This mod aims to add a completely new town to the DC area.



Premise

Hightown is an old settlement, that has been built up over decades and decades in a sporadic series of spurts of building activity. The identity of the original builders and inhabitants has been lost long ago. Obviously the location was chosen by them for its ease of defence against the predators and dangers of the D.C. wasteland. In the years since it's founding the town has come to be slightly 'removed' from the affairs of the wastes, in contrast to others towns like Megaton, Rivet City, etc. A standard policy of 'shoot on sight' holds for guards on duty on the Underside, and this helps prevent too much rumor of it's existence from spreading.

The town itself is akin to towns like the Hub or Den in Fallouts 1 and 2. Fairly lawless, inhabited by a mix of good and bad people, scavengers, survivors, addicts, prostitutes, wastelanders, raiders and the like. They are loosely bound together by the 'elders' of the town, who still cling to the rules that held the town together in times long gone. The town is not open to all, only to those who earn a place in it's membership. Traders and visitors who know of it are allowed in, but must leave by sunset, or have a place to sleep.

The town survives how it can, which mostly means scavenging from the wastes, and drinking the polluted water of the region. Hightown has a dubious source of water, and a high defencible position, the two primary factors which ensure it's continued existence. The rules the town is still mostly run by also help to create a kind of community, though hardly one based on ideas of justice or morality. The laws of the wastes still hold sway in Hightown.

Factions exist within the walls and ramparts, and tensions are rife. A balance has been struck between those who care about others and about creating a place of refuge and decency, and between those who are ruled by their baser needs, and the satisfaction of those needs. Interaction with these groups will throw the Player into a complex web of moral choices. The route through could be difficult. Or brutally simple.

The Player will come into this setting and will be able to both interact with it, and effect it. Choices he or she makes will cause changes in the town, changes that will be reflected in it's appearance and makeup. Choices the player makes will effect the lives and fate of the citizens of Hightown. Choices the player makes could also resound beyond the walls of Hightown, and effect other places and peoples.


Goals

The goals of this mod are several:

1. To complete it. This means that something will be released, though the final product will depend on other factors.

2. To match the standards of Bethseda. I would like this mod to match or exceed the production values of Bethseda, to allow players to continue the immersion of their Vanilla game. This goal is high, but there is no reason not to set the goal there. Achieving it is another matter.

3. To make the mod accessible. Meaning no use of DLC content. Really, the mod as it stands doesn't need to make use of any DLC content. Vanilla resources suffice.

4. To allow others to Build upon the mod. One man or even a team can only do so much. Keeping the mod open, and simple, could allow other modders to build mods or quests based in or out of the town. Which would be something one would expect to do or find when dealing with a vanilla or DLC town.


Features

Thus far the mod contains:

  • 19 residences/businesses in 19 separate cells
  • 40 unique residents with dialogues, conversations, and histories
  • 120+ customized objects using new and re-purposed vanilla textures
  • One very large, very complex, mostly logical town superstructure
  • A quest for gaining entry to the town with multiple solutions
  • Numerous mini-quests that effect the appearance and make up of the town

This mod is still a ways from complete. However, a lot has been done already:

  • Background story
  • Buildings are complete
  • Cluttering is complete
  • NavMesh is complete
  • NPC's have schedules, patrols, homes, combat taunts, alerts, random conversations etc.
  • NPC backgrounds, stories and unique dialogues are complete
  • More than 3500 lines of dialogue
  • 12+ mini Quests

What remains to be done? Well, a lot, but for the most part it boils down to:

  • Quests
  • Voice Acting
  • Bug Hunting

I am building all the dialogues and quests. It appears I will be able to do those myself, as the GECK really does make things easy (when it is not crashing). Voice acting will come last of all or not at all, depending on the quality of work I can attract. I have a good start on volunteers so far however.

Currently with the release of the Alpha I a hoping to get some feedback that I can use to squash bugs. Post any you find here in the download comments, or at the NewVegasnexus.com page.

**One cautionary note. Because of the nature of this location, and the complexity/detail of Hightown itself, this mod will bring slower machines to their knees. Framerates are severely reduced in the town itself, owing to the sheer number of objects in a confined area. This is unavoidable, but measures have been taken to reduce this issue as much as possible.**

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Hightown Alpha

News 3 comments

I've been sitting on an 'Alpha' version of Hightown for several months now. I didn't release it thus far as I had nearly come to the conclusion that Hightown just wasn't going to be feasible. Mainly there are major performance issues with the mod, stemming from two factors. Firstly the town itself is very complex and taxes even good machines considerably. Secondly there are 40 unique NPCs in the town at any moment. I have realised that this is extremely tough on the engine and will cause severe performance issues.

Neither of these issues can really be resolved without pretty much re-imagining the whole of Hightown. I am not so keen to do that, considering all the work that went into it so far. So I have been sitting on the mod in a rough, but near complete state for several months now. I have finally worked up the energy to package it up and release it for anyone who is still interested.

I may continue work on it, but whether I do or not really depends on how serious the issues I have mentioned are for other people. There are a few secondary issues as well, mostly related to the Navmesh, that have made the entire design of Hightown fall into question. Nevertheless, I am releasing this Alpha in an 'as is' state. Enjoy it for what it is, and don't expect a smooth experience. If you do notice big bugs, it wouldn't hurt to report them, but I can't promise that I will provide support or fix them.

Head to the download section to find the Alpha.

Neon Signs

Neon Signs

News 3 comments

Recent work on dialogues and conversations has paused for a moment, to give some time towards quests. The result is a selection of neon signs that will...

Conversations & Dialogues

Conversations & Dialogues

News

Work on the NPC to NPC conversations and the NPC to PC dialogues continues apace. Currently work has focused on the generic conversations that will breath...

Arriving at the Moddb

Arriving at the Moddb

News 2 comments

Hightown has been hosted at the Fallout Nexus for the past several months. However, recent changes there have made me aware that they do not support mods...

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Hightown

Hightown

Demo 2 comments

Alpha version of Hightown. It is incomplete and likely full of many bugs. Some quests can be completed, some cannot. Most are unmarked. Must be played...

Post comment Comments  (0 - 10 of 55)
zuthen
zuthen

damn, i had pretty high hopes for this mod as-well. i noticed it awhile back and played other games till most mods were finally finished (still waiting to play skyrim, and glad i did. sure that dawngaurd and whatever other patches/dlc they decide to come up with will screw saved games/mods up) oh well, im sure whatever else you work on will come up just as good.

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Scarwing
Scarwing

I can as well do Voice Acting =3 if it's desired

mail me and i'll send in a few voice clips as per by sample. so you can determine whos voice i would fit best for.

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Fauerholm
Fauerholm

I can help with voice acting if you wish, just send me a message, I might respond slowly but I will respond.

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samdero
samdero

hey after spending hours searching for it i finally found it but only to be seeing a bunch of error signs and a few default fallout objects what do i do..?

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cambragol Creator
cambragol

If you are getting exclamation marks, then you have installed the files to the wrong folder. Try to reinstall it, but be careful where you are putting the files. The exclamation marks mean that the game cannot find the models that the .esp is telling it to use.

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Order_Of_Operations
Order_Of_Operations

Hey just downloaded the mod and, if you are still working on it am willing to post any bug I encounter. Also, if you need help with voice acting I can lend a hand there as well.

Hope I'm not to late.

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cambragol Creator
cambragol

Sorry, but I have halted development on this mod. There was just no interest in it. I have moved onto a different project that does not need as much debugging. If only you and four or so other people had come along a little sooner...

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Order_Of_Operations
Order_Of_Operations

Sorry to hear this. But realistically its great that you made it this far.

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cambragol Creator
cambragol

I spent weeks and weeks debugging. I got to the point that I don't find any anymore. However, as the developer it is hard to spot many bugs myself. Which is why most games have a Q.A. Team of some kind, separate from the developers. I've done as much as I can, and now need a group of dedicated, serious testers to step up. However, I don't think my mod will be able to attract any. So it is largely stuck at the state it is in now.

I'd love to be able to smooth it out more, so please post any bugs if (when) you find them.

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trancemaster_1988
trancemaster_1988

Sure, I'll go through every corner sometime this week. I'll get back to you when I'm done. And don't worry, I know the feeling. :)

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cambragol Creator
cambragol

That'll be great. It is a big mod though, with literally dozens of branching paths and numerous unmarked quests. It is really designed to allow multiple, unique play throughs, so it is not easy to test (or write bug free for that matter).
Any help is appreciated of course!

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