Bloomfield Space Center design document/2

This is part 2 of the Bloomfield Space Center design document for Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

Drama

 * Freeing Jillian from the Reservation and returning to Bloomfield: If the player frees Jillian from her slavery at the Reservation and brings her back to Bloomfield before brining her back to the prison, it will be a devil of a time trying to convince Bear to let her leave again to go back to the prison. Aside from Jillian being an excellent mechanic and weapons smith, Bear has very much infatuated with Jillian. He does not let this be known since he knows he's a super mutant and that someone as hot as Jillian would never go for him. However, he will exhibit a strong, protective posture to anyone he thinks might be threatening her well being. Even Jillian, who is fairly headstrong herself, will not be able to convince Bear to let her go back to the prison (she won't show resistance if the player explains why she needs to temporarily go back). A Charisma Boy would be able to explain the circumstances of Jillian needing to go back to the prison and convince Bear to let her go, but anyone else would have to earn Bear's trust before he will allow his secret love to brave the wasteland without him. And even after that point, Bear will insist on going along (he won't be forced on the player to be a CNPC, but he will make it known that he would feel a lot better if he went along).


 * Sid's insecurity and the growing guilt: Sid already is a mountain of insecurity thanks to his obvious ineptitude at mechanics. The funny thing is, Sid is better at mechanics than anyone else in the Rusty Hooks (save for Jillian, but she's not around). But this fact completely escapes Sid since Kyle hits Sid with daily insults about his homeliness and lack of worth. Not a day goes by that Kyle does not tell Sid that he could be easily replaced, and it might be fun to use Sid as a target practice dummy. If this was not bad enough, Sid also carries a great, festering guilt. When Kyle created Bear's heart bomb, he ordered Sid to insert it. The dirty deed was done well out of sight of any other Rusty Hooks – the less witnesses, the more plausible the ruse of Bear blindly following Kyle. Kyle told Sid that should he ever utter one word about Bear's heart bomb and the radio trigger, he would make sure Sid gets tied up and thrown into a den of hag snakes. Naturally, Sid agreed never to say anything, but Sid's big problem is that he actually likes Bear, and each day he sees Bear he is reminded of the terrible deed of implanting the heart bomb. One gets the impression from Sid that it would not take much to send him over the edge.


 * The pieces to a second B.O.M.B. rotting away in the Rocket Assembly Building (foreshadowing): Inside the Rocket Assembly Building, where Sid is slaving away at trying to make something useful, are major pieces to a large vehicle of some sort. There are three cylindrical pieces, each roughly twenty-five feet in length, fifteen feet high and wide, hollow, and slightly curved. It looks like if there were several of these pieces, and if one linked them all together, they would form a perfect circle. Inside each cylinder are empty compartments that look like pieces of machinery could fit (computers, actually). Two of the cylinders have what looks like windows carved out of them, but there is no glass. One of the cylinders, what looks like the most completed version, has a computer terminal installed. The computer is not working, though it is plugged into a line that, presumably, links to the sub-reactor (it turns out that the reactor is not putting out enough power to fuel non-essential equipment like this computer). Lastly, on the side of the more complete cylinder is the acronym B.O.M.B.-003. In order to find out what the deal is with the cylinders, the player will need to restore the sub-reactor to sixty-percent efficiency. This will bring the main computer online. However, to get the information in the computer, the PC will need the proper access code (One person who has this code is Willem Clark, the leader of the Reservation), or the PC could try to hack the computer, but he will need a fairly high computer skill (over 50%). Once inside, the PC will find the story about the Hermes-13 & 14 rockets, the existence of the B.O.M.B.-001 and 002 (the remains of which can be found in the Grand Canyon), and the effort to construct a third B.O.M.B. If the PC wants to take a rocket ride, he will need to get official launch codes and authorizations. However, since Hermes-13's launch codes were never delivered to Bloomfield, the PC will need to find the official launch codes, figure out a way to get Hermes-13 running, launch enabled, and almost most importantly, get the turrets protecting it disabled.


 * Kyle, Sid, and Bear's dirty little secret: It's no secret that Bear is far more competent than Kyle the Hook when it comes to leadership of the Rusty Hooks. But Kyle has an odd hold on Bear, one that prevents him from ever acting against Kyle. Bear does make it known that he considers the Rusty Hooks his family, but even though he shows loyalty to Kyle, there is an air of dissent in his eyes. The player will come to find out, after a bit of investigation, that Bear has a small heart bomb imbedded in his chest. It seems that Kyle is quite proficient with demolitions and created a small, radio controlled C4 device that he had Sid secretly implant into Bear when he was severely injured. Several years ago, just after Kyle took over the Rusty Hooks, Kyle and some of his raider mates were out on a raid when they came across Bear. Bear was the caravan protection leader and proved to be the most fearsome fighter of the caravan's bunch. So good, in fact, that Bear ended up killing six raiders before succumbing to his plethora of bullet wounds. Kyle instantly saw the potential of having a fierce super mutant like Bear under his command, so he created the heart bomb. Sid, the Rusty Hooks' part time medic and full time slacker, inserted the heart bomb for Kyle, persuaded by a .44 pointed at his skull. After secretly placing the bomb and stitching Bear up away from prying eyes, Kyle told Sid that if he ever mentioned this device to anyone, he would make sure Sid was tied up and thrown into a den of hag snakes. Later, after Bear awoke and not wanting to die just yet, he figured that protecting the little human, Kyle, would not be such a bad gig and thus did not show any resistance. However, in the back of Bear's mind brews the desire to be free of the heart bomb and lead his life as he saw fit; maybe even taking over the Rusty Hooks.

Moral Dilemmas

 * One way trip into space. Part of the big dilemma with the player going into space and going to B.O.M.B.-001 is that it will be well known that the flight is a one-way trip since there is only enough fuel for launching and docking. If the player wants to go to the space base to enable the station, to disable the station, to destroy it, or let the missiles fly, he will do it under the assumption that he won't be coming back. Of course there is a way back, via the escape pods, but it will not be apparent before launch.


 * Which CNPC gets to go with the PC? The player may also choose which CNPC goes with him into space – the one-way ticket into space. Since there is only room for six passengers, someone might get left behind, while others might have to be convinced to go. Basically, the player will have to ask/order which CNPC wants to die a slow, agonizing death in the cold reaches of space (not knowing that there are escape pods).


 * Should the player help the Rusty Hooks or destroy them? The Rusty Hooks are not inherently evil. They perform raids and such as a basis of survival. When the do their raids, it is not dogma to kill everyone they see. In fact, they rarely fire their weapons at anyone. They just will steal supplies and rations from caravans solely for the purpose of helping their own; their family, so to speak. Some would look at this as evil just on the basis of the fact that the Rusty Hooks steal other's livelihood. Others might just see the Rusty Hooks doing what they feel is necessary to survive. It's up to the player to decide the "proper" morality of the Rusty Hooks and try to either fix it (sway them from stealing, or encourage them to do it more), or destroy the Rusty Hooks altogether.


 * Help Sid overcome his festering guilt, or talk him into committing suicide. Sid's secret of implanting Bear's heart bomb eats at his soul on a daily basis. Each time Sid sees Bear, he is reminded of his crime. Sid considers Bear a genuinely good person, despite being a super mutant, and Bear is pretty much the only Rusty Hook who treats him with respect. Because of this, Sid is either always depressed, angry, or a combination of both. The PC has the opportunity to help Sid clear his conscience by helping Bear rid himself of the heart bomb through a series of actions, and the PC could try to get some help from Sid. Having Sid help begins to alleviate some of the guilt, but not all of it. A good Charisma Boy could try to council Sid and make him come to grips with what he did, thus getting over it, or Charisma Boy can be an evil bastard and talk Sid into committing suicide.

Other Role-Playing Tests and Epithets

 * Player can play "devil in one's ear" and try to convince Bear that Kyle needs to be replaced (Instigator).
 * Player could talk Sid into committing suicide (Devil's Proxy) May get Devil's Tongue perk (+5% to Deception)
 * Player may take of the Rusty Hooks and turn it into a prosperous community, leaving behind a life of crime (Born Leader).
 * Player may take over Rusty Hooks and increase their crime abilities and make them a force to reckon with, especially considering the potential control of Hermes-13 and B.O.M.B.-001 (Kingpin or Criminal Mastermind).
 * Seeing how Sid is a zero in almost anything he touches or does, the player may help him with his problems and move him up on the self esteem ladder (Therapist). May get the perk Guidance Counselor (+5% to Persuade).
 * Player may discover Bear's infatuation with Jillian and get the two "hooked up" (Cupid).
 * Player can figure to a way to disable or remove Bear's heart bomb, thus freeing Bear (Samaritan).
 * Player can figure out a way to control Bear's heart bomb and make him his very own slave (Slaver).
 * Player can rewire Kyle's radio trigger watch to explode and blow off his lone good hand (Angel of Vengeance).
 * Player beats Bear in a legitimate fight (did not work out a deal to have Bear take a fall), gets Sting Like a Bee perk (+5% to critical with Unarmed only).

Ties to Overall Game Themes

 * Ignorance is bliss: The Rusty Hooks do not know what the real purpose of the Hermes-13 is (except for Bear), and they are happier for not knowing that the Hermes-13 could be the key to another nuclear Armageddon.
 * Fear of the unknown: Everything about this place is pretty much unknown. What's the big rocket do? Why is it here? What's its purpose? What is the B.O.M.B.?
 * Power corrupts: Winning control of Bloomfield by either usurping Kyle the Hook, or bringing in another faction, will grant the player with a lot of power, especially after he figures out the whole story behind Hermes-13 and B.O.M.B.-001. Controlling that much nuclear weaponry (or the potential of controlling it) could cause the player to become very heavy handed.

Map 1 - Entrance DELETE

 * 1. = Electrical fence
 * K = Sidewalk
 * L – Entrance Grid to World Map
 * a.& b. = exit grids

Parking Structure (I)
The parking structure did not fare well in the hardships of time. The once proud, four-story building is now a crumbled mess of debris, towering, broken concrete walls, bent, rusted girders, and empty husks that used to be automobiles – though there are few. Since an electrically charged fence surrounds all of Bloomfield Space Center, the only way to actually enter the complex is through the almost destroyed parking structure, unless the PC is an efficient Science Boy, then he has a chance of bypassing the electrical charge and cutting through the fence (the fence can be deactivated within the Operations and Communications Building so the player does not have to go through this each time he comes to Bloomfield). Within the mess of debris, concrete, and girders can be found a trail of sorts, seemingly carved out by "someone." The trail splinters in different directions, with visible paths blocked by broken walls and debris. Some paths are harmless, while others hide deadly traps for the unsuspecting traveler (or intruder - depends on the perspective). The optimal path will eventually lead out. PC's with a good outdoorsman skill will have a better time negotiating the proper route, and will avoid physical harm if their trap skill is above average.

Bloomfield Space Museum (H)
This small, oval building is almost completely intact. Approaching the front entrance facing the parking structure, the player will meet with two Rusty Hooks guards brandishing assault rifles. They will be very terse and ask the player what he or she is doing there. If the player is very charismatic and is a good speaker, he may convince the guards that he is there to trade special items and information. However, if the player is not very charismatic, or is just a dick, the guards will tell him to fuck off and give the player ten seconds to leave before they open fire on his mangy ass.

If Jillian is with the player, the guards will respond nicely and let the player through stating that he should meet with Bear when they get to the control center just north of the museum. Or, if the player freed Jillian, took her back to the prison, go the whole prison quest done and the prisoners went free afterwards, Jillian will leave a good word about the player with the same guards after she returns.

In any event, passing through the museum, the player will see large, broken models of ancient flying machines and space capsules. There are terminals here and there, but none are working except for a terminal that is located on a desk in a small room to the northwest. Using this computer, the player will discover that the power to Bloomfield is only running at forty-percent and that all non-essential equipment is either in stand-by or turned off. Once power is restored to sixty-percent efficiency (eighty-five percent for the really talented), the player may fire up some of the terminals next to the dilapidated exhibits and learn about the ancient flying machines, especially the Hermes series of rockets.

Map 1 – Control Center



 * 1. = Electrical fence
 * e. c. d. = Exit grids
 * 2. = Security Robots

Rocket Assembly Building (G)


This is a very tall and wide hanger, similar to size and shape as the Tustin Air Base hangers on Barranca, just north of Interplay, but not quite as long and the west end of the hanger has collapsed. Inside the still standing section are three cylindrical pieces, each roughly twenty-five feet in length, fifteen feet high and wide, hollow, and slightly curved. It looks like if there were several of these pieces, and if someone linked them all together, they would form a perfect circle. Essentially these are three pieces of a third B.O.M.B., which never got completed.

Also inside the hanger, the player will find a toppled over rocket engine mounted sideways on what looks like a very large wagon made out of a full size truck bed. Behind and attached to the rocket engine is a large fuel tank equal to the size of the engine. Attached to the fuel tank is a set of controls and levers. The player will later find out from Sid that this is a giant flamer to be used against a large attacking force. Sid will also admit that he is not certain of its reliability since a prototype was never made or tested. Since there was only one available engine, and Kyle the Hook is not a patient man, Sid is willing to take the chance that his giant flamer will work.

There is more scattered debris and half-complete projects all over the hanger floor, as well as tool chests wheeled to each project. Basically this is homage to an ancient tech long forgotten and recently cannibalized by Sid and the Rusty Hooks to make other objects. A savvy player could create improvements to his armor and weapons with the materials present in the hanger. And, if the player is feeling a bit generous, he may help Sid complete a few of his projects, especially getting the sub-reactor to run at a higher efficiency.

Operations and Communications Building (F)


This is the heart of the Bloomfield Space Center. The Operations and Communications Building is remarkably intact, standing two stories and being half as long as the hanger. Upon entering the building from the front, main entrance, the player will come into contact with the reception area, now dirty and littered with empty and broken bottles, smashed furniture, and huge graffiti over what used to be the receptionist's desk reading, "Rusty Hooks." The player will find assorted offices with similar scattered debris, as well as smashed computers with evidence of pieces being literally ripped out of the CPU cases. There is also a stairway that leads down to a small basement level where the player will find the sub-reactor, which is usually locked behind two large, concrete doors. Other than that, the first floor certainly seems like a ghost town.

The second story is a different matter. Each office houses a member or two of the Rusty Hooks. These offices are relatively clean and hold the best furniture. One of the offices in the southeast end is noticeably larger than the other offices. This office is marked as the CEO's office and is the domicile of Kyle the Hook and his bimbo of the month. At the same end of the building on the second floor, and facing the launch pad in the distance, is mission control. This very large room is filled with computers which are largely untouched, save for the randomly smashed monitors from drunken arms shooting. Power to the computers is minimal, allowing the player to get just the bare facts about Bloomfield. If the player wants more in-depth information, or is interested in launching Hermes-13, the sub-reactor needs to be at sixty-percent efficiency. Really good Science Boys could get the reactor to eighty-five percent efficiency, thus giving even more computers to get information from.

This building is where the player may do the better part of his dialogues, as well as tinker with the computers, fix the sub-reactor, and launch Hermes-13.

Satellite Communications Dish (O)


This is an inactive dish that is roughly the same diameter as the Operations and Communications Building. There is a small power room at its base which the player may access. This room houses the dish positioning controls, a computer, as well as the power breakers. Since power at Bloomfield is not running at full, the dish is out of commission. The player may restore power by having the sub-reactor's efficiency being restored, but accessing the computer will take a bit of hacking, or the codes from someone who was familiar with the B.O.M.B. project.

Observation Building (J)
As the name states, this building was originally designed to view the launch of the Hermes-13. However, it is completed caved-in and inaccessible.

Sidewalk in Between the Rocket Assembly Building and the Operations and Communications Building (D, west side connecting F and G)


On the way from the Rocket Assembly Building and to the Operations and Communications Building, the player will be greeted by two large, well armed security robots. These robots were pretty much dormant the whole time the Rusty Hooks occupied Bloomfield, but went into passive sensor mode once the player escaped from prison. Since that time, the robots have been quietly waiting for the player to arrive. Once within fighting range, the robots will wheel themselves to face the player and open fire. Armed with two gattling guns for arms, the robots should make for a tough opponent. Luckily for the player, the Rusty Hooks will freak out at the sight of the robots firing their weapons and inadvertently help the player destroy the mechanical beasts.

Map 2 - Launch Platform



 * 1. = Electrical fence
 * f. g. = Exit grids
 * B = Turrets
 * 3. = Barbed wire fence

Launch Platform (H)


This impressive structure houses the identical Hermes-13 and Hermes-14 space rockets (pre completing the "return all the prisoners" quest for the Big MT). Even though the space rockets and structure have been exposed to the elements for nearly two-hundred years, they have held up quite well. However, if the player has returned all the prisoners to the Big MT (quest complete), then to the east of Hermes-13 is a second launch pad scorched by what looks like a recent launch (the Hermes-14 will have launched and not be there). The player will later find out that a group of NCR guys, led by Dr. Presper, commandeered Hereme-14 and launched into space. Currently, rust and creeks can be found all over the launch pad, but it seems that the foundation and structure are still intact. The only things keeping anyone from getting a closer look are the five high powered gattling turrets surrounding the structure, the four NCR guards, and the four security robots patrolling the launch pad. Everything on Bloomfield is powered by the sub-reactor in the Operations and Communications Building, except the turrets. The turrets are powered by their own sub-reactor underneath the center of the Launch Platform as well as its own computer control system. Accessibility is nearly impossible, except for a very well trained stealthy type (read: 100% + Sneak, 100% + Science). All others will need the access override codes which can be found either in the Boulder Dome or the Reservation. Doing so (or a successful hack) would allow the player to either shut down the turrets, or reprogram them to attack the four security robots and NCR guards.

After disabling the turrets, the player may follow the first level catwalk to the elevator. This elevator leads to the cockpit level and accessing catwalk.

2nd Level Catwalk and Cockpit (M)


Not much happens on the catwalk to the cockpit of the space rocket. The door to enter the space rocket's cockpit can only be opened with the same code that enables launch (acquired from either Boulder Dome or the Reservation - maybe). Once inside, there is enough room for six passengers (the player may bring CNPC's). Everything about the launch and flight are automatically taken care of via the onboard computer and mission control. All the player needs to do is sit down and enjoy the ride.

Turret Control Computer Room
Should the player be super-stealth boy, there is door that leads to a room under the launch platform that controls the five turrets. This room houses the min-sub-reactor which powers the turrets as well as a computer that controls the turrets. Should the player have the required high skills, he may opt to power down the mini-sub-reactor to disable the turrets, reprogram the turrets to take out any perusing or potential enemies (the Rusty Hooks, Robots, NCR Guards, or any other threat that manages to follow the player into the range of the turrets), or just hack the computer to shut the turrets down.

Art Requirements



 * On Map-2, the Rocket transport road (E), I would like a broken down rocket crawler-transporter machine (i.e. thrashed). It should not block the player's access to the other building in the area, but it should block any access to taking the road directly east (red area on map should be inaccessible because of debris and broken machinery).




 * Big CGI movie! Will need a 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, 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.
 * Big CGI Movie #2! Will need another CGI movie of an escape pod ejecting from the space station, making it's way through the upper atmosphere, parachutes opening once passed the upper atmosphere, and "soft" landing in a desert field near Bloomfield.