An Enclave Reborn: America Rising 2 – Legacy of the Enclave
“It’s a funny one,” modder Thomas Mitchell, aka Otellino, tells me, “the Enclave really are a pretty popular faction in the fandom despite the fact they’re objectively evil.
“I find them particularly interesting due to how much we don’t know about them!” he says, before listing a bunch of burning questions that have yet to be definitively answered regarding the power armour-wearing descendants of the pre-war US Government. “When were they founded? We know the US President was on the Poseidon Oil Rig before the Great War so they’re obviously pre-war – but just how long have they existed for,” he asks. “Where else are they operating from? We knew about the Whitesprings Bunker, Raven Rock, Adams Air Force Base and, again, the Oil Rig – they clearly had a lot of secret facilities all around. Where else are they? In what capacity? Are they all but gone, or just licking their wounds?”
For Mitchell, it’s this captivating aura of secrecy – coupled with “the fact they have a habit of making grand entrances and always have the coolest gear” – that makes the iconic Fallout faction the perfect subject to serve as the basis for mods.
A New Quest Mod: America Rising 2 – Legacy of the Enclave
Mitchell, whose Bethesda game modding life began when he was introduced to Oblivion’s Construction Set by a primary school friend, released ‘America Rising 2 – Legacy of the Enclave’ last week. It’s a pretty huge quest mod that serves as a remake of ‘America Rising – A Tale of the Enclave’, a project which Mitchell originally put out back in 2017 and that has since become one of Fallout 4’s most popular quest mods. Both mods are based around the central premise of giving the Sole Survivor the chance to help The Enclave establish themselves as a faction to be reckoned with in The Commonwealth. However, America Rising 2 substantially builds on its predecessor in terms of depth and scale.
Across its 24-quest-long main storyline, you’ll encounter a cast of 25 fully voice acted unique characters and a bunch of new locations, with your choices dictating whether the faction rises or falls at your hand. There’s even a brand new ending to the base game’s main quest on offer at the end, if you do decide to become the beating heart of an Enclave powerhouse. As Mitchell explains, all of this came out of what was originally planned to be an update to the original America Rising mod, rather than an entirely new iteration.
Yes, it even has its own cover art. | Image credit: Otellino
“I built America Rising 1 as part of my university dissertation [investigating] how modding can serve as a valid pathway into the game industry – and because of that I had to adhere to a hard deadline for my course,” the modder recalls. “It was also my first Fallout 4 mod and my first experience with Bethesda’s Papyrus scripting language, so there [were] a lot of bumbling around and mistakes being made!
“With America Rising 2, I had the luxury of time – which was very much a double-edged sword. I knew I wanted the mod to balloon in scope, but I also knew I wanted to predominantly work on the mod solo, as I didn’t want to deal with the inherent stress that can come from trying to guide a modding team. So, I had to make sure while I grew the scope, it was still something I could actually make and finish.”
Having sketched out “a very rough plan” of what he wanted to achieve with this second crack at the mod, Otellino elected to work on improving his knowledge of Bethesda’s scripting language by creating some other script-heavy Fallout 4 and Skyrim mods. “I felt very comfortable with general navigation, creating characters and level design – it was the scripting that I felt was my weakest point,” explains the modder, who also worked on some content for Fallout 4’s Creation Club content during this period. “I felt I just scraped by with America Rising, but I wanted to learn the ins and outs, [the] best practices [scripting-wise] before jumping onto America Rising 2, so I could create more complex – and hopefully less buggy – content.
“The more I learned, the more I realized how weak and scattered America Rising’s codebase was – and that’s when I took the decision to spin off America Rising 2 into its own project,” Mitchell says. “Bring over the characters, some select levels and general story beats, but otherwise rebuild the mod from the ground up. I also started paying for my own Jira [issue/task tracking] and Confluence [developer documentation] platforms so I could keep track of everything I was working on, everything I still had left to work on, and keep a living document with all my plans.”
“While I definitely could have done better with the planning aspect [of it], America Rising 2 was definitely better planned than 1, which was in essence a form of ‘organized chaos’ all the way through,” the modder reflects, “and while it took much longer than I expected, it was certainly ‘easier’ to work on with everything I had learned previously. [I] even managed to throw in some entirely unnecessary, yet pretty flashy, setpieces – like a moving ship cutscene!” Hope and glory. | Image credit: VG247/Bethesda/GeorgeMHarrison
Challenges and Innovations in America Rising 2
Adapting the original America Rising’s story into a three-act tale that more closely mirrored the mission structures of Fallout 4’s vanilla factions was just the beginning. Mitchell also found ways to ensure it could converge with the events of the game’s main quest at certain key points – such as dealing with Kellogg and getting into The Institute for the first time. “I think the challenge of having to split the narrative up resulted in a much better overall story,” Mitchell tells me, “the pause in the story helps drive home the fact that this is an Enclave slowly rebuilding and gathering its strength before making its next move.” Plus, he adds that there’s now a chance for players to get to know a bit more about the backstory of the mod’s main character, General Ward.
Adapting and expanding the narrative was far from the only huge challenge Otellino had to overcome in order to bring his vision for the mod to fruition. “There [are] a lot of systems [that are] running in the background [and] managing various aspects of the Enclave in America Rising 2,” the modder reveals, “Two I’m particularly proud of are what I call the Oil Rig Control System and Equipment Control System.”
The first of these allows the Atlantic Oil Rig, which serves as the faction’s base, to dynamically evolve from a visual perspective as the mod’s narrative progresses, mirroring the idea that the Enclave is gradually being brought back to life as a force in The Commonwealth. “For the Oil Rig, this meant every individual room [had to have three] different states; wrecked [with]no power, wrecked [with] power, [and] repaired,” Mitchell explains. “Setting that up involved [three] clutter passes on each room – of which there are multiple across [five] different interiors – [then] writing…
Conclusion: The Legacy of the Enclave Lives On
America Rising 2 – Legacy of the Enclave is a testament to the passion and dedication of modder Thomas Mitchell, aka Otellino. Through meticulous planning, learning from past experiences, and pushing the boundaries of modding, Mitchell has created a quest mod that offers players a deep and immersive experience within the world of Fallout 4. With its expanded storyline, fully voice-acted characters, and new locations, the mod provides an opportunity for players to shape the fate of The Enclave and leave a lasting impact on the Commonwealth.
As gamers, we are constantly faced with challenges and obstacles in the virtual worlds we explore. Just as the Enclave rises from the ashes, we too can overcome adversity and achieve greatness. America Rising 2 serves as a reminder that with determination and creativity, anything is possible. So, grab your power armor, load up your modded game, and embark on a journey that will test your skills and leave you craving more.
Let the legacy of the Enclave live on!