Thoughts on Power Armor

[Tagaziel]

I like the idea of making power armor more complex (though this should not be limited to just power armor; segmented suits, different amounts of health for different elements etc.), however, I disagree on bonus functions.

A lot of what you wrote about additional subsystems (thermal imaging etc.) does not fit with the technology in Fallout. Fallout is retrofuturistic, inspired primarily by the way the 50s saw the future. The design of the technology is clunky, rugged, but reliable. Note the T-51b, the apex of power armour technology before the war. It is basically a plate steel helmet. Extra subsystems are limited to a polarized, bulletproof visor, a drop-down night vision eyepiece and NBC-sealed rebreather. This is because the technology is predominantly vacuum-lamp based, making it large and unwieldy. Sensors etc. would make the suit look like a walking junkyard, not to mention they'd be fragile. If you want to figure out subsystems for weapons, work within the ramifications of 1950s science fiction, not modern-day warfare.

 

[DustyTraveller]

My guess is that it was a game design choice that PA in Fallout 1 didn't require new batteries. More dev time would have to be spent on how that should work and it might not be so much fun for the player. What happens if you run out of juice in the middle of a major battle? Strap on that spare piece of combat armor you've been lugging around? How many turns free turns do the mutants and raider get while you're strapping on the new chest armor?

The highwayman in FO2 did run out of juice and was also upgradeable but by then they had already established that PA didn't require re-charging. But it would have been fun to see Frank Horrigan forced out of his armor; maybe he'd be really short, scrawny and with one or two visible mutations?

Having some npc (BoS scientist?) that could upgrade your PA would have been really nice.
Edit: Wasn't there some motion detector gizmo in Fo1/2? It wasn't very good though. I guess you could strap one of those onto your PA helmet. Wouldn't weigh much more then 20 lbs and you could easily compensate for the extra weight by leaning slightly.

 

[Oppen]

My guess is that it was a game design choice that PA in Fallout 1 didn't require new batteries. More dev time would have to be spent on how that should work and it might not be so much fun for the player. What happens if you run out of juice in the middle of a major battle? Strap on that spare piece of combat armor you've been lugging around? How many turns free turns do the mutants and raider get while you're strapping on the new chest armor?

The highwayman in FO2 did run out of juice and was also upgradeable but by then they had already established that PA didn't require re-charging. But it would have been fun to see Frank Horrigan forced out of his armor; maybe he'd be really short, scrawny and with one or two visible mutations?

Having some npc (BoS scientist?) that could upgrade your PA would have been really nice.
Edit: Wasn't there some motion detector gizmo in Fo1/2? It wasn't very good though. I guess you could strap one of those onto your PA helmet. Wouldn't weigh much more then 20 lbs and you could easily compensate for the extra weight by leaning slightly.

I already explained why a car would require recharging while a power armor wouldn't. Of course, it's likely it was a design choice, but it actually makes sense, even if they didn't thought about it.
I don't really like the idea of upgrading that way. I do support some sort of upgrades like hardening, or optimizing the servos (for an agility bonus, for example), maybe some sort of extra integration with the pipboy (for an accuracy bonus when using VATS, maybe, because the pipboy could be able to directly control the PA), but adding features like a motion sensor or heat vision, are both useless (you can perfecty use a motion sensor as a separate item) and plot breaking. How wil you actually attach that? It's vacuum bulbs, not chips, it's not that easy, and also they tend to be big.

 

[DevilTakeMe]

If we're talking mods, Powered Power Armor tinkers with all of those issues.

There's quite a few features that are talked about in this thread. Armor needs recharging using a variety of batteries, and if it's out of power, the suit slows you down, etc. There's also variable suits to wear under the armor that affect how the armor works. Power Armor can be broken down or even destroyed, hardened, tinkered with etc. Heat has an effect, and there's things that improve the cooling systems, and so on.

It's a good mod, with the potential of being overpowered with all the extra modules. Though it's a question of how much management you'd like out of the game in this case, and not everyone would be comfortable with it.