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ARC - Assembled Robotic Companions

Current Version: 0.08
Date Last Updated: 2 Sept, 2009
Author: Dd409
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Note: Please feel free to rate and comment on this mod. If you like it, please vote for it for File of the Month.

Contents:
1. Description
2. Requirements
3. Installation/Uninstallation
4. Playing It
5. FAQ
6. Save games
7. To-Do
8. Known Bugs
9. Credit Where Credit is Due
10. Contact and Information
11. That Legal Cr-- ...Stuff
12. Version History


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1. DESCRIPTION
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Assembled Robotic Companions is a mod for Fallout 3 which allows the player to build robotic followers. These followers will follow you around (hence the name) and attack targets hostile to you. They have the basic "battle cry" phrases when charging into battle.

All robot companions have a dialogue menu which is voice acted (kinda, I used Cepstral. I figured since they're robots, a computer-generated voice would fit better), which consists of follow, wait, access inventory, and repair commands. There is also a shut down command that will force the robot to kill itself.

When told to follow, your robots follow. When told to wait, they will patrol the area around where you told them to wait. Access inventory is self-explanatory. The shut down command requires confirmation when chosen, and if confirmed will cause your robot to kill itself.

There are several requirements to build followers, the first of which is the schematic. You will start with the Eyebot schematic, but the rest must be found in the field. If you are too lazy to look for them, I have included a text document containing the locations of each schematic. There are two types of schematics: base schematics needed to build any robot, and notes on schematics allowing for modified robots. You will need both the original schematic and the notes to create a modified robot.

Each robot will also require certain materials to build, as well as require a certain science and repair level.

The classes of robot, from weakest to strongest, are:
- Eyebot
- Protecton
- Robobrain
- Mister Gutsy
- Sentry Bot

The modified variations on each class are:
- Army
- Brotherhood of Steel
- Outcast
- Enclave
- Unique

Each of the classes (except for Eyebot and Mister Gutsy) have Army, BoS, Outcast, and Enclave variants. The Protecton and Robobrain also have unique variations as well (Nuka-Cola Security Protecton and the Masterbrain).

The materials needed to assemble the different robots vary, with the better robots needing more and more advanced materials. Every robot will, however, need a certain number of Scrap Metal, Conductors, and Sensor Modules, as well as at least one weapon, with the more complicated companions requiring two weapons. The variant robots will also require a piece of power armor from the variant faction (Army robots use regular Power Armor).

The base robots have all of the same stats as their regular game counterparts. Although the cost of the variant robots is higher, they are more powerful. Each variant has +1 in each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat, and the other stats (level, base damage, health, combat effectiveness) are 4/3 that of the original robots.


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2. REQUIREMENTS
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- Fallout 3
- Preferably a mod manager like FOMM, but the build in manager should be fine.


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3. INSTALLATION/UNINSTALLATION AND COMPATIBILITY
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Installation is very simple: simply drop the .esp file and the Sound file into your Data folder and enable it with whatever mod enabler you use. I prefer the Fallout Mod Manager.

Uninstallation would usually be tricky, because this mod uses hidden items, quests, and perks. However, for your convenience I have included a simple method to remove the mod. Simply go to the console (press the [~] key) and type in "startquest killARC". This will remove everything related to the mod, then stop itself.

As far as compatibility goes, this mod shouldn't interfere with any other mods. Does not modify the workbench script at all, and is tested and working with the Weapon Mod Kits Mod and others like it.


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4. PLAYING IT
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Simply enable the mod in your mod manager. When you start your game, you will receive a message saying that two notes have been added: "Assembled Robotic Companions (ARC)" and "Schematics - Enclave Eyebot". If you receive these messages, you're good to go.


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5. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Q: Is there a limit on how many robots you can make at once?
A: There is no limit, but the material costs should prevent players from being able to make more than one or two at a time.

Q: Do the robots take up a follower spot?
A: Nope. These will in no way conflict with the vanilla followers.

If I get any other frequently asked questions, they'll probably make it here.


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6. SAVE GAMES
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If you don't uninstall properly, it may corrupt your save. Refer to the Installation/Uninstallation secion above.


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7. TO-DO
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In order of priority:
- Add ability for Nuka Cola security Protectron to chill Nuka Colas into Ice Cold Nuka Colas
- Add Mister Handy
- Add different voices for different robots

As I think of/get suggestions for more, I'll update the To-Do list.


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8. KNOWN BUGS
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- If you have already killed someone who's corpse is supposed to have a schematic (like Masterbrain) before installing the mod, the schematic may not show up on them.

If you find any bugs, or feel that something is over/underpowered, please let me know. Leave a comment or PM me, and I'll try to get it fixed.


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9. CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
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- TGBlank - fixing my seriously broken script, and help with the GECK
- pickers101 - showing me how to clean my esp file with FO3Edit
- Cepstral.com Text-to-Speech - the voice of the robots


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10. CONTACT AND INFORMATION
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I usually don't give out my email, but if you feel an urge to contact me please PM me on Fallout3Nexus. My screenname there is dd409.


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11. THAT LEGAL CR-- ...STUFF
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By installing this mod, you assume full responsibility for anything that may (but shouldn't) happen to a) your save file, your copy of Fallout 3, c) your computer, d) your house, e) your family, f) your next door neighbor, g) their dog, h) or anything/one else. Barring an act of God/Allah, Shiva, Buddha, Congress, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, this mod shouldn't harm any of them in any way.


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12. VERSION HISTORY
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- 0.08 Beta (Robots now drop ~80% of components, no longer attack random non-hostiles, random NPCs can no longer be repaired)
- 0.07 Beta (No longer able to speak with Eyebots for cannonocity, walking speed improvements for most robots)
- 0.06 Beta (fixed major bug where only Eyebots and Sentry Bots would obey commands)
- 0.05 Beta (corrected an accidental edit of a vanilla quest)
- 0.04 Beta (voice acting added)
- 0.03 Beta (fixed glitch were NPCs were using robot dialogue)
- 0.02 Beta (added dialogue menus, wait and follow, and access to robots' inventories)
- 0.01 (Initial Beta)