Fallout Fallout 1 is the best RPG of all time that stood the test of time

[Kyl Von Kull]

Fallout did have an artistic genius working on it—Leonard Boyarsky.

(Fallout 2, but still, yeah, genius)

I'm pretty sure that picture with the dog was done by Justin Sweet.

Yeah, Justin Sweet is a listed artist for Fallout 1&2. His style is great, as is John Mueller's (another Interplay artist, wrote/illustrated/published the OINK comics which have some very Fallout-ish art and themes).

But in truth, Brian Fargo was totally on board with their vision and he supported the heck out of them, even when Steve Jackson pulled out and made them stop using GURPS because he hated the amazing opening video.

Where did you read/hear that Steven Jackson hated the opening reel? That's a new one for me.

Pretty sure Leonard and Tim have mentioned this in multiple interviews. The shot of the guy getting his brains blown out by American soldiers.

 

[Piotrovitz]

fallout 1 certainly is superior in some regards to fallout 2 but the quest design is just shit. sure, it established the whole world and the elements but those fucking stupid quests....in settlement its just like: sheriff asks you to take out bad guy in town, bad guy asks you to take sheriff out. oh how great. the people in town don't even react to some decisions, for example still talking about gizmo when he's already dead! (that is quite an achievement in a town with just 5 or 6 talkable npcs). i'm not even trying to be edgy here that's just the way it is in this game. there aren't even a lot solutions beside talking your way out or shooting.

This.

Take the nostalgia-tinted glasses off, and you'll see that most of FO1 quests are not very sophisticated in terms of writing. Combat system is decent, but it's oversimplified because of severe lack of variety in weapons department. As far as I remember it was just straightforward progress from pistol/desert eagle>hunting rifle/shotgun>SMG>combat shotgun>energy weapons. Still, it was groundbreaking upon it's release, laid foundations for FO2, and still stands the test of time to this day.

The only thing I'd say it did better than FO2 was the atmosphere. While having the retro-futurist/post-war 50s america/popculture references, they didn't went over the top with it. FO2 went all the way with the goofiness, and while I get it that it's supposed to be satire in a way, they just went overboard.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

As far as I remember it was just straightforward progress from pistol/desert eagle>hunting rifle/shotgun>SMG>combat shotgun>energy weapons.

 

[Silva]

Stalker is better.

 

[Piotrovitz]

I just checked the full weapon list in FO1 and it is that poor actually, so don't give me that stare.

That's why FO3 on Tactics enginge would be fucking awesome - there were huge variety of each firearm, instead of some generic, noname 9mm SMGs or assault rifles.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

I just checked the full weapon list in FO1 and it is that poor actually, so don't give me that stare.

That's why FO3 on Tactics enginge would be fucking awesome - there were huge variety of each firearm, instead of some generic, noname 9mm SMGs or assault rifles.

You're not seeing the forest for the trees if your qualms with FO1 center around the weapons selection. One of the things I think was a failing of FO2 was the sheer amount of misplaced gun-autism in it (fucking P90s and G11s, when the timeline diverged from ours circa WW2? What in the goddamn)

 

[Piotrovitz]

I don't consider poor weapon variety some glaring flaw. It's just there is no damn reason why they couldn't include something more, just to give you some choice. Even if they were under some heavy time constraints, I can't comprehend adding few weapons more being such a problem.

Agree on FO2 going overboard with modern guns that contradict the lore.

 

[agris]

Pretty sure Leonard and Tim have mentioned this in multiple interviews. The shot of the guy getting his brains blown out by American soldiers.

Do you have a specific interview in mind? I assume it's a video interview since I haven't seen it, and I've read most of what's written.

 

[Ninjerk]

Pretty sure Leonard and Tim have mentioned this in multiple interviews. The shot of the guy getting his brains blown out by American soldiers.

Do you have a specific interview in mind? I assume it's a video interview since I haven't seen it, and I've read most of what's written.

You do realize you're condemning someone to days of watching FO interviews and masturbating, right? We have lives and shit.

 

[Ninjerk]

But if someone is going to do it, they're going to have to transcribe that one interview where they talk about the fact that Chris Taylor (and there might have been two that worked on the IP) is responsible for a staggering amount of the things that made FO1 what it ended up becoming.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

It’s in the first or second Mattchat video with Leonard from a few weeks ago. It’s in that Eurogamer video with Tim, Leonard and Feargus from a few months ago, just to name some recent examples.

Really, it’s in every single description of Interplay’s split with Steve Jackson: he hated the execution video and he hated some of the vault-boy images (presumably the more horrific ones like child killer).

 

[ilitarist]

Here's an example of 2D graphics that uses the medium in such a way that 3D can't do the same right:

Spoiler

Fallout doesn't lose anything by switching to 3d. You may argue that top-down perspective is better for RPG but it's another story.

That is 100% a 3D render, and the funny thing is, I'm pretty sure modern hardware could render it in real time.

So is Fallout and many others. However here the image is complete and it got some artists working on it additionally. If you get those models and render them in 3D today with higher resolution it will be obvious that you're dealing not from a photo from fantasy world but with models. They've created art that looks perfect on resolution they've used. On the other hand, Heroes 5 which were made 12 years ago can be run on any resolution with all the antialiasing you want. You get a smooth picture from them. Even though there are some problems with their models it will still look OK while Heroes 3 - even with great HD mod - has all sorts of problems rendering lowres pictures and preserving the original feel.

See what quadrupling resolution does to this picture (this is official HD remaster that should burn in hell):

Spoiler

Fallout 1 didn't have that special use of medium. Even if it did, they didn't go the way of spoiling 2D perspective, they switched to first persion and even if gameplay suffered graphics and atmosphere got more involved - Fallout 1 atmosphere of horror suffered a little when you saw every enemy on map instantly. When I play it today I get huge pixels. When I played back when it came out I saw gratitous violence but also many of those puppet faces looked bad even on release. It didn't have the magic to preserve in gameplay screenshot, it was all in the atmosphere, music (at least part of which FNV brought back), art (which is good in FNV). FNV will forever look fine.

 

[Makabb]

New Vegas is poor mans Fallout, it lacks the UI, atmosphere, setting, game mechanics and systems.

 

[Makabb]

The only thing I'd say it did better than FO2 was the atmosphere. While having the retro-futurist/post-war 50s america/popculture references, they didn't went over the top with it. FO2 went all the way with the goofiness, and while I get it that it's supposed to be satire in a way, they just went overboard.

As a game Fallout 2 is better than Fallout 1 because it's naturaly the evolution of the engine and game mechanics, Fallout 1 only has better atmosphere than fallout 2, but you have to remember if not for Fallout 1 there would be no fallout 2.

but that atmosphere means A LOT, because there is no ultra stupid stuff on bethesda level retarded that starts to appear in fallout 2.


I wish Sduibek would finish his Fallout 1 to fallout 2 game engine transition.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

It’s in the first or second Mattchat video with Leonard from a few weeks ago. It’s in that Eurogamer video with Tim, Leonard and Feargus from a few months ago, just to name some recent examples.

Really, it’s in every single description of Interplay’s split with Steve Jackson: he hated the execution video and he hated some of the vault-boy images (presumably the more horrific ones like child killer).

If I recall correctly Steve was initially ok with violence, then suddenly changed his mind.

 

[Zero Credibility]

I get a feeling Jackson has some massive hang-ups with copywrite and computers. GURPS has turned into an awesome system that nobody actually plays, and a game or two based on GURPS and actual rules on-line like Pathfinder or D&D have could change this.

I can't find where now, but I did read somewhere (GURPS forums maybe?) that the only way he would consider licensing the system is for some AAA game with massive budget. Yeah, good luck with that.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

I just checked the full weapon list in FO1 and it is that poor actually, so don't give me that stare.

Who uses every weapon type in FO? You pick one and stick with it, variety be damned :ehue:

 

[Krivol]

Where did you read/hear that Steven Jackson hated the opening reel? That's a new one for me.

I'm quite sure that Tim Cain said that in one of Matt Chat episodes

 

[Makabb]

I just checked the full weapon list in FO1 and it is that poor actually, so don't give me that stare.

Who uses every weapon type in FO? You pick one and stick with it, variety be damned :ehue:

I usualy make one weapon tag max it out and then max out 2nd.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

I just checked the full weapon list in FO1 and it is that poor actually, so don't give me that stare.

Who uses every weapon type in FO? You pick one and stick with it, variety be damned :ehue:

I usualy make one weapon tag max it out and then max out 2nd.

No need, use points on cool skills instead.

 

[Makabb]

I just checked the full weapon list in FO1 and it is that poor actually, so don't give me that stare.

Who uses every weapon type in FO? You pick one and stick with it, variety be damned :ehue:

I usualy make one weapon tag max it out and then max out 2nd.

No need, use points on cool skills instead.

sure, but this way i use small guns at start and energy weapons at end

 

[FeelTheRads]

FNV will forever look fine.

lolwut

FNV will forever look like shit, just like Fallout 3 will forever look like shit.

Pixels on huge screens apart, Fallout 1&2 on the other hand will forever look good on the strength of the art direction alone.

New Vegas is poor mans Fallout

Pretty much. Or, it's the dictionary definition of "well, it's better than nothing, I guess". But at least that's in opposition to FO3 which was much worse than nothing.

 

[laclongquan]

The most obvious advantage Fallout 1 has over 2 is the atmosphere:

It's pessimistic as shit~

Think about it.

You are just barely out of the nuclear war's aftermath. Everything is chaotic as hell. Your home country is a hole in the ground with lack of water, water thieves for god's sake. It is too miserable to live except it's still better than the outside: no radiation, still food, SAFETY from raiders and weathers. The best city you know got controlled by water merchant (!!!) And mutated beings are emerging in high number: ghoul (sentient zombie), Supermutants (barely sentient orcs) oh mind.

So in the genre of post apocalypse it's doing right.

In contrast the Fallout 2 atmostphere fell into the category of "building back" part of the Post Apocalypse genre. So it's more optimistic that way. on the other hand, which nerd would be impressed by the impressive development?

 

[azimuth]

The nostalgia that our generation has for Fallout 1/2 will be just like this generation's nostalgia for Fallout New Vegas. You can already see it happening.

Those of you arguing Fallout 2 is better than 1: that opinion used to make you worthy of death around here. It was so obvious to everyone that Fallout 1 was the better game and the better RPG, and Fallout 2 was just a cheap knockoff with too much cheesy unfocused crap tacked on. Fallout 1 was a true work of art, whereas Fallout 2 was a mindless cashgrab hack job. The tutorial, the tribals, the dungeons, the Enclave, New Reno, porn, casinos, electricity, jet, Myron, Sulik, ghosts, aliens, Vault City, the GECK, talking deathclaws, San Francisco, the Hubologists, Frank Horrigan, and on and on and on -- it was all considered obvious shit.

In 5-10 years you'll visit this site or its successor and most everyone will agree that Fallout New Vegas is the best one, and 1/2 are nice I guess but didn't age well (i.e., I didn't play them).

Like the Gold Box games or the mountains of 80s shovelware RPGs are today...

 

[FeelTheRads]

And the point is?

That like everything else the Codex declines too and that Bethestards should have never been allowed to breed here?