Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 27468 Location: Liberty City, the Netherlands Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 18:39 Post subject: Game Revolution previews Fallout 3
Game Revolution has previewed Fallout 3, using the same standard screenshots as GI did, but noting a few bits of information GI didn't provide:
In all that time, there was one vault in particular, vault number 101, which after bolting its door, kept it shut. No one from the outside ever entered. And no one within the vault ever left. Including you, a child born to Vault 101's head scientist, voiced by Liam Neeson.
(...)
At about 20 years old, you discover that your father has either been taken from or escaped Vault 101.
(...)
The frequency of combat is tuned down far below a typical First Person Shooter's fragfest to let the game's pacing introduce a unique sense of desolation set right into the pit of your psyche as you roam through the rubble
(...)
During any encounter you can toggle to this Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System with the push of a button, which will freeze time and let you switch between multiple enemies and their body parts, helping you plan out your attack. Any piece of anatomy, such as a mutant's arms, legs, torso, head, or weapon can be targeted, each displaying a hit percentage dependent upon the enemy's distance, position, and stats. If you target his leg and get a critical hit, it'll blow off in gory Fallout glory, and the mutant will fall to the ground, painfully crawling in pursuit if it's still alive. If you didn't blow his weapon out of his hand, you can pick it up and use it yourself. Or if you already have a weapon of the same type, you can bust out some engineering skills, break it down into parts, and use them to beef up the strength, precision, and firing rate of your own weapon. As weapons get worn with use, this is smart option if you're skilled at it.
The same combat engine (minus the stopping time) is available to enemies too, for they can also target your body parts to hinder your aim or movement. It is both eye and brain-catching, for while being treated to the graphically impressive Robocop-ian target scan, you'll have to decide which is the way to eliminate the biggest threats fast, because the V.A.T.S. runs out of action points. Once they're gone, you'll be fighting in real time and without assistance while your action points regenerate.
Still unclear on how VATS works, but "plan out your attacks" sounds like it cues actions, like traditional RTwP.
You'll also be struggling with moral dilemmas through voiced NPC dialogue choices. The number of NPCs in Fallout 3 is about 300 (as opposed to Oblivion's 1000), so Bethesda has put alot more alcohol and devtime into making their individual A.I. more realistic and natural. Instead of NPCs walking around doing very simple tasks talking basic gibberish, they will roam with more personalized agendas and socialize with other people about topics that interest them.
(...)
As your choices change and quests are knocked out, news of your fame (or infamy) will spread to. NPC reactions to you will also change as your title shifts from "Noob Vault Dweller" to "HaXXor - Nuker of Cities".
With these lasting consequences, Fallout 3 is still designed to have a definite ending -- anywhere from nine to a dozen different ones are planned to net all your possible decision paths and personal insecurities. Although it is running off a shiny Oblivion engine with a few more notches on its armor, Fallout 3 is definitely its own game, so don't be confused by some of the screenshots. The camera defaults as first person view so you can be swallowed by all the little details of the blasted world, but it can be toggled with a flick of a switch to a Resident Evil 4 over-the-shoulder cam. Then you can zoom out even further to get to the franchise-beloved 3rd person perspective.
After the hour long gameplay presentation, we were all equally surprised how far in development Fallout 3 was, even with more than a year left to finish it. It has all the makings of being the first solid bridge between the rapidly growing RPG genre and the immensely pop FPS category, with play options, paths, and ironic wit galore.
Again, blowing up Megaton meaning there are no more quests in it stand as the only solid example of choice and consequence in the article. The "pulling back camera far enough for 3rd person perspective" is new.
Thanks sjvan0. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout: New Vegas - Brother None counts down his favourite games
"There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year-old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs." --John Rogers
Last edited by Brother None on Mon Jul 02, 2007 14:03; edited 4 times in total
Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Posts: 153 Location: Poznan - Poland Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 18:48 Post subject:
Well I dont believe anymore that this will be a game that deserves fallout name, it MAY be a quite good post apocalyptic game though. Bethseda ruined the trilogy... _________________ Zombie Panic! Source level designer
The same combat engine (minus the stopping time) is available to enemies too, for they can also target your body parts to hinder your aim or movement. It is both eye and brain-catching, for while being treated to the graphically impressive Robocop-ian target scan, you'll have to decide which is the way to eliminate the biggest threats fast, because the V.A.T.S. runs out of action points.
Aha. So instead of actions depleting your action points, *time* now depletes your action points?
Okay, then. No one can now seriously contending that this is 'strategic' and not twitch-based. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout 3 modding
Sander is a finely tuned instrument of death, and as such is only used when the need arises. He hates posters no more than a Tsunami would hate a Japanese coastal village, or a Hurricane hates black people. - DirtyDreamDesigner
My main consolation is that only silly people follow silly advice - E.W. Dijkstra
Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 27468 Location: Liberty City, the Netherlands Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 19:01 Post subject:
I'm not reading what you're reading, Sander, that's not a definitive description that reads "VATS depletes action points with time," especially not since GI was so specific on shooting stopping regeneration of action points.
The real news here is;
Bird's eye view/isometric-esque is available.
VATS can only be interpreted as cuing actions, which is standard RTwP. Innovative my ass. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout: New Vegas - Brother None counts down his favourite games
"There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year-old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs." --John Rogers
I like Game Revolution but sadly this thing reads like a press release rather then a preview. _________________ A teen skater takes a crackpot's DeLorean back to 1955, where he fends off his lustful future mom (1985) ***1/2
I'm not reading what you're reading, Sander, that's not a definitive description that reads "VATS depletes action points with time," especially not since GI was so specific on shooting stopping regeneration of action points.
"you'll have to decide which is the way to eliminate the biggest threats fast, because the V.A.T.S. runs out of action points."
Seems pretty clear to me. Or it is yet again a journalist who doesn't understand the actual system.
Brother None wrote:
The real news here is;
Bird's eye view/isometric-esque is available.
But in what way? Considering the fact that there's no mention of anything else, it's probably just a farther-away version of the over-the-shoulder cam, without mouse-controls a la KOTOR.
But hey, we can't know for certain because no-one at Bethesda will actually clarify anything. *sigh*
Brother None wrote:
VATS can only be interpreted as cuing actions, which is standard RTwP. Innovative my ass.
Yer. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout 3 modding
Sander is a finely tuned instrument of death, and as such is only used when the need arises. He hates posters no more than a Tsunami would hate a Japanese coastal village, or a Hurricane hates black people. - DirtyDreamDesigner
My main consolation is that only silly people follow silly advice - E.W. Dijkstra
Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 27468 Location: Liberty City, the Netherlands Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 19:13 Post subject:
Sander wrote:
"you'll have to decide which is the way to eliminate the biggest threats fast, because the V.A.T.S. runs out of action points."
Seems pretty clear to me. Or it is yet again a journalist who doesn't understand the actual system.
Clear that action points run out, unclear on what makes them run out.
Sander wrote:
But in what way? Considering the fact that there's no mention of anything else, it's probably just a farther-away version of the over-the-shoulder cam, without mouse-controls a la KOTOR.
Yes, perhaps/probably. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout: New Vegas - Brother None counts down his favourite games
"There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year-old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs." --John Rogers
"you'll have to decide which is the way to eliminate the biggest threats fast, because the V.A.T.S. runs out of action points."
Seems pretty clear to me. Or it is yet again a journalist who doesn't understand the actual system.
Clear that action points run out, unclear on what makes them run out.
Considering the 'decide fast', I can think of nothing other than time, really. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout 3 modding
Sander is a finely tuned instrument of death, and as such is only used when the need arises. He hates posters no more than a Tsunami would hate a Japanese coastal village, or a Hurricane hates black people. - DirtyDreamDesigner
My main consolation is that only silly people follow silly advice - E.W. Dijkstra
Joined: 17 Sep 2006 Posts: 371 Location: Sweden Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 19:19 Post subject:
Blergh, I wonder how much they're gonna push the whole "avoid radiation" and eat/drink thing. These things have potential of being good survival elements, but if done wrong (which I feel is what happens in most games) then it could become outrageously annoying.
And I think what he means by the AP thing is that you best choose wisely when it comes to choosing your targets (using the VATS targeting system), because if you choose badly you'll run out of your superpow... APs fast (meaning that you perhaps wasted them on bad targeting), and be at the mercy of your own sucky FPS skills.
Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if they do a system like what Sander says, and further suckify the combat system.
I mean blargh... RTwP is pretty crappy generally, but this is like... An even suckier version somehow. If VATS is indeed only used to target, then I think combat will become a real snore after a while regardless of combat preferences.
And I also doubt that the camera will be "like it was in Fallout", but I guess we could always hope it will be somehow similar. Still, it seems like the game is designed with FP/Shoulder cam in mind, so I suspect a birds eye view will work pretty crappily in that case.
The positive thing is that they're pushing for the "choices/consequences" in the PR, but will it prove to be true? At least there is an example there (which seems to be rather extreme to), but I still remain very skeptical of how this will be implemented all in all.
The whole "living in the Vault" and creating the character could go both ways for me.
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 8364 Location: On your counter sheet, burning your panzers Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 19:23 Post subject:
I'm seriously waiting for an explanation of how these "action points" inherit the concept of AP from the original ruleset. If you can play without ever touching them, if only certain actions require you to spend them, if anything but your stats defines them, if anything except taking actions depletes them, if once you have them you can't plan how to use them at your leisure - why even call them "Action Points"? Why tag the old name to something conceptually different if not just to have something to point at and say, "look, remember those, you're happy now, right"? _________________ Game help can be found in my Fallout guides.
elpintogrande wrote:
The people who are a part of the "Fallout Community" have been refined and distilled over time into glittering gems of hatred.
What worries me the most is the feel of this game, and the world that you're thrown in.
Every rpg I played had a very unique world, a world you just love for all the characters and situations they put you through, the architecture of the buildings, the spiritual movements and the implications of moral choices, not only good/bad, but most of all the "grey choices".
Probably, there are just 3 rpgs like this for me, Fallout, of course, Planescape and Arcanum.
But as a general rule, if a game fails to get you involved, if you don't care about the world or the characters, their actions don't move you or the story is bland, that game is just a shallow screen with pixels that talk.
Also...Day/Night ? No mention. Night is very important in rpgs to me, but not just as a light/visual thing, but for all the quests and actions only available this time of the day.
I also don't think Bethesda devs experianced Fallout like any of us did. I mean from all the damn interviews they claim to be Wasteland fans and RPG makers though they haven't played Fallout until Bethesda bought the license. They view it as homework and research.
EDIT : Did anybody see the screenshot with the pip-boy up close? Those stats are really low. They want to "innovate" the stat points number too? _________________ An opened mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded.
I'm not reading what you're reading, Sander, that's not a definitive description that reads "VATS depletes action points with time," especially not since GI was so specific on shooting stopping regeneration of action points.
I'm thinking that reads using VATS to make targeted shots costs ap. Not merely accessing VATS, although it could be similar to accessing inventory during combat. I don't think that's going to be it though. I think it'll just be similar to the difference in making a targeted shot and normal shot, with the reversion into realtime after expending too many APs to make any more targeted shots, wash rinse repeat, et al. I think this was compared to red dead revolver. It could also be just like tictacs.
Brother None wrote:
The real news here is;
Bird's eye view/isometric-esque is available.
But in what way? Considering the fact that there's no mention of anything else, it's probably just a farther-away version of the over-the-shoulder cam, without mouse-controls a la KOTOR. [/quote]
Indeed, that is the best news I've heard yet. _________________ A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn
Vote from the rooftops
Restriction is also protection; permission is also surrender; protest suspends power.
As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. - Justice William O. Douglas
Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 27468 Location: Liberty City, the Netherlands Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 19:47 Post subject:
draeke wrote:
I think it'll just be similar to the difference in making a targeted shot and normal shot, with the reversion into realtime after expending too many APs to make any more targeted shots, wash rinse repeat, et al. I think this was compared to red dead revolver. It could also be just like tictacs.
So taking actions inside paused mode? No, the article doesn't read like that, it says you *plan* your attacks, not take them in paused mode. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout: New Vegas - Brother None counts down his favourite games
"There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year-old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs." --John Rogers
DirtyDreamDesigner The Lone Locust of the Apocalypse
Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 4678 Location: Outer Space, the home of the Universe! Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 19:52 Post subject:
Brother None wrote:
The real news here is;
Bird's eye view/isometric-esque is available.
No, not really. Essentially, this game is an FPS, it has real time combat (leaving the questions about the pause for the moment), that means that you have to be able to see your enemies to react to them accordingly. In iso you cannot see the same things your character can see and therefore can't react. Over the shoulder works in this case, but changing the angle of view to anything that limits seeing what the character sees doesn't. _________________ Fiat iustitia ruat coelum, et pereat mundus.
Joined: 08 Nov 2003 Posts: 12700 Location: Den Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 20:07 Post subject: Re: Game Revolution previews Fallout 3
Game Revolution wrote:
The frequency of combat is tuned down far below a typical First Person Shooter's fragfest to let the game's pacing introduce a unique sense of desolation set right into the pit of your psyche as you roam through the rubble
Wow, now that's an accomplishment. On the other hand, it might get boring. Ow wait, FPS? :roll:
Game Revolution wrote:
During any encounter you can toggle to this Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System with the push of a button, which will freeze time and let you switch between multiple enemies and their body parts, helping you plan out your attack
OK, so it's real time with pause. Bye-bye turns!
Game Revolution wrote:
. The number of NPCs in Fallout 3 is about 300 (as opposed to Oblivion's 1000)
And what will be the number of voice actors, as opposed to Oblivion's dozen?
Game Revolution wrote:
so Bethesda has put alot more alcohol and devtime into making their individual A.I. more realistic and natural. Instead of NPCs walking around doing very simple tasks talking basic gibberish, they will roam with more personalized agendas and socialize with other people about topics that interest them.
I'll believe it when I see it ;)
Game Revolution wrote:
. NPC reactions to you will also change as your title shifts from "Noob Vault Dweller" to "HaXXor - Nuker of Cities".
I want to believe.
That this nomenclature is a joke.
Game Revolution wrote:
. Then you can zoom out even further to get to the franchise-beloved 3rd person perspective.
Not said if it's izo or just a long-distance back view.
Game Revolution wrote:
. It has all the makings of being the first solid bridge between the rapidly growing RPG genre and the immensely pop FPS category
NOW I am scared. _________________ International Tiger Day 2009!
Are you sure that "3rd person perspective" means isometric, Brother None? I mean, look at the screens, especially the one with the broken house. There is no fucking way you can move the camera to get the isometric view.
Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 27468 Location: Liberty City, the Netherlands Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 20:24 Post subject:
VDweller wrote:
Are you sure that "3rd person perspective" means isometric, Brother None? I mean, look at the screens, especially the one with the broken house. There is no fucking way you can move the camera to get the isometric view.
I was, but no, not anymore. It sounds more like it's extremely far-away over-the-shoulder view, and that the Game Revolution people somehow think that's isometric. _________________ No Mutants Allowed, your Fallout resource - Fallout: New Vegas - Brother None counts down his favourite games
"There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year-old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs." --John Rogers
Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 2648 Location: UK Status: Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 20:34 Post subject:
Smoke_Jaguar wrote:
EDIT : Did anybody see the screenshot with the pip-boy up close? Those stats are really low. They want to "innovate" the stat points number too?
7 points short. Either a demo 'mock up' or SPECIAL is totally gutted.
DirtyDreamDesigner wrote:
In iso you cannot see the same things your character can see and therefore can't react. Over the shoulder works in this case, but changing the angle of view to anything that limits seeing what the character sees doesn't.
Even in 'extremely far-away over-the-shoulder view' you'd have difficulty selecting a target with cross hairs. Unless that view has limited availablity. Or you don't have traditional FPS control. _________________ Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
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Game help can be found in my 
