[Worldbuilding spoilers ahead]

Ahhh a different fascist militia that wouldn’t end the war then! Makes sense.

Both sides suck ass and this universe is absolutely missing a socialist faction pursuing a Star Trek-like future. If I end up starting a mod project for the game one of my ideas on the backburner is a socialist faction who are essentially neo-bolsheviks that cite Star Trek in-game as their inspiration for the future they’re fighting to build.

I also think a project is needed to add much-needed depth to the liberal cities. The Well in New Atlantis is getting cited by libs as the “punk” part and the “dark underbelly” but it lacks punch. It’s just the old town, no longer maintained. There’s no real economic criticism in it as far as I can see and it’s only bad because it’s old. Additions like beggars, homeless and desperate peddlers selling trinkets and tourist guff spilling out into the upper level and train station entrances will make an absolutely massive improvement. Throw in some radiants for pickpockets, beggar actions, UC police beating someone to death (give them guns with no ammunition and they should beat the target to death), among other things and you’ll have an environment that gives the player a much stronger representation of the underbelly that should exist more clearly in these places. Might also be an opportunity to tell some real poverty stories, include stories about kids more for some impact, particularly as kids in Bethesda games are almost non-existent and when they do exist they’re always just incredibly annoying.

Anyway that’s more or less my notes-taking so far for mod improvements to parts of the game that annoy me. The only other major settlement I’ve visited so far is Mars and that’s got some relatively ok critique going on because of the fracking explosions. But I haven’t seen it really tell any stories about what the impact of those explosions would be on the people though. Could be an avenue to go down to give it more depth and criticise its society better.

Oh and I hated the quest on Mars where I had to get an admin-assistant job. Why did they send me in my own spaceship up to the spacestation to apply for a job on the planet? It’s so ridiculous. Someone getting an admin-assistant job would not have enough money to own their own starship. There should be a shuttle that the poor people pay to use and get from A to B when needed.