Bloomfield Space Center design document/5

This is part 5 of the Bloomfield Space Center design document for Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

Town-Specific
There are some important things to consider for towns...


 * Traps in the Parking Structure reset after 24 game hours.


 * If Bear and the Rusty Hooks become enemy to player, Bear gives a +5% combat bonus to his buddies. This bonus disappears after he dies. This bonus is cumulative with Kyle unless Bear is allied with Kyle, in which case Bear does not give a bonus to the Rusty Hooks


 * If Kyle and troop become enemy to player, Kyle gives a +5% combat bonus to his buddies. This bonus disappears after he dies. This bonus is cumulative with Kyle unless Bear is allied with Kyle, in which case Bear does not give a bonus to the Rusty Hooks


 * If the player has yet to complete retrieving all the prisoners and returning them to the Big MT (the New Plague quest the player gets when he escapes the Big MT), then Hermes-14 is still on the second launch platform.


 * If the player has finished the prisoner retrieval quest, then Herme-14 will not be on the launch platform. Instead, there should be a large scorch mark on the ground where the space rocket used to be on the second launch pad. In addition, the catwalk that used to connect to the pilot area should be a wreck and partially littering the ground. Hermes-13 is unchanged.


 * After the player takes off in Hermes-13, there should be an empty launch pad similar to the one Hermes-14 left when after it took off. So if the player wanders back after returning to Earth, he'll find that both space rockets are gone.


 * If the player has finished the prisoner retrieval quest and Jillian McKinley is still alive, she will be at Bloomfield Command Central with Bear.


 * If player gets into a fight with any of the Rusty Hooks and that fight contains gun fire, then all the Rusty Hooks will come to investigate no matter what map.


 * Rusty Hooks will not know what the player breaks into unless one of them actually sees the player do it. If a Rusty Hooks catches the player breaking into something (chest, desk, etc.), they will float a warning. If the player proceeds with the break-in, the Rusty Hooks will call for help and attack the player.

Cut Scene

 * Hermes-13 Launch After the player enters the proper launch codes and checks "Begin Countdown," the screen should fade to black and start the CGI movie of the Heremes-13 launching with a similar cinematic feel as the launch scene in Apollo 13. After launch, need to see the Hermes-13 leaving Earth's atmosphere, go into a slow, 2001 type of earth fly-over, and then see the Heremes-13 approach the B.O.M.B. (the Ballistic Orbital Missile Base). Lastly, see the Heremes-13 clamp and dock with B.O.M.B. and open the air lock. * It's important to note that the Hermes-13 is a 1950's one piece space rocket and not a multi-stage rocket like NASA used in the Apollo lunar launches *

Cool Shit

 * Hermes-13 and becoming the Rocket Man. The player can not only find a really neat looking 1950's style space rocket (maybe two, depending if the player finished the prisoner retrieval quests or not), but he will end up taking a ride on the rocket. Doing so will set forth a CGI cut scene a la "Apollo-13."


 * Getting Bear as a CNPC. Being the only Super Mutant in the game as a joinable CNPC (and being one of a very, VERY small handful of Super Mutants), this guy will give the player a solid tank to help fend off the bad guys with either his unique bear claw weapons or a really big gun.


 * Mega-flamer! The daddy of all flamers, this is a rocket engine turned on its side to offer a wide spread field of super-heated death. Why kill one piece of scum when you can kill twenty with one flip of a switch?


 * Equipment upgrades potential. Thanks to a well equipped mechanic's lab in the Rocket Assembly Building, the player with the talent can make good use of the materials and tools there to improve his wasteland equipment. Potential upgrades could go to armor, guns, melee weapons, etc.


 * Advancing the storyline. This area is vital to advancing the Fallout 3 story line. The main focus is getting Herme-13 launched and sending the PC into space to dock with B.O.M.B.-001.


 * Take over the Rusty Hooks. Why follow when you can rule? The player has several opportunities to take over the Rusty Hooks and either turn them from their evil ways by utilizing the resources available at the resource rich Bloomfield Space Center, or enhance the Rusty Hooks' ability to raid caravans. Either way, the player will stand to ear a profit from the coinage collected. It's similar to having a stronghold in BG2, particularly the Thieves Guild.


 * Epithet possibilities. See here.


 * Things to come back to. Not everything can be done on the first visit. Several quests will unlock other quests, which in turn unlock other areas and events. For example, the player would have to build up his abilities if he wants to fix the sub-reactor and investigate further what the Hermes-13 is and find out about B.O.M.B.-001. Also, launching Hermes-13 will require the launch codes, but they can only be found at the Reservation or Boulder Dome; which both require several quests before they will be dealt out.

Task List
The Tasks section is a list of all the work that needs to be done for the area. It is a good summary for the producer, other designers, artists, and programmers as to what has been done in the area, who to check with if you have questions about certain tasks, and so on.

This section is only useful if it is used. If we're several months into the project and no one has been using it, then it will no longer be used or updated. There's no sense in wasting time doing additional bookkeeping if it's serving no purpose.

Sound Requirements
The Sound Requirements section is intended to cover every conceivable audio question you've had to answer for an RPG in the past. You know the drill. Some aspects to consider:

Music

 * Music theme similar in feel to "Radiation Storm," track #13 of the Fallout soundtrack.

Basic SFX
An area's going to need sound to make it come alive. Some basics:

Note: If a sound needs to be scripted, include the ID of the sound here - check with Chad if you don't know what I'm babbling about.

Environmental Sounds: Mild, dry heat wind for day and night.

Item-Specific Sounds: 


 * Mission Control Room - Once Mission Control is up and running, it needs to sound like a radio signal is trying to get in on an old speaker – i.e. static, then silence, then static again. Maybe every once in a while there is a voice that can barely be heard saying something like "check!"
 * Sub-reactor basement – At first, the sub-reactor makes a low humming noise (60% of full volume). Once 60% power is restored, the humming increases 20%. If the sub-reactor is restored to 80%, then the humming increases another 20%.
 * Electrical Fence – There is an electrical fence that surrounds the parameter of the entire complex (see area maps in Locations). The static charge can be heard from about ten feet away, with the static crackling sound getting louder as the player gets closer. This fence will deactivate if the player turns it off via the security terminal under the Launch Pad.
 * Launch Pad – There are a lot of tension wire and girders creaking and squeaking in this area from the old catwalks and space rocket support structures.
 * Rocket Assembly Building – The interior of this building should sound like a mechanic's shop, complete with impact wrenches whirring and metal tools falling on concrete floors. Also, there should be the occasional sound of a blow torch firing up.
 * Parking Structure – The occasional falling piece of small concrete can be heard, as well as a hollow, dry breeze.

"WALLA" SFX

 * Bear and PC fight for Leadership – If the PC challenges Kyle to a fight to rule the Rusty Hooks, the game will fade out and fade in for a brawl between the PC and Bear (Bear is Kyle's champion). A crowd has gathered to form a fighting ring around the combatants. Around the ring can be heard the screams, cheers, and boos from two-dozen spectators. Every once in a while one of the spectators will blurt out a desire to see someone's body part(s) torn off.

The basic chart for SFX would be as follows:

Map and Map Key


Legend

Economics: Bloomfield is rich with materials that can be used for trade of manufacturing. The best source of income for the Rusty Hooks, however, is from the "long-trade-n-raids." When supplies start to get low, Kyle assembles a group of Rusty Hooks and creates a team of raiders who will venture into the wasteland to find caravans to raid. Since Bloomfield is so remote, the raids usually take a little over a month to complete, hence the term, "long-trade-n-raids." Sometimes trade routes are included in these ventures, since the Rusty Hooks can get good trades from the metal materials lying around Bloomfield.

Food: Good hunting around Bloomfield. Since no nukes went off near Bloomfield, the area has natural wildlife to hunt.

Tie to Another Area 1: Bloomfield is very remote. The only ties are what the player develops through adventuring. The launch codes for Hermes-13 are in the Reservation and (presumably) in Boulder Dome. Player may be able to establish trade routes with other areas, but they won't be regular trade routes due to Bloomfield's relative isolation.

Room for Improvement
Also be sure to include hooks for "room for improvement." This section may change depending on how Ferret thinks it should be organized.

Room for Improvement: 


 * Getting the sub-reactor efficiency up:
 * The Control Center's flood lights will all work (those that are not broken) during night time.
 * All Mission Control computers will be on.
 * Get Bear to take over Rusty Hooks:
 * After one month, all traps in the Parking Structure are gone.
 * After two months, the observation building ruins in the Control Center are cleared away and the dirt is being prepared for farming.
 * After six months, all buildings are cleaned of graffiti and the interiors of the buildings (Operations and Communications Building) are clean, including all the offices, which now look like clean apartments (as clean as can be in the wasteland). Also, crops are growing on the farmland.
 * If Kyle the Hook is left in control of the Rusty Hooks:
 * After three months, trash begins to litter the courtyard of the Control Center.
 * After six months, Bloomfield is abandoned, with several dead bodies strewn here and there. Kyle's head is stuck on a post.

End Movies
Each area document will also have a list of possible End Movies depending on what the character did in the location. This section should contain:


 * The condition for each end movie. Someone has to script this, so make sure it includes all necessary flags or other conditions that need to be checked.


 * The narration text for the end movie. Write it as if Ron Perlman would read it.


 * Some suggested art for the end movie slideshow. Keep it as a simple 2D image. 

WHERE TO GO CONDITIONS

'''1. EVERYONE DEAD! (WTG)'''

'''2. SATELLITE DESTROYS Bloomfield! (WTG)'''

3. BEAR BECOMES LEADER OF THE RUSTY HOOKS (WTG)

4. KYLE IS LEFT IN CONTROL OF RUSTY HOOKS (WTG)

Appendix

 * 1) Map 1 deleted for map space.