Duck and Cover

If you have fallout.exe process running in the background for too long, local time counter will run out of byte values and you'll get Fallout Y2K

I think it'll take you like about 2 years or so, though (in real world).

Again bringing us back on-topic:

I think setting the game somewhere else (other than the West Coast) would be a good idea.

The Mid-West could be interesting, but that requires Bethesda to make some tough decisions regarding FO:T. Personally, despite the game's breaks with cannon, I still liked the idea of the Eastern Brotherhood, maybe just because of the fact that a Brotherhood civil war would be awesome, and would make a VERY good backdrop for Fallout 3, even if it isn't the main plot element.

The East Coast is also a good idea, and would give Beth some creative freedom. Alaska's a crazy idea, but would be interesting, though, judging by all the imprtant pre-war history occuring there, and the differences in climate.

Why would it have to be Brotherhood on the east coast. How about this wacky notion... a group with similar roots but completely unrelated and with a different name. It makes more sense that in a world completely fractured you'd have organizations running parallel to each other with no idea about the other in other regions.

As for me, one of my greatest wishes for FO3 is a decent storyline, instead of some stupid "you're the chosen one, you're so special - so we're gonna send you out to get some amazing deus ex machina-type gizmo that'll help save us all!"
One of the truly great things about FO1 were that you were'nt anybody special - you'd simply drawn the shortest straw.

Urizen wrote:As for me, one of my greatest wishes for FO3 is a decent storyline, instead of some stupid "you're the chosen one, you're so special - so we're gonna send you out to get some amazing deus ex machina-type gizmo that'll help save us all!"
One of the truly great things about FO1 were that you were'nt anybody special - you'd simply drawn the shortest straw.

Well, the "find a waterchip in 150 days or we'll all die" wasn't much different from the Fallout 2 story. Although I have to admit that saving a vault feels much better than saving some stupid primitive tribe. In Van Buren you'd have started in a prison so it seems they went for a different approach. I just want the setting to be plausible so that you aren't indifferent to the main task, which sadly is the case in most CRPGs; I don't give a fuck if some evil wizard wants to enslave the realm of Absurdia.

Urizen wrote:As for me, one of my greatest wishes for FO3 is a decent storyline, instead of some stupid "you're the chosen one, you're so special - so we're gonna send you out to get some amazing deus ex machina-type gizmo that'll help save us all!"
One of the truly great things about FO1 were that you were'nt anybody special - you'd simply drawn the shortest straw.

It's basically the same structure in most games. The player character is larger than life, special, he's going to make a difference in the world. But you're right, Fallout did a great job of making it seem like the world was bigger than you. Made the exploration that much fun. As Vasikka points out though, it was the same basic schema just dressed up differently.

Seeing the corpse just ouside the vault meant, to me at least, that I wasn't the only one who got this mission. Other signs pointing to it would have been nice, some guy from my vault in a bar, refusing to go anywhere, or gone crazy, would have been nice and discouraging.

But yeah, you should be able to choose if you wan't to be a hero or if you're just looking out for number one. Having that choice made for me in almost every game is most unpleasing.

I'd say most of the gamers want to be the hero. I doubt we'll see thaty option in a game soon.

Wasteland: Robot menace
Fallout: Search for water chip, mutant menace
Fallout 2: Search for GECK, supremacist menace
FOT: Raider menace, mutant menace, robot menace

I think we just about ran out of menaces...

There was no Invasion of Slit-Eyed Commie Devils, though, but I don't think it would've been very PC anyway.

What about a horde of barbarians from Midwest invading California and Nevada? They'd be like tribals with assault rifles (think Beastlords, only w/o psychic powers, although they could probably have mutant dog packs). You could even give them some tear-jerking background, like how there was an awesome drought and/or epidemic in Midwest so they had no choice but to move westward.

As for the player, he could've been a young monk who grew up in some secluded monastic order in an impregnable citadel (Wasteland had that, but I forgot how these guys called themselves). And instead of looking for a water chip, he could be looking for a missing caravan, or another monk dude who failed to return. Or you could have a subplot about something poisoning the underground river the monks get their water from, so you could investigate the matter and try to stop it (like persuading/forcing a merchant guild from improperly disposing of toxic/radioactive waste/spent reactor fuel).

That would've been very Fallouty, imho

Killzig wrote:As Vasikka points out though, it was the same basic schema just dressed up differently.

I see your point, but I think there's a big difference between a random computer part that accidentally breaks, and a mythic technological gadget that will "bring life to the wasteland". A deus ex machina is a quick fix to a story, and I feel that only the G.E.C.K. fits that description.

A monk looking for enlightment maybe?

Killzig wrote:

Urizen wrote:As for me, one of my greatest wishes for FO3 is a decent storyline, instead of some stupid "you're the chosen one, you're so special - so we're gonna send you out to get some amazing deus ex machina-type gizmo that'll help save us all!"
One of the truly great things about FO1 were that you were'nt anybody special - you'd simply drawn the shortest straw.

It's basically the same structure in most games. The player character is larger than life, special, he's going to make a difference in the world. But you're right, Fallout did a great job of making it seem like the world was bigger than you. Made the exploration that much fun. As Vasikka points out though, it was the same basic schema just dressed up differently.

A different set-up would certainly be a good thing. (I don't have any freaking idea why it was re-used in FO2 in the first place.) The whole "chosen one" cliche and the lack of an interesting main storyline that is being brought up could be solved by making the PC's quest a more personal one. Most (good) RPGs today have a well-developed cast of secondary characters to keep the plotline interesting and add more personal motivations and conflicts for the character.

S4ur0n27 wrote:A monk looking for enlightment maybe?

Looking for a new lightbulb? That'd certainly be original.

Old_Ralph wrote:

Killzig wrote:

Urizen wrote:As for me, one of my greatest wishes for FO3 is a decent storyline, instead of some stupid "you're the chosen one, you're so special - so we're gonna send you out to get some amazing deus ex machina-type gizmo that'll help save us all!"
One of the truly great things about FO1 were that you were'nt anybody special - you'd simply drawn the shortest straw.

It's basically the same structure in most games. The player character is larger than life, special, he's going to make a difference in the world. But you're right, Fallout did a great job of making it seem like the world was bigger than you. Made the exploration that much fun. As Vasikka points out though, it was the same basic schema just dressed up differently.

A different set-up would certainly be a good thing. (I don't have any freaking idea why it was re-used in FO2 in the first place.) The whole "chosen one" cliche and the lack of an interesting main storyline that is being brought up could be solved by making the PC's quest a more personal one. Most (good) RPGs today have a well-developed cast of secondary characters to keep the plotline interesting and add more personal motivations and conflicts for the character.

eh, there are good RPG's made today?
You must be a xbox cockgobbler.
The storylines today more often than not bloody forces the player into choices or makes them for the player. I suppose that being forced is a form of motivation, but I'd say its the wrong one.
The 'chosen' part was a little doubtful. However, I'd say that the rest of the plot is aye ok, not too interesting (so that you just panic to do the main quest) and when you started to forgetting about it you got a message from hakunin.
This message made one a tad more interested in the main quest again.

There are some good RPGs released thses days, though you might have to upgrade that Commadore64 to be able to run them. God forbid.

ApTyp wrote:What about a horde of barbarians from Midwest invading California and Nevada? They'd be like tribals with assault rifles

Isn't that pretty much reusing the "raider menace" -dealio?

I got something that all of you might like.... Fallout 3: The Apocolypse.

Based in.....New York City. Just as Fallout 1 was a vast wasteland of desert and small rubbled towns, and the decaying of Los Angeles (which is a Very big contrast to NYC)

Think about what you can have. You know how you have the Cathedral? remember how annoying yet interesting it was to fight in tight corners? Imagine fighting in a ruined out sky scraper. Think about being on the 7th level and part of the floor is "Open" as it is where part of the side is outside.

Central Park or you can call it "Marrow Valley"

Oh and get this...STATUE OF LIBERTY. You could have a major encounter there.

Staten Island and Long Island.

Harlem, The Village, Upper East side, GRAND CENTRAL/Time Square.

Then you can expand a bit to Newark, Upstate a bit (where I am and a bit south in the water...yes water (could be a F3 "enhancement") where you have cars, you will also have Rail stations, Motorcycles, and BOAT Travel. Maybe even a Helicopter (also having one building as a quest area as an abandoned "Hospital/Mental Institution" Where you face off psychotics...and a FEV like Brain Gang...where they get at your mental capacities (like the Master in FO1 and those prisoners in the base).

Oh and also a vast sewer underground You can have a wide variety of different weapons, and armor, since Power Armor is west Coast. You could have something better.

Also you can have events happening on the west coast, influence situations on the east coast and vice versa. Some tie in's with small situations like Mantis, Floaters, and other things. In NYC, you would have Rat's, Gators, Spiders, Token Aliens, Flying Annoyances, and other NYC flavored enemies.

I really wish I was part of the development team of Fallout 3. I was working with a friend of mine, we were going to try our hands on making a MMORPG and we did start up some small things....but alas....it was just the two of us (the rest kinda bailed and frankly to many things got in the way)...Sigh...it would be AWESOME!

You could do this with any big city. OMG FO SET IN MONTREAL LOL

True..any big City would work...but you gotta admit. Having the Statue of Liberty, and Central Park, would be key. You would most DEFINITELY have a side reference to Planet of the Apes

It should just be on Atlantis. Super-evolved dolphins with power fists that own night clubs.....UNDER THE WATER!