Interview Fallout 3 interview at Shacknews

[JarlFrank]

Since the game will be M, the only reason to not have children would be laziness on the part of the developers.

Aren't there regions where video games that let you kill minors are illegal? Not sure where I'm getting that from, so it might be utter nonsense, but I vaguely recall thinking that was why the child sprites (but not the children) were taken out of the European release of...Fallout 2?

Yeah, they were removed for the German version, but Germany has quite a lot of restrictions on video game violence.

 

[psycojester]

S - Shooting
P- Paid content
E- Excrements
S- Sexy stuff (thxs to Jarl_Frank)
H- Horror elements
U- Unready
L- Level scaling

Why Horror elements? Don't you know that Fallout is all about running around a wasteland blowing shit away with huge guns and the bloody mess trait while sleeping with hookers.

 

[kingcomrade]

S - Shooting
P- Paid content
E- Excrements
S- Sexy stuff (thxs to Jarl_Frank)
H- Horror elements
U- Unready
L- Level scaling

Why Horror elements? Don't you know that Fallout is all about running around a wasteland blowing shit away with huge guns and the bloody mess trait while sleeping with hookers.

While driving around in the Humvee that you can't shoot from because that would be imbalancing while seeing the fear in the talking sk8boarding Deathclaw's eyes.

 

[Briosafreak]

Children were removed in the UK because of the Dunblane massacre (thanks Sander)

The UK office informed me that any game that allows child killing would be banned
or considered in extremely poor taste because of some nasty real-life incidents
that happened over there. They asked me to either make the kids unkillable or to
remove them. I chose to remove them, which is why they don't affect the plot in
any way. That's not an accident.

t might have had something to do with the Dunblane, Scotland
massacre. A topical event.

We developers would prefer not to make any changes, but we
don't want to be cold-hearted or accused of not caring.

 

[Bradylama]

Who cares?

Uh, consumers? Applying SPECIAL to a real-time system is a terrible idea because it just wasn't designed to work that way.

The point is that a suitable attribute system can have a meaningful effect on combat.

Not for a real-time system. When you make a combat system real-time, the focus shifts to action, not character attributes. If you try and incorporate a meaningful attribute system, it detracts from the action experience, because attributes can only ever work subtly, as opposed to the impact of skills. The effects may still be there, but it's difficult to appreciate when everything comes at you in real-time.

?? How does one "roleplay" any combat?

By removing the player's physicality from the equation. In a real-time system, (particularly from an FPP) it's always the player fighting, not the player character.

 

[galsiah]

Uh, consumers? Applying SPECIAL to a real-time system is a terrible idea because it just wasn't designed to work that way.

Sure, but what exactly would this mean? You yourself have indicated that applying it directly would be pretty meaningless (action points, initiative etc.). In that case, all using SPECIAL means is having attributes with those names. Again - who cares what they're called? - it's what they do that counts.

Not for a real-time system.

That's crap. Just because you haven't played one, doesn't mean it's impossible.

When you make a combat system real-time, the focus shifts to action, not character attributes.

And the attributes can have a pronounced effect on the action, if things are designed that way.

If you try and incorporate a meaningful attribute system, it detracts from the action experience, because attributes can only ever work subtly, as opposed to the impact of skills. The effects may still be there, but it's difficult to appreciate when everything comes at you in real-time.

How does it "detract from the action experience" if it's "difficult to appreciate" the effects?

Why can attributes "only ever work subtly"?
If we're using SPEAL for now, Strength can have a great influence on damage, and influence melee speed / ranged recoil; Perception can have an influence on aim; Endurance on health, resistance to knockdown etc.; Agility on movement speed, weapon speed, reload speed...; Luck on whatever the hell you like.

These could easily be important effects. I really don't see your problem.

By removing the player's physicality from the equation. In a real-time system, (particularly from an FPP) it's always the player fighting, not the player character.

First, it's both.
Second, as I indicated above: for most players, the player's physicality is a constant in the equation. I.e. it doesn't have real influence over the way one playthrough compares with another, or how gameplay changes with progress in each individual playthrough.
Can different character builds play differently? Yes.
Can characters change the way they play by developing skills/attributes? Yes.

So long as the game is balanced well, and has various difficulty settings, the absolute ability of the player character doesn't matter. All that matters is the relative ability of different character builds, and the relative ability of a new character to an experienced one. Once the player has learned the game, his physical prowess should have no effect on these relative character abilities (only on the absolute ability, which can be compensated through difficulty settings, as in every other game).

Certainly this requires good design and balance - more so than a turn-based system. I don't imagine for a minute that Bethesda are going to pull it off. That doesn't make it impossible though.


EDIT: In general, I don't see that Fallout combat is anything to hold up and marvel at in terms of either variety or entertainment. It's ok, but it's not that different with different characters, and it's hardly the best combat around.
If you're advocating full party control, turn-based isometric combat, then I agree that's preferable to real-time first-person combat. If you're holding up Fallout combat as something particularly special, I just don't see it.

 

[bobo_monkey]

Ok enough is enough

I have been coming to this website for ages now. In fact for at least a week, I think i have the right to comment. WTF is up with you guys? First off this guy posts a legitimate concern about the game and industry and you tear him to pieces?
Now were I come from people call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel. But you guys will sometimes see a fork when your eating icecream with a godam spoon!
Holy shit man, why cant you all just go for burgers and just enoy the FRIES!!!

Sorry to use caps but I am completely at a loss to understand the nescisity of attacking the bearer of a message and not the person who ORDERED THE DAMM FOOD in the first place!
Were is the logic in all of that. I am taken totaly unawares. This all reminds me of a time when I was trying to download an abandonware game and had been looking forward to playing it for ages (since i stopped masturbating three times a day I have had to look elsewhere, and yes I know thats too many times but WTF even watching golden girls gives me a hard on these days. Its normal)
Ok well as for the abandonware game. I finally had it downloaded but it required 32k more memory but of course I had 2 gigs!
Now the whole deal was that Windows was of course to blame! But did I go and yell at the computer! HELL NO! I just went with the flow and downloaded a dos expander, masturbated a little then Installed THE DAMM THING OK!?!

I mean really guys the guy said everything in plain ENGLISH and you act like he was trying to sell you a vacuum cleaner or something.
Take my example, go bagless and then if this happens again you just need to tell yourself it was meant to be and it cant effect you because you are FUCKING BAGLESS ok?!
Jeez man its not that hard.
Like really.

 

[OsirisGod]

I did not like Lionheart's combat, i thought it sucked ass. Does that count as a "Not for a real-time system." game that he didn't play so it doesn't mean it's impossible?

 

[Fez]

Okay, who's alt is bobo? That can't be for real.

 

[Zomg]

I predict rfrants, based on facts.

 

[JarlFrank]

Re: Ok enough is enough

*snip*

I think you will make friends with Volourn quickly. You two really fit together.

 

[Volourn]

Fuck you, asshole, you stupid troll.

 

[Dementia Praecox]

Fuck you, asshole, you stupid troll.

Seconded, with an emphasis on stupid.

 

[Texas Red]

Fuck you, asshole, you stupid troll.

Seconded, with an emphasis on stupid.

]
What the hell is up with you? Why do you always have to go personal?

 

[Volourn]

Hey, JarlFrank started it with a personal attack on me comapring to that gaseous odor that came marching in with super uber orangish horrid hostility. *puke*

I just returned the favor to JarlFrank.

 

[Dementia Praecox]

Fuck you, asshole, you stupid troll.

Seconded, with an emphasis on stupid.

]
What the hell is up with you? Why do you always have to go personal?

Only with retards. By the way, why do you keep posting here? Seems kinda masochistic to me.

 

[Volourn]

Why would he stop? He's not a coward like Kaka who changes his user name just because he got the Codex Treatment.

R00fles!

 

[Dementia Praecox]

Hey, JarlFrank started it with a personal attack on me comapring to that gaseous odor that came marching in with super uber orangish horrid hostility. *puke*

I just returned the favor to JarlFrank.

Actually, I think this one was directed at me.

 

[elander_]

Fuck you, asshole, you stupid troll.

Seconded, with an emphasis on stupid.

What kind of person seconds Volourn posts?

 

[Volourn]

You were standing up for your Princess' honour like any knight would.

 

[Dementia Praecox]

Why would he stop? He's not a coward like Kaka who changes his user name just because he got the Codex Treatment.

R00fles!

Ok, good point. :honourblade:

 

[Dementia Praecox]

You were standing up for your Princess' honour like any knight would.

God damn! You reply faster than I wink! How do you do it?

Edit: Really expected a reply between those post, Volourn. You disappoint me.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

And you don't think the time scaling has any affect on this decision? I know for a fact the view/hearing distance was a direct consequence of the real time combat from talking about it with the developers, but it's pretty obvious you can wake up everyone on the map for turn based when that would be bad for real time.

I see your point that pausing the game allows the AI to have more time to "think" and thus have a more interesting behavior. I just wouldn't throw away FOT combined RT and TB system. FOT real-time was emulated in TB mode and this is what made it possible to play the game online and the emulated RT provided a much better system than say NWN.

It has nothing to do with AI thinking. It has everything to do with the player not getting ass mobbed by everything on the map the first time he makes a noise, thus the map being finished in two minutes(with the player dying). In turn based, you can wake up the entire map because things take a bit longer to move from point A to Point B and the player gets to think more. If everything on the map rushed the player in FOT at once in RT, the player would be toast.

Before you argue it wouldn't take longer, consider enemies will block each other at doors at the end of the turn, APs that aren't used get added to defense in Fallout's turn based whereas in the RT of FOT they recycled towards actions. If you had 6AP in Fallout, and you fired a 4AP weapon, your two remaining AP went to defense. In FOT, that means you can fire again in just two ticks as opposed to four ticks.

 

[Dementia Praecox]

Fuck you, asshole, you stupid troll.

Seconded, with an emphasis on stupid.

What kind of person seconds Volourn posts?

You all need to learn when to pick your fights with Volourn. That's preferably never, and most certainly not when he's right.

Quoting my self from another thread. Now, this goes both ways. No need to be as black and white as Bioware is, with good and bad.

 

[Texas Red]

Hey, JarlFrank started it with a personal attack on me comapring to that gaseous odor that came marching in with super uber orangish horrid hostility. *puke*

I just returned the favor to JarlFrank.

Actually, I think this one was directed at me.

Yes, that was directed at *you*. Not Volourn.