PERSONAL PROJECT

Fallout 4 Slow-Motion VATS Replacement

A slow-motion replacement mod for VATS. Press the VATS button to enter slow-mo instead while keeping the VATS style. Drains action points while using.

I’m not too familiar with the Creation Kit but wanted to see what it was like, so I set out to learn how to change the VATS system and this is the result after a week of learning.

Maybe it’s just my opinion but I tend not to use VATS because it’s fairly clunky and slows down gameplay too much. The modern version of VATS was introduced in Fallout 3 as a call back to the original Fallout games and a solution to help players who weren’t familiar with first-person shooters, especially in Bethesda’s Creation Engine. In Fallout 3 and New Vegas, it froze time entirely but was updated in Fallout 4 to slow down time almost to zero. Progress but it’s still clunky and still too slow.

The Problem

I designed my Fallout 4 VATS replacement mod with the notion that it has to remain true to the reference material while keeping you in the action.

The Goal

VATS, in a nutshell, needs to slow the gameplay down enough so that you can make precise shots without worrying about getting hit too much.

There’s also a movie-like element with the filters applied and the cinematic shooting angle.

It can’t be available 100% of the time similar to default VATS otherwise it goes back on the goal of taking you out of gameplay.

Considerations

  • Override keybind for VATS to trigger our new system

  • Slow down time but keep full control of your character

  • Apply VATS visual filter and sound effects

  • Drain Action Points while in VATS mode

  • Adjust Perks to account for new VATS Action Point Usage

  • Apply final shot cinematic cam

The Solution

This was a test of how much Creation Kit I could learn in a week and I’m pretty happy with the results but I only managed to get through the first 4 steps of the solution proposed above. If I intended to continue with this I would have liked to find a way to reference the cinematic camera and then would have to explore the perk system and what would need to be changed if it could at all.

Results