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Fallout 4 is coming!


mkreku

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Fallout & Fallout 2 have more narrative railroading (due to the timers) than either of the others.

 

Weak. The timer in Fallout 2 was virtually nonexistent, and the one in Fallout 1 could be extended and even stopped altogether IIRC. Regardless, timers have nothing to do with railroading a story. 

 

There was no narrative choice in Fallout 3 in the main story line. And other than that, the only notable choice was blowing up a city built around a nuke for some inexplicable reason for fun. Really hard choice, huh.

 

The game was fun, but the writing was so cringe-worthy that I couldn't bear myself to finishing it for the second time. :D

 

 

I hate-hate-hated the timers in both Fallout and Fallout 2.  And you could stop both timers - provided you rushed to get to the point where you could stop the timer, at which point you could lazily do the open world exploration.  But a railroad is a railroad, if you didn't do what the game designers wanted you to do in the time they wanted you to do it - end of game.

 

Been awhile since I played Fallout 3 but IIRC your choices affect Megaton, Little Lamplight and the other town connected to it and the high rise with the ghoul problem.  The main story is a narrative railroad (one that they never quite justify following, IMO).  New Vegas gives more main story narrative choices (even if only an idiot would ever join Ceasar).

I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man

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So..  Fallout 4 comes with Pipboy Edition

 

 

 

The Fallout series is known for the Pip-Boy, a chunky smartwatch-style device that lets you check various information on the go. But in Fallout 4, the latest instalment of the post-apocalyptic RPG franchise, you'll be able to have a far more authentic second-screen experience.

The collector's edition of the game will include an actual Pip-Boy wearable sleeve that you can slot your phone into, meaning you'll be able to access all of the features just by glancing down at your IRL arm. "As far as stupid gimmicks go, I chose the best ****ing one," said Bethesda's Todd Howard on stage at E3.

 

 

"Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."

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I hate-hate-hated the timers in both Fallout and Fallout 2.  And you could stop both timers - provided you rushed to get to the point where you could stop the timer, at which point you could lazily do the open world exploration.  But a railroad is a railroad, if you didn't do what the game designers wanted you to do in the time they wanted you to do it - end of game.

 

Been awhile since I played Fallout 3 but IIRC your choices affect Megaton, Little Lamplight and the other town connected to it and the high rise with the ghoul problem.  The main story is a narrative railroad (one that they never quite justify following, IMO).  New Vegas gives more main story narrative choices (even if only an idiot would ever join Ceasar).

 

 

No I mean... I haven't noticed any hard timer in Fallout 2. You get increasingly more pressing dreams, but that's it. No real effect. No railroad whatsoever. And even with the timer you can do many things many ways, unlike in Fallout 3, where you can do all the things one way. Don't remind me of Little Lamplight, that's what I use as an example of that writer's incompetence :p

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Fallout 2 has *no* timer. The only thing that might make you think it has a timer is the 13 years limit which forces both Fo1 and 2 to stop. This is engine related and there exists a fix / workaround for that. But come on... 13 (!) ingame years(!). Even the first times I played Fo2 (which is a lot bigger than Fo1, as we all certainly know) I never needed more than maximum 1 1/2 years to finish everything in that game. What the hell other people are doing in the game to get to the 13 years limit??

 

The timer in Fo1 ends as soon as you find the waterchip, which is usually not hard at all. Anway, this is what I really love about Fallout 1. You've got a pressing task, so deal with it. What, you are getting distracted by side stuff that isn't related to your task? Then don't complain if you fail your main task due to doing something else all the time... After all, the game world is open. You can go back to everything else at any other time (besides, you can pretty much do all the quests in the first few locations and still find the waterchip in time. You just have to avoid running aimlessly over the worldmap over and over again...

 

It also helps to be aware of what you are doing. There is a red story line from location to location- everywhere is at least one NPC who leads you to the next town. Follow the trail and you find the waterchip easily.)

Edited by Lexx

"only when you no-life you can exist forever, because what does not live cannot die."

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^I wouldn't care about failing the waterchip quest if it wasn't for the fact that IIRC failing that quest to get the waterchip also ended the game.  Why can't I let the Vault die and get on with my bidness?

 

I thought that FO2 had a similar timer (if the village got wiped out before a certain event was reached the game ended) but If I misremember, mea culpa.

I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man

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They cut a lot of the Legion, which is why we never got to see their full glory. 

 

It's too bad Obsidian burned their bridges with other companies. Ah well. Unless this thing with Paradox goes further and we can make a CK RPG. 

Ka-ka-ka-ka-Cocaine!


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Even back in the days I hated how the posts of a few were rated as "this is the opinion of all the NMA folks" by the masses.

Edited by Lexx
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"only when you no-life you can exist forever, because what does not live cannot die."

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Even back in the days I hated how the posts of a few were rated as "this is the opinion of all the NMA folks" by the masses.

The silent majority is often overlooked. I think it is the silence.

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I hate-hate-hated the timers in both Fallout and Fallout 2.  And you could stop both timers - provided you rushed to get to the point where you could stop the timer, at which point you could lazily do the open world exploration.  But a railroad is a railroad, if you didn't do what the game designers wanted you to do in the time they wanted you to do it - end of game.

 

Been awhile since I played Fallout 3 but IIRC your choices affect Megaton, Little Lamplight and the other town connected to it and the high rise with the ghoul problem.  The main story is a narrative railroad (one that they never quite justify following, IMO).  New Vegas gives more main story narrative choices (even if only an idiot would ever join Ceasar).

Firstly, a timer is not a railroad. A railroad is what it implies, a forced progression of A->B->C where you have no choice in the matter whatever. Gameplay wise it tends towards linear corridors or the actual rail shooter, narrative wise it's a non branching story. While the waterchip is effectively a choke point decision you have a wide range of different approaches prior to that. If you take that as a railroad then any narrated game is a railroad except ones with an emergent narrative- BG2 has a 'railroad' where you need to raise money and have to go to Spellhold even if you hate Imoen, Planetscape: Tournament you have to go after Ravel who has to die, Awesome Brotocols you have to return to the AP base at the end, Ultima But Thou Must, VTMB LaCroix forces you to obey him etc etc. None of them are actual railroad narratives though, they are just points at which the narrative meanders rejoin into the main stream; something with an actual railroad narrative would be, say, FEAR because every time you play it it has an identical, linear progression where the only choice is to progress in a predetermined manner, or stand still permanently, or quit.

 

Secondly, the main reason why F1 and F2 have better narratives than F3 is not just because F3's story makes no sense and is an illogical mess of cliché and what Bethesda thought would be cool- the main plot in F1 and F2 certainly has elements of cliché and what would be cool itself after all- it is that every town has a story which is at least reasonably well thought out and internally consistent; F3's in contrast are almost all theme parks with one problem that can usually be solved in an utterly trivial manner.

 

The actual world design of F3 is certainly its saving grace at least up until the point you get bored of it, but its narrative is just awful.

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Ugh, because if there's one thing Bethesda games need more of, it's inventory bloat. I'm rather fond of the previous games' approach of there just being the one armour slot, none of this chest-legs-hands-etc business that belongs more in MMOs were grinding for gear is the primary motivation for keeping people playing.

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L I V E W R O N G

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Heh, my beau and one of my best friends are GREATLY looking forward to this game. I still need to play Fallout 3 and New Vegas (I would play 1 & 2, except I have a long list of other games that need attention) so I know what all the fuss is about and can anticipate it with them.

"Not I, though. Not I," said the hanging dwarf.

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The only thing I really like so far is that power armor finally looks like power armor. It's huge and bulky and you seem to feel it. Not this paper knight armor like in Fo3. Though, I am worried that it will be nothing but a timed super power, going by the gameplay video, where the player first puts in some kind of energy source before it opens and can be used.

 

/edit: But I think it's stupid how the T-60b suddenly looks a lot more like a modified version of the T-45b than the T-50b, which kind of would have made more sense, if you go by the numbers. By the way, the power armor in Fo3 was T-45D and not B. I wonder if that's on purpose or a mistake.

Edited by Lexx

"only when you no-life you can exist forever, because what does not live cannot die."

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Power Armor is definitely something I think they got right. Loving how much they put into it.

The only thing I'm worried about is how we're accessing the PIP-Boy and thus our inventory, notes, quest log, etc. while we're in it.

 

 

Also digging how the Advanced Power Armor is back, and it seems they've replaced the Fallout 3 version with the model from 2.

"Heh heh. Dirt... Nap... Dirt nap!"

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Does that look like he's holding Oblivion game box to anyone else? Like he's going to get his Oblivion game box autographed? Please say it isn't so, please.

This post is not to be enjoyed, discussed, or referenced on company time.

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