Game News Wasteland 3 Fig Update #19: The Stanley Hotel

[Roguey]

I hope this is the only area McComb's involved with.

I'm afraid people are going to get bored with this constant winter-like setting pretty fast. Why not have Nuclear winter, desert wasteland and overgrown forest locations all in one game?

Codex frowns on theme park design.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Maybe there's a plot twist and the suicidal people are suicided instead. By an ancient evil that only the chosen rangers can stop.

They already want to die, ins't that a waste of effort?
"Sup, we're gonna kill you and make it look like a suicide"
" 'k, I don't care about my life anymore"

Hotel where the staff turn the guests into emergency food rations has sense in harsh post modern and apocalyptic setting... of course the ghouls sorry the merry band of honest hotel workers would sooner or later eat someone important and place would go burned to ground by some tribal crusade... or roving band of rangers/raiders/religious zealots but this concept is lot more than fable In shit scale came with. You know like in Fallout Nev Vegas.

 

[l3loodAngel]

I hope this is the only area McComb's involved with.

I'm afraid people are going to get bored with this constant winter-like setting pretty fast. Why not have Nuclear winter, desert wasteland and overgrown forest locations all in one game?

Codex frowns on theme park design.

I am not sure why they alwas go for over the top things (like migrane vendor). Why can't they go for something that makes sense like mercykillers, sensates (drug abusers) or just simple FO factions of people who just try to survive in wasteland.

Convoluted and obtuse is neither interesting nor believable. Is there no one in this studio that can look at concepts and say sorry that will break immersion?

Besides can you please for fucking once add stuff like super mutants or other races instead of some Hills have eyes plot twist?

 

[FeelTheRads]

Codex frowns on theme park design.

That's variety.

F3 and NV were exclusively in the wasteland and they were still theme parks.

This hotel or whatever already sounds like a theme park attraction, though.

Edit: And how boring can you get? So, we make a game set in a nuclear winter... what would be a cool location to do? "I know", says Columb McCoin, "it will be a winter resort hotel, because it's winter!". "Brilliant!!!", replies Faran Brygo, "this is why I hired you, for that obscure The Shining reference!"

 

[Roguey]

F3 and NV were exclusively in the wasteland and they were still theme parks.

New Vegas was not a theme park.

 

[Sizzle]

The entire concept behind this hotel is retarded... people survive nuclear Apocalipse, eat dinner, hang themselves in surrounding forest, the staff of the hotel find this so cool that they start to cater to every fucker in the wasteland that decides they need to off themselves (because depressed wastelanders really want to travel miles to eat dinner and kill themselves by hanging instead of eating a bullet where they are).

Inxile tried to be clever and funny with their factions and locations in wasteland 2, only for them ending up neither being funny, clever or interesting due to their ridiculousness and bad writing.

You can just picture the brainstorming process for this location:

inXile designer #1: "How about something based on [spins the random pop trivia wheel] Futurama's Suicide Booths?!"

Fargo: "By God, that's... BRILLIANT! Make an entire location out of it! Wow, first snow instead of desert and now this - keep it coming, guys, you're on a roll!"

 

[Ulfhednar]

This seems really promising. The picture is clearly at night, so it's possible inXile has mastered the subtlety of a day/night cycle. Also, Colin seems less delusional about being Chris Avellone... now he just thinks that he's Stephen King.

 

[Roguey]

This seems really promising. The picture is clearly at night, so it's possible inXile has mastered the subtlety of a day/night cycle.

It's probably like Wasteland 2 and some maps are just permanently night maps.

Also, Colin seems less delusional about being Chris Avellone... now he just thinks that he's Stephen King.

Guess he started doing coke.

 

[Ulfhednar]

This seems really promising. The picture is clearly at night, so it's possible inXile has mastered the subtlety of a day/night cycle.

It's probably like Wasteland 2 and some maps are just permanently night maps.

Also, Colin seems less delusional about being Chris Avellone... now he just thinks that he's Stephen King.

Guess he started doing coke.

I'm sure that they will try really hard to put in a day/night cycle for WL3, but realize at the last minute it needs to be removed for greater character c&c. inXile is always thinking of us, and what is best for our gaming experience.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Also, Colin seems less delusional about being Chris Avellone... now he just thinks that he's Stephen King.

It seems I was very wrong in having hope in him.
Apparently all he can do is "reference" work instead of creating something original. Such people should not be lead designers or writers, not even for limited areas. Maybe Curst was crap mostly because him not because of time constraints, seeing what he accomplished with TTON and this amazingly imaginative W3 location. Instead, as someone to do filler writing he'd probably be good.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Apparently all he can do is "reference" work instead of creating something original. Such people should not be lead designers or writers, not even for limited areas. Maybe Curst was crap mostly because him not because of time constraints, seeing what he accomplished with TTON and this amazingly imaginative W3 location. Instead, as someone to do filler writing he'd probably be good.

T drops significantly after 35. Unless you do T replacement therapy, no way you can write like back in the good old days when your junk was hard as titanite. Some people can still write pretty well, but their best works were either conceived or written entirely before 35. Exceptions exist of course, but Colin isn't one.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Well, speaking of T, I tried reading his first novel and that's as low-T as it gets, though I don't know what age he was when he wrote it.
But anyway, then I was still in denial and thought "hey, maybe he sucks at writing novels". Guess now I got to "well, maybe he sucks at being in charge" although the truth might be that he just sucks.

 

[Roguey]

I'm sure that they will try really hard to put in a day/night cycle for WL3, but realize at the last minute it needs to be removed for greater character c&c. inXile is always thinking of us, and what is best for our gaming experience.

There's no reason for day/night in Wasteland anyway. There's no stealth gameplay. It'll just mean waiting until dawn so you don't get accuracy penalties during fights or a completely cosmetic feature.

 

[Father Foreskin]

This game is starting to look less shit that Torment. No matter the inconsistencies between the location and the general setting of the game, at least they have some sort of reasoning why the location is the way it is. In Torment it was weirdness for the sake weirdness that made no impression much of the time (different goals though, i know).

It would be unwise not mention the driving force of Inxile, the only man who could crowdfund a hot dog stand and bankrupt it, Brian fucking Fargo. If he just could find it in his heart to release a game focused mostly on basic combat mechanics and quality assurance instead of size, wordcount and visuals, this could be decent.

 

[Ulfhednar]

There's no reason for day/night in Wasteland anyway. There's no stealth gameplay. It'll just mean waiting until dawn so you don't get accuracy penalties during fights or a completely cosmetic feature.

You never know... they could always decide to go with the circus sideshow floating squiddy for WL3, too.

This game is starting to look less shit that Torment.

A well polished turd, perhaps... but still a turd I think. Just keep in mind all the great art assets they put out for the Torment Kickstarter - hype to 11... then the actual game went full retard.

 

[set]

Everyone's taking it too seriously. The concept for this hotel isn't bad. Wasteland/Fallout are not settings that necessarily make logical sense. And I'd argue that any set up or setting, no matter how ridiculous, can be saved by good literary effort and attention to detail.

That said, Wasteland 3 is shaping up to be about as dry and boring as Wasteland 2. As people have already said, if the combat and game mechanics aren't fixed from 2, no amount of pretty snow or sand is going to help salvage this.

 

[Daedalos]

Like some others have said, IF they improve and fix the problems with combat, mechanics, encounters from 2, it might turn out quite decent, regardless of the overall story, quests and what not.

Obviously, the story is still p. important and the C&C and all that. I'm not terrible interested in the hotel background, seems kinda boring, eh, we'll see. I'll need to see alot more content before I can make my mind up about this game. Still optimistic, tho, even despite all the InXile, Fargo, T:TON controversies.

 

[Ulfhednar]

Everyone's taking it too seriously.

Still salty at inXile for KickStarter shenanigans... I finally decided to sign up to the Codex after years of ghosting just so that I could cast Litany of Curses at Torment: Rides of NumaHomaMoma. I have no intention of being objective about it for quite some time to come. IF WL3 is a fabulous game, I may forgive them... Otherwise they get the Skull Mob.

 

[set]

Hey, Wasteland 2 wasn't even the biggest of the kickstarter disappointments. Get in line.

Like, what the hell, where is Barkley 2 still...?

 

[undecaf]

Not very exciting update or location. Still more interesting than anything PoE, though.

 

[Lurker King]

This game is starting to look less shit that Torment.

That was the same thing we said about T:ToN. It looks less shit than W2, and look how it turned out.

 

[Latelistener]

RPG Codex

Hey, Rangers - we are here to talk about the RPG Codex.

In the mountains northwest of Prosperlands stands a grand but somewhat weathered forum, a remnant from simpler, more peaceful times.

When Interplay fell in 2004, the forum users watched mushroom clouds rise over the mountains and listened to the world end over the radio. They talked long into the night about what the future of the RPG genre held. Then, over the next few years, they had final, sumptuous meals before wandering into the surrounding forest to hang themselves. Only the conductors remained - employees, at first, and then people seduced by the idea that they could bring back a certain elegance to the RPG genre.

As the world devolved into popamolery, stories of this relatively peaceful end spread through the Internet. The RPG Codex became a popular destination for suicidal oldfags who came to the forum for a joyful final repast before joining the frozen corpses hanging in the forest.

Those corpses instill superstitious fear in the wild, inbred clans in the surrounding domens, as well as a certain unease in neighboring sites. Rumor has it that the RPG Codex is haunted - those who spend too much time here swear that they hear the whispering voices of the unquiet Black Isle. The conductors of the RPG Codex don’t mind. They are people of quiet faith and firm belief in doing the right thing by their users, and they welcome anyone who comes to their doors.

The Suicide Forest beyond their walls is not as peaceful. Bethestards of unusual size and degeneracy roam the hills, as more than one studio has found to its chagrin. Caves twist into the hard rock of the mountain - a perfect place to den for the long winter, or for a thoughtful, morality-light troll to set up lair far from the prying eyes of what remains of the conductor's law.

Above it all, the RPG Codex looms, promising an end to the misery of life in this world. Stop on by! Reservations are appreciated, but even if the hotel is full, hang around.

A room should be vacant soon...

 

[Tyrion8338]

This location looks great and my hype is growing I just hope w3 will be less bugged compared to wasteland 2, recently I`ve re-played wasteland 2 in director cut version and it again bugged out during hollywood / priests questline...

 

[l3loodAngel]

This game is starting to look less shit that Torment.

That was the same thing we said about T:ToN. It looks less shit than W2, and look how it turned out.

Well if they won't focus in WL3 on adding other races, interesting factions and cities like Reno it's gona be lights out.

 

[l3loodAngel]

Everyone's taking it too seriously. The concept for this hotel isn't bad. Wasteland/Fallout are not settings that necessarily make logical sense. And I'd argue that any set up or setting, no matter how ridiculous, can be saved by good literary effort and attention to detail.

That said, Wasteland 3 is shaping up to be about as dry and boring as Wasteland 2. As people have already said, if the combat and game mechanics aren't fixed from 2, no amount of pretty snow or sand is going to help salvage this.

Good literary effort can't save the setting. There are few people in the industry that might be able to create a bullet out of pure shit, but I don't see them at inXile. What I hate about their designs is that "pretense" is taking precedence over "believability" and "pragmatism". That is the fastest way to the dumspter fire, because if the writing and locations don't serve any real purpose they start work as distractions.