Features of a Dream Fallout Game

Atomic Postman

Atomic Postman

Vault Archives Overseer
It's the not-too-distant future, in a parallel world where Todd Howard is far too busy with Starfield and TES VI, and so in his holy blessing, passes the creation of a Fallout game (A spin-off ala New Vegas) to a magic studio we're all familiar with, why yes, it's Really Good Game Developers™.

Isometric or 3D, what features would you like to see? With 3D we will cut to the chase and assume we're building off the basis of Fallout NV rather than wasting time saying "Restore X and Y feature from NV". We'll also assume they're making it on a third party, actually decent engine.

For me:

RPG Mechanics
  • Lower initial skill values and slower level progression, Perks every 3 levels once again.
  • Base skill levels are more dependent on SPECIAL stats, i.e Speech = 2 x CHR
  • Base stats are far more varied based on SPECIAL, low END characters will get blown over and low AGL will have a reduced run speed, low STR characters won't be able to carry much of anything at all and of course low INT characters will be 'Dumb' and have nary a crumb of skill points
  • Skill rolls are % based but with some sort of timestamp memory system to prevent save-scumming in event of failure. Similarly, indicated difficulty modifiers are applied based on certain context to make it so that even with 100% skill, talking down someone like Legate Lanius is not a sure feat
  • SPECIAL roll under checks with difficulty modifiers in certain situations going up to -4 on your roll
  • Number of companions based on Charisma ala Fallout 2 but more restrictive, low enough Charisma and you can't take any at all barring non-human robots/animals
  • Companions can provide Skill advantages either through flat bonuses or 'roll with advantage' on checks, thus making non-combative skillful companions actually have unique value. Similar thing for SPECIAL checks, a Super Mutant companion might be able to help you pass that STR -4 Check
  • Critical Failures have returned. Weapons can jam, explode, eject their magazine or drop straight from your hands.
  • Ghouls are playable, providing extremely high Rad and Poison Resistance as well as reduced Survival needs, but in penance you recieve Perks every 4th level and will recieve roleplay reprecussions in the world
  • Medicine skill is directly proportional to the effectiveness of chems
  • Lower weapon skill incurs more penalties, your aim is more unsteady/sways more, your spread is way, way higher, you experience recoil a lot worse, your damage is lessened, your reload speed is slower and your chance to jam/misfire is also higher. A low Guns skill character will miss many shots, fumble with the weapon to reload and might even drop the magazine. Meanwhile a high skill Guns character has an intensely accurate spread, will control for recoil, will deal max damage and will reload like John Wick
  • Low Melee skill primarily affects damage, but would also affect swing speed and your ability to parry/block. Certain "moves" like shoving or dodging would be locked behind skill 'gates'.
  • Addiction can't be bucked by Fixer or a Doctor, it is instead bucked by going "Cold Turkey" for a number of days entirely based on your END. Each day, you automatically make an END check (roll under) and if it fails, you don't tick off a day from your 'Cold Turkey' tally. You can use drugs like Fixer or your own/companion Medical skill each day to help you automatically pass one of those checks.
  • "Flaws" system ala the Outer Worlds, wherein you exchange Trait like debuffs/negatives in exchange for a free Perk

Combat/Core Mechanics
  • Combat is baseline much more difficult but not hyper lethal, closer to a more brutal version of NV's JSawyer mod in that the RPG mechanics are still maintained and levelled enemies feel different
  • VATS is slow-mo ala Fallout 4 but takes more cues from Targeted Shots. Additional % damage and higher critical chance depending on the limb, and also much more dependent on your AP. A high AP character will be able to pop off an insane amount of VATs rounds
  • Sprint is entirely reliant on AP, and moreso
  • Enemy AI is similar to that of RAGE. They run for cover, react to limb damage and if things are going shitty, they'll run for the hills.
  • Companion damage in combat is halved, both dealt and recieved
  • Power Armor is a marriage of the NV and 4 methods. It's still something you "enter" like 4, but there are no frames. Just model-based suits. They're slightly slimmer than their 4 counterparts but not by much. They don't require Fusion Cores, but at the cost that PA training has made its return. They of course provide insane damage resistance and SPECIAL bonuses, however. So once you get one, you aren't likely to leave it.
Survival/Hardcore Mechanics
  • Saving is limited to reaching a Campfire or a Bed (You don't have to sleep though)
  • (Potentially an X-COM Ironman style single-save system?)
  • Your survival needs are based on your Endurance and Survival skill combined. A character with high on both of those can go for longer without food, water or rest before experiencing penalties, and they need less of it
  • Gas Masks and replaceable filters required for high-radiation or toxic areas ala Metro 2033
  • Companion deaths are permanent
  • Fast-Travel is restricted to in-lore justifications such as paying to be a passenger to a caravan or taking some kind of train/vehicle
  • All of the above is configurable in the menu, but challenges and achievements related to Hardcore mode are disabled when any of the default features are disabled
 
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One thing you might have overlooked from NV is "themed special" like how NV had "Cowboy and Western styled" Special. I'd love to see a character creation with something similar

More powerful weapons at the cost of less ammo loot, I mean wouldn't you like to see if you can take down a raiders hideout with only 3 shells of shotty ammo, 2 clips of pistol ammo and a few well placed grenades?

A catered build list option or a starting custom build. Want to start as an ex-janitor who starts with a lot more crafting options? (basically crafting his weapons opposed to finding them?) No? How about an ex-merc who starts with a powerfull service rifle and high END? No? How about a Gentlemen build where you start of with 5% more dam to both genders, have more dailogue choice and have luck of the irish? No.......welp I guess thats just me then!

Def ghoulification possibility and super mutant. or in the players case maybe, shrimp mutant.
 
I mostly agree with your points, however I don't think there should be mechanics against savescumming as everybody should be free to play the game as they wish. Also survival needs should probably be part of the base game (drinking, eating, sleeping) as it would add a layer of depth to the game and make otherwise useless perks more relevant.

That said I would like a few things:

- Interstate map. Since Fallout 3 the games have been centered around a main city + it's surroundings. I want a map as big as Fallout 2, encompassing territories from multiple States. General structure should also follow a similar logic with high density content areas (settlements, cities or locations) and then a big Wasteland, with random encounters and some filler (gas stations, dilapidated buildings etc) where you can rest
- Vehicles. Fast travel should also work like in the original, but you should be able to drive around. Mountes combat could be interesting
- variety in landscape. I'd like forests for a change.
- more interaction with the enviroment. Switching lights on and off, releasing gas or flooding an area, mounting traps, taking control of turrets and more creative applications of Repair/science skills
- akimbo weapons
- more variety within melee category. Spears, axes, swords, knives. Shields?
- New Vegas had a lot of weapons and an interesting economic system. Improve from there.
- Power armor mods. I Wish they had taken power armor up a notch in Fallout 4 in this department. Power armor mounted weapons would be cool as high end tier gear
- ...and maybe something different from Power armor. Focused on stealth, agility and with cool abilities
 
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What I would LOVE to see is someone take 'inspiration' from the combat system in UnderRail and implement something similar if not even straight up identical.
For those of you who may not have played UnderRail, it's turn-based combat with combat abilities, so like you got an ability called SNIPE which is a single round that has a 100% critical hit chance but costs more action points to use than a normal shot (but you still gotta hit) or an ability where you can kick someone in the balls (literally) if the target is in melee range
(this can be used even by non-melee oriented characters if only to stun a humanoid enemy up close but won't do any damage like it would if you were using an unarmed build), combat abilities of that sort of nature which would add 'flavor' to the combat as a whole.
Now don't get me wrong, the combat system of Fallout 1 & 2 is good but it's also very simple and whenever we want to admit it or not, the combat system of those 2 games hasn't aged well over the last 2 decades.

While I don't exactly have a 'Dream Fallout Game' in mind, there are several FALLOUT related games that's been cancelled which I thought would've been interesting to see/play:

- I don't remember if it was Chris Avellone or if it was Tim Cain but someone from the original FALLOUT developer team spoke about wanting to make a game set BEFORE the nuclear bombs were launched, where you basically played as a batallion commander in charge of the sorry remnants of a mechanized infantry/tank division barely kept together by duct-tape and cheap buffout on campaign somewhere in the general area of northern Italy(?).
However considering how resources even before the great war were scarce, part of the gameplay would be to scavenge for resources, especially after a battle had been won or you simply coming across a battlefield full of the dead where none had survived or maybe even entire towns/cities abandoned by the masses.
Now I don't know if this would really fit the classic FALLOUT formula but I suppose this would be perhaps better for a XCOM-styled formula sort of thing, either way I think it would be very interesting to see a FALLOUT game that takes places before the bombs fell.

- Now I might say something that's a bit 'heretical' but I for one actually liked the final arc of the Xbox: Fallout brotherhood of Steel game, like the setting of being in VAULT-TEC's massive 'private vault' where they could safe and sound continue their business as normal even after the end of the world as well as the idea of the remnants of the master's mutant army trying to find a way to cure their sterility but attempting to do so only created something far FAR worse.
So if someone were to take those 'plot points' and combine it with the plot of what would've been the sequel to the xbox FALLOUT game which would take place in the general area of the mexican gulf coastal area, that would no doubt make for an interesting title if done right.

Either way, I think the biggest thing that could possibly happen for Fallout 1 & 2 is a remaster which would no doubt mean a new engine, as to if it'd be 3D or still be 2D who knows but original FALLOUT could really use a new coat of paint after all these years, too bad that there isn't really any dev team that comes to mind who I'd actually trust to do it justice.
 
I’m too lazy to list every feature I’d want in my dream fallout game, but one thing I really want to bring back is the world map travel from the originals, including random and special encounters. This would go a long way towards making the world feel vast and desolate/empty, without having to render all that for the player, or force the player to walk through all that boring shit just to get to a location.

One thing I would change is make traveling on the world map cost resources, ie food and water, forcing players to stock up on supplies before they can leave the location they are in. Scavenging/hunting should be an option while traveling, for players with high enough survival/outdoorsman skills. I would also like there to be differences between traveling during the day versus the night, and options to only travel during the day/night.

Edit: Joining caravans could be a “free” way to get from one town to another, assuming they provide food and water for the trip, but of course would be more dangerous.
 
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Combat
*HP based on race, animals have more hp but easier to hit, humans have less hp but more armor(if wearing armor) and more harder to hit.
*More Ammo Variants like in NV and Tactics making JHP useful against animals, AP useful against humans in armor, pulse against robots and conductive enemies, Rubber variant to knock out enemies.

World Map
*Random encounters
*Random encounters affected by storyline and more encounters than I can imagine(ai generated encounters?)
*Travelling similar to fallout 1 or something better to avoid having to walk over the same location.
*Player and enemies with cars.

Hardcore
*Food stores and restaurants instantly fill your hunger.
*Restaurants and food stores have free drinking sources
*Thirst progresses at the same rate of hunger
*Can save anywhere exept in a combat or buggy situation.

Loot balance
*Faction armor sells for 0$.
*Wasteland 3 like auctioning system-every junk has a 1-5% chance to sell for 200-4000$ based on skill and and that item
*Less junk
*Selling the same item to same trader reduces it's value like in tactics.
*Currency system
 
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