Fallout Equestria

So I'm wondering, as I write my story, if making references to/cribbing scenes from other Obsidian/Black Isle games would be lazy.

For example:

Maybe, maybe not, all depends on how man, how they are executed and how well they fit in with he story/verse. Just remeber the first rule of Shout-Out's if someone does not know what you are making a reference to, they shouldn't even realize a reference was made.

Sweet I've been wanting to talk about those ERB vids but didn't think anyone else was interested. My opinion:

Pip vs. Blackjack round 1: Blackjack came in swinging. Yet after a couple watches I ultimately found Pip's composure to undermine Blackjack's digs. It was a pretty good back and forth but Pip got the last word (and probably had the biggest dig in the vid at that), which in an ERB is tends to be an unfair advantage. I gave this one to Pip.

P-21 vs. Calamity: Eh, kinda a weak one. Some nice puns, both overt and stealth, but hardly any winners. P-21 got the last word, but his first half was just weak and slow. I give this one to Calamity.

Steelhooves vs. Rampage: This one wasn't a battle but a massacre. Rampage spent too much time talking herself up while Steelhooves went for the throat. And as with before one side sounding composed earns some points when the other is blaring. Steelhooves wins.

Morning Glory vs. Remedy: Velvet got some low blows throughout, but I'd say Glory came back strong in the second half. Close but I'd give it to Glory.

Lacunae vs. Xenith: Trixie's override at the end there hurt Lacunae. Xenith got some good digs at Lacunae both about who and what she is. Still she spent a bit too much time talking up her race (which kinda fit with her tearing down the alicorns as a whole, but eh) rather than herself or Lacunae. Even though she only got one time to speak, I'd still say it was good enough for Lacunae to take the win.

Pip vs. Blackjack round 2: I'd say it could go either way. Pip still remained composed while Blackjack was still came off as posturing but Pip's digs were weaker. Blackjack's feats came off as more self-explanatory yet Pip's had more weight to them. Meh, I give this one a tie.

Ministry Mare Showdown: Pinkie's was the weakest. Sorry girl, you spent too much time talking about your Pinkie Sense. Results are better than mere predictions. Speaking of results Rainbow mentioning how she was the only one actually fighting instead of sitting behind a desk won some major brownie points. 'Cept knowing that negligence towards her own ministry led to the creation of the Enclave kinda sours that point. Fluttershy got real good digs in, especially since she was right. Appealing to the themes of the MLP side of the crossover got her some real leverage. Of course, not understanding the themes of the Fallout side made everything worse, so it evens out. Rarity's bit was good, but not great. Loved the composure (doesn't that word sound familiar >_>) and her threatening with the Black Book appealed to the "Do don't say" thing, but overall meh. Applejack was appropriately enough straight to the point; if everyone spent more time on the surefire methods and cooperation instead of focusing on separate hypotheticals and experimentations then the war would've been long been over. Lost a couple of points for continually blaming the others though. Twilight's started nice with the whole letter to the Princess bit and stayed strong throughout. Didn't have any real winners though. I'd say it's a tie between Twilight and Applejack.

Puppysmiles vs. Hired Gun: Puppysmiles had a great start. Perfect way to play up the Innocently Insensitive angle. Gun got a real good dig by comparing feats done, but that was about it. Like Lacunae Puppy lost points for having her second half done by another. Unlike Trixie however Mr. Voice stole the show. Mr. Voice wins.

Red Eye vs. Sanguine: Damn. I thought Steelhooves vs. Rampage was one sided. The only line I can unironically give to Sanguine is the "whisper into your ear" one. Otherwise his strongest points was mentioning the various projects/associates he has/knows. Which all falls short compared to Red Eye's own. Really reminds me of a analogy my dad likes to say: It's like an anemic Chihuahua yapping at a full grown Mastiff. Red Eye wins.

Kkat vs. Somber: I liked how they made sure to vary up the digs - focusing on each other, the stories, the story characters, reputations, etc. Somber apparently don't recognize irony however as most of his jabs fall flat with Fridge Logic. Kkat got some points doing that 'start with one word, then expand on it' bit - just like how a FOE chapter starts. Overall though, I'd say it's a tie.

That was fun. Let's have fun more often.

edited 24th Aug '14 1:44:37 PM by Spirit

RD's issue with her ministry had zero to do with the Enclave. The Enclave was an outgrowth of resentment towards so many pegasi dying in he war and on them being the front line fighters. And just how hard RD pushed to recruit more and more into the fighting. None if it had to do with her actions as a Ministry mare, but as the de-facto 'face' of the pegasi recruitment operations.

Yeah, the Original characters/writers win in every way. Though,I might be a tad biased.

edited 24th Aug '14 1:46:33 PM by Seraphem

Those all sound like good matchups, with the exception of Red Eye vs. Sanguine. Yeah, during the first arc it seemed like he was a big deal for Blackjack, and even through part of the third, but in the end he was basically a third tier antagonist. A better choice to go up against one of Littlepip's tier one enemies, I think, would have been Dawn (tier two is at least better than three), or maybe even Cognitum herself or the Legate, but the latter two probably weren't as fleshed out at the time. Dawn probably was, though (with most of her characterization and backstory established by late 2012), even if her arc wasn't completed at the time.

From what heard none of those rap battles sound fun to me.

But I also never listened to original rap battles and didn't had much interest in them.

The fun is just in seeing how badly the real characters destroy the PH ones and just how pathetic some of the stuff the PH side has to reach for to still not even come close to the real ones awesomeness.

^ Your ignorance towards PH is truly astounding. I wonder why.

^^^ True there were better options. But they'd all still fall flat within the context of that rap battle. The problem is if you try to argue about who's the better mastermind with pony Kane then you've lost even before you began. Sanguine should've kept the argument to a one on one basis; he's a canterlot ghoul after all while Red Eye is a well groomed earth pony cyborg with minor/moderate augmentations.

I'm starting to think I might be putting much thought in an ERB.

edited 25th Aug '14 6:47:22 AM by Spirit

Hi there.

It's been a long while since I've unplugged from the FOE verse. I'm trying to write an AU Fic with less Grimdark but more Real Politik. Vault 5 is supposed to be a hybrid of Babylon 5 and Vault City.

It was the dawn of the Fourth Age of Ponykind, ten score and ten years after the conclusion of the Pony-Zebra war. The Vault-5 project was a dream, given form. It was built with goal: to revive and heal the Equestria into its bright, vital former self, were it to be razed and burnt and poisoned. But we, its dwellers, were even more ambitious, and over the years we took on another goal: to prevent another war, by creating a place where ponies, zebras, and sapient creatures of any other kind, can work out their differences peacefully. It's an Under Haven, a port of call – home away from home – for diplomats, hustlers, scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, creators, dreamers, and wanderers.

Ponies and zebra, buried under two billion, five hundred million tons of mountain ore, surrounded by the Wastes.

It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope, for peace, and for a bright future. This is the story of the last of the Open Vaults. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Vault 5.

I'm going to need to plot this thing well in advance, in true Babylon 5 fashion. I'll need a summary of all pre-existing factions, areas, and so on, both in FOE and PH. Can you guys help me with that?

I hate Project Horizons but PH bashing is not appealing to me.

Does this have to be FOE fic? Maybe you could just made B5 like story based on MLPFIM setting? I addmit I like idea (I have similar one) but not sure if it can work in FOE setting.

edited 25th Aug '14 7:29:16 AM by DeathCloud

^^ Sure. Just, uh, ask if there's any details for something you need in particular. There's a lot of different groups or locations or what-have-you to summarize.

Also I think Kkat is a big Babylon5 fan and has been known to help out some in FOE side stories so try to give his/her Fimfiction account an email.

edited 25th Aug '14 7:40:40 AM by Spirit

List of stuff from both FOE and PH... the story that massively contradicts the original... and use both of the mutiall exclusive stories.... how?

As to the real factions:

NCR-Started at Shattered Hoof and Junction R-7, pretty much the dominate government in the post-Wastes world. Not much is know canonically, just they are, as the name says, a republic based on how gryphon government works. And the first... whatever the title of the highest office is.. was Gawd.

Follower of the Apocalypse-Same as the game, group dedicated to healing, teaching, helping, and just trying to do what they can to make ponies lives better.

Applejack Rangers- What the Steel Rangers were meant to be. high tech, power armor, heavy amounts of weaponry, and using it to defend ponies from attack, to help and protect.

Steel Rangers: isolationist technophiles that would likely kill an old man for his pacemaker, since only they can be allowed to have any advanced tech. Any of them that weren't murdering sociopathic assholes left to become Applejack Rangers, or were killed trying to do so. Post Gardens, if there are an left likely just isolated cells sitting on their piles of technology fuming at not being allowed to mercilessly slaughter everypony that isn't them anymore till hey eventually die out.

Twilight Society- While the rangers are the premier source of remaining old world arcano-tech, they hold the largest amounts of knowledge about old world unicorn magic, and control Celestia One. Cautious about who they share information with and how much, prefer not to let knowledge fall into the hooves of ponies they don't think could use it well. But also are now willing to share what they can and actually use that knowledge to help. Helpful overall, but cautious about who they help and how much.

Alicorns: Not clear if the are still their own separate faction, or have adapted and integrated into the existing ones and are simply treated as a new race of pony, like Earth ponies or Pegasi.

Hellhounds: What's left of the tribes after Maripony and the Enclave. want to stick to themselves and just be left alone. Were given Ponyville and the area immediately around it as their home.

Littlepip: Controls the SPP, and hence all the weather in Equestria. Simply uses it to do just that, keep the weather maintained properly, uses the observation cameras to watch for any major threats like raiders or bandits and alert the NCR to their location rather then actually use the power of the SPP against anypony.

All the major ones I can recall in the epilogue.

edited 25th Aug '14 7:41:51 AM by Seraphem

Better try to find Kkat on FOE IRC chat.

@DC: It has to be Fallout because of thematic reasons. Plato's Cave (or rather, Broadwit's) is going to be the key motif, and vaults are just plain ideal, they're brimming with narrative potential! Have a look and see what I mean. Comments are very, very welcome!.

@Spir & DC: Wow, that's good to know.

@Seraphem: thanks!

I'm not going to write a strict Continuation Fic. Rather, I'll rearrange the setting, elements and factions as I see fit. The idea is to draw inspiration and thematic power from the settings, without being bound by their rules. Think Pacific Rim as compared to any of the multitudes of works it references: there's not a sense of "quoting", but there is a sense of "familiarity".

edited 25th Aug '14 8:01:25 AM by TheHandle

Using the Allegory of the Cave to prefix your story. That's a rather high brow method to establish a theme and atmosphere - doubly so with the parallels of the Vaults/Stabes themselves.

Color me intrigued. I'll drop random comments here and there.

edited 25th Aug '14 8:16:15 AM by Spirit

I don't believe in High-Brow. I'm of the Thug Notes and Crash Course school of divulgation: don't be smug, don't be authoritative, speak plainly, be accessible, and, above all, be funny and chill out.

Naw wamean?

edited 25th Aug '14 8:21:13 AM by TheHandle

@Handle: In case you weren't aware, FO:E has a fairly in-depth wiki. If you're looking to keep your fic strictly within canon, it's a big help.

Welp, that's where I'll be doing my wiki-walking from now on. With pen and paper, taking notes.

Sounds like a plan. At least you have one. My fic is horrible at the moment, I know what I want to do with it and where it should end up but I have not got the skill to take it there.

We have a chapter-thing. A hunter boy from a wasteland tribe meets remotely-controlled hippoid, behind which a mousy little scientist with a mission and a crush sits. Hilarity Ensues.

It's a...decent start. Scout and Dandy seems fun enough. There seemed to be a change in narration style dependent on who the focus character was, which is a nice touch. Problem is...

...tells more than the entire chapter itself did. For starters I have no idea what any of the scenery looks like. As there was no description my mind defaulted to a random patch of wasteland solely because it's supposed to be a FOE fic. But then there was a random mention of autumn leaves, which made me stop and go "Wait, there are supposed to be trees nearby? I thought this was a wasteland?"

Also I don't know what the character themselves look like. It's not relevant right now, but when/if they meet in person would be a good time for them to describe who they are looking at.

The transition between viewpoint characters is awkward. After the first transition for the first couple of paragraphs I thought it was still Dandy narrating. And then when it went back to Dandy I spent another few paragraphs thinking it was still Scout. You need to better let the reader know when its someone else the narration is following. Perhaps using something other than a line break as a start?

I have no idea what the thing Dandy sees and Scout is talking through is supposed to be. Is it a robot? Or is it Scout in a suit?

The Deus Ex shout out is appreciated, but out of place. For starters I have no idea what tech is in the fic itself (so there's guns. Okay. Dandy's got a hellhound claw knife. Sweet, eventually you need to describe what a hellhound is though. The maybe-robot has a radio, but whether the radio is from Scout to the robot or from the Professor to Scout-in-the-suit is uncertain.), let alone what it is in relation to the parent story of Fallout Equestria. Tossing in random things from unrelated subjects when your own story hasn't ironed out its own...stuff... is gonna lead to problems down the road.

All in all, your story can benefit from adding exposition.

edited 26th Aug '14 6:23:33 PM by Spirit

Stable 5 has two very strong advantages.

• One is a culture built around science and research: this Stable was an experiment where every single pony is a researcher, and in on it. Hence, in this instance, the CASIE and the unmanned drone; Scout pilots the drone from a deep immersion suit in a control room Vault 5. I intend to borrow a lot more technology from other works, as I see fit: Stable 5 is very Trans-Equinist and Post-Cyberpunk.
• Another is that it's friggin' huge: it was built with the help of Diamond Dogs, and the entire mountain is an Elaborate Underground Base.
• It also has a very liberal, universalist mindset: Sable 5 founders were against the fascist mentality promoted by the war.
• The mountain is in the middle of the no-man's-land between the Equestrian Principality, the Zebra Regime, the Griffin Empire and the Canine Confederation (there'll be more races of sapient canines than just Diamond Dogs and Hellhounds). Or what's left of them, anyway.
  • I'm thinking of adding Sphynxes (both types) and Chimeras to the Griffins, because lol why not.
  • The one the Mane Six met in their second episode was an instance of the GE being Social Darwinists and ostracizing and abandoning people with Special Needs.
• The radiation levels are similar to New Vegas rather than F3. That means the occasional bush, tree, etc. Plus, through the experimentation of Stable 5, radiation resistant strands of plants were developed, which is why the mountain is unusually not-bare. But it's not like the floor was just covered in huge leaves: the leaves are small and few and far between, and the ground is mostly bare. By Wasteland standards, it's very much an oasis. They've been literally pushing daisies from the ground up.

Murky Number Seven Act 3 cover art.

As I mentioned in the comments, this pic is ridiculously detailed. Even Murky's neck is appropriately red and swollen.

Atom Smasher saw Guardians of the Galaxy.◊

Atom Smasher with Frosty Winds (from FO:E - Memories).

Las Pegasus is screwed.