post-War designs that function as tools for intimidation or peacocking - making them perfect for expressing your inner raider!
Explore dozens of new and evocative options that have been designed to fit right into the world of Fallout!
To this end, you can expect to find Cold War era camouflages, designs from fictional military operations detailed in the Fallout canon, and even some thematic retextures for specific weapons. Everything is meant to feel like it belongs in Fallout, and coexist with pre-existing CC weapon skins. I tried to avoid faction skins or commercial branding, so you won't find any Brotherhood of Steel or Nuka-Cola styled cosmetics in this mod. I feel like such designs are low hanging fruit that have been covered time and again elsewhere - including through the Creation Club.
All Weapons Supported by CC Included - Plus Others!
Spoiler:
EVERY base game weapon that is included in the Creation Club's material framework is covered here. Each weapon will gain a bevy of 20+ standard cosmetic options that are shared across each weapon that utilizes the system. In addition, most weapons have 1 or more unique or limited designs that are far more custom. Altogether, some weapons have over 30 new cosmetic options between their shared and unique skins!
Rock a Weathered 10mm Pistol, or a rep a classic-style Industrial Laser Rifle!
But the fun doesn't end there. Some weapons previously excluded by the Creation Club are also covered by Art of War! This means you can now customize the Submachine Gun and the Double-Barrel Shotgun. I hope to work on expanding this coverage in the future - especially to crucial DLC weapon platforms like the Lever-Action Rifle and the Handmade Rifle.
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EVERY base game weapon that is included in the Creation Club's material framework is covered here. Each weapon will gain a bevy of 20+ standard cosmetic options that are shared across each weapon that utilizes the system. In addition, most weapons have 1 or more unique or limited designs that are far more custom. Altogether, some weapons have over 30 new cosmetic options between their shared and unique skins!
Rock a Weathered 10mm Pistol, or a rep a classic-style Industrial Laser Rifle!
But the fun doesn't end there. Some weapons previously excluded by the Creation Club are also covered by Art of War! This means you can now customize the Submachine Gun and the Double-Barrel Shotgun. I hope to work on expanding this coverage in the future - especially to crucial DLC weapon platforms like the Lever-Action Rifle and the Handmade Rifle.
Fully Integrated Into the World and Progression-Based!
Spoiler:
Much like my other mod, Conversions, Art of War implements its new cosmetics into the world. As you explore, you can expect to find many of the previously familiar vanilla weapons with new and fresh coats of paint! Vendors, enemies, containers, and hand-placed weapons will all benefit from this integration!
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Much like my other mod, Conversions, Art of War implements its new cosmetics into the world. As you explore, you can expect to find many of the previously familiar vanilla weapons with new and fresh coats of paint! Vendors, enemies, containers, and hand-placed weapons will all benefit from this integration!
Explore the world, play the game, and discover all-new looks for your favorite weapons!
All of the new cosmetics in Art of War are also craftable, of course. And to that end, Art of War embraces the progression-based crafting of Fallout 4 to further improve your roleplaying experience! Most new designs require specific perks to craft. These perks are typically thematic in nature to the cosmetic design itself. Desert-themed skins, for example, are typically tied to the Lone Wanderer perk. This means certain skins can be tied to specific paths of progression, and therefore help you better express the role you wish your character to play. Many recipes for these cosmetics require 1 or more special ingredients to craft. This is most often a thematically item - such as a bucket of blood or a colored herb for pigment.
Available in Two Distinct Versions!
Spoiler:
Art of War is intentionally designed with compatibility in mind. With that in mind, 2 distinct variations of the mod are contained within the installer: the Full Version and the Crafting Only variant. When you install the mod, you will be prompted to choose between them.
The Full Version of the mod of Art of War makes all necessary edits to vanilla weapons that enables cosmetic functionality on weapons which lacked it, and integrates new object templates for every supported weapon - allowing new weapon skins to be found in the game world. This version is the most feature complete variant of the mod, but may have compatibility issues. Any mods that also alter vanilla weapons will likely cause conflicts which will require merge patching.
The Crafting Only variant of Art of War is built for compatibility, and does not edit any vanilla files. This limits the mod's cosmetic options to the crafting menu and adds new "painted" variants of vanilla weapons that previously lacked cosmetic functionality (Double-Barrel Shotgun, Submachine Gun, etc.) to the 'Utility' section of the Chemistry Station. These new variants are identical to their vanilla counterparts, but support cosmetic customization. While this is by far the best option for compatibility, it is important to note that mods which alter vanilla weapons, such as damage overhauls, will not affect the new craftable weapon variants. Such mods may require manual patching to maintain consistency.
Show
Art of War is intentionally designed with compatibility in mind. With that in mind, 2 distinct variations of the mod are contained within the installer: the Full Version and the Crafting Only variant. When you install the mod, you will be prompted to choose between them.
The Full Version of the mod of Art of War makes all necessary edits to vanilla weapons that enables cosmetic functionality on weapons which lacked it, and integrates new object templates for every supported weapon - allowing new weapon skins to be found in the game world. This version is the most feature complete variant of the mod, but may have compatibility issues. Any mods that also alter vanilla weapons will likely cause conflicts which will require merge patching.
The edited vanilla files found in the Full Version of the mod are highlighted above in Green.
The Crafting Only variant of Art of War is built for compatibility, and does not edit any vanilla files. This limits the mod's cosmetic options to the crafting menu and adds new "painted" variants of vanilla weapons that previously lacked cosmetic functionality (Double-Barrel Shotgun, Submachine Gun, etc.) to the 'Utility' section of the Chemistry Station. These new variants are identical to their vanilla counterparts, but support cosmetic customization. While this is by far the best option for compatibility, it is important to note that mods which alter vanilla weapons, such as damage overhauls, will not affect the new craftable weapon variants. Such mods may require manual patching to maintain consistency.
The Crafting Only version of Art of War excludes any vanilla edits, opting to include painted variants of certain weapons - shown above - which can be crafted at a Chemistry Station.
What Art of War ISN'T:
Not a Gameplay Overhaul!
Spoiler:
The cosmetic options featured in this mod are acquired through gameplay, but do not heavily affect gameplay. While I may attempt a project in the future that integrates more functional cosmetics, similar to power armor paints, that is beyond the scope of this mod. If you want something that does makes your vanilla weapons much more functionally diverse, check out my other mod Conversions!
Cosmetic options, especially higher tier weapon skins, will affect the value of a weapon, however. Rusted and busted designs can also lower the value of a weapon. So before selling off a gun for some spare caps, maybe consider giving it a fresh coat of paint to maximize your profit!
Show
The cosmetic options featured in this mod are acquired through gameplay, but do not heavily affect gameplay. While I may attempt a project in the future that integrates more functional cosmetics, similar to power armor paints, that is beyond the scope of this mod. If you want something that does makes your vanilla weapons much more functionally diverse, check out my other mod Conversions!
Don't worry, the Submachine is still bad!
Cosmetic options, especially higher tier weapon skins, will affect the value of a weapon, however. Rusted and busted designs can also lower the value of a weapon. So before selling off a gun for some spare caps, maybe consider giving it a fresh coat of paint to maximize your profit!
Not a Modern Aesthetic Mod!
Spoiler:
Art of War prioritizes lore-friendly designs that are accurate to the Fallout universe. Most designs are strictly from the Cold War era or earlier or are based on designs from that era. If they aren't, then it is because there is a precedent for them existing in the Fallout universe. There aren't any of the more popular modern aesthetics present in this mod. No digital camouflages or modern USAF woodland or desert designs.
I also did my best to avoid preexisting camouflages that were purely fictional or non-functional. Many well-known patterns that exist today fit in this camp, and exist purely to be used commercially - IE on clothes or accessories. Think pink camouflage, many variations of urban camouflage, or stylistic color swaps of woodland or desert designs. Instead, you'll see designs that were either employed in the real world, or could functionally fill the purpose for which they are advertised. It's been 200 years since the bombs, and odds are most wastelanders would only keep around pre-War camouflage designs that actually help them blend in with their surroundings. When it's life or death, fashion tends to go out the window. And when it comes to injecting more radical color schemes into the world, I'd rather create cool post-War designs.
Show
Art of War prioritizes lore-friendly designs that are accurate to the Fallout universe. Most designs are strictly from the Cold War era or earlier or are based on designs from that era. If they aren't, then it is because there is a precedent for them existing in the Fallout universe. There aren't any of the more popular modern aesthetics present in this mod. No digital camouflages or modern USAF woodland or desert designs.
The visual language of the Fallout universe is more than enough to introduce interesting designs!
I also did my best to avoid preexisting camouflages that were purely fictional or non-functional. Many well-known patterns that exist today fit in this camp, and exist purely to be used commercially - IE on clothes or accessories. Think pink camouflage, many variations of urban camouflage, or stylistic color swaps of woodland or desert designs. Instead, you'll see designs that were either employed in the real world, or could functionally fill the purpose for which they are advertised. It's been 200 years since the bombs, and odds are most wastelanders would only keep around pre-War camouflage designs that actually help them blend in with their surroundings. When it's life or death, fashion tends to go out the window. And when it comes to injecting more radical color schemes into the world, I'd rather create cool post-War designs.
Details
Now that it's clear what this mod is and isn't, let's descend into the depths and confront the devil in the details, shall we?
How does it work, exactly?
WEAPON SKINS:
All new weapon skins are added to vanilla weapons using the Creation Club material frameworks - IE the mod slot and attachment keyword Bethesda added for it. Weapons not supported by the CC system have a custom keyword added in place of the Creation Club's, and have had the mod slot added to them.
INTEGRATION:
Art of War adds its skins to new Mod Collection OMODs. These ModCols are added to the Object Templates of vanilla weapons, which allows them to appear in the world. This process allows them to spawn on enemies, vendors, containers, etc. at proper levels. Integration of weapon skins takes both the tier of the skin and the spawn level of the weapon into account - all in an effort to preserve the rarity and prestige of the various cosmetics. This also keeps your game from being flooded with weapon skins from the jump.
GAME BALANCE:
The value of each weapon skin is based both on the material it is crafted from and the rarity and intricacy of the design. Vintage designs or those made from precious metals like gold will be of the greatest value. Most increase the value of a weapon by 10-20 percent, but the rarest may double a weapon's value.
Crafting is designed to be costlier than vanilla. Instead of 1 Steel and 1 Oil, most designs require Oil and Lead, as well as 1 or more other ingredients. Higher tier skins may require 2 Oil and Lead as well as Adhesive, in addition to 1 or more special ingredients and perk requirements.
COMPATIBILITY:
Spoiler:
This mod is designed with compatibility in mind, which is why it ships with both a Full Version and a Crafting Only variant. In addition, this mod contains baked in support out-of-the box for two of the most popular weapon replacers: Dak's Assault Rifle Replacer REDUX and Dak's Combat Rifle remesh REDUX.
(By the way, THIRTEEN TEXTURES for the Assault Rifle meshes, Dak?! THIRTEEN!? Was 4 separate texture sets really necessary for the RECEIVER ALONE? WHY? GOOD GRIEF, MAN!!)
In addition, the mod contains full support for Gunmetal Weapon Skins in the form of a plugin replacer. The mod author, ShawnPhillips, has expressed support for an unofficial update for their mod, and I have endeavored to fully re-tool and update it to work with Art of War. This update contains bugfixes, rewrites for all included skins, updated recipes, and scraps duplicate skins or cosmetics that aren't lore-friendly (IE urban digital).
Here are some common mods that can cause compatibility issues with Art of War:
- Mods that replace weapons with custom meshes. This mod adds new skins to VANILLA weapons. If you use 1 or more mods that replace them, and they aren't UV'd to the original texture sets, then you will not have skins for that weapon. Additionally, if such a mod uses a vanilla texture set but butchers the UVs, skins may look wonky.
- Right-Handed Replacers. Some weapon skins have text that will be presented backwards on the mirrored meshes of right-hand replacers. I might add an option to the FOMOD with some loose file replacers for these textures down the road, since there is only a small handful of them. For now though, it is a known issue.
- Mods That Edit Vanilla Weapons. As stated above under Versions, mods that edit vanilla weapons will conflict with the Full Version of this mod. Additionally, changes made to such weapons will not apply to the craftable variants of weapons in the Crafting Only variant of the mod.
Show
This mod is designed with compatibility in mind, which is why it ships with both a Full Version and a Crafting Only variant. In addition, this mod contains baked in support out-of-the box for two of the most popular weapon replacers: Dak's Assault Rifle Replacer REDUX and Dak's Combat Rifle remesh REDUX.
(By the way, THIRTEEN TEXTURES for the Assault Rifle meshes, Dak?! THIRTEEN!? Was 4 separate texture sets really necessary for the RECEIVER ALONE? WHY? GOOD GRIEF, MAN!!)
In addition, the mod contains full support for Gunmetal Weapon Skins in the form of a plugin replacer. The mod author, ShawnPhillips, has expressed support for an unofficial update for their mod, and I have endeavored to fully re-tool and update it to work with Art of War. This update contains bugfixes, rewrites for all included skins, updated recipes, and scraps duplicate skins or cosmetics that aren't lore-friendly (IE urban digital).
KNOWN COMPATIBILITY ISSUES:
Here are some common mods that can cause compatibility issues with Art of War:
- Mods that replace weapons with custom meshes. This mod adds new skins to VANILLA weapons. If you use 1 or more mods that replace them, and they aren't UV'd to the original texture sets, then you will not have skins for that weapon. Additionally, if such a mod uses a vanilla texture set but butchers the UVs, skins may look wonky.
- Right-Handed Replacers. Some weapon skins have text that will be presented backwards on the mirrored meshes of right-hand replacers. I might add an option to the FOMOD with some loose file replacers for these textures down the road, since there is only a small handful of them. For now though, it is a known issue.
- Mods That Edit Vanilla Weapons. As stated above under Versions, mods that edit vanilla weapons will conflict with the Full Version of this mod. Additionally, changes made to such weapons will not apply to the craftable variants of weapons in the Crafting Only variant of the mod.
CONFIGURATION:
Spoiler:
All configurations for this mod are contained within the FOMOD. This mod does not contain an MCM or Settings Holotape. In addition, multiple Texture Packages of varying sizes are included under the Main Files Section of the mod page.
Like my other big mods, Mutant Menagerie and Conversions, Art of War is both an all-in-one and all-or-nothing package. I do not and most likely will not include configuration options for turning certain cosmetics on or off. I develop my mods as cohesive wholes, and am not interested in developing them any other way. I like to be clear and upfront about that fact, and if that's a non-starter for you, I totally get it. Thanks for understanding!
(Unless you're one of the nimrods I've had to ban from my mod pages for being decidedly NOT understanding and, in fact, very angry at the idea of me not doing things how you think I should do them. In which case, maybe go for a nature walk or something, seek professional help, I dunno.)
Show
All configurations for this mod are contained within the FOMOD. This mod does not contain an MCM or Settings Holotape. In addition, multiple Texture Packages of varying sizes are included under the Main Files Section of the mod page.
Like my other big mods, Mutant Menagerie and Conversions, Art of War is both an all-in-one and all-or-nothing package. I do not and most likely will not include configuration options for turning certain cosmetics on or off. I develop my mods as cohesive wholes, and am not interested in developing them any other way. I like to be clear and upfront about that fact, and if that's a non-starter for you, I totally get it. Thanks for understanding!
(Unless you're one of the nimrods I've had to ban from my mod pages for being decidedly NOT understanding and, in fact, very angry at the idea of me not doing things how you think I should do them. In which case, maybe go for a nature walk or something, seek professional help, I dunno.)
INSTALLATION:
Spoiler:
1) Download the MAIN FILES and a TEXTURE PACKAGE.
To use this mod, you must install both the Main Files AND a Texture Package. Texture Packages are available as separate downloads in 3 quality variations: Standard (2k-4k), Optimized (1k-2k), and Performance (512x or lower).
2) Install all files and run the FOMOD installer.
When you install the mod, the FOMOD will ask you to choose between the mod's 2 distinct variants, to select which Main BA2 Archive format to install, and whether to use Gunmetal Weapon Skins integration, which comes in 2 variant options mirroring the 2 main plugins. Once the installation has completed and your Texture Package is also installed, you are ready to use the mod.
- The FULL VERSION of the mod makes necessary edits to vanilla weapons to enable all of the mod's intended functions.
- The CRAFTING ONLY variant of the mod is built for compatibility, and does not edit any vanilla files. This limits the mod's cosmetics to the crafting menu.
All plugins are ESPLs, and the assets included with this mod are contained within BA2 Archives. Each of the 3 Texture BA2 Archives use the old, pre-next gen BA2 format, rather than offering 6 separate options. Both versions of the game *should* be able to run this format.
You should place Art of War beneath any mods that alter vanilla weapons. If there is a mod which needs to overwrite Art of War, place it below. I recommend putting it near other vanilla weapon mods in your load order and tweaking the order as needed through trial and (hopefully not) error.
Finally, if you are on a downgraded version of Fallout 4, you will either need to use the Backported Archive2 Support System mod to load this mod's default Main BA2 Archive, or select the Downgraded Main BA2 Archive option in the FOMOD installer.
Completing Installation.
Once this process has been completed, Art of War should be successfully installed. Mod content should appear in your game, and material options should be available under the menu of the same name when viewing a weapon at the Weapons Workbench.
Show
1) Download the MAIN FILES and a TEXTURE PACKAGE.
To use this mod, you must install both the Main Files AND a Texture Package. Texture Packages are available as separate downloads in 3 quality variations: Standard (2k-4k), Optimized (1k-2k), and Performance (512x or lower).
2) Install all files and run the FOMOD installer.
When you install the mod, the FOMOD will ask you to choose between the mod's 2 distinct variants, to select which Main BA2 Archive format to install, and whether to use Gunmetal Weapon Skins integration, which comes in 2 variant options mirroring the 2 main plugins. Once the installation has completed and your Texture Package is also installed, you are ready to use the mod.
- The FULL VERSION of the mod makes necessary edits to vanilla weapons to enable all of the mod's intended functions.
- The CRAFTING ONLY variant of the mod is built for compatibility, and does not edit any vanilla files. This limits the mod's cosmetics to the crafting menu.
All plugins are ESPLs, and the assets included with this mod are contained within BA2 Archives. Each of the 3 Texture BA2 Archives use the old, pre-next gen BA2 format, rather than offering 6 separate options. Both versions of the game *should* be able to run this format.
You should place Art of War beneath any mods that alter vanilla weapons. If there is a mod which needs to overwrite Art of War, place it below. I recommend putting it near other vanilla weapon mods in your load order and tweaking the order as needed through trial and (hopefully not) error.
Finally, if you are on a downgraded version of Fallout 4, you will either need to use the Backported Archive2 Support System mod to load this mod's default Main BA2 Archive, or select the Downgraded Main BA2 Archive option in the FOMOD installer.
Completing Installation.
Once this process has been completed, Art of War should be successfully installed. Mod content should appear in your game, and material options should be available under the menu of the same name when viewing a weapon at the Weapons Workbench.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Spoiler:
The following are issues that have been recorded while testing Art of War:
- Cluttered Inventory: Bethesda made it so that weapons with 1 or more separate mods cannot stack. So if you loot a bunch of weapons with separate skins, your inventory can become cluttered fast. There is nothing I can do about this.
- Visual Oddities with Right-Handed Replacers: As stated in the Compatibility section, some weapon skins have text that will be presented backwards on the mirrored meshes of right-hand replacers. I might add an option to the FOMOD with some loose file replacers for these textures down the road, since there is only a small handful of them. For now though, it is a known issue.
- Visual Stretching or Quirks: Some textures may appear stretched or have some visual oddities on the mirrored side or underside of some meshes - usually those facing away from the player. This is rare, only noticeable when closely inspecting weapons, and is present on CC skins too. This is because Bethesda cut some corners here and there, and it is most noticeable when not using the vanilla textures that were designed to hide such oddities.
Show
The following are issues that have been recorded while testing Art of War:
- Cluttered Inventory: Bethesda made it so that weapons with 1 or more separate mods cannot stack. So if you loot a bunch of weapons with separate skins, your inventory can become cluttered fast. There is nothing I can do about this.
- Visual Oddities with Right-Handed Replacers: As stated in the Compatibility section, some weapon skins have text that will be presented backwards on the mirrored meshes of right-hand replacers. I might add an option to the FOMOD with some loose file replacers for these textures down the road, since there is only a small handful of them. For now though, it is a known issue.
- Visual Stretching or Quirks: Some textures may appear stretched or have some visual oddities on the mirrored side or underside of some meshes - usually those facing away from the player. This is rare, only noticeable when closely inspecting weapons, and is present on CC skins too. This is because Bethesda cut some corners here and there, and it is most noticeable when not using the vanilla textures that were designed to hide such oddities.
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Conclusion
FUTURE PLANS
This mod took a lot of work to develop, but I'm happy to finally call it complete. Like Mutant Menagerie's initial release, there are many more things I'd like to add and implement down the road. I've also improved my skills so much that I wouldn't mind going back and doing some quality passes on earlier designs. There are so many more types of designs I could make, and there were even some that got cut to in order to get this mod released in one piece. Furthermore, I hope to cover more weapons in the future - including some melee weapons - and eventually expand this mod to include armors as well.
In addition, Fallout is experiencing quite the renaissance this year, and I’ve never been more excited to be in the modding scene. So I can't wait to see what the future holds!
Credits, Content Usage Policy, and Distribution Permissions
Spoiler:
My mods use a lot of publicly-available assets and modder's resources. I have heavily altered most of these assets, but the REAL credit goes to all the content creators who have released their work to us on public platforms. The document below is a comprehensive list of all assets used in the mod - with all links and attribution credits provided.
The vast majority of outside assets used within my mods are publicly available under the CC4.0 Attribution license. Therefore, these assets are open for use and cannot be protected or withheld by myself (not that'd I'd ever want to - open source modding is the only way to properly mod in my opinion.) With that said, there are some licensed assets purchased from asset marketplaces, a few modders' resources, and some community contributions. There are even a few assets that were created by me - or modified from existing Bethesda assets.
Below is a comprehensive list of everything you need to know about asset usage with my content. This is MY content policy only, for use with my mods, and must be used in conjunction with and adherence to Nexus's content policy.
1) REGARDING CREATIVE COMMONS ASSETS
All CC4.0 content is available for free use, and cannot be protected or restricted. This seems to be something of a point of confusion for users on the Nexus. Under the CC4.0 Attribution license, anyone can use, publish, modify, and profit from CC content - no permission needed - so long as proper attribution is applied. What this also means is that you MAY NOT, under any circumstance, restrict content that is derivative of or iterative upon CC4.0 content. When something is released into Creative Commons, you cannot take it out of Creative Commons. It doesn't matter if you edit the asset. It doesn't matter if you make it unrecognizable from its original form. If you build a house on Creative Commons' property, the CC owns that house - which means EVERYONE owns that house.
What this means is:
- You may use all the assets in this mod that were released under CC4.0, no credit or permission needed, even if the assets were modified or altered from their source material. You can credit me if you choose, but I won't make a stink about it either way.
- You may not release a mod that denies or restricts others from using these assets, even if you modify or alter them.
- You must provide proper credit for the assets to the ORIGINAL creator, not myself, and must not imply in anyway that the original creator endorses your product or work if they have not explicitly done so.
Final Note: I've seen modders on Nexus take CC4.0 content, use it in mods, and then try to restrict the permissions of the mod and claim the assets belong to them. This is incorrect, this violates the CC4.0 license. See the above link yourself for more information. If I catch anyone doing this with any of the assets from my mod, I will personally report you. Creative Commons is an objective and unabashed good - the talented, selfless creators that contribute to it will not be disrespected on my watch.
2) REGARDING BETHESDA (FALLOUT 4) ASSETS
All Bethesda-based content is available for free, open use within the confines Fallout 4 modding, and cannot be protected or restricted. The assets provided to us for modding Fallout 4 by Bethesda do not - and cannot - belong to you. We are all free to use them, and we cannot legally restrict others from doing so. Nifbashed assets do not belong to you. Mesh/Texture edits do not belong to you. Modified vanilla scripts do not belong to you. If it is based off of Bethesda's existing work, you cannot claim the asset as your own. It belongs to the Bethesda and/or the artist, designer, or programmer on Bethesda's payroll that designed it. We are allowed to play with their toys and enjoy them - we are not allowed to claim them as our own and lock others out.
What this means is:
- You may use all the assets in this or any mod that equate to modified, altered, or morphed Bethesda assets - so long as it adheres to Bethesda's modding and content policies. You do not need to ask for permission.
- You cannot claim you own any asset from Fallout 4, even if you modified it, and may not restrict others from using assets you do not legally own.
- You may not release a mod that restricts anyone from using a vanilla asset, even if was modified by you or someone else. It is not your property.
- You can modify and use any of the assets I've altered from their vanilla state - no credit or attribution needed. They weren't mine in the first place. They belong to the working-class designers and artists that helped bring Fallout 4 into reality. I don't want to steal credit they all deserve simply because I used Outfitstudio and GIMP to turn dogmeat into a coyote or a yao guai into a giant badger. The flexibility of the vanilla assets speaks to their talent, not mine.
- You may not convert any of these assets to work in other games - even if they have been modified beyond recognition. These assets were provided for Fallout 4 modding, you cannot legally remove them from this game and put them in another. The only time this cross-game asset usage is legal are under rare circumstances where multiple games are combined into a singular, combined release - IE Halo: the Master Chief Collection.
Final Note: I've seen people morph NIFs or make small texture edits, release them as mods, and restrict permissions on these assets. From what I understand, this is incorrect. You do not own those assets. These are commercial assets from a AAA game. They are yours to use, but they are not your property. I don't know what Nexus's position on this is, but there are mod authors on this platform that do this. If Nexus does find this acceptable behavior, that is their prerogative. But as far as I am concerned, you are only allowed to use my modified vanilla assets if you release your mod with open-permissions. Because sharing is an objective good.
3) REGARDING LICENSED ASSETS
All licensed assets purchased from asset marketplaces must also be purchased by any mod authors that seek to use them. Certain assets within some of my mods were acquired via the purchase of a content usage license. These assets are legally mine to use, but they are not yours. I have the receipts to prove it - you do not. If you wish to use assets from this mod that are based on licensed assets, you may only do so AFTER you have also purchased the license yourself. Anything less is legally considered theft. And not Nexus-level mod theft, where there may be conjecture on who owns what and who can legally protect which asset, and wherein the biggest punishment you can face is having your mod deleted and your account banned. We are talking about easily provable, legally-punishable commercial asset theft. So buy the license - they're all relatively reasonable in price, I assure you.
What this all means is:
- You cannot use a licensed asset without first purchasing the license for yourself. Violation of this simple rule is punishable by law. Someone may take legal action against you, and I am not responsible for it if they do. That's on you, my dude.
- You cannot release an addon for my mod that includes licensed assets, even if you require the main mod as a master. If you include these assets as loose files or in separate archives, you're committing a crime! This isn't something I have any involvement in either, it is between you and the artist on CGTrader you just stole from. So don't re-release those assets without purchasing the license yourself. No one can help you if you do.
- If you have purchased the license for these assets, all the versions of these assets from my mod are free to use. As long as you have paid the piper, you're free to use licensed assets from this mod - no permission needed. Just be sure to read over the asset license upon purchasing the asset for yourself, and ensure you do not violate it.
Final Note: Seriously guys, this is something that could get very bad if you aren't paying attention. Mod authors use licensed assets all the time, but we all purchase the licenses before doing so. If you just rip assets from this mod, assume it's okay to use, and then accidentally release the asset in a way that constitutes selling or redistributing the asset openly without a license, you could face legal ramifications! It's such an easy situation to avoid, so please ensure you do your research!
Licensed Assets are separated into their own category in the Credits Doc. They are clearly labeled as such,
so you have NO excuse for misusing them!
4) RELEASING PATCHES/ADD-ONS
You may make add-ons for my mods, but you must release them with open-permissions. This mod is intended as a platform to move the community forward, as most mods should. In the spirit of that sentiment, you may not create add-ons, expansions, or patches for my mod if they are not also released as modders' resources. You must allow others to use the assets and content contained within freely, without having to ask permission, including use of assets in mods that earn Donation Points and the possible use of your mod in mod packs. Essentially, you must use an identical content policy to my original mod. Exceptions to this rule, of course, include licensed assets - like those mentioned above. What this means is:
- In order to release retextures, overhauls, patches, or other forms of add-on content, you must release them open-source. You may not restrict permissions or set options to "ask permission first." The only exceptions to this condition would be converting files to other games or mods being sold for money.
- If your add-on uses licensed content, you must link to those assets, in very much the same way as I have.
- I will not approve of any add-on content that isn't pro-sharing, isn't pro-collections/mod packs, and/or isn't pro-open source.
- You are allowed to earn Donation Points and donations from add-on content.
- You are NOT allowed to release add-on content to mirrors that are not BethesdaNet or Nexusmods, and you may NOT lock add-on content behind any sort of paywall.
- You may release translations, add-ons, and patches for my mods without asking for permission (obviously.)
Final Note: When it comes to my personal ethics, I very much possess a community-oriented 'everything should be public domain' view on modding (at least until actual mod marketplaces and career modding become a thing.) My policies will reflect that. I won't try to sway you one way or the other when it comes to your own content and pursuits. Everyone has their own views, and I'm not here to tell anyone those views are wrong. But with my mods, everything related to them will be done in the public domain.
5) MIRRORS AND ALTERNATE PLATFORMS
You may not reupload my mods on any alternative platform - they are only available on BethesdaNet and Nexusmods. If there is one thing I DO want full control over, it is WHERE my mod is distributed. If you see my mod on a platform other than the main two listed above, please report it. At the end of the day, this is something that is hard to police. Just know that if you come across my mod on other 3rd party websites, it isn't guaranteed to be safe to download, and doesn't support my work.
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My mods use a lot of publicly-available assets and modder's resources. I have heavily altered most of these assets, but the REAL credit goes to all the content creators who have released their work to us on public platforms. The document below is a comprehensive list of all assets used in the mod - with all links and attribution credits provided.
FULL ART OF WAR CREDITS AND REFERENCE DOCUMENT
The vast majority of outside assets used within my mods are publicly available under the CC4.0 Attribution license. Therefore, these assets are open for use and cannot be protected or withheld by myself (not that'd I'd ever want to - open source modding is the only way to properly mod in my opinion.) With that said, there are some licensed assets purchased from asset marketplaces, a few modders' resources, and some community contributions. There are even a few assets that were created by me - or modified from existing Bethesda assets.
Below is a comprehensive list of everything you need to know about asset usage with my content. This is MY content policy only, for use with my mods, and must be used in conjunction with and adherence to Nexus's content policy.
1) REGARDING CREATIVE COMMONS ASSETS
All CC4.0 content is available for free use, and cannot be protected or restricted. This seems to be something of a point of confusion for users on the Nexus. Under the CC4.0 Attribution license, anyone can use, publish, modify, and profit from CC content - no permission needed - so long as proper attribution is applied. What this also means is that you MAY NOT, under any circumstance, restrict content that is derivative of or iterative upon CC4.0 content. When something is released into Creative Commons, you cannot take it out of Creative Commons. It doesn't matter if you edit the asset. It doesn't matter if you make it unrecognizable from its original form. If you build a house on Creative Commons' property, the CC owns that house - which means EVERYONE owns that house.
What this means is:
- You may use all the assets in this mod that were released under CC4.0, no credit or permission needed, even if the assets were modified or altered from their source material. You can credit me if you choose, but I won't make a stink about it either way.
- You may not release a mod that denies or restricts others from using these assets, even if you modify or alter them.
- You must provide proper credit for the assets to the ORIGINAL creator, not myself, and must not imply in anyway that the original creator endorses your product or work if they have not explicitly done so.
Final Note: I've seen modders on Nexus take CC4.0 content, use it in mods, and then try to restrict the permissions of the mod and claim the assets belong to them. This is incorrect, this violates the CC4.0 license. See the above link yourself for more information. If I catch anyone doing this with any of the assets from my mod, I will personally report you. Creative Commons is an objective and unabashed good - the talented, selfless creators that contribute to it will not be disrespected on my watch.
2) REGARDING BETHESDA (FALLOUT 4) ASSETS
All Bethesda-based content is available for free, open use within the confines Fallout 4 modding, and cannot be protected or restricted. The assets provided to us for modding Fallout 4 by Bethesda do not - and cannot - belong to you. We are all free to use them, and we cannot legally restrict others from doing so. Nifbashed assets do not belong to you. Mesh/Texture edits do not belong to you. Modified vanilla scripts do not belong to you. If it is based off of Bethesda's existing work, you cannot claim the asset as your own. It belongs to the Bethesda and/or the artist, designer, or programmer on Bethesda's payroll that designed it. We are allowed to play with their toys and enjoy them - we are not allowed to claim them as our own and lock others out.
What this means is:
- You may use all the assets in this or any mod that equate to modified, altered, or morphed Bethesda assets - so long as it adheres to Bethesda's modding and content policies. You do not need to ask for permission.
- You cannot claim you own any asset from Fallout 4, even if you modified it, and may not restrict others from using assets you do not legally own.
- You may not release a mod that restricts anyone from using a vanilla asset, even if was modified by you or someone else. It is not your property.
- You can modify and use any of the assets I've altered from their vanilla state - no credit or attribution needed. They weren't mine in the first place. They belong to the working-class designers and artists that helped bring Fallout 4 into reality. I don't want to steal credit they all deserve simply because I used Outfitstudio and GIMP to turn dogmeat into a coyote or a yao guai into a giant badger. The flexibility of the vanilla assets speaks to their talent, not mine.
- You may not convert any of these assets to work in other games - even if they have been modified beyond recognition. These assets were provided for Fallout 4 modding, you cannot legally remove them from this game and put them in another. The only time this cross-game asset usage is legal are under rare circumstances where multiple games are combined into a singular, combined release - IE Halo: the Master Chief Collection.
Final Note: I've seen people morph NIFs or make small texture edits, release them as mods, and restrict permissions on these assets. From what I understand, this is incorrect. You do not own those assets. These are commercial assets from a AAA game. They are yours to use, but they are not your property. I don't know what Nexus's position on this is, but there are mod authors on this platform that do this. If Nexus does find this acceptable behavior, that is their prerogative. But as far as I am concerned, you are only allowed to use my modified vanilla assets if you release your mod with open-permissions. Because sharing is an objective good.
3) REGARDING LICENSED ASSETS
All licensed assets purchased from asset marketplaces must also be purchased by any mod authors that seek to use them. Certain assets within some of my mods were acquired via the purchase of a content usage license. These assets are legally mine to use, but they are not yours. I have the receipts to prove it - you do not. If you wish to use assets from this mod that are based on licensed assets, you may only do so AFTER you have also purchased the license yourself. Anything less is legally considered theft. And not Nexus-level mod theft, where there may be conjecture on who owns what and who can legally protect which asset, and wherein the biggest punishment you can face is having your mod deleted and your account banned. We are talking about easily provable, legally-punishable commercial asset theft. So buy the license - they're all relatively reasonable in price, I assure you.
What this all means is:
- You cannot use a licensed asset without first purchasing the license for yourself. Violation of this simple rule is punishable by law. Someone may take legal action against you, and I am not responsible for it if they do. That's on you, my dude.
- You cannot release an addon for my mod that includes licensed assets, even if you require the main mod as a master. If you include these assets as loose files or in separate archives, you're committing a crime! This isn't something I have any involvement in either, it is between you and the artist on CGTrader you just stole from. So don't re-release those assets without purchasing the license yourself. No one can help you if you do.
- If you have purchased the license for these assets, all the versions of these assets from my mod are free to use. As long as you have paid the piper, you're free to use licensed assets from this mod - no permission needed. Just be sure to read over the asset license upon purchasing the asset for yourself, and ensure you do not violate it.
Final Note: Seriously guys, this is something that could get very bad if you aren't paying attention. Mod authors use licensed assets all the time, but we all purchase the licenses before doing so. If you just rip assets from this mod, assume it's okay to use, and then accidentally release the asset in a way that constitutes selling or redistributing the asset openly without a license, you could face legal ramifications! It's such an easy situation to avoid, so please ensure you do your research!
Licensed Assets are separated into their own category in the Credits Doc. They are clearly labeled as such,
so you have NO excuse for misusing them!
4) RELEASING PATCHES/ADD-ONS
You may make add-ons for my mods, but you must release them with open-permissions. This mod is intended as a platform to move the community forward, as most mods should. In the spirit of that sentiment, you may not create add-ons, expansions, or patches for my mod if they are not also released as modders' resources. You must allow others to use the assets and content contained within freely, without having to ask permission, including use of assets in mods that earn Donation Points and the possible use of your mod in mod packs. Essentially, you must use an identical content policy to my original mod. Exceptions to this rule, of course, include licensed assets - like those mentioned above. What this means is:
- In order to release retextures, overhauls, patches, or other forms of add-on content, you must release them open-source. You may not restrict permissions or set options to "ask permission first." The only exceptions to this condition would be converting files to other games or mods being sold for money.
- If your add-on uses licensed content, you must link to those assets, in very much the same way as I have.
- I will not approve of any add-on content that isn't pro-sharing, isn't pro-collections/mod packs, and/or isn't pro-open source.
- You are allowed to earn Donation Points and donations from add-on content.
- You are NOT allowed to release add-on content to mirrors that are not BethesdaNet or Nexusmods, and you may NOT lock add-on content behind any sort of paywall.
- You may release translations, add-ons, and patches for my mods without asking for permission (obviously.)
Final Note: When it comes to my personal ethics, I very much possess a community-oriented 'everything should be public domain' view on modding (at least until actual mod marketplaces and career modding become a thing.) My policies will reflect that. I won't try to sway you one way or the other when it comes to your own content and pursuits. Everyone has their own views, and I'm not here to tell anyone those views are wrong. But with my mods, everything related to them will be done in the public domain.
5) MIRRORS AND ALTERNATE PLATFORMS
You may not reupload my mods on any alternative platform - they are only available on BethesdaNet and Nexusmods. If there is one thing I DO want full control over, it is WHERE my mod is distributed. If you see my mod on a platform other than the main two listed above, please report it. At the end of the day, this is something that is hard to police. Just know that if you come across my mod on other 3rd party websites, it isn't guaranteed to be safe to download, and doesn't support my work.
Lore-Friendliness Policy
Spoiler:
Lore - "A body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth." - OxfordLanguages Dictionary
"a particular body of knowledge or tradition" - Merriam Webster
Popular synonyms/similar words include: Mythology, Folklore, Backstory, History, Legends
What constitutes Lore-Friendly is something a lot of people are very, very opinionated about - often pointlessly so. I say pointlessly because Lore-Friendly (most-often) isn't a matter of opinion. Lore is backstory, legend, and history. Things are factually Lore-Friendly, and adhere to mythology and backstory, while other things are not, and contradict mythology and backstory. There is a line where conjecture and open-interpretation must be considered and a judgement call must be made, but that is very rare. The fact of the matter is, whether you like it or not, lore-friendliness is not up to the individual. The following criteria below are my rules for determining mod canon, and the criteria that I use to determine whether a creature is, in fact, lore-friendly:
1) The franchise owner/current-producer is the arbiter of canon.
If you own the rights to something, you have the sole right to define (or redefine) its canon and lore. For my mods, canon is defined by the one holding the keys to the kingdom. That means Bethesda is in charge - like it or not. If they say something is de-canonized, it is. If they make a retcon, that retcon is the new canon. If they add new information to the world, it must be considered and accepted - even the information that post-dates Fallout 4 (IE: Fallout 76). The minute you start picking and choosing what's canon based on which franchise variation's interpretation or presentation you liked better, that's the minute in which you lose any objective determination for what constitutes lore-friendly.
2) Something is either lore-friendly or it isn't. There is almost never an in-between.
Lore-friendly simply means that something doesn't contradict lore or break pre-existing canon. Period. It does not mean whether or not something is tonally or thematically consistent with the setting, or whether it breaks established conventions within franchise. Those are other issues entirely - ones that allow for the interjection of opinion and artistic interpretation. Whether or not something "works" in a fictional universe, from a worldbuilding standpoint or otherwise, is a very personal discussion that varies greatly based on who's doing the discussing. But none of those feelings or personal beliefs apply to the discussion of lore-friendliness.
The most frequent examples of such tonal debates being disguised as lore debates would be the discussion around artistic changes in the newer Fallouts. In the world of fictional universes, artistic interpretation and lore-friendliness are two separate discussions. You may not like the new power armor design or gameplay changes associated with it, but that argument does not belong in the lore-friendliness debate. Artistic interpretation is an accepted feature of the video game and wider entertainment industry - and especially so at Bethesda. It is important to respect that, rather than be distracted by it.
3) Pre-existing, canonized lore matters, but must be properly interpreted.
Jumping off from the first point, existing lore and canon make up the bulk of how we determine lore-friendliness. In a situation where canon on a topic exists, you must use critical thinking to analyze the information as it is presented. For example, In Fallout: New Vegas, Robert House states cats are extinct as part of a snide joke about skinning cats. If we didn't know what we knew post-Fallout 4, how would we analyze House's statement from a lore implicative perspective? Would we say that all cats in the franchise are extinct? Of course not, because how could Robert House possibly know that?
Without supporting evidence or affirmatory statements from others, the most that we could conclude concerning the cat question is the following. Either cats are either extinct worldwide, extinct in the American Southwest, or exist in such sparse numbers in the American Southwest that one of the smartest men in the world, with an incredibly advanced and well-established surveillance state, could be tricked into thinking they had died out. Since there is no definitive evidence or corroborating statements in-game to verify or dispute House's claim, we cannot call the existence of cats in, say, the Commonwealth, a canon-break from a logical standpoint. It is objectively lore-friendly given the context. We could, however, say that a sudden, healthy population of housecats in the Mojave Wasteland would be lore-breaking - given that it is within House's domain of influence. When in doubt, use the Socratic method.
4) If there is no information, it is a blank slate.
This may seem obvious to some, but it must be stated anyway. If no information exists on a subject, then it is an open book. If something isn't expanded upon in the existing canon, then any interpretation is objectively lore-friendly. If your fan project involves raccoons being extinct, and raccoons have never been mentioned in the history of Fallout franchise canon, then your project is lore-friendly. If your fan project features a mutant species of raccoon as one of its frontrunners, then again, your project is lore-friendly. No information doesn't mean you decide whether something's lore-friendly based on your feelings. Rather, this means that any interpretation of an untapped subject is lore-friendly. You are free to interpret such topics how you wish.
To take this a step farther, let's look at the radtoads from my mod Mutant Menagerie. Radtoads are an established creature in Fallout 76, but their fate after the first 20-something years of the apocalypse is unknown in the lore. So, using the logic we just laid out, determining that radtoads may have mutated further into giant walking tanks 200 after Fallout 76 is a valid, lore-friendly interpretation. Deciding they remain unchanged, have gone extinct, or are entirely exclusive to Appalachia are ALSO a valid, lore-friendly interpretations. Do not waste time arguing about what isn't there. You'll live longer.
5) Cut or de-canonized content that hasn't been retconned or replaced is not law, but is still a valid interpretation.
This one is a little tricky, because it requires an understanding of the rules we laid out beforehand. Basically, if something, especially game content, has been declared non-canon, but has not been overwritten, it falls into the category of "valid interpretation". Elements of both Van Buren and Fallout Tactics, for example, have been canonized sparingly in later iterations of the franchise - despite both being separated from the lore by Bethesda. What this means is that while the content of something like, say, the Fallout Bible cannot be used to declare something non-canon, much of it (the bits that have not been overwritten or retconned) still represent valid, lore-friendly interpretations of certain subject matter. Even Bethesda still pulls from the Fallout Bible and other de-canonized material occasionally.
What this means is: while it may no longer be canon that wanamingos went extinct after Fallout 2 (as stated in the Fallout Bible,) and that information can no longer be evidenced to disprove their existence in future/fan material, if your fan project involves wanamingos going extinct as a major plot point, then that is a valid, lore-friendly interpretation of the Fallout universe. This is a very helpful rule for effectively utilizing supplemental materials that have live somewhere in-between canon and the dumpster.
6) Real-world logic matters when it does, and doesn't when it doesn't.
Fallout is one of those franchises where it takes logic and real-world inspiration incredibly seriously in some places, but is essentially a cartoon in others. For the sake of determining lore-friendliness, it's important to take into account when and where the franchise gets serious with its logic and where it gets goofy. Energy weapons, for example, are treated very cartoonishly and purposefully disobey the laws of physics and reality. Lasers can kick like a shotgun when fired because the universe isn't concerned with the realism of many of its more-pseudoscientific elements- it's more about the rule of retrofuturistic cool. Human issues, on the other hand, are usually treated realistically, with questions about politics, ethics, and the human condition being at the core of the Fallout franchise's writing and quest themes - and largely inspired by real events. This all borders very closely on the realm of "artistic interpretation" that we outlined in Rule 2, but uniquely has lore implications when it comes to certain elements of Fallout.
Creatures, specifically, tend to be taken quite seriously in Fallout. Outlandish designs aside, each creature tends to be consistent with a known real-world counterpart that fits ecologically within an environment. They usually have deep backgrounds, clear real-world and/or pop culture inspirations, and play crucial roles in their ecosystems outside of killing/fleeing from the player. Knowing that the franchise takes the topic of its creatures seriously, we could determine that lore-friendliness is strengthened when adhering to the ecology of real-world animals and creatures. Various exceptions do exist, however. This is primarily because pet stores, zoos, and wildlife sanctuaries exist - allowing for conjecture.
In summation, this is a rule that is best used for strengthening lore-friendliness and adherence to tone when creating, rather than declaring something to be lore-friendly or not. If your entire argument for declaring something a lore-break boils down to, "Its pre-War counterpart isn't native to this environment and climate," you are going to be very disappointed when, as a counterargument, your adversary submits a twenty-page backstory detailing a 200 year-long Galápagos tortoise migration - the ending of which outlines their colonization of Washington DC and their sudden turn to cannibalism. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Can you disprove it? No. Because tonally-inconsistent interpretations of the world are still, objectively, lore-friendly interpretations of the world. So long as they adhere to, and exist within the confines of, existing lore, everything's gravy. The correct description of this type of content is setting-inappropriate or tonally-inconsistent - not lore-unfriendly. Breaking the themes of a setting or its established tone is different from breaking its lore - IE mythos, history, and/or backstory.
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Lore - "A body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth." - OxfordLanguages Dictionary
"a particular body of knowledge or tradition" - Merriam Webster
Popular synonyms/similar words include: Mythology, Folklore, Backstory, History, Legends
What constitutes Lore-Friendly is something a lot of people are very, very opinionated about - often pointlessly so. I say pointlessly because Lore-Friendly (most-often) isn't a matter of opinion. Lore is backstory, legend, and history. Things are factually Lore-Friendly, and adhere to mythology and backstory, while other things are not, and contradict mythology and backstory. There is a line where conjecture and open-interpretation must be considered and a judgement call must be made, but that is very rare. The fact of the matter is, whether you like it or not, lore-friendliness is not up to the individual. The following criteria below are my rules for determining mod canon, and the criteria that I use to determine whether a creature is, in fact, lore-friendly:
1) The franchise owner/current-producer is the arbiter of canon.
If you own the rights to something, you have the sole right to define (or redefine) its canon and lore. For my mods, canon is defined by the one holding the keys to the kingdom. That means Bethesda is in charge - like it or not. If they say something is de-canonized, it is. If they make a retcon, that retcon is the new canon. If they add new information to the world, it must be considered and accepted - even the information that post-dates Fallout 4 (IE: Fallout 76). The minute you start picking and choosing what's canon based on which franchise variation's interpretation or presentation you liked better, that's the minute in which you lose any objective determination for what constitutes lore-friendly.
2) Something is either lore-friendly or it isn't. There is almost never an in-between.
Lore-friendly simply means that something doesn't contradict lore or break pre-existing canon. Period. It does not mean whether or not something is tonally or thematically consistent with the setting, or whether it breaks established conventions within franchise. Those are other issues entirely - ones that allow for the interjection of opinion and artistic interpretation. Whether or not something "works" in a fictional universe, from a worldbuilding standpoint or otherwise, is a very personal discussion that varies greatly based on who's doing the discussing. But none of those feelings or personal beliefs apply to the discussion of lore-friendliness.
The most frequent examples of such tonal debates being disguised as lore debates would be the discussion around artistic changes in the newer Fallouts. In the world of fictional universes, artistic interpretation and lore-friendliness are two separate discussions. You may not like the new power armor design or gameplay changes associated with it, but that argument does not belong in the lore-friendliness debate. Artistic interpretation is an accepted feature of the video game and wider entertainment industry - and especially so at Bethesda. It is important to respect that, rather than be distracted by it.
3) Pre-existing, canonized lore matters, but must be properly interpreted.
Jumping off from the first point, existing lore and canon make up the bulk of how we determine lore-friendliness. In a situation where canon on a topic exists, you must use critical thinking to analyze the information as it is presented. For example, In Fallout: New Vegas, Robert House states cats are extinct as part of a snide joke about skinning cats. If we didn't know what we knew post-Fallout 4, how would we analyze House's statement from a lore implicative perspective? Would we say that all cats in the franchise are extinct? Of course not, because how could Robert House possibly know that?
Without supporting evidence or affirmatory statements from others, the most that we could conclude concerning the cat question is the following. Either cats are either extinct worldwide, extinct in the American Southwest, or exist in such sparse numbers in the American Southwest that one of the smartest men in the world, with an incredibly advanced and well-established surveillance state, could be tricked into thinking they had died out. Since there is no definitive evidence or corroborating statements in-game to verify or dispute House's claim, we cannot call the existence of cats in, say, the Commonwealth, a canon-break from a logical standpoint. It is objectively lore-friendly given the context. We could, however, say that a sudden, healthy population of housecats in the Mojave Wasteland would be lore-breaking - given that it is within House's domain of influence. When in doubt, use the Socratic method.
4) If there is no information, it is a blank slate.
This may seem obvious to some, but it must be stated anyway. If no information exists on a subject, then it is an open book. If something isn't expanded upon in the existing canon, then any interpretation is objectively lore-friendly. If your fan project involves raccoons being extinct, and raccoons have never been mentioned in the history of Fallout franchise canon, then your project is lore-friendly. If your fan project features a mutant species of raccoon as one of its frontrunners, then again, your project is lore-friendly. No information doesn't mean you decide whether something's lore-friendly based on your feelings. Rather, this means that any interpretation of an untapped subject is lore-friendly. You are free to interpret such topics how you wish.
To take this a step farther, let's look at the radtoads from my mod Mutant Menagerie. Radtoads are an established creature in Fallout 76, but their fate after the first 20-something years of the apocalypse is unknown in the lore. So, using the logic we just laid out, determining that radtoads may have mutated further into giant walking tanks 200 after Fallout 76 is a valid, lore-friendly interpretation. Deciding they remain unchanged, have gone extinct, or are entirely exclusive to Appalachia are ALSO a valid, lore-friendly interpretations. Do not waste time arguing about what isn't there. You'll live longer.
5) Cut or de-canonized content that hasn't been retconned or replaced is not law, but is still a valid interpretation.
This one is a little tricky, because it requires an understanding of the rules we laid out beforehand. Basically, if something, especially game content, has been declared non-canon, but has not been overwritten, it falls into the category of "valid interpretation". Elements of both Van Buren and Fallout Tactics, for example, have been canonized sparingly in later iterations of the franchise - despite both being separated from the lore by Bethesda. What this means is that while the content of something like, say, the Fallout Bible cannot be used to declare something non-canon, much of it (the bits that have not been overwritten or retconned) still represent valid, lore-friendly interpretations of certain subject matter. Even Bethesda still pulls from the Fallout Bible and other de-canonized material occasionally.
What this means is: while it may no longer be canon that wanamingos went extinct after Fallout 2 (as stated in the Fallout Bible,) and that information can no longer be evidenced to disprove their existence in future/fan material, if your fan project involves wanamingos going extinct as a major plot point, then that is a valid, lore-friendly interpretation of the Fallout universe. This is a very helpful rule for effectively utilizing supplemental materials that have live somewhere in-between canon and the dumpster.
6) Real-world logic matters when it does, and doesn't when it doesn't.
Fallout is one of those franchises where it takes logic and real-world inspiration incredibly seriously in some places, but is essentially a cartoon in others. For the sake of determining lore-friendliness, it's important to take into account when and where the franchise gets serious with its logic and where it gets goofy. Energy weapons, for example, are treated very cartoonishly and purposefully disobey the laws of physics and reality. Lasers can kick like a shotgun when fired because the universe isn't concerned with the realism of many of its more-pseudoscientific elements- it's more about the rule of retrofuturistic cool. Human issues, on the other hand, are usually treated realistically, with questions about politics, ethics, and the human condition being at the core of the Fallout franchise's writing and quest themes - and largely inspired by real events. This all borders very closely on the realm of "artistic interpretation" that we outlined in Rule 2, but uniquely has lore implications when it comes to certain elements of Fallout.
Creatures, specifically, tend to be taken quite seriously in Fallout. Outlandish designs aside, each creature tends to be consistent with a known real-world counterpart that fits ecologically within an environment. They usually have deep backgrounds, clear real-world and/or pop culture inspirations, and play crucial roles in their ecosystems outside of killing/fleeing from the player. Knowing that the franchise takes the topic of its creatures seriously, we could determine that lore-friendliness is strengthened when adhering to the ecology of real-world animals and creatures. Various exceptions do exist, however. This is primarily because pet stores, zoos, and wildlife sanctuaries exist - allowing for conjecture.
In summation, this is a rule that is best used for strengthening lore-friendliness and adherence to tone when creating, rather than declaring something to be lore-friendly or not. If your entire argument for declaring something a lore-break boils down to, "Its pre-War counterpart isn't native to this environment and climate," you are going to be very disappointed when, as a counterargument, your adversary submits a twenty-page backstory detailing a 200 year-long Galápagos tortoise migration - the ending of which outlines their colonization of Washington DC and their sudden turn to cannibalism. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Can you disprove it? No. Because tonally-inconsistent interpretations of the world are still, objectively, lore-friendly interpretations of the world. So long as they adhere to, and exist within the confines of, existing lore, everything's gravy. The correct description of this type of content is setting-inappropriate or tonally-inconsistent - not lore-unfriendly. Breaking the themes of a setting or its established tone is different from breaking its lore - IE mythos, history, and/or backstory.
Donations and Support
That's it, folks! If you like my work, and want to support me and my endeavors, feel free to donate through nexus, or use the above link. HOWEVER, none of this is necessary. Please do not feel pressured to donate - your support and enjoyment of the mod is more than enough. I will continue to create new things and share them with the community for as long as I am able!
Thanks again for taking the time to check out this project out. As always, enjoy the mod!
- Justin AKA StamperDoesMods
"It's so big" - StamperDoesMods, 2024