DAC Scores Interview With Todd Howard.

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Pope Viper

This ghoul has seen it all
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Mr. Teatime, of Duck and Cover had an interview with Todd Howard, of Bethesda, featuring several questions regarding the status of Fallout 3, their vision of development, as well as thoughts on the fan base.<blockquote>Hi Todd. Firstly, can you elaborate at all on the status of Fallout 3?

It's currently in pre-production, which includes design, concept art, and prototyping various systems. We'll be in that phase for a long time until we have something running we feel is fun and works well.

Would you say you plan to work on Fallout 3 alongside Oblivion, or wait until Oblivion is nearly ready to ship before really getting into work on Fallout? I noticed you're looking to hire new people who preferably have experience with the Fallout series...

We stagger projects, so while one is in full production, another is in pre-production. They're very different modes of developing. Pre-production is a lot looser, trying ideas, doing concepts, and really getting a small version of the game up to try all the risky ideas and see what works and what doesn't. Pre-production is done with a smaller team. Once we have a good nugget of the game pinned down, we move a lot of staff on the game and start "production," where we are really churning out content. So you don't really want to throw lots of people on a project until that pre-production version is really tight, or you end up with a lot of people doing a lot of work that ultimately you may redo, which only frustrates everyone and lengthens the development time. </blockquote>See the full interview and editorial by DarkUnderlord here

Good stuff!
 
A note worthy Q&A which I take means RT combat:<blockquote>Q: Whilst every fan tends to have a different idea of what precisely Fallout 3 should be, there are a few things that most of us are unified on. Are you aware of the strong desires for turn-based combat and the classic 3/4 top-down viewpoint? Do you think pure turn-based combat in an RPG is viable in today's market?
A: Yes, of course we've heard many of the old-school fans regarding the view and combat resolution. What's viable today? Certainly turn-based combat limits your audience to a small number, but I do find that audiences will come if your game is good enough and the presentation is superb. Ultimately we'll do what we think will be the most fun.</blockquote>Sigh...

So what you're saying here Todd is that RT is easier and would attract more people than a TB combat game, I understand that it doesn't clearly say that RT is the way to go but you do certainly hint that it outweighs the TB option.
 
A Genius and master of false reality said:
Certainly turn-based combat limits your audience to a small number
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Limits your audience to a small number? Egads! Just how small is small? I can't think of any Fallout fans who would PREFER real time over turn based. Some might accept it, but none would say "Oh, I don't think I'll get it if its not real time" In general don't most RPG fans prefer a turn based combat system? I suppose they are trying to entice non Role Playing Gamers to the game, which of course probably means lots of stuff added that will defile not only the spirit of the game, but the souls of those who play it.
 
It is looking more and more that TB is out.

Least we get SPECIAL...

Right??

RIGHT??
 
Actually Final fantasy proved TB can reach large audiences, but it`s nice how he worded things, so he lefts a window open.

SPECIAL is coming, wich is good.
 
SPECIAL - Check
Iso - Unknown
TB - Probably not


I like how Silent Storm handled the perspective, and I think VB would have been right on with it...
 
Hmm, I hope they don't decide to go for RT combat with a pause button, in an attempt to please both sides.

Besides that I'm glad to see they're going to use SPECIAL.
 
Perhaps making Fallout TB/RT would be the best way of getting both Fallout fans and the developers happy?
I know that Fallout: Tactics is Sh.... but i loved playing it in turn based mode, while others liked to play it in RT.
By the way... remember Arcanum... remember Baldur's Gate...
 
By the way... remember Arcanum... remember Baldur's Gate...
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You mean the part where both of their combat systems sucked huge donkey balls?

Meh, nothing interesting yet. Mainly "well, maybe"-political type answers. *shrugs* We'll see.
 
Sander said:
By the way... remember Arcanum... remember Baldur's Gate...
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You mean the part where both of their combat systems sucked huge donkey balls?

Meh, nothing interesting yet. Mainly "well, maybe"-political type answers. *shrugs* We'll see.
Click to expand...

Arcanum's didn't. It was similar to Fallout's, but had an option, where you could turn of the Turn Based combat system and engage RT...
 
Arcanum's didn't. It was similar to Fallout's, but had an option, where you could turn of the Turn Based combat system and engage RT...
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Yes, but that doesn't decrease its suckiness in any way.
*casts spell* *falls over*
 
Neither the Turn based or the real time combat modes were balanced at all. I liked being able to throw an infinte amount of Molotov Cocktails on my turn though.
 
One way or the other i don't think Arcanum sucked. Troika did it after all. And if you didn't like it, then i am trying to imagine, what would have you said, if Troika would have tried to make Fallout 3...
I know, i know! "Fallout 3 sucks... just because of the TB/RT combat system..."
Poor...
It is not the combat system that counts in a game, it is gameplay, story and things like that... Jesus...
 
Literacy_Hooligan said:
One way or the other i don't think Arcanum sucked. Troika did it after all.
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I didn't know that being a certain company you can only make great games.
Note, though ,that I never said Arcanum sucked, only that the combat system sucked.
And if you didn't like it, then i am trying to imagine, what would have you said, if Troika would have tried to make Fallout 3...
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That depends entirely on how the game would turn out.
I know, i know! "Fallout 3 sucks... just because of the TB/RT combat system..."
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Bullshit. If the TB/RT system would be great, then I'd be applauding them, if it wasn't then that doesn't mean the rest of the game wouldn't have been great.
Poor...
It is not the combat system that counts in a game, it is gameplay, story and things like that... Jesus...
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Jesus.....you'd think that people would read before going off on a rant.
I said that the combat system in Arcanum sucked, that is all, this has nothing to do with the rest of the game.
 
No one said the game sucked. However a heavily combat oriented game with a poorly balanced combat system isn't a good thing. I didn't say that a TB/RT system is inherently evil, however any combat system that is poorly executed will not earn high marks in my book. And just because Troika made it doesn't mean it can't have flaws.

*Edit Woops Sander beat me to it.
 
Certainly turn-based combat limits your audience to a small number, but I do find that audiences will come if your game is good enough and the presentation is superb
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I wouldn't worry much about RT ... i think they'll go with TB...
They know they'll make profit with this game, maybe not as much as with Oblivion (as they think) but i do belive they have a lot respect for Fallout and i don't think they'll change this very important aspect of the game...

my 2 cents...




[/b]
 
Literacy_Hooligan said:
remember Baldur's Gate...
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Let me guess, you're going to use the "it's TB at the core" or "it can be put to TB mode" argument. Yes, I remember Baldur's Gate, and how the RTS of a combat system was ass, made worse most technical aspects of the game like pathfinding or AI. That is usually what happens when you kludge a TB system into RT gameplay.

It becomes even worse with two different combat systems in the same game, as you have to do essentially three times the work for twice the balancing and integration issues. You have to balance everything for items, player reaction, timing, map design, AI, and more, depending on how complex the game is. Given that CRPGs are by nature the most complex on the back-end...
 
Briosafreak said:
SPECIAL is coming, wich is good.
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Dude, we knew about SPECIAL for ages, it was one of the first questions I asked when the purchase was announced. Jesus, have you people no memories?

That said, not a bad interview, and I am impressed by Bethesda. That's some impressive fan-pleasin' remarks there, I say with a light-hearted chuckle. Good PR.
 
SPECIAL was in bethesda's fallout 3 from day 1... they said it at like.. the first interview they had. doesn't it even appear in the FAQ on this site?

anyways, no reason to draw conclusions that they are leaning to RT rather than TB. to the one who wondered why TB attracts a smaller audiance, the answer is-not only fallout fans are potentially going to play fallout you know? just like were wern't fallout fans before fallout existed :) people don't really like TB before they get used to it. i almost quit playing fallout after a few minutes, as i was frustrated and surprised by the combat system, when i first played it... thank god i had the patience to get familliar with it, as now it's the best game i ever played... and all the people i tried to convince to play fallout, almost all of them quit right away because of the unorthodox style of play.
he DID say that TB attracts a smaller audience, and it's true, but he also said they know what the fallout fanbase thinks about it, and they will bear that in mind.
overall, you can conclude from this interview that fallout will be nothing like morrowind. and you can also see that he says he wants a real fallout sequel, and not a game based on the fallout world. i think there's plenty of room for optimism, and when the game will be released, we won't get too dissapointed.
I was especially happy about the part when he said they already contatced and took advices from the old fallout developers.
 
Odin said:
Certainly turn-based combat limits your audience to a small number, but I do find that audiences will come if your game is good enough and the presentation is superb.
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I don't know why you people are panicking so much. This is easily the single best and most comforting statement we've heard from Bethesda since the day they purchased the licence. Basically Todd states that, while turn-based combat appeals to a smaller audience that real-time combat, if the game has quality content and presentation it will nonetheless attract many players, so the less popular combat system ultimately won't matter. Even a cautious optimist can see that Bethesda (or Todd, at the very least) is seriously considering implementing turn-based combat.
 
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