Why didn't Obsidian bring back Wattz laser weapons?

I suppose it was simple time restraints. Alone though Obsidian actually incorporated a shit tonne of Laser based firearms into NV. The only aspect they withered on for energy weapons in general was incorporating new Plasma firearms. The only new addition for Plasma guns was the Plasma Caster being reintroduced- which was absolutely amazing! Besides that though, that aspect of energy guns didn't get new stuff to it.

Though I THINK I remember that Sawyer himself released his own mod/patch on Nexus that adds in a bunch of weapons that were planned to be put into the game.

 

JSawyer mod doesn't add weapons. He would need to have made 3D models and sounds for that and he's not a 3D dev.
His mod is also not on the Nexus.

The Mod does edit quite a few existing weapons though.

 

Ah I got confused with the Classic Weapons mod in actuality.

 

Time restrains and bugthesda being a bunch of dicks. We are talking about a game that had 18 months of development. They added some in DLCs, but they could only do so much.

So many things were cut thanks to bugthesda, who are still bitter of New Vegas success.

 

Could be time-restraints, could also be that Plasma Weapons needed some extra oomph to them or some appeal since the normal iterations of the plasma rifle/pistol aren't massively appealing to players, so adding high-powered and better versions would make sense. Compartively, I would wager most energy weapon players of Fallout 3 ended up using Laser Weapons anyway, so there wasn't as much demand for improvement especially when NV was already incorporating powerful unique lasers.

 

It probably would have been redundant to have two different laser rifles/pistols (I realise I say this despite the plasma pistol and plasma defender existing). I don't know how they could have differentiated them beyond changing up the firerate and damage on the Wattz weapons, which is kinda boring.

 

If I had to guess... it would be because of the lack of reflection, and possibly the beams look bad in engine—or both.

*Also, laser weapons would have to actually show where they hit; V.A.T.S. IIRC aims from the hip to the hip, so it might be that even head-shots strike the middle body... as well as get blocked by low obstructions... even though they (logically) shouldn't.

 

I'd have balanced it by giving the Wattz laser pistol, which was a civilian model anyway, lower durability while also giving it some sorta extra gimmick to make it strong but weak and fit as a lower level energy weapon.
Either by making it a continuous beam weapon that can fire a steady beam until empty (IE: laser version of a flamer) or giving it a high rate of semi auto fire and totally removing recoil other than a minimal amount based on gun and energy weapon skill (IE: knowledge in minimizing trigger pull affecting aim).

For the Wattz laser rifle, Id make it higher damage than the Bethesda laser rifle, but a lower rate of fire and lower item health because civilian weapon... Id also give it a better scope than either classic weapons pack or project nevada, not sure which one's version but one gives it a reflex that has bad glare under certain conditions.

Of course I'd also add back the real MVPs that are totally missing..... the PPK12 and M72 gauss pistol/rifle, but unlike the seperate versions in the classic weapons pack and project nevada Id have them be more normal sized and remove the animated display.

 

I modded a rifle like that into FO3 once... not the Watts rifle, but the 'Sarah Jane' rifle from Bravestar.

Spoiler

 

If it were me modding it, Id look at the service rifle rate of fire vs the cowboy repeater and do sokething similar with the wattz, basically make it firerate wise the laser equivelent of a lever action.

 

I never got too into the modding tools for the Bethesda engine, albiet I did once start to edit all the semi autos and revolvers to be 'auto', in the sense that they still have the same rate of fire, you just could then hold down the mouse rather than click rapidly til the next bang.

What can I say, I always found sprite editing far easier.....

 

True, time was more of a constraint as well.

 

Its a pity they never added the Watzz Weapons, they look so much better compared to the AER/AEP. The AER and the AEP look like they're out of a early 2000s generic sci-fi game. Too ungainly, too blocky. They look like bricks that shoot lasers.

I'm also surprised the City-Killer and the Solar Scorcher never made into FNV. Solar Scorcher would have been perfect to link with HELIOS One. Maybe as something akin to Recharger weapons, but with a bigger cell that recharges while you're on sunlight, even while not totting it, and is kind of a "laser flamer" that sets things afire. Like the Recharger equivalent of a flamer, but with range. Also fires a yellow beam because sun.

 

I disagree here. While I certainly prefer the Watzz weapon style, the AER [even in FO3] looks like a practical laser rifle made in the fifties using 50's electrical/hardware parts..... and that's exactly what's wrong with it; a well done misunderstanding.

I'd think it looks great if that's what it's supposed to be, but it's not supposed to be that. It should be a design from the post millennium, made in a fashion of the pop-50's idea of a post millennium future weapon.... not look like something DARPA might of whipped up in the late 50's.

This is where Bethesda gets EVERYTHING wrong with the aesthetics in FO3 and beyond.


The sad thing is, that I do believe this is intentional on their part; marketing reasons.

 

The Recharger Rifle/Pistol were great designs I thought, however.

 

I've always dug that zeerust aesthetic of those guns. Bethesda's laser weapons are just boxes. sure the old wattz laser rifle is a sniper rifle with a tube on it, still better than a square with nothing to aim with.

 

I like the Recharger weapons clearly having had some gaudy-pastel paint scheme on it in the Old World. Reinforces the idea that they were probably civilian models, because that's the kind of tacky shit that would get marketed in the pre-war world.

I was never a fan of the Wattz Laser Rifle because as you say it was just the Sniper with a tube. The Plasma Rifle was always the king design, and I was glad to see it revived in NV. I was also a fan of the Plasma Defender.