VersusXV
Well-Known Member
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Patreon Supporter
Verified Builder
Vault Librarian
Knights of Spamalot
- Messages
- 827
| VFX Addon | Nuka World Settlement (Also relevant due to Conquerors!)
I have gotten some feedback on my addon and from continuing to play have also had gripes with it. So I want to recreate a new ESP for it and basically reboot the addon. What I have heard is that it needs to be feature complete and basically just work without issues/annoyances/problems. I had it in mind for a while but hearing from some of the authors around here really makes me want to proceed with it.
My main ideas for changes are these:
#1 No Mod requirements:
I heard a lot about wishing there was not requirement for other mods like Snappy, Master Plan, etc & a bit about wishing for no DLC requirements. Currently it requires season pass, snappy and a lot of the Master Plan mods. I think at this point avoiding other mod requirements is probably doable, DLC requirements being a maybe at this time.
#2 Foundations:
Basically making the addon double as a Foundations Addon
Had a "You know what really grinds my gears" moment when placing plots on an elevated are(ie on top of a larger structure only to find clipping as a result and limiting my selection to plots that didn't have foundation pieces built in. Really annoying when I wanted to use my addon plot on an elevated surface but literally cannot because beneath the specific location is a walkway.
If it's annoying I can make smaller images or edit it back to just links.
The difficult thing here is that I perceive that a Script is going to be needed, (possibly an advanced one?) in order for seamless & problem free addition & removal of the mod without losing part of your build menu. I think Kraggle's Structures & Captain Coots' addon are the only examples that do this. Have not uninstalled Cpt Coots addon mid playthrough but have done it on Kraggle's to switch to ESL or ESP and how he has it is literally problem free, meaning I didn't lose structure when upgrading version(he moved it to a top level Kraggles menu) or uninstalling. You can even have 2 of the menu appear, like when I accidentally loaded both ESP & ESL. I would also like navmeshing and snap points on the foundation pieces so they can function just like Concrete 2x2 foundation for very easy placement of plots and snapping multiple of them together or with stairs. Extra: I might look into what foundations were built into other Addons I love such as Industrial City, to help make it easy for the authors of the addons to make No Foundations versions. I might look into mesh edits for cases like short versions of the foundations though 3DS Max is pretty difficult to work with, the benefit might not be significant for most users and it will mean an increase in the file size(A big issue on the Xbox One due to 2GB Limit!).
I would like any suggestion for foundation pieces to include here as I'd like my addong to double as an AIO problem free custom Foundations. I'm thinking about Brick / Concrete Rubble & Trash Terraformers though I don't know if these will happen as I imagine custom textures work will be required. Cpt COOTs will cover some retextures work in his tutorial series so I will try to do Terraformers but will call it a maybe, since it likely won't be exactly comparable.
#3 Branching Plots System:
#3 Branching Plots System: As someone who uses pretty much every addon there is except the Horizon one because I don't use Horizon or play survival I do notice delay on build plan select due to there being over 100 options for Residential and probably over 100 for the rest combined. I would like to avoid cluttering Build Plan selection menu. Basically it would call for only 2 dynamic build plans, whereby I would distribute either all of my house buildings between them or just those that make sense(mostly applying for Simple)
I am not sure exactly what precise form this would take beyond the above but oftentimes I usually only get natural ideas for Level 3 and Level 2. So it might be like: Level 1 always is the same or is random from a few pretty similar brick houses. For those who like the current Level 0/1's, I would have them still exist but be manual selection only and banned by default so as to not clutter the build plan selection menu. For the normal Build Plan Selection I am thinking of doing possibly 2 main options for houses: VFX Houses Simple, VFX Houses Custom.
#4 Including all types of Plots:
It certainly does not feel feature complete without making use of all of the plot types, though things are more complicated for Industrial plots, Advanced Industrial plots and Commercial Plots that may sell customized items. In particular Cpt Coots' stream covering creation of one of each encourages me that I by following I can be sure to include all expected features. I think what would be most disappointing would be including Industrial/Advanced Industrial/Commercial plots that don't behave as expected.
#5 Miscellaneous improvements including custom NavCut/Navmeshing snap points for Interior plots: A lot of the difficult things I'd like to look into actually doing, now that I have been through experience of doing basic addon.
I have gotten some feedback on my addon and from continuing to play have also had gripes with it. So I want to recreate a new ESP for it and basically reboot the addon. What I have heard is that it needs to be feature complete and basically just work without issues/annoyances/problems. I had it in mind for a while but hearing from some of the authors around here really makes me want to proceed with it.
My main ideas for changes are these:
- Making it not require any other mods besides Sim Settlements & ideally not require DLC. Currently there are a lot of required files but I think it should be possible to make it using base game stuff with few or no differences in most cases. I've heard a lot that this is a big thing for people.
- Making Plots not have included foundation pieces anymore due to issues, which can be instead be an workshop mode addition to (Sim Settlements> Foundations) that's manually placed.
- Moving to a System of Branched Residential plots for Options/variants/etc, if you've used Wasteland Venturers V2/AIO you will have seen these with the Townhouse Metal & Townhouse Stone.
- Including all types of Plots: Thanks to @CptCOOTS I feel now is a good time to go through with trying to create plots for the types I have never yet attempted including Agricultural, Commercial, Recreational and possibly Industrial/Adv Industrial. His Twitch Stream will cover a lot of scary unknowns with doing the other plot types as well as Navmeshing.
- Miscellaneous improvements including custom NavCut/Navmeshing snap points for Interior plots: I will attempt to do decorate version of my own. I personally prefer the interior decorations of the other addons but I feel it may still be worthwhile due to the overall limit on total plot count.
#1 No Mod requirements:
I heard a lot about wishing there was not requirement for other mods like Snappy, Master Plan, etc & a bit about wishing for no DLC requirements. Currently it requires season pass, snappy and a lot of the Master Plan mods. I think at this point avoiding other mod requirements is probably doable, DLC requirements being a maybe at this time.
#2 Foundations:
Basically making the addon double as a Foundations Addon
Had a "You know what really grinds my gears" moment when placing plots on an elevated are(ie on top of a larger structure only to find clipping as a result and limiting my selection to plots that didn't have foundation pieces built in. Really annoying when I wanted to use my addon plot on an elevated surface but literally cannot because beneath the specific location is a walkway.
- 2 foundation sets I used on my plots. I'm going to make it standalone. These will absolutely not be Activator form, only as buildable Statics that I'll look into setting up Snap Points just like Kinggath's 2x2 Concrete Foundation pieces & Terraformer Blocks.
- Demonstrates how they should easily align in an adjacent manner, which means working well when placed 512 units apart on X or Y axis relative to other pieces.
- Demonstrates alignment method. Best way to avoid issues as far as I can tell is basing it off of Concrete 2x2. Hoping to follow template to allow easy use in a City Plan.
If it's annoying I can make smaller images or edit it back to just links.
I would like any suggestion for foundation pieces to include here as I'd like my addong to double as an AIO problem free custom Foundations. I'm thinking about Brick / Concrete Rubble & Trash Terraformers though I don't know if these will happen as I imagine custom textures work will be required. Cpt COOTs will cover some retextures work in his tutorial series so I will try to do Terraformers but will call it a maybe, since it likely won't be exactly comparable.
#3 Branching Plots System:
#3 Branching Plots System: As someone who uses pretty much every addon there is except the Horizon one because I don't use Horizon or play survival I do notice delay on build plan select due to there being over 100 options for Residential and probably over 100 for the rest combined. I would like to avoid cluttering Build Plan selection menu. Basically it would call for only 2 dynamic build plans, whereby I would distribute either all of my house buildings between them or just those that make sense(mostly applying for Simple)
VFX Variety Houses - Simple: Designed to work basically anywhere in any CP, anywhere a 2 story house can go. The upgrades will give some different options but player can leave it to automatic upgrades. Idea is pretty much summed up by the famous words "It Just Works" by the one and only Todd Howard. I feel that 2 story are okay given that Base Sim Settlements includes 2 story plots such as Max Shack, Raised Shack, Metal Prefabs, Sofa King, etc including in the random plot rotation. Most addons do the same as well. Personally when working on a settlement I accept that I might have to change the build plan, maybe even play around with it a bit or choose an Interior Plot instead if I am designating an area for my plot where only 1 story buildings will fit(300 or less in vertical space).
VFX Variety Houses - Custom: 3/4 story buildings like are currently there. This would be manual selection only, it wouldn't appear in random plot rotation. Ideally it would contain every level 2 & level 3 house I make, it would be up to the player to know what they're like and if it makes sense or not.
I am not sure exactly what precise form this would take beyond the above but oftentimes I usually only get natural ideas for Level 3 and Level 2. So it might be like: Level 1 always is the same or is random from a few pretty similar brick houses. For those who like the current Level 0/1's, I would have them still exist but be manual selection only and banned by default so as to not clutter the build plan selection menu. For the normal Build Plan Selection I am thinking of doing possibly 2 main options for houses: VFX Houses Simple, VFX Houses Custom.
#4 Including all types of Plots:
It certainly does not feel feature complete without making use of all of the plot types, though things are more complicated for Industrial plots, Advanced Industrial plots and Commercial Plots that may sell customized items. In particular Cpt Coots' stream covering creation of one of each encourages me that I by following I can be sure to include all expected features. I think what would be most disappointing would be including Industrial/Advanced Industrial/Commercial plots that don't behave as expected.
#5 Miscellaneous improvements including custom NavCut/Navmeshing snap points for Interior plots: A lot of the difficult things I'd like to look into actually doing, now that I have been through experience of doing basic addon.
I would really like some feedback on the above ideas &/or
any plot ideas for consideration! I'm also interested in suggestions for Foundations
any plot ideas for consideration! I'm also interested in suggestions for Foundations
Last edited: