Game News The Fallout Game Informer article

[mister lamat]

i think vats would apply to the three, four or five point shots equally. no reason why it shouldn't.

 

[pkt-zer0]

Except VATS is only for a called shot. So it's less than FO's turn based mode, because you could choose to do a regular shot, or burst mode, or whatever else you wanted to do. In Bethsoft's system, that sort of thing has to be done in real time, if I understand it correctly. And some weapons you couldn't use to do a called shot anyway.

"Every combat move you make will deplete [your AP] supply [...]" - GI article.

Not explicitly just called shots - though I'm curious how, if at all, they're going to implement dodging, taking cover, and movement in general with that.

 

[mister lamat]

stealth as well. it opens up some interesting questions if you like to roll with a sniper build.

 

[RGE]

Except VATS is only for a called shot. So it's less than FO's turn based mode, because you could choose to do a regular shot, or burst mode, or whatever else you wanted to do. In Bethsoft's system, that sort of thing has to be done in real time, if I understand it correctly. And some weapons you couldn't use to do a called shot anyway.

Perhaps a normal shot/burst just happens to be one aimed at the body, with no negative modifications? That's usually the reason for aiming at the body instead of at the head, right? Didn't work like that in Fallout 1 & 2 though, since aiming at the body deducted 30% of the chance to hit, for some strange reason. Or am I wrong about that? Perhaps the body was the easiest to hit area that also had lethal critical hit effects, and that's why it didn't stick to the default chance to be hit?

 

[aries202]

Except VATS is only for a called shot. So it's less than FO's turn based mode, because you could choose to do a regular shot, or burst mode, or whatever else you wanted to do. In Bethsoft's system, that sort of thing has to be done in real time, if I understand it correctly. And some weapons you couldn't use to do a called shot anyway.

I don't think it is only for a called shot i.e. aimed shot at certain body parts. It does sound this way when you read the article in the Game Informer. However, I think this has more do with the Game Informer journalist not actually understanding the basis for VATS, meaning TB combat and what's it's all about .

VATS is still very confusing, though....
:

 

[FireWolf]

Well this certainly destroys any hopes I had for the game. I hoped, I really did, that Beth bought the IP for reasons other than profit. Prior to this I could justify not making a rash decision that the game would suck instantly because Beth made it, yet there's ample proof in these pages that whatever game they're making, Beth doesn't care what makes a good game, or a game good, be it their own developed property or one that they're conintuing so long as it sells through gimmick appeal. So long as it sells.

First glance impression was "boy, this sure looks like Stalker" I'm not really sure if that's a good thing or not, it doesn't have a particularly strong style I guess. There's not much by way of charm or 'pulp' accent to the characters, particularly the SuperMutants. With the engine capabilities they could've made all the characters look similar to the talking heads from F1 and F2, instead they just look kinda generic.

The character creation gimmick sounds fun. One time through, at least. After that it sounds like it'll get irritating. I don't see how it really adds anything to the game and instead like it will get in the way of actually playing. It will either be too deeply rooted in the game world to make understanding what each thing does, or it'll be jarringly out of place for the game setting, neither of which is a desirable result for a game where you're supposed to be immersed in what's going on, yet still able to instantly understand how a stat impacts the rest of your character sheet.

The camera angle is equally depressing. They cite Resident Evil 4 as their model, and I can't, off the top of my head, think of a worse example of camera control. Oh, I'm sure it works great for consoles and gamepads, but I tried RE4 on the PC and had to get a third party mod for the title to use it with a mouse, and even then it was next to impossible and uncomfortable to play and strangely the accuracy that a mouse afforded was wasted on the hit detection anyway.

On the issue of water/food, the article mentions that you'll need to consume these fairly frequently to stay alive. I'm a little confused about how travel will be dealt with, the article mentions the game world will be smaller than Oblivion in total area, so I guess you'll be real-time walking from place to place, and there will be an accelerated day/night cycle, and thus food/water consumption will be a 'game feature' you'll have to perform every 10 minutes. Immersion. I'd prefer Fallout's walk map and having canteens or food in the inventory, having to find water when you run out that increases the time it takes to travel from place to place, the increase in time being dependent on outdoorsman skill, or whatever.

You know, something logical that works with the Special system, a little quirk that reminds you that life in the wasteland isnt soda pop and cheesecake, not a 'ten minutes have passed. Push a button/find a toilet' "feature". Hopefully, at the very least, clean water will be available to buy so you don't have to micromanage your RADS all the time by how much toilet water you're drinking. You'd think it'd be pretty high on the priority of any emergence civilisation that their drinking water is not glow in the dark.

VATS just sounds painful. However I look at it there's nothing groundbreaking in this system. It's innovative in that it adds something new to an existing mechanism. It sounds like it treats stats and aimed shot as a kind of Power Up rather than a tactical decision. So in this instance you point vaguely at your enemy for 80% of the fight then your power up alert blinks at you and then you get to take an aimed shot at your foe. So rather than Oblivion's block and stab mechanic, you'll be sat behind a corner or dead prostitute until your ap's max and then pop out, shoot and hide again. Instead of APs representing the time an action takes to perform, it's just a mana bar. Combat promises to be shallow as hell, no opportunity to consider whether you should use your 8 AP to shoot once at one enemy and once at another, or instead move into cover from one enemy and take an aimed shot at one target.

The interface for VATS also looks clumsy. I'm sure it's designed with console limitations in mind that make the mouse less effective.

AI sounds as dull as it was in Oblivion. I don't really care if half the NPCs just tell me to piss off if I try to talk to them (so long as no irritating dialogue interface has to open for them to do so, especially if I have to click 'OK' to proceed), I'm pretty sure if I randomly interrupt someone while they're working or going somewhere that they'll not be inclined to talk to me, in the wastes I'm sure it'd be doubley the case. If the NPCs I can talk to are interesting and individual enough that can provide information that they logically have access to, I'm not going to remember, or care about those I can't talk to. I certainly know I don't care to hear the same conversation (or slight variation thereof) between the same two nondescript NPCs at the same time of day whenever I get within five feet of them. It doesn't add to immersion, hearing the same crap badly strung together is jarring at best.

Now for a couple of WTF moments. First, the nuclear catapult. Why? There are only two reasons I can fathom for this inclusion, the first is that it is a blatent 'fuck you' to anyone who's played fallout before. The second is the juvenile one-upmanship gig with other FPS titles. My gun's a flak cannon, mine fires mini-nukes. I don't see how this in any way relates to the Fallout universe. Not if you consider the context of the conflict that preceeded the games, being set in a pseudo 1950s cold war future, where the threat of the bomb is ever present, you're not likely to find nuclear weapons just lying around, and especially not being used in the conventional battlefields that preceeded the flash. It's a horrible inclusion that shows how little Bethesda has thought about things. Besides, I don't see how a nuclear weapon would be useful in a conflict which has less than 50meters between combatants. It's just fucking stupid.

The BoS and the SuperMutants. Why are they there? Now, I liked the BoS, I thought they were quirkily crazy in Fallout with their techno-centric military organisation, but their reluctance to recruit outsiders was one of their better features. They weren't interested in expanding, only with dealing with threats to their organisation and maintaining technological supremecy. They fought the supermutants because they were a threat to the BoS. In fallout 2 they discovered the Enclave had equal or better technology than they did, spread themselves out into small cells to avoid a single strike from wiping them out and were trying to gain intelligence on the Enclave before they made their move. I don't think I ever encountered any intent to expand beyond their borders. So why the hell would they be all the way on the other side of the US? I could, maybe, conceive of them sending out a troop to another research base in search of additional technology, but other than that there's no reason for the jealous and few in number BoS to move out in force. Super Mutants, of course, have no reason to be out there, either. Unless the BoS took them along for something to shoot in case there weren't any mega-threats where they end up.

Also, the T51b armor in the video and screenshots looks like pants, I am assuming that is T51b since the features are there, they're just not arranged correctly. It's funny, it looks more suitable for something made in the victorian age. Once again, they could have easily followed the way it looked in Fallout, again they could have used the talking heads for reference, but I guess they didn't get that far in the game with their research. T51b could, possibly, be available in the East, so if Bethesda has to have power armor in the game they could make their own group of military centric folk that have nothing to do with the BoS. Sure, it wouldn't be terribly original, but they wouldn't have to rip apart the previous games to do it.

On the subject of originality, a nuclear bomb in the middle of a settlement that has a bunch of people worshipping it and you have the opportunity to blow both it and the town up? Wow, no one's ever done that in a film, no one's ever done that in a game, not even in Fallout Tactics. I wonder if there will be a nuclear powerplant full of ghouls that you have to repair or blow up.

It's not all negative, I suppose, there are plenty of mentions of alternate methods of achieving victory, morale ambiguity, etc ,etc. But I can't help noticing that there are no examples of how, exactly, bethesda is going to handle it. There's plenty on combat, guns, and stats, but very little on conversation, stealth, cunning, stats other than guns and medics. The story sounds pretty weak, in Fallout 1 you're forced out of the Vault. You're the chosen one but it wasn't you who chose; it was forced on you. But once you're outside the vault every decision is your own to make. This story has you going out to find your father. Why, exactly, would you want to do this? You're in a vault, it's all you've ever known, everyone you know is there, it's safe, secure, and I doubt they'd open the doors just because you want to take a peek outside. From the description in the article it sounds like the game starts when you're outside the vault, yet it would make more sense to investigate what's going on inside the vault to make him leave than wandering out to find him for the answer.

There's also no mention of henchmen, which is a shame. It's always nice to have people to wander along with you. No mention of inventory system, either. Well, it couldn't be worse than Oblivion's without considerable effort.

Simply put, Bethesda doesn't get it. This is by no means a true RPG based on what we've got to go on within the article. I wonder how similar the reviews will be to Oblivion's.

 

[Amasius]

In a stunning conclusion to the Game Informer article drama, Bethesda and Game Informer forced NMA to remove the scans under legal threats.

There is another thread at the TES-FO3 forum about it, immediately closed by a mod with their usual comment:

We've already had one thread about this subject, and the discussion should remain there.

Well, the other thread was already closed by him - talk about censorship.

 

[OccupatedVoid]

Remember, Amasius, the inhabitants of the ESF are immune to Logic & Reason.