Interview Leon talks to GameBanshee

[kumquatq3]

You sure? At last count Troika had about 6 Fallouters. How many does Obsidian has? I'm sure it's pretty close...

Two. Chris Jones and Feargus Urquhart. Chris Jones also worked for Troika on Arcanum.

Are you talking just Designers that worked on FO1 and now are at Obsidian (not including FO2)? Then toss on Scott Everts to that list (I believe he did level design). There might be more, thats the only other one I recall of the top of my head, have to double check. I believe they have some other people that worked on FO1/FO2 (Programmers and such). Of course MCA worked on FO2 and lots of them worked on VB. Dennis Presnell was a senior tester on FO2 and went on to work on almost every game through BIS.

 

[DemonKing]

Each of the four that you’re talking about vary in terms of how “hardcore” they are, but each has a lot of Troika RPG elements in them. Some of the proposed projects are PC only, but some are cross platform proposals as well.

So after all the bitching and moaning about Interplay/Bethseba consolising the beloved FO all the Fanbois now have to swallow that even their lord god Cain is contemplating cross-platform titles.

I hate it but I'm gonna say it anyway:

ROOfles!

 

[Mr. Teatime]

It's depressing.

 

[Whipporowill]

It's depressing.

It is, but as we know - they haven't gone the route yet. Better to be prepared though. I'm still thinking it's possible Bloodlines will be ported to x-box (maybe not by Troika), come good sales numbers for pc.

 

[Sol Invictus]

On topic response: Cross-platform development? What complete and utterly horrible turn of events. It really saddens me because I don't like what Troika is turning into. With Bioware's Dragon Age as a PC only game, Troika seems on the verge of becoming a cross-platform developer. Even worse, is the possibility that they might stop making PC games altogether and focus on console titles for the sake of money.

For once, I don't disagree with VD's rude comments. I'm almost as edged about it as he is. I am not so worked up about it, though. Something inside me knew this was bound to happen with Troika eventually. It seems that my cynicism towards Troika as of late has finally paid of, in some cruel, ironic sense.

 

[Whipporowill]

Just because it's possible, doesn't mean it has happened yet - as with VU delaying HL2 for 6 months. I'm delaying my judgement until the event occurs - but I'm not liking the possibility of it happening, not one bit.

 

[Volourn]

Um.. Please. They will almost certainly do a cross platform project. in of itself, there is nothingw rong with thatd ecision. There is no reason for PC gamers to hog the "good" devlopers like BIO or Troika. Don't be selfish espicially since many of us actually have consoles anyways so it shouldn't be that big of d eal.

It is *funny* however that the so called hardcore RPG dveloeprs are basically doing exactly what BIO did.Of course, BIo seems happy doing what they do while Troika seems to be dragging itself kicking and screaming. That is the bad omen.

R00fles!

 

[Sol Invictus]

Cross platform games have a tendency to contain copious amounts of suckage due to the limitations of the PS2 and the X-Box. While I have no qualms about cross-platform development for next generation consoles like the Xenon (Xbox2) there aren't many developers with the money to invest in a future platform or the clout to persuade publishers to finance the development of their products.

Troika is probably least of all 'big name' RPG developers to have the confidence or clout to attempt anything like that. It's clear that Feargus Urquhart and the big wigs at Obsidian have more clout than Troika, or they wouldn't be handling the development of two triple A titles (NWN 2 and KOTOR 2) at the same time.

So, if anything, Troika's cross-platform games would be developed on current generation consoles like the PS2 and the X-Box, and that's not something I want to see.

 

[Volourn]

"It's clear that Feargus Urquhart and the big wigs at Obsidian have more clout than Troika, or they wouldn't be handling the development of two triple A titles (NWN 2 and KOTOR 2) at the same time."

That's because Feargus didn't diss how BIO handles translating D&D to computer games while Cain does.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Right now, my current biggest worry with Vampire Bloodlines is that the maps could be really small, so that the game can be readily ported to the X-Box.

Assuming that an X-Box port wasn't already planned months in advance, on an related note: With VU delaying the release of Half Life 2 (though probably only until November or December), Activision might find it in their interest to give Troika an additional few months just to port the game to the X-Box.

If it was planned all along, it's gonna suck like DXIW.

 

[Whipporowill]

I don't remember seeing or hearing anything about loading times, in either previews, gameplay videos or interview (although there's still a possibility) - there's no reason for small areas unless it's supposed to be a direct port to x-box. And last Troika spoke on the subject of porting it wasn't planned - I'd dig up the quote, but I'm lazy.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Well, there was never any talk about small levels or loading times in the previews, interviews and gameplay videos of either DXIW or Thief 3, so there you have it.

 

[Whipporowill]

What X-box games haven't "featured" small levels and loading time on the other hand... huh? It was pretty much expected, but might have turned out worse than anticipated I'd say.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Yeah, but I also saw previews for HL2 to be ported over to the X-Box and the levels looked to be the same size as in the game.

 

[Whipporowill]

HL2 was confirmed for X-box, when? I heard it was very probable, but I certainly haven't seen any announcement, screenshots or previews.

 

[Sol Invictus]

HL2 is never going to be ported to the X-Box for a myriad of reasons. Level size and the complexity of the heavy lighting engine being only two of many reasons. Certain maps might have no difficulty running on the X-Box, but when it comes to those dense industrial levels or the wide open area levels with a LOT of water (e.g. the Shore level), you're in trouble.

Unreal Championship ran fine on the X-Box inspite of having big levels, but that's only because the game had very little lighting complexity in the industrial complexes, and the wide outdoor missions didn't have anything besides a bunch of hills and prefabricated fortifications.

Compare the simplistic levels of Halo and Unreal Championship with the rather complex designs of Bloodlines, Deus Ex Invisible War (the planes in the hangar, for instance) and the detailed castle structures in Thief 3 and you'll understand why the map size needs to be extremely limited, and the loading times long.

X-Box ports suck, period.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

I never heard a confirmation. Just saw a video being played in my local EB a while ago. Had the word "X-BOX" over it so I just assumed. That's all. If true, then it looked good for X-Box

 

[Sol Invictus]

It was probably just a high-resolution DVD trailer with gameplay footage for marketing purposes, not actual in-engine stuff.

 

[Briosafreak]

http://www.nma-fallout.com/fallout1/off ... team.shtml

shhh it`s a secret we have that

 

[Sol Invictus]

Holy shit, look at the size of Leon's arms

 

[almondblight]

Um.. Please. They will almost certainly do a cross platform project. in of itself, there is nothingw rong with thatd ecision. There is no reason for PC gamers to hog the "good" devlopers like BIO or Troika. Don't be selfish espicially since many of us actually have consoles anyways so it shouldn't be that big of d eal.

No, in and of itself it's not a problem, but there is a problem when development doesn't take full advantage of what the PC has to offer. Say, with the idea of making the game for the consoles as well, they figure they shouldn't even make a seperate mouse driven interface for the PC. For me it's like the idea of a real-time RPG - not inherently bad, just usually done poorly.

The screenshots do look interesting though. Not enough that I find the interview interesting, but they look like they could make for a good game.

 

[Volourn]

Interesting that there are more than 6 names on that list... Hmm..

 

[Surlent]

X-Box ports suck, period.

No shit ! Rex, you finally wised up or something ?
That's like the first wise comment from you in ages.

Keep up that and you're back in saddle in no time.
Just think of Warren Spector before you go sleeping at night.

And yea, Leon looks to be in better shape in that picture than in most others. Maybe it's because most other pics don't cover the rest of him ?

 

[Sol Invictus]

Stop trolling.

 

[Surlent]

sry, was not intention.