Fallout Tactics Redux Mod Released
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Fallout Tactics Redux fixes numerous bugs and inadequacies of the standard Fallout Tactics game released by Microforte at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The mod also adds novel content to the game, and thus expands rather far beyond the scope of an "unofficial patch."
Fallout Tactics Redux works to revise the standard game in numerous ways, including:
--Fixing script bugs. The original missions and special encounters of the core campaign contain both numerous blatant errors as well as many poor design implementations. I reviewed every single map in the game and fixed every flaw I met. In some cases, merely fixing broken triggers has unlocked previously unavailable but otherwise fully-fashioned original content.
--Fixing broken entities. Nearly every original map contains entities erroneously malformed in this or that respect, such as keys whose tag names don't match doors and switches that don't correctly affect linked objects. I fixed every problem I could find, in some cases unlocking previously unavailable but otherwise fully-fashioned original content.
--Fixing disgracefully inept writing. Epileptic wild monkeys chained to rusty typewriters could have done a better job than the "professionals" at Microforte-- most of whom apparently never graduated from elementary school. The text files of the standard game contain legion grammar and spelling errors. In some files I edited every... single... line of text, and often found individual sentences crowded with three, four, or even five spelling and grammar errors. Players need no longer be constantly insulted by the notion of having paid for such drivel. Though I won't claim I fixed each and every English syntax problem in the game (particularly in taunts.txt-- I've reviewed that enormous file nearly line by line several times, but still find some new deficiency whenever I examine it), the situation is now much improved. Since the game is set in the USA, all game text is now also standardized to use American English rather than goofy Australian lingo.
--Addressing the "Game crashes after finding all Special Encounters" bug. This is an engine issue that strictly speaking I cannot properly fix. However, I've included a workaround that will allow players to continue their games without suffering from the issue once the bug initially appears (and the bug will indeed appear in every single game of Fallout Tactics if the player plays long enough).
--Reimagining the recruit pool of potential teammates for the player-character. Many of the npcs in the standard game are silly and frankly insulting to a player's intelligence. I rewrote most of the recruit biographies, gave the soldiers different skill sets, changed some of the more questionable sprite color choices to traditional military-appropriate hues, and replaced some portraits of the dowdiest MF employees who had faces even a mother would be hard-pressed to love.
--Reimagining the game's weaponry. In the standard game, the player has meagre practical options when equipping his troops since a few weapons are utterly superior to all others. I redesigned the AP costs, damage values, and range of nearly every weapon from the ground up so players may now more fully enjoy all the tactical possibilities of the game. I also fictionalized all the "real-world" weapons found in the original game, which are frankly quite inappropriate to the setting and highly disruptive to any player's attempt to immerse himself in the game-world of his characters.
--A new approach to random combat encounters. As implemented in the standard game, most players including myself have concluded random encounters are supremely annoying. Most of these encounters simply aren't fun or "tactical," and they occur with such shocking frequency that attempting traverse even a few squares of the world map results in a cramped index finger as the player clicks "No, I don't want to encounter rats and dogs. Again. *Sigh*" dozens of times. I very significantly reduced the occurrence of random encounters, and in most cases eliminated all but the "hardest" encounters. Hopefully those who enjoy playing random encounters will now have more fun with the remaining larger battles (which were previously quite rare), while those who don't care for them will be relieved to speed off to the next "real" mission.
--A completely redesigned Quartermaster list. Some players don't care much for the Quartermaster system, and are of course free to continue using the Editor to give themselves whatever equipment they desire. For the rest of us, hopefully the Quartermaster system will now work better than ever.
--Expanded gameplay. What sort of military game doesn't have a canteen? I added a number of new items to the game, as well as other new content in several maps. I also incorporated, revised, and embellished a fine older mod I found in the NMA Files section called "Bunker and Xtra Characters Mod" by dark_ark, which adds a fairly significant amount of new and interesting npc interaction to the game.
