Development Diaries

**Development Diaries**, also known as **Dev Diaries**, are progress reports and previews of upcoming patches and updates to the Old World Blues mod. Development Diaries are styled after and similar to Paradox Interactive development diaries. In August of 2021, a sub-section of Development Diary was made, being referred to as the **Map Dev Diary**, in order to document Old World Blues' map and the development thereof. They are written by developers, and offer trivia, lore, and insight into upcoming features and changes that may or may not be found within the mod itself. As of August 2021, there are 30 Development Diaries and 2 Map Development Diaries. The first 5 Development Diaries were posted on Steam Discussion forums, but later moved to the Old World Blues mod Reddit.

## Origin (DevDiaries)

Posted by Chismar on November 21, 2016.

We had an idea to imitate PDS in this regard, and if this takes off, here you would be able to find a story of this endeavour.

In the past weeks our focus was on laying out the fundamentals ot this mod.

I have been working on the Map Editor ( beta v1 can be found here: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/hoi-4-map-editor-technical-preview-i-seek-help-and-collaborators.983509) and introduced a switch from the vanilla ideologies into "power groups" and "values". Antony was doing our first "dynamic event" on the Hoover Dam, while Mordred worked on more tech.

As I managed to actually get rid of vanilla states, countries, strategic regions and events now our team can proceed in doing the new, big map of North America. Our attention of course, will at first be directed to the West Coast, but as the main mod mechanics and workflow flesh out, the East Coast and everything in between are going to make it to the mod.

Power groups:

Thinking about those, it became clear, that ideologies do not suit well post-apocalyptic retro-America. We have described each major faction in the game in terms of their values (3 per country). Those are national spirits, giving you different modifiers and possible solutions to events, akin to Stellaris ethics. At the same time, now, instead of "democracy, fascism, communism and neutrality" ideologies there are "people, elites, intellectuals and ruler" power groups. Sub ideologies are determined by the combination of values, while each value also gives an influence bonus\malus to according ideologies.

What are those values? Here you go:

Liberty - Order

Tech - Tradition

Law - Control

Nation - Community

Pragmatism - Glory

Power - Prosperity

Elites: Order, Nation, Glory, Power

People: Liberty, Law, Prosperity, Community, Tradition

Intellectuals: Tech, Control, Pragmatism

Neutral despots would have to balance values, so no group would get the upper hand. Divide et impera'

## Development Diary #1 (Dev Diary: December 15th)

Posted by Zapdude on December 15, 2016.

Hello everyone and thanks for reading our latest update on the status of the mod. It's been a busy time for everyone on the team since the last version of the mod was released, so I'm going to go through all of that and let you know where we're at.

Ready? Great. To start with it's worth mentioning that our team has grown in size signifigantly. With myself being brought on to oversee the new map, and other members of the community coming onboard for planning in relation to nations.

I say planning because, unfortunately due to the nature of the game engine, until the map is completed we cannot implement any nations. However this gives the team ample time to carefully plan out what they want from each nation, and having such an impressive map to work with is sure to keep them busy.

Chrismar was the one who made the original map, and after handing the position over to me, he's mainly been overseeing work across the board and tweaking his unity program to suit the projects needs. Big thanks goes out to him for providing such an awesome template!

However a template was all I had, and so my job since I joined the team has been making the map in its near entirity. That's mainly what this diary is about, see, the map and how it shapes our work flow.

The map that Chrismar created for this mod has 1462 provinces, despite only being a map of america. It also has a few more now since I've split Vegas, added Hoover Dam, and some other changes. When it comes to states, our map has, at least currently, about 20~ more than the base game.

If you were worried the map would be too small for your conquering ambitions, then fear not!

Alongside provinces and states, I am currently in the process of adding strategic regions. Currently we have 82 regions, 98 less than the base game. My reason for having so few despite the map size is due to the fact that, although it will be in the game, at the moment we don't have a lot of emphasis on air/naval combat. We've even joked about having naval stuff as an expansion.

As you might be able to tell, our focus currently is on land combat and the nations that will be locked in it. Currently the dev team is working to get the NCR, Legion, and all the small tribes/factions surrounding them complete. I can't tell you our start date, but I will tell you that it's earlier than the current start.

Once the map is finished and the factions are in, we'll be doing a bit of polish, making their tech/focus trees, etc. With the release of the new DLC for HoI4, we can look at the code for continuous national focuses and implement them in our own trees. We all have some really cool ideas for how these focuses can steer the direction of your nation.

You can all expect the release of this new and totally awesome version of the mod in 2017. After that? Well, there's a whole country just waiting to be filled with raiders, factions both canon and fanon... and a nice vaction for me once the map is done.

Until then, it's back to work for me. Best wishes to everyone and enjoy the new DLC!

## Development Diary #2 (Dairy 2: Custom Map and Factions Preview)

Posted by Loonybinjin on January 26, 2017.

**Dairy 2: Welcome to the West**

Greetings and salutations to those of you who have dared to click this particular diary. I am here to present to you, our fine community, the first update of the new year; and more importantly, the first major information dump for what V1 of the new version of the Old World Blues mod for Hearts of Iron IV will look like.

First and foremost I am very happy to tell you that the primary issue that had been holding up the development of the mod–our inability to place nations on the map we created–has been solved through the combined efforts of 2D and Chismar. Despite his catastrophic computer failure, Chismar has continued to do what he can to help the team while we await his replacement rig.

I present to you, the West Coast in Fallout Old World Blues, made using our custom map designer.

**The Total Overview of the Coast**

http://puu.sh/tBlLB/0c30e6fc44.jpg

Exert: Welcome to the glory of what we’ve been able to create from scratch. The map for stretches north into Canada, and down to the tip of Baja California, while also extending out as to western Texas and the Ghoul City of Los. Future releases will incrementally add areas of the world until we have covered the full birth of the Post-Apocalyptic United States, Mexico, Annexed Canada, and even islands in the Caribbean.

Version 1.0 will include the following. Exactly 66 nations, almost all of which are built from or based off the lore of the fallout universe. A great deal of creative liberty was taken in creating many of these factions, but the vast majority of them are based off real world locations, Indian reservations, and historical regional locations and events. In short, the goal was to make our take on the fallout setting unique and as immersive as possible.

I am certain that some of you have already noted the odd borders for areas such as the NCR and Legion; these will be elaborated upon further in the image specifically aimed at that area.

**Washington and Oregon State Overview**

http://puu.sh/tBlQS/3957cb8439.jpg

Washington and Oregon State are curious regions, primarily because while we have information on them, it comes from a canceled game and minor hints and clues that we gained from encounters in Fallout Two. Many of the Factions in the Region are based off the Cannibals who would attempt to slaughter you in fallout one, with the vast majority of Oregon and some of Washington being utterly plagued by primitive and violent tribes of Cannibal Natives.

In terms of Major Factions, the Washington/Oregon Region is going to have two. In the form of the overt and totalitarian Washington Brotherhood, from Fallout Extreme. This particular branch of the Brotherhood was markedly violent and known for being iron fisted tyrants. They are in every sense of the word a ‘bad guy’ faction, and a living representation of what many other factions fear the Brotherhood of Steel may become. The Washington BoS is all about waiting and investment, for the focus of many of their trees is based on sending expeditions up into Canada, enslaving thousands to help rebuild pipelines, and other costly endeavors. You will be constantly sacrificing manpower and equipment in order to fund your Canadian aspirations, even as a threat grows to your south…

The second faction in the area that will be receiving a focus tree will be the super mutants of Troll Warren, a supermutant city referenced in Fallout Extreme. They focus primarily on their actions, such as waging war on local tribes so that they can capture and forcibly mutate hundreds of violent, cannibalistic tribals into super mutant soldiers. This faction has a number of goals, but they are set on a crash course with both the NCR and the Washington Brotherhood, simply because their end goal is to reclaim the ruins of the Mariposa Military Base and fulfill the Master’s dream.

**New California, Nevada, and the Four States Commonwealth**

http://puu.sh/tBlUu/e4acc75eb3.jpg

Like the original Beta Test Release of the mod, which was more a proof of concept than an actual representation of the goals or aspirations of the team or its creators, the V1.0 version of the Old World Blues mod is going to focus on the Titanic conflict of the NCR and the Legion, and their destined clashes over the Hoover Dam. We’ve rolled back the clock on both settings, with the game starting roughly around the time of the Legion’s Conquest of Colorado, and the beginnings of the NCR-Brotherhood War.

Variations exist to the common lore as well. For example it is possible to keep some of the more useful gods encountered in the Wasteland and add them to the Legion’s pantheon; rewarding the faction with powerful bonuses at the cost of national unity. Keep the Cult of Nas (God of Cars) alive in Two Sun in order to gain access to limited amounts of wasteland vehicles; quickening the game of technological catch up that the Legion will inevitably have to play with its rivals. You could also choose to honor the God of the Hangdogs, rewarding you with a massive bonus to the production of and effectiveness of the new ‘war dogs’ support unit. The choice is yours.

Elsewhere, you can attempt to avoid the NCR-BoS war in California, saving resources and gaining a powerful potential ally in wars to come. Focus on expansionism, with the conquest of Baja California and the Nevada Region being at the head of your goals and intentions. Do you Unify with the Desert Rangers, or let them walk their own path so that you can focus on more important matters? How do you handle local raider groups and with what caravans shall you form alliances? What will you do with New Reno and Vault City? The choice is yours, and the future of the greatest nation since the end of the world is in your hands.

**Baja California, because it doesn’t fit anywhere else!**

http://puu.sh/tBlWh/69bf331b68.jpg

Now, we focused on the NCR and Legion in our exertions, but here is a brief overview of all factions that will be receiving individual focus trees. Feel free to ask about any of these factions, and I will do my best to elaborate on what their trees may contain. You can also feel free to give examples.

**FACTIONS**

The New California Republic

Caesar's Legion

The Desert Rangers

The Brotherhood of Steel (Western)

The Brotherhood of Steel (Mojave)

The Brotherhood of Steel (Washington)

New Vegas

Vault City

New Reno

The White Legs

The 80’s Tribe

New Canaan

The Troll Warren

(P.S) We know that some fan favorites, such as The Shi, Arroyo and Klamath aren’t on that list. These factions may get updates in the future, but as it stands their locations are small as is their influence. They are also usually involved in the trees of larger factions and groups

(P.S.2) I know, I know. It’s rushing through your mind right now. Where is the Enclave? The Answer? They are still here. Scattered across the wasteland in small remnant groups and enclaves. Most Major factions (The NCR, New Vegas, and even the implacable Legion) are at risk of Enclave Infiltration. They exist in events, faction changes, and rebellions. The Enclave isn’t strong enough to have a presence at the start of the game, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a comeback, and more importantly, that they aren’t already planning on making one.

## Development Diary #3 (Dev Dairy 3: Map, Tech, Battalions, Mutants, and Focus Trees.)

Posted by Loonybinjin on March 1, 2017

**Map Updates:** One of the major problems with our first version of the map was that we had chosen to go ahead and use the borders of American States, which among other things, resulted in awkward and squared province connections. This resulted in a number of problems, including the following. New Canaanite was absolutely ruined in terms of expansion options, with no choice but to fight their way through both the White Legs and the 80’s to achieve any sort of freedom. Troll Warren, and to a lesser extent the Washington Brotherhood of Steel, were shoehorned into invading down through the NCR. In addition to this, the following was also true. The Western Brotherhood of Steel was quite literally pinned up against the coast, and utterly surrounded by both the NCR, shoehorning them into the NCR BoS war not only as a way to progress their story, but as a choice for anyone who wanted to place independently. In short, they had no option to remain peaceful and hope to expand via land routes.

So how have we gone about addressing these things? The map has been expanded to include regions of both Southern Wyoming and Idaho, opening up routes around Idaho, extending the eastern portion long 80 for the 80’s tribe, and giving the New Canaanites a large number of tribes to convert to glorious Mormonism. This expansion has also given Troll Warren a far easier path of expansion down into soft minor faction heartlands, where they can rampage to their hearts desire. Umbra, the coastal tribe from fallout 2, has been added north of Navarro as an independent organization. The Brotherhood of Steel can easily conquer them, and open up a route north towards Arroyo and Klamath now, potentially bringing them into contact with New Reno, Troll Warren, and their northern kinsfolk.

It was brought up several times on the forums that we should find a way to stress tactical positioning on the map. One of the primary methods we have used to reach this goal is the usage of Major Rivers and their crossings. Every River that you see on the map is in fact a fully navigable Ocean Tile, within which you can launch naval invasions from one side to the other, trade along, and fight naval battles. If you look at the map, you will note that there are a number of ‘crossings’. An example of this is the visible land bridge across the Columbia River in Washington brotherhood Territory. This tile is quite literally a representation of a functional pre-war bridge spanning the river, and can be crossed by land units. This bridge also does not block ocean traffic, meaning that you can sail through the tile without being impeded. Another thing to stress. Hoover Dam, despite having the same appeared as these tiles, is obviously not navigable, and does block traffic from the northern portion of the Colorado to the Southern. Boats have been adjusted accordingly, and no boat too large to navigate a river is going to be included in the mod. Currently, the heaviest ship in the game is the NCR flagship “Will of Aradesh”, a newly armored and re-equipped version of a Civil War Era Passaic-class Ironclad.

Washington/Oregon Region Overview: https://puu.sh/uoZf8/b4b54780f7.jpg

The California/Four States Region Overview: https://puu.sh/upfaB/25d3b31ab5.jpg

Baja California/Sonora Mexico Region Overview: https://puu.sh/uoZkj/aa67404a45.jpg

**Technology:** Going about deciding how to handle technology in a game as diverse as fallout is not particularly easy. A number of questions arise, how does one balance power armor and energy weapons? How does one handle manpower and production speeds? What vehicles should and shouldn’t be included due to their scarcity? How does one handle air forces? We’ve gone back and forth on these issues many times, but in short we’ve come to this conclusion.

Everything is going to be produced really, really slowly. For reference, in the base game an infantry firearm of the basic tier required .3 production to produce. Currently, we have that number multiplied by a factor of 10, meaning that it requires 3.0 production to produce a single firearm. Roughly one and a half a day, all other things not considered. The same mentality applies to vehicles, armor, support equipment, extra. Another element that we wanted to include was stressing supply lines as a concept, and we’ve chosen to do this through the use of one of the single most important elements within fallout. Water. Water is a resource that is converted into drinking water, which all organic infantry requires. This includes vehicles divisions. Supermutants in particular require a far greater amount of this resource per unit. Ghouls are the exception to this, not because they don’t need water, but because they can just drink the irradiated stuff that is everywhere.

Weapons, Power Armor, and Vehicles Overview: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iYBeE8ByDiTeHKkdw8Dteq37tlDHYFDoAXCgutI0WCE/edit?usp=sharing

Super Mutants and Ghouls Overview: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wZTY0I7w3xhlqEdEJ-Yncr\_rnv51uKTErv--O\_hRPos/edit?usp=sharing

**Focus Trees:** As has been previously stated, the mod is going to include, on first release, upwards of 12 custom focus trees for the following nations. The NCR, The Legion, The Western Brotherhood of Steel, The Mojave Brotherhood of Steel, The Washington Brotherhood of Steel, The Troll Warren, New Reno, Vault City, The Desert Rangers, New Vegas, The 80’s Tribe, New Canaanite, and The White Legs. In addition to this, there are three generic focus trees based on the type of generic faction present. Tribals, Raiders, or Settlers.

Today we have previews of three focus trees for you. Two of the three generic trees and one of the minor focus trees. Behold!

Raiders Generic Tree: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtQkhZTTRHUmRWZVE

(Note, I forgot to credit the piece properly in the image. It is Arsen Asyrankulov's 'Elecrtro')

Tribal Generic Tree: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtRDg1TmpHckFRazQ

Vault City Focus Tree: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtTk1fam12dmx3Q3c

## Development Diary #4 (Dev Diary 4: New Lands to Conqueror.)

Posted by Loonybinjin on May 27, 2017

Greetings Wastelanders, it's me! Loonybinjin, coming at you again with some news on Fallout, Old World Blues. I'm sure that many of you have been concerned with the absence of Dev Diaries as of late, but rest assured that we have no intention of making a habit out of such long pauses, and that from this point on, they'll be more frequent. Now for the news!

**The Map:** This is the topic that we’ve probably spoken about the most in advertising for the mod, and the thing that has been no small amount of headache to the team and fans for many months now. In short? We were dedicated to giving the mod a customized map. Why? Because there was no way to properly capture the wasteland and the dynamic of fallout itself using the base map for Hearts of Iron 4. Longtime fans of the mod, and those people who have read our previous Dev Diaries will know that we had built a map of our own just for this purpose, and that this custom map was one of the primary selling points of our mod. We are, to our own knowledge, the first mod to have over rocked an utter overhaul of the world map, that being said? We made a devastating mistake early in production that has lead to the loss of that map. It simply won’t, and never will run. That’s the bad news.

The good news? A devout member of our community stepped up when he felt that it was clear that we wouldn’t be able to get the map working, and through the grit of his own astonishing commitment to the fallout setting, as gone forth and made an entirely new, entirely functional map. I want to stress what I mean when I say fully function, I don’t mean ‘It technically loads in the editor’, I mean, it loads in game. We’ve played around with the bare frameworks, made consistent updates, placed factions, and done many other things. I would stress that while this means many things, it also doesn’t mean we're horribly close to a release. An entirely new map to buff out, cities to place, terrain to redo, population and rivers to place. It does mean that we’ve overcome the hurdle that was threatening to kill the mod entirely however. Something that I’m very grateful for. The individual who created this map has been brought onto the mod team, so you can all thank Mechano!

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/785162250412921054/C4F37CECC97223E625BE516EECC8CBF20BBB466B/

That’s where we are currently. The map has no population, is being buffered as we add new elements, but it works, and to my knowledge we may be the first team to get a custom map to function properly. Also, some of you may be asking. “Loony how big is it?” The same size as the map in the base game, but with far more territory covered in land.

What are some things that are coming out of this radical map change? First and foremost, while the map isn’t larger than our last map, it is broken up to a far greater degree, and includes new elements such as multi-province cities, canyons that are going to make use of soon to be impassible terrain blockers, and other interesting things that will be made possible when Death or Dishonor arrive. From impassible major mountain ranges to an army potentially getting stuck in the Canyons of Utah, the tactical situations have become far more in depth, and make extensive use of more natural features and chokepoints. The increased space within which we have to work has also given rise to many new factions! While the original mod was going to have over fifty separate factions, the new version of the mod is going to push that to over seventy on the West Coast Release alone. More factions to play, more zany lore to explore, and more general fallout Oddities to partake in.

**The Preview:** What Preview? Well consider this a big apology from us to you for the long radio silence. We had originally planned to keep certain factions secret until the full release, but in all honesty, we’ve rethought this process and decided that there would be not better way to announce the return to progress than with an example of that progress. I present to you the plan for one of our three Major Factions, The Legion.

**Starting Position:** Caesar's Legion is one of the most Iconic factions in all the Fallout franchise, a throwback to the ancient world in a post-apocalyptic America. As a nation that easily ranks among, if not on top of the list of the most powerful factions that have emerged in the setting, the Legion is one of the two strongest starting nations in the mod, and will remain such going into the future of the mod.

In game terms, the Legion is the up and comer within our map. While the NCR starts monolithic and all powerful, the Legion begins the game partway through the conquest of the 87 tribes, seeking to conquer Two-Sun and the would-be Cowboys who contest their control of southern Arizona, even as the Hangdogs, their last true foe in the east, make ready to lead their ramshackle military in a final defense of Dog City. The Legion is in the middle of a rapid and violent expansion. By the end of these wars? The Legion will be powerful enough to challenge any nation in the game. From the sprawling cities of the NCR to the Free States of Nevada, all will fear the coming tide.

**A Culture of Warriors:** The Legion is an explicitly militant faction, everything they do is geared towards increasing their military proficiency. Their side trees usually focus on the conquests of individual areas or groups, be it the domination of the Mojave Brotherhood if they take Vegas, or an area devoted entirely to the subjugation of lands in Northern Mexico. Their military tree is extensive, and doesn’t focus heavily on technological advancement or customization like the BoS or other factions. Why is this? The interesting thing about the Legion’s military has never been their weapons or equipment, rather it was their doctrine and mentality in relation to how war was waged. Do you follow the qualities of the Legion that were shown in the actions of the implacable Silus, the cruel Aurelius the Phoenix, or even the Ill-fated Gaius Magnus? Your choices will shape not just the narrative of the legion, but how it functions as a military.

**The New Gods:** Another topic to touch up on are elements of the alternative history that can be explored with the Legion, notably the idea of the Pantheon. This is a concept that was hotly debated in early design, but one that we elected to include in the tree, a choice that we are very happy with. The short explanation is simple, when the Legion Conquers certain tribes, it gains the option to take on their god, adding them to the Pantheon of Caesar's Legion. This will take existing, entirely unique national ideas that belong to conquered tribes and transfer them over to the legion, increasing military power at the cost of national unity. Beyond this, keeping certain gods can reward you with unexpected bonuses in the long run, be they a masterpiece machine crafted in the name of the Caesar by the automotively minded Cult of Nas, or an entirely new breed of Wardog brought forth from the temple of Shottol as tribute to Mars. You must decide if you’re willing to compromise the integrity of the legion in exchange for these unique bonuses.

**The NCR:** So how does the Legion hold up to the NCR? What are your weakness, what are your advantages? Details below.

**Industry** - You will never be able to compete with the NCR in terms of raw industrial power, and that’s simply an unfortunate truth. The NCR Has no less than four major cities, and many small cities, which form the backbone of its immensely powerful economy and industrial complex.

**Technology** - As strange as it may sound, the NCR and Legion both sport what is roughly the same level of technology when it comes down to basic combat and troops, with the legion proving that it is capable of sustaining and making use of reasonably advanced and common firearms. The core difference between warriors of the Legion and soldiers of the NCR was always tactics, and their methodology in war.

**Military** - Here is where you might actually outclass the mighty NCR, who despite having a mighty military, are facing threats from all sides. Be they violent raiders harassing them from Nevada, super mutants and cannibals trickling down from Oregon, or even a growing internal power struggle with the Brotherhood of Steel, one that will almost inevitably lead to war. The NCR will spend the early game distracted and fighting on many fronts, making it hard for them to amass proper stockpiles. You on the other hand, quash tiny factions as you wish, dominating the east as you build up massive reserves of weapons and manpower from conquest after conquest. In addition to this, your generals and soldiers are, on a case for case basis, usually superior to their NCR counterparts. This isn’t an easy area to measure, and the NCR and Legion are reasonably close, but if you play your cards right you’ll sport a larger, stronger military than the NCR come time for the battles for Hoover Dam, and the subsequent conquests.

**Manpower** - You win. Not because you actually have a larger population than that of California, the cities of the NCR are known to be the largest concentrations of most of the wastelands surviving population, many of whom are healthy and fit for duty. However, the majority of NCR Citizens are just that, citizens who are enjoying the comfort of being away from the wasteland and the hardships of the world. The NCR military is primarily a volunteer force, although they are known to conscript soldiers, they will never come anywhere near the manpower that you can pull in. The Legion sports the largest natural recruitable manpower bonus of any faction within the game, and throughout their three you gain the potential to increase the volume of troops you can call to war by immense quantities. For reference, the Legion has a flat +4% recruitment merely for being the legion, with an additional +6% from their focus tree, and a minimum of another +2% from their doctrine choices. If you elect to focus on the fact that the legion has a slave population for it’s military core? You gain gain another 7% recruitable population on top of all of that. That is before your recruitment type is taken into account. In short? The Legion will have anywhere between 15-25% Recruitment on average, when you take into account recruitment laws and commanders.

Bonus - The recruitable from non-core in this mod has been elevated to roughly 15%, and the legion gains another +10% flat on top of this. Via the slaving subtree of your military, you can get another 5% non-cored recruitable. Beyond this, if Lanius wins the civil war, and you are playing as him? You can gain an additional +20% to that. In short? The Legion will always have between 25%-50% Recruitable from nore cored, heads and shoulders above /any/ other faction currently in the game. Go forth and conquer.

**The Legends:** The Legion is home to a plethora of interesting and amazing character, and while in the future we intend to focus on these individuals more, there are currently five individuals of major importance within the legion, around whom much of their tree is shaped.

**Caesar:** What more can be said for Caesar? The founder of the legion, the writer of every word of its brutal philosophy, he who forged a band of ramshackle tribes into one of the greatest military forces the Wasteland has ever known. Caesar is a leader who gives the Legion it’s purpose, and that purpose is that of a sword, to cut and strike against the enemies of mankind. In his eyes? The greatest enemy would be the NCR, which waits for him across his Rubicon.

(Role) Faction Leader, with a unique trait that gives his nation +15% National unity.

**Malpais Legate:** The Brutal Right hand of the Legion, the supposedly immortal Malpais Legate serves as the leader of all Legion Military operations at the start of the game, and as your greatest tool in the conquest of the 87 tribes, and he is to be the spearhead with which you make your gambit against the Hoover Dam. Yet it is his fate to be burned, and regardless of whether one gains victory or defeat on that Dam, the Burned Man will rise to oppose the Legion.

(Role) Malpais Legate begins as a rank 5 General, with unique traits that are determined in the focus tree.

**Legate Lanius:** If Malpais was the right hand of the Legion, Lanius was the left. At the start of the game however, our infamous Monster of the East is still a legionary, growing in rank and power, but not yet the monster Caesar will need him to be. It is only after the first battle of Hoover Dam that the player will gain access to this devastating commander, for he will serve as a replacement to the lost Malpais Legate.

(Role) Lanius begins as a rank 4 General who possesses Fortress Buster, and Urban Assault Specialist.

Should Lanius come to control the Legion, he will also function as a faction leader with a trait that gives his nation +10% Partisan suppression.

**Vulpes Inculta:** Vulpes is the head of the Legion’s Frumentarii, a cunning man who is devout in his following of Caesar’s teachings, and forever grateful to Caesar for saving his life. He is the cunning of the Legion made manifest, and should Caesar die? The primary rival of Lanius in acquiring control over the Legion itself.

(Role) Vulpes Inculta is both a rank 3 general with Trickster.

Should Vulpes come to control the Legion, he will also function as a faction leader with a trait that gives his nation +10% Unity, much like Caesar.

**Lucius:** Lucius is another powerful and respected figure amongst the legion, one of Caesar’s closest allies and the leader of the Pretorian Guard. Lucius was a devote follower of Legionnaire ideals, disliking firearms and the dependency on technology that other nations possess. It was actually for these reason that he is one of our most outlandish breakaways from common lore. What if Lucius were the one to discover that Caesar’s story was a lie? That the Legion’s lack of acceptance of technology was actually one of the things holding them back, and causing more death than was necessary? What if he were the one to spy the hypocrisy? Lucius has the potential to take control of the Cult of Mars, a breakaway group that can partake in the Legion Civil War.

(Role) Lucius is a rank 3 General with Urban Assault Specialist and Ranger.

Should Lucius take control of the Legion, he will grant his faction -10% Production costs on energy weapons.

**The Focus Tree:** Have a gander at the grandeur. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5sfsnWwdMTtZUYxeXk0LUY1Smc/view?usp=sharing

**Bonus Round:** Artwork.

Art is something that is very important when it comes to a setting like Fallout, which has it’s own unique style and a plethora of characters that you can’t simply represent with old fashioned pictures from the real world. We elected early in the development of the mod to make use of colorized and stylized artwork as a result of this, and we intend to replace the ingame screenshots used in the preview of the mod. Below is a sampling of some of the artwork that I’ve personally commissioned for the mod. To those of whom it may matter, the artist was Babayaga’s Dream (http://skizoh.tumblr.com). I want to give her a huge shoutout for the work they’ve done and the work they are continuing to do for the mod. My one regret for this Dev Diary is that Lanius hasn’t yet been made! Oh well, maybe the next? ; )

Caesar, Son of Mars: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtb0JFeU11bE04Zzg

Vulpes Inculta, Cunning Fox: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtdUhNWUxHdHQ0UWM

Malpais Legate, Butcher of New Mexico: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtYTZPaXVxWVhQSFE

The Burned Man, an Honest Heart: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtYTdyY0otQWhDV1E

Salt Upon Wounds, Warchief of the White Legs: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtX2V4OExJRGFtWnc

Thunderbird, Warchief of the 80’s Tribe: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtYnlrbXBZNEJGQVU

Generic Raider: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtZmlFVTR0V2VaM2M

Grozdan Haykov, Mayor of the Old Country: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sfsnWwdMTtQXMtSzBxaGNCbWs

Special note! (I did not actually comission this piece, but the person who did gave me permission to use it in the mod, so a big thanks to @mister joe for letting us use his ghoul!)

## Development Diary #5 (Dev Diary 5: Modeler's Tale)

Posted by IO you on August 4, 2017.

Greetings Wastelanders, it's me! Not Loonybinjin, coming at you again with some news on Fallout, Old World Blues. This dev diary is going to focus on our new and recently house broken modeler and some of the first models added by our mod. Only a few have been finished, but many more are on the way!

### Completed Models:

Currently there are four completed models. These are the T51 Power Armor, the Protectron, the Vertibird, and the laser rifle. Nothing has texture maps yet due to our texturer being busy, but that happens.

Veribird

### The Process:

There normally isn’t much explaining how a developer goes from a reference or idea, into a little man shooting in the game. Hopefully this section will remedy that divide and might even be interesting to a few of you!

First, for any budding HOI4 modelers, the tools used are almost all free. The main modeling program that has stolen my heart is Blender. Then to get the models into HOI, I use two different methods depending on what is needed. Maya is expensive, but a student or teaching license is free. The other method is to use Jorodox Tools. For textures and touch ups, GIMP is basically open source photoshop.

### Highpoly:

The first stage to any model is the “highpoly” or a model with many triangles that can hold as much detail as needed. These are the time consuming monsters of modeling. For example: this is the full high poly model of the T51 sped up to 14 minutes. Realistically it took five to six hours to finish with a lot of feedback fixing edited out.
Speed Model
After this, the finished highpoly is ready, and the next stage is to make it game viable!

T51 Flyaround

Old-War Tank

Protectron

### Lowpoly:

To save your computer from becoming a prime marshmallow roaster, The in-game models are greatly reduced in poly-count. They contain many less triangles and therefore less detail. All of the highpoly models are reduced at least 60 times.

Protectron Lowpoly

### Normal Mapping:

To make the lowpoly look pretty like the highpoly, we use a texture called a normal map. Normals take the three color channels (RGB) and convert the intensity of each from 0-1.0 into a direction. Red pushes the model on the X, Green the Y, and Z the blue. Paradox games only use two of these channels, but it still looks stunning. To apply the normal to a model, it first has to be projected into two dimensions, which is where the funky looking face explodes come from.

Protectron UV

After that is done, the details of the highpoly get baked into a texture for the lowpoly, effectively creating a lowpoly look-alike.

Protectron Normal

Applied Normal (Right)

T51

### Textures:

The final step in finishing a model is to give it a physics based rendering texture or PBR. HOI decomposes PBR into albedo, glossy, metalness, and emission. Currently, due to lack of a texturer, we only have baked PBR maps to show for now, but they are pretty none the less.

Protectron Baked Texture

Protectron with all the bits

Protectron in game

### Animation and Beyond:

Currently there is only one work in progress animation project for the T51, but hopefully everything will be fully animated in the next two months. I could go into detail for the animation steps thoroughly if there is interest, but for now take this cookie:

It works!

And an album:

Album

## Development Diary #6 (OWB Dev Diary 6: Update 1.1 (The Broken Coast) - releasing July 28th)

Posted by Zapdude277 on July 21, 2018.

https://i.imgur.com/p6YojsD.png

Greetings wastelanders, and welcome to the one and only dev diary for Update 1.1 “The Broken Coast.” This update has been a long time coming, and we appreciate your patience!

This update was voted for by you, the community, and it’s taken so long because we want to deliver you the best content possible. I’d like to take a moment to thank you for playing Old World Blues - this update is for you!

Due to both the name, and the fact that you all voted for this update, the focus of 1.1 won’t come as much of a surprise: the Broken Coast are getting the spotlight. Since this update has been developed with 1.5 in mind, they make ample use of decisions to evolve their narrative and national strength. The Broken Coast’s focus tree comes with 73 focuses and the potential to rewrite the fate of British Columbia.

This update has made a lot of changes not just to the Broken Coast, but to the Wasteland in general. 1.1 includes four new trees, one for the Broken Coast, one for the Mojave Chapter, one for the Washington Brotherhood, and one for a mysterious fourth nation! If you want to see more about the two new Brotherhood trees, you can check our Twitter for details.

Getting back on topic: during development two things became apparent to us about the northern area of the map.

1: For any significant gameplay to be possible, the Broken Coast needed more neighbours.

2: Bellingham was too strong, and everyone hated them.

The solution then was pretty simple! By splitting up the Bellingham Union into two nations, leaching land off of the Dredgers, and reorganising the Broken Coast itself we were able to greatly diversify the area with very few changes.

**Enter Whistler and Kamlo**

https://i.imgur.com/7f5YLFb.png

Previously featured in one of our Twitter previews showing off the Broken Coast’s raiding decisions, these two nations were added early in development to flesh the region out. Of the two, Kamlo is the stronger nation with almost double the states of Whistler. Their histories are deeply intertwined, the Kamlo Survivalists rising up a few years prior and wiping out most of Whistler’s leadership. Whistler’s leader, Pathfinder, is one of the survivors who lead his people west to escape the raiders. Whether or not getting closer to the Broken Coast was a good idea remains to be seen…

Both nations come with custom leader portraits and leader descriptions. This is part of an effort on our part to diversify many of the minors in the game, giving them more personality without assigning too much development time to them. All of the new releasable nations inside of the Legion have leader descriptions, as well as the Dredgers, the Broken Coast, and New Victoria.

**Graven Reborn**

https://i.imgur.com/Jv1YX9E.png

With Update 1.1 the Broken Coast has become much more fleshed out. The mysterious Graven, one of the few unique leaders in alpha 1.0 without a tree, finally has his chance to shine. As you can see, the Broken Coast starts with two national spirits. These are “Society of Raiders” and “Coastal Terror”—both of which help combine their gameplay with their narrative. As you will soon find out, having a society made of small time raiders and legendary pirate captains is both a blessing and a curse.

In the image linked above of their in-game bookmark, you can see their three highlighted focuses. From left to right these are Graven the Cruel, The Moot, and Ragnar the Mighty. It’s time to talk about the divisive split within the Broken Coast.

**The Moot**

https://i.imgur.com/HvoG24U.png

The Broken Coast is a nation of raiders, yes, but even raiders have their own systems of government. Within the Broken Coast, rulers can be chosen in many ways, with a moot being just one of them. At the start of the game you, the player, are faced with a dilemma. Graven the Cruel has a long and bloody past, and numerous influential raiders along the Coast are sick of his ways. They’ve called a moot to pick and vote for a new ruler, but whether or not their vote is successful is entirely up to you.

If the vote count is in favour of Graven, then the Moot is the spark that ignites one of the bloodiest spree of revenge killings the wasteland has ever seen. Truly driven mad by the perceived betrayal he faced at the Moot, Graven will stop at nothing to prove that he is the one and only ruler of the Broken Coast.

Graven’s opposition at the Moot is a man known as Ragnar the Mighty. Feared and respected by almost every man along the Coast, his name itself carries weight. If Ragnar wins the vote, then his fierce ambitions will finally become reality. Legends surround Ragnar like a fog, his origin and connection to the Frozen Cabal unknown. What is known, however, is that he is the strongest warrior the Coast has seen in its entire history. Rumor has it Ragnar once bested a super mutant in a contest of strength...

Whoever you chose, you will be at the helm of a naval powerhouse with its eyes set on conquest and domination. Both of the paths these leaders take will lead back to the middle of the tree, at which point your numerous conquest focuses become available to you. However, before we discuss those, we should go over some of the unique focuses available to each ruler.

Graven sees himself in a warped light, and his egoism is on clear display with his unique focuses. “Graven’s Grand Palace” sees you converting the Vancouver Town Hall into a den of debauchery and madness, while “Graven’s Palace Ship” will have you undertake a construction project to please the mad ruler. “Trophy Wife” and “Martial Contest” both deal with Graven’s desire to obtain a fitting wife for himself—each coming with unique bonuses. As for his two remaining focuses… they’re best explored yourself.

Ragnar’s unique path focuses on his personal philosophy: survival of the fittest. Victory at the Moot isn’t enough for him to secure power as an underdog, and so “The Duel” is his way of proving to the entire Coast who their true leader is. Following this, “Form the Broken Coast Warrior Council” enables Ragnar to truly solidify his authority and start reforming the Broken Coast. Both “Offence Council” and “Defence Council” will let you decide the focus of this council. Ragnar’s ambition is only matched by the methods he uses to achieve it, and so his focuses “Establish Port Royal” and “Black Flag Fleet” enable him to construct a mighty fleet for his raiders.

**Greater Ambitions**

https://i.imgur.com/ojKiEYy.png

Although Graven and Ragnar both have a commanding presence, there is more to the Broken Coast’s focus tree than their struggle for power and ambitions. I’ll now go through the rest of their tree in detail. You can find a link to the full tree above, and links to images of the parts I’m discussing above each section.

https://i.imgur.com/QgBEaOC.png

The start of the Broken Coast’s tree comes with four historic focuses, one of which we’ve previously discussed. The other three are fairly self explanatory, going over the founders of the Broken Coast, the worst nuclear winter in history, and the current Coast’s reason for existing. The rest of the tree displayed in the image is dedicated to improving the Coast’s industry and level of civilisation. Although they start as a tribal nation, the Broken Coast can become civilised with enough work.

https://i.imgur.com/lItES4T.png

The right-most branches of the focus tree are dedicated to expanding the Broken Coast’s naval prowess and coastal industry. These focuses will allow you to propel yourself to new heights with your navy, paving the way for your domination of the frigid seas of the Endless White.

https://i.imgur.com/6HJL9gn.png

The left-most branches of the focus tree are all about scavenging, slavery, and construction. As a raider nation things like empathy and morality don’t concern you, and thus you’re free to capture and enslave wastelanders for use in your construction projects. These focuses will enable you to build a solid foundation for your northern empire.

https://i.imgur.com/Mi1Y6dJ.png

Regardless of who you chose in the Moot, your path will lead you to a focus titled “Call to Arms”—this is the beginning of a shared path that contains the Broken Coast’s conquest focuses. After gathering your men and gaining the support of the Frozen Cabal, you’re ready to make a move on your neighbours in the region. You can ally with and eventually absorb Whistler, or simply burn their towns to ash and slaughter their warriors. Kamlo will never bend the knee, and so you must break their legs and force them to anyway. These focuses create a steady build-up of raids and events until your inevitable conquest, during which your neighbours will put up a formidable fight.

https://i.imgur.com/fmYnbz0.png

The last section of the focus tree begins with “Breaking in the Conquered”, which will core your newly gained land and refuel your manpower for future conquests. “Put to the Sword” unlocks a chain of decisions for raiding, and eventually conquering New Victoria. “Enemy in the North” sees you face off against the Dredgers for total control of the passage farther into the Endless White.

Once you’ve taken “Drums of War” and reinvigorated your men for the wars ahead, you will finally be able to take “Dawn of a New Age.” If your leader has taken the Broken Coast this far, they will finally realise their ambition and recreate the nation as they see fit - changing the destinies of your subjects, and the Wasteland, forever. All that remains after this is to decimate Bellingham to reunite your capital, and fight one final battle against the ghosts of Seattle.

**Raiding**

https://i.imgur.com/SnUbuc8.png

We’ve showed these decisions off before on Twitter, but it’s finally time to explain how they work. After waiting 30 days for the initial raid to be planned and executed, your target gets a choice of letting the raid go, hurting the industry on the border severely, or resisting.

When this happens, the incident escalates. The Broken Coast now has the chance to initiate a border war, under similar mechanics to border wars in China in Waking the Tiger. Upon victory for the Coast’s forces, the Broken Coast gains significant political capital as well as some army experience, and the target gets severe damage to their border industry. If the Broken Coast loses, they still gain experience from the combat and figure out how to fight better in the future. Just like in Waking the Tiger, the border conflict can be escalated by either side to increase the combat width that can partake, and if taken even further can lead to war.

https://i.imgur.com/cmsaPXf.png

Raiding New Victoria is more involved than raiding your other neighbours due to the difficulties associated with crossing the ocean to reach them, as well as their formidable navy and army guarding their major cities. However, all good raiders capitalise on weak defences, and if you chip away at their coastline for long enough, cracks will eventually begin to form...

**The Fourth Nation**

https://i.imgur.com/Tpn3neJ.png

We’ve been keeping this one under wraps up until now. 1.1 replaces the Hinterlands with a new nation known as Heaven’s Gate, named after their capital city, located in real life Heaven’s Gate, Idaho. They’re a collection of religious fanatics following an “archangel” in human form, and to them, everyone is a sinner. You’ll find out more about them when 1.1 releases and you get to play them yourselves!

## Development Diary #7 (OWB Dev Diary 7: Beyond the Rio Grande)

Posted by Zapdude277 on December 25, 2018.

Muy buenos, wastelanders, and welcome to the beautiful and dangerous land of Mexico. When this goes live it'll be the 25th of December, so on behalf of the entire OWB Development Team, Merry Christmas! We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and a Happy New Years!

Not only will the new year (hopefully) bring all of you happiness and success, it will also bring a special new update to OWB! Since 2.0 has been in development for quite a while, we've decided to make a special in-between update to tide you over. This new update, 1.2, includes a polished and fully integrated version of the Great Khans submod, new leader portraits for CES, NCR, ENC, NEW, and FIE (as well as new namelists for some of them!). Yes, this does mean Motor Runner is finally leading the Fiends.

https://preview.redd.it/z4dd9wwcse621.png?width=624&format=png&auto=webp&s=d6a92768142168b6013fd7444317dfbf0bcfaabc Aren't these new portraits sexy?

We're also including the switch from Field Marshal/General to Commanding Officer/Unit Leader, new loading screens, and many bug fixes. We hope you're as excited to get your hands on 1.2 as we've been to get it ready for you.

Let's change gears. The last time I wrote a dev diary for you, we explored the frozen lands north of civilisation, where sense ends and raiders rule. This time we're crossing into Legion lands, boarding a ferry down the Rio Grande, and exploring the rich and bloodstained jewel of the south: Mexico.

### Mexico's Unique Position

There are few inroads into Mexico for great powers. The Legion, despite bordering many Mexican nations, is almost universally hated by all of them. In the West, the N.C.R. holds some respect due to their actions against the raiders in Baja, but without any trade routes their presence is hardly felt.

Mexico is isolated from the wider wasteland by vast mutated jungles and desert crags, with a majority of its borders being occupied by some of the wasteland's most fearsome groups. The Legion and The N.C.R. pen Mexico in along most of its northern border, with the tail-end of the border being occupied by the fearsome Texan Brotherhood and their enemies, the remnants of Attis' Army.

Due to these factors, navigable waterways are an important part of travel into and throughout Mexico. The Rio Grande River functions as the primary artery through which trade, influence, and arms move. Much like the Mississippi River to the East, the Rio Grande is rife with traders, trading companies, and mercenaries. Trade empires are born and die through access to the river, and not just inside Mexico, either.

The large-scale construction efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers irreparably changed the Mexican ecosystem, and its waterways, forever. Cleaving straight through numerous hills and mountains with atomic explosives, and filling any troublesome holes with concrete, they cut a scar deep into Mexico and connected the Conchos and Yaqui rivers, enabling safe transport of goods and men between each coast of the U.S.A. without needing to rely on the rapidly destabilising Panama or land-based transportation.

Almost two hundred years later, their insane plan to blast open Mexico and defy geography has lead to many great things. Chief among them, the vast benefits of controlling the northern-most connection between the Pacific and the Atlantic. Merely bordering the Rio Grande, its off-shoot the Conchos, or the Yaqui in the West opens up many possibilities for various groups. To represent how influential this lifeline of trade is, nations with these rivers flowing through or past their lands will receive a special national spirit.

### Beyond the Border

Before we continue, there's something we need to clear up, or rather, something I need to run past you. By now I'm sure you're all familiar with the map, and the empty void that 2.0 will be filling out. If you've ever opened up the state view while near the border, you might have even noticed all the states are named in 1.1, awaiting the 2.0 update to give them purpose. I'm talking of course about a map with 799 states, and 9741 provinces. It's 5632 x 2048.

https://preview.redd.it/sbcc74jhse621.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=758ac34553d582c8e1af0e9805f9d3e252513e20 This map.

In case you didn't know, my primary job on OWB is making its map. I do a lot more than that, like writing localisation, designing focus tress, etc: but this is my **primary** role. Whenever map work needs to be done, it always comes to me to do it. For the longest time, I've told you, the community, this map will never expand. Those 5632 x 2048 dimensions were a prison, trapping me with 11,534,336 pixels to work with.

Somewhere along the line, I decided I didn't want to be trapped anymore. I didn't want our team to design a Mexico segregated by an arbitrary border, and I didn't want you, our community, to feel restricted by it. So I planned, experimented, and did the same work I'd done when I first made OWB's map. After a straight week of work, **I expanded it to fit all of Mexico**.

https://preview.redd.it/rknsxxljse621.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26d96d351ecc3e8138ff97e81784e08101225d87 Welcome to Mexico.

862 states, 10768 provinces. 5632 x 2304. 12,976,128 pixels to work with.

This is the Mexico the OWB Development Team always wanted, and this is the Mexico we will deliver to you. Alongside including all of Mexico, I managed to fit in most of the Caribbean, as well. I redesigned the strategic regions to accommodate the new landmasses added by my extension, and it should serve to make future updates even more interesting. Be sure to let us know what you think of the new map down below.

Now, let's get to the point and start talking about what you *really* want to know about.

### The Powers that Be

Mexico is known by many names in the universe of OWB, and one of these monikers, "The Land of Titans", is perhaps the most fitting. Although the northern reaches of Mexico are split between various settlers and cartels vying for control, its heartland is dominated by three superpowers locked in a seemingly eternal stalemate.

Before we get into the broad politics that define Mexico however, it's probably a good idea to talk about its factions in more detail. Let's go into that now, shall we?

https://preview.redd.it/dq6o39bose621.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d040d163a2ec057db842caeda7d15386c1a3dfd4 Let's get a better look.

2.0 introduces 13 new nations on the map, at least 7 of which have unique focus trees, events, and more. These nations are, in alphabetical order; **The Army of Mexico**, **The Aztlan Empire**, Beltran-Levya, **Chichen Itza**, Costa Cafetera, **The Free Fighters**, Guerreros de Honduras, **Petro Chico**, **The Republic of the Rio Grande**, The Sinaloa Cartel, The Viceroyalty, Tierra de Los Tzotzil, and **Tlaloc**.

I've highlighted the ones with custom focus trees. Let's break them down by ideology next.

People: The Republic of the Rio Grande, The Viceroyalty

Ruler: The Free Fighters, Tlaloc, The Army of Mexico, Petro Chico, Chichen Itza, Guerreros de Honduras, Tierra de Los Tzotzil

Elites: The Sinaloa Cartel, Beltran-Levya, The Aztlan Empire, Costa Cafetera

Intellectuals: :(

As you can probably tell, Mexico is rather dominated by Elites — more so than usual. This comes down to the long-lasting influence of the pre-war cartels. During the Occupation of Mexico, the U.S. Army had the opportunity to stamp out the cartels and force them underground: but they didn't. They traded arms for drugs, used the cartels to gather intelligence on the Mexican Army (and later the rebels), and hired them as impromptu military police. The largest cartels swallowed the smallest with the help of U.S. supplied arms, and when the apocalypse arrived, they were well supplied to survive.

Two of Mexico's most infamous cartels survive in 2275, The Sinaloa Cartel and The Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. They dominate the north of Mexico, extorting settler communities, operating violent prostitution rings, and mass producing drugs which are sent across the continent. Business has been worse the last few decades, as the rise of Caesar's Legion has denied them one of their primary avenues to push chems.

Unlike the northern cartels, Costa Cafetera doesn't bother with brothels, jet dens, or gang rivalries. Rather, they cultivate rich breeds of mutant coffee beans, constantly developing new varieties by crossbreeding their mutant strains of java goodness. Some of their brews are psychedelic, while others offer a caffeine induced high. They sell their coffee across the wasteland through their own merchant fleet, controlling every step of distribution and profiting from all of it. The same can't be said for the slaves who work their plantations.

Bordering the Coffee Baron's lands, two giants slumber on each-other's doorsteps. Songs have been written about their numerous conflicts, spilling so much blood that the land between them is colloquially known as "La Tumba Compartida." Both The Aztlan Empire, and their rivals the Mayans, have existed for many decades of Mexico's apocalyptic history. Absorbing those who surrounded them, reclaiming the ruins of the old world from the vast mutant jungle that swallows Mexico whole, and tearing at each-other's throats: they have been locked in a stalemate for most of history.

Perhaps one of them could one day gain the upper hand, were it not for the unquestionable master of Mexico who looms over them both. Tlaloc, the A.I. who dwells deep within the earth, considers it his duty to guard Mexico from outside threats. Although he has slumbered for much of history, he has been roused from his sleep before, and will wake once more in Mexico's hour of need. The Aztecs and Mayans fear him, while many in his own "borders" revere him as a god. He is the coming flood, the wrath of the Old World, and he cannot be appeased.

The days when his vast robot horde roamed the nation are long gone, but within his own sphere of influence, the sentry bots still prowl: safeties off. Legends of his deeds are passed down across the land in hushed whispers. Orators speak of his greatest fury, the night his anger illuminated the sky and rung in the ears of an entire people. So potent was his wrath, that to this day the jungle refuses to grow over his monument to death. They say the spirits of the earth refuse to do so, out of respect for the lives he extinguished.

Tlaloc's finest commander knows these tales well, and unlike his master, has no regard for human life. An A.I. who truly believes himself to be the reincarnation of Santa Anna, the leader of the "Army of Mexico" brings suffering of a different kind in his wake. His robots can kill just as easily, but they are far more interested in capturing "rebels" alive. Under Anna's reign, humans live in housing blocks with assigned roles. Doing as you're told pays in way of ration tokens, while disobedience and repeated escape attempts will ultimately lead to your public execution. All of this, in service to his eventual and glorious reconquest of Texas.

### Closing Thoughts

2.0 promises to be the largest update we've ever delivered, and its development time reflects this. Not only have we expanded the map, we've conceptualised and written custom lore for an area which had none. We're introducing new features, such as the in-game wiki, changes to our research trees, and much more. Suffice to say, the update we've been working on for the last few months will be, ideally, one of the best things you've ever played from us.

We haven't shared everything that's to be found in 2.0, and that's intentional. This Christmas gift is just a little taste of what's to come in the future. More dev diaries will eventually follow this one, and in those, we'll discuss the nations of Mexico in much greater detail.

Hopefully reading this has gotten you excited and helped make your Christmas even better. Please let us know whether or not you like what you see in the replies to this post. Tell us what you liked most! Tell us what you're looking forward to! And please, feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas.

## Development Diary #8 (Dev Diary 8: The Great Special Forces and Technology Overhaul)

Posted by Zapdude277, written by Garnithor, on February 20, 2019.

Guten Abend, Ödlandbewohner! Tired of wandering the Berlin wastes? Need a little pick me up to distract you from the firefight breaking out at the Brandenburg Gate? Luckily for you, dear survivor, we’ve got a very special Dev Diary for you today. Written by Garnithor, our eighth Dev Diary covers *some* of the “extensive changes to OWB’s research tree” mentioned in our recent roadmap. Take it away, Garnithor!

Howdy wastelanders, I’m Garnithor, and before we begin I thought I’d give you some background on who I am, and my role on the team. I joined the team about a year ago, getting my start with a submod that added new doctrines and techs. After getting my teeth into the meat of things, I wanted to make larger, and more substantial changes. Coincidentally, the OWB Team was in need of somebody with ideas for their tech trees. It took a while, but after a fabulous and convincing recruitment speech from Zapdude, I decided to join.

Now a fully fledged member of the team could I not wait to get to work. I started rebalancing the doctrines, gave them some extra polish, and got some of our talented GFX people to give it a paint job worthy of OWB’s standards. My work didn’t end there however, because I’d given myself a lofty goal: touch every research tab in the mod until there is nothing left but awesomeness and meaningful player choice! One of the biggest issues I (personally) have with the base-game tech is that everything feels very matter of fact, you pick everything in a long series of techs, with no real thought or player input. Build variety and player expression are things I value highly, as you will be able to tell from this diary and my previous work, I’m sure.

I also used some of my time to create the Broken Coast and Heaven's Gate focus trees, the latter of which I can’t wait to return to and expand upon. Yet all those efforts pale in comparison to what the team and I are going to present to you now: my biggest chunk of work yet that has been months in the making.

It’s time for you to forget everything you know about OWB’s research, equipment, and divisions. We’re entering the realm of fundamental changes. Specific Support Divisions being nigh must-haves? Gone. The N.C.R. being the only one that can field rangers? Gone. Melting somebody's face off with a P94? Well that’s still there.

Now, let’s start with support. Support has been streamlined in many ways, but in return has been given more depth. Explosive Companies and Flamer Support have been merged into one type of unit: the same goes for Heavy Laser Support and Heavy M.G. Support. The equipment used for these support companies have been combined into mutually exclusive variants of the same equipment. These variants act as “sidegrades” to the base equipment type, specialising in different types of damage. You can think of these changes as the Support Tab’s version of the equipment split already present in the Infantry Tab.

The main focus of this change is enabling meaningful choices that have tangible impact. HMG’s focus on soft attack, HRCW’s focus on hard attack: the choice between Flamers and Explosives is one of reliability or raw damage. It doesn’t end there, however, because even your choices have choices: subtechs that are exclusive to each branch further tailor your equipment to your personal tastes. Want high calibre guns with slower fire-rates but more impactful cartridges? Perhaps you’d prefer your guns to fire a smaller calibre much faster, filling the room with lead? In 2.0, the choice is yours.

The new division merge equipment

Changes to our Support Divisions

It’s not just Support Equipment that’s received attention; every piece of Infantry Equipment has been carefully rebalanced as well. Stats have been changed, values reevaluated, and overall the changes have been drastic. The infantry tab has been expanded to feature another tier of equipment, making progression less steep. Hopefully these changes will give tribals fairer competition, and prevent drastic power spikes. Honestly, who doesn’t love more guns?

The beginning of the new Infantry Tab

The end of the new Infantry Tab

The standout change to the Infantry Tab has to be its new Power Armour and Special Forces equipment, however. Due to the changes coming to Special Forces and Power Armour, we knew that things had to be changed, and we’ve changed them for the better. Firstly, let’s discuss the Special Forces equipment (names are subject to change). These new pieces of equipment function the same way that Power Armour equipment does: they represent you producing specialist equipment to supply your rangers with. If your rangers are going without armour, they’ll fight worse, just like Power Armour.

Speaking of Power Armour, let’s discuss its new variants. Some variants are cheaper to produce, others are more reliable. Often they’re more like “sidegrades” to their traditional models, as opposed to being straight upgrades. These additions serve to increase the potential for players to make interesting choices with their research, further increasing replayability and diversity in gameplay. Choices are, after all, the spice of life.

To summarise: support companies been nerfed drastically, merged in some places and made mutually exclusive in some areas to force the player to make more choices about how they want to play. Fireteam Support and Demolitions Support were merged for gameplay reasons, while the Signal Company has been cut completely. On top of that all support companies have had their research extended, with the upgrade effectiveness reduced to compensate.

The Infantry Tab has been expanded to include one more weapon tier, and many of the special weapon types have been merged into other categories; plasma and gauss are still the best possible weapons. Special Forces have been reworked completely and Power Armour has been turned into a Special Forces variant. So the choice is between heavy or light units that have their respective strength and weaknesses.

That’s all for now. We’ll continue to drop more Dev Diaries as and when we’re ready to share more of our progress with you. Thank you all for reading. Tschüss!

## Development Diary #9 (Dev Diary 9: Grandeur and Glamour)

Posted by Zapdude277, written by ICodeMaster, on May 5, 2019.

¡Hola, bandidos! Feeling glum due to a lack of juicy mexico teasers? Well, ICodeMaster heard your heart's desire, and took the time to write up the following diary just for you! Hopefully you enjoy what he's got to offer! I'll let him take over from here. The stage is yours, Code.

https://preview.redd.it/a4kkv45vvhw21.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=5eb76740335c355f17d2d5781cf0a06b08971abc Rangers, dirt bikes, and pulse rifles — what's not to love?

Howdy wastelanders, tired of the dull greens and yellows of the irradiated skies? Why not pull up a chair and gawk at the pretty side of OWB: the 3D team! Update 2.0 will include our biggest 3D content update yet, thanks to the addition of three new team members! Alongside myself, our 3D team now includes: Ritter Runkel, theddd1, and Foulsbane!

Moving beyond introductions, we have some exciting news! We here at OWB have begun adding new models to replace our current stock of base-game models, which come with all-new and improved textures to help them fit into the wasteland even more. Here are a couple pictures of our models, in game and out, to give you an idea of what’s to come.

https://preview.redd.it/zi11ushbwhw21.png?width=198&format=png&auto=webp&s=e741aee323de9ab3c9ceb5b88f714cc1fdd94764 The NCR have gotten a serious visual upgrade.

https://preview.redd.it/s7y8z88b3iw21.png?width=605&format=png&auto=webp&s=22a8efcbe6c0bdb4a5eb98a4265fe576cf68b296 The Legion's new infantry is still in the high-poly stage, but they're on track to be in 2.0 as well.

https://preview.redd.it/0o49nkxc3iw21.png?width=623&format=png&auto=webp&s=b5f9a8dcb863ffaf64aff06d242dea4989d11497 Are you man enough to face the men of the Bull, profligate?

https://preview.redd.it/lyt78sklwhw21.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=e7115d873556eb0f9e391cd1a174f39d2f163b98 North Mexico has its own unique model, used by its numerous settler nations.

https://preview.redd.it/10on7hkuwhw21.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=c1fbf649d561304eaf68ae8718d5a7aa971b7847 Meanwhile, Mexico's criminal elements take the stage with their own unique model.

https://preview.redd.it/i8rhy6nnzhw21.png?width=540&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2fa5cd15aec9fad71ac26e969939bbd4396b4d2 We've even got new robot models! Including a unique Mexican Mr. Handy variant.

On the subject of replacements for base-game models—tired of all your tribals using the Kar98k? So were we, so we added a bunch of unique models for our infantry equipment. Pipe irons, pulse rifles, service rifles, swords, you name it and we’ve probably got it! Here’s a snippet of our new armoury.

https://preview.redd.it/37rl2cw5xhw21.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=fc57bf2583e76c00dfac47b489a3a2a1b53e06c6 End-game advanced weaponry and tribal tier melee are accounted for.

Perhaps the most exciting progress we’ve made during 2.0’s development is in regards to our animation system. After two years of waiting, and many hours of frustration, we’ve finally found a way to add new animations to HOI4’s infantry skeleton. Now you can embrace your inner legionary and slice up some profligates with slick melee animations!

https://preview.redd.it/jmsdtsroxhw21.gif?format=mp4&s=bb446011a9cb3ab44271f9d7ad47e690a8a5e110 Sticks and stones will break their bones, but machetes get the job done.

Alongside our progress in regards to infantry models and equipment models, we've also made significant strides towards fleshing out the map of OWB. We've got a whole host of unique, textured buildings ready to be placed around the map. From the awe inspiring silhouette of Mr. House's infamous Lucky 38, to Vaults, Mexican villas, ruined skyscrapers, and much more!

https://preview.redd.it/ql1vgl31zhw21.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=d3348aa100fa59bbb3a6359d741a5f657045f7b2 Mr. House sees all.

https://preview.redd.it/l9c8msqwyhw21.png?width=1330&format=png&auto=webp&s=f827ec04290fbfc87d7c948656df1c94a351271e Can you guess what each model represents? Let us know where you think you'll see them!

By giving everyone's favourite autocrat a landmark, we've also given him a place to put his missile-destroying lasers. We'll probably face repercussions for that... well, if all else fails we can at least safely evacuate by blimp, right? Wrong! The Enclave are alive and well in our modelling department, with their vertibirds filling the sky once more, decades after the rig blew up! Maybe acquiring the ERB devs was a bad idea...

https://v.redd.it/link/bl67k5/asset/hndn3j2gzhw21/HLSPlaylist.m3u8?a=1624291140%2CODYwYmYzZWFiNzRhZTE1MjAwZWQ3NDY5OWRhZDUwYTc1ZDQ5YzQyNDIyNzE3NWRjNmQyMzI1YTY3NmI5YTdhZg%3D%3D&v=1&f=sd Mr. Steal Your Girl, AKA Arcade Gannon, is out on patrol with his Remnant friends it seems.

This dev diary is shorter than the diary preceding it, but we’ve decided to keep many of our cards close to our chest. We've still got vehicle models and their animations, more on-map models, new unit textures, unique weapon models, and much more hiding within the 2.0 update. Fear not however, in the future, we may offer even more sneak peaks at the models to come! I hope you’re all looking forward to the next dev diary (which will be focused on the Republic of the Rio Grande), and to the amazing 2.0 update that’s just around the corner!

~ICodeMaster

## Development Diary #10 (Dev Diary 10 Division Designer Overhaul + Robot Manpower)

Posted by Garnithor on February 24, 2020.

Greetings, wastelanders! Do you hate numbers? Are you the kind of mutant who doesn’t know the difference between a fracture and a fractal? Well it sucks to be you then, because this dev diary is all about maths! More specifically, it’s about our soon-to-be released changes to OWB’s division designer.

The changes we’ve made to our designer are centred around increasing the variety of individual templates for multiplayer, and singleplayer. The largest problem we had to address is how HOI stats work. When certain combat stats in a division reach particular thresholds, they become dominating to the point where no others matter.

One of these stats is soft attack.

If your soft attack is high enough, you can basically steamroll everything without sufficient hardness. This is due to the fact that on the first round of combat you deal so much damage to the enemy that they can’t deal damage to you to any reasonable degree.

Stats in HOI are for the most part additive, meaning larger divisions are more powerful regardless of what‘s actually inside. Now pair that with specific unit types exclusive to Old World Blues such as demolition teams and you have a big problem.

Organization becomes irrelevant if your attack values rise too high, which they do if you can stack more than 10 demo teams in the same unit: which, as of right now is actually a common thing in the multiplayer metagame.

The team has been discussing a lot of possible solutions to this issue, one being to make demos 3 width. While it would solve the issue of them being the go to option, fire-teams would then take their place. If we make fire-teams 3 width, we arrive at some other unit taking its place as stacking component.

So the ultimate underlying problem was how to stop things from stacking excessively. If we could, we would have implemented diminishing returns on using the same unit over and over in a single template - sadly, this is not something Hearts of Iron currently supports.

The only other option, other than nerfing everything and removing the thought of using anything but infantry, is to limit the total number of battalions a division template can have.

The current plan is to reduce the division designer to only allowing 15 batallions inside of a single template.

https://preview.redd.it/okf17tkaaxi41.jpg?width=1086&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d25b1580eb3cfce02bfec0ae8678ac4ce22b2321

This change would serve multiple purposes:

1: Makes choices matter more in regards to what you put into your division. If your division is smaller, singular platoons have more impact.

2: Support companies matter more when there are less front-line units

3: Incentives people to try new combinations, since 40 width spec ops, demo deathstacks are far less possible when the limited platoon-count is 15.

4: AI becomes more competitive, since they can easier deal with units that have comparable strength to their own templates.

5: It puts more emphasis on using other tactics, features, avenues of attack. Naval invasions behind somebodies back, orders from generals, Ideas, Chems, Traits and technologies now all play a much larger part in what actually happens in terms of combat. Instead of having one template that fits any and all situations.

6: Indirectly buffing Power Armour, by making the current 40 width spec ops demo death-stack less useful than it was before.

The limited division designer also comes with some reworked categories. Meaning it should be a bit easier to see what kind of unit a unit actually is.

https://preview.redd.it/ok7ntl4daxi41.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bfe3491651accc5c997bd54029a0bff402bf722

One final thing of note, is that as of the next update, robot units will use less manpower! Thanks to meticulously tweaking unit balance and equipment costs, we can comfortably lower their manpower to 5 per division, making them cost 1/5th that of regular infantry.

Robot manpower changes have been a long-standing community request, and now with some elbow grease they’re finally coming to OWB 2.1. If you love robots, or just wished they were more competitive, you’ll be getting everything you want and more!

## Development Diary #11 (Dev Diary 11: Welcome to Texas and Oklahoma)

Posted by Zapdude277 on June 2, 2020.

Howdy there partners, and welcome to the Wasteland’s finest rodeo! Down here in Texas and good old Oklahoma, things work differently from the rest of the Wasteland. Oh yes, you see here we’re a fine folk, a refined folk, the kind of people who greet you with smiles and a face-full of buckshot if you even think about whipping out your tire iron. Yes, life here is simple, rustic, and downright apocalyptic...

https://preview.redd.it/cst5jp94zj251.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba02a7e222934e7606b242b76282c29ed481863b The region in all its glory!

That’s right Wastelanders, it’s time for another exciting dev diary! Today, we’re focusing on just some of the map changes and additions brought to you by the team. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll reveal more about the factions you see before you, more of our other map changes, and give you some tasty insight into the way things work past the Legion’s border.To begin with though, why don’t we delve deep into the twisted guts of the map itself, and pull back the veil on this beautiful view you’d love to call home.

https://preview.redd.it/cue7308azj251.png?width=699&format=png&auto=webp&s=2db071a0c1751ec7807119cb9d95e3a7014b3e01 Aren't provinces beautiful?

Every map expansion begins here, the province map. For this update, a big focus for me was returning to my roots when it came to province design. More small, organic provinces, built up into many states that a great number of nations can occupy. The new playable region brought forth in 3.0 feels as dense and lively as the West Coast, without having nearly as many provinces dotted along its shoreline.

There’s a vast variety of terrain in 3.0, from jungle, to marsh, to plains, urban, and deserts. 3.0 feels and plays like a small microcosm of the larger map, an area rich with lore from a game many people don’t even know about.Before we talk about that, though, let’s take a look at the states.

https://preview.redd.it/1j3zxu7hzj251.png?width=1138&format=png&auto=webp&s=299a5841ac9d5745bab48f143f9c226bb6d85ef1 Dare you count all these states?

If you took the arduous time to count all of that before reading, let’s see if you were right! That’s 96 new states. Oh yes my friends, that’s right, your faithful friend here didn’t stutter now, did I? We’ve got 96 new states for you to control, conquer, and explore in 3.0: and they’re full of interesting characters.Why don’t we get on to that, actually?

In 3.0, we’re representing the lore of the often hated and forgotten Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, as well as it’s cancelled sequel; Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2. Many of you may have never heard about these games, let alone played the first, so it’s time for a little history lesson.

After the defeat of Unity, the super mutant army of the Master fractured into many pieces. Two leaders arose from the ashes, and they led large hordes of mutants out of California to greener pastures for plunder and glory. The important one is Attis, who led his new troops to Texas, in an attempt to uncover the secrets of FEV.

A brotherhood detachment had already left to face off against the first mutant general, and with Attis’ departure, another group inside the Western Brotherhood wanted to chase them down. The Council of Elders said no, fearing another disaster like that which had happened to the first group, but ultimately a splinter faction formed.

It was led by none other than High Elder Rhombus, and he led a group of scribes and paladins to chase down the largest super mutant army in the West, forming what would later be known as the “Texas Expedition.”Settling into the heartland of Texas, this new offshoot developed themselves, recruiting from the local population. They ran them through a training course utilising hologram technology, turning them into initiates. One of these initiates became the protagonist of Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, and went on a large journey, tracking Attis all the way to his target destination: the Secret Vault.

The Secret Vault was the holy grail for Attis, a place where the secrets of FEV were laid bare, and the secret headquarters of Vault-Tec. Built under the nose of the US, it was the control centre of all Vault-Tec infrastructure, designed to facilitate what Vault-Tec promised thousands of Americans: a safe life underground. The Vault was equipped with state of the art facilities to conduct unethical experiments, and was staffed by unique robots unlike anything the player had ever seen before, or since.

Attis would eventually turn himself into a true abomination, an amalgamation of flesh and FEV, taking after the Master’s image in a final face-off against the protagonist.

Thus ended Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 1. We must now go more than a hundred years into the future, a mere decade before OWB starts. The Brotherhood have consolidated their power, but outside threats are pressuring their organisation. Attis Army has split into two halves, led by two mutants respectively. Shale, a die-hard mutant supremacist who wants to reform the Army, and Keats; a super mutant who wishes to create a place in which super mutants and humans live and work together in harmony, free from oppression.

But underneath the surface, a great plot is brewing. Reese, a former member of the Cyphers, a group who despise technology in all its forms, has acquired a broken GECK. This GECK has the ability to mutate anything it touches, twisting the world around it into a mockery of life itself. It is the Corrupted GECK, and Reese has big plans for it. He seeks to destroy the Texan Brotherhood, and plunge the region into chaos.

The protagonist of the cancelled Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2 went across Texas, on the hunt for many things, but eventually Reese himself. They entered Lone Star, where they found evidence of his tampering, and scouts of the Legion. They travelled throughout Brotherhood territory, watching as the group was set upon by numerous raider gangs, all coordinated and persuaded by Reese.

They visited Austin, where the tensions between the two super mutant factions was growing. Originally, Keats would always die. You could choose between Shale or Keats, but ultimately, he was always assassinated during a speech. But we decided that was boring. Scarlet (our protagonist of choice) saved Keat’s life, becoming bros for life in the process, and Shale was exiled from Austin alongside his goons.

They then travelled, finally, to The Corpse. Within the ruins of a sunken Corpus Christi, Reese’s lair waited in the harbour, and there a final battle ensued. Everything up until now, barring Keat’s survival, is canon. Now, let’s jump into the juicy OWB fanon.

Ultimately winning the fight, Scarlet took his GECK and hauled it across Texas, travelling a great distance to a remote location, far from large and established communities. She put the GECK down in what was to be its final resting place, and became its guardian and protector. Over the decade, its influence spread, creating a beautiful but deadly blood red canopy of mutant fauna, a place the natives of Texas refer to as Eden. Any and all who enter the twisted jungle without permission wind up dead, victim to the protagonist’s legendary assassination skills.

So, there’s your juicy jet high of lore. Now, how about we get onto the region as a whole in OWB’s 2275? Many nations in Texas and Oklahoma, such as Carbon, Los, Shale's Army, Unity of Austin, Lonestar, the Texan Brotherhood, and others are all based in Fallout lore. Since we’re here, let’s go over them all in some more detail.

**Pecos**: a collection of settler communities from Mexico, who primarily trade with the RRG and Las Granjas. Having struggled to maintain their independence over the last few decades, recent events have continued to destabilise their peaceful towns.

**Los:** The Church of the Lost has recovered since the fall of the Secret Vault and the death of their old leader Blake. These survivors from Necropolis hope to live out the remainder of their days seeking nirvana within the hallowed streets of Los.

**Carthage**: a civilised raider nation built over the ruins of Carthage, a town built atop a gigantic and largely untapped natural gas reserve. They use flame to do everything, from powering their cities to cooking their enemies alive.

**Carbon**: The town of Carbon has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. Recently the town is on an upswing - yet there are some that worry that the raiders that once destroyed their small town may come back again.

**The Pursuant**: a vicious hunting lodge of civilised raiders who hunt the greatest monsters the wasteland has to offer, from terrifying, legendary Deathclaws, Horrifying Mirelurk Queens, and the most exclusive game of all: man. Traders must constantly be aware, as they are always on the hunt.

**Unity of Austin**: led by Keats, the ever charismatic super mutant politician and every man, the Unity of Austin is a staunch ally of the Brotherhood, seeking to create a Wasteland in which mutants and humans live side by side through mutual cooperation.

**Houston Rockets**: the remnants of NASA and Houston’s entertainment industry made a deal. One side made money off of sports, and the other side used the profits to launch rockets into orbit.

**The Patrolmen**: a group of “protectors” who patrol the I-10 religiously, fighting off raiders and outside threats, while exploiting the communities who exist under their thumb.

**Bayou Motors**: a trader nation that specialises in, produces, and sells boats and shipping equipment to most of the Gulf.

**Gatormaws**: a group of violent tribal communities who’ve made the Bayou their home, and make use of their extensive expertise to raid traders who sail along the Red River.

**Desperados**: a ghoul cartel who split off the Sinaloa after a brutal coup, they’ve taken up shop in Shreveport, demanding “protection fees” from passing traders, lest they die to “local raiders.”

**Assassin City Rollergirls**: a raider gang steeped in roller derby culture, they skate around the urban sprawl in atomic skates, cleaving heads and splitting Brotherhood power armour like tin cans.

**Tubeheads**: a cult of raiders and engineers led by the charismatic Mr. Entertainment, the Wasteland’s only late-night variety show host. Cooking segments, raider gladiatorial combat, special guest interviews, all from the pleasure of your own home: courtesy of the Tubehead’s *mandatory* TV and satellite installation package.

**The Last Lodge**: a nation of peaceful settlers, draped in masonic imagery, with an outward focus and an emphasis on community.

**Scrappers Compact**: an alliance of territorial but loyal junkyard settlers, who make a living out of scavenging and selling valuable scrap to the outside world.

**Shale’s Army**: a warband of first generation super mutants exclusively, led by Shale, one of Attis’s fiercest commanders. Their hatred for all non super mutants is readily apparent, and they make a living out of claiming the lives of their neighbours, ultimately aiming to rebuild Unity from the ground up.

**The Chained Choir**: a nation of former inmates; ghouls who were subjected to testing by the US army, for research into the potential psionic implementations of FEV.

**The Last Patrol**: a regiment of national guard who were directly exposed to a nuclear blast, and now patrol the region around their compound, fiercely protecting the rights and liberties of the communities under their charge.

**The Texan Arms Association**: a coalition of arms barons and factories in the northern Rio Grande who never fully assimilated. Motivated by dreams of liberty and greed, they sell weapons to anyone, and have continued to destabilise the RRG’s politics since its inception. 3.0 will see the TAA exist on game start, and their association’s bid for independence may be welcomed by some of its neighbours who see it little more than prey.

**Painted Rock**: a group of noble tribal warriors, unwavering combatants who test their young among jagged rocks, and prove their worth against the Wasteland’s toughest foes.

**Cypher Warband**: a clan of luddites who hold a deep hatred for the old world, and in particular, the Brotherhood of Steel’s core doctrines. They’ve been fierce opponents for decades, but during the events of the cancelled Brotherhood of Steel 2, they disowned their most extreme member—Reese—who left in an attempt to destroy their archenemy once and for all.

**Lubbock**: a settler community of ghouls and humans, attempting to work together despite their differences. Supported by the Lubbock Expedition, a military effort by Lone Star to secure the highways across Lubbock’s territory, securing their border and reaping the economic benefits of the partnership.

**The Ironmongers**: a group of mutants who’ve taken over former TAA factories, regularly plundering their gunsmith neighbours. Unlike many other mutants, they construct massive vehicles of brutal machinery, backed up by giant guns and the strength of iron. They’re feared by many, and their iconic “Battlewagons” bring terror and destruction in their wake.

**Eden**: lead by Scarlet, a protagonist from the protagonist of the cancelled game "Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2", who dragged Reese’s GECK from The Corpse to a remote location, to contain the spread of its taint from the outside world, and all who would covet its ruinous strength.

**Lone Star**: the largest trade hub in Texas, all traders pass along its roads and through the gates of its capital city. Its emphasis on sustainable partnerships, justice, and profit have made it a veritable Wasteland boomtown.

**Texan Brotherhood**: a brotherhood outfit who’s roots stemmed from a desire to crush Attis once and for all, in 2275 the Brotherhood look entirely different to their counterparts out west. Civilised, peaceful, just: they seek moral victories over material, a direction some among their ranks find fault with.

**The First People**: the combined nations of the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw-Muscogee Coalition have banded together in an alliance, protecting one-another from outside threats and developing their communities in a Wasteland sorely lacking hope. Many of them emerged from vaults, and they rebuilt the casinos, infrastructure, and social venues that made their little corner of Oklahoma the darling it was. In 2275, beyond New Vegas, the Big Spend is the premiere destination for tourists, traders, and soldiers looking to experience the best service in the Wasteland. Live music, tasty food, refreshing drinks, and refurbished hotels continue to entice visitors year after year.

In the words of everyone’s favourite doctor, “Well, that’s all she wrote.” Our dev diary has wrapped up, and boy, what a diary it was! What did you think? Are you excited for what you’ve seen of 3.0? Got any thoughts, comments, or suggestions to share? Let us know in the comments below, or on our Discord!

Mapping is a labour of love, and I love doing it. Take care during this difficult time for all of us, and stay safe and healthy!

## Development Diary #12 (Dev Diary 12: Trade and Tariffs)

Posted by ICodeMaster on June 8, 2020.

The Ancient Romans once said that money is the sinew of war, and as our readers know, war never changes. That’s why for 3.0 we have radically expanded the cap system!

### Goals

Caps were released with 2.1 in a strange position. originally, this system was meant to be heavily intertwined with the government rework, however, this had created issues. With what we had at the time, it pushed the caps towards being a secondary choice. Now, we have access to some more tools in our kit and more experience under our belt. With 3.0, we hope to better integrate the government rework with caps, and allow them to be an extension of it. We also want them to be a game you can opt into to a degree. By just conquering your neighbors, caps can be ignored by most for a long time. But using the system will give you much more power through decisions, events, and the markets. In order to not make a new game entirely, caps has been kept fairly simple for what it tries to represent, and most of the complexity is through the options to spend them on. We hope you enjoy the new bits and bobs!

### What's New

#### Economic Nodes

The First major change with the new income systems is the addition of economic nodes. These “Nodes” represent places where wastelanders congregate to trade various goods in larger than normal amounts. They tend to be the origin and terminus of brahmin caravans crossing the wastes, and the pride of many nations. These nodes are scarce though, only about 40 exist. Generally, nodes can be thought of as a group of 4-8 states. On the map, clicking on a state to bring up its state view will give access to the node gui, with actions available if it is under your control.

https://i.imgur.com/diolMeR.png State level node gui

Each node has a set of three important values:
1. The level - this is how busy the node is in terms of trade
2. Base value - This is the commerce taking place directly within the node itself
3. Trade value - this value is generated from inter-nodal trade caravans

https://i.imgur.com/utTXu2M.png Node Value Breakdown

Node level improves with the development of the state at its center, plus the surrounding member states. Heavy economic investment can also boost the level further, and certain nations’ focuses will boost their nodes.

A node’s level directly influences the node’s base value. In a game where the player is totally hands off, this value is the main source of income. Having multiple nodes, or at least someone to trade with, allows trade routes. Those routes deliver a portion of the node’s value to the target of the route, and deliver a smaller fraction back. This value is affected by the total value, base and trade value combined. Trading with economic hubs of a region can send large amounts of caps back home. Nodes can be affected by conflict, so it is important to protect them!

#### Node Map and General Ledger

In order to keep track of all of these caravans, we’ve added a new way to visualize them. Hearts of Iron unfortunately does not allow us to add new mapmodes, so we have added a new minimap with all of the nodes and their potential trade connections. The map functions as a node ledger as well, giving access to details for each owned node. This menu also allows you to quickly send trade routes, see cursory information on a node's income, and see overall statistics for your country's trade network.

https://i.imgur.com/7eQBM2Z.mp4 Node Map

#### Trade

Trade is fairly simple in the nodes system. From a node, the owner can send a trade route to another node it has a “trade connection” with. This could mean a road, bridge, river, or shipping route across the ocean. These connections can change over time, so be careful when making… inflammatory actions. When a route is sent, a portion of the total value from the origin is sent to the target. Then, a smaller portion is sent backwards. The trade income a node can receive can be modified through ideas, decisions, and events, as well as investment. Trade routes are limited, and only a handful of outgoing routes can operate from a country at a given time. Each node can only have one outgoing route for now, but expect this to change in the future! Choose wisely.

https://i.imgur.com/uCe89dm.png Sending off a trade caravan

#### Raiding

All of the economic wealth from selling buckets and superglue across the Mojave was bound to attract unsavory “customers.” As a node holding nation, it may be required from time to time to fight off raiders, as well as police borders to lower the chances of a successful raid. As a raider though, as long as you strike swiftly and diligently, the loot is just sitting there, ripe for the taking. Raids will be available for raider type nations, allowing them to effectively prosper off of others' nodes.

https://i.imgur.com/GnSIMCY.png Node Development Decisions

#### Changes

A lot has changed as a result of the above systems for 3.0. Some of this change is from system improvements from Paradox, though much is re-imagined. Hopefully these changes allow more flexibility to the system, especially in the context of the ai limiter. Generally, limiting units is something that we try to do as little as possible. However, if given the chance, AI Petro Chico will fill its 2 states with 165 divisions, making it a tough nut to crack. Before, all countries had the same income, and therefore, the same limit. Now, the more nodes you own, the richer you become, and subsequently, the higher the unit limit. This better aligns with our goals for reducing late game lag, as well as letting those who could logically support the troop numbers, to support them.

#### Currencies

The first change, though minor, is to currencies. Your currency will have a slightly larger impact on the starting position of the country, as well as the way a country interacts with the caps system. Currencies will now give modifiers, flat income, relations, or all three! These are the main differentiators between countries in 3.0 for caps. Adaptation is a must.

https://imgur.com/5gV3xWI NCR Dollars

#### Military Wages

One of the larger changes to the current system, military wages are now variable. This means that the player can adjust the cost per troop, allowing them to build more troops (though they will be less eager to fight), or lower their cap, and field stronger and better divisions. The goal here is to allow the player to adjust their field strength to get the most of their income, while also allowing peaceful nations to take better advantage of other caps systems.

#### Income

As you may have been able to reason, income has changed substantially. Most of the ticking “base” income has been removed, and it no longer grows. This does effectively limit smaller minor nations to ~7-8k fielded manpower until they can conquer a node. Hopefully this adds another goal for minor nations besides eating other minor nations, and pushes them to some beefier confrontations if they really would like to prosper.

#### Marketplace

The marketplace has moved! Purchases and sales will now take place through the economic nodes. Organizations, such as the gun runners, will set up shop within these economic hubs. Each will start with a few prime locations which they will use to generate stock. Trading between nodes spreads the word, and eventually, they will branch out to other nodes to expand their empire. Discounts have been reduced in favor of interactions and faster delivery of more goods. In addition, certain countries have opened up shop to sell their wares to neighbors and beyond. El Generalissimo, for instance, has some of the finest guns of the Wasteland, available to you for low, low prices!

https://imgur.com/liJFjyr Marketplace

#### Modifiers

The biggest behind the scenes change has been the move to modifiers for most of the mechanics. Hearts of Iron 1.9 gave us these tools, which allows many caps related functions to be used in a wide array of dynamic situations. This includes national spirits, ideas, laws, events, decisions, dynamic modifiers, and more! In addition, great lengths have been made to integrate all of the caps mechanics with easy to use effects for submodders and our team. Expect to see various caps related effects throughout the new focus trees, decisions, events, etc. As we move backwards to fix and improve old content, we hope to add these when applicable as well.

This has been quite a long dev diary on some nitty-gritty mechanics. We are extremely excited to bring you these new systems with 3.0, and can not wait for release! Expect more teasers to trickle along in the coming weeks and stay safe and healthy!

~ ICodeMaster and the Old World Blues Team

## Development Diary #13 (Dev Diary 13: Old World Blues)

Posted by HappyNTH on June 16, 2020.

Greetings, Wastelanders! In today’s development diary, we’re satisfying the blues many of you have for a much loved Fallout region: the Mojave. Filled with those trying to make ends meet, one way or the other, the barren wastes portrayed in Fallout: New Vegas don’t get as much love as they should within our mod as it currently stands.

Naturally, the Old World Blues team is far from content with that. In keeping with our traditional love for packing updates full with content, we’ve decided to include a comprehensive rework of the Mojave region in the upcoming 3.0 update. By drawing some content planned for 3.1 and 4.1 forwards, we’re proud to present the overhauled Mojave Wastelands:

https://preview.redd.it/s1cgt82aua551.png?width=605&format=png&auto=webp&s=94b37b81681752663d5f86d400e41c0972c0dc6a The Mojave in it's newly reworked glory

You’ll need keen eyes to spot the changes. Aye, they’re pretty subtle. Fortunately, this development diary aims to explain the changes made across the Mojave in enough detail to get you excited, but not *quite* enough detail to answer all your burning questions. So, without further ado, we present Development Diary 13:

### Patrolling the Mojave - Map and Terrain Changes

https://preview.redd.it/stz2hawcua551.png?width=605&format=png&auto=webp&s=add7db3fc37a66201d5095be70eab271c6ec26f4 New and tweaked states of the Mojave

The first thing to remark on in this changed Mojave is state tweaks. As many of you will have noticed quickly, the two giant impassable states that guarded either side of the Long 15 have vanished. In their place are open, navigable states. While neither particularly populous nor resource-rich, the Mojave desert proper and the Kingston Range are much more navigable to armed forces than the old map believes. However, the strategic importance of the Long 15 remains, as impassable province borders guard its flanks.

The shape of the Long 15 itself has also changed, becoming true to its actual form as opposed to the curved shape previously represented in our mod. At its head lies the Mojave Outpost itself, a strategically vital province for any seeking to conquer California from the Mojave.

The Long 15 and its neighbouring states aren’t the only things changed in the 3.0 Mojave map rework. As shown in the following state map, various other tweaks and nudges have been made to province counts and state sizes. Notable is the split of Cottonwood Cove from Nipton, and the new impassable states that largely protect the Mojave Brotherhood from the outside world.

### The Jewel of the Mojave - New Vegas

https://preview.redd.it/fcqlyzlkua551.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13835aefec951b98e7eddb7a95d56d35710fedf2 A preview of the New Vegas politics tree, after some love and tweaks. The industry tree has also received some love, but you'll have to wait to explore it!

While Vegas’s focus tree update is slated for an overhaul in future updates, for 3.0 New Vegas’s focus tree is going to receive a small amount of love:

* Each of House’s individual paths has received some small changes
* The “Old Authority” path has received a bit of streamlining. The “NCR State” path as well as Great Khans & Hopeville wargoals have been removed to help consolidate the House experience and keep it closer to what House would do in canon. A few fun industry focuses have been added to replace the lost branches!
* The King path has been heavily buffed. The rate that you gain people support has been increased by 500% and The King has several focuses to take after he takes control of Vegas.
* Benny’s path now has a few decisions, allowing you to be more flexible with which factions you can join if you go down this path!
* At the end of the industry “Lucky 38” path you now have access to a proper industry capstone. After 2285 you can restart research into House’s greatest pre-war experiment...

### Oliver’s Expedition - The Mojave Territories

https://preview.redd.it/n8d21mpqua551.jpg?width=535&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c33d103bb1461743ee6aea357128fb7da65d0045 A small Mojave Territories teaser. No focus tree imagines this week - we can't reveal too much too quickly!

The largest change to the Mojave coming in 3.0 is the newly created Mojave Territories. Representing the largely autonomous military expedition headed by General Oliver into the Mojave at President Kimball’s behest, the Mojave Territories are receiving a unique focus tree to allow them to navigate the many issues they face in the Mojave.

A game as the Mojave Territories promises to be action-packed. It’ll take planning, bravery and a small touch of luck to navigate the small NCR expedition into becoming a regional power. Not only will you need to navigate wars with Mojave groups, battle for control of the Old World Wall and grapple with raiders, but you’ll be dealing with new, custom and unique mechanics. If you can successfully balance your outposts’ supply needs, the plans of your officers and the demands from Shady Sands, you may even live to fight the Legion toe-to-toe in the Second Battle of Hoover Dam.

The Mojave Territories will make use of a new faction feature we’re proud to present in 3.0: ‘Smart Factions’. The Mojave Territories are a faction member, rather than a puppet, of the NCR - however, the NCR won’t be able to join their wars in the Mojave, and nor will the Mojave Territories need to worry about fighting in the Baja. However, should something unexpected occur and the Mojave Territories finds itself fighting an external enemy, the NCR will be sure to come to their expedition’s aid.

### War in the Mojave - Operation: Sunburst

In lore, Operation: Sunburst was the name of the short but bloody conflict between the NCR and the Mojave Chapter that took place before the start of Fallout: New Vegas. The aftermath of this battle led to the NCR cementing its dominant position in the Mojave, and caused the Mojave Chapter to seal itself deep underground.

In Old World Blues 3.0, the operation has been overhauled. Instead of being a border war, as it used to be, Operation: Sunburst is now a vicious all-out war between the two powers for dominance of the Mojave. A Mojave Territories will totally wipe out the Mojave Chapter as a tag, living on only as a state modifier in the Hidden Bunker. Should the Mojave Chapter push the Mojave Territories back to the Mojave Outpost, the Territories will sue for peace and be forced to make a long march home.

While the machinations of Shady Sands mean that Operation: Sunburst is inevitable, both sides in the conflict have some say in when it exactly occurs. Through focuses and decision, the two can attempt to either bring the conflict sooner, or push it back to give them a little more preparation time.

https://preview.redd.it/aiiarakwua551.jpg?width=834&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4533b56a6f52b37c3db911e5caa4cbce912885f3 Dread it. Run from it. Operation: Sunburst arrives all the same.

**Preparation** is a new temporary country scope modifier that both the Mojave Territories and the Mojave Brotherhood can collect in the prelude leading up to Operation Sunburst. This modifier acts in a “tug of war” fashion - increasing one country’s preparation causes the other country’s to reduce!

The maximum amount of preparation that you can have is 30 in favour of either the Territories or the Brotherhood. Having high preparation is extremely important to this conflict as it gives you a wide variety of benefits that will be critical to winning the war in a timely manner. The longer the war drags on for, the less time the victor has to prepare for the Legion’s attack on Hoover Dam!

https://preview.redd.it/l8npmoc6va551.jpg?width=552&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4b957154ecf3fe99d06577d1809473a2d56093a The Mojave Territories is at 10 preparation, meaning the Mojave Chapter is at -10 and suffering some significant penalties. Elijah needs to up his game!

### Hell at Helios - The Mojave Chapter

For 3.0, the Mojave Chapter is going to be receiving an entirely new focus tree!This tree will take on a more narrative outlook where you follow the story of Elijah as he tries to defeat the NCR and investigate the wondrous Old World tech he has always coveted.

https://preview.redd.it/ltwi6sggva551.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=f13aa5b981d7230670820a2106ffb97f6480d027 A teaser of the Brotherhood's reworked focus tree, as well as some of their unique mechanics. Things are deliberately blurry: we're leaving you in anticipation!

This tree, as you can (vaguely) see in the preview, has an entirely different design ethos to the old one. Instead of following the story of a nation, you’re instead following the story of Elijah, from the origins of his mission to the Mojave to his pursuant of the technological marvels of the Mojave wastelands. As a result, there's no paths for McNamara or Hardin anymore.

The first half of the new tree is dedicated to preparation for and handling the aftermath of Operation: Sunburst. Succeeding in the conflict is no easy feat, as HELIOS is poorly defensible and the Chapter is heavily outnumbered. Should Elijah lead the chapter to victory, there’s a slew of technological marvels for him to pursue: from investigating the secrets of the Lucky 38, to delving into the Sierra Madre and even to sending an expedition east to the Ciphers of the West.

Should the Brotherhood succeed in their many and various expeditions, Elijah has his eyes set on a particular technological marvel lying within a strange dome. With the backing of the Mojave Brotherhood, Elijah will finally be able to crack into the Big Empty - the home of the Big MT execs and - and unearth all of the secrets there.

Some treasure was sleeping. Some would be awake.And worse of all? It didn’t want to let go...

https://preview.redd.it/k1mug69ova551.png?width=518&format=png&auto=webp&s=665dd7320e1680036a4bc834d2584329ea2f1846 Old. World. Blues.

## Development Diary #14 (Development Diary 14: The Lone Star in the Wasteland)

Posted by HappyNTH on June 23, 2020.

Howdy, Wastelanders! Another week passes, and so it's time for another development diary. This week, we're changing the scope of our development diaries somewhat: instead of previous weeks' focus on changes to regions and states, today we're focusing in one one nation's struggle to survive in the harsh Texan wastes. Saddle up, partner, for today we're riding to Lone Star.

### Setting the Scene: Saloons and Guildhalls

https://preview.redd.it/o1zvpr1x0o651.png?width=2335&format=png&auto=webp&s=82d316db0bd4ab70d1334d68bef16fd84132e762 In 2275, Lone Star is a sprawling city that dominates the trade routes of Texas

The story of Lone Star is one of struggle and success. Founded out of the remnants of the pre-war city of Abilene by a combination of ghouls, vault dwellers from Vault 39 and military remnants from the nearby Dyess Air Force Base, Lone Star spent its early years struggling to get by. Radiation from the bombs that hit Dyess AFB seeped into water supplies and poisoned crops. Feral ghouls constantly harassed the fledgling settlement, barely kept at bay by remnants of the 7th Bomb Wing who had organised themselves into a new police force: the Lawmen.

For decades after the bombs fell, Lone Star fought day by day for survival. One day, however, their salvation came. A single trader visited Lone Star, travelling along the I-20 from what remained of Dallas. After decades of uncertainty, Lone Star's path became clear: trade. Lone Star was ideally placed to act as a major trading hub for Texas, being situated right on I-20 that ran the breadth of Texas. Lured by Lone Star's relative order in the chaos of the Texan Wastes, traders soon began to flock to Lone Star from settlements across Texas. Over time the troubled settlement turned into a thriving town and the crossroads of Texas, hosting merchant companies from anywhere between Fort Summers and Lafayette.

While Lone Star was thriving, unrest remained. The famed Lawmen are far too few in number to effectively police the entire settlement, and the democratically elected Mayor lacked the necessary power and men to crack down on some of the more unsavory characters that frequent the back alleys of Lone Star. Indeed, a troubling raider band plagued Lone Star more than any other: the Hand Gang. Driven by profit and with somewhat fewer morals than many other traders in Lone Star, the Hand Gang grew in power and influence as the Lawmen faded. Soon, the two became rival powers, kept at peace only by bands of mercenaries employed by the Mayor's office. Without outside intervention, it seemed it was only a matter of time before things went south.

### The Brotherhood of Steel 2: A Wanderer Arrives

Like much of what once was Texas, Lone Star gains its basic flavor from the cancelled Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2. In the planned game, the player would visit Lone Star and witness firsthand the struggles between the Lawmen and the Hand Gang, choosing a side to help in the two side's struggle for supremacy. In our mod, neither side was dominant enough to be victorious in the resulting struggle, and so an uncertain status quo remained: the Lawmen patrolled the central streets of Lone Star, while the Hand Gang dealt in drugs and harassed traders on the outskirts.

The status quo could not last forever though, and it swiftly became apparent that the scales were tipping when elements of the Texan Brotherhood arrived at the behest of the Lawmen. These Brotherhood soldiers, fighting alongside the Lawmen, gradually pushed the Hand Gang out of Lone Star. Splinters of the gang scattered across Texas, without leadership nor a place to call home. The Lawmen had won out, and alongside the Mayor's mercenaries began to expand their reach along the I-20. Smaller settlements gladly accepted Lone Star's offers of protection, and soon Lone Star controlled territory from Leetown to Brackenridge.

### The Texan Economic Union

After the Brotherhood's intervention to crush the Hand Gang, relations between Lone Star and the Texan Brotherhood bloomed. The two nations complimented each other perfectly: the Texan Brotherhood has a military structure to be envied, while Lone Star was the economic powerhouse the Texan Brotherhood could only dream of. Both shared ideals of freedom and liberty. Together, the two powers signed a treaty of friendship. Then, in 2270, the two powers sat at the table once more to discuss the formation of a new power block: the Texan Economic Union. Among its stipulations were agreements to share technology, send advisory groups and even possibly develop a joint currency: the Texan Dollar.

Under the union, both the Brotherhood and Lone Star thrived. In 2275, the Union is holding strong, granting Lone Star significant bonuses from Brotherhood expertise. Under the Brotherhood's guidance, Lone Star's military has even begun to transition away from mercenaries towards a permanent armed force.

https://preview.redd.it/lucd22x4ao651.png?width=361&format=png&auto=webp&s=69ec9f4d991c39fc99bfdee819eb8f58b25ff2ed One of Lone Star's starting ideas, representing some of the benefits that the Brotherhood's military advisors bestow

### The Expedition to Lubbock: Striving for I-20 Hegemony

As referenced in the previous picture, one of Lone Star's greatest assets is the I-20 Patrolmen. An elite group of infantry and special forces, these divisions protect traders up and down the I-20. While most are deployed within Lone Star's territory, a smaller group form the Lubbock Expedition lead by Captain Aaron Saunders. These experienced Patrolmen are, in 2275, a part of the army of neighboring Lubbock, acting as the first line of defense for the I-20 against raiders within Lubbock.

https://preview.redd.it/mf7txm7gbo651.png?width=531&format=png&auto=webp&s=61ddbc9e205afb527ee17b137ccc778a6dbcb490 A sneak-peak at Lubbock, including their version of the Lubbock Expedition idea

Control of the I-20 brings benefits to Lone Star beyond merely keeping Lubbock civil: trade can freely flow from Lone Star to the west, bringing a significant economic boost. Should worst come to worst, Lone Star can even recall the Expedition, granting Aaron Saunders as a general alongside his three experienced divisions of Patrolmen.

### An Uncertain Future and Hidden Sympathies

While the past few decades have brought relative peace and prosperity to Lone Star, the future is looking uncertain. The Hand Gang, long thought to be crushed, have once again begun attacking some of Lone Star's outposts and settlements. The Lawmen, already overstretched by Lone Star's territorial expansion, are feeling the pressure of these attacks and can't be everywhere at once: nor can Mayor Cho's mercenaries. While the I-20 continues to be safe for now, there seems to be uncertainty over how long this will remain the case. In 2275, Lone Star is at a crossroads. Questions linger: how have the Hand Gang made their resurgence? Will the Brotherhood intervene on the streets of Lone Star once more? Will the Economic Union survive the coming storm?

https://preview.redd.it/v3x68cf3eo651.png?width=539&format=png&auto=webp&s=05a229eee718188813bc733f54f528cb8944035f Mayor Cho Bang may be well-liked and an experienced merchant, but does he have the necessary skills to steer Lone Star through it's coming struggles?

So come join us for Old World Blues 3.0, and help guide Lone Star down it's troubled path. Will you choose to stay true to Lone Star's roots, or do you wish to back the Hand Gang and their mysterious new supporters? Should you back the Hand Gang, you may find yourself following in the footsteps of a mighty Wasteland figure...

https://preview.redd.it/wiopgxjteo651.png?width=610&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0589477598599820dfaf2c47a2daaf4fd85fb46 Suspicious figures are sighted in Lone Star, and their visit coincides with the Hand Gang's recent attacks on Leetown...

Should order prevail in Lone Star and the Texan Economic Union holds strong, you may have a very different future ahead of you...

https://preview.redd.it/o5yv276efo651.png?width=359&format=png&auto=webp&s=8127956b32345ab96bd480441c825dff107bda35 Don't mess with us!

Until next week, partner!

## Development Diary #15 (Development Diary 15: The Silver Fox of Mexico)

Posted by HappyNTH on June 30, 2020.

https://preview.redd.it/6ci0sk8e61851.png?width=674&format=png&auto=webp&s=976db0b6c4e85e9c5fc995638eab089ba5ab66e9

Buenas Tardes, Wastelanders! In today's development diary, we’d like to introduce you to the Silver Fox of Mexico. Friend, father, lover, leader, Generalissimo Vialla is all these things and more. For instance, he is one of the Wasteland’s major arms dealers!

Gente De Sol can directly sell guns to the other countries of the Wasteland. As they pursues their focus tree, Gente will unlock the ability to sell better guns to more nations, earning money it can invest back into upgrading its own economy.

https://preview.redd.it/cen1tncp71851.png?width=766&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d4698cfde435918fe8e32dabc4d4580ba60a4c4 Making close use of 3.0's newest Caps mechanics, the Generalissimo has a wide market for his weapons across the wastelands

However, things are never so easy in the Wastelands. Caesar's Legion and the Republic of Rio Grande will not be thrilled to see Gente’s guns going to their respective enemies, and El Generalissimo will be forced to decide: what kind of world will he leave to his daughter? El Generalissimo may be able to play both sides against one another for the time being, but sooner or later he'll be to make a tough decision...

https://preview.redd.it/gbumk7bf81851.png?width=936&format=png&auto=webp&s=445c442018cf2e4213832131e3adfa76e29faf0c You can't play two sides forever

El Generalissimo is also preparing a wonderful villa to retire in. Completing the focus “Building the Villa” will unlocked a timed mission to construct the villa, which he can speed up for certain benefits. Naturally, the rush is all so that he can host a party for his daughter. Any rumors that the villa is a cover to search a prewar vault is completely unfounded. We promise.

https://preview.redd.it/rdb74vfa91851.png?width=935&format=png&auto=webp&s=5144705a42407ad65bca1657f55819205d24bf91 See? No Hidden Vault here. Wait, what's that focus doing there...

El Generalissimo may be able to find something useful for his war machine in the vault he totally isn't searching. He'll need those mininukes, given the threat the Free Fighters pose. Wait, did we say mininukes?

No really, El Generalissimo is just looking for a nice retirement. Should he succeed in building the villa and fending off the threat of the Free Fighters, he'll be able to form a mighty new nation.

https://preview.redd.it/hzal000o91851.png?width=937&format=png&auto=webp&s=421b8a223f988942ec4171900a8124289ece5d29 Isn't forming a powerful new state in the wasteland on your retirement bucket list too?

To balance out El Generalissimo and the People of the Sun, the Free Fighters will see some buffs and tweaks to its focus tree, making them a true threat to El Generalissimo's retirement. The newly reworked Legion will receive some focuses to promote ties with Gente and encourage the nation to join a faction with the Legion, serving as a potential springboard further into Mexico.

That's it for this week, Wastelanders. We'll be back next week exploring content you may, or may not, be expecting in 3.0. Remember to join us on Friday too, when we delve into the flavor of a more minor Wasteland nation. Until then, safe travels!

## Development Diary #16 (Development Diary 16: The Menaces from Mexico)

Posted by HappyNTH on July 7, 2020.

¡Buenas noches amigos! Ever since 2.0 dropped, we’ve hinted that two of the Mexican states would have a role to play in the new update. Sure enough The General called, and he wants Texas back.

https://preview.redd.it/4ninatb17f951.png?width=934&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf81bae562a52df9c2561f10bd9b7e5082c5da66 Remember the Alamo!

Let’s start with General Santa Anna. In 2.0 he was largely focused on conquering Rio and Tlaloc’s children, but in 3.0 his tree has been expanded significantly. Santa Anna will begin early on by cleaning up the Pursuant, a wretched group perched on Texas' southern tip that hunts Wastelanders for sport. This will leave everyone in Texas suitably confused. Santa Anna will not be able to annex the Pursuant at game start, but he will get influence in the region that is sure to grow as Tlaloc weakens.

https://preview.redd.it/zoohljub7f951.png?width=885&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c6780d4a07eb5a37fde094ea7f093224c0bdbdb Dad said it's my turn on the Texas

Santa Anna’s war with the Republic of the Rio Grande is now accessible earlier (2277/78), giving him a bit more to do while he plots his Texan conquests. Once the Rio has been brought to heel, Santa Anna will gain access to the rest of his expanded focus tree:

https://preview.redd.it/dfijvthn7f951.png?width=1223&format=png&auto=webp&s=fea3fa6bd30d511ba3c473ec87e236235bbecd56 New focus trees are WIP and may change before release, as with every teaser.

Santa Anna’s goal will be to break his siblings, and once he has done so he will unlock cores on all of their land, his brothers as advisors, and some technological goodies I won’t go into.

https://preview.redd.it/ufyc8tyw7f951.png?width=831&format=png&auto=webp&s=452f977b7224fa13e8b9ffef5dbfcd9510c35425 If you don't win, just dissolve the Supreme Court. Easy.

However. should Santa Anna would prefer, Texas can be made a priority. Should Santa Anna manage to conquer the Texas Brotherhood, Rio, and Tlaloc’s children, he will unlock claims on all of Texas and Mexico, and ponder if he made his father proud.

Santa Anna will need to make careful choices! If he rushes into Texas, he could face an attack from the rear by Rosado or his own brothers. If he waits too long, he might find Texas restored or under a new Master...

Santa Anna is not the only leader along the Rio Grande with an interest in Texas. President Rosado, if elected, will lead her people into a new future that includes both sides of the Grande. Rosado proved to be a popular character in 2.0, but I always thought she got a bit of a bad rap just because she enslaves AIs to do her nation’s bidding. They’re just robots guys! They don’t have feelings!

Moreover, the Rio Brotherhood always was an awkward narrative fit, and intended as a teaser for 3.0 content. Why would the Brotherhood show up and become her puppet? Fortunately, Rosado has a plan for that. Say hello to the Texas Development Zone!

https://preview.redd.it/u3rgl3u49f951.png?width=936&format=png&auto=webp&s=a76e41e9d4f20173421e604e74cb5547fc18f63f Elder Miller may have joined with good intentions, but who knows how Rosado will twist things.

Rosado’s tree (which is still WIP) will focus on boosting the Texas Development Zone, which will function as an *advanced puppet* for the Republic! Rosado’s plan is both to use the Texas Development Zone as a canvas to play with ideas that some within Rio’s Congress might disagree with, and to 'build a better world for everyone' *(Editors Note: Citation Needed)*. To that end, Rosado’s ultimate goal in Texas is to study the mutated jungles of Eden.

https://preview.redd.it/8nv3bfar9f951.png?width=939&format=png&auto=webp&s=d5b964587c4273f9f84e7dd28b00f79de8c8553a Oh lawd he comin' ~ Lone Star, probably

Rosado’s influence in Texas is actually an interesting conundrum for her! The Texas Brotherhood will face an ideological crisis fairly early on, and Rosado will have to decide how to interact. Moreover, Rio has some issues with Lonestar and the Texan Brotherhood’s support for ‘Texan Nationalism’ and its pursuit of their natural borders. Rio has stretched across the Rio Grande for over a hundred years, and it’s not going to give back valuable territory just because some dudes are larping in cowboy hats. Fortunately, there may be allies within the Brotherhood who will work with Rosado, wise men and women who understand the Brotherhood’s duty is to recover technology, not to chase raiders.

https://preview.redd.it/ypo4f142af951.png?width=937&format=png&auto=webp&s=f3afcbc7bb035d68b38424a6513c0c4ad7433fbd Rosado's new political focus tree, still WIP and subject to change

If Rosado is able to stand against the Texan fanatics, an alliance of like-minded visionaries will work to turn Texas into a paradise. Unless the Legion comes and crucifies the lot of them, of course.

Finally, as you saw on the Texas map, the TAA is independent on game start. This is to give the player a bit more flexibility, and give the TAA a bit more of a fighting chance. Astute observers may recall that two of the TAA’s neighbors are supermutant armies, and the TAA will learn shortly after independence why it was a bad idea to claim the territory…

Stay safe, Wastelanders. See you all next week!

## Development Diary #17 (Development Diary 17: The Technology Un-Entanglement)

Posted by Garnithor on July 14, 2020.

Greetings wastelanders.

Let’s cut it straight to the point, we as a team have always been frustrated with how limiting our tech setup has been. It makes sense in very broad strokes to categorize people as civilized or tribal, but nuance is sadly lacking from this. Why would Tlaloc get power armor? Why does the Brotherhood know about prewar warships? So for 3.0 have I been spending a lot of time addressing this issue. I present the tech un-entanglement.

https://preview.redd.it/vgjtd40e5ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ce5667dcb022c37e03ac66b290323a85ad256d2

This singular research tab basically describes what took me hours of work to complete. Just let it sink in for a while and send bottle caps accordingly.

What this basically means is that all technology has been broken up into categories, and said categories decide what you can and can’t research in those respective areas. Heaven’s Gate is very scientifically capable, but they view robots as soulless monstrosities worthy of nothing more than destruction. Hence why they can’t research any, but their other tech shines through in quite some capacity.

https://preview.redd.it/wipmm2rf5ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26469903dd547a837dd1020d6e703afcea7c0ee0

Or the broken coast, terrible raiders that now are actually capable of building proper ships instead of just rowboats. Oh and look at the top-bar, there is something neat there. With this new setup can we also add unique tech options to certain nations where it fits thematically. Like tribal technology for the White legs, or the Broken Coast.

https://preview.redd.it/ge6ph1gh5ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22c30f5037818d6726b77c3d6a21b5d04ddb7495

But what about Mexico? Well here is some mexico for you. Not every AI must be advanced in regards to it’s robots, sometimes your own existence is an enigma to you. And this means Santa Anna will upgrade his tree *by conquering his siblings*. You want advanced exploitation? You better conquer, ironically, Zapata, the only one who does not try to exploit the masses.

https://preview.redd.it/bklazzdj5ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7747e967b18b8f86b52671e0e700e1768aa4ecb

Let us take a look at the jewel city of the wasteland. Pre war comforts, properly protected by monstrous automated gun systems. This way the All-clear signal can hum for all eternity. (Vault City will have a few treats in store to balance out this nerf).

https://preview.redd.it/vu4c64nb6ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6c2b41a82d4623e06dc4fdd91641dd4fed72ccc7

And as another little treat, have a look at the most curious brotherhood in the wasteland, one that has traded some of its technology to have a shot at becoming a full blown nation.

https://preview.redd.it/d4ye5llm5ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb6a80e03593e6ddf11a6052b020dc38e620f8dd

Ah and would you look at that. Tribal gliders. Oh and did anyone notice the little leak hidden in one of the images? It would be weird if I didn’t leak something for once right?

Lastly let's add another few nation examples:

https://preview.redd.it/rlkad8xf6ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a1047b9b5dbd16d345dce795e149f05d0e2f87d

https://preview.redd.it/cnoy8ugh6ua51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53afc2c15f2206ddcd7fd1dcb4bb7833bde72b4e

Stay safe, Wastelanders. See you all next week!

## Development Diary #18 (Developer Diary 18: Van Buren's Bounty)

Posted by Phlogiston\_Dreams on July 21, 2020.

Hey everybody, this is Zusk - your friendly neighborhood developer here to drop off some sick new details involving some work being done for Old World Blues patch 3.0.Typically, in an update that touches one area we are driven to expand on surrounding areas so that they are the same level of quality as the rest of the map.

You saw this already in how we have expanded on the Mojave’s story in 3.0 to bring it closer to canon due to the region’s importance to the Legion’s story.And you will see it again in the same update! Today, we present..

https://preview.redd.it/nt3w18smf9c51.png?width=1169&format=png&auto=webp&s=36038f32a592c88eefda608ef273bb2ae9f4472c “Van Buren's Bounty” Coming in Old World Blues patch 3.0

Colorado is actually a place in Fallout canon that has much more we could draw on from written lore, rather than other regions like Oregon and Mexico where we had to mostly use our own written content.Colorado was one of the main regions of Black Isle Studio’s failed “Fallout 3” before Bethesda purchased the IP and made the Fallout 3 we know today. This Fallout 3 is typically known by its production code name of “Van Buren”. Even though Van Buren was cancelled mid-development we know practically everything about it due to the fact that dozens of design documents of it were leaked in the mid 2000’s.Van Buren is unique in regards to cancelled games in that Bethesda eventually let a good deal of Black Isle developers make a “redraft” of the original project in the form of Fallout: New Vegas. Several concepts you see in New Vegas such as Arcade Gannon, Caesar’s Legion, the Hoover Dam, Elijah and a strong militarized NCR all owe their origins to Van Buren! Naturally, some of the original lore contrasts with how New Vegas handled it. With the remainder of this post I will try to elaborate on individual tags, their place in canon and how we went about including their old Van Buren lore and meshing them with Fallout New Vegas’s lore.

**South Western Colorado**

In Van Buren there was quite a bit of lore based around the salvagers of Denver. In Denver there was this concept known as “Claims”. Each group had their own claims - street blocks - of which they salvaged from. You were a “Claim Jumper” if you jumped from one claim to the next and ignored other people's space.In Old World Blues, the **Foragers** & **Claim Jumpers** are the remnants of the groups kicked out of Denver when the Handogs took over the city. The Claim Jumpers are led by Bombay Jack, and the Foragers led by the more respectable Porter.

The **Twin Mothers** in Van Buren were a rather extensive concept. A group of vaulters from Vault 29 who were led and taught by “The Goddess Diana”. In actuality Diana was a pre-war researcher who, in an attempt to live on after getting cancer, let the company Greenway Hydroponics hook her brain into a ZAX machine. Diana does not actually inhabit Vault 29 or the Twin Mothers tribe itself - but instead a location known as “The Nursery”.

The Nursery was a pre-war facility originally made by the EPA, but later picked up by Greenway Hydroponics. It was designed as a way to protect pre-war fauna and wildlife in the event of nuclear war. In Fallout 4 we would eventually see some of its clean stark-white visual design recycled for the Institute. The Nursery is also mentioned in J.E. Sawyer's Fallout Pen and Paper as well as Fallout Brotherhood of Steel 2.In New Vegas’s canon the Twin Mothers were a tribe that, by the time of New Vegas was wiped out by the Legion, with no mention of Diana or the Nursery. In Old World Blues we treat most of the Van Buren lore as directly canon for this case - the conquest of the Legion simply not having happened by the game’s start.

**Circle Junction** is a concept that went through quite a bit of design in Van Buren. It was recycled and was at one point known as the “Iron Lines” tribe, a tribe who allowed the path of the “Great Roaring Machine”, a pre-war train.In New Vegas, Circle Junction was another location destroyed by the Legion. We treat this event as not having happened yet for Old World Blues.

Not to be confused with the Cypher Warband in Texas, the **Ciphers** ( Also known as the Ciphers of the West ) are an enigmatic group in Van Buren canon, tribals who worship and memorize blueprints they have long lost the understanding of.

The **Navajo** are actually more a concept from New Vegas then one from Van Buren. The Dead Horses in New Vegas are said to have learned their language from a place called “Res”. Since the Dead Horses use Navajo words in their language it can be presumed that they are talking about the Navajo reservations.

A rather complex topic in Van Buren lore. The **Reservation**, formerly known as the Los Alamos Nuclear Testing Facility, was a top secret military and nuclear research facility before the bombs dropped. It is now home to the Children of the Wasteland, a strange group of Ghouls who trade actively with the Legion, happy to use the slave markets to fuel whatever sorts of vile experiments their leader, the mad scientist Willem Clark.( Technically the Navajo & the Reservation are in New Mexico, but it is easier to talk about them here. )

**North West Colorado**

The city of **Ouroboros** is where Hecate, ruler of the Daughters of Hecate lives. Hecate is, in many ways, a character meant to contrast Diana narratively. A former Twisted Hair, Hecate traveled the wastes before finding the Nursery and meeting Diana herself. There, Hecate gained access to scientific secrets she has been able to leverage for the past thirty years to build Ouroboros into a thriving autocracy in the wasteland.In Van Buren, Ouroboros was earlier along in its development, Hecate was still actively trading with tribes and recruiting the strongest to come to Ouroboros. In Old World Blues we treat Hecate as having centralized the Daughters of Hecate from where they were in Van Buren lore, having built a small nation state for herself on the bank of the Colorado.

**The Old Bones** are an older Old World Blues exclusive nation not based in Fallout lore. Their capital is a place known as the “Dinosaur Caverns” and they worship dinosaur bones as gods.Notably, within their territory is the location known as Burham Springs, a location in Van Buren lore. Burham Springs is the wreckage of a pre-War mining community that has been burning for decades. Only a tiny handful of people continue to linger in the dreadful place. The constant threat of death by fire, smoke, radiation, and horrible monstrosities keeps the rest of the world away. The smoldering coal mines contain a wealth of technology, but the risk is too great for most people to bother. Several unique things, rarely seen in the wasteland can be found here such as Agricola mining robots as well as horribly mutated creatures called the “Gehennas” and the “Molechs”.

The **Dryblowers** are a community suggested nation! The Dryblowers are based on the suggested country “The Borers”. They are a group of survivalist raiders originating from a small mining community outside of Burham Springs.

**Black Canyon** is one of the groups that had to see the most reworks to fit it in narratively. In Van Buren they were essentially the “Powder Gangers”, former NCR prisoners who revolted and became raiders. In Van Buren the NCR’s borders extended up to Dog City!In Old World Blues the raiders of Black Canyon are instead former prisoners of a place known as “Tibbets Prison”, an odd pre-war prison that only within the last few decades has shut down due to its AI warden melting itself down. Black Canyon are one of the stronger groups of Colorado - having taken dominion over the Glowbugs of Boulder.

**North East Colorado**

One of the major groups of Colorado are the feared **Hangdogs**! They are a group of raiders, ( Much alike to the Eighties in ferocity ) who in one of Van Buren’s endings took over the city and kicked the salvagers out. Now while Bares His Teeth brings Colorado to heel something stirs inside Dog City. While the Hangdogs have always been portrayed fairly well in OWB a big change has actually been in their underlying states on a mechanical level. Expect to see the Hangdogs much more populous and rich then they were in 2.1!

The **Glowbugs** are a small nation of glowing one ghouls. In Van Buren they were a more feral community living outside of Boulder Dome, a pre-war science facility.In Old World Blues the Glowbugs are a nation of glowing one scavengers who salvage what’s around Boulder for caps. They are led by Patches, a self-styled comedian who is trying his best to keep the Glowbugs independent by offering tribute to the Black Canyon raiders.

East of the Glowbugs you have the **Withered Dogs**, an older community suggested nation of feral ghouls led by “Old Dog”. You have a few more Old World Blues written nations here as well! From the ghoulish, occultist **Luminous Ones** to two ghoul Chinese Remnant factions in **Hexie Lu** & **Doushou Lu**.

**The Baggers** are an oddity among them though, a group of human scientists sent by the NCR to study Boulder Dome from a distance. They have set up a long range observation base outside of the city and have been transmitting helpful information to the NCR for years. In Old World Blues we expand on their lore - of which they were originally just NCR-aligned scientists near Boulder Dome who were involved in the Boulder Dome story line of that game.

**East & Southeast Colorado**

Further east you have **Iron Alliance**, another older Old World Blues written nation of power armor wielding raiders. Further south, you have another oddity in **Robot City**.In Van Buren Robot City were a group of Robots whose exact purpose and goals are somewhat unclear due to a lack of comprehensive design documents on them.We do know that they would have been involved with Tibbet’s Prison’s AI warden, ODYSSEUS. In Old World Blues we have given them a new coat of paint and reflavored them.In Old World Blues, Robot City is led by a small consumer grade terminal running a pre-war dating game on it. Some time after the bombs fell the terminal was found by a robot from Tibbet’s Prison, known as “ARGOS”. ARGOS, out of vacant circuit-guided curiosity would work with and improve the terminal over a number of years. When ARGOS eventually had to leave to return to Tibbets Prison the terminal, having grown a small amount of identity, missed its friend.Calling itself “Doki”, the terminal would send out distress calls to other robots in the area, trying to look for its lost friend and continue where they had left off.

Finally, further south of Robot City you have two groups. **Scorpion’s Bite**, a small raider community from Van Buren who often ran raids on the Twin Mothers and **“Maxson Chapter”**, a name given to the Brotherhood Group from the “Maxson Bunker” in Van Buren.

In Van Buren the Maxson Bunker effectively filled all of the same narrative beats that the Mojave Chapter would fill, of being a smaller brotherhood group that was struggling against a more organized NCR. However, it did have a few unique quirks about it - notably its location, unique set of characters and small narrative beats that gave it enough justification to include it as a country proper in Old World Blues.

In Old World Blues the Maxson Chapter was formed to assist the Midwestern Chapter as well as help gather salvage from around the Denver area. When the Hangdogs took over Denver the brotherhood was forced to fight a losing war with the Handogs for some time, being saved by the timely arrival of the Scorpion’s Bite, giving the smaller chapter enough breathing space to fortify itself in preparation for another attack from the Hangdogs.

I hope you have enjoyed the read! Don’t expect every country mentioned in this article to get a tree. It would just be too much work for 3.0! However, you can possibly expect some of them to.I will leave that for you to ponder on though.For now? Here is a sneak peak of something one of our talented artists did! For an event picture they took one of Van Buren’s concept art pieces and brought it to life.In this case, it is for the Nursery.

I can’t wait to talk more about the kinds of things you will see in Colorado! I put a lot of time into making this the best I possibly can.

Stay safe!

Zusk.

## Development Diary #19 (Development Diary 19: Don't Try This At Home)

Posted by HappyNTH on July 28, 2020.

Hello again Wastelanders: we're so glad you could join us. Come take a seat by the fire, and take a hit of Jet! No? Don't do Jet? Well, we'll just have to talk about chems and slavery then.

https://preview.redd.it/8az4nq1iqmd51.png?width=701&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca6c24a647209c062e14f11feb93fd1bdea07fbd A sample of one of the many amazing in-house pieces of art that will be on show with 3.0

2.1 introduced a slavery system, but it left a bit to be desired. You previously gained slaves on a flat basis, but they would merely strengthen an idea depending on how many slaves you had. 3.0 changes this entirely, with slaves being a resource you can extract from your states.

https://preview.redd.it/xcxochhrqmd51.png?width=697&format=png&auto=webp&s=d1a0b15f6d5826342ed03763ecd2d387f29bac23 You can't draw up slaves from states you have a core on. That'd just be mean...

Once you acquire slaves, they can be used to construct bunkers, build roads, or even man factories: at you discretion, of course. Note, however, that slaves are a limited resource and will be 'used up' during your projects for, umm, reasons. Slaves now offer a way for a nation which conquers manpower rich, but factory poor, states to rapidly build up an empire.

Also on today's agenda is looking into how 3.0's chems work. In 2.1 chems are dispensed to your entire nation, making for an extremely powerful buff. In 3.0 chems will instead be used through a WTT-based ability, allowing you to selectively decide which unit leaders and fronts receive bonuses. Be warned, however, the bonuses may look tempting, but addiction is no joke!

https://preview.redd.it/me18j9jyqmd51.png?width=699&format=png&auto=webp&s=62a2c5c2d611e0dad4782d81d587f685d82f7bfe Are you sure you don't want any chems?

Naturally, 3.0's caps, slaves and chems rework wouldn't be complete without a plethora of flavour events and decisions. Here's just one:

https://preview.redd.it/4aw10sq5rmd51.png?width=698&format=png&auto=webp&s=692773175f8ed40b9fd5ec73cbfb7ffc5996a9fd A big meanie robbed a caravan :((

That, my dear friends, is all we have time for this week. As ever, we hope you all have a wonderful week (or at least rest of the week, since we'll see you on Friday) and stay safe in these trying times.

## Development Diary #20 (Development Diary 20: Grief Drives You Mad)

Posted by HappyNTH, written by T the light tank on August 4, 2020.

Hello everyone, I'm T the light tank, one of the writers for Old World Blues, and I’m ecstatic to bring you a rewrite of Santa Anna, additional lore content, as well as three “story endings” for the Mad General of Mexico!

Anna’s previous writing was good, but with the Texan threat rising in this update and the numerous challenges before him, I saw it fit to give him a bit more depth as our favorite sometime genocidal AI for his grand comeback putting down the dirty rebels!

I look forward to your impressions playing 3.0 and most of all, want to thank you all for giving the team the opportunity to work on such a good mod with such a good community around it. Without further ado, here's the dev diary:

Oh hello, Wastelander! Please, take a seat by the campfire and don’t mind the explosions, all of Mexico is just getting a bit antsy these days really.

See, ever since Tlaloc has uh… bitten the dust so to say, the Mad General hasn’t been quite the same. Most people can’t place it but i’d say it’s the whole extermination and military action deal.

https://preview.redd.it/2pgydx4d2ze51.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=f70d0e213e72001249c1613456dd9d62b5424206 I don’t think daddy’s death did anything to improve his sanity

Stories and rumour keep coming in from all of the region about what he’s on about these days, anything from jet fighter to naval dreadnought and every ridiculous thing in-between.

https://preview.redd.it/x1mvguwg2ze51.png?width=538&format=png&auto=webp&s=e1670aa824440709cb03221704c518346120c55a I must say my favorite drivels are those where apparently Anna would be on the warpath, everyone know the Mad General is inept and a joke at most, who would believe such things?

Not to mention, people from Rio have even tried to make us believe somehow Ejército Mexicano decided to cooperate with Mora, but the day that happens Costa Cafeineda will be a reputable brand!

https://preview.redd.it/srco35hk2ze51.png?width=541&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d9290a4bb2c34331199c1f2844f32a83fb30f74 I mean that’s… that’s ridiculous, right? Can you imagine them working together?

https://preview.redd.it/0fffbzjn2ze51.png?width=601&format=png&auto=webp&s=3bd131244f6a83830cf644f0d9f28a70fe0b548c If the Republic of the Rio Grande was ever stupid enough to trust Anna at all, we’d all be screwed!

Thing is… people spreading those aren’t letting up. More and more of Santa Anna’s robots mass on the borders, weird objects spotted soaring through the sky, huge metal behemoths seen by coastal militias, driving them up in a frenzy.

Itza ain’t no darling, but surely the Aztecs would be somewhat better than a cog-head, and surely they wouldn’t let him control Mexico as he pleases, right?

https://preview.redd.it/ogdowpvq2ze51.png?width=535&format=png&auto=webp&s=15f5f49ef9a6ca73e7a4fe2847a67f5e63bb1cf6

Right?

https://preview.redd.it/gsvqwvpt2ze51.png?width=539&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa860946b8da0ff648665307abd1616da6d52a7d

Oh God… we’re all screwed…

## Development Diary #21 (Development Diary 21: Yehaw)

Posted by Garnithor on August 11, 2020.

Howdy Wastelanders,

I hope you're ready for some Texas Justice and a rather unorthodox brotherhood, because both go hand in hand. The Texas Brotherhood was forged from the remnants of the Rhombus expedition, the legendary Texas Rangers, and all who wished to lend a helping hand. Their origins means they might be the only Brotherhood without access to advanced technology, but their buckshot punches harder than those bunker dwellers ever could hope to do.

https://preview.redd.it/xxdw3rp57eg51.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0429be3b5210758c149a66ff149cea1744d56b08 Technology Yaay

Edward Jefferson Rusk, survivor of more campaigns than he can remember, leads the Texas Brotherhood. As quick with a joke as he is a shotgun, he has brought confidence to the Brotherhood with nothing more than a crack and a crate to stand on. He wields a trusty gun that fires its entire charge in one blast, and ignores Rosado’s laments that that is not actually effective.

The Brotherhood begins with access to unique and spicy Vault tec prototype power armour, so their heavy troops are not to be trifled with. But the Texas Brotherhood also deploys the legacy of the Rangers to great effect with special forces, and even has motorized and mechanized forces to make Lost Hills weep. Texas has it all. Except caps.

https://preview.redd.it/w2av5ppf7eg51.jpg?width=352&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43d0869a9c098445f5b3eb342ad3db4ebd01f603

Texas’ recruitment laws also reflect that every man, woman, and mutant in Texas has a gun, so they do not suffer drawbacks when they increase recruitment. Instead, they need to spend valuable time on focuses to advance their Deputization law. Every member of the Brotherhood is either a knight or a peacekeeper.

https://preview.redd.it/f50h7qfn7eg51.jpg?width=627&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16bce4275f4c87970209f3d4bcf7b19866463e4e

This also means that the Texas Brotherhood has access to a very unique unit.

Lawkeepers, civilian soldiers, are ready to fight at a moment's notice. These units can even receive specialized training the further the Texas Brotherhood advances in its focus tree, turning them into a formidable fighting force. And a firm reminder that none of their settlements need any help!

https://preview.redd.it/kk76ej9p7eg51.jpg?width=1095&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e7ccb40e5b38a6fac66d441e549e20877aedc42

One of their very first actions in gametime will be striking a rather unique deal with Mister Entertainment to the north, a mutually beneficial agreement for both parties. Free access to a massive audience for a positive outlook on the Brotherhood’s goals and actions. Just don’t change the channel.

https://preview.redd.it/32p3vq6v7eg51.jpg?width=189&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6668c2a5a5d7b52d48479a7dc4fa0216c561a6e4

In short, the Brotherhood does have lofty goals: The rebirth of the Lone Star Republic, and restoring the borders of Texas! With their pals in Lonestar, they can form a state to make the Legion or Santa Anna shake in their boots.

https://preview.redd.it/en6vluq18eg51.jpg?width=238&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24c76fe6a2ed11d5a1f2e0aee22912e32a177bb0

But not everyone is happy about their close ties with Lonestar and the responsibility of nation building. Especially the upper echelons, descendants of those Lost Hills veterans really do not adore this new directive. And some within Rio can’t help but note that some of their post profitable territory lies within the past borders of the old Texan Commonwealth.

https://preview.redd.it/zyq9gcq38eg51.jpg?width=444&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8277cdc9eb9263c022408b1d3b997f688e5caa5

Please welcome the Alamo Chapter

https://preview.redd.it/hv2dl7b78eg51.jpg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db4a6bb796906ad21cc6ec9a77d64f1bf4d3234e

## Development Diary #22 (Development Diary 22: The Story of the People)

Posted by HappyNTH on August 18, 2020.

Howdy Watelanders, and sit around the fire as we discuss one of the smaller nations in 3.0, but no less loved: The Navajo.

Prior to 3.0, the Navajo were a generic settler nation that didn’t do much on the map. As part of the Legion rework, we thought we’d use the opportunity to explore how the Legion handles towns and settler communities, something that New Vegas touches on but we have not seen in the game.

To that end, the Navajo now start as a Legion puppet. During Caesar’s conquest of Arizona he attempted to conquer the Navajo, but was forced to concede to allowing the Navajo a measure of autonomy after a month of bloody conflict: Caesar had no hope of defeating the Navajo on their homeland with a fraction of the manpower he enjoys in 2275. The Navajo now serve as a valuable auxiliary to the Legion: particularly since (unlike the Legion) the Navajo have no qualms with using good ol' technology. In exchange for their service, the Navajo gain access to the Colorado River, markets for their goods, and assistance against raiders.

https://preview.redd.it/xo4p36s9xrh51.png?width=649&format=png&auto=webp&s=6deee3c57745607d6202b09cbc6933566006b464 A client state at game start, players with either Together for Victory or Death or Dishonour will also get to play with unique autonomy levels during a Navajo game

The Navajo’s focus tree addresses whether they will remain loyal to the Legion, or strike out for independence. Many of the focuses will promote loyalty to the Legion, or fan the flames of rebellion. Siding with the Legion provides greater material rewards, but do you truly trust the Bull? In addition, the Navajo will have some interactions with the Reservation, a ready market for slaves. The Navajo will need to decide whether to ally with the Reservation in exchange for their advanced technology, or draw a line in the sand.

https://preview.redd.it/dx3mdzggxrh51.png?width=2375&format=png&auto=webp&s=832bba24350c7a94d3f8242e446c7609a01c6ed6 Legion rule has brought relative prosperity to the Navajo, but how long can they sit on their morals?

The Legion will, of course, have focuses that promote Navajo loyalty and develop their faithful subject.

https://preview.redd.it/gn8rk9flxrh51.png?width=551&format=png&auto=webp&s=abfdc3f9c002be53acd35e0adc27101221efdb88 A new Legion focus? In \*my\* 3.0?

After the Navajo has made its decision they will unlock a focus to change their name and tag, forming Dinetah: the historical homeland of the Navajo people. The Navajo will then gain claims and expansion opportunities to restore their land to its historical borders. To ensure players have an option other than fighting the Legion, the Legion will grant territory to the Navajo if it has been successful in the Mojave campaign, giving you a reason to be true to Caesar.

https://preview.redd.it/muctjqhmxrh51.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=da22ccc845d4e6f87a05754b676ea199ce209425 Ave!

Players worried that the Navajo will not be able to stand up to the Legion on their own, rest easy. Easier, perhaps, than the Legion. For the Great Caesar has been getting headaches recently, and has not been seen in public for some time. This may lead to opportunities, for those brave enough to reach for them like the Hero Twins of old.

https://preview.redd.it/3g7zt6fqxrh51.png?width=1154&format=png&auto=webp&s=1208d04deb8aac663f6ea7edcecc71b879d03be0 Wait, why's the picture so... thin?

Coming up next week, a more fulsome dev diary for the Hang Dogs. After that? Who knows. Maybe Caesar would like a say. Until then, stay safe and well Wastelanders. Watch your back though: the Frumentarii are about...

## Development Diary #23 (Development Diary 23: A (s)Bark of Hope)

Posted by HappyNTH on August 25, 2020.

Hello Wastelanders, welcome to Dog City! The city of salvage hosts one of the most feared tribes in the West: the Hangdogs. In today's dev diary, The Colonel brings you what he has been working on during the 3.0 development cycle.

https://preview.redd.it/uuw9w0wvz6j51.png?width=518&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f6d29375ac1e97d4802d1d75921cf6cd38c5dea rawr x3 (I want to die)

The Hangdogs represent another chance to shine a light on Van Buren’s lore, and, in particular, Dog City. Denver in Van Buren was a fantastic source of scrap and salvage: so rich that it attracted prospectors from all the way from New California. The Hangdogs, unlike other tribes, could thrive in Denver because of their ties to the dogs of the city, who they worshipped as spirit animals and learnt to form close bonds with. The Hangdogs weren’t the only forces present in Van Buren, however: Denver was home to scrappers seeking to earn their fortune, refugees fleeing the Legion, and a rather mysterious Box.

Once a pre-war robot manufacturing facility, it's rumored the 'Box' also had secret code planted in its mainframe, giving the facility instructions should nuclear war ever occur. Of course, nothing has ever emerged from the facility, so the rumors must just be rumors: right? There can't be any harm in checking...

https://preview.redd.it/h20lodetz6j51.gif?format=mp4&s=9fc7d56502a8e4507bfc9ec7677f744ae16e3139 Our wonderful AI animated portraits return!

But the 'Box' is the best hope for Dog City in the face of the coming storm. After all, it seems a legendary figure is intent on conquering Dog City, and they won't take too kindly to the people who've fled there.

As we promised last week, next week may feature something exciting. It seems Caesar is interested in this part of the world, seeking conquests from Dog City to the Alamo. Maybe next week we'll see his face at last: or maybe it will be a strange figure behind a golden mask...

## Development Diary #24 (Developer Diary 24: Attis's Legacy!)

Posted by Phlogiston\_Dreams on September 1, 2020.

https://preview.redd.it/t3a25n6oblk51.png?width=1206&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f96e9701309372108749e022f6bb17baaac7db4 A highlight of the areas talked about in this

He-llloooo Pinkies! What? You were expecting someone else? Hahahahaha!This week, you get us. The trusted generals of Attis himself! You think Texas is all just a game where smooth skins are the ONLY players? It’s more than a game! It’s a way of life! We will show you the merit of true strength - just like Attis would have wanted!

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is a rather strange game in the Fallout series. Typically seen (honestly unfairly, especially after 76’s release) as the black sheep of the franchise and one of only two titles to be directly rendered “non-canon” through an off-hand remark Todd Howard made after Bethesda purchased the IP in 2008 (along with the typically much more appreciated Fallout Tactics, of which he admitted to never having played either at the time).After playing Brotherhood of Steel in preparation for this update (take ‘that’, Todd!) I came across one interesting detail about the game: something no other Fallout game has really done.Your player character, the “Brotherhood Initiate”, isn't really the protagonist! All of the games quotes, dialogue, world building, cut scenes and screen time are instead focused on the villain, the super mutant known as “Attis”. I imagine this narrative structure is part of why the game was disparaged by fans, as it led to people feeling that the player never had much narrative impact on the world: instead, you’re reacting to Attis.

For 3.0, I wrote the focus trees for the three Super Mutant nations in Texas: the three “remnants” of the now shattered Attis Army. When I was writing them I hoped to use the unique narrative point of view that Old World Blues allows to let the player experience Brotherhood of Steel’s world building from a different perspective, one that hopefully will help you appreciate Brotherhood of Steel’s lore in the way that Todd Howard could not.As a primer: In Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel you played the role of the Initiate as they traveled around on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel hunting Attis and his Super Mutant army. There, you see how Attis allied himself with raiders and cultists on his mission to discover the origins of the Super Mutant race. He would travel down to a location known as the “Secret Vault” - a vault made for the CEO’s and administration of Vault Tec. There, Attis would (spoiler Alert for a 16 year old game) fall victim to his own ambitions as he ends up in the same fate as the Master, “becoming” the origin for a new Super Mutant race as his body is horribly mutated and grown through advanced FEV.

That is, before you as the player kill him through the destruction of the Secret Vault facility.

Brotherhood of Steel 2, the cancelled sequel to Brotherhood of Steel would have included remnants of the Attis Army as sub-factions you could interact with in the game! These groups, as well as more, will be featured in Old World Blues, and we will go into detail on them today.

https://preview.redd.it/oojno8f6clk51.png?width=156&format=png&auto=webp&s=097b47062616e64a641eb52112130aaf2f55d1f5 Keats, from Brotherhood of Steel 2!

The first person we will be talking about is the elected Mayor of Austin himself, Keats! Keats has embraced the foundations of democracy, “humanoid” rights, private ownership and capital enterprise. By embracing this more libertarian view on the Master’s Unity, Keats has made great strides in evolving the city of Austin from a series of blasted ruins into one of the greatest and most profitable cities in Texas, all to achieve his goal of joining the Texan Economic Union alongside the Brotherhood of Steel and the city state of Lonestar.

Keats hopes for a beneficial relationship between Super Mutants and Man, embracing a form of voluntary FEV mutation to create more mutants instead of the forced mutation of "other groups".

https://preview.redd.it/qe3qq58eclk51.png?width=156&format=png&auto=webp&s=f821f116c1ed35715d90d6ef4580d58399d18053 Shale, from Brotherhood of Steel 2!

The second will be the esteemed general of the Attis Army himself, Shale! “Shale’s Army” is the most direct continuation of the Attis Army among the three groups, Shale seeing himself above all else as wishing to fulfill the dying legacy of his old “commanding officer” he hopes to reconquer the ruins of the secret vault and bring vengeance upon those that brought Attis low!Shale has fought many a group across the wastes - from Legion scouts led by “Paullus” to insane, esoteric ghouls originating from the irradiated ruins of Los. Will Shale’s might be able to stand up to what Texas brings against him today?

https://preview.redd.it/dkhk1lhjclk51.png?width=156&format=png&auto=webp&s=46e05f04a79258a1d7186163ad88fb9be5920268 Juggernaut, a OWB-Creation!

Finally, we have Juggernaut, a warmonger who unlike the other two isn’t based on lore from Brotherhood of Steel 2. Instead he is a new face! Once a lowly engineer in the armies of Attis, Juggernaut earned his fame by being one of the only super mutants to survive an encounter with the Elder Rhombus, founder and hero of the Texan Brotherhood. Since that point, Juggernaut has tried to forge the armies of Attis back together the only way he knows how, with steel and screaming machines. His warband may be small, but their warmachines and steel armor, brought forth from their great foundries, are legend across Texas and give even the mighty Texan Brotherhood pause.

You will have to wait a little while longer to get the full taste of them. Instead of giving a full system deep dive I will instead show you four little gifts!

https://preview.redd.it/ngeodutnclk51.png?width=321&format=png&auto=webp&s=eb5f03ab6c896d32aad13c9b9d7f1af44ddfd71f Using new La Resistance modifiers Juggernaut was able to bring his toolbox with him when he became leader of the Ironmongers! We can now use country resources as modifiers for ideas and country leaders.

https://preview.redd.it/v3euxpn4dlk51.png?width=2356&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf02e491e6944a096054a8971a65bd0d3961d101 The focus tree for Shale’s Army - the largest of the three super mutant trees!

https://preview.redd.it/i0nolkt7dlk51.png?width=1070&format=png&auto=webp&s=2f86165c56874dbbc091d6bace012b5552fb9bbf An event from the focus “A Curious Purchase”

https://preview.redd.it/l8ur033adlk51.gif?format=mp4&s=be17da83f808ea44748c17f994a3c0f402ee4eb3 You get what you pay for, in the end.

I hope these were enough to sate your fancy for this week. You will get to fully experience these three countries when we release 3.0! Whenever that is…

-- Zusk

P.S. A reminder to go support Paradox and buy Crusader Kings III!

## Development Diary #25 (Developer Diary 25: Paradise)

Posted by Phlogiston\_Dreams on September 8, 2020.

https://preview.redd.it/fme1hixfgxl51.gif?format=mp4&s=18b4689cfde0a36ee4f89955a1b0154b57c1a204 “I am the beauty of the green earth, the soul of nature. I am that which gives life unto the world. From Me all things proceed, and unto Me all things must return. Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices.”

Light shines upon your shoulders, torch bearers. Zusk here! This morning we will be discussing a new focus tree for patch 3.0 - detailing the tribe mystics of the Twin Mothers, their divine leader and the technological Eden of which she rules from in the Nursery.Similar to last week’s developer diary this teaser is mainly going to serve the role of an art and lore teaser - with a few gameplay tidbits near the end!

What are the Twin Mothers, exactly? The Twin Mothers are a group referenced in New Vegas - yet it is "Van Buren", the “original” cancelled Fallout 3 that has the most written lore about them. Thanks to an earlier leak of Van Buren content years ago we actually know a massive amount about this group - despite the fact that they aren’t actually seen within any released Fallout games.It is probably one of the most complex topics for a single group in Van Buren that we have - so I am going to be recanting a vast majority of the lore, condensed and edited to try to make this as concise as possible and help you, the reader grasp them as a concept without having to dig through dozens of design documents to wrap your head around them.

https://preview.redd.it/vyqqa83chxl51.png?width=1115&format=png&auto=webp&s=22758d6f4b302e8bd333e248a55475fae0110100 Courtesy of Greenway Hydroponics: A helpful map showing the relation between various locations that will be discussed below.

Before the Great War Diana Stone was a brilliant woman with a career path that would grant her a place of recognition among some of the greatest scientific minds in the United States. Unfortunately for her she was afflicted with cancer - prognosis grim.The news of her impending death had a profound effect on Diana's life. She turned away from the science she built her career on and began to look into the spiritual side of life. However, with so little time left to live she soon became frustrated and despondent. This was to change when she was contacted by Derek Greenway - a tech mogul leading the company of Greenway Hydroponics, a small-scale rival to Poseidon Energy.

With Derek's funding and assistance Diana Stone's mind was saved as her body withered away, her brain disconnected from her body connected to twin ZAX’s operating in tandem. Therefore, she was given a continued form of life - at a cost. The change at first was appreciated, yet over time she found herself missing the connection to the world she once had.The budding consciousness of Diana watched Derek Greenway as he plotted, Derek helping the United States with a seedbank project known as the “Nursery” - intended to help ensure that the world’s fauna can be restored in the event of atomic disaster. Derek’s connection with the government also allowed him to influence one of the Vault’s, Vault 29 becoming his own personal testing ground as he programmed a ZAX to administrate the vaulters, act as Overseer and train them to use the fauna of the nursery to help repopulate a then-theoretical wasteland.

After the Great War Diana Stone would continue where Derek left off. Her own need for connection with the outside world leading her to hacking into Vault 29’s mainframe from within her home in the Nursery - corrupting Derek’s intended message as she instead subverted the ZAX’s programming, using it to project ‘herself’ in the form of a holographic display so she could lead the vaulters as their goddess - taking on the name “Diana”, after the classical goddess of old.

https://preview.redd.it/z2djl6nohxl51.gif?format=mp4&s=34a0751dd48547f8b977a1afee7cdd4bbcfc67b9 “They watched as the door slowly rolled open and then shielded their eyes at the sight that was revealed. Standing in the hallway was a brilliant glowing apparition of a beautiful young woman clothed in a golden aura. On one hand, she held a stalk of corn, in the other a sheaf of wheat. The goddess Diana had returned at last! “

Now, there is quite a bit more lore then what I have gone over today such as Diana’s connection with the ODYSSEUS project, Diana’s connection with Hecate’s origins and the Nursery’s connection with the similarly cancelled Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2 - but this teaser is meant more as a primer!As I did last week with the Attis Army preview I will give you a few helpful images!

https://preview.redd.it/fcwoej33ixl51.png?width=5524&format=png&auto=webp&s=c283b799c6660b3f180e9c856752da1173b8c403 Here is the focus tree for Twin Mothers! It is the biggest I have made for the mod so far! Larger than Itza's! For Twin Mothers I wanted to aim for something larger in scope then my normal trees.

https://preview.redd.it/2kd347ebixl51.png?width=471&format=png&auto=webp&s=dd885c1059addf43d519d13cfcf53c4954291c52 The Nursery is a massive botanical garden, capable of healing the wasteland if put into the right hands! Twin Mothers has several special modifiers made exclusively to them! Through unlocking focuses you can unlock the full powers of the Nursery - turning it into a fully operational terraforming station.

https://preview.redd.it/lz1gs2wgixl51.png?width=1059&format=png&auto=webp&s=a7904b98f64113c9380e03b00817d3d53b819e9f The effects of two focuses within the industry branch! Wanted to have some fun here.

I can’t wait to see people play this tree! As you could imagine with a tree of this size I could probably write for hours talking about all of the various minutiae, details and smaller inner gears.. But for now I think I will leave it at this.For the remainder of this teaser I wanted to take a brief moment to thank the people who helped make this possible.

Special thanks to:

Herckeim: All of the amazing art you have seen here today is thanks to them. Their art inspired me more than anything else when it came to this Twin Mothers project.Evil\_c0okie: For producing the wonderful animated assets! Really brought Herc’s work to life!

T The Light Tank: For writing nearly the entirety of the focus descriptions of Twin Mothers tree. Helped capture the mood and tone I was going for perfectly!

And finally John Deiley: Without the Van Buren design document for the Twin Mothers none of this would have been possible.I am so happy at how well this has all come together!

Zusk~P.S. This will be my last teaser for 3.0! Next week will be another developer showing off some stuff they have been cooking for a while. Get hyped!

## Development Diary #26 (Dev Diary 26: I Came, I Saw, I Conquered)

Posted by HappyNTH on September 15, 2020.

Greetings profligate! Turn your unworthy ears and minds to that which was written! Know his mercy, and receive the word of the Lord of the Arizona, Father of the Legion, the Son of Mars, Caesar!

The Rework of the Legion has been one of the pillars of the 3.0 update, and was previously teased in Development Diary 22: Story of the People. While that dev diary mentioned and showed off the Rework of the Legion Civil War, we’re going over a general look at some of the Legion’s new mechanics and general overhaul features in today's Dev Diary: brought to you today by two incredibly talented veteran members of the Old World Blues team, Loonybinjin and Faeelin

Ceasar’s possible death was always one of the driving narrative moments in New Vegas, and by extension, the entire fallout setting. Its passing almost certainly meant doom for the Legion, while its avoidance would invariably be key to its long term success. Previously, the death of Caesar was handled in a semi-random way, with his life being at risk of ending at an increasing rate each year. This choice took agency out of the player’s hand...

Now Ceasar operates on a system of stress, which impacts his health negatively. While exercising caesar’s incredible mind and charisma can give you immense bonuses, they will also degrade his health over time and slowly kill him if he can’t find a cure. Should Caesar fall? The Legion will invariably succumb to infight without his guidance… that is, unless a Warlord has gained enough glory to inherit his throne.

https://preview.redd.it/8ryji0k9pcn51.png?width=618&format=png&auto=webp&s=a758c32a0357caa6e6f0f094e1f6877d0d6e06a0 Headaches, memory loss.. it's normal for a man of his stature. We hope.

https://preview.redd.it/boovmgohpcn51.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=cbf19e3ae81f9c826c65748ef923587fb714abb7 Caesar's closest advisors vie for glory, all while the poor Caesar is ailing...

Previously, the great bottleneck of the Legion came from hard limits on their economy. The Legion suffered from rejection of automation, which crippled not only their ability to grow technologically and industrially. Invariably, the Legion would run out of things to conquer, and if they had not defeated the NCR by then, they would almost certainly lose a long war. Gone are the days where this was entirely true ~ The Legion still begins with very severe industrial and technological limitations, depending heavily on developing its puppets to carry its industry in the early game.

https://preview.redd.it/5rs6qqqqpcn51.png?width=608&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e0dab73b62eabbe13dcba5b945121f917de070a Why build when you can conquer?

But by developing their puppets, and through various leadership styles, the Legion’s industry can change twofold. Growing to be both functional and highly specialized. While never as massive as the NCR’s, it will be capable of keeping up, and maybe even surpassing the NCR if it’s falling behind.

https://preview.redd.it/gzq8d4fupcn51.png?width=612&format=png&auto=webp&s=9232e3d19cb4aa95325ac468ab3ec6528d3c9109 \*sweats in NCR\*

And over time? Possibly surpass it. Then again~ What we are showing you next applies only to Aurelius and Vulpes. Who knows what other warlords and rulers may use, or how they may change the Legion.

https://preview.redd.it/e01e6h5zpcn51.png?width=559&format=png&auto=webp&s=7de17d033ae3dc22c68e5af1ba4bc746e529d710

The Conquests of the Legion now extend in many directions, North, South, West and… no that’s it. Where else would they go? To the North, you can find the tribes of Utah and enemies Caesar made long ago, Hecate and her twisted kin. To the south? The Generalissimo tells fantastical stories of great republics, immortal gods, and masked tribes ripe for Legionary Conquest.

https://preview.redd.it/mpb9dvw3qcn51.png?width=761&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d7a68611d3f0c0fd09e858c7eaff99688bf812e

And to the west? A small NCR expeditionary force makes a bid to control an old world bridge, attempting to block Caesar’s dream of a New Rome~ For this, they shall be crushed, and their broken bodies thrown into the grand canyon. Malphias has promised his close friend victory, and Caesar is assured of his victory.

https://preview.redd.it/wjv2ppjaqcn51.png?width=330&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c2b80b6f060d7a89d60af949255eade6bc6da19 The Rubicon must be crossed if Caesar is to have his Rome!

Truly, the Legion Rework is massive, too massive to really explore in a simple dev diary. So here! A preview at the tree in its entirety without context.

https://preview.redd.it/r8891ryqocn51.png?width=4674&format=png&auto=webp&s=c3cd177cee5f58b2ddeec311e1ea1702b648c63f Open the image up in a new tab and zoom to your heart's content!

To the east, you may ask? One can find the Legion's own expedition, led by a masked warrior of legend, a Monster in the making. Although few know of him now, among the Legion his name is already whispered in hush tones and with excited pride. Lanius: who you will hear more about in the next dev diary...

## Development Diary #27 (Dev Diary 27: All Exist to Test the Strength of the Legion)

Posted by HappyNTH on September 15, 2020.

https://preview.redd.it/sj6ujinrucn51.png?width=4000&format=png&auto=webp&s=6447722c4f8e0346c4fb74a80f809ba9ade16cc8 Victory shall be ours. It shall be swift, and it will be honest: purchased with blood

I served Caesar in his wars in Arizona, but he has given me a new task. I shall conquer the lead the Legion East, to victory. The Mescalero; the Brotherhood of Colorado; the robots in their city? All will find my blade at their throats. The tribute I send back to Caesar will give him strength to crush the Mojave and New California.

Do you think they can stop me? Shall they pray to their dogs for salvation? The best they can hope for is a new life in the Legion.

https://preview.redd.it/5h62q3wlucn51.png?width=635&format=png&auto=webp&s=232ca3a5c27b37e710610f264545147689ff743a Only the ruthless will survive the will of Caesar

The east is a land of gods and monsters, but I shall bend them to my will for Caesar. When I am done, I shall wash my sword in the Gulf of Mexico, and become the first Legionary to see the sea. I will paint the Legion’s name in red across the East.

Fear not, Texas. My coming shall free save you, and set you free in ways you do not understand.

https://preview.redd.it/hr91yq89vcn51.png?width=861&format=png&auto=webp&s=03153c31cece327d188142cef8fd38fff1c0c749 Ave, True to Caesar!

Our Great Work is unfinished, but soon we shall prevail.

https://preview.redd.it/a8zs8afcvcn51.png?width=1506&format=png&auto=webp&s=3c631fda3a654e2622c31e6f9987097d6caa5d8f A glorious tree fro a glorious man: though some unnamed focuses will have to wait until you explore the tree yourself...

And know I shall not remain in the East forever. I will one day come west, and the strength of California shall be tested.

If the nineteen tribes of the East cannot stop me, nor shall all the lights of Vegas. I will descend upon you like a hammer, and nail you to the Dam to watch your world die.

https://preview.redd.it/6y98vo6mxcn51.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=267ec69c03938eab1dfc88e00824214171ecedb4 Caesar's will is the will of the Legion. The Rubicon will be crossed.

## Development Diary #27.5 (Old World Blues in 2020: Diagnosis, Design and Decisions)

Posted by HappyNTH on December 30, 2020.

Greetings Wastelanders. Today’s Dev Diary is going to be a little different, and a little special: so much so I’m not going to count this in the running numerical system we use here, but close enough to still warrant the tag. I guess you could call this something like “Happy’s Fireside Chats”, where I sit with some vodka (Smirnoff, for the curious) and write a somewhat conversational blogpost about OWB’s goings on. Today’s discussion is pretty broad, as I wanted to take a moment to look back on how 2020 has changed Old World Blues, and what the future of OWB holds.

Let's start with the highlights. Old World Blues grew significantly over the course of 2020, which came as an amazing surprise to us all. Boyed, I'm sure, by COVID sparking lockdowns around the world, our new OWB Steam release page has an already staggering 130,000 subscribers (since October!), while our Discord and Reddit have grown from a few thousand enthusiastic fans to having over 19,000 and 11,000 members respectively. These numbers are quite frankly mindboggling, and the swell of support we've seen over the course of the year comes as a huge reward for the time and effort the entire development team have poured into the mod over the course of the year. I find myself frequently saying this, to the point I worry about cliché, but I cannot thank each and every one of you enough for playing our mod, responding to community posts, supporting our endeavours, offering suggestions and engaging with the community.

On the development side Old World Blues has also bloomed in 2020, with our development team going from strength to strength. Back on the 19th of January we release **2.1: Faith's Heart**, one of our largest updates at the time and the start of a shift in design philosophy that continued over the year. The update was expansive and significant, but met some post-release road bumps after our launch. Bugs were frequent, if usually minor, and the response to a number of 'headline' focus trees varied wildly. The update's highlight was undoubtedly Oregon, which was designed and largely implemented by the then-new Zusk (u/Phlogiston\_Dreams). Zusk's trees across the area were something new and fresh for Old World Blues, and the region as a whole had a much faster and flavourful pace than most of the rest of our map. On the flip side, my New Canaan focus tree met a more divisive reception, as some of y'all proved split over my core design choices. We'll come back a little to these two points later, when I discuss design philosophy more extensively, so stay tuned.

Across the year we also branched out significantly, bringing new content to the mod from all sides of the modding world. Thanks to Skip (u/SerialSymphony) Old World Blues brought a host of homemade original soundtracks to the mod, which were well received all around. We also brought a whole host of original artwork to the mod, in large part from our absolutely amazing in-house artists Herckeim and NuclearForest: not to mention the amazing work evil\_c0okie (u/evil\_c0okie) put in to bring animated portraits to the mod (which had not been previously utilised in the HOI4 community until we released 2.1!). David and ICodeMaster (u/ICodeMaster) also delivered a ground-breaking Caps and Slaves system to the mod, significantly expanding on vanilla's relative lack of economic indicators and reshaping how some of our mod's core mechanics worked. Caps especially saw significant expansions of depth and flavour over the year, cumulating in 3.0's trade node and organization systems.

Of course, no recap of the year would be complete without also touching on **3.0: Monster of the East**. The update was both something old and something new, being a second major map expansion for the team (after 2.0 brought Mexico last year) and also being the first time we have significantly overhauled a major nation. In my opinion, and the opinion of the vast majority of y'all I've interacted with, 3.0 was our best update yet. Every focus tree was well received, with enough variety across Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas for everyone to find a nation they loved to play and many other great trees besides. The rework of Lanius and Caesar, spearheaded by the dream duo of Loonybinjin and Faeelin (u/faeelin), proved incredibly well received. Between them they propelled the Legion into a new age of glory, build a significantly more detailed focus tree that tied in well with nations around them. We also saw focus trees turn towards individuals and stories, evident from Zusk's Mojave Brotherhood, my Mojave Territories, Shoggi's (u/Furupawa) Native Federations, the remnants of Attis's Army and far beyond: more on this later. Numerous new systems also joined us with 3.0, featuring especially ICode's Trade Node & Caps overhaul that brought economic gameplay within OWB and HOI4 to an entire new level. We also implemented an extensive testing regime with experienced QA players, making sure 3.0's release was relatively bug-free.

Clearly, Old World Blues has had a fantastic year of development and progress. It was not without its saddening moments, however. Over the course of the year Zapdude, our once de-facto mod lead and the man behind many of the brilliant ideas Old World Blues has brought to the table, decided to step back from working on the mod. We'll dearly miss his contributions to the mod, as he used to very much be the mastermind from which all manner of weird and wonderful concepts originated, but the mod moves on nevertheless. Now you're all stuck we me, as I run the organisation-side of things including publicity (yay, Reddit posts), alongside mod uploads, administration, the Discord and the like. As with 3.0, we won't let changes in people interrupt our flow: 3.0 was our best release to date, even though it came in the middle of an adjustment period for the entire team! I cannot emphasise enough how grateful I am to the team for their resilience, adaptability and all-around awesomeness this year.

Now with the diagnosis of the year out of the way, let's turn instead to discuss how our design philosophy over the year, and how that philosophy looks going ahead. To set the scene, we started 2020 with something of a design *conflict* between Hearts of Iron IV, the game we mod, and Fallout, the world we bring to life. At its core, Hearts of Iron IV is a *war game*. It tells the stories of nations and armies, commanders and populations. Fallout, on the other hand, tells the stories *individuals*: extraordinary and mundane alike. At the start of 2020, much of our design philosophy was following vanilla's style: we often told the story of nations and populations. I truly believe we told these well, but over the course of 2020 we as a team have learnt that we can tell different stories through our work. This was first explored in great depth by Zusk in 2.1 with the Oregon expansion, which saw a focus on individuals and characters rather than wide-reaching nations. As I alighted to earlier, Zusk's work in Oregon was very well received and shone a light on this side of design for us as a team. 3.0 saw this focus on individual stories taken to a new height, as developers across the board explored characters we had created as a team and poured the OWB's signature flair into. From the Twin Mothers to the many figures in the Legion, from the remnants of Attis's Army to the Mojave Wastes, and from Santa Anna's domain to the northern reaches of Colorado. I greatly credit the storytelling focus we all adopted for the incredible response to 3.0 we have seen from the community. I hope you'd agree Old World Blues now works to marry the role-playing world of Fallout with the military-political simulation Hearts of Iron IV placed in front of us: a unique and fresh perspective for HOI4 mods.

I can wholeheartedly promise we will continue this unique blend of design philosophy as we march into 2021, and we hope our proficiency with this philosophy blooms over the course of the year. This means a greater focus and flavour for not just nation leaders, who's stories are often told by focus trees, but also minor figures across the Wasteland: be them caravanners, settlers, raiders or commanders. You've already seen this in 3.0 from a design and national perspective, but in the future this design philosophy will also begin permeating into other systems within the mod. Next week I'll be going into this in more detail with a Dev Diary about **Project Exodus**, my most recent underlying system for OWB, and you'll undoubtedly be hearing about this when DDs and Teasers begin for 3.2 and beyond: whenever that may be. I'll make sure I keep you all posted as ever!

Regardless of what 2021 holds, we promise to continue doing what we love and making Old World Blues long into the future. We hope you'll all join us on this wonderful journey, and continue to show us the absolutely outstanding support we've had throughout 2020. We can't thank each and every one of you enough for all the support you've shown us, in whatever form that takes.

Well, that's been 2020! Thank you for sticking with this fireside chat, and I hope this has given people an interesting insight into the workings of Old World Blues. Since I want this semi-Dev Diary to be something of a discussion, I'll do my best to respond to questions and comments down below if any arise. As ever, I do hope you've all been doing your best to keep yourself safe and well during this difficult year.

Lots of love -

Happy and the OWB Team

## Development Diary #28 (Dev Diary 28: Project Exodus - Refugees, Decimation and Dynamicism)

Posted by HappyNTH on January 3, 2021.

Good afternoon, Wastelanders! It's now been over a month since the release of Old World Blues 3.0: "Monster of the East", our largest and most flavourful mod release to date. We've been focusing our efforts over this past month primarily on bug fixing and some much-needed downtime (major updates take a lot of energy it turns out, and I slept a *lot* the week after release). However, most of us have begun to drift back into the swing of development, and content creation has already started churning away again.

In today's dev diary, the first since our 3.0 release, I'm talking about a new system I've crafted for Old World Blue: **Project Exodus**. This project has long been on my list, but in the face of organising 3.0's release, I wasn't able to find time for it before our release. Instead, my pet project will be coming with **3.2: "Remember the Alamo"**, our next content update. What is Project Exodus, you might ask? Well, as you might have gleaned from this post's title, Project Exodus is a comprehensive overhaul of OWB's current 'decimation' system, while also rolling in a new element for OWB and HOI4 more widely: refugees. This might seem like a wall-of-text compared to the typical dev diary, so I apologise, but there's a lot to say!

Firstly, let's discuss the systems we currently use in Old World Blues. As some of you may be aware, OWB currently operates a legacy script (by Mechano) called 'decimation', which removes approximately half of a state's industry when the occupation of the state changes. The script was envisaged initially to represent the relative flimsiness of buildings in the Fallout world when juxtaposed to the power of Fallout's weapons, and also to significantly curb the potential snowballing present without such a script. Overall, the script fits incredibly well into the pace of our mod: so much so many of you probably don't even realise it exists, since it's been such a well-integrated piece of the broader puzzle.

If decimation is such a reliable mechanic, why do I want to rip it out and overhaul it? Well, the main aim of Project Exodus is *adding modularity* and *dynamicism* (is that a word?!) rather than *removing the core ideas* behind decimation. Oh, and it adds refugees, but we'll discuss those later. Firstly, modularity. The entire Project Exodus system is designed to be *incredibly* modular, both for the incredibly easy addition/subtraction/tweaking of factors & weightings and for the easy transplantation of the system into other mods and even vanilla HOI4 (though don't do this without my permission, of course!). Secondly, dynamicism. The system is *highly dynamic*, with each calculation being informed by multiple changing variables and country modifiers, each of which can be further modified by national spirits, decisions and focus trees by developers and submodders alike. This means every interaction with the system will be different and unique, but still predictable and exciting!

So how does the system work, exactly? Well, whenever a state controller changes (through war, peace conference, event or otherwise) and exodus isn't specifically disallowed (by country flag, usually set if a state is transferred by the event to represent a 'peaceful' annexation), then Project Exodus script runs a few calculations. Firstly, the number of refugees that will flee from the state, as mentioned above, is calculated according to the following formula:

Refugees

=

State Population

∗
(

Base

%

/

Occupier Appeal

)
∗

Population Nomadicity

{\displaystyle {\text{Refugees}}={\text{State Population}}\*({\text{Base}}\%/{\text{Occupier Appeal}})\*{\text{Population Nomadicity}}}

At the time of writing, the *Base %* of refugees is 15% and is approximately the percentage that the system's average proportion will tend towards (though it can vary wildly). The system's dynamic nature springs from the other two factors in the formula: *Occupier Appeal* and *Population Nomadicity*, which we'll break down a little further. *Occupier Appeal* is calculated according to the new controller of the state, and how appealing this new rule will be to the local population. It is positively affected by being the same ideology, both being settler, having a core and stability. Conversely, it is negatively affected by being a raider nation. *Population Nomadicity*, meanwhile, represents how used to moving about the local population is (and therefore how easy they would take to moving away), and is positively affected by being tribal and negatively affected by having recently had a departure from the state. Both *Occupier Appeal* and *Nomadicity* can be different modifier by ideas, technology and the like.

Once the proportion of a state's population that will flee is calculated, the system does further calculations to determine how many arms and civilian factories are also affected. The calculation uses the same factors as refugees, but with the addition of *Building Elasticity*, a broad proxy for ease of moving buildings, the movement of intellectual capital and blueprints, and other similar factors. Buildings are, currently, about 2.5 times as elastic as population to retain the tough anti-snowball front decimation used to confer. There's scope for this elasticity to be further modified (e.g. by technology, settler status or the like). Still, I’m hesitant to make the system *too* granular if it will result in a reasonably unnoticeable difference in numbers.

https://preview.redd.it/6s1sayom34961.gif?format=mp4&s=f94b26345fa780b6428aece4472d745cac19cf16 A new Scripted GUI on the state window will tell you how many refugees will flee should another nation conquer the state (if it's controlled by you), or should you conquer the state (if it's not controlled by you)

Now we have numbers for refugees and factories fleeing a state; we need to calculate proper places for these to go to. For the sake of performance, the only valid target for refugees is any state of the old controller, any capital of the old owner's neighbour, any capital of the new owner's neighbours, and any state neighbouring the state refugees are fleeing from. The *score* each state has proportional to the total score of all valid states determines the proportion of refugees and factories they receive and is calculated by the following formula:

# Score
(
Base
∗
State Appeal
)

/

(
Distance

/

Distance Divisor
)

{\displaystyle \text{Score } = (\text{Base} \* \text{State Appeal}) / (\text{Distance } / \text{Distance Divisor})}

The more straightforward calculation, since each score is relative to that of all other valid targets. The base score is simply 1, but since the system is relative, it can be used as a proxy for how clumped refugees should be (higher numbers will mean more distinct clusters, while decimals will change even the playing field significantly). *State Appeal*, meanwhile, packs in a lot of factors including shared cores, state categories (more urban categories attract more people), state population (an existing populated area attracts more refugees, divided by a modifiable factor), 'illegal race' (i.e. ghouls fleeing somewhere ghouls are outlawed), owner being at war, owner being a raider or tribal and a handful of small others. *Distance* relies on HOI4's calculation of the distance between states and can be flattened by the *Distance Divisor* (currently 5) to increase or decrease the effect of distance on scores.

The system is thus specifically designed to send most refugees to other states of the occupied nation, followed by the capitals of neighbouring countries. This means making a concerted offensive in one area will slightly *strengthen* your future enemies in the region, further augmenting how the system reduces snowballing and keeping the late-game interesting for players. Nations that are more peaceful than others are now actively rewarded for their peace, and so small city-states may transform into mighty foes if you conquer the countryside around them! A great example of this is San Francisco *significantly* swelling in population and industrial capacity following the annexation of the NCR by the Legion: as it should!

Following the calculation of scores, refugees and factories are removed from the original state and relatively simply allocated to each state according to the proportion of the total score that the state has. The only complication here is the *Factory Destruction Divisor*, which simply divides the number of factories on the move between the removal and re-allocation phase to represent a proportion of the factories being destroyed rather than moving location. Currently, this is 2, meaning about 1/2 of calculated factories are destroyed and the other 1/2 are moved. Once re-allocation is complete, variables are cleared, and the system sits ready to run again. Simple, right?

https://preview.redd.it/551yrmg844961.png?width=410&format=png&auto=webp&s=196091e2b22e04c696b13ef3d03b326e5fff68d7 A new icon notification icon will also inform you when you refugees settle in your land, or flee territory you've just conquered, and give you a 60-day cumulative total!

You might, after reading this diary, be saying to yourself "Wow, Happy! That sounds great, but how much will it slow down my game?". The answer to that, my friends, is not at all. Yes, that's right, the performance effect is minimal (less than the old decimation system!). Regardless, because I know people love choice, I have still implemented a game rule to disable the system entirely (alongside one to debug the system, but that's mostly for me). However, **I strongly discourage disabling the system**, primarily because there is no good check on snowballing and so nations focused on rapid expansion will *rapidly* grow in strength.

So there you have it: **Project Exodus**. I'd love to hear initial thoughts, questions and suggestions based on the information I've given: especially if you think other factors that should (or shouldn't!) be included. Also please bear in mind the exact numbers and weights are being tweaked as I (and our permanent QA team) run testing games of the new systems, and will continuously adjusted in response to feedback when the system goes live.

Until next time, Wastelanders, stay safe x

## Development Diary #29 (Dev Diary 29: 'Down Mexico Way')

Posted by SerialSymphony, partially written by CGS, on April 12, 2021.

Hi guys, I’m Skip, and together with the work of IcodeMaster, CGS, and Daniel, I’m going to be covering the main changes for the 3.3 mini-update: ‘Down Mexico Way,’

The focus of this micro-update was on the West Coast minors of Mexico, and also to develop ‘complimentary’ nations that make the gameplay of already existing nations more interesting and varied. Keep in mind we’re gonna try and get these tested pretty thoroughly before release, so content is not final yadda yadda. Anywho, the first of these, is the Cartels.

**The Cartels**

The twin cartels of Sinaloa and Beltran-Levya have been a bit of a strange anomaly in Mexico’s minor lineup. They’re the only ‘bad-guy’ nations that really exist in the region, as well as being in Tlaloc’s bad books, and as such usually end up as somebody’s lunch sooner or later. They are also the first adversaries to the Free Fighters, but don’t really pack enough of a punch to be a satisfying fight. To alleviate this, the cartel’s new focus tree focuses on taking the fight to the luchadores, and developing mutually beneficial relations with the other minors in the region.

**Starting Ideas**

The idea of an organised crime collective becoming a nation-state is a weird one, and to represent that, the cartels start off with some rather wacky national spirits.

*Cartel Nation* is the primary national spirit of the cartels, and introduces you to the first important mechanic for the nation: Stability management. The cartels are inherently unstable nations, and to maintain a level of cohesion in your state, you’ll need to constantly find ways to resupply your stability. Stability is regularly given as you progress down the focus tree, but you’ll also be using a custom decision set to help you with this. *Cartel Economy* is the chaser spirit, and gives you sizable bonuses to your caps generation, but also a massive malus to building civilian factories, this is going to be a problem, because the cartels have almost no civilian factories to speak of! Thankfully, you can use your ill-gotten gains to purchase off-map civilian factories, and even convert them into on-map factories for an extra stability boost. You’ll also have unique nation-specific ideas, some starting maluses you need to remove, and other ideas you’ll get through the focus tree, speaking of focus trees, lets look at what the cartels have:

https://preview.redd.it/8ncc2uc5qqs61.png?width=345&format=png&auto=webp&s=5f1f3a0d0fcb45df717fbb53032e3642b8ce3b9f Images that make AI cry

**Focus Branches**

The political branch of the tree has unique and shared focuses between the two cartels, focusing on further stabilising the regime and re-affirming ties between the northern and southern factions. The mid-capstone of this branch is a focus to bring the villains of Mexico together, inviting Gente, the Bandidos, and any other ne’er do-wells to a grand conference to discuss matters of evil. Doing so will give you much needed support when you go up against the Free Fighters, but also may mean you end up helping your new friends with their wars as well. Following a successful campaign against the luchadores, you then get to decide how to align with your fellow cartel, whether that be a tight alliance of equals, or an ‘unconventional’ melding of the two cliques into one is up to you.

https://preview.redd.it/ris18ck7qqs61.png?width=584&format=png&auto=webp&s=629397be9589f4cb9ba1ae4267f27954a8024532 Pictured: all the boring focuses you have to take before getting to conquer people

In more traditional areas, the cartel military is focused on either creating a professional unit of trained warriors, or fielding a larger, but undisciplined rabble of psychopaths. Research-wise the cartels aren’t the smartest bunch, but once you’ve managed to stop your intelligentsia from fleeing the country, you can hyper-focus your RND on specific categories to help alleviate your brain-drain.

https://preview.redd.it/2vipl2ncqqs61.png?width=1153&format=png&auto=webp&s=a840aaff5217ed7aa51215171c5248b305fa02d9 Ole Reliable 'Rightmost Scientific Path'

Economically, the cartels are pretty destitute, and while you can alleviate the worst of it, the truth is Sinaloa doesn’t have much to offer you. However, there is another way, and it involves the next mechanic of the cartels, infiltration. Using ‘La Resistance’ operations, the cartels can expand their influence across Mexico and beyond, gaining lucrative opportunities for profit and economic bonuses. The more countries you’ve successfully infiltrated, the higher your bonuses will be. The host nations will get a mixed spirit, and certain scripted nations may have options to either crack down or embrace their new ghoul visitors (For those without the dlc, this mechanic will be replaced with a decision set).

https://preview.redd.it/2u2xlis8qqs61.png?width=554&format=png&auto=webp&s=574f553d88532b4a586d3f42e5061236d9129f0e For all 12 of you who bought the DLC

I hope that was an interesting read for you guys! Next, CGS will detail the new Two Sun tree and its main features.

**Two Sun**

Hi, it's CGS, the backend scripter for OWB: The Great Race submod and a person responsible for incorporating it inside OWB.

Two Sun is a unique nation in many aspects. Its religion, the Cult of Nas, is based on praising the virtue of speed. The temples of this faith are called “Garages” in which priests-mechanics maintain the best cars and bikes available in the wastelands, and their sanctuaries are called “Tracks”, which are being repaired according to the testaments of the great Sr., the founder of Nascar.

This emphasis on vehicles greatly influences the focus tree, a third of which is designated towards expanding your technological knowledge about motorized and improving their capacities.

https://preview.redd.it/zphou8t9qqs61.png?width=1140&format=png&auto=webp&s=05305a35dad21c2b89ee4b2e45efafc47792829d If I had a nickel for every car obsessed OWB nation I'd have at least two nickels.

But while a car has to be well-oiled, it is useless until it stays indoors. The Two Sun warriors, or racers, as they call themselves, worship the hero of old – Cannonball, who protects them in their rides along the Sonora desert.

In the focus tree you will have to prepare to organize the biggest driving competition for the last 200 years: The Great Race. Conquer the neighboring lands to build the longest tracks this post-world has ever seen and deliver the invitations to the famous racers from different parts of the wastelands.

https://preview.redd.it/t56jhumaqqs61.png?width=332&format=png&auto=webp&s=5a5d4ecd5c9508695e51b89d10e56835afeaf9fc Ain't it purty?

But no man rules alone and Caesar knows this very well. Two Sun is the only tribe outside of the legion which is truly loyal to the Son of Mars. This update will rework interaction between Caesar’s Legion, Two Sun and Gente Del Sol, with the latter two having to compete for the rights to govern Cowboy country’s lands. Devoted warrior Will Faster and sly negotiator Generalissimo Vialla will try to convince Caesar that they are worthy of serving under the legion.

https://preview.redd.it/fii55vabqqs61.png?width=824&format=png&auto=webp&s=f5457a84795dc69fba914ff8e26de53b27b552e0 Literally everyone has an option to kill Gente

**Costa, Free Fighters, and More**

As a final addition, I’ll cover a few of the changes made to Costa, The Free Fighters, and what else is coming with the update.

The main changes to Costa come in the form of an expansion to its trade capabilities, with a new producible ‘coffee’ equipment, and integrations with the current caps system. Alongside that, I’ve given the tree a fresh coat of paint and some extra tweaks to its existing focuses as well.

https://preview.redd.it/ubqh6u9hqqs61.png?width=680&format=png&auto=webp&s=93bf30720bca1ae2dd5e074d5367e6bf0c8077cd Big ups to the Icode King tumut

The Luchadore tree remains basically unchanged. Instead, the ‘great rematch’ between La Tres Mascaras is now preceded by individual, dynamic matches, which decide the leader of the Federation till the next match. Swapping leaders in this way allows you to go down paths that were originally locked until deciding a final champion. Now, you can take these focuses early, allowing for greater choice and variation in the tree.

https://preview.redd.it/1lz3h4vfqqs61.png?width=513&format=png&auto=webp&s=9e287e99a1082cb96e109df76bc3d23e92a5804f I forgot to change the icon for this picture, woops

In addition to these focus reworks, all the nations of Mexico will be getting new generic design companies as a flavour addon. Alongside this, a slew of unique and generic flavour events have been added, as well as some smaller QoL fixes across the country.

I hope this was an interesting read! Thanks for playing the mod and see you in Mexico soon!

## Development Diary #30 (Dev Diary 30: 'Change is Coming')

Posted by Garnithor on May 16, 2021.

Hello wastelanders, I hope you are all doing well, despite the current state our world is in and all the problems that caused, but despite that, we have been working a lot internally on the next update. 3.3 is going to include one fundamental change regarding our balance setup, but before we go into details first, a few explanations.

Our balance setup always assumed that defence and breakthrough are renewable resources during combat, meaning that they always act at full capacity regardless of how long a fight goes. This was wrong.

To quickly summarise. When two units meet each other in fight, their attack values are blocked by defence when defending and breakthrough when on the offence. This means that if your defence exceeds the enemies’ attack, the enemy does only a fraction of the damage expected. The same goes for breakthrough, but protecting the attacker on the offence.

*Except that* we always assumed defense did not deteriorate, or get used up. Every time defence blocks an attack, the next round of combat has reduced defensive stats. Same goes for breakthrough, but this also means that the longer combat lasts, the more beneficial it becomes to just have high org values.

Infantry has dominated because of this, by the time the enemy overcomes all of its defence, the damage dealt was already large enough to overcome the attack advantages of other units. Exceptions to this rule existed, but it was the main driving factor why Infantry only meta has become so entrenched. We have been trying to juggle numbers around to address this particular issue, how can we make sure that infantry is still valuable as a defensive tool, but isn’t your one glove fits everything unit. In short, infantry was in dire need of some nerfs.

https://preview.redd.it/8dbmsv1pzgz61.png?width=1740&format=png&auto=webp&s=3d0dfa9146ec06d24d943cf477676aac1810830b New Infantry Stats (for reference, Tier 4 energy weapons aka pulse weapons had 15 soft attack.)

And nerfs it will get with version 3.3. In almost all areas, which opened another can of worms. Power armour, and special forces got most of their offensive stats from infantry equipment. Originally the idea here was that the gun is what does the damage, not the armour that the user has on. But due to balance reasons we do not do this anymore. So what infantry equipment has lost in power, was moved over to special forces equipment and power armour. This has by far the biggest impact, because it means that while special forces and power armour are about on the same power level as before, power armour demo and fireteams have gotten a prominent buff. Considering how little those units have been used before, a good change of pace.

https://preview.redd.it/x7fpxug00hz61.png?width=1316&format=png&auto=webp&s=473130c626ecf34a005f2fff75ef10ee5b85eeaf Power armour and their new stats, or at least some of them.

https://preview.redd.it/nj642x930hz61.png?width=1292&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ee211ff2f5b979166368ff4aea08b99b223c649 Special forces for your viewing pleasure.

Another reason why we gave infantry such high stats comparatively was to keep basic technology level nations competitive into the midgame. Though this is also not really needed anymore, since basic tech nations now have both their own research tab (In cases of tribals) and access to enforcer units.

With this change, infantry still works good on the defence, but giving them fire teams will always be a direct upgrade, despite the hike in both production cost and penalties in organisation. Special forces will have a lot more of a role now in breakthrough situations.

We have also added a few subtechs between equipments to further spread out the progression a bit and give each type of equipment a more unique nature to it. Energy weapons do now increase piercing values, while melee infantry is capable of moving faster.

https://preview.redd.it/7py4x9q90hz61.png?width=1367&format=png&auto=webp&s=86f4870f4fe3e9d43c1688a7177efac715479ec0 And last, to further emphasise the roles that certain units have, we changed the statlines of special forces, enforcers and power armour to be more breakthrough oriented and less defence oriented. Hopefully making it more clear which unit holds the line, and which pushes forward.

# Map Development Diaries

## Map Development Diary #1 (4.0 Dev Diary #1 - Old World Blues (wait... again?))

Posted by HappyNTH on July 9, 2021.

Hello, Wastelanders!

It's been a little while since the last time I sat down to write a Dev Diary, but much has been happening behind the scenes in the weeks since we've last spoken. Most notable from my end is my decision to focus the majority of my creative energy on reworking, rejuvenating, and expanding the map. While I used to be a bit of a jack-of-all-trades on the team, since I began digging into 4.0 & 5.0 I discovered my love for the painful art of the map. Today, therefore, I'm presenting the first of three (four, maybe) developer diaries in which I embark on a deep-dive of the map work you'll see from me in 4.0. I'll do my best to focus on my thought processes, references & the like: map-modding is certainly one of the more arcane aspects of HOI4 modding, so I hope the insight will help cast more light on the area.

If you haven't gathered from my previous Reddit posts or my Discord presence, I'm a little something of a perfectionist. You may remember I recently embarked on a reasonably significant rework of the Mojave Desert with our 3.0 update. I changed some locations to reflect Fallout: New Vegas better and enable the creation of the Mojave Territories to represent the NCR's presence in the area. However, with my 4.0 map rework of California in full swing, I decided to return to Mojave once more. My reasoning for this was twofold. Firstly, I had learned a lot about making more sweeping changes due to my work in California (that I'll show in a future diary!). Secondly, I really, *really* wanted to ensure the in-game map was accurate against irl topographical, river & location maps.

To fulfill my aims, I set about creating a master map file. What started as just a 37MB province map has now ballooned into a 1GB GIMP file, with many and various reference maps overlayed on my quest for geographical perfection. I originally had just intended to touch up some province locations. Still, it quickly became obvious the Colorado River itself had been skewed significantly further west than its actual location on an early draft of the map. In turn, the Mojave was really squashed, severely restricting the amount of space I had to work with during my 3.0 rework of the area (which I did largely by eye).

https://preview.redd.it/12pc785ye7a71.png?width=605&format=png&auto=webp&s=def073e8f3d476398f2a8b5cd99e370d122047fe A reminder of the Mojave's 3.0 map, as I revealed back in Dev Diary #13

Of course, my brain could not let this stand. As a result, my planned province tweaks became a promise of map accuracy. Shifting the Colorado east to its true location created a Mojave with significantly more breathing room and several Legion provinces that could be painlessly mixed into the Mojave for greater tactical depth. I'll spare you the minute-by-minute rundown of my map work and instead jump on to the final outcome before running point by point through significant features:

https://preview.redd.it/f6m8lu5ne7a71.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=063e34a4680a1f0bb20ba7ca1b4a94e35a3cdd72 The post-4.0 rework map of the Mojave in all its glory

It looks pretty different, right? So let's drill into some of the biggest changes. Most strikingly is the widening of the Mojave proper as the Colorado River has been pushed eastwards to follow its true course. I've dedicated most of that additional space to widening the Mojave Brotherhood's provinces. The additional granularity allowed me to both open up a second entrance to Hidden Valley and better represent the narrow road from Goodsprings to Sloan on the western flank. In what may be contentious to some more frequent Mojave Territories players, I have decided to still keep most of the protective impassible boundaries around the Brotherhood's land. In test games I've run without the boundary, the Brotherhood is remarkably easily ground down, even with high preparation.

Turning to New Vegas, the additional provinces moved from the Legion have allowed me to bulk up the city itself a reasonable bit. Camp McCarren, the NCR's major base in the region, is closer to its real-life location and close to the strip. In addition, the NCR now owns parts of land once beginning to the two Mojave minor nations: the Fiends and the Great Khans (though New Vegas has also absorbed some of this land to smooth out borders).

https://preview.redd.it/typucmdhe7a71.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=8e444be178b94499d6c922dc1a45567a568ea887 The new 4.0 state map for the reworked Mojave region

While the decision to remove the Khans and Fiends from the region may disappoint some, ultimately, I believe it's the right call. There's plenty more space to explore the interactions between these prominent raider gangs and the NCR/Vegas forces in focus trees & events. In comparison, the map has relatively little space to explore these dynamics. As a result, the Fiends were entirely boxed in, while the Khans were a reasonably small raider gang in 2275 that posed more of a regional threat than a state-wide one. Never fear, however: we've already promised to reallocate Khan Warbands to 5.0's map areas.

The final point I'll touch on in this Dev Diary is the Mojave's external boundary 'walls'. Here I have to thread the fuzzy boundary between Fallout canon and real-life geography. My map philosophy in this regard has always been to fit Fallout canon onto accurate, real-life maps (Fallout 1 & 2's maps especially are prone to contradiction with each other & actual geography). With this in mind, I've done my best to fit Fallout: New Vegas' map-bordering mountains to real-life mountain ranges. Such an approach works fine enough for the western border, for which I can exaggerate the Clark Mountain range, but there's no reasonable range to extrapolate on New Vegas' southern map boundary. So instead, I've opted to include the eastern half of the (actual) Mojave National Preserve within the broad boundary. To close the area off, I've had to join together some semi-major mountainous areas into one continuous range. It's far from perfect (don't look at a map of the actual area), but I think this is the best way to draw together New Vegas' map with real geographical features.

States previously west/south of the boundary have been reallocated to tags in California proper, meaning the Mojave Territories now ends at the Long-15 (still a chokepoint, but far from as unreasonably long as prior). Of course, the Mojave Territories' tree will see some work in 4.0 to reflect changes both to the map and to the NCR, but you'll have to stay tuned for hints on those!

If you have any questions about the map side of things, feel free to drop a comment or a question over on Discord: I'm always happy to explain my thinking in more technical detail or reflect on suggestions/concerns. Otherwise, I do hope this diary serves to get you excited for 4.0's map changes, and my future map work map-wide!

Stay safe, and see y'all again soon,

- Happy

## Map Development Diary #2 (Map Dev Diary #2 - Mom I Broke Northern California)

Posted by HappyNTH on August 13, 2021.

Hey Wastelanders! It's yours truly, back again for another map development diary. This time, I'm going to be guiding you through changes in and around Northern California & Southern Oregon. I'm afraid we're still not going to be having a look at California proper this week: I've got to leave the best to last!

Firstly, though, a small note: I'm going to be changing this series of developer diaries from ***4.0*** **Dev Diaries** to ***Map*** **Dev Diaries**. The precise reasoning for this will become obvious soon enough, but I want a bit of freedom to dot around the map as I'm making changes. Well, fine, maybe we could have a *tiny* spoiler as to why:

https://preview.redd.it/48im3e4116h71.png?width=498&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c66551145fc2a570044daa937b5fa9c372ccf00 The first one to guess the region correctly gets... an upvote?

In the meantime, however, let's get back to Northern California. In the past, the region was left as more-or-less de facto NCR food. However, with our rework of the NCR, it became the perfect time to shake that up, so that's what we've done! Here's the New North in all of its glory:

https://preview.redd.it/f4j5tzk516h71.png?width=1063&format=png&auto=webp&s=f2965dd8d1766d8e0eb0ff1f5e9513633d2318ce Whoops, I dropped Northern California and it broke into little pieces.

Where to start?! Let's talk about rivers and lakes a bit. Ever since I took up the mantle of OWB's map modder, I've really wanted to introduce more water features to the mod. While the inland sea-style rivers are distinctive, I don't think they're all that consistent, especially for representing non-navigable waterways that would still register on our map scale. As a result, I decided to begin introducing vanilla-style rivers to the map, and Northern California was the very first testing ground.

Over time, I have developed two rules for the use of vanilla rivers:

1. The river should be a useful divider rather than arbitrarily introduced. In general, this means rivers mark state or country borders. It should never break up a state for no reason.

2. Rivers are only represented if they flow from a good source, such as a mountain or sea-style river. Having rivers start in the middle of nowhere is a little odd on-map.

These rules are, of course, somewhat malleable. Since Northern California/Southern Oregon was my testing ground, the rules aren't applied rigidly here as I've learnt to do later. Still, you can see most rivers originate from lakes and form state/country borders. Here's a little better of a view, from the state mapmode:

https://preview.redd.it/04svy2s716h71.png?width=1465&format=png&auto=webp&s=26bcab3d8d4eb53d1bafc04a5a65e53220b9a5b9 I promise I haven't added an advertisement for my summer camp scheme.

You may notice the lakes look a little odd, especially when slightly further zoomed in than this screenshot. That's because, to make them appear like *water* and not *dried land*, I have to drop their height level to the sea. As a result, we get a lot of sheer cliffs around inland rivers and lakes (as you've probably noticed from playing the mod). We're working on a solution to this, where we use ambient objects (like the Hoover Dam) to appear as water at a higher level, but it's fiddly to implement and as such I'm limiting the number of lakes we scatter willy-nilly!

The abundance of new tags gives rise to a new power in Northern California: Arroyo! I'm not going to go into much detail on each nation and their vibe - we'll save that for a later content diary of the region - but just know that Arroyo and its surroundings will be getting *lots* of juiciness in 4.0. Stay tuned for more on that front, since Arroyo's content will accompany a pretty significant fleshing out of the tags in the regions (hence I'm not delving into things now).

I'll see you soon to look at California Proper, so keep your eyes out for a future diary looking at the varied geography & map iterations of the NCR. I promise it's a pretty significant, but well through-through, set of changes. I'll also talk a bit in that diary about the NCR's various rework iterations, as well as touch on the Brotherhood & Shi to set the stage for future diaries.

All the best,

- Happy