---
# System prepended metadata

title: Fallout 13 Done Right
tags: [Design, Ideas Guy]

---

# Fallout 13 Done Right
###### tags: `Ideas Guy` `Design`

## More specifically: less shit(?)

## WTF?

FO13 as it stands in most codebases is a TDM game masquerading as a sandbox world. There's very little that drives the gameplay besides "click _wastelander_ until make go horizontal". Sound familiar? Not exactly befitting a roleplay rich setting like Fallout, especially as it's very similar to the aesthetic of OG Fallout games like 1 & 2.

## How2Fix

### Less Factions, More Centrality
One of the easiest problems to fix is the lack of any real central structure to encourage cooperation and roleplay. Every faction is playable simultaneously for the playerbase, which is kind of at the heart of the TDM style of gameplay problem.

Maps should determine the faction affiliation the round starts with. The map may have 2-3 variants per faction, but it should boil down to:
* Vaulters
    * You know the drill. Big Vault, random gimmick.
* Wastelanders
    * New Vegas - Most logical choice for the first map for this faction
    * Any number of villages/towns like Novac, Primm, etc. could be alternates, with the understanding that the players were expected to expand/build on their own.
* Brotherhood of Steel
    * Bunker. Variant of Bunker. More Variant of Bunker. There's not a lot of maneuverability here unless you skip straight to FO4 with the Prydwen.
* NCR
    * Pick a NCR city
    * Military encampment/base/outpost + civilian supply train.
    * Caravan stop/base?
* Legion
    * Likely only makes sense in the case of a Legion warcamp
    * Alternatively, Western tribals loyal to the Legion.

Note that we're intentionally leaving out Raiders, & Enclave.

### Storytime!

The big draw to Fallout is the stories in the world. There's movers and shakers high above the scope and scale of the player in the RPGs, and they get thrust into that world and forced to navigate it. This should be the same for the players here. To achieve this, there needs to be a coherent narrative created at the start of the game that reflects the state of the world, and the immediate concerns of the town.

* Something should always be broken, in a way that is **not immediately** solveable.
    * See the _**entire fucking plot of FO3**_.
    * This can be anything from something mission critical like water, food, etc, to more environmentally driven concerns like defense, ecology/meteorology making the town unlivable.
    * Technology should _eventually_ be able to solve this, but there needs to be a confluence of skills needed to solve the problem without leaving the town's walls. Be it hard work, material expendature, or practical know-how.
    * Key goal: **Give the folks at home something to do**
* Someone should always be trying to kill the town. Preferably more than one group.
    * In FO:NV it was the fight between the Legion and NCR, and everyone caught inbetween.
    * In all the Fallout Games, raiders, and deadly fauna, are omnipresent.
    * But there were _clear ways to rectify this problem_.
    * The threats should _eventually be mortal_, even to the most well equipped groups, meaning ignoring the threat **can end the round**.
    * Key goal: **Make the majority of shooty/slashy mean more than just click till horizontal.**
* There should be internal conflict within the players.
    * In FO:NV, the Legion regularly infiltrated groups from within. Tators, etc are a good feature, and should be carried from SS13.
    * In FO4, Synths did the same. This one specifically doesn't mesh well outside of Boston, so probably safe to ignore.
    * It can even be as simple as home grown revolution. Depose the leader, install your own.
    * Key goal: **Sow a tiny amount of distrust in your neighbors, just enough to keep folks on their toes**
* The world outside the town should be **LETHAL**.
    * FO:NV Cazadores/Nightcrawlers should be the standard by which almost all fauna is balanced towards. Encourage player cooperation and "Expedition" rather than just "Hey I'm gonna go explore on my own with no backup or support!"
    * The minute to minute experience for the player should feel like an NV hardcore playthrough. Food, Water, Weight, health regen, chem addiction, all should come into effect for every player at least once in a round.
    * Key goal: **Make FO13 A Real Survival Game Again**
* There should be one or two hidden, innocuous openers to a wild quest
    * This should be the "endgame content" for the round, something that progresses over time, starting affiliated with one of the above concepts.
        * Kill the tator? He was holding clues to a secret cache of gear, now it's a treasure hunt to find it
        * Wipe out the local raiders? They were producing chems for the local Legion/NCR garrison, and now they're demanding you make good on the shipment.
        * Fix the water well? You've just pissed off the mirelurks hidden deep underground, and now they're burrowing up to find out where their water is going.
    * Rewards for completing this section should be both significant in and out of the round, giving metacoins/unlocks for players who participated for a limited time.
        * Metacoins for cosmetics being the obvious default
        * Contextually, give meaningful stat buffs for a single round to those who actively participated in the completion.
        * Round ends and you're holding the macguffin? Start with more caps/dollars/denarii next round.
    * Key Goal: **Give folks a reason to see the round to the end, not just when they're done with their gimmick**