Very good interview.
I don't like the sound of 'content creation pipeline', implying mass production of hackneyed filler after too much time spent on system building (with zillions of producers), but it is probably just production jargon that I'm unfamiliar with.
If only they have some Fallout fanatics with brains as QA people. Who am I kidding, they already know best, so why listen to detailed feedback from seventeen eleventy two? Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if they have many talented people whose feedback doesn't really come out.
The free awareness of V.A.T.S. does bring greater tactical depth, although the cinematics sound like they will get tiresome almost immediately. It would be nice if we could speed it up/turn it off, but it will probably end up as a hard-coded annoyance.
Multiple solutions and consequences again sounds great, but the implementation might not be so great, as seen in the preview.
"sandbox package" that allows NPCs to randomly interact with things in their environment.
*hilarity ensues*
Again, implementation is key.
addition, we have a new category of quests that we term "freeform encounters." As you travel, you'll come across these encounters all over. They're not as big as a full quest, but they will present choices, opportunities for reward, interesting sights and sounds, and more. It should be quite some time before you run out of things to do in Fallout 3, and there will always be more to hit when you play through it again.
Hmm. Coupled with the sandbox thing, I'm reminded of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. To get infinite variety, there would have to be an element of randomisation, rather than merely scripting numerous fleshed-out side-quests. The voice over limits and 'running out of things to do' suggests that they might generate quest combinations and lock them in place along with level difficulty on entering an area for each playthrough. For that, I don't see how you could have multiple solutions. Consequently, he probably doesn't mean random quests but rather that there is a great deal of mutually exclusive possibilities which could be exhausted. I wouldn't mind that myself. Combat random encounters are something else entirely though.
It isn't a party game based game I recall, but mercenaries suggest it could feel like that.
The comments on soundtrack again scream Inon Zur and heavily studio produced music, so we can probably expect more painful epic orchestral type stuff, but no metal.