GameBanshee interviews Avellone and Urquhart at E3

Per

Per

Vault Consort
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GameBanshee snatched some answers from Obsidian people at the Bethesda booth at E3. Chris Avellone:<blockquote>GB: We’ll obviously be picking our character’s skill tags, and I’ve read that they will have more of an effect on the game than just a skill boost. Can you elaborate on that?

Chris: As with the GOAT test in F3, you'll get a Q&A with Doc Mitchell in Goodsprings at the beginning of the game, and your answers will "suggest" tag skills to take. Like the GOAT test, you don't need to take the suggested skills, you can still choose whatever you want. And you can also re-choose your Tag Skills once you leave Goodsprings if you don't like your choices.

However, we made a conscious effort that (1) every weapon skill had a low level version so you didn't have to wait a long time to get energy weapons, which was a mistake we'd made in previous Fallouts, (2) you can do a lot more with skills you wouldn't expect, notably in conversations. In my opinion, some of the best conversation options you get in the game are Barter ones, when you start using economic arguments to solve quests or convince people of the wisdom of your choices. You should see an almost immediate use for all your skills in Goodsprings and onwards, it was a design mandate.</blockquote>Feargus Urquhart:<blockquote>GB: Did you ever try to convince them that you should do an isometric turn-based Fallout after Fallout 3?

Feargus: [laughter]</blockquote>There's also some talk about Alpha Protocol and Icewind Dale and stuff.

While we're at it, PC Gamer posted a little presentation of traits, and noted a new one has been revealed.<blockquote>Because I asked real nice, they’ve now revealed a third: Kamikaze. It’s a trait familiar to those of us who played the first games, and like the Kamikaze trait in Fallout 1 and 2, it suits players with an aggressive fighting style—you get 10 extra action points, but your Damage Threshold is reduced by two.</blockquote>Thanks to Ausir.
 
So it did, fixed. When glancing over the article I thought that part explained how it worked in the first two games. +10 AP, good times.
 
Nice to know that they're making an effort to not have useless skills that never get used.

By the way, Per, what does 'Indigo' mean in your avatar? Are you saying that you're an Indigo soul incarnate in reptilian form (Kenite/Cainite)?
 
Glad we'll be able to put barter skill to use, at last I might I say. It's also good to know you can use energy weapons right from the start as opposed to the previous installments.
 
Ixyroth said:
By the way, Per, what does 'Indigo' mean in your avatar?
Click to expand...

It's a counter from the Puerto Rico board game. Also it's high time I changed it.
 
Very nice interviews, especially Feargus one.

I thought their three projects were NV, DS3 and WoT, but there is fourth unnanounced? Great!
And I liked the questions about making small RPG with infinity-like engine : )
 
... And you can also re-choose your Tag Skills once you leave Goodsprings if you don't like your choices.
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This could be bad. I hope you can't just change your tag skills whenever you want. I also hope there isn't some new system worked in, like, there's one npc in every time that can reset your tag skills for you magically or something.

As much as I thought Mutate! And Tag! were pretty lame perks in the original world, I kind of hope he's talking about them and not something ridiculous.
 
cunningandvalor said:
... And you can also re-choose your Tag Skills once you leave Goodsprings if you don't like your choices.
Click to expand...

This could be bad. I hope you can't just change your tag skills whenever you want. I also hope there isn't some new system worked in, like, there's one npc in every time that can reset your tag skills for you magically or something.

As much as I thought Mutate! And Tag! were pretty lame perks in the original world, I kind of hope he's talking about them and not something ridiculous.
Click to expand...
I think he means like in Fallout 3, right before you leave the Vault cave, it pops up with the menu if you want to make final changes before starting the game.
 
verevoof said:
cunningandvalor said:
... And you can also re-choose your Tag Skills once you leave Goodsprings if you don't like your choices.
Click to expand...

This could be bad. I hope you can't just change your tag skills whenever you want. I also hope there isn't some new system worked in, like, there's one npc in every time that can reset your tag skills for you magically or something.

As much as I thought Mutate! And Tag! were pretty lame perks in the original world, I kind of hope he's talking about them and not something ridiculous.
Click to expand...
I think he means like in Fallout 3, right before you leave the Vault cave, it pops up with the menu if you want to make final changes before starting the game.
Click to expand...

yeah, definitely. the same way you get one last chance to change your character before the real game begins, just like in FO3, Oblivion and Morrowind.
 
So Barter affects the dialogue now. Very interesting development. Perhaps my uber-geeky character should tag Barter instead of the medical skill.
 
For Van Buren, it was planned as well to use barter skill more in dialogues. Mainly when it comes to "barter" for your reward, etc. I am doing the same in my Fallout 2 mod.
 
bhlaab said:
Is having 10 extra AP really a big deal in this game though?
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If action points are utilized the same way as in Fallout 3,then i dont think so,unless they dramatically change the ap requirement for weapons in VATS.
 
bhlaab said:
Is having 10 extra AP really a big deal in this game though?
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In vanilla FO3 with AGI 5 those 10 extra AP would give you an extra shot with almost all non-Big Guns weapons. In New Vegas...who knows yet?

Edit. Gah, too slow to read the topic and write a response. XD
 
Kinda interesting, that Avellone thinks that it was a mistake in the earlier Fallout's, to give the player no early low-tech energy weapon.

Well, the only thing that i would consider a *low-tech* energy weapon would be a taser or a different kind of a short range (for example: 2-3 hexes) electro shocker.
I don't consider a laser pistol to be a *low-tech* energy weapon, like they were in F3.
 
The other important thing is, how much are 2 DT? Because in Fallout 1/2, you start with less than 50 hp, and 10 damage is a lot. In Fallout 3, you start with over 200 hp, so 10 damage is almost nothing. Fallout: New Vegas is expected to be based on Fallout 3, this means that they are most likely using that hp/damage numbers.

On second thought, even numbers aren't important, since they are going to balance the game. Hopefully. At least, it is possible for them to change the numbers until the game is released, and we won't know whether it's worth it or not, until it's released.
 
In a survival game 2 DT would add up over time. After you've been hit 1000 times, that's 2000 extra damage you wouldn't have taken if you had picked a different trait. This would impact your resources quite a bit, and/or your gameplay time if you keep going somewhere for free healing.

For a fast character with lots of perception though, they are most likely going to get the first shot and do more damage with more AP using this trait, so it might not be that big of a deal in that case. Just depends on how many encounters are in the game. You can't be stealthy all the time and even in Fallout 1 & 2 there are forced random encounters (unless you have a high outdoorsman skill).
 
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