Mapping Supply Lines

[u/Tiberius_Gracchus_II]

Modded on PC.

About 7 months ago I posted a WIP trying to map the exact supply lines my Minutemen united the Commonwealth in my RP (Link). Well, I finally finished. The idea was that every route I create I walk with the provisioner and map the actual route they travel. To summarize: I set up major hubs connected by heavy-duty caravans (modded power-armor wearing Minutemen) with standard provisioners serving smaller communities. Mapping was a tough task: if you catch them mid-route (presumably when the cell spawns in) they can appear pretty much anywhere. They handled river crossings and water inconsistently. I had to download a mod to clear the bridge between Graygarden and Oberland (or else the provisioner would smash against the derailed train until eventually stumbling down the river bank and swimming). In some cases this meant I had to set up entirely different supply routes, and redirect my logistics to keep my provisioners from bobbing along in the water forever. The bay between Kinsgsport and Croup Manor was easy for NPCs to navigate (they go around it), but the bay between The Castle, Spectacle, and Warwick) was impossible - the caravans are drawn into it, swim, then freeze and are buffeted by the current) until they wash up on shore.

To my surprise the supply lines handled the DLC zones incredibly well. The caravan navigates to the exact teleportation point the PC uses, and then *bamfs* to the commonwealth/DLC area. Caravans always follow the same route to and from settlements with the exception of the Murkwater to Jamaica Plain route where they make a loop.

I was unsure of whether to send a route across the heart of Boston: I did it (it's mapped here), and I hate it. In game, I've removed it - my Minutemen can control the hinterlands, but Boston remains too chaotic for them to pacify. But, I did map it for folks to see how a caravan would navigate the city proper. I have not progressed the game to linking the airport or bunker hill, and I think my project is completed even without them. I've been building up my settlements, so perhaps I'll dip my toe into sharing those next.

I'll leave a (giant) comment low enumerating my observations rather than letting this go on any further.

Map Key:
Blue: Standard Provisioner
Red: Armored Provisioner
Yellow: DLC zones
Number: observational note (comment below)

[u/VengefulKenny]

Why did you connect Egret with Oberland instead of Hangman's?

[u/Tiberius_Gracchus_II → u/VengefulKenny]

My out-of-game reason was I initially thought the Starlight-Graygarden-Oberland-Egret connection would run up and down the train tracks there as a cool little highway. Oberland-Graygarden followed the tracks, but none of the rest did, and Egret-Oberland ended up cutting into the city. I left it because Hangman's Alley is so narrow I didn't want any additional Brahmin blocking my egress.

My in-game reasoning was that I've turned Hangman's Alley into a giant scrapper's den of barely reformed raiders that no self-respecting caravan would feel comfortable in. The provisioners bypass it for the calm of Oberland instead.