Game News Fallout: New Vegas - By Obsidian, For Bethesda

[Vault Dweller]

Yes, remove all the stupid penalties from enemies and bonuses from the player, throw in a proper sequence system, which means that sometimes the enemy starts first, and you have a decent system.

Then nobody wants to use it unless they can't handle FPS at all.

Let's look at the specs of real time versus VATS when you strip out all of the VATS bonuses

WHY RT IS SO AWESOME!!!
-Can evade
-Can use cover
-All shots land as placed by player skill
-Can move and shoot
-Can open the pause menu at any time to heal/buff

WHY TURN BASED SUCKS!!!
-Are a sitting duck
-Does not play well with cover
-Shots landing depends upon character skill
-Can't move while shooting.
-Can't crack open the menu and heal.

Fixed.

And no, I don't equate VATS with TB, but you are using the same arguments that "TB sucks, RT is awesome" crowd uses.

The bonuses are what VATS is all about, on the gamist level.

No. VATS is (or should be) about RT with pause with tactical interface. It should give you an option to pause RT chaos and precision that no twitch skills can offer.

How is this example different from Fallout 2 when you start running into the Enclave patrols and try to take out one or two guys before they open fire and most likely kill you?

Huge difference. In Fallout 2, there is only one way to combat enemies. In Fallout 3, VATS and real time compete. The bonuses are the only thing that make VATS preferable in many scenarios. Otherwise real time would be dominant.

You didn't answer my question.

More meaningful would mean huge ripples all around still. And that's only one stat. Things get even more fun when dealing with all of them. Fact is, the butchery and TESification of SPECIAL is so great, it would be easier to start anew if their intention was a large departure from Fallout 3.

I disagree, but don't have time to write a scenario showing a doable middle ground between Fallout 1 and Fallout 3.

Which leads to a little question...why are you expecting something different than Fallout 3...if they're basing it on Fallout 3's engine? Do you actually expect an overhaul of the combat and character mechanics?

I do. Why? Good question. Blind faith into something good that could be done without significant time investment?

The only reason why most people aren't touching it is because these are minor changes. However, if Obsidian offers a game where the rest is fixed, fixing this minor stuff will be both easy and worthwhile.

Should be interesting discussion no matter what.

Definitely.

 

[Forest Dweller]

but it is hard to say if Josh is really -capable- of anything without the end result. And so far the end results where he was working on turned out to be from not-so-good to bad.

Use these words more often instead of just "shit" and you may get more respect here. Just a little advice.

 

[Hard Knox]

Obsidian can't make challenging combat to save their lives. I didn't think KotoR's combat could get worse, but Obsidian managed to take all the balance and challenge out of it, and, in a final FUCK YOU CUSTOMER, level-scaled the enemies.

Now, combat is 99% of any game. Obsidian has an 0/4 record on good combat. The other 1%, which you ignorant kids seem to rate higher, is writing, and only 2/4 Obsidian games have that.

How can anyone not think it's gonna suck?

 

[Dire Roach]

Which leads to a little question...why are you expecting something different than Fallout 3...if they're basing it on Fallout 3's engine? Do you actually expect an overhaul of the combat and character mechanics?

I do. Why? Good question. Blind faith into something good that could be done without significant time investment?

The only reason why most people aren't touching it is because these are minor changes. However, if Obsidian offers a game where the rest is fixed, fixing this minor stuff will be both easy and worthwhile.

Given the seemingly short development time allotted, I doubt Obsidian is feeling ambitious and optimistic enough to even try to work on such "minor changes." The most I can imagine them doing in terms of altering game mechanics is adding some sort of faction system, or diseases; things that work with small numbers and are mostly isolated from rest of the game's systems. After all, this is supposed to be just a standalone expansion, not a full spinoff or sequel. Bethesda simply wouldn't allow Obsidian to release something that offers a significantly different gameplay experience on the grounds that it would frustrate their established FOblivion customer base.

 

[Arcanoix]

Glad to see that Obsidian's not dead yet. Still bummed out on the aliens rpg and almost certain that this fallout game will be very good. A development cycle of a year is too short to make this anything but an easy cash-cow for both companies.

It might as well be, but they said Obsidian was headed up by Avellone. So Urquhart is finally gone, right?

 

[Forest Dweller]

Now, combat is 99% of any game.

Please die.

 

[Shannow]

Yeah I went a little too far on that. I think "Codex types who could stomach Fallout 3's core gameplay (meaning the combat, exploration, and looting) will likely find a version of Fallout 3 more palatable in New Vegas" would be a decent amendment, no?

I'll allow it /Mills Lane

The scripted things like the war drums,

Were aweful. The concept as well as the implementation. Why should guards stop rushing to kill intruders just because the alarm drums suddenly stopped sounding? Teleporting worg riders in the middle of my casters also wasn't the "best" way of simulating guards rushing to fight intruders.

the end battle completely hosed good-aligned parties

As it should. Die you goody-two-shoes!

and some scripted stuff like the time warp or the monk challenges were awful.

Time warp was ok as a concept but quite buggy and not really worth it. I liked the monk challenges and they were bypassable, IIRC.

the overall plot to me was really contrived and it seems like they really tried too hard in some cases.

I have that feeling with every computer game. Every single one. That is the reason I said it was solid. It suffered more from forcing sellswords into the role of heroes instead of being pleasantly surprised that sellswords want to behave heroicly. It also suffered from not allowing the party to ally with the twins and destroy IWD.

I think trying to make a morally ambiguous antagonizing force was kind of a bad idea for a linear dungeon crawler too.

The old "we just don't "get" evil"-problem nearly every game has. There should simply have been a plot twist at the end that you were working for the "evil" side all along (as in IWD1) or it should have made the twins openly evil without all the emo-"the world mistreated us, nobody can relate"-crap excuses.

I liked IWD2 better. To me a good combat system is nothing without good encounter design that challenges the player to use it. Sacrilege, I know.

Repent!
Encounter design influences gameplay for me but it doesn't dominate it. And as such I still prefere ToEE's even if I think IWD2 was the far superior game overall.

 

[M_I_C_K_E_Y_M_O_U_S_E]

Why isn't Avellone working on this FO3.5? AP can't be it since it's only 6 months from release so most or all of the writing should be done by now.

 

[Anthony Davis]

Why isn't Avellone working on this FO3.5? AP can't be it since it's only 6 months from release so most or all of the writing should be done by now.

Avellone wears many hats at Obsidian. He is currently the chief creative officer (or something like that) as well as the project director and lead designer for AP.

To whomever asked up above, Feargus is of course still at Obsidian. He is currently the CEO and project director of an unannounced project that is not FO.

Josh Sawyer is the project director and lead designer of Fallout: New Vegas.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Another unannounced project? Good to see Obsidian is doing well.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Another unannounced project? Good to see Obsidian is doing well.

Seriously, this is what their combined 5 million copies from KotOR 2 and NWN2+XP have done for them.

They can attract funding just like that.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Another unannounced project?

Fable 3

 

[Silellak]

Another unannounced project?

Fable 3

Dragon Age 2.

Mass Effect: New New Vegas.

Ultima X.

Bioshock: Underwater Vegas.

Ultima Underworld III.

X-Com: Vegas Invasion.

 

[Forest Dweller]

Kotor 3

 

[Thrasher]

Arcanum 2

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

rapelay 3

 

[Jaesun]

Another unannounced project? Good to see Obsidian is doing well.

Nice to hear.

And oh fuck, in before skyway.

SHIT SHIT BABBLE BABBLE MEDIOCRE INEPT BULLSHIT INCOMPETENT BABBLE BABBLE SHIT SHIT SHIT MORE SHIT PREDICTABLE SHIT SHIT SHIT BABBLE BABBLE

 

[serch]

4th ed D&D? Spill the beans and lose yourr job out of fidelity to our nerdy brotherhood.

 

[Kingston]

To whomever asked up above, Feargus is of course still at Obsidian. He is currently the CEO and project director of an unannounced project that is not FO.

I would assume this is the project that is using the Onyx engine?

 

[MetalCraze]

Weren't there some rumours that they are continuing to milk NWN2 with yet another expansion?

 

[Forest Dweller]

4th ed D&D? Spill the beans and lose yourr job out of fidelity to our nerdy brotherhood.

Oh yeah. Maybe Baldur's Gate 3.

 

[ghostdog]

I don't think Obsidian is making a smart choice by having all these projects on their hands. They should focus on giving everything to one game , something that would definitely establish them financially and artistically. Aliens already got cancelled. All these deadlines will only make them work under crunch time and this can't be good.

 

[Chefe]

I don't think Obsidian is making a smart choice by having all these projects on their hands. They should focus on giving everything to one game , something that would definitely establish them financially and artistically.

Exactly. Just like Psychonauts.

 

[POOPERSCOOPER]

Imagine if they were just working on Aliens. woah.

 

[Thrasher]

Quality over quantity?
Nonsense!!!