About This File
2020-12-25 - NEW SECTION - "OPTIONAL" INSTITUTE LAZER PISTOL
I have decided to include a new .ESP with this file (ZZZLasergun2) that is the exact same (provides a weapon with the "recharger" ability) but uses the Institute Lazer Pistol model instead of the typical lazer pistol. It is mostly overpowered and I include it hesitantly if only because I was disappointed with the outcome. My disappointment comes from the fact that the pistol itself is very bulky and obscures too much of the screen in first-person mode, especially when you 'mod' the pistol up (such as a longer barrel). Everyone's personal preferences are different, though, and I include this new .ESP in the file for those who would like to try it out for themselves.
Nothing has been removed from the previous version of this mod; Only ZZZLasergun2 has been added to it.
I think that this is fully compatible with the ZZZLasergun .ESP as well so that the two may live side-to-side but I did not fully test that possibility out. You do not need to rename the ZZZLasergun2 (as opposed to ZZZlasergun & ZZZlasergun_overpower, for which they were the same weapon but one was an overpowered variant and one was normal but with the "recharger" ability) file; It may be inserted as-is.
2020-12-25 - END NEW SECTION - "OPTIONAL" INSTITUTE LAZER PISTOL
2020-11-28 - NEW SECTION - NEW BUG
Described new bug in "BUGS" section. I hope that you don't plan on using power armor...
Also, minor editing here and there...
2020-11-28 END NEW SECTION - NEW BUG - MAIN SECTION BELOW
Overview
This file is for a "recharger" lazer pistol in the spirit of the recharger weapons from Fallout: New Vegas. I have placed the word "recharger" in quotes for a good reason: It is not entirely a recharger weapon in definition of F:NV but emulates it to the best of my programming ability. Whenever you fire one shot from the pistol, one unit of ammunition appears in your inventory. There are two known "bugs": The weapon may lose it's recharger function if you use the console command to change your face (not alter an existing face but change it wholesale) or if you start a new game with the mod installed. The bugs may be resolved by unloading the mod, saving the save game without the mod, then adding the mod back in. There are two versions of this weapon: One that is of normal strength (a typical lazer pistol but with the recharger capability) and one that is vastly overpowered.
Description
I have created a lazer pistol with a recharger-like ability, in that for every pull of the trigger a new unit of ammunition (a fusion cell, in this case) is added to your inventory. This ability functionally gives to you a limitless supply of ammunition. You still must manually reload the weapon (unless you attach the "never-ending" legendary mod to your weapon, which is "[the weapon id].amod 001cc2ac" for those who are curious). The lazer pistol uses the typical lazer pistol model. The pistol may have weapons mods attached to it, either through the in-game mechanisms or though console commands.
Instructions
The file is compressed using 7-zip. Decompress the file & then choose which of the two .ESP files that you would like to use: The regular, normal lazer pistol (ZZZLasergun) or the overpowered variant (ZZZLasergun_overpower). If you choose the overpowered variant, remove the "_overpower" part of the filename before using it. Insert the files however you choose, either manually or with a mod manager program. Be sure to check the box next to "ZZZLazergun" in order to activate the mod, depending upon the program that you use to manage your mods.
Location of weapon
The weapon is located at the edge of the garage of your former house in Sanctuary. I considered using a screenshot but most people should know where your character's former house in Sanctuary Hills is, where the garage is and it is right as you look at the garage from the road. There are no fusion cells to go along with it; You can either generate these through the console or you should probably have enough of them by the time you acquire this weapon. A slight spoiler for novices in the game: You can acquire fusion cells in-game by going to Concord (if you have not previously done so) near the entrance to the Museum of Freedom.
Bugs
The weapon loses it's recharger ability in three known instances:
** First, if you use the console command to change your entire face (from, say, Face01 to Face02).
** Second, if you start a new game with this mod installed. If you have a save game that did not use the mod and then you install this mod and use that save game, the weapon should work as advertised.
** Third, entering power armor for any reason (including at the Museum of Freedom where it is "necessary").
I'm not sure why the script is invalidated during these instances. I can only hazard a guess that it may involve how scripts are attached to weapons through the use of a "quest." My theory is that, whenever your person changes inside of the game (for instance, going from Face01 to Face02 through the use of console commands or entering power armor which, from my limited understanding of the internal workings of Fallout 4, renders you as a different "person"), the quest breaks and, therefore, the script stops.
These bugs may be resolved by unloading this mod, saving the affected save game, then re-loading the mod. I do not consider myself an experienced Fallout 4 scripter/modder & there may be other scenarios where the weapon loses it's recharger ability; I have not found them yet.
Scripts
The mod does contain a script and it should be noted that, from my understanding for how Fallout 4 save games work, the scripts are "baked" into the save game. There are some players that are very sensitive to this information and others who are less sensitive about that information.
Permissions
Please do not redistribute this file. There are many reasons for my not wanting this file to be redistributed. One of those reasons is that this file is somewhat personal in presentation: The weapon is not placed upon the ground realistically, the weapon is rather unrealistically placed within the world (it's not in a laboratory & it's very easy to find), etc. so forth. The file works well enough for me and, I hope, that it works well enough for you but the time and effort to make it "lore-friendly" would be counter-productive for me at the moment. Perhaps, in the future, I shall make an attempt to create a more "lore-friendly, developer-grade" mod of this type. However, I feel that most people will be satisfied with finding the weapon and using it as-is without a quest or holotape or any other lore-creating events. Furthermore, I have no idea why the script suddenly stops working if you create a new game with it installed or create a new character with the mod installed (as described previously). I suppose that there are reasons but, if there are, I haven't found them yet. Therefore, for all of those reasons and more, I would merely prefer for this mod to be presented here where I may see how many downloads and views it gets. Should it become popular, I will revisit whether to include additional elements to the mod.
And that's it. I hope that you have enjoyed this mod. Any comments or critiques, please feel free to share. Thank you.
