How about an update? It's either this or updating my Cyberpunk mods (again!) and, frankly, this seems like less of a hassle.
First up, the big blip on the radar is
Fallout: London, for obvious reasons - it's slated to release in 2023 and there ain't that much 2023 left. Team Folon published their Q3 update video last month, though there's nothing particularly juicy in this one.
Now, if the 2023 schedule holds, my money's on it coming around Christmas time, season to be giving and all and well clear of the year's major RPG releases, BG3, Starfield and Phantom Liberty. One issue that might throw a spanner in the works for any scheduling, and I'm guessing that's what they're sitting on for now, is Bethesda's impending update to Fallout 4 which, in typical fashion, runs the risk of breaking fucking everything mod-related:
Some might assume Todd Inc. would loop such a major mod project into their update plans (subject to NDA), especially since Team Folon has had communications with Bethesda staff, but that's not how the Howard operates. Frankly, dropping this update to a 2015 game without warning is guaranteed to piss in a lot of people's cheerios, but it's also likely Bethesda's marketing are also keeping an eye on coordinating with that Amazon TV show that's in the pipeline.
All that aside, Fallout: London does have an interesting opportunity before it - with Starfield having had a mixed reception, the prospect of a traditional new, handcrafted world and more of the traditional Bethesda Game experience might appeal to a lot of disgruntled fans. It'll come down to scope and exploration primarily, though I'm also cautious about how the writing will turn out in the end. Between bug fixes and compatibility for "must-have" mods, I wouldn't expect to play this on release, but it might be something to look forward by Easter.
Next up, I'd like to take a moment to cover TCW's
Point Lookout rebuild, having finally played it. Did the main quest then chased down the trail of some Communisty spy, dug up some super-
duper evil Cthulhu book and roamed around the swamp whacking hillbillies (swampbillies?) and stealing their moonshine. It's not a huge chunk of content, it's DLC-sized as opposed to an expansion like Far Harbor, but I had fun for a few good hours. In a smaller package, the Fallout 3 aesthetic made for an interesting change of pace in Fallout 4's updated engine, that more muted and dreary visual tone. Audio-wise, the lack of a soundtrack to the exterior worlspace kinda made things creepier in a way, and the (almost complete) VO is usually quite competent.
Negatives, while the content is solid and fully playable, I think it was still due one more patch QA-wise. Ran into the odd bug with a missing fence texture (though that might be on my end) and one of those bank voice recordings, and there's two minor NPCs still missing VO, but it was mostly smooth sailing. Balance is quite off though especially with regard to loot distribution - you'll absolutely
drown in Stimpaks, but Purified Water is at a definite premium. The mod also illustrated one of my gripes with these projects rebuilding existing assets, since aside from a questionable use of labour and mod compatibility you also get some issues with items stacking, but that's a minor aside.
In a nutshell, it's a good package and definitely worth checking out. For those of you who'd like the voiced protagonist back, there's also
a mod with basic ElevenLabs-generated voiceovers that just about does the job.
I did also end up checking out
Project Mojave, though there's not much to say, it's a cute little demo and nothing more. It covers the area between Primm and Nipton as well as the Strip, you go around shooting a few critters, taking in the sights and trying out the gambling minigames as a novelty. There's a whole lot of new weapon and armour assets you can check out as well as three settlement spaces in the wasteland and three player homes in the casinos, and you can build some of the new stuff in your settlements. There's
one guy who set out to "expand" the mod's worldspace, but I think it's fair to say this project's pretty much done.
Fallout: Cascadia hasn't had a single YouTube or Twitter update since their call for voice actors a year ago, and it's probably dead. I should cross it off the OP but I can't be arsed right now.
The guys over at
Fallout: Miami haven't had any more "official" updates, but they're still doing
dev streams on a semi-regular basis. That said, the general stance is that it'll be done when it's done and that it's nowhere near any form of completion or scheduling, they're in it for the long haul. Which, I have to admit, is making me do a 180 on my initial expectations and suspect that it won't be done.
As for
Fallout 4: New Vegas, I fear it's on its way to die the silent death that many of these projects eventually do. Their last Facebook post was from July, showing off another weapon group, and they hadn't had any substantial updates since the split with Mojave's authors over a year ago in any case. I'd love to be wrong, but it's quite likely this will have gone the same way as Cascadia - no obituary, just quietly into the night.
Finally, this one's on a bit of a different track, but some guy recently published a WIP
Fallout 3/NV to Fallout 4 converter utility. Right now it ports all levels and objects, but equipment isn't functional and NPCs, quests and scripts don't get carried over yet.
Convert models and plugins made for Fallout 3 / Fallout: New Vegas to Fallout 4. The main exe will convert the Fallout: New Vegas base game to Fallout 4 (currently excluding NPCs, creatures and other gameplay elements). The tools inside can convert any other model/plugin made for these games to make them compatible with Fallout 4.
Obviously, its benefits right now are purely academic. Even if completed, you'd mostly be playing Fallout 3/NV with better lighting and a worse skills system. I imagine it would've been interesting as a development tool when F4NV and TCW were starting out, just to have the worldspace laid down as a base to then upgrade/replace as needed, Ship of Theseus-style, but it's a moot point now. Still, an interesting artifact.
