A small mod by B-2Admirer
Description[]
As any Fallout player probably noticed, most human NPCs who clearly look like they wear armor and clearly have additional protection don't actually have any armor in their inventory. This may seem illogical and/or frustrating to some players, for example because you can find and kill infinite number of people who wear Advanced Power Armor, but can only get a single suit for your own use during the entire game. The first one who addressed the armor issue in Fallout 2 was terryk1463, and I thank him for his work because, although I eventually took a totally different approach to the problem than him, I would never have started if it's not been for his mod for Fallout 2. The idea of terryk1463 was to modify the script for each critter whom he deemed armor-wearing so that if the critter was killed a suit of armor would be added to his inventory. This doesn't seem right, however, because a suit of armor taken off a killed critter would most likely be damaged and wouldn't provide the same protection as a brand-new one. MIB88, who adapted terryk1463's mod to Megamod for Fallout 2, added Repair (for all types of armor) and Science (for more resistant ones) skill checks to the armor-creating code to reflect the need to repair a killed person's armor suit prior to further use. This is a sensible addition, but his adaptation still shares some things that I consider illogical with the original Lootable Armor Mod. Namely I can't agree with the following things about MIB88's adaptation.
1) The type of armor created is usually based on killed critter's protection, disregarding his appearance (this one is inherited from terryk1463's mod). I find it rather weird that after killing a person who wears one type of armor (or no armor at all) you'll get a completely different one. The readme for terryk1463's mod says "... some NPCs have the ability to camouflage their armor. That is to say, they appear to be wearing one type of armor but actually have the protection stats for a better type of armor ... You will encounter this phenomenon, for example, if you choose to terrorize Vault City". So, one supposedly can hide a suit of combat armor under a suit of metal one? Give me a break.
2) Only the player is checked for the skills necessary to get the armor. I don't see why the Chosen One would refuse a little help from one of his party members. Also, I should think that using a Tool of a Super Tool Kit will make the repair process easier than doing it with bare hands, but there is no check for these items.
Hakimio's adaptation of Lootable Armor Mod for the Restoration Project has all those drawbacks and on top of that done with the old and buggy Noid compiler. Also Hakimio didn't bother to edit those critters' scripts, which weren't in the original Fallout, but are in the killap's Restoration Project.
Because of all the aforementioned things I decided to create my Critter Armor Addon for RP, and did just that. Key features are:
1) One generic piece of code for armoring and dearmoring, no need to edit hundreds of critters' scripts. Will make it much easier for me to adapt the mod for RP 1.3 when it comes out.
2) The type of armor given is based primarily on a critter's appearance and secondary on his protection. So, if a metal armor-wearing critter is killed, the script calculates his overall protection and then proceeds with Metal Armor or Metal Armor Mark II or Tesla Armor, choosing the one which provides overall protection closest to that of the killed critter.
3) The process of acquiring armor is rendered realisticaly:
- Not only the player, but also his party members are checked for Science and Repair requirements necessary to get the armor off a fallen critter.
- Having one of the repair tools in the inventory (again, the party members will be checked as well as the player) will make a skill check easier to pass.
- The damage dealt to kill the critter is taken into account. If you blasted a hapless person with a Vindicator minigun, you'll need to have a very highly developed Repair skill to have a chance of getting his armor (but even having Repair at 300% will by no means guarantee this). On the other hand, if you killed a person with a single fatal small-damage critical hit you'll most likely be able to get the armor no matter how low you Repair skill is. However, if a Science skill requirement exists, it'll stay the same regardless of the damage done, because a Science skill requirement represents the armor complexity rather than the complexity of the repair process. One exception: if you managed to kill a critter without causing any damage, which doesn't seem to be possible with the current version of sfall, both Science and Repair requirements will be dropped.
- Examine an armored body and your character will estimate the damage to the dead critter's armor and the complexity of repairs.
- You don't have to meet the requirements upon a critter's death to get his armor. As long as you're able to access the body, it doesn't matter how many days or years passed since his death. Even if the map where the bodies are has decomposition turned on, the bodies will not disappear untill you either took the armor off them or ensured it's damaged beyond repair. At the moment you meet the requirements the armor is yours. To see if you can repair a critter's armor, just access his inventory. If you see a suit, don't hesitate to take it... unless you don't need it.
- After you take a damaged armor suit off a critter, there will be a fade-out and game time will be advanced by the amount of time needed to perform the repairs. The length of the repair process will depend on armor complexity, the amount of damage dealt to kill the critter, the number of people in the party able to perform repairs, their skills and the number of Tools and Super Tool Kits available.
- You'll get XP for repairing armor. The amount will depend primarily on the armor type and secondary on the amount of damage dealt to kill the critter.
- You will not be able to perform the repair in combat mode because it's totally unrealistic.
- After you take an armor suit off a critter, the critter will change his appearance accordingly instead of stupidly remaining armored after his armor is gone.
The basic requirements for getting each type of armor follow.
- 40 Rp Robes
- 45 Rp Leather Jacket
- 55 Rp Leather Armor
- 65 Rp Metal Armor
- 70 Rp Combat Leather Jacket
- 75 Rp Leather Armor Mark II
- 75 Rp, 70 Sc Environmental Armour
- 80 Rp Metal Armor Mark II
- 105 Rp Bridgekeeper's Robes
- 105 Rp Combat Armor
- 110 Rp, 75 Sc Tesla Armor
- 110 Rp Combat Armor Mk II
- 115 Rp Brotherhood Armor
- 120 Rp, 105 Sc Power Armor
- 135 Rp, 110 Sc Hardened Power Armor
- 145 Rp, 125 Sc Advanced Power Armor
- 150 Rp, 130 Sc Advanced Power Armor Mark II
INSTALLATION AND REQUIREMENTS[]
This addon requires Fallout 2 Restoration Project 1.2 and sfall 1.49a or above. Please note that RP 1.2 installation comes with an earlier version of sfall, so to install this addon you'll have to download sfall 1.49a or above separately if you didn't already. sfall can be downloaded at http://timeslip.chorrol.com/sfall.html
To install, extract the contents of sfall.7z and CritterArmorRelease.7z to the directory where Fallout 2 is installed (default is "C:\Program Files\BlackIsle\Fallout2\"), overwriting the matching files. You don't have to start a new game to enjoy this addon, but you won't be able to get the armor of the critters who were killed before you installed it.
TECHNICAL NOTES AND POSSIBLE ISSUES[]
Although not usually done by mappers, it's possible to actually clad a critter in armor (add a suit to his armor slot) instead of just setting his protection values to simulate an armor suit. For example, many made men in New Reno do have real suits of armor. How this addon will handle a critter like this depends on whether his armor suit matches his appearance or not. If it does, then you'll be able to get the suit regardless of your skills, but not in combat mode, and after you take his armor off, he'll change appearance to reflect it. If his suit doesn't match his appearance, the critter will not be affected by this addon in any way.
There are no critters in Fallout 2 who look like the dearmored versions of nmmaxx and nfmaxx, so right now their appearance is changed to hmwarr/nmwarr and nfprim after dearmoring. Depending on how they died, this may or may not be noticeable.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS[]
I thank Timeslip for enhancing the functionality of sfall to allow me a realistic approach to the issue of critter armor in Fallout 2.
Change Log[]
2009.09.19 The armored bodies will not diappear anymore due to decomposition, not even from the maps which have decomposition turned on.
2009.08.23 A lot of polishing done. Better formulas for choosing armor that most closely matches killed critter's protection (damage thresholds are now taken into account, previously only damage resistances and armor class were). More realistic formulas for calculating the repair time and XP (see the "key features" section for details). New message for unrepairable armor.
2009.08.10. New functionality of sfall by Timeslip finally allows for a realistic approach to the issue, therefore addon completely rewritten. Name changed to "Critter Armor Addon" to distinguish from "Lootable Armor Mods" that exist. Critter's scripts are no longer modified. Damage done is now taken into account. It's possible to examine an armored body to estimate the damage to the armor and the complexity of repairs. No need for the player to meet the requirements upon a critter's death to get his armor. Game time passes accordingly to the repair time. Player get XP for repairing armor suits. Taking an armor suit off in combat mode is now not allowed. All critters will now change appearance after dearmoring.
2009.07.09 Added the ability to take the armor suits off the dead critters permanently placed on a map.
2009.07.03 Initial release. The realization is similar to MIB88's adaptation of terryk1463's mod (each armor-wearing critter's script is modified), but the armor-creating code is generic, skill checks are done not only for the player but for his party members too and there are checks for repair tools which, if found, decrease the Repair skill requiremens.