Creating my own Fallout like game compatible with assets from Fallout 1 & 2

[JLC]

My dream has always been to make my own Fallout 1 & 2 like game or my own Fallout 2 mods.

But I realized that making (total conversion) mods for Fallout is so much work that only a few people succeed! People spent many years, just to fail...

Hence I actually came to the conclusion that it would be easier for me to make a new game-engine from scratch, because with it I will be able to make "Fallout like games" with much less effort!

E.g. I plan to create a map editor that is super easy to use, the ideas I have for it will pretty much revolutionise map creation. I'll probably start working on it soon.

Also with an engine under my control I am no longer limited to what the original game allows me to do, hence I will have much more creative freedom to create super cool stories and/or gameplay.

Tech demo (which you can try today)

Currently I have a working "tech demo" which can load a Fallout map and display it on the screen while playing some background music. Which is a good starting point!

The cool thing about it is that it's compatible with the Fallout 1 & 2 assets (yes, I wrote my own decoders for the DAT files, graphics and audio) and that it's written for a modern browser!

Yes, you heard me right, you can play the game straight in your browser!

Currently it must be Chromium based (e.g. Chrome, Brave, Edge) since it's using the newest "bleeding edge" Web APIs. And you can try the tech demo for yourself here (it even works on my Android phone):
https://joakimch.github.io/fallout-format-decoders/game/working_tech_demo/

(Firefox will be supported soon I think; because they'll implement the needed APIs eventually...)

Open source & MIT licensed

And did I mention that it is completely open source and using an MIT license? Yup, because I don't just make this for myself, I make this for the whole community of people who want to create their own "Fallout like games"!

So please (if you have it in your heart) support me financially, because I am completely broke! You can sponsor my development here and it would help me A LOT:
https://github.com/sponsors/JoakimCh

Community involvement in development

The GitHub repository is here: https://github.com/JoakimCh/fallout-format-decoders

If people want to help out I'll probably create a "community edition branch" where I'll approve the most reasonable pull requests to see what happens (a kind of playground)...

But the main branch will be my "pet project" where I am VERY careful with what I "let in" from others. Because this project is still in a "puppy stage" where I plan to make most design choices myself instead of letting it turn into a "community chaos"! Too many cooks is not a good idea!

But if great contributions / design choices happen in the "community edition" I'll probably merge them!

That's it for now

Please let me know how you feel about this?

And people here who are modders (or who want to create their own mods), is this interesting?

Doing scripting in JavaScript should be much easier than the scripting language of the current Fallout. And with proper tools to help with map creation and dialogue (a kind of SDK which I'll make) it should become fun and enjoyable to create custom locations and quests.

 

[Golbolco]

This is a very cool project and it's unfortunate you're not getting more attention.

Question: would I be able to use assets from some of the existing fan games in your engine? You mention using F1 and F2 assets; could I, for example, use the giant centipedes from Fallout Sonora by uploading its DAT file?

 

[JLC]

This is a very cool project and it's unfortunate you're not getting more attention.

Thank you! I guess the community is just a little "dormant" right now.

Question: would I be able to use assets from some of the existing fan games in your engine? You mention using F1 and F2 assets; could I, for example, use the giant centipedes from Fallout Sonora by uploading its DAT file?

Yes, that's my plan, their DAT files can currently be loaded. But different mods might overwrite content from each other, so I will look into how to use assets from different mods without them overwriting each other. It will be very cool to have access to all those assets, but credits should be given where due I guess. Even with credits they might be against such usage though. But as long as we don't charge any money for anything I think it should be pretty fair usage.

 

[Cyto]

Was looking into how to make one of the originals and came across this. The project looks amazing, and I hope to hear more about it.

 

[naossano]

What can we do with this demo beside viewing the map ? I can't seem to be able to interact with things.
Could it theorically load assets from FoT, or custom made assets for Fonline ?

 

[JLC]

Was looking into how to make one of the originals and came across this. The project looks amazing, and I hope to hear more about it.

Nice to know! Currently I have not done anything more with it because of my current life situation.

What can we do with this demo beside viewing the map ? I can't seem to be able to interact with things.
Could it theorically load assets from FoT, or custom made assets for Fonline ?

Just viewing maps and listening to music, it's completely static and lifeless. It's a "tech demo", not a game demo.
And no, Fallout Tactics use different formats. But custom assets from Fonline should be possible.