Hacking Protector Bots as Settlers

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Hack any active Protectron into an assignable settler in the workshop using the craftable Hack Launcher. There are ~100 Protectrons available in the base game to own and cherish. Collect them all!

This is the independent recruitment system of the Rotten Federation.

(1) Make [Protectron Hack transmitter] (circuit, crystal, FusionCell) in Chemlab/Utility.

(2) Equip the [Protectron Hack Transmitter] from the weapons inventory, which uses the grenade slot to detect the nearest active Protectron and assign it to any owned workshop. Protection dragons can be active, unconscious, or dormant in their pods. Hacking a Pod Protectron may disrupt mission triggers, so it's best to wake them up using their terminal first if you're still on a mission. If you mess with the studio's menu after hacking, the conversation will restart recruiting. After recruitment, the usual settler trade dialog will be enabled.

(3) Protector Settlers count populations so they can allocate and produce resources; defend, scavenge, and farm. Since they have no agricultural idleness, if assigned to flora they would stay put. Idle Handy Farmers does not apply to Protectron matches, which are designed to perform, not dig.

(4) Place the transmitter on the ground to pop up the configuration menu:

Launcher Range [ *1024 | 2048 | 4096 ] Game Units

Transmitter is [*reusable | single use]

Protectant Restoration [ *protected | mortal ]

Adjust health points above 100 [ *closed | @5 | @10 ] per player level.

Console commands

Set the SKK_HackProtecronTxRange to 1024; the value 128 to 10240.

Set SKK_HackProtecronTxConsume to 0; 0 reusable, 1 single use.

Set SKK_HackProtecronRecovery to 1;0 mortal 1 protected.

Set SKK_HackProtecronScaleHealth to 0;[ 0 | 5 | 10 ] else value 0 off for each player level in the hack.

compatibility

The mod does not rely on expanders or DLC and does not change any existing base game scripts, assets or objects. It's 100% new Creation Kit forms and scripts, which means it has no load order dependencies. It can be installed in any stable game at any time.

Since this was released after November 2019, it relies on Fallout4.exe 1.10.162.0 (or later).

Known issues and notes

(1) This function uses the base game tasks GenericGoHome and GenericGoGomeScript to send Protectrons to their assigned studios. If they don't show up, use the Workshop Ownership Utilities to build a summon speaker that specifically calls any actor stuck in GenericGoHome.

Since this does not make any changes to the base game, it can be installed at any time at any game stage, regardless of load order.

Copy SKKHackProtectronSettlers.esp and SKKHackProtectronSettlers – Main.BA2 to your ...\Fallout 4\Data directory, enable in Bethesda mod menu, Plugins.txt, mod manager or otherwise. Even though some people may be lucky, SKK does not support removing any CreationEngine mod from an active save game. Those who know know.

FAQs and Trivia

(1) Can I have ESL? Yes, you can ESL tag ESP.

(2) Why choose Protectrons? A rotten nightmare! DLC01 automatons will not be used in the mode because they are too OP. Survivors will need uninfectable support, and the base game Handy and Protectron bots are perfect choices.

(3) If you understand the technical dependencies of WorkshopNPCScript and why you can't attach the actor script without hacking the base actor form, then 'ya can you figure out how it works without decompiling the script to PEX and taking a peek?

If you've read the comprehensive solution instructions but still need help,

Please use the SKK Mods Discord channel