Oblivion

Interview with richerhk, September FotM winner (Brisa Almodovar)

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Each month, we try to interview the author of the winning File of the Month. Richerhk's Brisa Almodovar won with 55 votes in September, the highest total in a long time on FO3Nexus.

Read below for all the answers, and thanks again to Richerhk for participating.
What was your inspiration for creating Brisa Almodovar?
All the other companion mods on the Nexus inspired me. I'd start naming them, but I wouldn't want to miss anybody! I played with them for quite awhile before I started tinkering with the Geck. Companions pretty much ARE the game for me. The one thing that really prompted me to do something on my own was that the combat AI of vanilla NPCs is just out of control, and I aimed to 'fix' that somewhat. After Brisa was released, the main inspiration has been through users providing feedback and ideas. I'd like to thank Paxton2 and RJ the Shadow just to name a couple, among many others. And recently, some users have been making compatibility plugins for other mods - ilanaisatree, iFSS, and red6. All this keeps me inspired to keep working on Brisa.

What did you find most enjoyable about creating Brisa Almodovar?
Creating scripts to make things happen in the game world. I'm not a programmer but the game scripting appeals to me and the learning curve isn't as great as a real
programming language would be.

What were some of the challenges you encountered making Brisa Almodovar?
Adding things that would add to immersion. Dealing with game glitches having to do with weapons and inventory with NPCs. The biggest challenges and time spent have been on her weapons system script, and on her combat script - influencing her AI without interfering too much.

Roughly how much time have you invested in Brisa Almodovar so far?
It's hard to calculate. Evenings and weekends from April 2010 to Sept 2010 release, then updates every couple of months, with a large gap when working on my FNV companion. Hundreds of hours.

Do you have any future plans for Brisa Almodovar?
I'd like to make a few more compatibility plugins for some DLCs, add some more content, possibly some simple quests, time permitting.

Are you working on any other mods or projects? Any plans for Fallout: New Vegas?
I just released the sixth update for Wendy Gilbert Companion.

What would you like to see in the next Fallout game?
I would like to see the same policy by Bethesda - freedom to mod it. No doubt they will use the same engine as for Skyrim, and hopefully it works better with modern operating systems.

Tell us a little about yourself. Where you are from, what are some of your other hobbies outside of games?
I'm from northern California originally, and have been in Las Vegas for quite awhile now. I'm the technical director at the place I work. We manage networks, disaster recovery, and business continuity, etc.

I really don't have time for another hobby right now, but maybe going to the gym regularly would be a good choice!

What are some of your other favorite games? Favorite mods?
Before getting hooked on Fallout I was playing BF2 and BF2142. I just finished playing through Portal 2, which was a lot of fun. I've also been working through Mass Effect 2, which is pretty cool. Fallout 3 is my favorite game of all time so far, though.

Do you have any advice for aspiring mod authors?
Just keep trying.

Finally, do you have anything else you would like to say to readers?
I would just like to thank everyone that tried this mod out, everyone who endorsed it, everyone who voted for it, and everyone who provided feedback to it. Thank you!

Check back next month for another interview, and don't forget to vote for your favorite mod for October.

7 comments

  1. red6
    red6
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    • 39 kudos
    Congrats! Brisa is the ultimate companion! i'm looking forward to checking out Wendy Gilbert when i return to the Mojave.

    Peace and Love!
  2. rickerhk
    rickerhk
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    • 339 kudos
    @Corehound, shiholude, Cipscis, iFSS
    Thank you for your comments and kind words!
  3. Corehound
    Corehound
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    • 101 kudos

    I don't really follow mod releases any more, but I do check the Fallout mod talk and troubleshooting forums fairly frequently in order to try to help people having trouble with the scripting language. Based on that alone, I'd have to say that rickerhk seems to be perhaps the most helpful Nexus user on the Fallout forums, and I'm very glad to see him get this sort of recognition.

    Congratulations!

    Cipscis

    Yea that's perhaps one of the things I would have liked to have pointed out as well <img class=">

    I talked with rickerhk a couple of times regarding Brisa at the beginning and he was always very helpful with support, and patent when asking him questions about the various features and functions and how they work <img class=">

    So a big thumbs-up for that one as well rickerhk <img class=">

  4. iFSS
    iFSS
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    • 13 kudos
    Without Brisa being by my side, Fallout 3 would be a different game, and nowhere near as fun.

    A huge round of applause for not only showing how the companions should have acted and behaved, but also for putting so much effort into the little details that make Brisa Almodovar *the* essential Fallout 3 mod.

    Nice one! <img class=">
  5. Cipscis
    Cipscis
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    • 244 kudos
    I don't really follow mod releases any more, but I do check the Fallout mod talk and troubleshooting forums fairly frequently in order to try to help people having trouble with the scripting language. Based on that alone, I'd have to say that rickerhk seems to be perhaps the most helpful Nexus user on the Fallout forums, and I'm very glad to see him get this sort of recognition.

    Congratulations!

    Cipscis
  6. shiholude
    shiholude
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    • 143 kudos
    Congrats indeed. I was amazed at the reaction to the FOTM last month, and I was happy to be placed amongst the top choices myself.

    After looking into your mod, I can see the depth of time that you've invested, and I'm glad to hear that you have as much enjoyment and challenge in learning scripting as I do.

    Well done!

    -Shiholude
  7. Corehound
    Corehound
    • BANNED
    • 101 kudos
    I think I'm not the only one saying this was a long time coming, congrats richerhk, well deserved <img class=">

    Ever since I came across this girl the first time, she's been one of my most trusted and valued sidekicks, following me through thick and thin across the Wasteland, through Ravenrock and even jumped in her spacesuit to follow me off-world to kick some alien butt <img class=">

    Grtz once again m8ie <img class=">