Interview Gamebanshee Wasteland 2 Interview with Chris Avellone

[Grunker]

True, but they may at least take the rpg fabase into consideration when making future titles.

You've never heard of "RPG elements?"

It will just keep getting better. AoD will be finalized after massive fixes in a short time, Wasteland 2 will have a playable beta on horizon, Xenonauts will prove to be the true spiritual successor to X-Com, Cleve will start taking pre-orders for Grimoire, Codexers will fund a codex-driven dream RPG project leaded by Chris Avellone...

...and then the world ends. On Wednesday.

I too hope they take inspiration from Storm of Zehir's dialogue system. It's very well-suited to a party-based game where different party members have different strengths and weaknesses.

It's fucking brilliant is what it is. Credit where it's due; SoZ did that shit exactly right with a simple and effective solution.

Yeah, but it would be cool if you couldn't see the whole content the game has to offer even with that mechanic. SoZ is partially so cool because you can't accomplish everything with the party you have no matter what. There were always som "hidden" options for Druids, Rangers, Dragon Disciples, and you simply couldn't have all those classes in the party.

Agreed, good point.

 

[Crooked Bee]

If they are going down a similar route for W2, I'd like to see them go nuts with something a lot more involved and finickety: the locals see your low-intelligence, low-charisma, high-strength dimwit party-member and want to buy him off you as a circus freak, your ranger equipping a lab coat gets mistaken for a doctor and gets asked to perform a triple-heart bypass, your bluffer can manipulate your well-read type into pretending to be a prophet of a new religion, etc, etc.

Ha, that'd be nice. I wonder if they're going to have enough time to implement sophisticated stuff like that.

One way of fixing the issue would be employing skill synergies between party members with similar skill setups. For example, let's say you have two members with high [Speech] skill. This enables you to enter conversations otherwise blocked if you had just one charismatic party member e.g. playing good cop - bad cop routine. However having two more charismatic party members would mean there's less place for medics, demolitions experts, scouts, scientists etc.

Good idea.

Now go, you two, and post the same suggestions on the official W2 forum. :D

 

[villain of the story]

My feelings on Wasteland 2 are so fucking mixed. I donated (anything for just a small chance to revert the decline), but still... I can't help having this eerie feeling.

The same here exactly. I keep thinking that it will fall significantly short of the kinds of fantasies we have by rehashing too much of the oldschool formula by relying on too much abstraction and end up something like AoD. A potentially great game that isn't "gamey" at all.

Personally I just want a JA2 1.13 with more extensive auto-resolve options and a proper dialogue + quest framework and social non-combat skills befitting of an RPG. It's important that the game stays "gamey".

 

[LeStryfe79]

to Mr Davis for the dialog UI in SoZ. I noticed Fargo received several tweets from myself and others that ToEE should be a template for combat and SoZ for for party dialog. It's also worth noting that both games used d20 variants which is public domain.

Edit: My party in SoZ was Bard, Rogue, Ranger, and Cleric and covered every skill very well in addition to including good, evil, chaotic, and lawful alignments respectvely(probably still missed some class/race specific options though)

 

[Infinitron]

The same here exactly. I keep thinking that it will fall significantly short of the kinds of fantasies we have by rehashing too much of the oldschool formula by relying on too much abstraction and end up something like AoD. A potentially great game that isn't "gamey" at all.

Feh, the only reason you feel this way is because AoD's demo happens to have been released just now. If another game with different issues had been released instead, you'd probably be worried about Wasteland 2 sharing those issues.
In reality, there is no relation between the two, but your brain is confused because it's all happening at once.

 

[villain of the story]

Not sure if serious.

I'm also playing the NEO Scavenger beta and despite the underdeveloped primitive combat, I find the game very compelling. It works as a game and I would love it if WL2 ended up being something similar (despite bearing no resemblance to JA2 at all). It would also be in almost complete synch with WL as far as game style goes.

 

[hiver]

Damn... i thought Jason is still there... damn... and bloody hell!

no Onyx - bah!

SoZ dialogue - yes!

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

How did you guys miss that Jason Anderson is not currently with InXile? It's one of the very first things Fargo talked about when this thing began. Further confirms that half you retards cannot into paying attention. Brofist to Anthony Davis and his dialogue system. Would be cool to see that expanded on.

 

[made]

What's so ingenious about SoZ dialogue system?

 

[commie]

No Onyx is a 'bah!'? I think Onyx has a lot of potential but the only example of it in action so far was in a corridor RT H&S. Don't know if inXile would have the time to learn it and modify it for their own use even though I bet Obsidian made sure to make it as modular and versatile for all their future needs as possible.

I'm wondering which of the available off the shelf engines would be able to fill the need in the most adequate way. This will be the biggest compromise in making the game: they don't have time to make their own engine specifically for it so they have to try to fit an existing one, and who knows if they are all capable of reproducing what we'd like to see.

 

[General Maxson]

I'm telling you guys, just wait for the first screenshots... There will be cum everywhere...

 

[commie]

I'm telling you guys, just wait for the first screenshots... There will be bloom everywhere...

fixed for fear.

 

[nihil]

I must say I have only good feelings about this project. There's a hint of fear that it could go wrong, but that's just my usual paranoia for anything I care about.

 

[DragoFireheart]

I must say I have only good feelings about this project. There's a hint of fear that it could go wrong, but that's just my usual paranoia for anything I care about.

My intuition (which has never been wrong) says this is going to be fine. It MIGHT get some flak for not reaching the (inflated) goals of its fans and maybe that could be a source of drama, but it's going to be Wasteland 2: A sequel to Wasteland 1 in every correct sense and meaning. No bull shit.

 

[Brother None]

no Onyx - bah!

Tried to warn you bro. Onyx is probably not that well-documented, so unless Obsidian is doing the programming it's not likely to be used for a non-Obsidian title.

I have no idea what they will use tho'. I don't know if they decided themselves. UE3 would be a really good candidate. It's not like it hasn't been used for isometric games before (Team17 has been using it for Alien Breed games for some time now, IIRC).

 

[commie]

Fuck more UE3...I guess I'll take it if it comes, but really tired of that fucking engine.

 

[hiver]

No Onyx is a 'bah!'? I think Onyx has a lot of potential but the only example of it in action so far was in a corridor RT H&S. Don't know if inXile would have the time to learn it and modify it for their own use even though I bet Obsidian made sure to make it as modular and versatile for all their future needs as possible.

Yeah its a "bah".
Which is a Hulk grumpy word for "i dont particularly think well of this situation/proposal/endeavor/solution/decision/suggestion" - and so on.

And seeing how choosing the engine is an issue - getting one which has the capacity to do all they need and add a layer of nice graphical versimilitude to it all - this would not be a bad choice. Especially...

Tried to warn you bro. Onyx is probably not that well-documented, so unless Obsidian is doing the programming it's not likely to be used for a non-Obsidian title.

I have no idea what they will use tho'. I don't know if they decided themselves. UE3 would be a really good candidate. It's not like it hasn't been used for isometric games before (Team17 has been using it for Alien Breed games for some time now, IIRC).

Its not like im screaming "disaster, disaster!!!"...
Cant a man say a simple "bah" anymore?

You dont need documentation when you have all of Obsidian at your disposal, especially with Tim Cain there... who although new to Obsidian tech probably knows all there is to know about it by now.
I mean, the guy is an asset through and through. Fuck... he is a tech wizard, damn it!

Obsidian could have helped with adaption - which oculd potentially be usefull for some future title of theirs too - and then let inXile take over and do the "coding" for W2... whatever.

I know there are other engines, some not documented as well, and with no one to give direct support and technical expertise.

And i think UE3 is a bit expensive if i remember correctly.

Onyx seemed to cover most of these issues... and is probably cheaper then UE3 or similar high fidelity modern stuff.
And it would look more unique then UE3...


Whatever.... where the hell is Jason?
Why isnt he brought back? Whats the delay? Find him, arrest/bribe/beg him, transport him back!

 

[DwarvenFood]

Graphicwhoring lot yet commie ? I don't think the engine will matter all that much, why would it ? Presentation elements like GUI and the perspective are what will matter foremost regarding the graphics as a whole. And what's interesting is if they will use 3d models (real-time rendering), pre-rendered 3d models or 2d models.

edit: guess I'm graphicwhoring as well.

 

[Wyrmlord]

My feelings on Wasteland 2 are so fucking mixed. I donated (anything for just a small chance to revert the decline), but still... I can't help having this eerie feeling.

This is the eerie feeling.

 

[Grunker]

Ain't that the fucking truth Wyrmlord.

 

[commie]

Graphicwhoring lot yet commie ? I don't think the engine will matter all that much, why would it ? Presentation elements like GUI and the perspective are what will matter foremost regarding the graphics as a whole. And what's interesting is if they will use 3d models (real-time rendering), pre-rendered 3d models or 2d models.

edit: guess I'm graphicwhoring as well.

No, I'd be happy with the Fallout engine or Arcanum/TOEE. I just hate the samey look of UE3. Since there are millions of games using it, it's become so generic, no matter the art style(and in games like Batman it is fantastic) its quirks are instantly recognisable. Pluses are that it runs great on old hardware and it should be piss easy to use being mature and perfectly documented.


Oh an Wyrmie what's Choplifter HD got to do with anything(it being a good enough game for what it is considering what it is trying to recreate)? I can imagine you in 1997, with your 33.6k modem, feverishly uploading on Netscape...'Ha ha ha(before LOL) guys I hear Interplay, the makers of Boogerman are making a spiritual successor to Wasteland....Ha ha ha. I'll eat my sacred cow if that works out! Ha Ha Ha'

 

[IronicNeurotic]

Whatever.... where the hell is Jason?
Why isnt he brought back? Whats the delay? Find him, arrest/bribe/beg him, transport him back!

He's at Turtle Rock (Which is currently lead by an Ex-Troika employee) working on a new IP shooter thats powered by Cryengine 3.

 

[Brother None]

Are the quirks of UE3 really that bothersome? I dunno what independent licensing scheme UE3 offers so I dunno about cost, but there's a lot of advantages to using it: it's properly old to run on old hardware and be well-documented, and inXile knows it really, really well.

Whatever.... where the hell is Jason?
Why isnt he brought back? Whats the delay? Find him, arrest/bribe/beg him, transport him back!

He went to Turtle Rock because no publisher was forthcoming to pick up the Wasteland 2 pitch. It's a shame, but that's where he is now. Working on...whatever?

 

[commie]

Well I thought that UE3 just couldn't do big areas all that well, but then if there's going to a Fallout style zoomed in mode for particular areas and a character icon on a big map for overland travel then it won't matter much. Oh and as you say inXile know the engine perfectly so it's virtually a given unless they really cannot implement all the RPG things in the way they want.

As for why I really hate UE3, well it's the whole shiny shit everywhere look. Every single game that has been made with it is so shiny as fuck that I started to believe that bloom is some kind of inherent feature in the design.

 

[hiver]

As for the engine... basically any that can support W2 gameplay will do. From Unigine to UE3, even something as old as Fallout or TOEE... though those fall off for other reasons and not being up to date generally.
The game visual fidelity will hinge on art style more than anything else.

Shame for Jason... damn it... they should steal him back.
And get the rest of the guys too.