Game Informer Fallout 3 article scans

[Sander]

So, to put it short, the good:

They claim to get the choices and consequences of Fallout.

The character creation system sounds neat.

The bad:

the VATS system is a really weird and bastardised hybrid version of turn-based and real-time combat. A form of action-point-based bullet-time.
Teh suck.

The Super Mutant looks absolutely ridiculous and unfitting, as does the Behemoth.
Teh suck.

The isometric viewpoint is gone, along with real turn-based combat.
Teh suck.

The ugly:

A hand-held nuclear catapult? What the fuck?

 

[HawK-EyE]

A big thank to Tannhauser, Kan-Kerai and Yellow for the transcript !

 

[Kwiz]

Way cool. They could do alot worse, the most important parts of the game are in my opinion intact. We got choise, action points, targetted combat, special, the ethical dillemmas. (I mean, blow up a whole city? lol) Nuclear grenade launches and the like isn't my favorite past-time either, but for the rest, what did you expect? This surpassed my expectaions anyay.

I also uploaded a PDF version of the article for easier reading/access to the download section of nma. It didn't show though, so doubt it worked.

 

[Sander]

Way cool. They could do alot worse, the most important parts of the game are in my opinion intact. We got choise, action points, targetted combat, special, the ethical dillemmas. (I mean, blow up a whole city? lol) Nuclear grenade launches and the like isn't my favorite past-time either, but for the rest, what did you expect? This surpassed my expectaions anyay.

I also uploaded a PDF version of the article for easier reading/access to the download section of nma. It didn't show though, so doubt it worked.

I'll approve it in a second.

Also, we have action points, but we don't have turn-based combat. At all. It's like a weird bullet-time version, based on action points. If you deplete your action points, you don't get a new round of turn-based combat, you go back into real-time (what the fuck?) and have your action points recharge.

Also, movement doesn't seem to be turn-based either.

 

[Madbringer]

We got choise, action points, targetted combat, special, the ethical dillemmas.

Nope. We have alot of promises and few scans (big thanks for providing them btw, guys) which made me (and apparently, a few other people too) crash and burn.

I'm sorry, i just can't squeeze any optimism out of myself after seeing the orc. And the nuclear catapult.

So, to put it short, the good:

They claim to get the choices and consequences of Fallout.

The character creation system sounds neat.

The bad:

the VATS system is a really weird and bastardised hybrid version of turn-based and real-time combat. A form of action-point-based bullet-time.
Teh suck.

The Super Mutant looks absolutely ridiculous and unfitting, as does the Behemoth.
Teh suck.

The isometric viewpoint is gone, along with real turn-based combat.
Teh suck.

The ugly:

A hand-held nuclear catapult? What the fuck?

Yup, yup. +1

 

[Paladin Solo]

The ugly:

A hand-held nuclear catapult? What the fuck?

"PRESS A, PRESS A, PRESS A, BITCH I SAID PRESS A!"

Seriously, though, what the hell... Van Buren had communist insurgents, Fallblivion has nuclear catapults! GENIOUOUSOS! I miss Van Buren...

 

[SuAside]

Like Mail Call or something about the cold war. Where in the US army actually made a Nuclear Bazooka, I barely remember. I know they made a short range Nuclear Cannon.

you're refering to Davy Crockett, a recoilless rifle, not a bazooka. (too big to be manportable, but small enough for a small pickup truck)

as for the cannon, i give you Upshot-Knothole Grable:

(image sped up ofc)

yield was 15 kilotons (around the same level as Little Boy) detonated 19 seconds after firing, 10km away from the artillery piece on a 160m altitude airburst.

 

[Kwiz]

I have to agree I'm sceptical about the whole turn-based/realtime hybrid they have come up with, i hated the combat in oblivion. Though the important parts of any game is playability, if I can blow off some super-mutant arm to prevent him from crushing my scull it's good enough for me to enjoy the combat system. And with the combat-system ok, all I need is lots of choises and consequences as well as good entertaining dialog. (Cannot know if they have that now though..)

btw, i found a bug in my first PDF file so I had to upload a new one.

 

[Hellion]

While reading the article again I just noticed this, don't know if it's already been discussed:

"Every other level, you choose a perk, a special talent that may give you small bonuses in certain situations"

So now we gain perks every 2 levels? Don't know what to think of that...

 

[quietfanatic]

I seem to be outnumbered by bullet-time style theory supporters? How is real time supposed to work with that? The emphasis could be on V.A.T.S. rather than real time.

 

[Paladin Solo]

I think it's all a scheming tactic. Bethesda actually wants gamers to avoid combat by making it real shitty, therefore, you'll have to explore the other methods of the game. Of course, this is Bethesda, so there are no other methods. You should just kill yourself and save yourself the pain that is V.A.T.S. Or, at least, shoot yourself in the big toe.

 

[Sorrow]

Also I seen something on the History Channel. Like Mail Call or something about the cold war. Where in the US army actually made a Nuclear Bazooka, I barely remember. I know they made a short range Nuclear Cannon.

The problem with "Nuclear Bazooka" was that:

Both recoilless guns proved to have poor accuracy in testing, so the shell's greatest effect would have been its extreme radiation hazard. Even at a low yield setting, the M388 would produce an almost instantly lethal radiation dosage (in excess of 10,000 rem) within 500 feet (150 m), and a probably fatal dose (around 600 rem) within a quarter mile (400 meters).

Not a good weapon to use in a close range combat. On the other hand it would be nice to bombard a small town with such weapon .

 

[MrBumble]

Fallout 3 :

Also, there is no word about dialogues at all...How strange isn't it ?

This is getting so depressing.

 

[ulath666]

Just had to reply to the Mace wielding orc thing.
Yes its looks kinda retarded but i dont think thats supposed to be a mace. It kinda looks like a (short) eeh, i have no idea of whats it called in english but the part of a car thats transports power/torque to the rear wheels.

Its a mutant so its probably 2½meters or somthing and its holding it in a strange angle so it could be quite long. Or he just broke it of and put some kind of cap at the bottom.

Another problem is that all the info from the articles depict mutants as retards with an anger management issues.
They are supersoldiers and it somehow feels kinda wrong when you see them with only melee stuff, charging straight at you. The article talks of mutants with firearms but we dont get to see that do we?

 

[Mani]

Yep, that looks like Oblivion with guns alright.

Scary looking monsters is not very fallouty, but an Orc wielding a deadric mace isn't even the same genre. And that VATS system looks terrible, especially when complimented with a horrible GUI.

How Beth can even pretend to claim to be Fallout fans after showing this shite is beyond me.

This needed repeating.

 

[Sander]

I seem to be outnumbered by bullet-time style theory supporters? How is real time supposed to work with that? The emphasis could be on V.A.T.S. rather than real time.

The problem is that there is no surrounding system. VATS is purely a targeting system, at least how they've described it now. You also go out of VATS as soon as you have no more action points instead of ending your turn, which is ridiculous.
So unless there's something they're not telling us, there's no reason to assume anything other than weird bullet-time.

 

[RhymeBomb]

I think the biggest question lies in whether Beth focuses on the RT or the TB portion of the hybrid battle system. I think we all know what the most likely scenario is here, but it is still up in the air.

I think the theory that the TB side of combat will be strictly for "powerful" shots is the most believable. I can see there coming a point in the game where you see a litter of pig rats roaming the wasteland, but since you're level 10 you decide not to waste precious time by using any targetted shots and you just start blasting away without pressing space bar once.

I did see a few positives, though. Even with this bastardized combat system, it does leave most of the original traits and perks still viable for use. Same with SPECIAL. Also, at one point Todd does say something about them focusing on the TB combat, so I guess that's better than him coming right out and saying that it was just going to be bullet time.

Oh, and I'm sure someone already noticed this, but there's a screenshot in there that shows a "small arms" skill. This surprised me. I was certain that because of the four skills they baleeted or combined, the three gun skills wouldn't survive intact. That's good news...probably.

 

[Sander]

I think the biggest question lies in whether Beth focuses on the RT or the TB portion of the hybrid battle system.

It isn't turn-based. That's the bleeding point. It's a weird kind of bullet-time, but since there are no turns (only some weird form of recharging AP) it can't be classified as turn-based in, well, any way.

Oh, and I'm sure someone already noticed this, but there's a screenshot in there that shows a "small arms" skill. This surprised me. I was certain that because of the four skills they baleeted or combined, the three gun skills wouldn't survive intact. That's good news...probably.

Except that Agility apparently *only* affects Small Arms and Sneak.
What the fuck happened to all the other skills?

 

[Celluloid]

The bad:

the VATS system is a really weird and bastardised hybrid version of turn-based and real-time combat. A form of action-point-based bullet-time.
Teh suck.

[...]

The isometric viewpoint is gone, along with real turn-based combat.
Teh suck.

What bothers me the most is that no isometric view (afawk) and non-continuous (ie: "from start to finish") turn-based combat might just mean there won't be any full turn-based combat , that is "action" and "movement" because they might not bother implement a "movement metric system" in otherwise real-time and "analog" metric system.

If there is no pressure soon enough to have a full turn-based combat system that includes movement, we'll stick with a "<real>run to ennemy, <engage>, ruin APs, <real>take hits, run to ennemy, <engage>".

Unless movements are permitted in turn-based with a "preview" of APs necessary to get to this or that location with the help of a display overlay system like available in other games that offer a 1st person view and an "orders reticle" ( Battlezone 1&2, Flashpoint, ... )

...

 

[stormcrow]

Read the article, the transcript, saw the pics. (Thanks to all involved in putting themup).
My overall feeling is positive...to a point. The background, atmosphere, Vault-Tek, ... they are present. Some details do suck however: the nuclear grenade launcher, for exemple. However we ain't got the real game yet: we have a year to convince Beth that such a device sucks and they can remove, its not like if it sounded like it is a central plot item.
The super mutant. Looks allright, Beth are allowed to develop their own vision of Supermutants. I can see people's point about it reminding them of Orcs, but thats just a question of interpretation. Anyway we can't judge the whole species on one mutant. I hope that other mutants will have some form of facial mutations for exemple that will further distinguish them from orcs.
I would have wanted to have isometric, but I guess I can live with it if the engine/design allow enough RP/interaction/conversation. If we still have several conversation choices, talking heads, good/bad/neutral conversation choices,...it will be ok for me.
Lack of TB? The system seems bit wierd to me, maybe they only have vague ideas themselves. The way I understand it, is that its a mix between FT (continuous TB) and the pause from BG so that you can take your time to target instead of playing it the FPS way (otherwise your char will be taking shots and not firing back during the ten seconds where you load up the targetting system and choose where you shoot).

So, not exceedingly impressed by what I saw, but there are good things that should beand are there apparently. But some ideas need to be revised and I hope that Beth will listen to the fans. Innovation is good (the supermutant, the new Power Armor a good exemples) but some ideas are bad/misplaced/in contradiction will the Fallout genre, and need to be curbed.
Lets not give up yet and help the Beth people make their own Fallout and point out the bad ideas.