Fallout: New Vegas

[Sabretooth]

(the way CRPGs are meant to be played)

 

Debatable really, because KotOR did perfectly well with a third-person view, as did The Witcher. While proper FPS-CRPGs are lacking by good reason, they can be done properly like System Shock 2 or Deus Ex, or even Morrowind for that matter.

 

What I found to be the biggest impediment in Fallout 3 was how incongruous the whole world felt. On one hand, the developers were pushing the graphics and environment to be as real as possible, and on the other they want you to take liberties in imagination by assuming that one NPC didn't hear another NPC badmouthing him in the face.

[mimartin]

That, and Bethesda tried to fill the landscape with ACTION. Find a slaver camp, cross the highway, find an abandoned factory full of who-knows-what. Every stretch of the metro tunnels had a "monster of the station"; some horde of ghouls/mole rats/deathclaws that were spawned to become cannon fodder, blender-style. Rinse, lather, repeat ad nauseum.

Other than the bugs, the biggest grip I've seen is not enough life in the wasteland and here you are saying there was too much. I guess Mav's quote is correct.

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.

... isometric, top-down perspective (the way CRPGs are meant to be played)... Isometric rules, because it's like playing god.

Then I'm not a real CRPG player because I hate that perspective. Will tolerate it if the story is decent, but I could never have played Oblivion or Fallout 3 from the isometric perspective.

[jrrtoken]

Other than the bugs, the biggest grip I've seen is not enough life in the wasteland and here you are saying there was too much..

There was too much crap in wasteland, not life; real life was scarce, that's true. Mirelurks, super mutants, ghouls, punk-rock raiders, and the occasional Securitron were abundant, all with the same intent to fight to the death. That's not real "life"; that's filler, and the frequency of it became mind-numbing.

 

The first two Fallouts had real people, real life. People didn't board themselves up around atomic bombs, squatting in their shanties. People didn't find the nearest subdivision and pitch tent; they didn't complain, complain, complain about the super mutant threat, yet when the threat becomes apparent, shrug their shoulders - resigning themselves to sleep in the daytime and to wander aimlessly about the village.

 

People were trading, people were farming, people were fishing; people seemed to be interested in improving the lives of themselves and others. Those that didn't were still trying to survive and earn a living, even if that meant exploiting others. Yeah, there were squatters, but they were either addicts, drunkards, complete bat****, or suffered some other affliction; D.C.'s citizenry, on the other hand, are subconsciously apathetic and lethargic.

[Q]

Debatable really, because KotOR did perfectly well with a third-person view, as did The Witcher. While proper FPS-CRPGs are lacking by good reason, they can be done properly like System Shock 2 or Deus Ex, or even Morrowind for that matter.

Then I'm not a real CRPG player because I hate that perspective. Will tolerate it if the story is decent, but I could never have played Oblivion or Fallout 3 from the isometric perspective.

Yeah, I should've put an "IMO" in there. Ideally, the player should be able to switch between the two a la Dragon Age (one of the few things that game ended up getting right in the end, IMO). I just think that isometric is superior in combat, especially in cases where the player is handling a large party, such as in the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series.

[mimartin]

Yeah, I should've put an "IMO" in there.

 

Since you were the one writing, I kind of figured it was in your opinion. This is the Outlander Club not some hellhole like Kavars.

[Q]

^So, now I know that you hate isometric. Have you played Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale 1&2, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, or Temple of Elemental Evil? They might change your mind about it once you're faced with handling large parties.

[JediAthos]

D.C.'s citizenry, on the other hand, are subconsciously apathetic and lethargic.

 

Are you sure you're still talking about the game??? Sounds a lot like the real DC!

[jrrtoken]

Win.

You can call the devices the U.S. Army is testing out at Fort Dix in New Jersey wrist mounted phosphorescent OLED Displays is you want. We're calling them PIPBoys.

 

What the gentleman in the photo here is looking at is one of eight wrist mounted phosphorescent OLED Displays delivered to the U.S. Army for testing by Universal Display. The organic light emitting diode display is mounted on thin, flexible metal foil, which in turn is mounted on a wrist-wrapping housing to create a fully functional display and communication device.

 

[DarthParametric]

Dev Diary: The Strip Featurette:

 

[youtube=hd]7Q9z15-A8bo

 

Nothing really major, as it's just a montage of previously seen footage, although Wayne Newton pops up for a few seconds. One thing I thought was kind of humorous was Feargus Urquhart's line about how they wanted to have "tons of people milling about" overlaid over clips of virtually empty areas.

[jrrtoken]

For those that pre-ordered on Steam (which is pretty wise, seeing as it requires Steam nevertheless, unless if you're going for the Collector's Edition) you can now pre-load the game. Judging from the file size, I'd say half of it is available for download now, with the other half offered sometime later.

[Mav]

For those that pre-ordered on Steam (which is pretty wise, seeing as it requires Steam nevertheless, unless if you're going for the Collector's Edition)

<3 Steamworks

[Tysyacha]

TYSYACHA'S FALLOUT CONFESSION

 

I never played either Fallout 1 OR Fallout 2. I only heard about them via sites like GameSpot, the venue I most often frequent to read the latest PC game reviews. (I do not own a Wii, Xbox, the Playstations, or any other consoles.) Consequently, when I bought Fallout 3 a while back, I didn't know what to expect. I only knew I was spellbound by the opening cutscenes and tutorial.

 

I made it to Megaton without much trouble. I had fun talking to people, disarming an atomic bomb (and talking to the crazy cult members around it!), and giving the lovely Nova a try. Then the REAL game started and I went

 

"OH-NO-OH-CRAP-JEEZ-BACK-OFF-OW-EWW-GROSS-MY-DECAPITATION!"

 

Needless to say, I never got past the part in Fallout 3 where you had to find the good-aligned radio station. I was shot down by super mutants and raiders before you could say "PipBoy". I uninstalled the game out of pure frustration!

 

Now I want to try Fallout: New Vegas, but fear more of the same. There is no "Rent" option when you download a game, and I'm very low on income as of this present moment. Would you, who have enough money to buy the game, give it a test drive and see if I might like it? I want to RP:

 

--the world's wackiest, luckiest, and prettiest gambler on the New Vegas Strip, whose main talents are staying away from icky, hostile creatures and talking her way out of trouble. I want to know if I can go through the game without dying every time I turn a corner. If this is actually possible with my RP style, please let me know! *LOL*

[JediAthos]

Given Fallout 3 I wouldn't hold your breath...the game world, while vastly different from the Capital Wasteland, will still be populated with super mutants, hostile factions, raiders, mutated creatures etc...

 

If you fail to defend yourself, you will die. That's just going on the game play trailers I've seen, and what I know about the Fallout Universe.

[Lord of Hunger]

TYSYACHA'S FALLOUT CONFESSION

 

I never played either Fallout 1 OR Fallout 2. I only heard about them via sites like GameSpot, the venue I most often frequent to read the latest PC game reviews. (I do not own a Wii, Xbox, the Playstations, or any other consoles.) Consequently, when I bought Fallout 3 a while back, I didn't know what to expect. I only knew I was spellbound by the opening cutscenes and tutorial.

 

I made it to Megaton without much trouble. I had fun talking to people, disarming an atomic bomb (and talking to the crazy cult members around it!), and giving the lovely Nova a try. Then the REAL game started and I went

 

"OH-NO-OH-CRAP-JEEZ-BACK-OFF-OW-EWW-GROSS-MY-DECAPITATION!"

 

Needless to say, I never got past the part in Fallout 3 where you had to find the good-aligned radio station. I was shot down by super mutants and raiders before you could say "PipBoy". I uninstalled the game out of pure frustration!

 

Now I want to try Fallout: New Vegas, but fear more of the same. There is no "Rent" option when you download a game, and I'm very low on income as of this present moment. Would you, who have enough money to buy the game, give it a test drive and see if I might like it? I want to RP:

 

--the world's wackiest, luckiest, and prettiest gambler on the New Vegas Strip, whose main talents are staying away from icky, hostile creatures and talking her way out of trouble. I want to know if I can go through the game without dying every time I turn a corner. If this is actually possible with my RP style, please let me know! *LOL*

Well, first off the developers said that you can play completely pacifist, but it's difficult.

 

Second, Fallout 3 like Oblivion suffered from Bethesda's experimental engine. It is certainly one of the most advanced gaming engines in existence, but unfortunately they put in so much time to make the engine that they didn't create much of a "game". That's why having Obsidian work on this is such a great idea: Bethesda handles the engine and Obsidian handles the content. Thus, I have a strong feeling that New Vegas will surpass 3.

 

Third, I have New Vegas downloaded on Steam, so I'll be happy to test it and post the results.

[Meowster]

I was watching a live stream of someone that got the game ahead of time (not from pirating or that kind of thing. ) and the game looks great. It still retains the same Fallout3 feel, but gives off a different atmosphere - landscape looks completely different, nice old western music playing in the background, and little to no Raiders from what I saw.

 

Didn't stick around to watch the main quests or anything, but I did notice that there is much better voice acting and more than three people voicing. Hardcore, from what I watched, is quite challenging and entertaining. I'm so excited for it.. so, I should probably buy the game over Steamworks, then? Only reason why I was against that was because of how long it took to download Mass Effect 2.

 

edit: also, it seems like Obsidian did quite a good job with the engine, there doesn't seem to be that many bugs from the stream I was watching.

[DarthParametric]

I never played either Fallout 1 OR Fallout 2.

Heresy. Go and buy them right now. I think you can get the downloadable versions for like $5 or something.

 

I want to know if I can go through the game without dying every time I turn a corner.

From the sounds of your proficiency with FO3, you should steer clear of New Vegas. The series has essentially been turned into a glorified FPS, and I gather that's not your bag.

 

Bethesda's experimental engine.

Oblivion and FO3 both run on the Gamebryo engine. It's not made by Bethesda (although they did modify the version they use) and its not "experimental". It is also used by Civ 4, Pirates, and Warhammer Online, to name some others.

 

not from pirating or that kind of thing.

Actually, that will almost certainly be a stream of the pirated 360 version. But then again, according to developers piracy only seems to be something that happens on PC.

[Achilles]

I received a text from GameStop this evening informing me that I can show up after 10pm tomorrow to complete my payment for the Collector's Edition of the game, which they will then be happy to hand over at 12:01am.

 

Part of me is thinking that it would be wise to wait until Friday to take delivery. I can't pull all-nighters on weekdays like I could when I was a twenty-something.

[mimartin]

I I can't pull all-nighters on weekdays like I could when I was a twenty-something.

 

Wimp!

 

And I have 10 years on you. Now where did I put my hearing aid, reading glasses and walker.

[Lord of Hunger]

Oblivion and FO3 both run on the Gamebryo engine. It's not made by Bethesda (although they did modify the version they use) and its not "experimental". It is also used by Civ 4, Pirates, and Warhammer Online, to name some others.

Huh, I was under the impression that Bethesda's engine was their own unique creation.

 

I just went to the Gamebryo website, and at looks like you were right. I just find this odd because I was told that Bethesda created this engine from scratch, which is why Oblivion is so buggy and lacked much in the way of content (not to say it's a bad game, though I personally found it a tad lacking in character development and story).

[Sabretooth]

It wasn't experimental, but it ran just about as good as an experimental engine with its poor performance and constant crashing.

 

Didn't know Pirates used Gamebryo though...

[Astor]

I went against my better judgement and pre-ordered this, I hope that it runs better than FO3 did, and is, y'know, good.

[DarthParametric]

I was told that Bethesda created this engine from scratch

I guess you were told wrong then. All they created for Oblivion was the "Radiant AI", which, despite all their song and dance to the contrary in the lead up to release, was just a bunch of half-assed scripted events.

[Sabretooth]

I went against my better judgement and pre-ordered this, I hope that it runs better than FO3 did, and is, y'know, good.

 

If it isn't, the LucasForums Avellone Corps will make sure you get the memo on what to say.

[Jeff]

Some early impressions before the review embargo is up:

 

Andrew Reiner (Game Informer executive director):

*Starting up a third playthrough of New Vegas.

*I can say that I was able to play NV to completion without being stopped by bugs.

 

Daniel Vavra (screenwriter on Mafia I & II):

*Hated the story and quests of Fallout 3. Love the story and quests of New Vegas.

 

Jim Sterling (review editor for Destructoid):

*As far as I am concerned, Alpha Protocol never happened now. Slate's clean.

*Played New Vegas for two days and have only officially completed two quests. ****ing hell! I in no way mean to imply that that's a BAD thing, either.

*New Vegas has officially overwhelmed me. I have so many quests going on and don't know where to start. This is terrifying and awesome.

 

Tom Chick on Quarter to Three:

*How do you know I'm playing? Smile

*I'm not sure I could even begin to give a thumbs up or thumbs down yet. I can certainly say this is a huge game. I'm about 25 hours in and still pretty overwhelmed by the breadth of stuff to do. It's very Fallout 3.

*And although I love the hardcore mode in theory, in practice it hasn't been the least bit challenging. Sad Thanks in part to Fallout's lack of a real economy, the hardcore mode just feels like an extra layer of futzing. It's more flavor than difficulty, I'd say.

 

Tess Treadwell (Producer):

*I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re a bit nervous, but the review scores we’ve received so far are stellar.

 

Paraphrased from http://www.nma-fallout.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=56451.

[DarthParametric]

It's very Fallout 3

Hrmm...that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it was to be expected of course.