Fallout: New Vegas

[Oner]

Wasn't DR part of the whole low damage DPS vs high damage "nuking" thing? Did you work around it's axing with DT?

Can you explain this in more detail?

IIRC you said something like some types of armor would be more resistant to a submachine-gun's low dmg-high output hail of bullets and others would be better against a high dmg-low output (rifles like snipers and gauss guns) weapon, and this was achieved with DT and DR.

That's how I remember it, at least.

[Ausir]

I'm also not thrilled to hear that he heard repeating voice actors in the demo. I really hope they do a better job of changing up their acting when doing several characters, and that there still is more voiceactors overall for the smaller roles.

 

Well, the repeating voices among minor/generic characters in a fully voiced game are pretty much a necessity. But there are definitely more unique voices among major characters now compared to Fallout 3.

[Slowtrain]

Fewer variables are easier to tune than more variables. I tried to do everything through DT and I think the results are pretty good. I left in DR in case my math on paper didn't translate to fun in the game. It also allows PC modders to run buck wild with it if they want to. The GECK/engine/display still support both.

 

 

Do DR-increasing items still exist in the game? Like the toughness perk? Or as a med effect? Or is DR completely gone from the game, not just from the armor?

[Slowtrain]

I'm also not thrilled to hear that he heard repeating voice actors in the demo. I really hope they do a better job of changing up their acting when doing several characters, and that there still is more voiceactors overall for the smaller roles.

 

Well, the repeating voices among minor/generic characters in a fully voiced game are pretty much a necessity. But there are definitely more unique voices among major characters now compared to Fallout 3.

 

 

Especially in a open world game with a lot of npcs. I can't realsitically expect them to use several hundred differenty voice actors. Major characters should be unique and there should be a reasonable number of different voices to be split among the minor npcs. That's really good enough.

[mkreku]

We have SpeedTree, Havok, PhysX, whatever-that-thing-from-Hansoft-is-called, Euphoria, Fmod, Renderware, Bink etc. and so on. Why is it that noone's selling a "Record one voice, use our software to generate a hundred other voices from that one voice seed!" third party application? Is it really that difficult to invent?

[Monte Carlo]

We have SpeedTree, Havok, PhysX, whatever-that-thing-from-Hansoft-is-called, Euphoria, Fmod, Renderware, Bink etc. and so on. Why is it that noone's selling a "Record one voice, use our software to generate a hundred other voices from that one voice seed!" third party application? Is it really that difficult to invent?

 

A good point, and although I'm not that familiar with the technology can you tell?

 

Because that would be lame.

[Ausir]

Actually, it's partly because of disc space limits. If everyone had a unique voice, the sound files wouldn't fit on one DVD. This is not that big of a deal on the PC or PS3, but on the 360, you have some models that have no hard disks, and in an open-world game switching DVDs while playing sucks, unlike with a more linear game, where you just need to switch it once or twice during the whole game.

[entrerix]

that doesnt seem right to me.

 

how does one person saying 2 lines take less space than two people saying 1 line each?

[WorstUsernameEver]

A lot of greetings and dialogues are shared between NPCs.

[Ausir]

that doesnt seem right to me.

 

how does one person saying 2 lines take less space than two people saying 1 line each?

 

There are generic dialogues between NPCs and greetings, combat taunts, etc.

[Jaesun]

Is there an option to turn off the horrible quest compass in the options menu?

[Slowtrain]

Is there an option to turn off the horrible quest compass in the options menu?

 

 

One would think that the quest compass would be the first thing dumped in HC mode, but I doubt it's going to happen. An option toggle would be just as good though.

[entrerix]

i like the idea of a quest compass that just points you to the right town, but not the right person IN town.

[Gorgon]

I like the idea of finding a real topographical map instead of the pipboy all the time. Hell even the FO2 map was easier on the eyes.

[funcroc]

RPS gamescom preview

Maximum PC QuakeCon hands-on

Edited August 23, 2010 by funcroc

[Starwars]

I kinda liked the very crude map in F3, I thought it fit well with the Pipboy design. Navigating with it indoors was hell-ish though but overall I kinda liked it.

[Pop]

Fewer variables are easier to tune than more variables. I tried to do everything through DT and I think the results are pretty good. I left in DR in case my math on paper didn't translate to fun in the game. It also allows PC modders to run buck wild with it if they want to. The GECK/engine/display still support both.

I brought this development to a friend of mine and he asked this:

So wait, if DR has been removed entirely in favor of DT, doesn't that create the same problem of just picking the armor with highest number that the DR/DT system was devised to combat in the first place? I'm not fully sure why they would do that.

I think he's being a bit presumptuous about the purpose of the armor system, but I still think it's a question worth asking... Is there a system similar to the DPS / DAM tradeoff in armor usage? Or does armor follow a linear progression upwards?

[WorstUsernameEver]

According to Bethblog, we'll be able (you'll be able, considering I don't plan on attending) to get our hands on the NCR t-shirts at this year's PAX.

[J.E. Sawyer]

So wait, if DR has been removed entirely in favor of DT, doesn't that create the same problem of just picking the armor with highest number that the DR/DT system was devised to combat in the first place? I'm not fully sure why they would do that.

I think he's being a bit presumptuous about the purpose of the armor system, but I still think it's a question worth asking... Is there a system similar to the DPS / DAM tradeoff in armor usage? Or does armor follow a linear progression upwards?

Given how armor works in practice in F1/F2, I am extremely skeptical that the DR/DT system was designed to "combat" picking the armor with the highest DR/DT. A system is nothing without content, and the content of F1 and F2 featured a form of power armor as the end-all-be-all endgame armor. I mean, you could finish F1 in standard combat armor or Brotherhood armor, but power armor/APA is so much better that it's mostly an aesthetic choice.

 

Armor does follow linear DT progressions upward, but outfits are now divided into Light/Medium/Heavy classes. Light moves without any movement penalty, Medium with some, and Heavy with more. Of course, some armor types come with their own built-in bonuses and penalties. I think there are compelling reasons to use different armor types, even toward the high end.

[WorstUsernameEver]

So wait, if DR has been removed entirely in favor of DT, doesn't that create the same problem of just picking the armor with highest number that the DR/DT system was devised to combat in the first place? I'm not fully sure why they would do that.

I think he's being a bit presumptuous about the purpose of the armor system, but I still think it's a question worth asking... Is there a system similar to the DPS / DAM tradeoff in armor usage? Or does armor follow a linear progression upwards?

Given how armor works in practice in F1/F2, I am extremely skeptical that the DR/DT system was designed to "combat" picking the armor with the highest DR/DT. A system is nothing without content, and the content of F1 and F2 featured a form of power armor as the end-all-be-all endgame armor. I mean, you could finish F1 in standard combat armor or Brotherhood armor, but power armor/APA is so much better that it's mostly an aesthetic choice.

 

Armor does follow linear DT progressions upward, but outfits are now divided into Light/Medium/Heavy classes. Light moves without any movement penalty, Medium with some, and Heavy with more. Of course, some armor types come with their own built-in bonuses and penalties. I think there are compelling reasons to use different armor types, even toward the high end.

 

Well, that's good at least. I must admit, I would have probably preferred if you played a little bit more with DR and DT combinations, but that shouldn't be so bad overall.

 

Also, is this change just for player armors? Do some enemies still have DR? Will there be a differentiation between bullet sponges and armored enemies?

[J.E. Sawyer]

No creatures have DR. Bullet sponge enemies have a lot of HP and typically don't have DT. High HP characters with no armor are begging the player to use low DAM, high DPS weapons on them.

 

In my current playthrough, I definitely make specific tactical choices about when to use certain weapons/ammo based on enemy armor/health/range. The anti-materiel rifle has a very low DPS for when you get it in the game. There are some weapons you can get very early in the game that easily eclipse its DPS by a healthy margin. But the sheer amount of damage it does in a single shot can bypass pretty much any DT, making its effective DPS much higher against certain targets.

[Slowtrain]

I prefer DT over DR as a damage reduction mechanic, so if only one had to get choosen I'm glad it was DT.

 

I'm also glad that no enmies have DR either. Makes it much easier to get a handle on which weapons to use against which enemies.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Mmmh, seems like a good system overall. I would have hoped for different damage types, but I don't mind this overall.

 

I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition by the way.

 

Since it seems that New Vegas fixed my three big gripes with Fallout 3 : bad writing, balance issues and the story linearity; I don't really see why I shouldn't.

[taviow]

I'm broke so I have to wait till October for that at least

[vault_overseer]

I haven't preordered anything, because I can't figure out which store are doing the midnight release...