Hello GUNners and welcome back to another issue of The GUN Insider!
This time around we have the privilege to learn about an awesome mod project you may or may not have not heard about! Below you will learn all about a project from the
Molten Clouds mod team called
The Way of Chosen (or
Way of the Chosen, depending on the translation).
If you're like me, then few things lift your spirits like the promise of a great new Fallout mod. So, without further delay, I bring you
tidings of Fallout and joy!.
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GUN: I have seen some Molten Clouds images on the Nexus and been intrigued by your project but I don’t know much about it yet. I am looking forward very much to this interview so that I can learn more! To start us off, can you tell us about the general aim of your project?MC: The general aim of our project is the recreation of Fallout 2 in 3D, taking Restoration Project modification as basis, as well as some parts of Megamod. There are going to be some other changes which are our additions, so we hope that even experienced Fallout 2 fans will be able to find something new in the project.
GUN: A project of the scope you are describing likely needs many members with a wide range of skills. Who is on your development team? MC: We have a relatively small team of 12 people (but quite experienced ones, I assure you). We come from Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) mostly. Through the years, different people joined and left the team, adding something new to the project, and we are thankful to them for their contribution.
GUN: 12 members is a good size! Can you share names or do they like to stay under the radar?MC: Sure we can! Here it is.
F@Nt0M - project lead. Makes everything work in-game, creates 3d assets, textures and locations. His motto is “If you want something to be done, do it yourself”.
CourierSix - yours truly, doing this interview together with F@Nt0M. Community manager, scripter and junior level designer.
Polzynn - lead exterior designer, responsible for the beautiful landscapes and views in our outside locations. Also works on Beyond Skyrim project.
Sundered - level designer, best known for navmeshing absurd amounts of land in a matter of hours (not a lot of people know to appreciate that, but you should). Also a talented writer.
AlexSolo - 3d modeller. If you’ve seen Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI recently released on Nexus, that’s his work.
TeHe4ek - 3d modeller, responsible for scenery assets. Also he’s working on Vault Suits right now.
Vagiz - 2d designer, makes concept arts and maps, and textures from time to time.
Ash - a writer, makes item descriptions, quest names and other good stuff.
Sky_Captain - 3d modeller, works on scenery assets.
SalamanderX1000 - junior level designer. Mostly works on finalizing interior decor.
Kage - junior level designer. Lays out templates of new locations.
Karapik - junior level designer. Works on the initial placement of scenery objects.
GUN: Given the location of your team members, how are you handling language support? MC: Regarding the project updates, F@Nt0M posts them in Russian on our VK page, and CourierSix translates and posts them in Facebook and Discord. As for the project itself, we’re making it in Russian first, then we’re going to translate it to English. Shouldn’t take a lot of time, as most of the text is available in Fallout 2 files.
GUN: How long has the project been in development? Have you been surpised by the amount of time and work it has taken, or is it roughly what you expected?MC: We consider September 6, 2013 to be the date this project officially began, so more than five years already. This project existed before that in the form of ideas and some concept arts, but after this date the real work began. As to your second question - to be completely honest, when the idea first came to our minds, we weren’t thinking it’s going to be as hard as it is, but we haven’t stopped anyway. Now we have much more experience and we enjoy working on the project, so it’s all good.
GUN: How do you get in the mood to mod? Do you have a favorite snack to fuel your modding marathons, or anything you listen to in the background like music or television?MC: To be honest, we don’t need anything special to get in the mood to mod, it’s our favorite hobby after all. But listening to Mark Morgan’s ambient soundtrack can inspire even more.
GUN: Will your mod have an alternative start like the New California project, or will The Way of Chosen connect somehow to New Vegas? Like a dream sequence or simulation?MC: You will be able to choose between The Way of Chosen and New Vegas on the start of the game. Tale of Two Wastelands has a similar option, for example.
GUN: Like many large Fallout mod projects, Fallout 4 and now 76 have been released before projects in the older engine could be released (The Frontier, for example). As a modder, how do you feel about the presence of Fallout 4 and an updated creation kit? Do you ever find yourself wishing that you could rebuild your mod in the new engine, or are you happy with the 3/NV engine? Are you worried that a large portion of the Fallout fan base has moved away from 3&NV and onto 4&76?MC: We’re happy with what New Vegas has to offer. Of course, Fallout 4 has some interesting features, but the game’s downsides don’t justify them. As you probably already know, Fallout 4’s dialogue and character system is completely different, so total conversions like Fallout 4: New Vegas have to rely on mods and custom frameworks to implement core systems, which is not the way we work. Another thing is that our assets are built for the New Vegas engine and there is no easy way to convert them for Fallout 4. Plus the New Vegas modding scene and player base are still very much alive - look at New California, The Frontier and Tale of Two Wastelands.
GUN: What is it about Fallout 2 that called to you enough to inspire this large mod project? Did you just decide one day that it would be a cool thing to make, or does Fallout 2 mean something more to you and the other team members?MC:: That’s quite simple really - Fallout 2 is our favourite game! The idea first came to us when Fallout 3 was released - a fully fledged 3D world is very impressive. So we thought, how cool would it be to walk around in our favorite locations from Fallout 2, but in 3D? I know, now it sounds pretty naive, but that’s how it all started.
GUN: Your ModDb page has a lot of images of custom assets created for your mod. How many custom assets total do you have prepared and how many do you think are required of the final product?MC: The exact number is huge, but I won’t mention it here, because the number might not reflect the number of assets in the final game. It’s like that because of the way we work, we build the locations from smaller pieces and then we merge assets into one or two pieces for the optimization purposes. We are going to need a lot more of them, though. To be completely clear, we also use some non-custom made assets published on Nexus if the author allows us to, but this number isn’t very big.
GUN: How many locations does your mod require? Will the player be free to roam between them in an open world, or will you use a type of fast travel from town to town?MC: Basically, the same number as in Fallout 2 Restoration Project (and a couple of locations from Megamod). You will travel from town to town using our Worldmap (here’s an old test - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PmmG9ATIVo). This allows us to vastly expand on the towns and their surrounding areas, so there are new places to explore and just enjoy the view (here’s Arroyo surroundings, for example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLMq2mqdL6k). Besides, it’s just impossible to fit three different states in one worldspace.
GUN: What has been your favorite part of making this mod? MC: The most enjoyable part is seeing that the intermediate result works, looks good and people like it, because it takes quite a lot of effort to make a game. This is a good motivation for us as well.
GUN: For Fallout fans who have never played the older Fallout games, would you suggest playing the original before playing your mod?MC: We would suggest to anyway, it’s a great game! If you can get used to a bit clunky gameplay and combat (for a modern gamer, that is), you’ll have a blast. But overall it’s not required.
GUN: What part of your mod are you most excited for players to experience?MC: I’d say New Reno, but it’s my personal opinion - can’t really predict what’s going to be the most exciting part. A fight with Horrigan from first person perspective should also be amazing.
GUN: Speaking of Horrigan, is this old Nexus image the one you have for him? It looks awesome. 
MC: Oh, this is really old. It’s one of the first assets that AnOneTwo made for us. We have plans to remake it using this model as a basis.
GUN: If I’m not mistaken, New Reno is also in the New California mod. That story bridges the gap between Fallout 2 and New Vegas. Have you collaborated at all with the New California team to align your projects?MC: We haven’t really collaborated with New California team, but as far as I know, New Reno in their project is not a playable location. As for the projects we’re taking into consideration, there’s amazing Fallout Nevada project, made on Fallout 2 engine. It has got an English translation recently, you should check it out.
GUN: What has been the most challenging part of Fallout 2 to translate into the New Vegas engine?MC: One of the most challenging tasks is making new creatures and animations - there are only two or three people in the community having the skills for it. The biggest challenge isn’t one specific aspect, but overall their number - the game is really vast and different even without adding something over.
GUN: How can people follow develop of your mod and support you?MC: The best way to support us is to join our cause, of course. Or just click one of the links below - we would like our community to grow.
https://discordapp.com/invite/6NQHJut - a Discord with all of the recent updates, project info, development logs and a friendly community.
https://www.facebook.com/moltenclouds/ - Facebook page.
https://www.moddb.com/mods/twoc/ - ModDB page.
https://www.youtube.com/moltenclouds - Youtube channel with work-in-progress footages.
https://vk.com/moltenclouds - VK page, our Russian-speaking community.
GUN: If someone wants to apply to be part of the team, what is the best way to contact you? MC: To apply, the best way is to join our Discord, we have a Recruitment channel there. (https://discordapp.com/invite/6NQHJut)
We are actively looking for new team members, but it’s hard to find skilled ones. Don’t let this phrase scare you out - if you’re a quick learner and New Vegas GECK doesn’t scare you, you’re welcome to join. We are also friends with Tale of Two Wastelands team, as well as with folks from The Frontier - they are helping us out sometimes. Be sure to check out their projects.
GUN: Are there any closing thoughts or comments you would like to share with the GUNetwork community? MC: We hope that folks in GUNetwork community will pay attention to our project, as we are always looking for new recruits. Or if you aren’t willing to join us, we are always listening to the community, so your suggestions are welcomed as well. Thanks to GUNetwork for the opportunity to do this interview. We hope you liked it!
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We hope you have enjoyed this interview and that it has sparked new excitement for the future of Fallout gaming! We are very thankful to the Molten Clouds team for taking the time to answer our questions (you can read more in their FAQ on their ModDb page). And, naturally, we are immensely grateful for all the work the team has put into their project. Have a happy holiday season and we'll see you next time at The GUN Insider!!
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