OK, I've posted elsewhere that I HATE Fallout 4. Now the problem is that many MANY Fallout fans hate Fallout 4. The gameplay loop is obnoxious and the story is.....only a marginal improvement over Fallout 3. That's not why I despise this game, and I'm pretty sure that's not why most people who hate it or thought it meh have moved on.
The problem is a lack of settlement. Boston is almost untouched by the war, an should be at LEASt as rebuilt as Vegas, more so since it has access to the sea for fishing and trade. Like San Fransisco in Fallout 2, which was actually hit.
The problem is World Building, nor mechanics, and not the story, as badly told as it is.....other than the brotherhood showing up and Upermutants being a thing
I'm uploading a map with lines of demarcation.
The map is fairly shit in telling the truth of Boston's geography problems, but the main problem here is, the worldbuilding needs to tell a post-war story. And that story, as close to the lore as it gets is, while not wasting the premise, is that Greater Boston for most of its history has held together very well, and would be seen as a city-state that the Greeks would have understood. While not controlling its hinterland very well due to ferals and big monsters and such, a combination of urban vertical farming, mad possible by fusion, and fishing and trade, the city didn't need to. In fact, this is a theme of why there's so much wasteland: cities like Vaults have access to such technology control of the countryside is unnecessary and economically taxing. This is especially the case on the seaboard where shipping is easier and safer and more economic than anything not a railroad.
Blue represents the lines of control that represent optimal zones of control for Boston and Commonwealth civilization right before the Provisional Government was 86ed. .The Charles River provides a robust defense to the West, AND though not on the map, it's a decent way to navigate to and from Worchester either for Salvage or trade, depending on if anyone lives there. Mystic River covers the North etc etc with just a short line to seal up Lexington, although because the map is garbage the line of control would be Medford, but for the same reason. Control of the coastal road to the north is unnecessary because the it's a long patrol line, and by walling off the Coastal towns and using boats to travel, you're not missing out on anything really. I don't have a good bead on the highways, and how they look inside the control zone, but they'd be blown up as both eyesore and fore scrap. What I can say is given the expense of maintaining the subway system, post-war RR tracks are in purple so what trade does come in go overland by ground train from the Seaport District to through Oberland Station, convert the road bridge to rail and supplies can skirt Cambridge and end up in Lexington where the industrial facilities can turn them into finished goods.
FInally to the south, you have the swamplands which are a problem to patrol BUT provide both rail and road access to Plymouth county and from there, Cape Cod and Nantucket. Good redundant lines of communication.
Red Zone represents what Boston could be and still be a city after decades of decay at the machinations and terrorism of the Institute. Red Zone is absolutely critical for the city to survive, and the supermutants have breached it at Trinity Tower, and there's now a Behemoth in the Boston Common. Up north, the Yellow line is the last line of communication to Lexington and Bunker Hill has basically become an outpost instead of a marketplace.
Coastal communities are holding out, but not even are fully autonomous and out of Boston's orbit, BUT Boston leadership could never afford to lose control of Fort Strong, first because it's a very easy place to defend and second because of its arsenal. UNLESS, the Insitute hit it hard, killed everyone and teleported Supermutants to make everyone's lives miserable.
What does all this mean? Well, at the very least, large parts of the over map have to be rebuilt to make Boston not a ruin and give the semblance of a living city under siege.
To make me not rage, I'd need Boston to be a ruin free in city north of the rail line and the Boston Rationing area and Mass Pike, streets well maintained with I guess pre-war vehicles to at least ones that look like they'd still move under their own power. All the external enemies would have to be removed and realistically, someone would have to clean and rebuilt Old North Church to more or less modern standards with NPCs praying at pews and a guy in a preacher suit. Quincy Lexington needs to look somewhat battle-scarred but with plenty of civilian NPCsm mostly intact and clean streets and in the case of Lexington, swap out raiders for Gunners. Having dock facilities at Atom Cats and just northeast of Quincy. Make the North Star Guys and the Libertailians nonhostile unless you enter their territory because one is paranoid and the other it's a raider camp as much as it's a tribute camp. They want the money flowing in and Gabriel wants to keep it nice and quiet that way. Something with the guys at Revere Beach Station.
Then you rebuild Nahant, and it's a place given the location, the safety the access to food and trade via the ocean.
Now what you COULD do to avoid rebuilding Salem and Nahant and maybe even Quincy and University Point is that when the game starts is that these places WERE rebuilt and with modern amenities and then three or four months ago at the beginning of July, Salem took a direct hit from a Catagory 5 hurricane. Barney Rook isn't quite as crazy as he seems. He's been the last milita member of Salem for months, not years and he's got a decent reason to believe people will eventually return, probably in the spring And this makes Fort Strong more believable as well as Boston Airport looking like it does, despite being prime real estate AND the flooding in East Boston.
This would fix MOST issues with the coast, but I still need a rebuilt, seeming to function Boston, at least to not tear my hair out. At least in this interpretation of things, the city isn't a corpse, it's a recovering disaster area.
The thing, is I have NO modding skills whatsoever. I tried with the Geck in Fallout New Vegas, I couldn't control the in cell camera, much less place things correctly. IF I could get help doing that AND get the assets, I'd be happy to do all the interior and exterior work. And eventually, put Harvard back on the Map.
I started this thread several hours ago and I've sorta answered my own question. The reason I'm posting it here is a discussion of if all of this is really necessary. For most of the Fallout 4 community left, the idea of Boston being a ruin and a playground is fine. Not for me.
I think that Fallout 4 can be a better story outside of the main quest and there are plenty of mods to fix the main quest. It's th worldbuilding I need to fix. And in the long term, how to change everything about the missions inside that corridor of Boston. Cause IF I can find someone to help me fix the look of Boston, I want to continue to change things. And maybe that's for another thread.
The problem is a lack of settlement. Boston is almost untouched by the war, an should be at LEASt as rebuilt as Vegas, more so since it has access to the sea for fishing and trade. Like San Fransisco in Fallout 2, which was actually hit.
The problem is World Building, nor mechanics, and not the story, as badly told as it is.....other than the brotherhood showing up and Upermutants being a thing
I'm uploading a map with lines of demarcation.
The map is fairly shit in telling the truth of Boston's geography problems, but the main problem here is, the worldbuilding needs to tell a post-war story. And that story, as close to the lore as it gets is, while not wasting the premise, is that Greater Boston for most of its history has held together very well, and would be seen as a city-state that the Greeks would have understood. While not controlling its hinterland very well due to ferals and big monsters and such, a combination of urban vertical farming, mad possible by fusion, and fishing and trade, the city didn't need to. In fact, this is a theme of why there's so much wasteland: cities like Vaults have access to such technology control of the countryside is unnecessary and economically taxing. This is especially the case on the seaboard where shipping is easier and safer and more economic than anything not a railroad.
Blue represents the lines of control that represent optimal zones of control for Boston and Commonwealth civilization right before the Provisional Government was 86ed. .The Charles River provides a robust defense to the West, AND though not on the map, it's a decent way to navigate to and from Worchester either for Salvage or trade, depending on if anyone lives there. Mystic River covers the North etc etc with just a short line to seal up Lexington, although because the map is garbage the line of control would be Medford, but for the same reason. Control of the coastal road to the north is unnecessary because the it's a long patrol line, and by walling off the Coastal towns and using boats to travel, you're not missing out on anything really. I don't have a good bead on the highways, and how they look inside the control zone, but they'd be blown up as both eyesore and fore scrap. What I can say is given the expense of maintaining the subway system, post-war RR tracks are in purple so what trade does come in go overland by ground train from the Seaport District to through Oberland Station, convert the road bridge to rail and supplies can skirt Cambridge and end up in Lexington where the industrial facilities can turn them into finished goods.
FInally to the south, you have the swamplands which are a problem to patrol BUT provide both rail and road access to Plymouth county and from there, Cape Cod and Nantucket. Good redundant lines of communication.
Red Zone represents what Boston could be and still be a city after decades of decay at the machinations and terrorism of the Institute. Red Zone is absolutely critical for the city to survive, and the supermutants have breached it at Trinity Tower, and there's now a Behemoth in the Boston Common. Up north, the Yellow line is the last line of communication to Lexington and Bunker Hill has basically become an outpost instead of a marketplace.
Coastal communities are holding out, but not even are fully autonomous and out of Boston's orbit, BUT Boston leadership could never afford to lose control of Fort Strong, first because it's a very easy place to defend and second because of its arsenal. UNLESS, the Insitute hit it hard, killed everyone and teleported Supermutants to make everyone's lives miserable.
What does all this mean? Well, at the very least, large parts of the over map have to be rebuilt to make Boston not a ruin and give the semblance of a living city under siege.
To make me not rage, I'd need Boston to be a ruin free in city north of the rail line and the Boston Rationing area and Mass Pike, streets well maintained with I guess pre-war vehicles to at least ones that look like they'd still move under their own power. All the external enemies would have to be removed and realistically, someone would have to clean and rebuilt Old North Church to more or less modern standards with NPCs praying at pews and a guy in a preacher suit. Quincy Lexington needs to look somewhat battle-scarred but with plenty of civilian NPCsm mostly intact and clean streets and in the case of Lexington, swap out raiders for Gunners. Having dock facilities at Atom Cats and just northeast of Quincy. Make the North Star Guys and the Libertailians nonhostile unless you enter their territory because one is paranoid and the other it's a raider camp as much as it's a tribute camp. They want the money flowing in and Gabriel wants to keep it nice and quiet that way. Something with the guys at Revere Beach Station.
Then you rebuild Nahant, and it's a place given the location, the safety the access to food and trade via the ocean.
Now what you COULD do to avoid rebuilding Salem and Nahant and maybe even Quincy and University Point is that when the game starts is that these places WERE rebuilt and with modern amenities and then three or four months ago at the beginning of July, Salem took a direct hit from a Catagory 5 hurricane. Barney Rook isn't quite as crazy as he seems. He's been the last milita member of Salem for months, not years and he's got a decent reason to believe people will eventually return, probably in the spring And this makes Fort Strong more believable as well as Boston Airport looking like it does, despite being prime real estate AND the flooding in East Boston.
This would fix MOST issues with the coast, but I still need a rebuilt, seeming to function Boston, at least to not tear my hair out. At least in this interpretation of things, the city isn't a corpse, it's a recovering disaster area.
The thing, is I have NO modding skills whatsoever. I tried with the Geck in Fallout New Vegas, I couldn't control the in cell camera, much less place things correctly. IF I could get help doing that AND get the assets, I'd be happy to do all the interior and exterior work. And eventually, put Harvard back on the Map.
I started this thread several hours ago and I've sorta answered my own question. The reason I'm posting it here is a discussion of if all of this is really necessary. For most of the Fallout 4 community left, the idea of Boston being a ruin and a playground is fine. Not for me.
I think that Fallout 4 can be a better story outside of the main quest and there are plenty of mods to fix the main quest. It's th worldbuilding I need to fix. And in the long term, how to change everything about the missions inside that corridor of Boston. Cause IF I can find someone to help me fix the look of Boston, I want to continue to change things. And maybe that's for another thread.