FALLOUT FIXT v1.0 - FINAL RELEASE [01 April 2014]
This will be the final release of my mod, Fallout Fixt. This journey has been fun, ladies and gents. I will miss working on the project, but there are many reasons that work on it must end:
NEW FEATURES FOR THIS VERSION:
1)
AD BANNERS: As mentioned before, the mod is not financially viable. Due to this, and increased financial pressures in my life, I've been forced to implement ads into the game. Don't worry, they only display for a total of five minutes per hour. The implementation is very tasteful and non-intrusive.
2)
IN-GAME DONATIONS: I've also added a "donate" option directly to the game menus. This makes it much easier for fans to contribute to my continued financial stability while I'm in rehab. (See the end of this post for details on that.)
3)
SAVE/LOAD REMOVED, REPLACED BY AUTO-SAVING: There is now a "Continue" option from the main menu. As everyone knows, the save-and-load process for Fallout was cumbersome and annoying, and due to most fans prefering to use just 1 save slot all the time anyway, the Save/Load functions have been removed completely and replaced with continuous auto-save. The game saves on map transitions, world map transitions, and intelligently based on major game events. I can guarantee that these saves will never become corrupted. [RATIONALE: It is common knowledge that most people prefer "pick-up-where-you-left-off" as in mobile games, and that auto-saving in games such as Oblivion was glitch-free and very popular in the gaming community.]
4)
ONLY ONE CHARACTER AT A TIME: As a side-effect of the auto-save system, it's no longer possible to have more than one game (character) simultaneously. This is a great accidental feature, because it will encourage replays, and greatly reduce the abuse of the old Save/Load functions.
5)
CUSTOMIZATION AND "FIXES-ONLY" REMOVED: I have made Fixt just one installer, which includes all new content, and it's a very reasonable 650MB download size. Installation is a breeze now; no more messing around with huge lists of checkboxes. Enjoy! [RATIONALE: I saw no indication that Fixes Only was a popular download option. Furthermore, maintaining 3 different versions of Fallout Fixt was exhausting, and most people just used default settings anyway.]
6)
CHEAT MODE: Fallout is really hard. To help everyone out with this, I've added a cheat mode that can be accessed at any time via the game's main menu.
7)
IN-GAME CHEAT MODE: I've also enabled the Debug Menu that I use during testing. This can be accessed by performing an Examine (binoculars) on your character. Preliminary feedback from players is very positive, stating that it cuts out a lot of the hassle of winning the game.
8)
MODERN LANGUAGE: Fallout is a very old game, and people don't like old games as much as new ones. So to capture a younger demographic and increase enjoyment for the majority of gamers, I have modernized all language in the game. I think you will be pleased with the ease of reading menus in shorthand and text-speak instead of archaic mid-'90s verbiage.
9)
TRAITS REQUIRED: All characters must now have 2 Traits upon creation; they are no longer optional. [RATIONALE: It will grealy increase variation amongst your characters, and is more realistic, because we're all unique snowflakes.]
10)
ACELIPS REIMPLEMENTED: The "SPECIAL" system naming convention didn't make much sense. I've reverted to the original "ACELIPS" naming convention that was used during early Fallout development, after running the idea by Tim Cain. He approved.
11)
LEVELUP BONUSES: I had frequent complaints that leveling up in Fallout didn't have enough of a reward. To change this, players now receive 1 ACELIPS point to be distributed as they wish, upon every levelup.
12)
INCREASED COMBAT EXCITEMENT: After playing Fallout for extended periods, the combat messages tend to get pretty boring. To prevent this, I've spruced it up and made it more exciting. I am very excited about this feature; it is my personal favorite among the new features in Fallout Fixt v1.0!
13)
SUPPORT OF TRANS COMMUNITY: As many at RPGCodex and elsewhere on the 'net can tell you, there's much anger in the gaming community that trans people are under-represented in computer gaming. To combat this, all descriptions of critters and NPCs in Fallout Fixt will be identified with a slash indicating that they could be either gender identity. [RATIONALE: Dude, it's the 21st century, come on. Somebody's got to stand up and bring attention to this issue.]
14)
ROMANCE OPTIONS: There is now a [Romance Options] selection in all dialogs. I was suggested this by fans of the Mass Effect series, and I thought it was a great idea. Enjoy!
[UPDATE: Romance options removed from children due to threats of child pornography lawsuits.]
15)
EMPATHY: All characters now start the game with the "Empathy" Perk. This means dialog selections that cause a positive reaction are blue, whereas those causing a negative reaction are red. There are currently no plans to make a Color-Blind-Friendly version of this feature. [RATIONALE: It's tough to know which dialog options will garner a negative or positive reaction. Also, in consideration of the removal of Save/Load functions, this keeps the game from being too hard.]
16)
ORIGINAL RESOLUTION ENFORCED: The executable (Falloutw.exe) has been hacked so that the game can only be played at 640x480 in 8-bit color and Windowed mode. [RATIONALE: Resolution is fixed, as this increases immersion and allows you to experience the game as originally intended. Windowed mode is enforced because modern gamers value multi-tasking and Facebook updates.]
17)
DIALOG ROLL DESCRIPTIONS: Like in Fallout 3, dialog will now show a percentage-to-succeed when running checks against skills or stats.
18)
RED RYDER LE: Last but not least, there is now a Red Ryder LE BB gun on every child in Fallout. [RATIONALE: Players didn't like having to search for it, and that so few existed in the original game.]
On a personal note, I've checked into a Modding And Gaming Addiction clinic for the next 6 months. Hopefully once I finish the treatment, this whole legal thing with Bethesda will have blown over. I hope the clinic doesn't take away my Diablo III license. Wish me luck.
Hugs and kisses,
-Sduibek
