Fallout: New Vegas

The Fallout 3 engine does suck, and pretty bad too. It's the same one they were using to make Morrowind. Terrible physics and lighting.

I always ask myself, "Self, why do you like so many things that are obviously terrible beyond redemption?" Self always responds, "Shut up, you suck! I'm wanking to the JC Penny's catalog over here!"

Anyway, my problems with Fallout 3 were not with the engine. The engine is pretty sweet, actually, and there were quite a few truly gorgeous landscapes and landmarks. My main problem with it was that the plot of the game was tied together with silly string. It needed someone like Dave Gaider or Drew K or another plot guy to go over it and fix the story so it makes sense.

Luckily, FO: New Vegas has Chris Freaking Avellone, so I'm not that worried.

^^Fallout 3 uses the same engine as Oblivion, not Morrowind. Morrowind didn't really even have physics, other than "things that go up come back down." And I think there was somethings with the arrows too.

Whoops. Well I think the engine is starting to show its age. As far as western engines go, I think the Source, UE 3 and Crysis engines are better looking and smoother feeling (See: L 4 D 2, Batman AA, Crysis Warhead). I hope they switch or at least severely tweak it for TES 5.

Anyway, FO 3's plot was terrible, but what do you expect from Bethesda (not even the Bethesda that made Daggerfall). If anyone can do the setting justice it's MCA.

As for D. Gaider and Karpyshyn, they do their jobs adequately but they aren't of the same caliber as Avellone.

I hope the ultra realism is an optional setting.

I don't believe I've ever seen an open-ended game done with Source or UE, not to mention that Bethesda probably wanted a short timeframe for this game so they can concentrate on TESV and then immediately after it comes out, begin working on another Fallout game, aptly titled Fallout 4 (speculation, mind you). I like what I'm seen so far, though I'd prefer having a new model for the East Coast super mutant.

In other news, we got two great articles from The Escapist, a first look recap and an interview with Feargus Urquhart. Hardcore mode is optional and so far the only setting with weighted ammo.

From the various trailers I've seen it's looks pretty good.

1st - Obsidian isn't Troika, the only former Troika member that I remember being in Obsidian has left after having worked on Alpha Protocol (his version of the plot has been scrapped though). 2nd - Alpha Protocol is a 3rd person shooter/rpg true, but it's mission based and far far on the opposite side of the spectrum compared to a sandbox game like Fallout 3 (even compared to Fallout 1/2). I'm looking forward to that game, but it's very different.

Not to defend the engine, Fallout 3's Gamebryo, DOES look a bit dated, but it's not nearly as bad as some are making it out to be, not to mention that the timeframe for Fallout New Vegas is very short, so the more they work on gameplay and quests, the better.

I liked the Fallout 3 plot. What was wrong with it? Other than the ending of course, and that was fixed.

^It was kinda simple: go find your dad rescue the world.

I loved a lot of the side plots side stories though. The plot felt like one story thread not something that distorted and warped the entire universe, and yet at the end it got bigger and bigger and paid off.

Problem is a lot of people are viewing the game through an unappeasable nostalgia filter and the fact that the game wasn't: a) the original fall out games, b) perfect made it CRAP RAEG HORRIBAFUCKUS!

I liked Fallout 3 but the writing was horrible. Gems like 'Have you seen my father? Middle-aged man' aren't that easy to forget. A lot of situations felt contrived, like your father's sacrifice at the Purifier the already mentioned ending, the horrible dialogues with President Eden etc.. I can really see the effort behind them, and I think Bethesda tried and I give them credit for it, but they seem incapable of getting their writing right after Morrowind (which it wasn't mindblowing by itself in that department but was much better than Fallout 3 and Oblivion). They're very good at the visual storytelling though (little clues to what pre-war life was here and there, the skeletons' position almost always has a meaning etc.)

edited 3rd May '10 10:14:21 AM by WorstUsernameEver

I just hope they get better animators and a different game over screen. Ragdoll physics have always looked unnatural to me.

Eh, Fallout3's story was fine to me. It suffers from trying too much, just having a story where you get thrown out into the world (which is what 1 and 2 were like, I believe?) would have been fine.

I wanna see a developer studio with the balls to just drop an open-sandbox RPG without an ending. Seriously. Why not?

^*coughs*

Bay 12 is, like, one or two guys. A better example would be MMORPGs.

Mount And Blade has no ending. Or predefined quest. It sort of straddles the RPG definition, though. There's all the stats and levels and such, but not really any, you know, story.

Looks like Games Radar has some new details about the game.

Here's what I found most interesting:

Possibly the most significant of Obsidian’s additions is Hardcore Mode, which they say would have “just been the game,” had they not wanted to alienate those used to, and expecting, the same experience and difficulty of Fallout 3. Everything is more difficult in Hardcore Mode. Ammo is weighted, and dehydration won’t be tolerated, but if you play the whole game with the increased challenge, you’ll be given a “special reward.”

EDIT:

Ign has a much better preview, including a video interview.

edited 4th May '10 11:34:05 PM by BattleMage

It's not just Games Radar and IGN, there's a whole lot of new previews on the net now, though mostly it's the same old info (you have to scavenge to find something new). It's pretty much what I expected and what I wanted from the game, the only thing I'd have preferred is that a little better graphical presentation, but who cares. Hope they get time to polish it, I don't really want to play another KOTOR 2.

Is Hardcore mode separate from difficulty level, like Left 4 Dead 2's Realism Mode? As in, could I play Hardcore mode on Easy difficulty?

There's probably an adjustable difficulty slider like before, and if so, then I'm certain that you're right.

Yes, I'm pretty sure I read that hardcore mode is separate from difficulty level.

From the summary of my Fallout 3 review:

• Looks like Fallout.
• Sounds like Fallout.
• The storyline, sadly, is unlike Fallout.
• Also, the ending blows.

I hope New Vegas will be better in this respect.

edited 5th May '10 12:37:17 PM by NotSoBadassLongcoat

Well the music in Fallout 3 (the non-licensed music, I mean) didn't sound Fallout-y at all to me.. unfortunately Fallout New Vegas will have the same composer (dreaded soundtrack lord Inon Zur), so it will probably be on the same level.. and I'll mod it out, as I did with Fallout 3.