Caravan rules revealed

Sam Ecorners

Sam Ecorners

Vault Senior Citizen
Orderite
IGN posted rules to Caravan - the card game that Obsidian developed for Fallout: New Vegas. <blockquote>Caravan plays a bit like a head-to-head version of Blackjack, with the objective being to build sets of cards -- or Caravans -- with combined values between 21 and 26. You'll need at least two decks of cards to play, as each player sets up their own deck with any 30 cards. It's fine to have the same cards as your opponent, but you yourself can't have more than one of any specific card. In other words, your deck of 30 can't have two ace of spades.</blockquote><center> </center>
 
x'il said:
Consider me 'immersed'.

Minigames...
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know! Card games should be decided by dice rolls and skills. That would be super fun and definitely not a waste of skill points. I mean, it's just so fun sitting there, hoping the RNG smiles on me today!
 
Hey, there are 4 pictures of the collector's edition deck in the gallery on IGN. Some artwork and what not on them.
 
OakTable said:
Yeah, I know! Card games should be decided by dice rolls and skills. That would be super fun and definitely not a waste of skill points. I mean, it's just so fun sitting there, hoping the RNG smiles on me today!
Click to expand...
Well, maybe if the game were a good and fulfilling enough gaming experience by itself, it wouldn't be needed to add other games into the actual game, something that sometimes one can't but see as a poor attempt to palliate a game's lack of content.
 
"Maybe" is right-- you haven't played New Vegas and you have absolutely no way of knowing. Gambling has always been one of the vestigial appendages of the SPECIAL system anyway... really, you either ignored it, or you cranked it up and it became a "Free Money" skill. Not very good for game balance, IMO.

Besides, what's wrong with minigames? It's not like we're talking about the dialogue wheel from Oblivion here. This is a card game in a casino. If that's not your thing, I'm fairly sure no one in the game is going to stick an SMG to your head and force you to sit in at the table.
 
I'd like to point out that this isn't a casino game. It's a game played by caravans out in the wastes. Hence the name.
 
Yamu said:
"Maybe" is right-- you haven't played New Vegas and you have absolutely no way of knowing.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying it's going to be right or wrong; I'm saying it is a game inside another game, something I wouldn't consider necessary if the game were fulfilling enough by itself; and, by the way, it's something that further deprive the game of its character-based skill roots.

Yamu said:
Gambling has always been one of the vestigial appendages of the SPECIAL system anyway... really, you either ignored it, or you cranked it up and it became a "Free Money" skill. Not very good for game balance, IMO.
Click to expand...
And do you sincerely think that turning it into a card minigame is the most appropiate way of balancing it?

Yamu said:
Besides, what's wrong with minigames?
Click to expand...
Oh, I don't see nothing wrong in minigames... if I were into buying warioware-like DS junk. But when I buy an RPG, frankly, I expect a roleplaying game, not a roleplaying game interluded by a poker simulator, be it optional or not.
 
I cant see a problem with the mini-games if i'm being honest, better then the 'broken' system we had back in Fallout 1 & 2.

In one playthrough I raised my gambling skill and just ended up weighting down a key on my keyboard, leaving the game for 10mins and coming back to a fortune... Lets be realistic here people.
 
LionXavier said:
... when I buy an RPG, frankly, I expect a roleplaying game, not a roleplaying game interluded by a poker simulator, be it optional or not.
Click to expand...

This is very funny, because alec has been describing the possible awesome Fallout game that is the Fallout-themed strip poker ! With bottlecaps for bets !

On the topic: I don't know. I avoided gambling in FO, always, wasn't worth the time wasted clicking on shit to get the little free caps/money.
EDIT:
Or that:
Radman said:
In one playthrough I raised my gambling skill and just ended up weighting down a key on my keyboard, leaving the game for 10mins and coming back to a fortune... Lets be realistic here people.
Click to expand...

If the card game is enjoyable in-game then I might even play it - if it actually adds to the immersion component (special influence among the casinos and NPCs) then that's definitely a bonus. I don't see a problem here

EDIT2: TEAM AMERICA !
 
LionXavier said:
I'm not saying it's going to be right or wrong; I'm saying it is a game inside another game, something I wouldn't consider necessary if the game were fulfilling enough by itself; and, by the way, it's something that further deprive the game of its character-based skill roots.
Click to expand...

Since the game isn't even out yet (and "lack of content" doesn't seem to be one of the fears people are voicing) you are essentially complaining about getting extra free content. As for character-based skills, would you prefer NV had a new game with its own rules that people talked about but the player wasn't allowed to play?
 
IGN has various artworks of caravan cards online (which come with the collector's edition)

 
I love the look of those, awesome.

As for the mini-games, I like them when they're mostly optional and they are sorta tied into some real-world feel. Stuff like the hacking and lockpicking bothers me way more because it feels like a cheap obstacle thrown into the player's path, and it gets hella repetetive.

Dice-poker in the Witcher, Pazaak in KOTOR and the card games here... I enjoy stuff like that because it doesn't constantly get in my way and I can enjoy them whenever I wish. And it's not a complete abstraction like playing Mastermind to hack a computer.
 
Personally, i just can't figure out why they had to change blackjack :-P
Building your own deck plus the 21-26 range makes it pretty easy imo just like the poker in witcher. Yes, i know that this isn't a gambling game, but if you have to make something better make it good.

As for the minigames in general:
-optional minigames for fun = sure, if i don't like them i don't play them.
-mandatory minigames to open locks/pc/whatever = god no.

Even starcraft 2 had a minigame (and yes an achievement too :-P).
 
Radman said:
I cant see a problem with the mini-games if i'm being honest, better then the 'broken' system we had back in Fallout 1 & 2.

In one playthrough I raised my gambling skill and just ended up weighting down a key on my keyboard, leaving the game for 10mins and coming back to a fortune... Lets be realistic here people.
Click to expand...

I believe they addressed this issue in NV. Once you earn too much money gambling they "ban" you from the Casino (so as not to "destroy" the economy)

Either way, optional mini-game = good.
Forced mini game (ie lock picking, hacking) = not so good
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top