Fallout: New Vegas

[WorstUsernameEver]

Just a question, if you had to throw a bone to us, how many of this speech checks are non repeatable?

It depends on the context, but whether or not we allow you to repeat has less to do with realism/plausibility and more to do with not penalizing the player for encountering a challenge at the "wrong" time in his/her build. If most of the safes you encountered in the wasteland wouldn't allow you to pick them after the first time they were examined, that would be kind of irritating. The "you're going to fail" options aren't present in dialogue so the player can select them and see the wacky response to their incompetence (although that does have some appeal), but to let the player know that there's a challenge there that they can't currently meet. Unless you're being directly confronted (e.g. the ambush scenario you described), allowing the player to return and attempt the challenge with a higher skill is less punitive and does reward players who choose to go and advance their skills -- whether that's through leveling up, using chems, or reading skill magazines. Magazines and chems only provide a small boost though, so if the threshold is 80 and you have 33 in the skill, you're not going to be able to bridge that gap without some serious time and effort (i.e., leveling up).

 

Understood.

[WorstUsernameEver]

[Gromnir]

figures. referring to a quote... but not the material you actual quoted.

 

 

um, yeah. but you're still not addressing the actual issue.

 

is you trying to be ironic?

 

*chuckle*

 

"However you made your character, it should be a viable way to finish the game. That's one of my core beliefs."

 

regardless, the notion that aforementioned statement is compatible with timmy's legacy is laughable... regardless of the quotes you cannot find.

 

"A DM who allows reloads = a bad DM."

 

true, but rare is the DM who ain't never fudged a roll (or two) to keeps a party alive... particularly at low levels. those insta-kill criticals in d&d is tending to lead to some serious player frustration. am using d&d as an example 'cause you utilized the "DM" descriptor, but many other systems suffer from similar numeric inequities that cry out for DM intervention.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[TwinkieGorilla]

is you trying to be ironic?

 

i already addressed the actual issue. you however: haz not responded.

 

*giggle*

[Niten_Ryu]

There is no "chance" of failure; they're all straight threshold checks. Either you have the required skill or you don't. I've never understood the appeal of random chance, no-contest failure in games with instant reload.

 

It's roleplaying choice. I try to play at least first few runs without metagaming and in this case it means no quickloads if I fail some check. Obviously if failing check means that I'm dead, I'll use quickload but if game allow me to continue after failed check, I'll do that. But I do understand that I'm minority in this issue and it probably make more sense to use rigid checks.

[WorstUsernameEver]

"They're not even in alpha yet in terms of getting everything into the game. We're not worried about what comes after."

 

That's definitely NOT something I wanted to hear. Hope you guys get the time to polish the game enough.

 

As for the DM and reloading thing, I usually used this as a rule of thumb :

 

if the players screw up with their roll, bad for them, if they're screwed up because a weak enemy had a critical or they screw up the super-powerful-boss because he rolled 1 on his save throw, well, guess I'll just change that little number...

[Oner]

Not much, but there's still something. You could just look into this thread to see the new info though.

Yea, but not every detail will necessarily get a mention here. Edited May 4, 2010 by Oner

[WorstUsernameEver]

Not much, but there's still something. You could just look into this thread to see the new info though.

Yea, but not every detail will necessarily get a mention here.

 

Most of it IS though, and I was suggesting that in case you didn't have much time.

[Gromnir]

is you trying to be ironic?

 

i already addressed the actual issue.

 

*giggle*

 

uh, sure.

...

 

gotta deja vu of your spork nonsense.

 

"if the players screw up with their roll, bad for them, if they're screwed up because a weak enemy had a critical or they screw up the super-powerful-boss because he rolled 1 on his save throw, well, guess I'll just change that little number... innocent.gif"

 

yeah, that is the typical dm/gm response... and is kinda like a crpg reload. most of us has allowed such similar second chances. doubt it = bad dm. game engines is rarely so gracious, but possibility o' infinite reloads negates the need for a helping hand.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[funcroc]

Josh Sawyer video interview at Giant Bomb

[Calax]

In Console and Computer RPGs I agree, in PnP I do not.

A DM who allows reloads = a bad DM.

Not sure if he means reloads or if he means random chance.... Chance can be quite fun in PnP, but horrible in something computerized (see: Spearman beats tank)

[WorstUsernameEver]

Josh mentions caps in his GiantBomb interview.

Guess that's settled for the whole 'caps vs gold vs chips' debate?

Not that I am THAT bothered, and considered that NCR, JUST arrived in the zone, it actually seems to work from a lor pov too.

[Starwars]

Josh Sawyer video interview at Giant Bomb

 

That Josh Sawyer is so dreamy!

 

The bit about the companions is interesting. I've never been huge on companions in Fallout, I always liked the solitary feel that playing alone gave you (well, Dogmeat was a given in Fallout 1) but I typically bring along one or two. In F3, I really found it to be awkward to have them along though, so I hope that New Vegas can improve that. Having some more unique content for them sounds good, just as long as they don't turn into the classic story-based RPG partymembers too much (where they feel pretty much integral to experiencing the game in a good way).

[WorstUsernameEver]

Even with mods like Phalanx the companion interface still felt a bit clunky, so the companion wheel is a nice addition.

As for 'more alive' companions, I really had no doubts, since that always has been one of Obsidian's good points.

[TwinkieGorilla]

"They're not even in alpha yet in terms of getting everything into the game. We're not worried about what comes after."

 

That's definitely NOT something I wanted to hear. Hope you guys get the time to polish the game enough.

 

yeah. ugh. i really don't want another KOTOR2 in my collection.

 

gotta deja vu of your spork nonsense.

 

wasn't nonsense, was a perfectly good metaphor (though i can't take credit for it's original use). also i know your whole forum larp character has funny english habits but "gotta" is slang for "have to/got to", fyi.

Edited May 4, 2010 by TwinkieGorilla

[Gromnir]

the best you got is pointing out spelling errors?

 

*sigh*

 

some folks not know when to quit... though these continued faux pas of yours does make it easier to disregard your input. revised opinions after the fact and missing quotes that is the target o' your response as 'posed to the material you actual quoted. if you thinks the larp is amusing, you can probably only imagine what some o' us thinks o' your responses. keeps the grammar and spelling tips coming though.

 

"Having some more unique content for them sounds good, just as long as they don't turn into the classic story-based RPG partymembers too much (where they feel pretty much integral to experiencing the game in a good way)."

 

party-mates are static. as such they is a better vehicle for advancing a crpg story than is the protagonist, who must almost necessarily be left vague and ill-defined so as to accommodate various playing styles. 'course you could dispense with joinable npcs altogether and simply advance story through narration and dialogues with non-party npcs, but that is wasting a very effective opportunity. the black isle/obsidian folks managed ok w/o jnpcs when they developed iwd. nevertheless, forgoing jnpc development would seem to be a waste of obsidian talent. nevertheless, we will be satisfied as long as they don't have the jnpcs engage in tedious exposition or cliche navel-gazing.

 

'course not everybody thinks that the critical path story is genuine important in a fo game. makes a sand box and fill it with interesting characters and side-stories? is a valid approach.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps we prefer developed party mates and we not have some kinda notions 'bout the propriety o' adding them to fo. a weakness o' fo were its poorly developed jnpcs... am not gonna try an re-imagine as a strength.

Edited May 4, 2010 by Gromnir

[Undecaf]

So here's a stupid question: How does the leveling and skillpoint distribution work in relation to the dialog thresholds (and in general too)? Do we max out and become the "be all know all" - grinding our time and eventually passing every single check there is, or does it work the (imo) more interesting way where a path must be chosen and "all" is not achievable in one playthrough?

Edited May 4, 2010 by Undecaf

[TwinkieGorilla]

if you thinks the larp is amusing, you can probably only imagine what some o' us thinks o' your responses.

 

i don't, and you think i'm here for any other reason?

[funcroc]

Josh Sawyer video interview at Gamespot

GiantBomb preview

Edited May 4, 2010 by funcroc

[Starwars]

Man, the thing I hate about following a game in the Internet age is that you know we're just bound to get read the same stuff over and over again before the release of the game. Fun to see Josh in the spotlight though. The question is if Josh is really tall or if that reporter is really tiny. Or maybe both.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Chris doesn't of course, and approaches the super mutant camp, taking a route that seems to have been carved into the ground just for stealthy players to enjoy. "We tried to make sure with our level design that we included stealth paths that go into all locations so sneaky characters feel special and can take advantage of the lack of security in some areas," he says.

 

From the VideoGamer.com preview.

It's nice to see that the stealth path has been given attention, hopefully working on Alpha Protocol has given Obsidian some experience in this regard.

[Llyranor]

You can really see the fear in that reporter's eyes whenever JE speaks.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Cool to see that Games on Net thinks that inXile is developing the game rather than Obsidian.

Jason Anderson is probably in the dev team too!

[Killian Kalthorne]

In Console and Computer RPGs I agree, in PnP I do not.

A DM who allows reloads = a bad DM.

 

 

It depends on the situation and how much German Chocolate Cake is involved.

[Starwars]

That is good news on the stealth stuff, hopefully that kind of approach will feel rewarding in its own way also.