Not Even A Week...

That's right, I can't even get a freaking week off from people asking me to do something stupid to Vault 1.

What is it this time, you ask?

Look at what I got in my PM box this morning:

"So,I know probably it's a lot of work but could you please if you have time remove the npc routines to get into the pool for the next version?Or maybe if it's easier to remove the pool entirley and just add a fixed floor like a normal vault atrium or replaced by a big aquarium and on top the floor(this way the observation chamber still has it's uses)?Of course perhaps you don't want the pool removed but something like a separate version?
I'm thinking EC 0.9 and your vault are very popular mods and perhaps you could fix a lot of issues this way(if people ar having this problem as well as me).Basically any fix that let them walk around the vault without getting into the water."

The problem he was originally asking about involved crashing of the game when Enclave Commander is running.

This is the first I've ever heard of the pool causing a CTD - with any other mods.

So, apparently I'm supposed to gut one of the most popular features of the mod, destroy compatibility with Refurbished, and invalidate the central design feature of the entire fucking Vault... so one player can billet his unstable, mod-added troopers in the vault.

Look, I understand wanting to have your retinue stick with you. Gods know I do. I spent four months rewriting the RR companion system so I could keep my girls around...

But I have used Enclave Commander. I used it back in v0.75, before J3X added that Broken Steel requirement, and I'm gonna tell ya kiddies: the Enclave Troopers EC spawns have never been stable. I used to have tons of problems with them. I'd get game crashing every ten to fifteen minutes if I had more than six along... and he's talking about ten to twenty of the fuckers.

I still do not understand you peoples' fascination with trying to turn FO3 into another game.

If you want to play MW2, go play it.

Fallout 3 is a post apocalyptic, first person hybrid of RPG and shooter, focusing around story, large environments, and small scale combat. It is what it is, and while I don't mind trying to add to it... I'm also smart enough to know when to live within the limits of the game engine.

I'm sure he also runs MMM increased increased spawns and Feral Ghoul Rampage... I can't imagine the strain that poor PC has to put up with.

You guys wouldn't believe some of the "suggestions" I've gotten.

"Oh, and if you have a minute... could you completely redesign the mod from the ground up to satisfy my whim, even though it would totally alienate almost your entire playerbase? Thanks."

Got asked once to resdesign the mod to turn it into a plugin for the Real Time Settler mod.

I mean, hey, I applaud arcoolka and crew for having the ingenuity and skill to get that thing working in Fallout 3's engine... but what in the holy fuck would that have to do with an underground vault?

During my short-lived "fan request companion pack" (which was a monumentally stupid idea on my part, let me tell you...) one of the "suggestions" was a companion who had no combat ability whatsoever, but could hack special Vault-Tec computers. Needless to say, this would require a specialized quest be written... and guess who was supposed to do that, too?

It's no damned wonder the world is in the shape it is, today, with the hordes of people who apparently don't think any further than "I want this, and you should do it for me for nothing!"

I can't imagine how people like Tubal and Dimon99 and Blackie deal with it.

Of course, again, I don't want to give the incorrect impression that I think the whole community is a pack of worthless moochers with no grasp on reality.

There are plenty of fine folks out there in FO3 land. People like Sgt Ovakil, who not only gives reliable feedback, but also listens when I suggest a way to fix something, and even helps out with tech support in the file comments. Modders like ttomwv and Fry1969, who are amiable, easy to get along with, and yet still talented. People like Dimon99, who was kind enough to not only give me permission to monkey around with his work, but even answered some questions I had on working with dds files. Shockingly enough, there are also people like Merkur67 and Thorbits, who actually asked permission before modifying and re-uploading my work.

I know, I was rendered speechless, as well.

It just annoys me that for every one person I don't mind dealing with, it seems like there are ten just like the little twits you see in the World of Warcraft, who stand on a corner in Stormwind yelling "Cn i haev sum godl plz?!"

Okay, I've ranted long enough. Think I'm going to scavenge through my Mother Hubbard-like cupboards and then watch some more Farscape. Once I've calmed down, I'll either add that new code to the shower packages, or sit down and do some story writing for sweet 'lil Ellie.