Challenges Extended and Expanded

[Gribbleshnibit8]

I'm slowly working on a mod that alters nearly all existing challenges to last longer. Many non-recurring challenges that could be recurring have been made so, with appropriate increases in their thresholds. I'd also like to add new challenges based on DC area and FO3 DLC. I'd like to get input for things that would make good challenges in the same vein as the vanilla challenges from FNV. For example, adding challenges for finding the DC area vaults is something that will be done. Perhaps a challenge for finding ingots in The Pitt, things of that nature.

Most killing type challenges have been done for FNV already, so for those I'm just increasing the number of kills for the most part, so that they stay relevent as you make you way through DC and into NV.

In addition to making challenges recurring, I'm also adding perks to many that make sense, or could be fun. For example, for the challenge "You Run Barter Town" the threshold has been increased from 10000 to 75000 caps worth. But it now grants a 3 rank perk that gives you a 1/3/5% buy discount at merchants. Combined with Master Trader you can have up to a 30% discount! Another example is "Nuke it From Orbit" which has been increased from 100 to 300 kills with launcher weapons, but the tradeoff is that you now get a perk that gives +3/6/10% damage with launcher weapons.

I've barely started editing things, and am just on my first pass through the challenges. I'd like to get feedback on what people think are good challenges to get associated perks, and what would be realistic thresholds for the challenges. As I get more done I'll post up my documentation on what challenges have been changed and what the changes are.

In regards to XP rewards, do you think they should be less, more, or better should I just provide an option to tweak the reward as you like, increasing or decreasing the overall amount of XP that challenges give out?

 

UPDATE: Here's the documentation I have so far. spreadsheets!

And here's another document where you guys can submit challenges. It'll make it easier to keep track of in one place.

[alphaidiot]

My opinion is to make initial rank to be sooner(for tracking), give moderate bonus for the later(for challenging). For example, the first rank of "Nuke if From Orbit" activated at 100 kill 1% bonus, 500 kills for rank two 3%, 1000 kills for rank two 5%. 10% bonus seems too much considering other mixed damage bonus. Anyway, here are some wacky things occurred to my mind.

Canterbury Tales(or Chaucer): Solving Canterbury Commons' problem, at least you got a wonderful story to tell; long-standing struggle of good and evil, robots and the ants. (+2 Speech bonus toward good & bad karma persons, 2% damage bonus against robots and ants)

DC Slaver: You have enslaved all available characters in DC. (+ XP & bad karma)      

Know Your Deathclaw!: You can understand Deathclaw better by inflicting x damage using Deathclaw Gauntlet. (Damage bonus against Deathclaws)

Lincoln Memorial: You have collected all Lincoln related items, completed Temple of Union quests, visited Lincoln's shrine at Arlington National Cemetery, never did Slaver business. (+5 Speech bonus as long as you're at good karma)

Mirelurk Hunter: Killing Mirelurk(10, 50, 100) gives XP bonus.

One Man Army: You have infiltrated Fort Bannister and killed Talon Company Commander alone. What gives? 

Revenge(of your Dad!): Killing Enclave(10, 50, 100) gives XP bonus.

Wasteland-Darts-Federalist(the parody of World Darts Federation): After achieving something by using Dartgun, you can reload it 25% faster.

[DLC OA] Private Ryan: You learnt something from saving all captives in Operation Anchorage.

[DLC OA] Game Addict: You indulged yourself too much in VR simulation, killing every(or lots of) enemies can be found in Operation Anchorage. (You gain slight AP boost by killing in VATS)

[JaxFirehart]

Those all sound like awesome ideas to me! Grib, do you mind if I incorporate some of these challenges directly into TTW?

[Fruckert]

I rather like the slaver challenge.

Enslaving NPCs is definitely something that the game could keep a running tally of and give rewards for.

 

Mirelurk hunter is a definite must. Maybe fold it into a generic 'Lurk Hunter challenge and include Swamplurks/Lakelurks as well.

[Gribbleshnibit8]

[quote=alphaidiot]My opinion is to make initial rank to be sooner(for tracking), give moderate bonus for the later(for challenging). For example, the first rank of "Nuke if From Orbit" activated at 100 kill 1% bonus, 500 kills for rank two 3%, 1000 kills for rank two 5%. 10% bonus seems too much considering other mixed damage bonus. Anyway, here are some wacky things occurred to my mind. [/quote]

Well, to do it that way (while possible) requires making new challenges for each of the new threshold levels. It wouldn't really be hard to do, but tedious, and would add a LOT of challenges to the log when all is said and done. However I do like the idea, it's how quite a few of the vanilla challenges are done.

Your ideas for other challenges are cool. I'll take a look into them. Some are easy, like killing a specific enemy type, but ones like enslaving specific NPCs will be a bit more difficult as it will require edits to a lot more stuff to check (I plan on doing them if possible though).

 

[quote=JaxFirehart]Those all sound like awesome ideas to me! Grib, do you mind if I incorporate some of these challenges directly into TTW?[/quote]

If you'll let me make them :) I have found that making challenges is a rather fun bit. Tell me what to do and I'll do them. Also to avoid duplication. Or better idea, I'll just make a separate plugin from my edits one that does all the Fo3 stuff.

[JaxFirehart]

Just go ahead and make your mod, I will look it over, decide what I want to steal and we can work from there. I will do the conversion and compatibility work (changing formIDs).

[alphaidiot]

[quote=Gribbleshnibit8] ... but ones like enslaving specific NPCs will be a bit more difficult as it will require edits to a lot more stuff to check (I plan on doing them if possible though).[/quote]

Yeah, that's why I specified Slaver challenge to "enslaved all available characters". It can be easily triggered by completing the quest "Strictly Business", rather than multiple stages of tracking each of subjects. Such making-wise convenience should be considered when we give the ideas I think. Brainstorming is the most interesting but making progress can be different. I will drop sometimes and bring more wacky things. But I eager to see other's ideas here too.

 

[Gribbleshnibit8]

[quote=alphaidiot]Yeah, that's why I specified Slaver challenge to "enslaved all available characters". It can be easily triggered by completing the quest "Strictly Business", rather than multiple stages of tracking each of subjects.[/quote]

Turns out that the "People Mezzed" misc stat doesn't exist anymore. Since that's how I was planning on doing detection of enslaved people I've got another idea that should work, and be much more.... robust toward mezzing people (detection of failed mezzes, etc).

[alphaidiot]

Well, you know the best.  I just got the idea of completing Three dog quest, that [Three Dog is Enough]: You have restored the relay dish and brought GNR back to one piece, receive +1 Repair, +1 Science, +1 Speech skill. But then, I got wondered how's the length and strategy you take regarding quest related. NV DLCs are tended to follow quest progress compared to New Vegas.  

[Gribbleshnibit8]

I think that quest progress for primary quests should be left to the quests, just like FNV does it. In fact, FNV does not have any challenges related to the main story or anything really. It mostly has kill, damage, find, and misc stat type challenges.

I'd like to make find Bobblheads/Snowglobes and Captives Rescued challenges. Not sure what the rewards are yet.

For DLC it looks like challenges to kill DLC specific creatures will be fine (trogs, swampfolk, aliens, etc). Aside from that, I think that challenges based more on the story will be fine, since that's really all there is in the DLC. But also things like for Zeta, using the healing arches X number of times or something, or hacking them X number of times. Maybe even USING hacked arches X number of times.

Also things like discovering minor locations, out of the way areas etc. Similar to the Survivalist's Bounty challenge in HH.