<blockquote>
Who are you?
I’m not one to just give my full name freely to the Internet. But nor am I one of those extra secure paranoid types. I’ll at least give you a first name – Paul. The p in killap is actually taken from this. And no, I’m not a rapper.
What do you do outside of modding
My occupation is that of a software developer and my work ranges from programming displays in electric cars to building websites. I often find myself coding in several languages throughout the day – which is bad for the brain, btw. One could say I’m one of those programmers whose work is actually being used for good.
Besides work, I enjoy the outdoors and I’m a big film buff.
How did you get into Fallout modding?
It all began summer of my junior year in High School. I was playing Fallout 2 for the first time and I was running into some nasty bugs. I went searching for patches and came across an unofficial patch by someone named Seraph. I found it really cool that someone had taken the time to patch the game on his own. I thought I would get in on it too and there went a big part of my summer.
When FO2 was released on steam, an earlier version of your patch was embedded without any of your documentation or any credit given (as well as Timeslip's SFall). How did this make you feel?
Honestly, I wasn’t too bothered by it. I just assumed that since they had the rights to the actual game, any mods, etc to it could be used as they saw fit. Still, it wouldn’t have been that hard to include my readme files or even a list of thanks to the Fallout modders out there. It’s the least they could have done. I did feel honored though that they thought my work good enough to include for sale. If only they had actually contacted me, I could have given them a newer version of my work.
The restoration project is pretty much a standard install these days. Many new and old players add Restoration information to the canonical wiki all the time, as they confuse it with vanilla content. You must be proud of the seamlessness of your project?
I always do laugh when I see people mistake Restoration Project (RP) content for vanilla material. Either things flow that well or no one truly remembers the original game. Haha. I can understand it though. A great deal of time was spent in the RP 2.x series to make sure all the new locations, quests, dialogue, etc fit in with everything. That was one of the main goals of the project – keep everything as close to the original game as possible. I think another big reason for the false content reports is that in addition to new locations/quests, there are actually many little extras here and there that I made sure were restored. It’s these types of things that wouldn’t have been remembered from the original game anyway, but do help flesh out the game overall. But yeah, I do feel proud that my work has become such a standard. It makes all the time put in worthwhile. While the RP did just start with me, credit must be given to the rest of the RP team. They were key in getting the project to where it is today.
Where do you find inspiration for this?
The fans are a big source of inspiration. But really, it just feels good to be able to make a great game even better.
Do you plan on adding content not within the remit to the project in the form of optional installations, such as New Vision?
The RP has always been about restoring original content. The optional section of the installer does allow users to get around this rule – to some extent. However, I do like to think all the options actually make the game better and would probably have been part of the original game in some form. I don’t plan to include every mod in this section though and it’s more reserved for scripts and graphics that improve the game in some manner. So no, New Vision or other such mods won’t be finding their way in the RP. Modders are of course free to base their mods off my work, to ensure compatibility.
Do you have any plans for your "own" mods in future i.e. mods that are based off of your own stories and ideas?
No, not at this time. I feel that my modding days are behind me and I don’t really have the time anymore to put in the hours needed to make a really great mod. However, I do plan for at least one more release of the RP. It’s mostly a maintenance release, but there are some minor content additions.
Have you played any of the other fan mods? what is your favorite?
To be honest I haven’t played too many other Fallout mods. I guess I was just so busy with my own modding work. I did play parts of MegaMod, Mutants Rising demo, and Wasteland Merc from way back. My favorite? Hmm, each has their own merits. Any Fallout mod is good in my book.
Although your patch has been flagged as "final" a few times now, it keeps getting updated. How many more bugs are there left to fix?
Haha, yeah I guess I have been throwing around the word “final” pretty loosely with my work. It’s the perfectionist (or wannabe one) in me that keeps pulling me back. It’s tough with a game like this, since there are so many ways to do something and it’s such a big game overall that you may not find a bug until someone does a dozen specific steps to uncover it. Will the patch ever be truly final? Probably not. Will there be a point where I say it’s final. You bet. The bug fix list does get smaller and smaller though. One more patch update is expected with the next RP release.
Who is your most influential modder?
Quarn and Kivan for the Elder Scrolls series have always impressed me with the dedication to their work. Then there is Qwinn for Planescape, Drog Black Tooth for Arcanum, and Wesp for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. There are tons of others. I can’t say I have one modder that inspires me the most. Anyone willing to spend countless hours to make a game better is an inspiration.
Any advice for newcomers to the modding scene?
I’ve given this advice before and really, it applies to most anything you do in life: shoot big, but start small. I’ve seen countless posts about some grand project but more often than not, nothing ever becomes of it. You want to create an entire new world for players to explore? Great! But first, create a small town. In fact, start smaller. Create a single building for that town. Don’t have the mapping/graphic skills needed to create that building or don’t have the programming knowledge to write a script to make that building interactive? Seek help from others then. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. But don’t expect all the work to get done for you. You need to be able to show others that you’re committed and that you’ve actually done something. You’ll be surprised how many people come out of the woodwork when they see a project with potential. And most importantly, don’t burn yourself out. Pace yourself. Starting small allows for you to finish a project and not get discouraged that it’ll never get done and there is no end in sight. And be prepared to take criticism. Not everyone will love what you’ve done, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. Listen to the public and see where you can improve your work. Like I said, life lessons galore.
Where do Fallout 1,2,3,NV rank in your all-time favorite titles?The Fallout series is definitely up there on my list. I don’t have a single number one favorite for anything in my life, but this series is without a doubt in the top echelon.
Who is your favorite Fallout character and why?
This is a tough one. Every Fallout character is great in some way. One of my all time favorites is probably Dave, "Mr. Depression” from Vault 13. The humor was right up my alley. Most memorable to me though is probably Sulik. He’s the first NPC you get and I always made sure he stuck with me to the very end.
What do you think about FNV?
Actually, I haven’t had the time to play it yet. From what I’ve read and seen though, it looks like a step in the right direction from where the series was headed. I do plan to play it when time permits.
What's your take on modern RPGs?
They’re too dumbed down. And there is too much focus on “freedom to play” and the whole “sandbox” concept. There are RPGs where you can spend 50+ hours playing and not even advance the main storyline. *cough* Oblivion *cough*. The days of insanely hard puzzles in mainstream games seem to be over. You gotta look to the Indie market if you want something like that. Then again, I haven’t really been following the RPG market recently, so maybe things are changing.
What would you prioritize if you survived a nuclear war? (water, procreation, Saviour of knowledge or finding shelter)
First thing I would do is go to my parent’s house and start running a market from it. There is so much stockpiled there I’d be set for years in terms of things I could both use and sell. I’m a practical guy, so food, water, shelter would definitely be top priorities for me. I’d wait a bit before venturing out and exploring the Wastes.
</blockquote>
Who are you?
I’m not one to just give my full name freely to the Internet. But nor am I one of those extra secure paranoid types. I’ll at least give you a first name – Paul. The p in killap is actually taken from this. And no, I’m not a rapper.
What do you do outside of modding
My occupation is that of a software developer and my work ranges from programming displays in electric cars to building websites. I often find myself coding in several languages throughout the day – which is bad for the brain, btw. One could say I’m one of those programmers whose work is actually being used for good.
Besides work, I enjoy the outdoors and I’m a big film buff.How did you get into Fallout modding?
It all began summer of my junior year in High School. I was playing Fallout 2 for the first time and I was running into some nasty bugs. I went searching for patches and came across an unofficial patch by someone named Seraph. I found it really cool that someone had taken the time to patch the game on his own. I thought I would get in on it too and there went a big part of my summer.
When FO2 was released on steam, an earlier version of your patch was embedded without any of your documentation or any credit given (as well as Timeslip's SFall). How did this make you feel?
Honestly, I wasn’t too bothered by it. I just assumed that since they had the rights to the actual game, any mods, etc to it could be used as they saw fit. Still, it wouldn’t have been that hard to include my readme files or even a list of thanks to the Fallout modders out there. It’s the least they could have done. I did feel honored though that they thought my work good enough to include for sale. If only they had actually contacted me, I could have given them a newer version of my work.
The restoration project is pretty much a standard install these days. Many new and old players add Restoration information to the canonical wiki all the time, as they confuse it with vanilla content. You must be proud of the seamlessness of your project?
I always do laugh when I see people mistake Restoration Project (RP) content for vanilla material. Either things flow that well or no one truly remembers the original game. Haha. I can understand it though. A great deal of time was spent in the RP 2.x series to make sure all the new locations, quests, dialogue, etc fit in with everything. That was one of the main goals of the project – keep everything as close to the original game as possible. I think another big reason for the false content reports is that in addition to new locations/quests, there are actually many little extras here and there that I made sure were restored. It’s these types of things that wouldn’t have been remembered from the original game anyway, but do help flesh out the game overall. But yeah, I do feel proud that my work has become such a standard. It makes all the time put in worthwhile. While the RP did just start with me, credit must be given to the rest of the RP team. They were key in getting the project to where it is today.
Where do you find inspiration for this?
The fans are a big source of inspiration. But really, it just feels good to be able to make a great game even better.
Do you plan on adding content not within the remit to the project in the form of optional installations, such as New Vision?
The RP has always been about restoring original content. The optional section of the installer does allow users to get around this rule – to some extent. However, I do like to think all the options actually make the game better and would probably have been part of the original game in some form. I don’t plan to include every mod in this section though and it’s more reserved for scripts and graphics that improve the game in some manner. So no, New Vision or other such mods won’t be finding their way in the RP. Modders are of course free to base their mods off my work, to ensure compatibility.
Do you have any plans for your "own" mods in future i.e. mods that are based off of your own stories and ideas?
No, not at this time. I feel that my modding days are behind me and I don’t really have the time anymore to put in the hours needed to make a really great mod. However, I do plan for at least one more release of the RP. It’s mostly a maintenance release, but there are some minor content additions.
Have you played any of the other fan mods? what is your favorite?
To be honest I haven’t played too many other Fallout mods. I guess I was just so busy with my own modding work. I did play parts of MegaMod, Mutants Rising demo, and Wasteland Merc from way back. My favorite? Hmm, each has their own merits. Any Fallout mod is good in my book.
Although your patch has been flagged as "final" a few times now, it keeps getting updated. How many more bugs are there left to fix?
Haha, yeah I guess I have been throwing around the word “final” pretty loosely with my work. It’s the perfectionist (or wannabe one) in me that keeps pulling me back. It’s tough with a game like this, since there are so many ways to do something and it’s such a big game overall that you may not find a bug until someone does a dozen specific steps to uncover it. Will the patch ever be truly final? Probably not. Will there be a point where I say it’s final. You bet. The bug fix list does get smaller and smaller though. One more patch update is expected with the next RP release.
Who is your most influential modder?
Quarn and Kivan for the Elder Scrolls series have always impressed me with the dedication to their work. Then there is Qwinn for Planescape, Drog Black Tooth for Arcanum, and Wesp for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. There are tons of others. I can’t say I have one modder that inspires me the most. Anyone willing to spend countless hours to make a game better is an inspiration.
Any advice for newcomers to the modding scene?
I’ve given this advice before and really, it applies to most anything you do in life: shoot big, but start small. I’ve seen countless posts about some grand project but more often than not, nothing ever becomes of it. You want to create an entire new world for players to explore? Great! But first, create a small town. In fact, start smaller. Create a single building for that town. Don’t have the mapping/graphic skills needed to create that building or don’t have the programming knowledge to write a script to make that building interactive? Seek help from others then. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. But don’t expect all the work to get done for you. You need to be able to show others that you’re committed and that you’ve actually done something. You’ll be surprised how many people come out of the woodwork when they see a project with potential. And most importantly, don’t burn yourself out. Pace yourself. Starting small allows for you to finish a project and not get discouraged that it’ll never get done and there is no end in sight. And be prepared to take criticism. Not everyone will love what you’ve done, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. Listen to the public and see where you can improve your work. Like I said, life lessons galore.
Where do Fallout 1,2,3,NV rank in your all-time favorite titles?The Fallout series is definitely up there on my list. I don’t have a single number one favorite for anything in my life, but this series is without a doubt in the top echelon.
Who is your favorite Fallout character and why?
This is a tough one. Every Fallout character is great in some way. One of my all time favorites is probably Dave, "Mr. Depression” from Vault 13. The humor was right up my alley. Most memorable to me though is probably Sulik. He’s the first NPC you get and I always made sure he stuck with me to the very end.
What do you think about FNV?
Actually, I haven’t had the time to play it yet. From what I’ve read and seen though, it looks like a step in the right direction from where the series was headed. I do plan to play it when time permits.
What's your take on modern RPGs?
They’re too dumbed down. And there is too much focus on “freedom to play” and the whole “sandbox” concept. There are RPGs where you can spend 50+ hours playing and not even advance the main storyline. *cough* Oblivion *cough*. The days of insanely hard puzzles in mainstream games seem to be over. You gotta look to the Indie market if you want something like that. Then again, I haven’t really been following the RPG market recently, so maybe things are changing.
What would you prioritize if you survived a nuclear war? (water, procreation, Saviour of knowledge or finding shelter)
First thing I would do is go to my parent’s house and start running a market from it. There is so much stockpiled there I’d be set for years in terms of things I could both use and sell. I’m a practical guy, so food, water, shelter would definitely be top priorities for me. I’d wait a bit before venturing out and exploring the Wastes.
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