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Guest
Guest
I've been reading the message board for a while now and I have come up with, what I consider, the best ideas I have seen for Fallout 3:
1. If you haven't already, read "Armour Ideas" by Smaug. He gives a great idea I haven't seen on any other Fallout boards: Separate Item slots for Helmet, Boots, and Body. It could also be possible to maybe have separate slots for upper and lower torso, and a slot for gloves. There is so much a game designer can do with that! You can have armor come in two different types: complete set or separate pieces. A complete set of Leather Armor, for example, would come with the Leather Top and Pants and Leather Boots. A complete Power Armor Set will come with the Helmet, Steel Boots, Steel Gloves and the Main Powered Body. If pieces are found in the course of travel in the Wastes, they could be put together into a full set of Armor. Targeted Shots could damage one piece of equipment making the player more vulnerable to damage in that one area. A Helmut could make taking a critical shot to the head more realistic (for those of you who complain that Fallout isn't realistic enough). Parts could also be bought or sold in pieces.
2. There are two main debates on every Fallout Board: "Should it be 3D?" and "Should it be Real-Time or Turn-Based?” I'll address 3D later. There are great reasons for keeping Fallout Turn-Based. The charm of the series will be kept intact and it adds a great amount of strategy to the game. There are also a few good reasons to switch it to Real-Time. It will appeal to the majority of gamers who want Real-Time Combat in their games and it adds a different type of strategy to games. So which one is right for Fallout 3? What about both? Maybe Fallout 3 could come with the option to be Real-Time or Turn-Based. What about this: Just before a combat sequence is to start a Message Box pops up and you have the choice between Real-Time or Turn-Based. The options menu could have a switch in it to choose "Always Real-Time", "Always Turn-Based", or "Ask Before Combat". This way everybody is happy and nobody feels cheated in his or her Fallout experience.
3. To 3D or not to 3D? I believe the right direction for the Fallout series to head in is 3D. Before you hit the reply button and bash me and 3D hear me out. In 3D too many opportunities are possible to be overlooked. I'm NOT talking about 3D like Quake. I'm NOT talking about 3D like the last few Might and Magic games. And I'm NOT talking about 3D like Tomb Raider. I'm talking about 3D very close to an Eidos game called Revenant. In Revenant you can rotate the camera to any angle you wish (so if you want to keep a 3/4 view you can, that may even be the default setting). Characters can be modeled more realistically and damage can be shown much better than in ye old 2D. Ever wondered why your NPC's never appeared to wear the armor you put on them? It was because it was waaaay too much work for the artists. Some people talk about 3D taking up too much space or making the development time too long, but if a 2D engine is to be used in Fallout 3 then EVERYTHING has to be redrawn so the game won't look like crap compared to the other RPGs hitting the market. A 3D modeler can make separate pieces for characters and objects and fit them together in less time than it takes for an artist to draw all those separate pieces and fit them together. Who's worried that 3D would slow down the game? That won't be a problem because a 3D game can use 3D acceleration. Look at the load times in Diablo 2. That is partly because of a smart use of 3D acceleration. If 3D can help the Fallout series more than it can hurt it then why not include it? For everybody who now wishes to bash me for saying 3D is best for Fallout 3: please don't say anything about loosing "charm" or "the classic Fallout feeling". The good people at Black Isle can implement a 3D engine that stays true to the classic Fallout feel. Trust me 3D is best for Fallout 3.
4. This is one I haven't heard anybody bash: Multiplayer. Yes, I know this one is kinda a gimmie, but it deserves a little space at the end. Multiplayer is an essential now that almost every game comes with it. You can't tell me playing Fallout 3 with people from all over the world won't be cool.
That's it. I understand my little "Fallout Manifesto" is a bit long and a bit controversial, but this is only my opinion on what is best for Fallout 3 and my reasons for thinking so. I know some of you want to disagree, so please do so! If you can convince me that I'm wrong I'll gladly eat my own words... but then again you have to convince me
.
1. If you haven't already, read "Armour Ideas" by Smaug. He gives a great idea I haven't seen on any other Fallout boards: Separate Item slots for Helmet, Boots, and Body. It could also be possible to maybe have separate slots for upper and lower torso, and a slot for gloves. There is so much a game designer can do with that! You can have armor come in two different types: complete set or separate pieces. A complete set of Leather Armor, for example, would come with the Leather Top and Pants and Leather Boots. A complete Power Armor Set will come with the Helmet, Steel Boots, Steel Gloves and the Main Powered Body. If pieces are found in the course of travel in the Wastes, they could be put together into a full set of Armor. Targeted Shots could damage one piece of equipment making the player more vulnerable to damage in that one area. A Helmut could make taking a critical shot to the head more realistic (for those of you who complain that Fallout isn't realistic enough). Parts could also be bought or sold in pieces.
2. There are two main debates on every Fallout Board: "Should it be 3D?" and "Should it be Real-Time or Turn-Based?” I'll address 3D later. There are great reasons for keeping Fallout Turn-Based. The charm of the series will be kept intact and it adds a great amount of strategy to the game. There are also a few good reasons to switch it to Real-Time. It will appeal to the majority of gamers who want Real-Time Combat in their games and it adds a different type of strategy to games. So which one is right for Fallout 3? What about both? Maybe Fallout 3 could come with the option to be Real-Time or Turn-Based. What about this: Just before a combat sequence is to start a Message Box pops up and you have the choice between Real-Time or Turn-Based. The options menu could have a switch in it to choose "Always Real-Time", "Always Turn-Based", or "Ask Before Combat". This way everybody is happy and nobody feels cheated in his or her Fallout experience.
3. To 3D or not to 3D? I believe the right direction for the Fallout series to head in is 3D. Before you hit the reply button and bash me and 3D hear me out. In 3D too many opportunities are possible to be overlooked. I'm NOT talking about 3D like Quake. I'm NOT talking about 3D like the last few Might and Magic games. And I'm NOT talking about 3D like Tomb Raider. I'm talking about 3D very close to an Eidos game called Revenant. In Revenant you can rotate the camera to any angle you wish (so if you want to keep a 3/4 view you can, that may even be the default setting). Characters can be modeled more realistically and damage can be shown much better than in ye old 2D. Ever wondered why your NPC's never appeared to wear the armor you put on them? It was because it was waaaay too much work for the artists. Some people talk about 3D taking up too much space or making the development time too long, but if a 2D engine is to be used in Fallout 3 then EVERYTHING has to be redrawn so the game won't look like crap compared to the other RPGs hitting the market. A 3D modeler can make separate pieces for characters and objects and fit them together in less time than it takes for an artist to draw all those separate pieces and fit them together. Who's worried that 3D would slow down the game? That won't be a problem because a 3D game can use 3D acceleration. Look at the load times in Diablo 2. That is partly because of a smart use of 3D acceleration. If 3D can help the Fallout series more than it can hurt it then why not include it? For everybody who now wishes to bash me for saying 3D is best for Fallout 3: please don't say anything about loosing "charm" or "the classic Fallout feeling". The good people at Black Isle can implement a 3D engine that stays true to the classic Fallout feel. Trust me 3D is best for Fallout 3.
4. This is one I haven't heard anybody bash: Multiplayer. Yes, I know this one is kinda a gimmie, but it deserves a little space at the end. Multiplayer is an essential now that almost every game comes with it. You can't tell me playing Fallout 3 with people from all over the world won't be cool.
That's it. I understand my little "Fallout Manifesto" is a bit long and a bit controversial, but this is only my opinion on what is best for Fallout 3 and my reasons for thinking so. I know some of you want to disagree, so please do so! If you can convince me that I'm wrong I'll gladly eat my own words... but then again you have to convince me
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