NMA Fallout 3 preview and Q&A

[SuAside]

Well, I don't know if he's a nice guy or not, but I know that some of the stuff he says isn't exactly true.
Remember Oblivion? ;p

isn't that what PR does for a living?

OK, in theory it shouldn't, but in practise it runs pretty rampant in the industry...

even Bioshock, which had very good & usually more or less correct PR, slipped up a few times. but it's easier to accept that from them than from a developer/publisher like Beth because they seemed actually very concerned with the fans.

 

[Crowfoot]

Great preview lads. Very well-written and full of detail, the kind of detail you'd expect from the people that should've been top of the list to see the demo since day one.

Also, for some wierd reason, i really love the idea of the behemoth having a shopping trolly for collecting dead bodies.

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Great, but you could've told me and Blinzer before he sent the community questions to Gstaff, we'd have less redundant ones...

I was working on the community questions too, remember? I did try to avoid placing redundant questions in my list, but YOU DIDN'T TAKE THE HINT...

I was going to say it'd be interesting to see if the redundant questions from the community got the same answers.

 

[Brother None]

Also, for some wierd reason, i really love the idea of the behemoth having a shopping trolly for collecting dead bodies.

To see him walk up wielding a fire hydrant is cool too. The car door doesn't really make sense.

The Behemoth isn't a bad idea, and he looks cool. It's the execution that's terrible, the stupid intro with big boss music. Yuck.

 

[Starwars]

Thank fuck for a preview that is consistant throughout, and doesn't go off in hype bits. It did reinforce a lot my worries about the game, and I'm very sure now that this won't be a good Fallout sequel (though might be a good game on its own).

It's funny how there are lots of bits in there that I might have forgiven in a game 10 years ago (or indeed a more top-down perspective in some cases, with the more 'abstract' line of thinking it tends to bring), but which sounds absolutely silly in a game like this. The little things like you guys pointed out, the ticketmaster shredding the Super Mutants but ignoring the PC, taking the laser rifle from the BoS corpse (and the others not reacting), Mr Burke moving like a ghost between two locations, BoS soldiers rushing out into an open space, BoS soldiers not taking any damage from explosion etc etc. And stuff like that is only reinforced by FP perspective, which I think generally calls on a more realistic take on things.

Stuff like that is where I would want improvements, I don't give a damn how pretty the nuclear clouds are, sorry.

Then there is all the stuff that reminds me of Oblivion... Like the facial expression changes, argargarg.

Big thanks to NMA though for getting this done though, great job. And sorry to Silencer for not being able to attend, very weak of them I think. Hope you guys had fun there though!

Few questions:
About how much dialogue was there in the demo? Was it lengthy or fairly short? How was the voiceacting in general? I guess there wasn't much in the demo, but how interesting/varied were the dialogue options for PC (and how many did there tend to be usually)?

How many nuclear explosions was there?

Best and worst part of the demo?

Did you check out any other cool games while you were there, or was it a "Fallout 3 only" deal for you?

EDIT: Sell your shirt Brother None, use the profits for NMA.

 

[SuAside]

Great preview lads. Very well-written and full of detail, the kind of detail you'd expect from the people that should've been top of the list to see the demo since day one.

thanks

Also, for some wierd reason, i really love the idea of the behemoth having a shopping trolly for collecting dead bodies.

well, that in itself does show they have some novel ideas.

the question remains to why it/he collects bodies. food perhaps? big & muscular guy like that must have a big appetite :p

the fire hydrant mace was kinda nice too.

the rest of the behemoth however is pretty suckass. the cardoor shield is a dumb idea since cardoors dont shot ANY bullets unless it by chance hits the mechanics that lower or raise your window. it's just sheet metal easily pierced. the further design (look) of the behemoth pretty much sucks (much like his little brethren). it's a dumb brute without the personality of a FO Supermutant. the fact that it survives multiple nuclear bombs is rather laughable in my book... (from a 3550 DPS weapon, while an chinese assault rifle in top condition is 41 DPS)

 

[Brother None]

Stuff like that is where I would want improvements, I don't give a damn how pretty the nuclear clouds are, sorry.

They're seriously pretty.

I have a weak spot for pretty mushroom clouds. And these are as pretty as the Fallout 2 ending one.

Then there is all the stuff that reminds me of Oblivion... Like the facial expression changes, argargarg.

About how much dialogue was there in the demo? Was it lengthy or fairly short? How was the voiceacting in general? I guess there wasn't much in the demo, but how interesting/varied were the dialogue options for PC (and how many did there tend to be usually)?

Little.
Pretty lengthy, with speeches from dad, sheriff and burke running up to 10-12 lines.
Kinda meh.
Couldn't tell. Varied, though, plenty of logical options, like telling Mr Burke to stuff his offer in the other one and get out of town.

How many nuclear explosions was there?

Like I said in the end, 6-10 (not counting the opening cinematics):
- Car exploding
- Car exploding
- Car exploding
- shot with Fatman
- shot with Fatman
- shot with Fatman (after Behemoth death)
- blowing up Megaton

Fatman can take more than 2 shots, I believe one reporter counted 5. The Fatman had 7 bombs as ammo, I think.

Best and worst part of the demo?

Best: the vault and Protectron. Loved them.
Worst: probably the Brotherhood of Steel

Did you check out any other cool games while you were there, or was it a "Fallout 3 only" deal for you?

I'm not much of a gamer. SuA wanted to go to the Age of Conan booth to get a little head from the booth babes there, but we ended up not doing that. I had a private demo showing of Drakensang and went to the public demo too, but other than that, I just wandered about a bit. Nothing really caught my eye, the Bioshock line was too long. I did hang about Starcraft II for a bit, but didn't stick around for the MGS IV presentation

 

[Pope Viper]

Here's the thread at the BS forums:

http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=749322

Love Gstaff's response.

 

[SuAside]

The little things like you guys pointed out, the ticketmaster shredding the Super Mutants but ignoring the PC, taking the laser rifle from the BoS corpse (and the others not reacting), Mr Burke moving like a ghost between two locations, BoS soldiers rushing out into an open space, BoS soldiers not taking any damage from explosion etc etc. And stuff like that is only reinforced by FP perspective, which I think generally calls on a more realistic take on things.

well, some of these things can have valid reasons (without using the now classic "it's just a demo" reply)

Hope you guys had fun there though!

sure, though neither Kharn nor I felt like spending our day running between hordes of console kiddies playing guitar hero, singstar and dance dance revolution with the music turned up loud enough to be heard from 50 meters away.

but sure, we had fun.

About how much dialogue was there in the demo? Was it lengthy or fairly short? How was the voiceacting in general? I guess there wasn't much in the demo, but how interesting/varied were the dialogue options for PC (and how many did there tend to be usually)?

voice acting wasnt bad or especially good.

dialog length is hard to quantify, since there were only like 6 'real' conversations (father, robot deputy, sheriff, Burke, BoS soldier, Burke again), unless i missed some. none of these conversations went into detail, since Pete Hines took rather quick routes to what he wanted to get as quests etc.

as for options... well, there were plenty of options, but how worthwhile they were is kinda the question. we usually didnt have time to read all possibilities, but it looked mostly like the standard good, bad/provocative, bad/personalgain replies with Burke for instance. but we really didnt have time to form an opinion about choices.

How many nuclear explosions was there?

1 car at the red rocket fueling station, 2(+?) cars in the city fighting mutants, 2 cars at the behemoth, 2(+?) Fatman at the behemoth, 1 fatman after the behemoth, 1 bigass nuke at Megaton.

so at least nine, might have missed a few in my quick count.

Best and worst part of the demo?

while i dislike the housing of the pipboy, i think perhaps the best part is the pipboy interface with scanlines and the vaultboy (he switches weapons as you do etc). though the interface is obviously made with console gamers in mind.

worst? pfft. not being a true Fallout?

probably the Supermutants, i suppose...

Did you check out any other cool games while you were there, or was it a "Fallout 3 only" deal for you?

We checked several things. Age of Conan, StarCraft 2, Jericho, The Witcher, to just name a few.

EDIT: Sell your shirt Brother None, use the profits for NMA.

i got one too, but i fear it isnt worth much on the open market.

The Fatman had 7 bombs as ammo, I think.

11 in my demo

 

[RayTracer]

Hey guys, thanks for your preview, great work done!

Actually, after reading it, I'm sure it won't be a sequel. But on the other hand, if it won't make Oblivion's mistakes, it could be a great game, worth playing it (and probably modding it to a F3). Some parts of the preview really sound interesting, and then, on the other hand some other parts fuck it up (I think in most cases the background story and the lack of choices, which actually could be modded to a great game)

Thanks anyway, keep your heads up

 

[FeelTheRads]

We are in contact with those communities and they receive the same treatment as all the other communities.

SuAside, did Pete know you were from NMA? Because it looks like he's using his default answer, which looks extremely stupid in this case, when talking to one of the members of NMA, which NEVER got anything from them.

Of course, now he can say he talked to those communities as well.

 

[d_agra]

Nice one guys

I knew you had a plan to try and get to see the demo

Ever since Brother None had an argument with someone in the Beth forums and you stated "we have our ways in which we will preview Fallout 3"

Just knew it, got a bit of a bashing for posting that you guys will probably see the demo in Gamespot/Gamefaqs forums

Thanks again guys. Finally i can read a preview without all the bullshit

You guys should def get jobs gaming mags. Great writing

Dont have much but i will donate ad least the price of a Computer Mag!

 

[Brother None]

You guys should def get jobs gaming mags.

*shudder*

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

NMA: Apparently not everyone is pleased with Bethesda's interpretation of Fallout. NMA, RPGcodex and DaC are a few of the oldest Fallout communities around and none of them seem to accept Bethesda's view on things, or are at least very skeptical about the game. Why is it that the communication with those communities is difficult at best?

Pete Hines: We are in contact with those communities and they receive the same treatment as all the other communities. We frequently read them and we understand exactly what it is they want. The problem is however that they've had years to think about what they wanted and create a view of what Fallout 3 should be that could never be possible today. They're still stuck 8 years back in their views of Fallout 3. It simply wouldn't work.

This is what pisses me off the most about the whole Fallout 3 Bethesda thing. I don't believe I'm owed anything from any product or supplier, other than that which I pay for. I do expect that products should be correctly labelled, Aquafresh toothpaste should have stripes, a sequel should follow the same gameplay etc. But at the end of the day if they want to call it Fallout 3 then they do own the IP, if it's not a game I'll like I'll just won't buy it.

But I hate this stuck in the past mis/disinformation they are putting out. Gameplay style is gameplay style and has rarely anything to do with technology. The only thing I'm stuck in the past about is I value gameplay over graphics any day.

 

[d_agra]

You guys should def get jobs gaming mags.

*shudder*

I meant by changing the way previews are done and should be done

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

 

[SuAside]

We are in contact with those communities and they receive the same treatment as all the other communities.

SuAside, did Pete know you were from NMA? Because it looks like he's using his default answer, which looks extremely stupid in this case, when talking to one of the members of NMA, which NEVER got anything from them.
Of course, now he can say he talked to those communities as well.

i told him i visited NMA prior to that question.

but yeah, it's the default PR answer for the 3 aforementioned communities. eventhough i feel it is not correct, i wouldnt say it was 'extremely stupid'. it's just standard PR.

You guys should def get jobs gaming mags. Great writing

most game mags thrive on hype. there are a few exceptions that try to keep their integrity, but even there it is hard.

besides, written game press reporters dont exactly make a lot of money.

Dont have much but i will donate ad least the price of a Computer Mag!

every little bit helps

germany was expensive...

 

[Neamos]

Awesomness! Thanks a lot, guys!

 

[ratsnack]

awesommeee!!!!! thank you

 

[Killzig]

Kharn & Suicide,

I am overcome with respect for the both of you and NMA. I'm sure the feeling will pass but since it is a rare occurrence I thought I'd share.

+1

Donation incoming.