Fallout 4
Buy GameFallout 4 – ‘My Creation’ Interview: unoctium
Fallout 4
Buy GameNew month, new modding interview.
This week’s go-round features Richard Edwards – or, as you probably know him, unoctium. Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, unoctium first cut his teeth on Fallout modding with Fallout: New Vegas. Appropriately enough, one of his most popular projects to date is his NCR Ranger Armor for Fallout 4 – available to download at mods.bethesda.net.
What inspired you to create the NCR Ranger Armor for Fallout 4?
Funnily enough, DogtoothCG and I had the same idea to do it, when Fallout 4 released. For me, I remember when I first saw the NCR Ranger switch on his visor in the Fallout: New Vegas intro, implying that his helmet had multiple vision modes – not to mention hearing the stories of them as I explored the Mojave. However, the armor, apart from being high-level, was no different than other outfits in the game. With Fallout 4's object modification system and armor add-on system I could finally make the NCR Veteran Ranger armor as it is implied in the Fallout world. The NCR Veteran Ranger armor mod currently has multiple visors that can utilize a player's science skill, as well as able being to upgrade the armor itself by hunting the creatures of the wastes. That said, none of this could be reality without the excellent model by DogtoothCG, not to mention modeling the add-ons and the Riot Gear from the Fallout: New Vegas DLC, Lonesome Road, released recently.
Are there any other throwbacks to previous Fallout games you’d like to reference in Fallout 4?
Plently. Not just reference, but expand upon. Not only do we have more updates for the NCR Veteran Ranger armor and the Enclave X-02 planned, but we have plans to bring the Enclave Hellfire Armor, Chinese Stealth Armor and Midwestern Power Armor to Fallout 4. That said, we never seek to simply replicate the armor from the previous games, giving it little more than an HD upgrade, but we like to expand upon them as well, much in the spirit of Fallout 4. For example, recently we released the Tesla upgrade to the Enclave X-02, but we have more upgrades planned. Amongst them, the Cryo X-02 and the Quantum X-02. The kind of weird weapons you can imagine Colonel Augustus Autumn's faction deploying in the Capital Wasteland Enclave's dying days.
With your X-02 Mod, what makes this Power Armor stand out from the X-01 suit?
It's weaker! A lot of users have scratched their heads over this. I can understand that! But for me, it represents the character of the Capital Wasteland Enclave in Fallout 3. After the Enclave was destroyed in Fallout 2, I imagined they lost much of their advanced technology. When President John Henry Eden resurrected the Enclave on the East Coast, I imagine they only had a handful of technologies they once had – yet at the same time, wanted to suggest they were just as powerful as they once were, and destined to bring the United States back, despite their lost abilities. The Enclave X-02 kind of represents that. Presenting itself as a successor, but in reality it's weaker. That said, it's a lot more modular than the X-01, kind of showing the resourcefulness of the Capital Enclave, despite their inabilities.
What’s it been like to have a project available not only on PC, but also on console?
I thought it would be a lot different honestly! But it's pretty much the same: bug reports and a user base that wants more. I think one of the positives of releasing mods on console, is that if one person reports an issue/problem, there’s generally others with a similar issue – making troubleshooting a lot faster! The audience is a whole lot bigger, and despite the surprising similarities to a PC audience, there are some significant differences. For example, with Skyrim and Fallout 4 on PC, I don’t feel that Quest mods are as popular as other projects. On console, it turns out the userbase has a hunger for new quests and content, so my advice to fellow modders is to write some quests!
Are you currently working on any updates to either project?
We just released an update for the NCR Veteran Ranger Armor, which not only adds the Riot Gear from the Fallout: New Vegas DLC, Lonesome Road, but also a range of add-ons that the player can add as he progresses through the game –taking them from a simple Ranger armor that they found, to one of the most powerful non-powered armors in the game. The Tesla upgrades for the Enclave X-02 came out a few months ago, and we are drawing up plans to make not only Cryo and Quantum upgrades to the X-02, but a companion, too. Two very different Enclave companions, actually.
What about new projects for Fallout 4?
Well, I've already mentioned the Hellfire from Fallout 3's DLC, Broken Steel, and the Chinese Stealth Armor from the last two Fallout games, but we are also looking to do new stuff. When I played Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Skyrim, one of the mods I loved to play with was companions, and wanted to make one of my own one day. Well, we have two companions planned for this year – with a third being written and likely to release next year. I love what Bethesda has done with companions for Fallout 4, and I'm hoping to add to your roster. That said, in comparison to Piper and Valentine, these characters are pretty much amoral to start, and make their way downward from there. As a tease, one of the companions that will be released this year is General Atomic's dirty little secret, and the other is a one-man insurgency who has been fighting his enemy for a decade.
What other mods you've worked on for Bethesda games?
My modding history goes back quite a bit. Though the only other Bethesda game I've worked on is Fallout: New Vegas. As well as working on the Storyteller companion with ShoddyCast, I've worked on Fallout: Project Brazil with Thiauxn and The Riddick companion with Dragsbody. I was also the first person to let people play with the T-60 Power Armor when I released it for Fallout: New Vegas. It was the first public file I released that was modeled by my longtime artist, DogtoothCG.
If you could add one new feature to the Creation Kit, what would it be?
The ability to play your mod in the Creation Kit would be the one thing! I’ve lost track of the number of times that I've pressed save, launched the game and loaded my save to see if my mod is working. So having a button I can press that will immediately launch me into a facsimile of Fallout 4 in the Creation Kit would let me see if something is not working – or working – faster!
What other mods have you been experimenting with from other users?
I don't usually use other people's mods, but I make an exception whenever Kris Takahashi releases his mods. Interesting NPCs for Skyrim is a must for Skyrim, especially for those looking forward to the release of Skyrim Special Edition in October. He has just released Tales of the Commonwealth for Fallout 4. He’s an alpha mind, and is generally the best content around for professional-level voice acting and imaginative, creative quests and interesting characters. I don't usually play any other armor mods, but EdibleGrenade12's armors are an exception. His Submersible Power Armor just released on Nexus. No one does a house mod like Elianora. I've always been a bit haphazard about the settlement system – I'm glad someone has made an excellent player home, so I don't have to make a terrible one! Finally, DogtoothCG's mods have been in my load order since before I knew him – and his individual mods are ones to look out for!
Any modders you’d like to give a shout out to for their assistance/help over the years?
DogtoothCG! Or Payton Quinn! He’s an astounding 3D modeler; if it wasn't for him, I'd probably be still fine-tuning that magnum opus Fallout: New Vegas mod! He has been the co-author of all my Fallout mods so far, and is generally behind the design of all of them – whether that’s creating entirely new designs or translating designs from the older games and bringing them to Fallout 4.
Anything else you'd like to share?
Just that there is no better time to get into modding than now. With Fallout 4's Bethesda.net taking off, and Skyrim round the corner, the audience is bigger than before. One day, I might actually put aside my modding tools to actually play Fallout 4, and when that happens, I've got a good feeling that the mods you guys make will make my next playthrough of Fallout 4 even greater.
Check out more ‘My Creation’ interviews on Bethesda.net:
‘My Creation’ Interviews: Fallout 4’s Atomic Radio Mod
‘My Creation’ Interviews: Fallout 4’s Campsite Mod
