T) SKIP

PREFACE

Once upon a time FPS were fast and did not rely on endless cinematic scenes which bind the player to watch rather than to play. This needed to end ...

In Fallout we started as Vault Dweller
In Fallout 2 we started as Vault Cultist
In Fallout 3 (Fallout Van Buren) we started as Prisoner
In Fallout 4 (Fallout Tactics) we started as Brotherhood of Steel Recruit
In Fallout 5 (Fallout 3) we started as Baby Boy
In Fallout 6 (New Vegas) we started as Courier
In Fallout 7 (Fallout 4) we started as Vault Volunteer

In non-BGS games character creation was short, in BGS games character creation was long and tied to unskippable starting sequence ... in fact Fallout 3 and 4 had the most weird starting scene of all super annoying due to its unskippable cinematic approach, the logical consequence to this was to bring it down to the essentials - character creation and done - Wake up in Cryo Pod without any pre-cut-scene while keeping the base game quest line as much as possible.

FROST did it right, DUST did it right, and other skip starting sequence mods such as Start Me Up and else did it obviously right.

All i wanted to allow player char with this mod, was to trick the game without using additional scripts, quest and menus by swapping only vanilla records and quest entries at a minimum with maximum effect while keeping all relevant objects in Vault 111, the main difference to other quick start mods.

I found the only real requirement to skip the start up scene, is to advance the quest by a simple activator, a triggerbox. Used across the base game by BGS, set via the Creation Kit, allowing for complex quest interaction if set properly. In this case it will fire once player char meets a certain condition. The main file uses one condition to advance the quest once pushing the "Skip" button. The secondary file(s) use conditons like advance quest once leaving the bathroom or mirror or else. Simple and effective.

Overview

There are at least two files allowing you to fast play the Sanctuary world space either by totally skipping the foreplay or with very limited room to play to finally advance to the Cryo Pod scene.

Main File:
- No Character Generation upon start up (Gender is fixed to male)
- Player char wakes up in the Cryo Pod upon starting a New Game
- Kellogg Baby scene is skipped
- SPECIAL menu will pop-up after Cryo Pod Exit
- Vault 111 exploration similar to vanilla Fallout 4

NOTE: If you want to use this plugin and want to change to female sex, use "player.sexchange" to change your gender, since there is no other way to trick the game with quest alteration to make what the main file does work for female sex too.

Optional File:
- Player char is able to choose Character Generation at bathroom
- Player char will teleport to the Cryo Pod once finishing Char Gen
- Slight delay before transitioning to the PostWar Vault
- Slight delay before correct Image Space Adapter in Cryo Pod
- Kellogg scene will play
- Once Kellogg scene is over, player char can exit the Cryo Pod and start the game
- SPECIAL menu will first prompt when reaching the center of the Vault 111 Elevator

NOTE: There is no more room to alter the scenes able to skip. It is not possible with only vanilla quest alteration to avoid the Kellogg cutscene with Char Gen applied. The cutscene is required to apply normal walking speed since the script to disable running will be first disabled when PC teleports to the PostWar environment. Slightly the same for the SPECIAL menu prompt which will only prompt directly after the pod when PC chooses to skip everything, the main file.

Features

- NG and OG compatible
- No scripted bypass
- No additional BA2 archive / loose files
- One triggerbox
- Minimal invasive quest alteration

Installation

This mod can be in-/unstalled anytime but obviously may require a new game to work. If uninstalled mid-game, Vault 111 might behave differently due to quest formerly skipped being reactivated, thus it is not recommend to uninstall mid-game so try at your own risk.

The plugin is ESL-flagged, don't count against normal ESP/ESM limit.

This mod does not affect precombined meshes or PreVis data.

Compatibility

This mod works with both, the Old- and Next-Gen Update. For third party mods ask the author of the mod of interest.

NOTE:
- Start Me Up - Alternate Start and Dialogue Overhaul by TinyManticore is incompatible
- Start Me Up - Vault 111 Door Workaround by JayManGTA is incompatible
- Start Me Up Redux - An Update for Alternate Start and Dialogue Overhaul by Dashboarderian is incompatible
- SKK Fast Start new game by SKKmods is not required
- Simple Quick Start by SoleVaultBoy is incompatible

Technical Issues

If you use the main file, upon starting a new game there is a few ms long white flash, this is impossible to change since its a leftover IMAD/IMOD or just imagespace modifier in code. My goal was to not touch code and recompile anything so it will probably stay forever.

If you use the optional file, once leaving the bathroom player char will be teleported into the Cryo Pod, once inside the Cryo Pod player char may wait longer than normal, the quest to spawn Kellogg and crew should be fired delayed.

Credits

- Bethesda, for Game and Creation Kit
- ElminsterAU & Team, for their invaluable tool xEdit
- Nexus Community