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Fallout: Tactics Redux Mod released

Discussion in 'NMA News and Information' started by Brother None, May 9, 2012.

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  1. Brother None

    Brother None This ghoul has seen it all
     Staff Member Admin Orderite

    37,380
    Apr 3, 2003
    Endocore has released version 1.0 of his Fallout: Tactics Redux patch and mod, which fixes a lot of bugs, and also tweaks and expands a lot of the game's content.<blockquote>Fallout Tactics Redux fixes numerous bugs and inadequacies of the standard Fallout Tactics game released by Microforte at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The mod also adds novel content to the game, and thus expands rather far beyond the scope of an "unofficial patch."

    Fallout Tactics Redux works to revise the standard game in numerous ways, including:

    --Fixing script bugs. The original missions and special encounters of the core campaign contain both numerous blatant errors as well as many poor design implementations. I reviewed every single map in the game and fixed every flaw I met. In some cases, merely fixing broken triggers has unlocked previously unavailable but otherwise fully-fashioned original content.

    --Fixing broken entities. Nearly every original map contains entities erroneously malformed in this or that respect, such as keys whose tag names don't match doors and switches that don't correctly affect linked objects. I fixed every problem I could find, in some cases unlocking previously unavailable but otherwise fully-fashioned original content.

    --Fixing disgracefully inept writing. Epileptic wild monkeys chained to rusty typewriters could have done a better job than the "professionals" at Microforte-- most of whom apparently never graduated from elementary school. The text files of the standard game contain legion grammar and spelling errors. In some files I edited every... single... line of text, and often found individual sentences crowded with three, four, or even five spelling and grammar errors. Players need no longer be constantly insulted by the notion of having paid for such drivel. Though I won't claim I fixed each and every English syntax problem in the game (particularly in taunts.txt-- I've reviewed that enormous file nearly line by line several times, but still find some new deficiency whenever I examine it), the situation is now much improved. Since the game is set in the USA, all game text is now also standardized to use American English rather than goofy Australian lingo.

    --Addressing the "Game crashes after finding all Special Encounters" bug. This is an engine issue that strictly speaking I cannot properly fix. However, I've included a workaround that will allow players to continue their games without suffering from the issue once the bug initially appears (and the bug will indeed appear in every single game of Fallout Tactics if the player plays long enough).

    --Reimagining the recruit pool of potential teammates for the player-character. Many of the npcs in the standard game are silly and frankly insulting to a player's intelligence. I rewrote most of the recruit biographies, gave the soldiers different skill sets, changed some of the more questionable sprite color choices to traditional military-appropriate hues, and replaced some portraits of the dowdiest MF employees who had faces even a mother would be hard-pressed to love.

    --Reimagining the game's weaponry. In the standard game, the player has meagre practical options when equipping his troops since a few weapons are utterly superior to all others. I redesigned the AP costs, damage values, and range of nearly every weapon from the ground up so players may now more fully enjoy all the tactical possibilities of the game. I also fictionalized all the "real-world" weapons found in the original game, which are frankly quite inappropriate to the setting and highly disruptive to any player's attempt to immerse himself in the game-world of his characters.

    --A new approach to random combat encounters. As implemented in the standard game, most players including myself have concluded random encounters are supremely annoying. Most of these encounters simply aren't fun or "tactical," and they occur with such shocking frequency that attempting traverse even a few squares of the world map results in a cramped index finger as the player clicks "No, I don't want to encounter rats and dogs. Again. *Sigh*" dozens of times. I very significantly reduced the occurrence of random encounters, and in most cases eliminated all but the "hardest" encounters. Hopefully those who enjoy playing random encounters will now have more fun with the remaining larger battles (which were previously quite rare), while those who don't care for them will be relieved to speed off to the next "real" mission.

    --A completely redesigned Quartermaster list. Some players don't care much for the Quartermaster system, and are of course free to continue using the Editor to give themselves whatever equipment they desire. For the rest of us, hopefully the Quartermaster system will now work better than ever.

    --Expanded gameplay. What sort of military game doesn't have a canteen? I added a number of new items to the game, as well as other new content in several maps. I also incorporated, revised, and embellished a fine older mod I found in the NMA Files section called "Bunker and Xtra Characters Mod" by dark_ark, which adds a fairly significant amount of new and interesting npc interaction to the game.</blockquote>
     
    Brother None, May 9, 2012
    #1
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  2. Dude101

    Dude101 Vault Fossil
     Modder

    1,745
    Aug 3, 2005
    Sounds awesome. Great work Endocore.
     
    Dude101, May 9, 2012
    #2
  3. Izual

    Izual Pipe rifle & chopsticks

    378
    Sep 18, 2009
    All of this sounds pretty cool. I'll be sure to install this mod next time I play Tactics.
     
    Izual, May 9, 2012
    #3
  4. Gnarles Bronson

    Gnarles Bronson regular mutant

    373
    Oct 30, 2011
    lol goofy australian lingo.
     
    Gnarles Bronson, May 9, 2012
    #4
  5. Mr Fish

    Mr Fish Snug Rubber

    4,190
    Sep 11, 2010
    Aw...
    Does this mean I have to restart my current playthrough so the mod can work?
     
    Mr Fish, May 9, 2012
    #5
  6. Alphadrop

    Alphadrop A right proper chap.

    2,402
    Aug 21, 2008
    Ooh Tactics with weapon balance, sounds tasty.
     
    Alphadrop, May 10, 2012
    #6
  7. Platedslícer

    Platedslícer First time out of the vault

    2
    Apr 21, 2012
    Am I the only one who's shocked to learn that the character portraits weren't a deliberate choice meant to illustrate the ugliness of the post-nuclear world?
     
    Platedslícer, May 10, 2012
    #7
  8. .Pixote.

    .Pixote. Carbon Dated and Proud
     Modder

    5,669
    Sep 14, 2009
    Grabbing it...now. :clap:
     
    .Pixote., May 10, 2012
    #8
  9. zioburosky13

    zioburosky13 Vault Senior Citizen

    1,046
    Jun 24, 2004
    Might be a reason to go back to tactics. :)
     
    zioburosky13, May 10, 2012
    #9
  10. Muff

    Muff Water Chip? Been There, Done That

    861
    May 5, 2006
    If I can wash the coffee stains of the disk (about 5 years worth of stains) I will give this a go.
     
    Muff, May 10, 2012
    #10
  11. Izual

    Izual Pipe rifle & chopsticks

    378
    Sep 18, 2009
    I'd like a bit more information about the weapon balance, has he released a detailed changelog?

    Seconday question - would it work in multiplayer? (the overall weapons balance, if every player has the mod installed)
     
    Izual, May 10, 2012
    #11
  12. Tom9k

    Tom9k Look, Ma! Two Heads!

    308
    Dec 21, 2007
    This sounds very awesome Endocore! Would it be possible to somehow add missions from the demo version of the game to your mod/patch?
     
    Tom9k, May 10, 2012
    #12
  13. Interkarma

    Interkarma First time out of the vault

    13
    Jun 18, 2007
    I got a chuckle out of that as well. :) Despite being a proud Aussie, I found it a little jarring when I played through Tactics. Fallout is so steeped in Americana it just didn't seem right.

    Oh, and the mod sounds awesome! Going to have a play through first chance I get.
     
    Interkarma, May 10, 2012
    #13
  14. Travesty

    Travesty First time out of the vault

    82
    Apr 18, 2005
    does this mod include the bonus pack missions and changes to them as well?

    Downloading now, but cant play just yet thanks to schoolwork.
     
    Travesty, May 10, 2012
    #14
  15. Guiltyofbeingtrite

    Guiltyofbeingtrite Vault Dweller

    751
    Oct 13, 2008
    If every mission was like the demo missions this would be one of my favorite PC games, but this kind of mod is making me want to replay it.
     
    Guiltyofbeingtrite, May 10, 2012
    #15
  16. SimpleMinded

    SimpleMinded Vault Fossil

    1,776
    Jun 17, 2003
    I've never actually played Fallout Tactics, but having just picked it up on GoG, I was thinking of starting soon. This patch seems like a good way to tackle it.

    Were there really that many spelling/grammatical errors in the game?
     
    SimpleMinded, May 10, 2012
    #16
  17. Bengt

    Bengt First time out of the vault

    85
    Sep 15, 2009
    Apparently so, though I cannot honestly say I noticed them or was all that fussed about it when I played it way back.

    It does tempt to try this out. But juggling three CDs only to get to [spoiler:068b6ae4fd]that damn mountain full of lolrobots..? [/spoiler:068b6ae4fd] Nah, can't be arsed.

    It's nice to see more of the series than FO2 get some mod love however. :)
     
    Bengt, May 10, 2012
    #17
  18. Endocore

    Endocore Look, Ma! Two Heads!
     Modder

    362
    Mar 14, 2010


    Thanks everyone for the comments. The mod is meant as a long-overdue correction, built upon my old belief that even though the original game was deeply flawed on many counts the inclusion of a very easy-to-use level and campaign editor offered hope that someday something better would emerge from the original materials. However, for various reasons that never really happened, and I'm merely trying to get the ball rolling (many years later).

    Fallout Tactics Redux includes thorough documentation that will answer most questions, such as "Do I need to start a new game?" (Yes) or "Does the mod work with multiplayer?" (Probably, if every participant is using the mod).

    Balancing weapons and gameplay was always troublesome in Fallout Tactics, given the game's schizophrenic nature (turn based + real time). In this initial recasting, the main effect of my changes is to make the game more difficult in turn-based mode, and therefore probably much more difficult in CTB mode-- but I haven't verified the latter portion of that theory, since I don't like to play much in CTB mode. I'll be interested to hear whether the overall game is more, less, or about the same amount of challenge and fun for players as well as whether play is improved, worse, or about the same for melee characters in particular. The general progression of desirable weaponry remains broadly the same compared to the original campaign, with energy weapons (whose devastating damage potential was a response to ominous threat of divisions of power-armored infantry soldiers before the War) largely dominating in the final quarter of the game in most plausible play styles.

    The bonus mission is included (with bugs fixed and content enhanced), but the demo missions are not. In truth I didn't give any thought to the demo missions, but perhaps at another time I'll look at them and see if they can be directly incorporated into the main campaign.

    I think everyone will be very pleased at the way in which an old mod called "Bunker and Xtra Characters mod" by a fellow named dark_ark that I added and revised significantly enhances at least the first third of the campaign. Among other new content is some articles I either wrote or embellished that will hopefully be of interest to players, though I'll be interested in hearing whether the general implementation of the idea works, or not.

    The bulk of the work I did, however, was squashing lots o' bugs. My hope in this regard is that most of these fixes will actually not be noticeable at all, except to those who are intimately familiar with every detail of the game or have made multiple recent playthroughs.

    My hope in releasing these materials is that others will see them as a starting point and build upon them piece by piece until someday Fallout Tactics becomes something compelling and outstanding. I see this mod as only the first step in that process. Better late than never, I suppose. :lol:

    Endocore

     
    Endocore, May 10, 2012
    #18
  19. Izual

    Izual Pipe rifle & chopsticks

    378
    Sep 18, 2009
    Thanks for answering my question dude. I'll be sure to send a feedback if I get my hand on my Fallout Tactics disk again :D
     
    Izual, May 10, 2012
    #19
  20. your evil twin

    your evil twin It Wandered In From the Wastes

    165
    Apr 29, 2006
    It is great that you have made this, I look forward to trying it.

    I really hope that you've got rid of the stupid comments that the NPCs made in the Brotherhood bunkers in the early parts of the game. Biggest thing that needed "fixing", in my opinion!

    It's a shame that I am currently half way through the singleplayer campaign, though. Just encountered the Reavers and got my hands on energy weapons. I'm wondering whether it is worth restarting the game from the beginning is order to use the mod, or whether I should just continue playing the original flawed version of the game to finish it.
     
    your evil twin, May 10, 2012
    #20
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