Description

Broadly speaking, when playing Fallout 3 you have two options regarding how to start the game. Either play through the vanilla, probably far too familiar opening or opt for an often immersion-breaking quick start mod of some description.

Now you can take the third option!

"Escape! Redux" alters and expands on elements of the opening quest that see your character escaping from Vault 101 while generally remaining balanced and lore-friendly. The changes aren't necessarily huge, but they should be enough to make things interesting again.


Features

-MORE TO EXPLORE

Vault 101 remains familiar and existing areas are largely unchanged, however it has been significantly expanded with both suitably modified versions of areas of the vault accessed at different points of the game and a number of entirely new areas, all navmeshed.

For the most part, changes to the existing architecture of Vault 101 have been kept to an absolute minimum (with one minor and one major exception), and for the sake of consistency and immersion, these changes have been carried through to other applicable instances of Vault 101 within the main game.

-MORE TO DO

The original 'Escape!' made things quite easy on the player. Now you should find it more challenging, and consequently more rewarding. This time around you'll have to search the Vault and apply a little skill in order to acquire useful gear and supplies that were previously made very easy to acquire or even handed straight to you.

Ammo is initially in short supply, and the gun Amata gives you is substantially weaker. Partly to compensate and partly to help balance the game a little, the guards also have weaker firearms, but greater health to offset this.

There is now a non-combat (but not non-lethal...) option to overcome one obstacle in the game - and if you're fast enough, you might save lives other than yours. Alternative approaches to existing problems exist at certain points, with more to come.

-MORE TO MEET

"Escape! Redux" contains a few new NPCs in addition to the new security guards, and they both need some assistance. Whether you provide it is entirely up to you.

One of these NPCs is the focus of a brand new short side-quest and will soon (hopefully) be fully voiced.

-MORE TO READ

There are several terminals now scattered throughout the Vault that add some useful information that will point you to useful areas and loot, as well as some lore friendly 'flavour' and background material.

-MORE TO KILL

In "Escape! Redux" Radroaches are common enough that it now feels like a true infestation and Vault emergency on top of the more important events, and if you don't pay attention, they just might pose a threat. The security officers have been improved as well (with a slight swelling of their ranks), but weapons are also slightly more common if you're willing to explore.

-MORE TO LOOT

Vault 101 now has plenty to offer the more patient and perceptive player, especially those with sufficient skill. Every single one of the newly added items is one you would expect to find in a functioning Vault to preserve immersion, consistency and lore-friendliness, and none of the loot on offer is game-breaking (no Gatling Lasers or Deathclaw Gauntlets here), but may still offer a useful boost, and the good stuff is generally offset by being placed behind locks or enemies.

-MORE TO EARN

In addition to the XP you will rack up with all the new tasks, obstacles, sidequests and enemies (you still won't level up until outside the vault as that is scripted, but you might make it most of the way to Level 3) there are two new perks included, both available at Level 2 - "High Vaultage" gives you bonuses to DR and AP as long as you're wearing any kind of vault suit and "Escape Artist" gives you bonuses to the Science and Lockpick skills.


History

v2.1

-Fixes the Crash To Desktop issue with the water in the tunnels.
-Fixes the graphical glitch/artifact issue with the water in the tunnels.
-Completely removes some out-of-place randomly generated loot from early in the quest.
-Adds some new loot to the diner and the lab to compensate.
-Ted should now stop appearing at random points throughout the game.

v2.0

-Brand new side quest added and tested with multiple outcomes.
-New NPC and scripted radroach attack added (player can intervene if desired).
-Several new areas added, populated with clutter and background material and navmeshed.
-Numerous bug fixes and minor adjustments including unaligned tunnel sections, AI issues and script issues.

v1.3 (has not been tested)

-Fixed looping AMBElectricArcSmallA sound (thanks to ElderMalaclypse for alerting me to this)
-Restored missing VLightFlickerR02 throughout game (again, thanks to ElderMalaclypse).

v1.25

- Fixed glaring error with half the kitchen disappearing due to room marker and portal issues.
- Removed annoying vent near kitchen door in every instance of Vault 101.
- Added an alternative means of entry to kitchen, but you'll have to look around for it.
- Radroaches no longer show up on compass during "Baby Steps".
- Optional patch to maintain architectural consistency with "Vault 101 Revisited" now available.

v1.1

- Fixed the diner door in "Growing Up Fast" so it is now [INACCESSIBLE], as it should have been (thanks castellcorp).
- Stopped vent floating in midair, also in "Growing Up Fast".
- Changed lockers in Equipment Room during "Escape!" so that they are now empty and cannot provide unrealistic or over-powered loot.
- Changed the quest completion bonus from 150 XP (vanilla is 200 XP) to 100 XP as stopgap to prevent player gathering excessive experience but not levelling up twice. Note that this now means that it is possible for a player to exit the Vault and NOT level up immediately (by bypassing all combat, locks, mini-quests etc.
- Changed the health of all Vault 101 security guards (except for Chief Hannon and Officer Mack) to 20, double the vanilla amount.
- Changed the health of the Vault Dwellers in the Common Room to 10 (from 80!).
- Added two more radroaches to Officer Kendall encounter to compensate for added health.
- Restored and altered some dialogue options with Butch - you can now offer to give him a police baton if you took Officer Kendall's, or a pool cue from the Common Room.
- Made some purely aesthetic changes to the player's personal terminal and the Common Room.


Installation, Uninstallation and Upgrading

To install Escape Redux extract the .esp and place it in Fallout 3's data folder and make sure it is selected as an active data file in your preferred launcher.

To uninstall simply delete the .esp and uncheck it from the launcher - it is advisable to do this only after you have left the Vault.

A note on upgrading to a new version of Escape Redux: although it is not essential to start a new game it is advisable. The mod's primary quest, ER01Help, is started shortly after Amata leaves your quarters and parts of the mod may not work if swapped later as the game considers different versions as entirely different mods so variables and scripts will not work.


Compatibility

Only Vanilla Fallout 3 components have been used, so no DLC or other mods should be required, and I can barely script as it is so you don't need FOSE either at the moment.

This mod will almost certainly not be compatible with any mod that significantly alters the internal layout of existing version of Vault 101 during the game. That said, this mod hasn't been tested with any others yet, so let me know if you find problems or even better, if you find it works fine with other Vault 101 focused mods.

There is now an optional patch available that keeps the look and layout of Vault 101 the same when also using "Vault 101 Revisited", for those who really like immersion and consistency. Gameplay is completely unaffected whether you do or do not use this patch, it is purely for cosmetic/aesthetic purposes. Thanks to KineticKat for giving me the okay.

Minor changes have had to be made to Vault 101's architecture throughout the game, but these are cosmetic and should have no effect on gameplay.

WARNING: These architectural changes have not yet been fully tested in game, as in both cases the changes are simple architectural substitutions, so I saw no need. Please alert me if you encounter problems.

Cells altered:

- Vault101a
- Vault101b
- Vault101d
- Vault101aMS16
- Vault101bMS16
- Vault101dMS16
- Vault101c (for use with "Vault 101 Revisited" mod and the compatibility patch only)

If you use TrebTreb's Simple Needs or Clockmon's Simple Needs Expanded, Clockmon has produced patches for use with Escape Redux at the following pages:

-Simple Needs - Escape Redux Compatibility Patch
-Simple Needs Expanded


Future

"Escape! Redux" v2.1 is the latest stable, finished version of this mod, correcting some bugs in v2.0. I have already started work on v2.2.

My plans for subsequent versions of Escape Redux may include:

- fully voiced NPCs
- improving Ted and Irene's AI and scripting
- various improvements and refinements to the entire mod including quest design, scripting and navmeshing
- the inevitable bug fixes
- a possible further sub-quest
- more options for existing quests
- adding more materials to contribute to the background and setting
- adding more to do and find to the new rooms and areas added to the vault
- improving the available loot to ensure it fits the setting and isn't game breaking but rewards the player
- reinstating the 10mm pistols for vault security... but not for the player!
- a crafted non-lethal weapon so that it becomes possible for a player to deal with hostile human targets without needing to kill or constantly evade them
- a reward perk or similar for escaping Vault 101 with zero human deaths (you can still stomp all the radroaches you like though)


Recommended Mods

***SPOILERS***

As with all of my mods, I created this mod to suit me first and foremost, and my preferred style of play. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy it, but to enjoy it more you may wish to add a few other (completely optional) mods that make the following changes:

-Slower levelling. You still won't level up until you are outside in the Wasteland sun because it's scripted, but depending on your play style, you may fall short of the Level Up threshold, or exceed it considerably - ways to deal with this are being worked on. In the mean time, if you are a detail obsessed perfectionist like me you could do worse than installing a mod to increase the XP required for each level.

-Improved .32 pistol. Since the 10mm pistol has been withdrawn from Vault 101 service (at least in this section of the game, though this is addressed in a terminal message) it may pay to add a mod that slightly buffs this weapon. Included in the downloaded archive is an optional .esp that does exactly that, slightly improving the .32 pistol's accuracy and damage. Please be aware these changes are minor - the .32 pistol is only slightly improved, not drastically.

-Radioactive Bites and Stings. To add an extra level of challenge and threat, add my mod that makes radroach bites (amongst other things) impart radiation damage.


Feedback

Please let me know of any bug fixes, incompatibilities, CTDs or other issues so I can do my best to fix them. Please also let me know what you did and didn't like about this mod, what you would like to see and so on. I can't promise I'll include every request but if something crops up enough I'll certainly look into implementing it.

You can leave a comment on the "Escape! Redux" mod page or you can private message me on my Nexus profile - I am, however, far more likely to see a private message in a timely manner.