Fallout 3 Content: The Safe

Development Period: August 2015
Solo Project
Engine: Creation Engine
Status: Complete
The Safe is a 5-10 minute content modification that adds a simple story to one of the player's most mundane pieces of equipment: Their 200 year old wrist-computer and where it's been before. The story plays out over a few combat encounters in the D.C. Ruins.

Conceptualised, written and developed over three weekends, the Safe began as an excercise to rapidly design, develop and complete a level containing all staple elements of a Fallout 3 area, through the process I expanded to include quest design and weapon design, it was subsequently polished over a fourth weekend.

I used Fallout 3's Creation Kit and for the first time developed an exterior using Bethesda's toolkit. I learned more on its modular kit, kitbashing, lighting, decor building, weapon systems, and scripting dialogue using the computer-terminal system.

Overview of Design Process:

Contains a written report and imagery on the level design of the Safe

Media:

Download level:
The Safe: Version 1.5.3
File Size: 376 kb
File Type: esp
Download File
Requires Fallout 3 to play.
No DLC are required.
See instructions below on how to play

The latest version is accessible from the Wasteland, as well as cheats.

Responsibilities included:

Level Design
  • Sketching/Greyboxing
  • Lighting
    • Drawing the eye / Signposting
    • Creating exaggerated silhouttes of the enemy
  • Loot placement
    • Enough medkits for low level players to manage
    • Stocking the player early with materials needed to use the new recipe for mortar rounds later.
  • Encounter & AI implementation
    • Creating stealth pathes
    • Sniper nests
    • Meaningful choice between ways to attack the enemy, and environmental hazards to avoid or use.
Quest Design
  • Mission Scripting
    • Blend between Visual Scripting & Papyrus-script
    • Scripting/Writing computer-terminal 'dialogue'
  • Story writing
    • Delivered through paper and terminals to avoid voice-acting
    • Largely implicit to leave to player's imagination
    • Environmnetal storytelling on current events and two decades ago.
Weapon Design
  • Conceptualised two new weapons
    • Hip-Fired Mortar Gun
    • High firing rate assault rifle
  • Created baseline weapons from existing meshes
  • Iterated weapons for fun first
    • Rifle DPS to be noticably different from other assault rifles so as to feel unique
    • Rifle firing rate increase  to feel empowering
    • Rifle Ammunition consumption be noticable but not crippling
    • Mortar firing arc feel comprehensible
    • Mortar Shell Explosions big enough to light up in the distance and deal damage, but not come across as comical
    • Mortar reloading time/frequency not come across as crippling
  • Create unique ammo types and craftable ammunition
    • Balancing component value with ammunition reward
    • Having the components make intrinsic sense in construction
  • Balancing between fun and balance

See the process below for more info!

Installation & Play instructions:

In order to play the mod please put the TheSafe.esp file into your Fallout 3 Gamedata folder, then enable it on the launcher by accessing "Data Files" and toggling "TheSafe.esp" on.

Data Files does not save on every computer due to a glitch, resulting in a failure to load. To resolve this download the Fallout Mod Manager, which can manage plug-ins for you.
Regular Play
Take any new or existing character to the Vault 101 entrance, and look by the Scenic Overview sign.
QA & Quickplay:
Either load an existing character or stay in the main menu. Then press tilde (~) to access the console.

Enter the code: COC SafeStart
You will now load my QA room with your existing or new level 1 character!

Grab your equipment, rapidly level up and exit when you are ready to experience: The Safe.

Handheld Mortar Process (Simplified)

  • Experimented with the existing missile launcher to create a hip-firing mortar
    • Increased damage by 20%
    • Ideal to attack a static enemy in full cover and large groups of enemies
    • Make rounds heavy for parabolic trajectory
  • Iteration:
    • Too powerful, and kind of boring: Reduced its short-range potential by making the projectile faster and heavier, and increasing the blast radius slightly
      • Short-range use is now prone to kill the player
      • Player is now forced to take their eyes off of their enemy and aim the weapon up by 15° - 60° to increase its range.
        • Added unique challenge to using it effectively
        • Kind of exciting and skill based by eyeballing it
    • Eventually split the single shell into a flechette of four shells
      • Each shell spreads several meters outward on firing. The greater the distance, the greater the spread
      • Each shell deals ~35% of the damage. Near-hits deal minimal damage, catching an enemy between all four shells deals up to 140% damage for maximum reward
    • Finally expanded the magazine to fire 3 shots before needing to reload, but also reduced its damage slightly
      • This salvo of 12 shells total allows the player to blanket an area quickly, before being exposed to counter attack
      • Forces the player to rapidly switch weapons if an enemy closes distance
  • Implementing
    • Created a unique ammunition type
    • Balanced the weapon and its ammunition's cost & damage
    • Wrote a script that allows the player to manufacture new shells from existing parts (At fair conversion rate)
    • Modified Fallout 3 to include the new ammunition type in its default loot (With multiple shells per find)
    • Modified the weapon to reuse the model of a different one, to better signpost which the player is holding
  • Final outcome:
    • A unique weapon for explosive users
    • Implicitly situational: Can only be used safely outdoors at range
    • Easy to use, challenging to master
    • Built to be somewhat unreliable: In-direct fire forces the player to fire salvos that blanket areas
      • Careful aim is incredibly rewarding
      • The sheer volume of explosions is fun to play with
      • Wasting ammo is intentional and built in
    • Enough shells in the game world for frequent use; Player can also make their own ammunition for it
    • Can prove utterly devestating in the right hands
      • Works well when combined with minefields and cars
    • Because of the arc, the weapon is not usable in VATS, and will always show a 0% chance to hit