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Game News Wasteland 2 Kickstarter Now Live!

Shannow

Waster of Time
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Finnegan's Wake
Re. Fargo

GS: Looking back, is there anything you would do differently?
BF: From a market perspective, I would have clearly moved onto the console platforms much faster than we did. We moved slowly to change--our approach being influenced by a background of over a decade of straight profits from the PC. The cheese didn't just move, it teleported. And, organizationally, I would have focused on writing down our corporate ideology and building programs to support it. While we had great instinctive ideas about what made an Interplay person, we grew fast and ended up with people in the company who didn't fit. One of the bigger things I learned in management is that it's better to have no person doing a job than the wrong person. Because if no one is in the position, I know the job isn't being done, instead of thinking it is because there's a warm body in the chair. It's all been a wonderful learning experience that will help shape the next great company.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/brian-fargo-interview-2848761

On top of that - going by Tim Cain's postmortem, the Forces of Evil had pervaded Interplay as far back as 1994, with Fallout almost being cancelled twice because of them. Since that was in Fargo's time, way before the Titus buyout, it appears to be Fargo's leadership that led to that.

On the other hand, he did OK Fallout (after Tim begged him).

Now, I wonder - is he an agent of decline, masquerading as a hardcore RPG enthusiast, or is he the genuine article, who just made some mistakes in the past, or was reluctantly forced into the role of a suit?

It appears that we are, quite literally, betting on the latter...
And is he wrong? If all you want is make money, then moving into console - especially before there was huge competition - would have seemed like a good idea. He didn't say "Why, PC gaming is dead and sucked anyway. I wish I had fulfilled my secret dream and made the first cover-based console shooter."
 

LeStryfe79

President Spartacus
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Codex 2012 Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Fargo was there when Fallout and Planescape came out. 2/3 of the holy trinity for fucks sake. Probably not a coincidence. Fargo's specialty is finding talent and managing a successful rpg. He's probably the best there is at what he does...

wolvstance.gif
 

Shannow

Waster of Time
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Finnegan's Wake
I don't share the optimism that even if W2 were to bomb (no sales and the donors hate it) it'd help with further kickstarter projects (eg. Obsidian with a TB RPG). People'd be disappointed and less likely to fund another game after being burned the first time.
IMHO, Obsidian's best chance at their own project (if they ever decide to do one) is shortly before W2 is released while hype is high and after people have regenerated some funds.
Or if W2 turns out as good as we hope, that might really spark a new era. But I doubt that Obsidian will try anything before W2 ships and so it probably stands and falls with W2's success (or lack thereof).
 

Spectacle

Arcane
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure Obsidian will run their kickstarter long before it is apparent if Wasteland 2 will be a success or failure. That is assuming Obsidian doesn't go bankrupt first... :(
 

Zed

Codex Staff
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Codex USB, 2014
It's up to Feargus Urquheart if they go with kickstarter. Avellone has expressed a high interest but sadly he's not in charge.
 

hiver

Guest
Both Sacrifice and Freespace were very good and glorious. Freespace, nothing like it anywhere.
Ofcourse with the mod for enhancing graphics its one of the best games you can play generally.

Shame that something like Sacrifice hasnt seen further sequels. Its still very good.
 

udm

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Make the Codex Great Again!
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=248&start=350#p8763

Even if they can somehow manage to make all of that completely optional so that their core fans can just turn it off, it will significantly (although to what extent it's hard to say) add to development time. No matter how you look at it it takes actual work to make that stuff. That work could be spent on actually finishing or improving the main game. Remember there is no guarantee one year will be enough time to finish what they start. These guys are just human beings. They're not perfect. That needs to be recognized.

It really isn't helpful to assume infinite development time and perfect foresight and planning on the part of the inXile team. Instead, assume there will be unforeseen problems and simple mistakes and annoying bugs. Making a computer game is not easy. Anything that doesn't add to the game is a threat to it. And the more complexity is introduced the more bugs you will have. Complexity is good as long as it creates a better game but is not without a price. I don't think I can stress enough how short a 12 month development cycle (with 6 months of pre-production) is for a massive and difficult project like a computer game. And for a multi-platform game that targets both Linux and OS X? It might actually be more likely to be finished if they don't get 1.5 million.

One word: Stonekeep. Need I say more?

Fight the good fight, geezer.

:bravo:
 

commie

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It's up to Feargus Urquheart if they go with kickstarter. Avellone has expressed a high interest but sadly he's not in charge.

There needs to be a coup at Obsidian. Feargus is the problem as I see it. He still seems to think he's in charge of BIS when they could do no wrong and is too proud to accept that the real glory days are gone. Rather than finding a niche and accepting to be a middle level developer like Larian or PB, he seems to have delusions of Obsidian mixing it with the major players on their level, something for which they aren't equipped for. Instead of making less ambitious but solid titles of their own that cater for the truer RPG crowd, he's happy to whore off Obsidian to any big publisher in order to feast off the table scraps, so for a small time at least, he can feel that he's one of the big boys. AP was the only thing they churned out themselves and it was beset by problems all the way through. Seems that Feargus is shit at managing his own studio too at the moment.

I don't hold out much hope of Obsidian going Kickstarter. For Feargus it would be humiliating to scratch around like this when he could be begging EA to make a Mass Effect spinoff instead.
 

Havoc

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Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath
It looks like it's 50k daily. Maybe they will get over 2mil. Maybe after people get their checks they will donate more.
 
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Lost Hills bunker
New interview w/Fargo up at Gamebanshee. Pretty good one, though not all that much new information. Just spreading the word I guess.
http://www.gamebanshee.com/interviews/107335-wasteland-2-interview.html

I read the interview and he mentions that inspiration for combat will probably be Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics. Why no love for Jagged Alliance 2? :( While Fallout's combat is okay, and I would be satisfied if it was like that, wouldn't it be better if it was more like Jagged Alliance 2 or a hybrid between the two? Jagged Alliance 2 has awesome turn based combat.
 

skuphundaku

Economic devastator, Mk. 11
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Codex 2012 Codex 2013 MCA Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2 My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
New interview w/Fargo up at Gamebanshee. Pretty good one, though not all that much new information. Just spreading the word I guess.
http://www.gamebanshee.com/interviews/107335-wasteland-2-interview.html

I read the interview and he mentions that inspiration for combat will probably be Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics. Why no love for Jagged Alliance 2? :( While Fallout's combat is okay, and I would be satisfied if it was like that, wouldn't it be better if it was more like Jagged Alliance 2 or a hybrid between the two? Jagged Alliance 2 has awesome turn based combat.
The main inspiration coming from Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics is not bad. It's not ideal but it's not bad by any measure either. I would love to have JA2 combat too, but the people saying that JA2 combat is too much have a point. The point is that having JA2 combat would put the focus squarely on combat at the expense of exploration, C&C etc. In order to balance combat with exploration, the combat needs to be somewhat simpler than the combat in JA2. Now, it's up to inXile to find that perfect balance, and where that perfect balance sits between Fallout Tactics and JA2.
 

Spectacle

Arcane
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May 25, 2006
Messages
8,363
It's up to Feargus Urquheart if they go with kickstarter. Avellone has expressed a high interest but sadly he's not in charge.

There needs to be a coup at Obsidian. Feargus is the problem as I see it. He still seems to think he's in charge of BIS when they could do no wrong and is too proud to accept that the real glory days are gone. Rather than finding a niche and accepting to be a middle level developer like Larian or PB, he seems to have delusions of Obsidian mixing it with the major players on their level, something for which they aren't equipped for. Instead of making less ambitious but solid titles of their own that cater for the truer RPG crowd, he's happy to whore off Obsidian to any big publisher in order to feast off the table scraps, so for a small time at least, he can feel that he's one of the big boys. AP was the only thing they churned out themselves and it was beset by problems all the way through. Seems that Feargus is shit at managing his own studio too at the moment.

I don't hold out much hope of Obsidian going Kickstarter. For Feargus it would be humiliating to scratch around like this when he could be begging EA to make a Mass Effect spinoff instead.
Feargus has managed to keep Obsidian afloat despite them making several games that were critical and commercial failures, and without any certain income stream - only what they can squeeze out of the publishers. The guy obviously has some idea of how to manage a company for the long term.
 

Livonya

Augur
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296
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The point is that having JA2 combat would put the focus squarely on combat at the expense of exploration, C&C etc. In order to balance combat with exploration, the combat needs to be somewhat simpler than the combat in JA2. Now, it's up to inXile to find that perfect balance, and where that perfect balance sits between Fallout Tactics and JA2.

JA2 should be the benchmark for all turn based games at this point. That game came out a long time ago, and I don't see any reason why a modern RPG developer can't produce a turn based combat system that rivals JA2.

If they can't then that is pretty sad.

JA2 isn't some sort of master programming that can never be matched again.

ToEE's combat was really good, the game was utterly unfinished and unpolished, but the combat system would have set a new benchmark if the game was actually finished.

It just seems crazy to me that hoping that a developer can rival a game made 10+ years ago is too much to ask for.
 
Joined
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New interview w/Fargo up at Gamebanshee. Pretty good one, though not all that much new information. Just spreading the word I guess.
http://www.gamebanshee.com/interviews/107335-wasteland-2-interview.html

I read the interview and he mentions that inspiration for combat will probably be Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics. Why no love for Jagged Alliance 2? :( While Fallout's combat is okay, and I would be satisfied if it was like that, wouldn't it be better if it was more like Jagged Alliance 2 or a hybrid between the two? Jagged Alliance 2 has awesome turn based combat.
The main inspiration coming from Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics is not bad. It's not ideal but it's not bad by any measure either. I would love to have JA2 combat too, but the people saying that JA2 combat is too much have a point. The point is that having JA2 combat would put the focus squarely on combat at the expense of exploration, C&C etc. In order to balance combat with exploration, the combat needs to be somewhat simpler than the combat in JA2. Now, it's up to inXile to find that perfect balance, and where that perfect balance sits between Fallout Tactics and JA2.

Well if what you said is true, then ok, I agree. But if Fallout's combat in this age and day cannot be improved upon it's really sad... And the only way to improve it properly is to look upon JA2. So at least a hybrid is in order, wouldn't you agree? And if they want to find balance between Fallout and JA2 he should definitely mention JA2. I think old school crowd would love it.
 

skuphundaku

Economic devastator, Mk. 11
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Codex 2012 Codex 2013 MCA Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2 My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
Well if what you said is true, then ok, I agree. But if Fallout's combat in this age and day cannot be improved upon it's really sad... And the only way to improve it properly is to look upon JA2. So at least a hybrid is in order, wouldn't you agree?
Of course I agree. As I was saying, I would love to have Fallout 2 exploration and C&C combined with JA2 combat, but for many, that kind of combat would be too much, too complicated and, thus, too slow. So, a compromise will be needed for WL2. I hope inXile will hit the sweet spot when it comes to that compromise. Realistically speaking, that's the best we could hope for.
 

skuphundaku

Economic devastator, Mk. 11
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Codex 2012 Codex 2013 MCA Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2 My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
The point is that having JA2 combat would put the focus squarely on combat at the expense of exploration, C&C etc. In order to balance combat with exploration, the combat needs to be somewhat simpler than the combat in JA2. Now, it's up to inXile to find that perfect balance, and where that perfect balance sits between Fallout Tactics and JA2.

JA2 should be the benchmark for all turn based games at this point. That game came out a long time ago, and I don't see any reason why a modern RPG developer can't produce a turn based combat system that rivals JA2.

If they can't then that is pretty sad.

JA2 isn't some sort of master programming that can never be matched again.

ToEE's combat was really good, the game was utterly unfinished and unpolished, but the combat system would have set a new benchmark if the game was actually finished.

It just seems crazy to me that hoping that a developer can rival a game made 10+ years ago is too much to ask for.
Nobody is disputing the claim that JA2 should be the benchmark for turn based combat. However, because JA2s focus is combat, it can't be used as a benchmark for an RPG that also needs strong exploration and C&C. It's not a matter of the developers being able to do that in a RPG that isn't almost exclusively combat-oriented but a matter of would whether or not it would be wise for the developers to do that.

Edit: JA2 and ToEE are the prime examples of mondblutian RPGs: games with awesome turn-based combat but that I would rather classify as turn-based tactics games with RPG elements than turn-based RPGs because they are lacking when it comes to exploration and C&C (when compared to Fallout 2 or Arcanum).
 

Livonya

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Of course I agree. As I was saying, I would love to have Fallout 2 exploration and C&C combined with JA2 combat, but for many, that kind of combat would be too much, too complicated and, thus, too slow. So, a compromise will be needed for WL2. I hope inXile will hit the sweet spot when it comes to that compromise. Realistically speaking, that's the best we could hope for.

You are right, of course, JA2 combat would be too slow for most people considering the dribble that they have been consuming over the last 10 years.

There have already been people asking for "fast" turn based combat on the Wasteland 2 boards... so I assume we will be lucky if we get something as complex as Fallout 1 or 2.

I wouldn't be surprised if we end up getting something that is more phase based than turn based.

Every time I go back to JA2 and the 1.13 mod I am just amazed at how much fun that game remains. I just hope that before I die I get to experience a game that is essentially a combination of JA2 and Planescape Torment. And in truth I am more likely to go back to JA2 then Planescape as the actual combat in Planescape is dreadful... the terrible game play is what keeps me from finishing most modern RPGs. I don't mind the cheesy writing and me-too gimmicks of the new RPGs as much as I do the terrible combat game that I have to suffer through.
 
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Of course I agree. As I was saying, I would love to have Fallout 2 exploration and C&C combined with JA2 combat, but for many, that kind of combat would be too much, too complicated and, thus, too slow. So, a compromise will be needed for WL2. I hope inXile will hit the sweet spot when it comes to that compromise. Realistically speaking, that's the best we could hope for.

You are right, of course, JA2 combat would be too slow for most people considering the dribble that they have been consuming over the last 10 years.

There have already been people asking for "fast" turn based combat on the Wasteland 2 boards... so I assume we will be lucky if we get something as complex as Fallout 1 or 2.

I wouldn't be surprised if we end up getting something that is more phase based than turn based.

Every time I go back to JA2 and the 1.13 mod I am just amazed at how much fun that game remains. I just hope that before I die I get to experience a game that is essentially a combination of JA2 and Planescape Torment. And in truth I am more likely to go back to JA2 then Planescape as the actual combat in Planescape is dreadful... the terrible game play is what keeps me from finishing most modern RPGs. I don't mind the cheesy writing and me-too gimmicks of the new RPGs as much as I do the terrible combat game that I have to suffer through.

Yeah, well dude said he wants to make this game for oldschool fans. Now, I can't believe that anyone, much less old school fans (us) would consider combat in JA2 slow, or boring... And that anyone not retarded would object to such combat. Something more complex than Fallout's but a bit less complex than JA2, so the focus of the game doesn't become combat, like in JA. We must fight the good fight. Now or never! I won't allow a bunch of retards to spoil this only chance in what, ten fuckin years, with their "input"! House, romances, wtf? Were they blind when the man announced the project? Isometric, turn based, oldschool? I'm shocked that these words alone haven't scared the retards off... :hmmm:
 

Alex_Steel

Arcane
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New interview w/Fargo up at Gamebanshee. Pretty good one, though not all that much new information. Just spreading the word I guess.
http://www.gamebanshee.com/interviews/107335-wasteland-2-interview.html

GB: Unfortunately, role-playing games have lost much of their original identity in recent years, thanks in part to the popularity of first-person action RPGs. How do you convince a newer or younger RPG fan who has grown accustomed to the action-focused titles to give Wasteland 2 a shot?

Brian: Well here is the beauty of fan funding... we don't have to convince some younger RPG player of anything. I am making this game for the wonderful fans who put their money behind us and not some nebulous group of new people. Let's make the game they all expect and let the chips fall where they may. There is just no way I'm going to consider anything that could let down the core.

:incline:
 

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