CARS

[king_ota]

The point was is that I dont cair if I get a Humvee or a Brahmen pulled cart, i just want some sort of transportation to get me around

[Shadowvalor]

The idea of vehicles isn't a bad one, yet it needs to be looked at other than just "we need a ride." On the point on how Fo2 did it, it gave you the impression that you had the only car in the wasteland. I think this was far from the truth, but indeed I also think that they would be very rare. Seeing one, let alone being able to purchase one, would be something not everybody got to do in life.
The problem with the ones in FoT is that they seemed to run on petrol. This is a problem as gasoline would be extreemly scarce, even if the brotherhood managed some sort of synthetic counterpart. The time to make this could be very strenous on resources.

The idea of multipulse vechicles, and perhaps some vehicular combat is a very good one in my opinion, although it will need every aspect of it sketched out within the design doument so that it isn't changed form it's originally designed perpose. Likewise, when first putting the entry in the desgin document much care should be taken, as the overall goal of the game is to have fun.
With the idea that some mofos aren't going to appricate their hard work and bitch about the games as well (you know who you are) they should be careful not to count-act anythign present in the world of Fallout. Such as the lack of gasoline, and cars that run on microfusion batteries.

[Tank]

I really don't want vehicular combat. If people actually manage to get a car running in the wastes, why in the world would they risk the thing in combat???

[Shadowvalor]

I really don't want vehicular combat. If people actually manage to get a car running in the wastes, why in the world would they risk the thing in combat???

Because they're stupid, and they fight people who are power armor with a laser rifle.

Seriously, when I say vehicular combat, I mean as in NPCs will be in vehicles, and you can fight vehicle to vehicle. I don't mean a gang of raiders will drive up to you, and attack you in their overloaded dune buggy that runs on deathclaw piss.

[Knight]

Tank, I agree with you, the community is dying because of this Fallout Tactic plagued that has infected us all. I say we should look for a cure. :x

Hmmm...Brahmin rides sound like fun. 8)

A simple car or truck will do...also a tank! Mad Max style!

[Tank]

Seriously, when I say vehicular combat, I mean as in NPCs will be in vehicles, and you can fight vehicle to vehicle. I don't mean a gang of raiders will drive up to you, and attack you in their overloaded dune buggy that runs on deathclaw piss.

And that's exactly what I mean. This would mean that there's a great chance their vehicle would be destroyed. Nobody with a rare, working vehicle would want to risk it!

[OnTheBounce]

This would mean that there's a great chance their vehicle would be destroyed. Nobody with a rare, working vehicle would want to risk it!

My guess would be that if someone were to be able to get one or more vehicles working they would be reserved for the richest, more powerful people in an area. Basically, like what the Chopshop Boys were going to do in FO2; namely, to sell your refurbished vehicle to John Bishop. What would he have used it for? Well, he'd have tooled around in it and impressed the locals. If you want a movie example of this, check out Escape from New York and note the Duke of New York's procession of rather raggedy cars. ("Yeah, yeah! We need a '59 Caddy...with...with chandeliers on the hood!!!")

Some of the game issues at stake with vehicles are that if you're going to allow them, you're risking balance by letting the player fight from the vehicle. On the other hand, it's rather cheesy to have the player not be able to fight from the vehicle and always have it parked nearby while he/she is locked in a life-or-death struggle with some of the Wasteland's unsavory denizens. ("Why do I always get bushwacked when I'm taking a piss?!")

[On an unrelated note, I think that Random Encounters should be cut down on. It gets a bit ridiculous at times, traveling around a PA Wasteland and constantly having encounters. While simply snipping out 75% of the random encounters would cripple the Outdoorsman skill, this could be balanced out by making said skill useful for things like forced marches (increasing your travel speed); not taking damage from the environment due to lack of water, food, etc.; and perhaps determining your base travel speed on the World Map.]

OTB

[king_ota]

I got an idea (hope you like it) How about in the ruins of detriot (now called car city) a small but mass prodused electric engin is prodused enought to power a small car (the engin itself is a small, electric, ues four pistons made from the reminits of old cars and melted down scraps and then hand made by smiths) any way the eregy can either be stored by a small coil/capasitor system on a in car source (the steme enging is making a come back in FO3)... any way they could the old rements of cars and make new parts like glass and tyres to make tham at least working status. that its self open up intresting plot twists (like the family that owns the factory becoming extreamly proserous and mabey too gready, or raders attacking the city, or getting a car or, geting a refuling station for your town ect...) The cars could be used in combat but attaching a wepon from it would be rathe difficult due to the flimisyness of the cars themselfs....

[MaxRhodes]

There has to be cars. It would be lame if you couldn't eat up the wide open post-apocalyptic highway. If there is still fusion batteries there can still be cars. what about an oil refinory like in The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) then you could have gasoline fueled cars.

Whatever

[king_ota]

most cars made/repared after the great war should be simple like big iron plates slaped togher that don't provie much protection. And they should be based of the old ruined cars like 1/2 of a highway man with a new alcolhol power engine, rebuilt iron plates and comfortabul seating for a family of four (and trunk full of wepons and armor) .

[Knight]

most cars made/repared after the great war should be simple like big iron plates slaped togher that don't provie much protection. And they should be based of the old ruined cars like 1/2 of a highway man with a new alcolhol power engine, rebuilt iron plates and comfortabul seating for a family of four (and trunk full of wepons and armor) .

I agree...

No need for hard-to-get power cells. And after a few centuries...such things are hard to get. FO3 should be about civillization declining to the stone age but at the same time using modified technology. Or about civillization adapting to the environment!

[Ed the Monkey]

Fallout is the dawn of civilizations, that's after the stone age... yeah, some people are still in the stone age, but civilization is developing. The towns that exist in FO1 and 2 are the beginings of city/states. The next step is the development of small nation states. This would be something like NCR expanding and conquering teritory... other factions would also be working to expand teritory. The major threat of FO3 would not be a horde, but a number of small warlords that rose from families fighting back and forth for land and control of resources. True nations would not be able to form for another few hundred years... monetery systems would still be fairly new, although caps took care of that i suppose. Even if vehicles were more common, it would still take armies to expand... the isolation of the towns means that expantion would be difficult and vehicles might help, but they would not change the world instantly. If we look to mad max (and i'm not saying fallout IS or SHOULD BE mad max) we realize that vehicles and civilization can be complimentery but are not neccicarily intertwined.

[Mr Carrot]

Christ some of you people are stupid, there is no fuel left in the US, the sole source of fuel in the entire world was below the Enclave oil rig. There are not going to be any Mad Max 2 oil refinaries, also in Mad Max 2 the war hadnt started yet (i.e. it wasnt actually PA it was society just before A) and it was in Austalia where perchance the fact that the population density is so low that cars have to be in there to allow travel around Maxs set peices?

Ignoring this and back to FO the lack of fuel would prevent any gasolene cars from running and most other cars would have been nuked or rendered inoperable by EMP. The car you found was a fluke, we arnt going to see hoards of NPCs and traiders zooming around the wasteland.

There is a place for cars in FO, as a late level quest and for very important/rich NPC's no one else could have access to a car, buy one or keep it fueled on fuel cells. As for fighting from cars, if you have a car you should be given the option to avoid combat against any non human foe as you could simple drive past them. You shouldnt be able to fight from your car, because you are attacking stationary (relatively) targets from a vehicle designed for driving (i.e. no weapon mounts or cupolas to aid combat). The cars chassiy would be incredably fragile a stray burst or grenade would take it out easaly. It also unbalances the game further from Melee and hand to hand.