About this mod
Courier? Lone Wanderer? Other kinds of person? It's your call!
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
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Translations
- Changelogs
The Alternate Start TTW Expansion
What is this?
1.0 Description:
I love hman101's mod Alternate Start with Delayed Main Quest, which brings more RPG possibilities to the already rich New Vegas. But it isn't compatible with TTW, what a hard decision for player! I also love Conzo's mod True Open World DC, which disables the arguably less developed main quest of FO3, plus other tweaks like de-essential main quest NPCs ------ I don't like essential NPCs (maybe except vendors LOL)! So, after I'm tired of constantly shifting between pure NV and TTW modlists, I decide to try to patch these two mods together.
After hours of reading into scripts and quests, the patch is finally here!
ONLY IF you choose "Lone Wanderer" in the background menu.
No hassle for other backgrounds!
Details:
- First, read two original mods' pages please! You'll learn more about what character backgrounds are available from Alternate Start with Delayed Main Quest. Also what alternate routes are provided by True Open World DC (remember to check the text file provided with it! I only noticed it recently LMAO).
- Start a new game.
- After the intro is played, you'll be prompted with a background menu, choose what you like!
- Options to start in the Capital wasteland are at the end of the list. Roll to the bottom!
- Lone Wanderer start is the 26-th one. Fallout 3 main story will be available for and ONLY for this start.
- For all other starts except Lone Wanderer, puff, no more chasing Liam Neeson. Enjoy!
- What about New Vegas main story? I do told you to check Alternate Start with Delayed Main Quest page, didn't I?
- You can take train to travel between two wastelands like usual in TTW and experience them freely without bound of main quest(s).
- Now that there's no guess-what-happened time gap between Lone Wanderer and Courier, the train travel time is just 2 weeks. Bye bye "Three Years Later".
- That's all? I guess.
Installation and requirements:
I recommend install with MO2. Requirements are the same as two original mods ------ they are also required obviously.
Exit the game if you changed your mind
If you decide to play another start, exit the game first. DO NOT start a new game by simply exiting to main menu, or script stuff might be broken. I recommend using No Exit to Main Menu or MAPMO to prevent you from ever doing so.
Compatibilities:
This is obviously incompatible with any mod that also alters how the game start. Luckily not very many mods do this. For those do alter game start like Better Character Creation, they are mostly redundant with this mod.
You'll need to patch if you insist to use another mod that alters game start. Or you'll likely stuck in Doctor Mitchell's house or what not.
In 2.0alpha, FO3 main quest is back, but strictly for Lone Wanderer start. So compatibility with mods correlated to FO3 main quest might has been improved, but I can't say for sure. I haven't check any, but in the future I might give mods like Rebuild the Capital - A Brotherhood of Steel Expansion Mod TTW Edition a look.
Compatible and supported mods:
- Functional FEV: Recommended. Provide post-Project Impurity contents. Don't forget to grab the patch in this mod page.
Spoiler:ShowYes, there is a Project Purity even if you choose a non-Lone Wanderer start and eliminate the whole FO3 main quest. Thanks to True Open World DC, we have a pseudo machanism that requires you to explore without guidance of quests. And you can choose to use FEV in the end (well, not really an end since there's no main quest). - Wild Wasteland Forever: If it's detected then the wild wasteland choice menu would be disabled.
- No Exit to Main Menu or MAPMO: Like I just said.
- STARS TTW: If it's detected then your stats based starting gear would be chosen from it.
- Skip Tranquility Lane (espless): Recommended if you (most likely) have issue with Tranquility lane. The skip script is attached to the chair inside the pod. It can't be interacted without open the pod first, so it won't interfere if you are playing non-Lone Wanderer starts.
- Remastered Quarries: Auto adjust position of Egg Enthusiast start if it's detected. Prevent player from stucking in rocks or being instantly killed by death claw.
Load order:
For relevant mods, it should be obvious since AltStart.esm and OpenWorldDC.esp have an unchangeable order relative to each other, and this mod would be automatically loaded later. Considering other mods, in general I recommand you to load AltStart.esm as the last esm, OpenWorldDC.esp and this mod as two last esps, just before your weather mods.
Load Functional FEV patch after the main file.
AltStart.esm
...some random esps...
OpenWorldDC.esp
Alternate Start - Open World DC Patch.esp
Functional FEV - True Open World DC Patch.esp
...weather esp & stuff...
ideally a mega patch resolving all conflicts for your own modlist
Ideally you should learn how to use FNVEdit, so that at least the whole "load weather esp to the bottom" thing is no longer a random misterious law of modding after you know what this law is actually trying to protect.
Issues & bugs:
2.0
I finished 2.0 during a rather busy time, so I haven't done any real playthrough with it.
I tried my best to carefully comb through every record edit in True Open World DC to bring back Lone Wanderer, resulting in thousand of lines script. Because only persistent references can be refered to in a script, I have to mark tons of temporary refs as persistent, which by the rule of engine would increase memory usage, bloat save or what not. How bad is it? To be honest, I don't know. But I guess it's not so different from install a bunch of quest mods.
Since there are too many edits in 2.0, I most certainly mis-edited or forgot to include some thing. Don't hesitate to let me know if you find anything weird!
If the possible existence of new issues in 2.0alpha concerns you, you can download the 1.1b version in the files tab, which has never been reported issues at least.
1.0
I didn't find any in my relatively limited tests. Please let me know if you find any issue. All my modding experience is limited to simple patching so I expect there would be some mistakes.
Just remember the general debug rule that test with only relevant mods before report bugs (so you won't mistake conflicts as bugs).
To do:
Some backgrounds from Alternate Start with Delayed Main Quest indicate that player character originated in DC wasteland, so tweaks should be made to improve the consistency.
Due to my skill issue, such improvements won't be out in the foreseeable future (plus I've spent months in modding without actually finish a playthrough LOL). As for now, I only hope this just works.
DC starts details:
The locations are from Conzo's design. At the moment, I've only add some simple backgrounds, which hopefully fit in the tone. There are no quest/dialogue changes. The DC starting weapon(s) is determined by AltStart's script checking your tagged skill(s). The starting gear atm is very, weak, in line with the backgrounds.
Blocked by Vault
After some serious struggles almost took your life, you decided to take a chance to a rumored Vault. Maybe unsuprisingly, you're blocked on the outside. You have to take next step, before join the skeleton...
+ Start outside Vault 101
Water Beggar
Oh, water, the water of life. Despite facing a sea of it, you cannot drink any. It's rumored there are water, food, and even some secret project in the giant ship called Rivet City, and you'll meet your luck.
+ Start outside Rivet City
One Step to Heaven
It's a thin line between heaven and here. How does it feel to be rich, in this damned world? You'll know soon.
+ Start outside Tenpenny Tower
Business Seeker
Commerce is the engine of society. You read on some pre-war books. After gathering some "capital", you decide to visit the home of main traders in this corner of the known world.
+ Start outside Canterbury Commons
Slaver
Or slave? (Just a place holder now. I haven't decided how to deal with this.)
+ Start outside Paradise Falls
Grown-up
By the rule of Little Lamplight, you're forced to go into the waste. You guess it won't be too bad when you find those predecessors.
+ Start outside Big Town
Be Like Home
Home on the waste is cool, if not freezing. You could definitely use a home in a cozy town, couldn't you?
+ Start inside Andale.
Don't Know Where
You don't know where you are. You were just wandering randomly, until a city ruin far away caught your eyes.
+ Start at west border of DC wasteland
Additional starts details:
Too lazy to write this.
Credits:
-Conzo, for original mod and open permission.
-hman101, for original mod and open permission.
-LowbeeBob, for answers on some script questions.
-Posts, for motivating me to keep making this mod better.