Obsidian making Fallout: New Vegas

[Gizmo]

How do you 'break into' a village? The village isn't private property.

Megaton and Junktown ~(even Shady Sands) had a wall. (and most would consider themselves private property I would bet)

 

But okay, so you have a highly paranoid, paramilitary village that shoots anyone who sets foot inside of it. Yet somehow, the villagers are 'innocent and defenseless?' And after you've slaughtered everyone, out comes the person you were supposed to save, crying about how you've killed his new bride and her entire family -- but how did he meet them if they shoot everyone they don't know on sight?

In a post apocalyptic world rife with raiders, a trigger happy village is not surprising ~and again, even Shady Sands was hit by raiders. As to how they met... Who knows... maybe the boy was sent to trade and met the girl in the shop.

 

** But like I said... the village example was only an example, it could have been a "go catch a thief and bring me back my diamond" quest. (where if you did it, then you would be the thief)

 

Just having someone give you a quest because of the dialogue option you'd picked is fine. But the 'trick' quest you describe can't be handled in any reasonable way.

[edit]... I said (or implied) that the AI would talk for a few minutes an then decide based on prior answers, that it might be possible to dupe the patsy to do its dirty work.

 

This means that the AI might ask mundane questions (or respond to silly ones), and if the player picked enough answers that implied they were a "softy" dense hero type, then the AI might respond, [ in the case of the village]

"No, no, I was listening to you, its just, just, I'm worried about something that's all" ~If pressed it might say, "Well my daughter was taken in a raid a month ago. Last week a man came to me with news of her, She is in a camp many miles West of here. The man offered to rescue and return her to me ~ for a price. I'm worried because he said that they had beaten and abused her pretty badly. I hired the man and that was the last I ever saw of him. I was so sure he'd help me, I even offered him his pick from my shop" (grandly gesturing with his arm at all he has for sale).

And then it waits for the player to fall for the bait ~or not, and just barters as expected.

 

The idea is that the area exists already, and is part of other quests, this quest (if taken ~no if offered at all), would cancel certain others depending on how it was handled.

 

 

*** It goes without saying that I am not suggesting the quest, I'm suggesting the capacity to give it on the fly.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Gizmo

[bhlaab]

You know, like Fallout 2 did. It worked.

 

This should be in bolded in point 72 font at the top of every page in the design docs

[J.E. Sawyer]

how do you really feel bhlaab

[bhlaab]

how do you really feel bhlaab

 

Desperate; Hopeless; Alone... Denial; Anger; Bargaining; Depression...

 

What can I say? It's Fallout.

Edited April 25, 2009 by bhlaab

[mkreku]

You know, like Fallout 2 did. It worked.

This also worked in 1998:

 

 

Times change.

[GreasyDogMeat]

You know, like Fallout 2 did. It worked.

 

This should be in bolded in point 72 font at the top of every page in the design docs

 

One thing I preferred about Fallout 1/3 is that they didn't go too crazy with the jokes/pop culture references.

[Gizmo]

You know, like Fallout 2 did. It worked.

This also worked in 1998:

Times change.

So that's where the vault suit came from

 

~yes... its a slow night..

Edited April 25, 2009 by Gizmo

[CoM_Solaufein]

You know, like Fallout 2 did. It worked.

 

This should be in bolded in point 72 font at the top of every page in the design docs

 

One thing I preferred about Fallout 1/3 is that they didn't go too crazy with the jokes/pop culture references.

Jokes and pop culture was one of the things that made Fallout 2 great.

[GreasyDogMeat]

They went overboard IMHO. Genius chess playing radscorpion with glasses and a talking plant (among many other instances of cheese) would have been fine as easter egg encounters but they were incorporated in the main game.

[funcroc]

There is a product page for Fallout: New Vegas at Gamestop.

[Zoma]

Those still concerned that Fallout : New Vegas might end up as Fallout 2's over the topness no longer has to. J.E made it clear back before that he had the same issues of Fallout 2 having too much 'cheese'.

 

Regardless, I thought those moments of absurdity gave Fallout 2 its distinctive charm which is the reason why many people loved the game anyway despite being different from Fallout 1.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Zoma

[GreasyDogMeat]

Thats good to know. Don't get me wrong, I love the dark humor and easter eggs of the series but I don't think the easter egg type humor should be so far front and center.

[bhlaab]

I think people focus too much on those few negative aspects of Fallout 2, and forget that gameplay wise (not to mention scope) it was an improvement over Fallout 1 by leaps and bounds.

 

And to be honest, the tribal stuff at the beginning bothered me more than the dumb gags. Of course, any monty python reference in any entertainment medium is instantly groan-worthy.

Edited April 25, 2009 by bhlaab

[Jaesun]

I think people focus too much on those few negative aspects of Fallout 2, and forget that gameplay wise (not to mention scope) it was an improvement over Fallout 1 by leaps and bounds.

 

w0rd.

 

Given what Obsidian has achieved over the few years, in RPG mechanics and story we can only expect a fun ride with New Vegas.

 

What *specifically* they will change/enhance I guess we shall see.

[TwinkieGorilla]

Regardless, I thought those moments of absurdity gave Fallout 2 its distinctive charm which is the reason why many people loved the game anyway despite being different from Fallout 1.

 

hear, hear.

 

while i say that Pet Sounds is the greatest Beach Boys album, the original Smile session bootlegs are my favorite to listen to, even though Brian Wilson had gone bat**** crazy. in that light, Fallout 1 is the better game when reviewed as a whole, for what it is...but FO2, regardless...holds such a special place in my heart for doing what no game before or after had ever done for me.

 

*sigh*

 

 

(post-party drunk-lamenting. is this a ban-able offense here?)

[Promethean]

Thats good to know. Don't get me wrong, I love the dark humor and easter eggs of the series but I don't think the easter egg type humor should be so far front and center.

 

Right. Look at Anachronox on how to do serious and humorous at the same time.

 

Also being able to play for all the families in New Reno was a disappointment. More decisions that mean something. Players dont need to be coddled. Something Beth doesnt seem to understand.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

They went overboard IMHO.

 

[bhlaab]

Thats good to know. Don't get me wrong, I love the dark humor and easter eggs of the series but I don't think the easter egg type humor should be so far front and center.

 

Right. Look at Anachronox on how to do serious and humorous at the same time.

 

Also being able to play for all the families in New Reno was a disappointment. More decisions that mean something. Players dont need to be coddled. Something Beth doesnt seem to understand.

 

I liked how you could focus on one or play them all against each other for your own benefit. Maybe they should have made it so doing quests for one family makes the quests for the other families more difficult, so you end up screwing yourself a bit.

[Aristes]

I really enjoyed Fallout 2 quite a bit, but I agree with Promethean.

 

I don't want just factions combined with a whole. I want to have my choices be meaningful, even if it's just for me. I used reputation as an example, but the in character rewards that transcend gameplay mechanic rewards are excellent also. By which, I mean rewards through dialogue or story that don't give the PC any significant advantage in terms of gear, abilities, or statistics. For example, in Mask of the Betrayer, the PC could choose between devouring or granting eternal rest to a bunch of spirits in one of the areas. Of course, MotB used an overt good/evil and influence system, so some rewards were obvious. Still, my favorite reward was through the dialogue box where it said something like, "A look understanding dawns upon the face of the spirit as you finally permit his soul to rest."

 

Players don't necessarily always need rewards that equate to more power. Sure, you want a healthy dose of ingame rewards, but someone who really wants to follow an all good or all evil path will likely be willing to forego some of those stat bumps in order to get the most out of the story, whether it's a title or a reputation or even a little bit of text. To be clear, I think the player should generally expect to advance his abilities as he advances the story, but use of in character rewards can sometimes be a viable option. And I think the numbers of players who would be willing to throw over some of those gameplay rewards for in character perks might surprise some of you.

 

Reputation and self perception are merely two examples. There are tons of ways to reward players to augment gameplay rewards.

[bhlaab]

I gotta say I am sick to death of this awful KotoR good/evil mechanic. Not only is it pointless and easily exploited, but designers tend to use it as a crutch instead of actual emotional depth and choice. Instead of the player's actions having a naturalistic effect on the world, it just turns into an incredibly transparent "pick your alignment"

 

For example, there was nothing difficult or morally ambiguous about Bioshock. You'd come up to a little sister and the icons might as well have been labeled [GOOD ENDING] and [bAD ENDING]

[Humodour]

Ahhhh How rabbid fallout fans can be...

 

And yet I still find them infinitely less annoying than you.

[Pop]

There is a product page for Fallout: New Vegas at Gamestop.

6/1/10? That seems suspect.

[Aristes]

The KotOR scheme is flawed in two ways. In fact, MotB took a step backwards in regard to the first way.

 

1. The player sees the result of dialogue decisions immediately. That is to say, I respond with "kiss my ass" and a -2 influence with the NPC floats in yellow text before my eyes. I'm a little iffy on this. On one hand, I think it's important for players to get enough feedback in order to understand how to play the game. You need to let them know what you expect of them. On the other hand, dialogue becomes a mini-game, with a lot of focus going into it. Rather than focus on the writing, however, the focus lays most heavily on the numerical impact of each option.

 

2. By making your status in regards to light/grey/dark overt, the design team removes any real nuance or moral ambiguity from the player's actions. Grey, when it comes as part of a neapolitan flavored alignment mechanic, is not ambiguous. It's one of your three options. I understand that the Star Wars universe relies on the light/dark side concept. However, Fallout is not hampered with hard and fast rules regarding reputation, and so there is a lot more room to maneuver.

 

I realize that I'm asking for a lot, but this is the sort of idea that I'd like most to see in a computer game.

[FabMan_UK]

There is a product page for Fallout: New Vegas at Gamestop.

6/1/10? That seems suspect.

 

Before I looked I knew that the 6th is the first Wednesday in the year, I'm assuming it's d/m/yy. If so then they've just set it to the earliest possible release date in 2010. If it's m/d/yy then no idea why they picked that date, a closer date to half a year would be 7/1/10.

 

They don't know anymore than us, so it's just a guess date.

 

And yet I still find them infinitely less annoying than you.

 

Infinitely??? Wow, that's well vast... beyond any scope. That must have been the most annoying comment ever and to be.

Edited April 25, 2009 by FabMan_UK

[Ausir]

Ditch the current Karma system and move on to several different reputation variables that the game will keep track of, like in the upcoming Age of Decadence.