Taxi Service

About a vehicle in Fallout 4.

I like the idea of one be in game in a functional way.

In Fallout 3, in case of being a car, the landscape allows you to have access to some locations without much trouble, for example from Megaton to Tempenny Tower, Big Town, Canterbury Commons and many others, but not to River City for example. You only could get there by walking the road (and in a part take a short-cut through water swimming across the river if you want).  

In Fallout 4 could be a “Taxi service” that take you to some places in a secure way, and/or let you close to some place in the map you want to go.

 Implement some change in the Fast Travel system where you can have all kind of random encounters when you use it, from dangerous things that cross your road, to nonsenses, but when you use the “Taxi Service” no special encounter happens, no threat cross your path.  You can travel secure from one place to another.

 Some places would not have access through this system and you still going to have to walk your way to there.  Explore the surroundings area.

 Could be a combination system (like in TES: Morrowind), that from one place you can go to other three but many stay out of your reach, so if you want to go there or to another really far in the game map, you are going to have to hire another delivery service. Combine with the Fast Travel system from Fallout 2 with random encounters in your way.

 Some of the benefit will be that: You can fast travel secure; carry more weight, discover some location early in the game and play it different every time by exploring and doing quest in the order you want/can.

 When Hardcore mode applies: Will not consume water, food bullets non add much sleep neither.

Some of the counters will be: you lost special and or unique encounters when using the car, had a limit space, so if you have to many companions, not all could travel with you, the driver could refuse to take a Super-mutant, ghouls, dogs, robots or any other creature because of fear, space or whatever excuse he/she gives, still will be places that you cannot have access because are on the top of a mountain, in the other side of some ruins, guarded place, a river, etc. Some obstacles only can be cross by Walking (and face whatever is in the way) because the landscape does not allow a vehicle to transit through it.

 And, of course, Always will cost you money (bottlecaps).

Obviously, you still have the “normal” fast Travel chance, but should be add something to it, as mentioned before, random encounters (Good, Bad, Neutral, or just weird).

In normal Fast Travel you:

·         Consume water, food, bullets and add sleep. Farther you travel (square in the map)more consume;

·         Depending of your character Luck special encounters could happens;

·          Depending of your character Luck evade problems (like cross your path with a wandering Deathclaw or some riders), as higher the Luck stat, less probability of danger, as lower the Luck Stat, higher the probability of dangerous encounters when fast travel;

·         Higher your survival skill less food and water is consumed when fast travel;

·         Higher your sneak skill less dangers you face, less problems cross in your way;

 

With the “Taxi service” (Fast travel with a car):

·         Do not consume water, food and bullets, still add sleep but a lot less;

·         Is Safe, you can evade dangers and special encounters;

·         Will cost you money and/or some trade.

 With the car you also can have some random encounter like land mines in the road, ambush from riders, and stuff like that as consequences of things (quests) you did or you did not concrete. Even could have to “clean” some road before could hire the transport services; get some special material for the car start functioning, make “A favor” for the driver, etc. Many thing, many quest could be relation it to the use of a car in Fallout 4, an always with a limit use as the ones mentioned before and any other you could think.  

Some ideas for quests relation it to the Taxi Services.

·         After some travels, the car will stop working and let the characters in the middle of the road. Will be needed some special items to fix the car and/or a high level in Repair Skill to fix it. That particular car won’t work again until being repair.

Some examples of the item need it will be: a Fission Battery, scrap metal and a wrench. Depending of the kind of car, some micrifusion cells, energy cells, or some other material that makes the car works.   

·         The driver loses the key. One of the drivers get drunk and lose the car keys in a bet, and can’t recover it, so ask to the player character that do it for him/her:

The player characters have many options to resolve the quests:

_Pay the bet,

_Steal the keys from the new owner,

_Kill the new owner and just take it;

_Negotiate a deal between the new owner and the previous one;

_Convince the new owner that gives the keys away to the player character,

_Seduce the new owner and reclaimed as “token of his/her appreciation”,

_Intimidate the new owner to give the keys to the player character;

_Make a new bet and gains it back.

As reward, the character can get:

_A discount on all upcoming trips you make with that particular vehicle;

_A free ride;

_Greatest disposition from part of the driver/company and access to something that didn’t have before (like that now could travel with a companion that wasn’t allowed before, etc.);

Depending of how the quest was resolve, new problems and/or quest can be active it, reputation with some particular faction gain, etc.

·         Get a bigger vehicle. Some companions won’t get into the cars because of their size (A Super-mutant or a big robot for example), so the player character has to go out to find a new and bigger car, and or some complement (as a container) to the car so his/her companions can travel with.

·         The Taxi Company can’t have access to some places for several reasons: Raiders, hostile Super-Mutants, wild creatures or any other threat that block the path. The player character can “fix” this particular problem of several ways (depending of the threat):

_Can go and convince that is good for they that the taxis pass by the territory;

_Killing everything and remove the threats;

_Negotiate some arraignment between the Taxi Company and the threat (pay a toll or something),

_Gain the approval of the leader of the threat so the taxis can cross by;

_Make some quest and “favors” for “the threat” and as reward (among other things) gains permission so the taxis can cross by.

 As a general reward from the Taxi Company, the player character gain: One free trip anywhere he/she wants, a discount of the fee from now on, higher predisposition from the drivers and other people, access (with the car) to areas that wasn´t enabled for that particular way of fast travel before.

 Also, any quest and resolution should have some kind of repercussion in the world.

For example, if a new road is open, caravans can past through it too and take supplies to places that didn’t get it before, some people can move and towns grow, and many other things that an “open road” and new ways of communications brings.

 

 This post assumes several things:

_That there is in fact a Taxi Service;

_That you can have several companions (something like Charisma/2=amount of companions allowed*),

_You don’t get your own vehicle.

_That Fast Travel affects Hardcore mode,

_That there is a Hardcore mode,

_That exist special encounters when Fast Travel,

_That the taxi Service reassemble something like the Silt Strider service in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

*See post about Charisma and companions.

 Another series of characteristics for the “Taxi Service”:

_Only works between settlements and not inside cities/towns,

_If a driver dies, another will replaced in some days, but the services for that particular vehicle will not be available until the new driver arrives (Maybe a quest where to convince someone to becomes a driver could be add);

_Should be consider an individual Faction (And no as the Crimson Caravan that belongs to the NCR for example), but still, the player character actions relation it to the Taxi Company should affect his/her Reputation with other factions too;

_Have some kind of boss, secretary and pertinent staff besides the drivers.   

_If the move over the map is display on scene when a trip is made, that also appears a counter of the fee and the character player have the chance to get off the vehicle in the middle of the trip and explore that particular area, and/or move on from there. When the character get off the vehicle, the car returns to where it departure.

_ There should be something like 4 or 5 drivers in total working at the same time, one for settlement, maybe some more can be add through new quests, or after finishing some (like open a new road to a new settlement).

_Each driver only take the player character to 3 other places, that way, the PC must make some combination between the services.

_All drivers provide information about the settlements they travel to, and maybe about some places in between and surroundings.

_All company members should be involved in some minor and/or mayor quest.

_All company members should have some background history.

_The taxi Company should be something completely optional, characters take it or not, do the quest involving it or not, and definitely should not be part of the Main Quest, just something to show that civilization can be rebuild and grow even after and nuclear apocalypse and its consequences.

_That a character can go to wherever the player wants to take it, by walking, facing the roads, exploring, etc. The Taxi Company should be just an addition to the “normal” gameplay.