I think a lot of FO4 mods are going to hit EOL- and the problem will become a disaster when Skyrim rereleases (that game makes so much more sense for modders, it's unreal. 'Contrapition' mods hit two fundamental issues- the gameplay 'what's the point' issue, and the 'shouldn't we fix the settler AI first so settlements are fun and have a point" issue.
Yet I feel a little sad about this, cos FO4 clearly needs MORE scripting of all kinds. But how many people used 'advanced power' that added logic gates to FO4 ages back? It just isn't the headspace that average players of this game occupy- and modders who consider exploiting such ideas are frustrated when they realise just how much work would have to go into these types of mod before they even had the kind of impact on the game world that would encourage gamers to download and use them.
The harsh truth is that FO4 has truly terrible, soul-sapping game design. We all know what FO4 could have been, especially given the massive number of development years since FO3. But the vanilla game is so far from this, mods need to do MORE work than went into the design of FO4 to fix it.
Thank you everyone for the support. I have decided to stop working on this project for now. If anyone wants to pick up development, let me know. I still think there is an interesting idea behind the mod, but I just don't know how much use it will have. You can read the update I put on the description for more information
Wow a project to make in game computers into actual computers! Tracking this for sure.
Would it be possible to add a proper command line for interacting with the computers instead of the simplified version bethesda gave us? I'd much rather type,
C:> DIR C:> CD Files C:> DIR C:> EXAMPLE.TXT
than simply pressing E to look at whatever they stuck on it.
Can't wait to be able to put my own files on my terminal! ^.^
Thank you for all of the support, guys! I don't think any simple options are going to work, at least not without some advanced features of the script extender, but I'm continuing to look for better options, and in the mean time I'm taking note of all your suggestions.
Whether it needs F4SE to be improved or not, a couple ideas to consider..?
1: Create a false keyboard on screen for those keys you can't use physically. Sloppy workaround, but if you can tie it into a touch-screen monitor and allow for all keys you could have a fully-functional keyboard for those players. Button presses on the holokey would equate to letters in the code, allowing you to work around the in-game limitation. It wouldn't be very ergonomic, but it would be better than clicking specific letters... At worst, you could have a small keyboard containing only the unusable keys. Possibly a configurable setting to choose between the two, if someone doesn't have touchscreen?
2: Tie into an attached controller and make the joystick directions replace the missing keys on the keyboard, with (up)[W] (left)[A] (down)[S] (right)[D] as their results. May have issues if using a controller to play, as they may instead scroll in the menu.
Best of luck! I look forward to the results of your efforts.
[Edit:] Stupid forum... lets you put in the arrows using the numpad, turns them into question marks when you submit...
1. Make craftable blank holotapes. 2. These holotapes are to be inserted into a terminal, then programmed. 3. Add a new settlement item called "Electronic Controller" or something that accepts the programmed holotape, then executes the instructions. If you're aware of Arduino or similar microcontrollers, this is exactly like that. 4. The controller will have "input and output ports" that can be connected to lights, generators, etc.
My recommendation for the language: a simplified version of BASIC. I don't know if you have to convert BASIC to the in-game scripting language, and how you will do that, but I'm very hyped for this idea.
Will future Terminal Programmer save and load programs from a file or something of the like ex: C:\Users\NAME\documents\my games\Fallout4\Programs so people can trade programs and such.
Please keep this up. I am seriously looking forward to this. I know it's going to be a damn long project but you will make a lot of people happy. I wish you and your work the very best.
40 comments
Agreed - and let's not forget Dwarf Fortress either.
http://www.themarysue.com/dwarf-fortress-turing-machine-computer/
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Computing
(Don't let the first article fool you, though, there are tilesets to replace the ascii default maps.)
Yet I feel a little sad about this, cos FO4 clearly needs MORE scripting of all kinds. But how many people used 'advanced power' that added logic gates to FO4 ages back? It just isn't the headspace that average players of this game occupy- and modders who consider exploiting such ideas are frustrated when they realise just how much work would have to go into these types of mod before they even had the kind of impact on the game world that would encourage gamers to download and use them.
The harsh truth is that FO4 has truly terrible, soul-sapping game design. We all know what FO4 could have been, especially given the massive number of development years since FO3. But the vanilla game is so far from this, mods need to do MORE work than went into the design of FO4 to fix it.
Would it be possible to add a proper command line for interacting with the computers instead of the simplified version bethesda gave us? I'd much rather type,
C:> DIR
C:> CD Files
C:> DIR
C:> EXAMPLE.TXT
than simply pressing E to look at whatever they stuck on it.
Can't wait to be able to put my own files on my terminal! ^.^
1: Create a false keyboard on screen for those keys you can't use physically. Sloppy workaround, but if you can tie it into a touch-screen monitor and allow for all keys you could have a fully-functional keyboard for those players. Button presses on the holokey would equate to letters in the code, allowing you to work around the in-game limitation. It wouldn't be very ergonomic, but it would be better than clicking specific letters... At worst, you could have a small keyboard containing only the unusable keys. Possibly a configurable setting to choose between the two, if someone doesn't have touchscreen?
2: Tie into an attached controller and make the joystick directions replace the missing keys on the keyboard, with (up)[W] (left)[A] (down)[S] (right)[D] as their results. May have issues if using a controller to play, as they may instead scroll in the menu.
Best of luck! I look forward to the results of your efforts.
[Edit:] Stupid forum... lets you put in the arrows using the numpad, turns them into question marks when you submit...
http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/13462/?
2. These holotapes are to be inserted into a terminal, then programmed.
3. Add a new settlement item called "Electronic Controller" or something that accepts the programmed holotape, then executes the instructions. If you're aware of Arduino or similar microcontrollers, this is exactly like that.
4. The controller will have "input and output ports" that can be connected to lights, generators, etc.
My recommendation for the language: a simplified version of BASIC. I don't know if you have to convert BASIC to the in-game scripting language, and how you will do that, but I'm very hyped for this idea.