Preview Massive Fallout 3 coverage at NMA

[Brother None]

Do you know which skills are not in FO3, by any chance? There are 14 skills (vs 18 skills in Fallout). I assume they merged First Aid and Doctor, got rid of Throwing. What else is gone? Outdoorsman and Traps?

Nope, couldn't tell. He flashed by the skill screen pretty quick. I didn't see any news ones, so no identifiable merges. What you say sounds reasonable, but who knows? Only new stuff I saw on SPECIAL is in the info bars, like their changes to what characteristics influence what skills.

Did Pete tell you "But this one goes to eleven..."??

No, though I slipped that reference into the preview, by coincidence

 

[Jedi_Learner]

The problem is however that they've had years to think about what they wanted and create a view of what Fallout 3 should be that could never be possible today. They're still stuck 8 years back in their views of Fallout 3. It simply wouldn't work. - Peter Hines

I really wish Peter Hines would just shut the fuck up. Everytime he opens his mouth nothing but shit comes out. And I thought Russ Pitts was a fucking liar.

 

[pkt-zer0]

So, cars catching fire from bullets and producing a mini-mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion isn't just the result of misquotations by incompetent journalists...

*sigh*

Where are the key points of the demo, namely: "player choice, consequence, sacrifice, and survival"? Seriously.

 

[don_tomaso]

"There's definitely a backstory. Actually, people have been discussing this a lot, "what are supermutants doing on the East Coast," while the reason is a pretty good and simple one. We're kind of surprised nobody has figured it out yet."

Oooh exciting! any ideas?

 

[suleo]

"There's definitely a backstory. Actually, people have been discussing this a lot, "what are supermutants doing on the East Coast," while the reason is a pretty good and simple one. We're kind of surprised nobody has figured it out yet."

Oooh exciting! any ideas?

They drove using nuclear cars? Or perhaps hitchhiked dressed up as slutty teenage schoolgirls?

Or maybe they catapulted themselves using the nuclear catapult? I mean it's a NUCLEAR catapult, its range should be better than a lowly trebuchet.

 

[Vault Dweller]

They came through a portal. A nuclear portal, obviously.

Good article. I just finished rereading it. Losta interesting details. I've been working on a Fallout 3 article and with this preview I can finish it in a few days.

 

[psycojester]

The problem is however that they've had years to think about what they wanted and create a view of what Fallout 3 should be that could never be possible today. They're still stuck 8 years back in their views of Fallout 3. It simply wouldn't work. - Peter Hines

I really wish Peter Hines would just shut the fuck up. Everytime he opens his mouth nothing but shit comes out. And I thought Russ Pitts was a fucking liar.

Maybe he means it in an Obi-wan kinda way

"This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a blaster, but an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. "

 

[Mamon]

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

Someone with more ambition than me please archive this and index it for when we do the "which fo3 dev lied the most" thread.

 

[MetalCraze]

As for the strength of radiation (from explosions), much of it is simply game balance. While we want the game to be raw and cold, we also want the game to be fun

You forgot to say immersive.
bitch.

Well, you simply don't know why the robot acts as he does. It could be many things. It is possible that someone might have reprogrammed him this way.

Looks like Emil was reprogramming this robot to be his sexual toy, but failed.

Yes, all combat is governed by die rolls. So if you fire in real time and aim perfectly, you might still fail a roll and miss your target.

I can imagine. I come to mutie very close, so I can feel his stinky breath. Then I put my gun right between his eyes and press the trigger. And.. woooo I miss! Very IMMERSIVE!

We're making the sequel as we think it would be best in the modern age and how it would work best today. This means taking full advantage of all modern technology and first person to facilitate immersion.

while pronouncing last word Pete was having an extreme hard-on!

We are in contact with those communities and they receive the same treatment as all the other communities. We frequently read them and we understand exactly what it is they want.

I wonder if he knows RPG Codex site URL.

they've had years to think about what they wanted and create a view of what Fallout 3 should be that could never be possible today

Yeah todays technologies won't let you render the game top-down and NOT in the real-time. Teh progrezz, man!

you really have to take guns into account, and it's different from just swinging a sword

I'm surprised - he knows that the gun and a sword are actually two different things! May be he even knows where USA is on the world map...
All hail Oblivion with guns!

"what are supermutants doing on the East Coast," while the reason is a pretty good and simple one. We're kind of surprised nobody has figured it out yet.

"Cuz supermuties are 1337?"

But obviously, when you're talking about supermutants, dialogue really isn't a viable option.

It's all right, my friend. What else can you expect from those dirty orks? Horrible creatures!

we just cheated a bit to make the demo run along more smoothly.

Hope you will exclude that 'cheat' button along with 'fast-travel' from your very immersive shitty excuse for an engine.

Good night, Pete.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I read it all and read the Q&A VERY closely.... really, really closely.

I kind of feel sorry for Pete Hines. After all, he doesn't make the game, he doesn't say how things should be made. He could very well be a true Fallout fan. He has no input in the development process and has to talk like he is. He's saying all this bullshit fed to him by Todd and Emil.... he's probably a really nice guy in real life, with his head screwed on, who just has to say bullshit because its his job.

He did seem to be apologetic and trying to make it seem as if the game WAS a true successor, and that there were alternative options, etc. What I didn't like was what he said about the supermutants not being able to be talked to. He obviously hadn't played the original games where you could on more than one occasion have very reasonable and intelligent discussions with the mutants.

The dialogue also makes me weep... I dont think we can expect anything like the originals in that respect.

The misunderstood humour and the radiation, and the big boy catapult.... well, thats just stupid and not Fallout at all.

Then of course there was the blatant lie about being in communication with the Codex, NMA, DaC..... as community manager or whatever, he knows that all three are blacklisted and anyone who talks about them either has their post deleted or gets banned.

 

[Mamon]

I don´t really hate Pete either. He probably doesn´t even like games. He is just someone that studied PR at the University and it is paid to make damage control.

 

[Avu]

Seems to me this hit Beth pretty hard. That corporate plant fallout canon and his sidekick/alt Falzan Knives are going overboard with the excuses.

Every time I see those apologists in action I think that real life karma should apply to them.

Anyway great article and I wish I could see Pete's reaction to your stealth infiltration. Oh well can't get everything (or anything worth it these days but I digress)

 

[KreideBein]

Pete-The-Retard
Pete-The-Dumb
Pete-The-Idiot
Pete-The-Emokid
Pete-The-Lying-Bitch
Pete-The-King-Of-Whores
Pete-The-Trash-Talker
Pete-The-Asslicker
Pete-The-Dick
Pete-The-Comedy-Central

Gosh, are you sure that you aren't a writer for Bethesda? Such golden wit.

Anyway, that was a superlative preview, especially compared to all of the previews which were published by the major game journalism outlets like Gamespot and the like. Great job, Kharn and SuAside.

 

[Avin]

Dialogue to Supermutantes not an option? FUCKINGTARDS have played FO2?

FUCK YOU BETHESDA FUUUUUUUCK Y O U and stop spreading lies.

 

[Avin]

Sorry, I need to say it again... FUCK YOU BETHESDA! FUCK YOU PETE!

The last time you did something interesting was Daggerfall.

FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!

(I'm a little fustrated these days...)

 

[Avu]

Neah it wasn't this Beth who did Daggerfall and certainly not Pete. It's not the Mollineaux kind of: man you were great once what happened. It's more like... well Fallout 3 they only got the name in common.

 

[cuthbert]

I'd like to thank Brother None for using his sneaking abilities to get in to see the demo and his charisma, intelligence, and perception for writing a great article. You have answered more questions then all the previews I've read combined, keep up the good work.

Also, did you get the feeling that changing the titles name is a possibility if the community became more outspoken or is bethesda not even going to acknowledge that as a possibility?

 

[fastpunk]

Now this was a good read, thanks NMA! It's the first time we have all the data in one place. There's nothing surprising about it though, every fear was confirmed.

The 2-3 line dialogs that play out Oblivion-style were expected. I personally take great pleasure in reading good dialogs and tend to focus less on combat so from this point on it's clear this game isn't for me. Also, they didn't show off any C&C situation and some of the scenes were clearly scripted. The Radiant A.I. sticks its ugly head out once more and it doesn't seems to be improved in any significant way. Of course, this is an early demo so they still have time to properly tend to it.

But what hurts the most is their take on the Fallout world. From the preview you can pretty much tell that it lacks the particular taste of the old games. It's like Beth dedicated a ridiculously small amount of time to documentation on the subject at hand. It's like they played the original for 2-3 hours, read some reviews and that's it. They say they're huge Fallout fans but it's not something I've seen. Abundant distasteful jokes combined with over-the-top flashy & gory combat makes this look more like a parody than anything else. I always thought of Bethesda as a good developer in terms of technology development but they obviously lack personality and vision, two ingredients that make a developer great.

More than that, they seem to lack the basic intelligence to make a game that follows some sort of logic. I mean in one place the rules of physics apply and in another they are totally irrelevant. I can understand exaggerating a bit once or twice but this is too much. And what's up with the mutants and the BoS? They hardly resemble the original versions. And the fact that mutants are exclusively on the bad side speaks loud about the type of morality this game is going to feature. Also, what's with all the lies? Dudes, get some professional liars if you really want to be convincing. Can't even get that right.

This is hopeless.

 

[Avu]

One thing Bethesda is even worse at than most other things that they are bad at is that they never admit they were wrong. Changing the name is not something they can do and stay true to themselves.

 

[MetalCraze]

One thing Bethesda is even worse at than most other things that they are bad at is that they never admit they were wrong. Changing the name is not something they can do and stay true to themselves.

They can always fire themselves (including pete and todd), rename their shitty corporation to Black Isle and hire all Fallout1 stuff - and after that disappear from gaming industry.

forever.

 

[Brother None]

Also, did you get the feeling that changing the titles name is a possibility if the community became more outspoken or is bethesda not even going to acknowledge that as a possibility?

That might be a better question for someone with more industry experience/insights.

I'd say that it might have been possible somewhere in earlier stages, but it obviously isn't anymore now, it'd be a PR catastrophy.

 

[cuthbert]

I'd say that it might have been possible somewhere in earlier stages, but it obviously isn't anymore now, it'd be a PR catastrophy.

Yeah I guess changing the name would be stupid at this point, and I get the feeling that when the game gets released and sells millions of copies it'll reinforce (to them anyway) the idea that they made the right decision.

 

[Jedi_Learner]

I wonder which setting Bethseda will rape next. Arcanum? Planescape Torment?

 

[Elhoim]

"There's definitely a backstory. Actually, people have been discussing this a lot, "what are supermutants doing on the East Coast," while the reason is a pretty good and simple one. We're kind of surprised nobody has figured it out yet."

Oooh exciting! any ideas?

The mutants at the end of FO went to the east.