Elders Scrolls Online announced.... so no Fallout Online?

[plaidchuck]

Needless to say this sucks, although it's probably better in the long run to save the dissappointment that would have been caused. Still I don't understand why they'd want to put another fantasy based game in an already oversaturated market.

I mean sure there are a decent amount of modern/futuristic MMOs out there but nothing like Fallout. If it was done right it could be amazing, for example if they based the mechanics of the game on the original Star Wars Galaxies, where there weren't "classes" but different skills you specialized in. This of course would fit in perfectly with the SPECIAL system. So you could have a completely player driven economy where players would specialize in being merchants and creating the weapons, armor and ammo that are used in the game; "diplomatic" characters that talked there way out of things and could manage cities and relations between "tribes", etc.

While I'm not even really into MMOs or have the computer that could play this, it would be a breath of fresh air compared to these WoW clones that are nothing but fetch quests to get your character to xyz level and then just PvP the rest of the time.

 

[Brother None]

Fallout is not a good setting for an MMO. The world is too sparsely populated, and the setting always depended on a strong feeling of player agency (in the pen and paper sense) and loneliness (in the Mad Max sense). The idea of playing it as an MMO has always repelled.

I don't think it's dead as an idea because of TESO. But yeah, certainly not any time soon.

 

[plaidchuck]

Fallout is not a good setting for an MMO. The world is too sparsely populated, and the setting always depended on a strong feeling of player agency (in the pen and paper sense) and loneliness (in the Mad Max sense). The idea of playing it as an MMO has always repelled.

I don't think it's dead as an idea because of TESO. But yeah, certainly not any time soon.

Good points, and I suppose it would have to be in more of the "post-post-apocalyptic" setting to account for a more populated world, unless they figured out a way to combine the various locations of the previous games. I still think it's something that would be amazing if I done right but considering the trend of games I doubt it would be.

 

[person]

Bethesda's only publishing / licensing this thing, they could easily hire a different developer to work on Fallout Online as well if they wanted to.

I'd argue that a Fallout MMO could work pretty damn well (commercially), I wouldn't be surprised to see it trailing Fallout 4 like Elder Scrolls' MMO is for Skyrim. If it would coerce with the "feel" of Fallout is hard to say.

 

[Brother None]

Bethesda's only publishing / licensing this thing, they could easily hire a different developer to work on Fallout Online as well if they wanted to.

Maybe, but they're not going to. MMOs are significant investments, and ZeniMax is not big enough to finance two at the same time (they even needed investment (that and another $150M one) to fund this title). Even if they were, bringing Fallout Online to the fray now would simply be bringing in competition for their own title, and there's no reason they'd want that.

So, it's not happening.

 

[person]

Yeah that's a good point, I doubt we'll be seein' anything soon as well. I'd be surprised if down the road no game developing company took advantage of the post-apocalyptic craze in an MMO setting. It's pretty much untapped. Fallout's the only name that could do it, too.

 

[Moonrabbit]

It would be nice if it could somehow be passively online. That it would be a rare occurrence to find another player character.
The only people you'd find are others who haven't completed certain chapters or quests in the game yet.
I don't know, I don't think there's any easy way to do it. I haven't played MMOs for a while, but but when I did, I found the quests to all be very simple, and I didn't like that if I wanted to do one I had to wait until it had 'respawned' or the idea that I could do the same quest repeatedly.

People say the act of playing with other real people is half the experience, but then I'd rather just be in an RP somewhere without the half-assed quests.

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

I know this doesn't add much to the conversation but the only thing I feel like responding to this is; you really want Bethesda to make a Fallout Online?

 

[BluPhenix316]

I don't want to see a Fallout MMO. If they pulled it off and it worked I would really be surprised and applaud them but I don't want Fallout ruined because of the MMO experience. On the other hand, allowing multiplayer features would be great like LAN play or even Online multiplayer without the MMO part.

 

[person]

Wanting and expecting are different things.

 

[BluPhenix316]

Well if you want to talk expecting then what I expect to happen is they are going to wait until they see how well Elder Scrolls Online is going to do before even talking about a Fallout Online. Actually I don't expect a Fallout Online period. One company releasing two MMOs is idiotic. Ideally you would get double profits but people being the way they are, I don't imagine them balancing two MMOs especially from the same company. I've played multiple MMOs and fell into that trap but I never could keep up with more than one at a time.

 

[plaidchuck]

Yeah it's kind of a shame because as said above it's untapped and the possibilities could be endless. The flipside is that so much stuff would probably be added like more "race" variety and new monsters that it would resemble Fallout less..

 

[TorontoReign]

It may be inevitable eventually if Elder Scrolls Online does well. It may suck horribly if it does get made.

 

[plaidchuck]

It may be inevitable eventually if Elder Scrolls Online does well. It may suck horribly if it does get made.

I can see it now "Play as a human, ghoul, super mutant, protectron or alien!"

 

[TorontoReign]

It may be inevitable eventually if Elder Scrolls Online does well. It may suck horribly if it does get made.

I can see it now "Play as a human, ghoul, super mutant, protectron or alien!"

Yeah, and you can get a super-rare Cazadore mount if you pre-order it at Gamestop!

 

[person]

I can see it now "Play as a human, ghoul, super mutant, protectron or alien!"

Yeah, and you can get a super-rare Cazadore mount if you pre-order it at Gamestop!

But the Mega-Collector's Box with the free radiation mask is only available at Wal-Mart!

 

[SealyStar]

I can see it now "Play as a human, ghoul, super mutant, protectron or alien!"

Yeah, and you can get a super-rare Cazadore mount if you pre-order it at Gamestop!

But the Mega-Collector's Box with the free radiation mask is only available at Wal-Mart!

But the $300 Ultra Deluxe Pack can only be bought on the Bethesda website, and includes an in-game Cazadore mount, Radiation Mask, faux-gold Vault Boy statuette, concept art booklet, 10-page comic, $10 of money shop credit, and a fourth tag skill!

 

[person]

But the $300 Ultra Deluxe Pack can only be bought on the Bethesda website, and includes an in-game Cazadore mount, Radiation Mask, faux-gold Vault Boy statuette, concept art booklet, 10-page comic, $10 of money shop credit, and a fourth tag skill!

Four tag skills? Now that's just ridiculous.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Why would you want an MMO? Those things are terrible.

 

[plaidchuck]

Why would you want an MMO? Those things are terrible.

Not necessarily all terrible, but the main problem is 95% of them are WoW clones with the same structure (pick a class, do x amount of quests and get the uber loot, reach a high level and then PvP). Like I said the original Star Wars Galaxies was pretty amazing in that it was originally sandbox in that the players set goals for themselves and ran the economy: resources had to be found, players had to be skilled enough to make equipment, and then have to shop their wares while facing competition from other players while the market determined the value of said wares. There were also player cities and practically a real estate business in the game complete with politicians and everything that goes along with that.

Now wouldn't it be cool to have something like that in the FO universe? Players savaging and fighting over resources like technology, water, and food (and forming their own factions/alliances in the process), forming their own settlements and deciding how to manage them, etc.

Not that I'm a big fan of MMOs either, I certainly don't have the money to spend $60 up front and $15 every month after, but I would rather them attempt something like this than yet another fantasy MMO.