Free parking at Harrah's casino? - New Orleans Forum ...

I’ve been a Fallout player and fan for over a decade. I have played every game from Fallout to Fallout 4 (with the exception of BOS). I have also lived in New Orleans for the past 4 years. Whenever I am bored or driving through particularly dilapidated parts of town, I daydream about what Fallout: New Orleans would look like. I finally took some time to write out my thoughts for your enjoyment. Let me know what you think!
Fallout: New Orleans
Story
The story would revolve around the city with it’s unique geography, themes, and lore. Set in 2375, two years before the United States is estimated to be habitable again.
The story would focus on a character created by the player with one of three general back stories. Each would have a specific starting location. From there, the player would get to determine which missions or play style they want to pursue.
Three starting points:

• Vault Dweller - Survivor from a vault in Bayou Sauvage. The vault would have been time locked to open around the time the US becomes habitable again. You are the youngest person in the vault as the vault experiment was to see the population’s reaction if they were told there was a malfunction in the release mechanism fifty years prior to it’s actual opening. Over time, the vault dwellers collectively decided it would be cruel to bring a child into the world only for it to be locked underground its entire life and underwent mass voluntary sterilization. You were the last “oops” baby and one of a handful of survivors when the door unlocks in 2375.
• Enclave - Born and raised on a converted Poseidon oil rig in the Gulf, trained to be a soldier, now on you first deployment: part of reconnaissance team sent to survey New Orleans, a city surprisingly quiet since the Great War.
• The New Orleanian - Born and raised in a small community in Audubon park. Geographically separated from the rest of New Orleans by flood waters. A fairly xenophobic commune that has willingly limited interaction with other areas of town. The population is growing and it is time to expand, you are a young scout sent to explore the city for open land to settle.

The player would explore New Orleans and the surrounding area as the game progresses, uncovering lore pertaining both to the Fallout universe and to the history of the city and region. The goal being to unite the various settlements and factions for or against you (depending on how you want to play). Like some of the other games, there would be no time crunch or rush to reach an end; it is the Big Easy after all. You’re just a free agent and the city is your oyster.
The climax of the game would be the players participation in the Battle of New Orleans. Modeled after the historical battle of New Orleans during the war of 1812, the battle of New Orleans would not be the bookend of the game like Hoover Dam was in New Vegas, instead it would be a late game event that would shape the interactions experienced in the “epilogue.” The theme of the battle is everybody wants the city for it’s value as a port when America reawakens from the nuclear apocalypse. Options for faction alignments with outcomes include:

• New Orleanians - Let us keep our city, everybody can use the port if they pay the toll
• Enclave - The US needs the port to once again become great
• Start anew (chaotic) - level the whole city (including you) and start from scratch
• Steamboat Willie (a character modeled after Grant P. Marsh) - he’s got connections down south and you can be the partner to open a trade route and rejoin the world
• I’m the Boss now - establish yourself as de facto leader and become the new doge of New Orleans. Nothing moves through the port unless you get a taste.
• I’ll sit this one out - completely skip the battle and sit back as a gradual stalemate results in a weak truce and further confusion. Either way, nothing changes for you.

Other minor plot points:

• Leave the Brotherhood out - logically they would not venture far south without good reason. Maybe include an expedition force to investigate all the shit you have been stirring towards the end of the game but otherwise, give them a break.
• International inclusion - Maybe a foreign character of some reference to the world outside of the US (Central or South American, hell even Europe), franchise building for when they run out of interesting US landscapes to base the game in.

Gameplay
I say go back to the roots of what made fallout so special. Combat is entertaining but should not be the main focus or end goal but rather a means to an end that can be circumvented with other skills checks. Don’t try to make it more frilly than Fallout 4 already did. Instead, put time and effort into a robust assortment of other methods to achieve goals. Put emphasis back on skills and player creativity.
The Morality System - Everything is connected
The game should go back to the old way of no limitations on the things you can do and undo. Most notably the killing of main characters and the possibility of ostracization. The game should not be broken by the elimination of a main character. Instead, it will introduce new obstacles and potentially new quest lines. Along the same vein, word of your deeds/misdeeds should spread at a more organic pace. For instance, news should take time to travel, thus you may be able to outrun your reputation for a short time. Eventually as word spreads about you, dialogue options change. Maybe not even affecting core missions, but instead unlocking new lore and interactions. Furthermore, the inverse should also be true: no witnesses, no crime. I know this has been done with previous fallout games but I think making the morality system more complex and realistic would add to the immersion and replayability.
Example: I still remember my first time playing Fallout 1 and getting in a scuffle in Shady Sands. I launched a missile at an enemy but having nearly no big guns skill, I completely missed and hit an unsuspecting kid. Well sure enough, I was branded a Childkiller and the rest of my game was very difficult until I gave up and started over. I am not advocating for bringing back the ability to kill children (mainly because it is very difficult argument no matter which side you are on). I think endless possibility with realistic (and painful) consequences is what made the first games so unique and challenging.
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Environment
The starting point not only dictates the player backstory, but also the starting point geographically. The Vault Dweller will start around Bayou Sauvage, the Enclave around Jean Lafitte Preserve, and the New Orleanian in Uptown (Audubon Park).
My theory is that full out nuclear war would not target NOLA directly, but loss of what little organizational structure there was in the form of a centralized government would lead to catastrophic public works failures (not too hard to imagine given the current state of the S&WB). Large areas of the city would be flooded to the point where travel is best achieved via boat. The player could design and customize a boat with numerous functions such as travel, combat, and survival (hunting, fishing, scavenging). Over the course of the game the landscape would transform based on the actions of the player. New areas of land could be accessed by repairing and activating pump stations to drain the flood waters.
My idea would be not condensing a large geographic area to fit all the landmarks as in the DC Wasteland or Boston but instead try to stay true to scale as NOLA is already pretty condensed as far as a city goes.
From a logistical standpoint, such a condensed urban environment would mean designing a lot of indoor environments. This is where Bethesda could reconnect themselves with the player and modder communities. Imagine if people could volunteer to design the interior of a small home in the game. Provided with a simple editor and a finite amount of resources and size, each participating player could create a part of the base game that is their own. This is something to further invest the contributor in the game. Granted there would be quality control and editing as needed. This would greatly expand the scale of the game and make it seem more realistic as there are more environments to explore. Some of the most compelling parts of the fallout games are the small vignettes and stories presented with little or no exposition; the scenes you stumble upon and piece together such as the McClellan Family Townhome in FO3, Ranger Cabin in FO4, the remains of a whale in FO2, etc. Contributors would have the opportunity to create their own tragic/comic/absurdist scenes without dialogue to share with other players. The homes would have addresses so contributors could encourage friends to visit their creations.
Additionally, the New Orleans area is home to a varied array of wildlife that could make appearances as mutated enemies. Obviously deathclaws would be included but some other additions include gators, nutria, armadillos, coyotes, etc.
Uniquely New Orleans

• The music
  • Radio would play a big part, I’m talking multiple radio stations and 50+ hours of songs/programming. A really cool way to incorporate the city beyond including local artists would be to incorporate local DJs. Enlist radio personalities from local stations (WWOZ, WHIV, hell even WTUL) to curate playlists. Especially DJ Soul Sister.
  • I know it has been mentioned before but I think it would be an awesome standing quest to collect old 45’s from the environment to give to stations for rewards. There would be numerous copies of each song so that extras could be put to use…
  • The Hitmaker - A launcher that weaponizes those razor-sharp extra 45’s you are sick of lugging around. A unique weapon acquired earlier in game but capable of modding to keep up with late game difficulty increase.
• Nu-creole
  • After 200 years of radiation and isolation, the language of the bayou became more and more unintelligible from any spoken dialect
  • There is a perk that can be upgraded that will allow the player to gradually understand the nu-creole.
  • The appeal will be understanding the folks in the boonies will give the player early advantages (and also prevent misunderstandings that could turn violent). I can think of dozens of zany comedic/tragic developments that could come out of the fallout universe based on a simple failure to communicate.
• Fuckin Mardi Gras
  • Yearly parade(s). There could even be a Krewe reputation system. It would not be as black and white as hostile/non-hostile but instead give the player unique opportunities, items, and quests depending on with which Krewe they collaborate.
• The locations
  • So many unique and awesome places to explore: Preservation Hall, Big Charity), the Chryslus Motors Superdome, the Nuka-Cola Center, the Natchez, Harrah’s, the Arby’s, the French Market, Mardi Gras World, City Park, the Convention Center, Tipitina’s, etc.
• The Preservation Society
  • A group of ghouls inspired by Abraham Washington. Their goal is to preserve the historic sites of New Orleans. They provide various missions from to maintain or restore the historic site of New Orleans.
• The Chryslus Motors Superdome
  • Originally converted to a vault with a thunderdome-esque theme to breed only the toughest, strongest survivors for the post-apocalyptic world. Trials by combat.

Some Langiappe:
All quests would have a New Orleans reference

• Ain't dere no more - help a ghoul whose dying wish is one last taste of a Hubig’s pie
• I know where you got dem shoes - Explore the French Quarter
• Dr. Mary's Monkey - Investigate the FEV animal testing labs on Tulane’s campus
• Eyehateatom - The Children of Atom are trying to convert locals and want to bask the city in his glorious glow, stop them.
• Wild Wild East - Connect with the various factions in the east and win their approval
• Throw me something, mister - participate in Mardi Gras
• Where the unusual occurs… - Explore Charity and clear out the unwelcome occupants
• Where y’at - Re-establish radio contact with outlying communities
• Casanova - Help reunite the Preservation Society Brass Band
• Who Dat? - Rise to champion of the Chryslus Motors Thunderdome
• Out Metry Way - Repel the raiders advancing from Metairie
• Makin’ Groceries - Establish trade lines for local settlements with the open market at Congo Square

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This is all I could think of just sitting down and typing it out. I'll add more as it comes. Please make any suggestions, I had a lot of fun just imaging this so I'd love to hear if anyone has other ideas.
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Hey everyone,
I'm about to leave to go to Southeast Asia for a long time, and in preparation I had to drive from San Diego to Washington DC. I decided to make a nice road trip out of it, and discovered that the IHG PointBreaks hotels were conveniently located in middle of nowhere locations right on my route!
I first drove from San Diego through the desert to Deming NM to stay at the HIE there. I got a very late start, and arrived around 4 am. The guy at the front desk was very nice about it, and even had me authorized to stay in until noon the next day so I could sleep past the check-in time of 12. I didn't make it up in time for the breakfast though. The city of Deming is kind of cute in an old west way, though there's not too much worth stopping for. Apparently there's a pretty good museum but I didn't have time to see it.
Next I drove to the HIE in Schulenburg TX. It was fun to drive in West Texas as the roads are very straight and empty, and the scenery is quite nice. I also arrived pretty late, around 2 am. However hurricane Harvey had just hit the area and the internet everywhere was down, so he said it was good I was using an award night because their credit card machines were unusable. The elevator also had a sign that said "use at your own discretion" because I guess they had lost electricity earlier. I also remember the tap water tasting very bad, both at the hotel and at restaurants. I don't know if this was due to the hurricane or if they just have bad water. If you ever stop near Schulenburg, there is basically nothing there unless you go to see the painted churches, which were closed while I was there. However beer is pretty cheap. I stayed there two nights, as I was originally planning a rest day during which I would visit Franklin BBQ in Austin, though I discovered it had burned down in a fire a few days before...
Next I drove to New Orleans. I went through flooded areas of Beaumont TX and learned that I should not trust Google to give me directions through such areas, as I ended up having to drive my tiny BMW through standing water among all the giant pickup trucks. Luckily nothing happened to the car but it's something I'm going to try to avoid doing in the future. However it was nice to see the Hervey response: there were a lot of soldiers helping out, and a lot of random people in huge pickup trucks were driving around looking for people to rescue. Somehow I made it through and was on my way through Louisiana.
New Orleans is where I kind of cheated on my PointBreaks trip. I had 3 free Ritz Carlton night certificates from the sign up bonus and decided to use them here, since I'll be in Asia without very good redemption options until they expire. The Ritz was very nice; they gave me a room on the 9th floor with a very nice view, and the location really can't be beat, right on the edge of the French quarter just a few minutes' walk from (and yet still far enough from) Bourbon st. They also gave me a complimentary pastry and coffee from the coffee cart in the lounge, which was surprisingly good (I used to work in luxury hotels and realized a lot of them have very bad pastries). They also have live jazz in their lounge which is free to watch for anyone, though you are welcome to drop a lot of money for their cocktails. The building is also quite beautiful. Pro tip for parking in NOLA: you can park for free at Harrah's if you gamble for 30 minutes per day. I just played penny slots and lost $2.50 over the course of 3 days, which sure beats the $45 per day parking rate at the Ritz Carlton.
In case you're interested, there was in fact a PointBreaks hotel kind of close to New Orleans, but it was across the lake and it would have been very inconvenient for having fun there.
For the next place I ideally wanted to stay at Staybridge Suites in Knoxville, but it was fully booked, so I went with the Holiday Inn Express in Milledgeville GA. This place was interesting because the door was locked at night and I had to get someone to ring me in. Again, I woke up too late for breakfast and completed my trip by driving to Washington DC. For what it's worth, Milledgeville might actually be worth a day trip if you're in the area; there are quite a lot of historical things to see. However it was labor day and everything was closed.
All of the HIE hotels were around $90-100 per night, and of course they all cost me 5000 points per night. The Ritz Carlton new orleans I believe was around $270 per night on the weekend and $190 on the weekdays. All the Holiday Inns were what you'd expect: clean, comfortable, nice place to crash for a night. However it seems after redeeming awards for nicer hotels I've become spoiled by nice toiletries, and I was kind of disappointed by the soap and shower gel. I'd say Milledgeville had the nicest Holliday Inn, with Deming being last. At Deming and Schulenburg, they thanked me for being a platinum member, but not at Milledgeville (not a big deal to be but just for the record). Also interesting to note is that my IHG profile states that I prefer high level floors, and in Deming and Milledgeville I got rooms on the top floor (though it was just the 4th).
Anyway it was a pretty awesome road trip and I got to explore places I would have never heard of if there were not PointBreaks hotels there!