Game Informer article revealed? RUMORS

Post by **King of Creation** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:44 am

[ Game -> Preview ] - More info on <a href="#Fallout 3">Game: Fallout 3</a>

While the issue doesn't hit newsstands until Monday, purported points from the Fallout 3 article have <a target="_self" href="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... urfaced</a> on the net. Here's the skinny:<blockquote>The article is based on an hour long demo GI was given. I'll list the high points

- Game runs on an evolved version of the Oblivion engine. Third person
view has been reworked since the verdict was that the Oblivion version
sucked balls.

- Game starts with your birth and your mother's death in a vault
hospital. This is essentially the character customization part of the
game. Your father hands you up to have your DNA analyzed and you get to
pick out all your character traits. Your dad takes off his mask to
reveal similar traits to the ones you picked.

- You grow up in the vault and as you grow you get your first book
titled "You're Special" which allows you to choose you baseline stats
for each of your 7 primary aptitudes. You'll also get your first
weapons and wrist computer (menu) as you get older and take tests to
determine the initial layout of your skills and traits.

- Every aspect of character creation is based on S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system.
Of your 14 skills you can tag 3 to grow at a faster rate than the rest
as you level up.

- Battle system is called the Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System
(V.A.T.S.). The article states. "While you'll certainly be able to
tackle enemies in real time using first person shooting, V.A.T.S. lets
players pause time and select a target at their leisure". Battle system
still uses action points, but once you've used them up you'll still be
able to fight targets in real time while they charge back up.

- Game is still violent and gory. One of the featured screens is of a
guy's head exploding in super gory detail. Apparently all gory deaths
in the game will be in slow motion.

- More than one way to play the game. Go balls out and kill people, or
sneak past situations, or perhaps talk your way out of situations.

- Enemies can target you just like you can target them, so you can get
injured in very specific points on you body. This in addition to an all
new health/radiation system. This new system has you measuring how
radiated certain things (like water) are and how they affect you when
you consume them.

- Karma system returns

[. . .]

It doesn't say anything specifically about party members, but there's a
section that talks about how integral NPC's are to the game, and that a
lot of the progress in the game will be made via quests.

EDIT. A little caption under a screen shot says you'll be able to hire
henchmen to help you out but this is definitely not a party based game.
Also Bethesda confirms that there'll be a dog in the game.

[. . .]

As a matter of fact they do. The game does not scale like oblivion, so
if you enter a high level area expect to be promptly murdered.

Also, I just read a little caption.

Level cap is 20.

Definite ending to the game, but there are 9 - 12 possible endings.

[. . .]

It is XP based. Most of your XP comes from quests.
</blockquote>Not sure if the person who wrote this just doesn't know what turn-based combat is or if the system has just been butchered (maybe KOTOR style?). No enemy scaling is a very good thing. I also like hearing the words "third person view" and "SPECIAL" though. Stay tuned for confirmation of these rumors.Thanks to Cthulhu and Anonymous!
Spotted @ <a href="http://www.nma-fallout.com">No Mutants Allowed</a>

Bloodlust · Post by **Bloodlust** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:04 am

Scans or it didn't happen.

Post by **Dogmeatlives** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:09 am

LAME?

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:50 am

That's way the fuck better than Oblivion. The VATS combat thing sounds....odd. Or retarded. Pointless. I dunno, I'm trying to envision it based on the confusing description and really can't. Is it supposed to be bullet time? What reason will people have to not stick with vanilla RT?

Character creation sounds too long. The only games to do that kinda shit well were the Ravenloft first person CRPG games. Rolling dice and picking cards at the beginning of Strahd's Possession or Genie's Curse was cool and atmospheric. Morrowind sucked and took too long to get into the game. I don't remember what Oblivion did.

Hopefully Bethesda finally learned how to model human faces.

Ok, whatever. I'm not all that pleased. Waiting for the actual article rather than some abbreviated version.

Post by **King of Creation** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:58 am

Apparently the screenshots don't show this 3rd person view?? And it's not the viewpoint of the Fallout series. It's apparently over the shoulder, like Infernal or maybe Max Payne according to the people who've seen it.

atoga · Post by **atoga** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 2:15 am

Apparently all gory deaths in the game will be in slow motion.

totally lame.

i like the sounds of the character creation system, though i haven't played any games where character creation works in a similar way (except for system shock 2, though that's probably quite dumbed down in comparison). the VATS thing sounds iffy and hard to implement; pausing in realtime and stupidly standing there, waiting for APs to regenerate is straight outta fallout tactics.

the thing that i REALLY like the sounds of is the radiation system, the original fallouts didn't stress the radiation thing much if at all (there weren't any environmental hazards, really). a bueno addition. :wetness:

Mori · Post by **Mori** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 2:32 am

This actually sounds pretty good. As far as I can see the combat system is real time, but you can pause it, at which point you are put into turn based and given APs and from there it works like Fallout, but at the end of your turn you are kicked back into real time and the APs regenerate.

SenisterDenister · Post by **SenisterDenister** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 2:44 am

Besides the combat, I'd prefer it to remain third person and turn based, which is where the perception and agility on the SPECIAL system would work a WHOLE lot better, I really don't want to say this but this seems to put me somewhat at ease.

At least it won't be HORRIBLE, if anything.

Mori · Post by **Mori** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 2:56 am

Now all they need to do is get the dialogue and characters right and I'm happy. Isometric and turn based weren't a big part of the game for me. With this I can still do my favourite part of turn based, targetted shooting, and not be stuck into turn based mode every time a rat wants to take a leak within a mile radius.

Maximous · Post by **Maximous** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 3:11 am

If it has AP then it must have some sort of Turn-Based. I don't get the "regeneration" portion

Mori · Post by **Mori** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 3:16 am

I think that basically you can turn it into some weird type of turn based, but when you run out of APs you go back into real time, and your APs regenerate and you can then pause it at any time and spend however many you have.

Mechanurgist · Post by **Mechanurgist** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 3:23 am

Not bad, not bad at all. I was expecting them to mostly whore out the Fallout name and world as a cheap FPS prostitute, but it seems that they're truly willing to abide by most of the design elements of the original gameplay as well. Most, but not all. I really want to see what that modified third person view looks like, and how NPCs will fit into it.

So, to summarize:

1. Gory? Check.
2. Radiation? Check. (will probably be better than in originals, to be honest)
3. Turn-based action points? Check.
4. PIPBoy? Check.
5. SPECIAL? Check.
6. NPCs (some returning)? Check.
7. Quest XP, No level-scaling, Karma? Check, check and check.

And finally: Fuck yeah, dogmeat LIVES!!! (not, no you, dogmeatlives.)

ps: 5% chance this is all a cheap trick to demoralize the FO fanbase and 90% of these items won't make it into the final version.

TelemachusSneezed · Post by **TelemachusSneezed** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 3:31 am

All of it was good (not great) except this VATS combat system. WTF? So, I run out of AP during TB-mode, and then run back-and-forth dodging attacks until they recharge? GAY! Is it so hard to ask for just the ability to have the game be entirely TB or entirely RT? Jeez!

I don't think the game is going to be terrible, but I REALLY don't want this to be a finger twitch game.

maglalosus · Post by **maglalosus** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:14 am

Some cool ideas in naming things in there, like VATS, the book 'youre special', pipboy 3000 etc...

Start in a vault, so thats not too bad

No bad guy scaling, the same as in f1 and 2 - so thats good too

Combat system sounds like tactics in real time mode, the way the APs regenerated

'Over the shoulder view'?.. im not sure this wil be 'iso-style'.. sounds more like 3rd person view to me.

level cap 20?... i smell 'add-ons\exapnsions'

Post by **Dogmeatlives** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:25 am

Please check out the old but new fanart thread . I just finished a four page fan comic and it took me forever.

tykjen · Post by **tykjen** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:30 am

godamn cthuhlu stiring up the rumor train. ^^
it all sounds good to me, except this vats system or wtf its supposed to be.

like mentioned above, scans or it didnt happen.

maglalosus · Post by **maglalosus** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:35 am

Talking of the combat system.. heres a link to what a 'dev' had to say on it....

thread here.. http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index ... p=10212255

highlights:

"Putting on our "What If?" caps, we can ask what would have happened if the original RPG creators had in their game design toolbox the resources of, say, a modern video game development studio replete with state-of-the-art technology and competent developers, including one very erudite and devilishly handsome programmer? With the ability to implement real-time combat, the desire to ground it in innovative tactical game design, and the computation power to tie everything together, would they have still used turn-based combat? Or real-time combat? Or something altogether different? What do you guys think?"

well oddly enough... in 1997, there were games with first person views.. this guy makes 1997 sound like the dark ages!.. and the reason f1 and 2 were in turn based is because rpgs are turn based!

POOPERSCOOPER · Post by **POOPERSCOOPER** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:44 am

The combat system makes it sound like Turn Base is like a special ability you can use and sounds very craptastic, but everything else sounds okay.

Cthulhugoat · Post by **Cthulhugoat** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:46 am

Hey tyk!

tykjen wrote:godamn cthuhlu stiring up the rumor train. ^^

Hell yeah, and I don't miss the chance of grabbing some credit along the way.

Zetura Dracos · Post by **Zetura Dracos** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 5:37 am

Well... wow, that actually sounds half-way decent. I may have to actually buy an issue of Game Informer.

As with most people so far, the VATS thing troubles me. I think I understand it (actual attacks and targeting are done in TB and movement is RT?) but I'm not a hundred percent sure why. With any luck there will at least be a full turn-based option like in Tactics or an extremely customizable auto-pause function as in NWN and Baldur's Gate.

Viewpoint can be fixed pretty easily I guess. If I remember the Oblivion camera properly, you could actually pull out a fair distance in the third person view and lock it into kind of an isometric thing. It was still a chase cam, but you could see what the hell was going on around you.

Also, Slow motion deaths? WTF?