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Will Obsidian do a new Fallout?

kswiston

Member
I'm sick to death of shanty towns, raiders, the Brotherhood of Steel, Deathclaws and Radscorpions. I want to see totally new settings with vastly different flora and fauna. I want a Fallout game that's totally unpredictable, not just the fifth rehash of the same tired 20-year-old ideas.

This is one of the strengths that Elder Scrolls has over Fallout. Ignoring complaints about casualization, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim don't feel like the same setting three times with some moderate remixing.

You won't get a Chinese Fallout though, because it won't sell nearly as well.
 
You know what really grinds my gears in Fanfictionllout 4? Raiders and Super Mutants are next to each other IN MOST PARTS OF THE FUCKING GAME! Bethesda was like "Uhhhhm you know what's a good idea? To put genetically engineered humans with super strength and shit next to human settlements, like, just 5 feet away"

Oh, and again. OBSIDIAN, YOU'RE OUR ONLY HOPE!
 
Yes, it really should be. All four of the core games have done the "50s-inspired America" thing, it's getting old. Not to mention we've been seeing roughly the same enemies, factions, weapons, and bombed-out locales from Fallout 1 to Fallout 4.

I'm sick to death of shanty towns, raiders, the Brotherhood of Steel, Deathclaws and Radscorpions. I want to see totally new settings with vastly different flora and fauna. I want a Fallout game that's totally unpredictable, not just the fifth rehash of the same tired 20-year-old ideas.
Then it shouldn't be called Fallout if it's not in America.


Also there isn't FEV anywhere else.
 
I've always thought that the cities and settlements were the least interesting parts of these games. You visit them so much, and start to realize how small they really are.
 

The Victorian

Neo Member
I've always thought that the cities and settlements were the least interesting parts of these games. You visit them so much, and start to realize how small they really are.

Part of the problem, I think, is the space compression necessary to create an open world that doesn't take hours and hours to traverse. In Skyrim, for instance, you've got Stormcloak camps less than a minute's walk from Imperial-aligned cities for God's sake.

It's even more problematic with the Fallout games, since these take place in real-world locations. Even FO:NV suffers from this; it's a bit ridiculous to see the trip from Goodsprings to Primm being little more than a short jog, when in reality it's about a 31.4km journey.

Of course, if the game's storytelling is tight enough, one's suspension of disbelief isn't broken by this sort of thing. If it isn't...well...you get what Shamus Young calls "Story Collapse," where all the inconsistencies, plot holes, and things that just don't make sense all add up to the point where the player is yanked out of the story.
 

kswiston

Member
Part of the problem, I think, is the space compression necessary to create an open world that doesn't take hours and hours to traverse. In Skyrim, for instance, you've got Stormcloak camps less than a minute's walk from Imperial-aligned cities for God's sake.

It's even more problematic with the Fallout games, since these take place in real-world locations. Even FO:NV suffers from this; it's a bit ridiculous to see the trip from Goodsprings to Primm being little more than a short jog, when in reality it's about a 31.4km journey.

Of course, if the game's storytelling is tight enough, one's suspension of disbelief isn't broken by this sort of thing. If it isn't...well...you get what Shamus Young calls "Story Collapse," where all the inconsistencies, plot holes, and things that just don't make sense all add up to the point where the player is yanked out of the story.

Even in games like Fallout 2 where you have settlements as nodes on the area map (instead of stops on an open world tour), you have to face the fact that a major city in a crpg will take 10 minutes at most to walk across. You aren't going to get realistic scale, since even small towns take 1-2 hours to walk across in reality.
 
I mean, the only entrance to an armor-plated ship being a retractable bridge seems pretty defensible.

That's what I was saying though. Anyone with a high resistance to radiation (i.e, mutants) can just swim right through the giant hole where the front of it snapped off and come up from the bottom.
 
Even in games like Fallout 2 where you have settlements as nodes on the area map (instead of stops on an open world tour), you have to face the fact that a major city in a crpg will take 10 minutes at most to walk across. You aren't going to get realistic scale, since even small towns take 1-2 hours to walk across in reality.

This is what I like about Boston in FO4, it feels really dense and huge, even though it's still nowhere near the size of an actual city. Though it isn't a settlement.
 
That's what I was saying though. Anyone with a high resistance to radiation (i.e, mutants) can just swim right through the giant hole where the front of it snapped off and come up from the bottom.

For the part of the hole that is submerged, I'd bet at it already having been reinforced to fend off mirelurks which are walking can-openers. Super mutants would need a lot of boom, and more brains to plan a side-attack than they've shown capable.

That's why I assumed that mutant outpost is right there. They aren't capable of attacking Rivet City, so ambushing travellers to and from it is the next best thing.
 

lazygecko

Member
You are describing the engine. NOT the actual gameplay

How is something as fundamental as movement not part of the gameplay? It is part of a larger issue here where a well executed tactical turn based RPG shifted over to being a real time action RPG reminiscent of modern first person shooters, yet feels well below average when compared to the format it is clearly attempting to emulate. Same thing with Oblivion when judging its action RPG combat. Ergo, Oblivion with guns.

Even in games like Fallout 2 where you have settlements as nodes on the area map (instead of stops on an open world tour), you have to face the fact that a major city in a crpg will take 10 minutes at most to walk across. You aren't going to get realistic scale, since even small towns take 1-2 hours to walk across in reality.

The strength of the world design in these games though is that the abstraction is implicit rather than explicit, as they are in Bethesda's games. It's much easier enable your imagination to envision the non-important areas not directly shown to you. But with the seamless open world method Bethesda uses, all of the world is laid out in front of your eyes, and it is instead asking you to take huge leaps in suspense of disbelief to accept that this ultra compressed world is the result of abstractions and design compromises. While very reductionist, I kind of like to use the framing that the world of Fallout 1-2 ask you to use your brain, while 3+ instead asks you to turn it off.

It might still be problematic when it comes to places like Vault City, although IIRC that place did have a really small population.
 

Kallor

Member
I hope so.

Fallout 4 is Skyrim with guns. It has all of Skyrim's boring fetch this family ornament or kill this baddie for me style questing, the terrible loot. Horrible faction system. A world with no real reason to explore the vast majority of places other than to chase that endless bobble head/xp/mediocre loot addiction. Bad story and the dialogue might be the most boring/bland/bad in Bethesda game history.

Some of the characters are somewhat interesting for a change and the Settlement building is fun as heck if worthless. The gunplay is solid and the graphics can be purrdy.

The little bit of the game still feels like a fallout game is just a retread of Fallout 3 (remember that cute Fallout guy? 1950s? Perks? Super mutants and raiders? Radio? good guy paladin light in the darkness angles with armor? Thats Fallout right??) and everything else has been cut/ignored/ or mistreated

The game is even a downgrade from Fallout 3 in exploration and questing. We traded that in for endless quests and ubisoft xp. The more I play the more I realize this isn't a good Fallout game lol. If it wasn't a Fallout game maybe I'd feel less disappointed.
 
Sounds more like you want a completely different post-apocalyptic game rather than a new Fallout game.

No, I want the Fallout universe to be expanded beyond what's been rehashed for the past 20 years.

Then it shouldn't be called Fallout if it's not in America.
Also there isn't FEV anywhere else.

Why not? Even one of the original Fallout creators, Feargus Urquhart, said that he sees the core of Fallout as the SPECIAL system, with everything else being malleable.

Who needs FEV? Come up with something new. America isn't the only place that was bombed, and it certainly isn't the only place with overly ambitious, borderline insane scientists.

And besides, what's the alternative? Do you guys really want another Fallout game set in a familiar bombed-out wasteland with the same old weapons, armor, factions, creatures, etc? You have gotten the game you wanted. Four times.

After two decades, I don't think it's too outlandish to expect someone to start adding to the Fallout universe.
 

Finalow

Member
No, I want the Fallout universe to be expanded beyond what's been rehashed for the past 20 years.

Why not? Even one of the original Fallout creators, Feargus Urquhart, said that he sees the core of Fallout as the SPECIAL system, with everything else being malleable.

Who needs FEV? Come up with something new. America isn't the only place that was bombed, and it certainly isn't the only place with overly ambitious, borderline insane scientists.

And besides, what's the alternative? Do you guys really want another Fallout game set in a familiar bombed-out wasteland with the same old weapons, armor, factions, creatures, etc? You have gotten the game you wanted. Four times.

After two decades, I don't think it's too outlandish to expect someone to start adding to the Fallout universe.
adding? Sure, but not removing stuff like classic monsters or factions. next thing you want is what, replacing nukes with meteors? "apocalypse brought you by meteors falling from the sky" /brb submitting this to bethesda for Fallout 5

you're acting like if they used the same content for 20 years and added nothing to the Fallout universe, which isn't even remotely true. Fallout NV alone was fresh enough. you had new factions, (some) new monsters, diverse setting and atmosphere etc., if you ask for more you're literally asking for a game that isn't Fallout.
 
Beats me. It's only on this site that I've seen the "fetishism". I've platted both New Vegas and 3 and never once thought of NV as the overall better game. I'll grant that the writing is a bit better, but it's still nothing remarkable.

I believe it started before Fallout 3 was even in development. When it was announced in 2003/2004 that Interplay closed down internal development and Bethesda bought the rights to Fallout, sites such as "No Mutants Allowed" and "RPG Codex" had a huge meltdown. They acted that Bethesda stole the rights from Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer. The Fallout 3 hate train was in full steam day one of development.

When Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer were able to return to Fallout with the New Vegas spin off game, it was crowd as the superior game, even before development had begun.

This type of fandom crap use to really bother me. Now that I'm old I find it amusing. I don't need to defend my preferences that Fallout 3 is the better game when somebody jumps up and says New Vegas is "objectively better" and they start linking flow charts and graphs.

As for where else I would like to see Fallout go? I would like to see the UK or Europe. Maybe they would be stuck in an early mod/1960s style.
 

Tobor

Member
No, Obsidian won't do another one, and good riddance. The series is in good hands.

Fallout 4 is the best Fallout game ever made.
 

Ogimachi

Member
My analysis from another thread:

Short answer: yes, there's always the possibility, but the chances are slim

Long aswer, here's the context:
  • Obsidian is 100% occupied with their current projects. They've got Armoured Warfare (by far their biggest project) still in beta, the PoE DLC, Pathfinder card game, this new unannounced project (which should have fairly large scale and announced in the next 2-3 months) and then the PoE team will move on to PoE 2.
  • Obsidian worked again with Bethesda after FNV. First with Prey 2 and then Backspace, a new sci-fi FPS RPG. Both were cancelled. Prey 2 surely wasn't their fault and they worked on it for a very short period, but we don't know how it went with Backspace.
  • Most of the few key FNV devs still working at Obsidian are working on PoE. This means they'd have to delay the sequel to their first original IP for several years or give to less experienced developers and people unrelated to the first. Sure, it could be a good payday, but they got shafted last time around. Will they take that kind of risk again and put their first franchise on hold? Tough call, if they're asked at all.
  • Bethesda itself is not a very large studio. Todd said they had about ~105 people working on Skyrim and that they've hired about a dozen since then. They're going to be busy with their billion dollar baby, The Elder Scrolls VI, for at least 3-4 years.
  • Arkane is releasing Dishonored 2 in Q2 2016, id is releasing Doom in Q1/Q2, BattleCry being reworked for next year (at least a beta), FO4 DLC also in 2016, ZeniMax Online probably making an expansion for TESO. Their 2016 is crowded, but all of these teams will either stay busy with the same project or take a long time to finish a new one. ZeniMax will want the spin-off to come 2-2.5 years after FO4 tops.
  • This means a Fallout spin-off would be their biggest project after 2016, and they have no problem rushing things. It's going to be a "massive mod" like New Vegas and it'll have to be out by late 2017.
  • One thing in Obsidian's favor: open world games with this kind of scope are very expensive and risky. Very few studios have any experience with them, and the vast majority of these studios are either ZeniMax/Bethesda's direct competitors or belong to other publishers: BioWare, Rockstar, CD Projekt, Ubisoft, Rocksteady, Monolith, and so on.
  • Only two stand out as similar candidates: ZeniMax's own Arkane Studios, and Avalanche Studios, which just released Mad Max and will be releasing Just Cause 3 next month. Avalance has no experience with RPGs or story/dialogue-heavy games, however.
  • Being a massive mod, another studio without previous open world experience could very well work on it, but will ZeniMax take that risk with their 2nd most important title?
Obsidian, even though a lot of key personnel left the company, is still the most obvious candidate. It's a tough project to reject, obviously, but as Feargus said in this interview, they care a lot about their own franchise and a studio only has so many slots.
Back in 2010 ZeniMax didn't own Arkane and id, and Machine, Tango and BattleCry didn't even exist. Now they have a lot of studios under their belt, and you only outsource your 2nd most important franchise if you have to.

I think it'll go to Arkane. Dishonored is the closest thing to FO4 (that's not TES) that was made by one of ZeniMax's own studios. They're a large studio with great talent, specially in regard to gameplay and combat.
Dishonored 2 comes next summer or so, which means Arkane will be done with in the first quarter tops. They'd have at least the same 18 months Obsidian had with FNV.

The one odd thing would be the fact they're located in Paris. All Fallouts, with the exception of Tactics, have been based on cities close to the studio's own region. Unless they want to make Fallout: Paris (doubtful), it'd be unusual for them to make a spin-off in an american city, but ZeniMax has more than enough resources to scout anywhere they want and make it happen.

Anyway, just my two cents. This is what I would do in Bethesda's shoes if Obsidian was not available; it seems like the logical step for them.
 

deadman69

Member
I believe it started before Fallout 3 was even in development. When it was announced in 2003/2004 that Interplay closed down internal development and Bethesda bought the rights to Fallout, sites such as "No Mutants Allowed" and "RPG Codex" had a huge meltdown. They acted that Bethesda stole the rights from Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer. The Fallout 3 hate train was in full steam day one of development.

When Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer were able to return to Fallout with the New Vegas spin off game, it was crowd as the superior game, even before development had begun.

This type of fandom crap use to really bother me. Now that I'm old I find it amusing. I don't need to defend my preferences that Fallout 3 is the better game when somebody jumps up and says New Vegas is "objectively better" and they start linking flow charts and graphs.

As for where else I would like to see Fallout go? I would like to see the UK or Europe. Maybe they would be stuck in an early mod/1960s style.

Fallout: Resource Wars
 

Ogimachi

Member
Who wrote the good stuff in FONV? With Chris Avellone gone would it still be as good?
From Sawyer:
John Gonzalez, who actually wrote the entire main story and many of the game's central characters (Benny, Caesar, Mr. House, Vulpes Inculta, etc.) has seemingly been erased from the collective memory of the gaming community. I think it's really unfortunate. He also wrote all of the Survivalist logs in Honest Hearts (and some of the Happy Trails Caravan).

Writing duties are split up among designers. Not all designers write, but the majority of us do. Some do a larger share than others. I'll miss some here, but notably:

Eric Fenstermaker - Veronica, Boone, a lot of Novac and Helios One (Fantastic), a lot of Camp McCarran (Silas, Curtis, et al.), the White Gloves, Vault 11, some Goodsprings
Travis Stout - Lily, Raul, the Misfits, some Goodsprings, Follows-Chalk, Waking Cloud, some Happy Trails folks, and a bunch of stuff on Old World Blues
Akil Hooper - ED-E, a lot of Primm, the Omertas, some Hoover Dam, some Boomers
Rob Lee - Some Camp McCarran, a lot of Freeside, Camp Guardian, some Boomers
Jeff Husges - Most of Jacobstown, the Remnants, a ton of minor characters all over the place (including Boulder City, many Legion characters and Rex's quest)
Matt MacClean - Return to Sender station rangers
George Ziets - 1st Recon
Charlie Staples - Forlorn Hope, a bunch of other stuff I can't even remember
Jesse Farrell - A lot of Freeside (Kings, especially), Brotherhood of Steel, a lot of Hoover Dam
Chris Avellone - Cass, Lanius, Oliver (I think?) and some minor characters at Mojave Outpost. Of course, he also did all of the writing for Dead Money and Lonesome Road, and split writing duties with Travis Stout on OWB (not sure of the split).
Jorge Salgado - Red Lucy, Sarah Weintraub, Michael Angelo, and a few others (North Vegas)

Other designers also contributed (Stephanie Newland, JR Vosovic, Eric Beaumont, Sydney Wolfram, Dini McMurry), but I don't remember their specific writing contributions.

Gonzalez, Stout, Ziets and MCA are not longer working at Obsidian.
 
Nah, Bethesda can't have another company one up them in every category again.
Actually, that's being generous. Fallout 3 was an absolute mess and what Obsidian managed to do with Bethesda's imposed restrictions was a miracle.
 

Mr. Tibbs

Member
I think it'll go to Arkane. Dishonored is the closest thing to FO4 (that's not TES) that was made by one of ZeniMax's own studios. They're a large studio with great talent, specially in regard to gameplay and combat.
Dishonored 2 comes next summer or so, which means Arkane will be done with in the first quarter tops. They'd have at least the same 18 months Obsidian had with FNV.

The one odd thing would be the fact they're located in Paris. All Fallouts, with the exception of Tactics, have been based on cities close to the studio's own region. Unless they want to make Fallout: Paris (doubtful), it'd be unusual for them to make a spin-off in an american city, but ZeniMax has more than enough resources to scout anywhere they want and make it happen.

Arkane has two studios: Lyon, who are heading up the development of Dishonored 2, and Austin, who are working on a Crytek-powered Prey reboot and lending support role on Dishonored 2. When Dishonored 2 wraps up, Lyon will likely go into pre-production for their next project with the rest of the team assisting on the Prey reboot, which probably won't hit its projected Q3 2016 ship date.
 

Ogimachi

Member
Arkane has two studios: Lyon, who are heading up the development of Dishonored 2, and Austin, who are working on a Crytek-powered Prey reboot and lending support role on Dishonored 2. When Dishonored 2 wraps up, Lyon will likely go into pre-production for their next project with the rest of the team assisting on the Prey reboot, which probably won't hit its projected Q3 2016 ship date.
I sort of dismissed the Austin studio because it's brand new, without a single game released so far, but who knows.
Dishonored 2 was apparently delayed after I wrote that, so that could make it harder for them to get the gig, but it's a fairly large studio and a lot of the staff won't be working on the game as much in its later stages. Bethesda itself begins pre-production on their future projects way before a game is released.
 

Mr. Tibbs

Member
I sort of dismissed the Austin studio because it's brand new, without a single game released so far, but who knows.
Dishonored 2 was apparently delayed after I wrote that, so that could make it harder for them to get the gig, but it's a fairly large studio and a lot of the staff won't be working on the game as much in its later stages. Bethesda itself begins pre-production on their future projects way before a game is released.

Nah, they opened in 2006, and worked on Dishonored. They were a tiny a satellite studio (around 25 developers) until the hiring spree in early 2014. They've been working on the Prey reboot since May 2013.
 

DocSeuss

Member
Yes, it really should be. All four of the core games have done the "50s-inspired America" thing, it's getting old. Not to mention we've been seeing roughly the same enemies, factions, weapons, and bombed-out locales from Fallout 1 to Fallout 4.

I'm sick to death of shanty towns, raiders, the Brotherhood of Steel, Deathclaws and Radscorpions. I want to see totally new settings with vastly different flora and fauna. I want a Fallout game that's totally unpredictable, not just the fifth rehash of the same tired 20-year-old ideas.

Fallout is ultimately a satire on 50s-inspired America. It would not work if it was something else; it would be something else and it would function differently.

Nah, they opened in 2006, and worked on Dishonored. They were a tiny a satellite studio (around 25 developers) until the hiring spree in early 2014. They've been working on the Prey reboot since May 2013.

I'd heard they were handling Dishonored 2 and Lyon studio was Prey 2.
 

Ogimachi

Member
Nah, they opened in 2006, and worked on Dishonored. They were a tiny a satellite studio (around 25 developers) until the hiring spree in early 2014. They've been working on the Prey reboot since May 2013.
Thought they were created shortly after the acquisition. Hope they get to finish the Prey reboot, otherwise might as well rule that project off as cursed.
 

Arulan

Member
Yes, it really should be. All four of the core games have done the "50s-inspired America" thing, it's getting old. Not to mention we've been seeing roughly the same enemies, factions, weapons, and bombed-out locales from Fallout 1 to Fallout 4.

I'm sick to death of shanty towns, raiders, the Brotherhood of Steel, Deathclaws and Radscorpions. I want to see totally new settings with vastly different flora and fauna. I want a Fallout game that's totally unpredictable, not just the fifth rehash of the same tired 20-year-old ideas.

A lot of that is on Bethesda. They had an opportunity to make Fallout their own. Set on the other side of the country, and even 200 years after the bombs fell. They could've done almost anything, instead they chose to superficially import brand recognition and call it a day.
 
My analysis from another thread:

Short answer: yes, there's always the possibility, but the chances are slim

Yeah, what does Bethesda reasonably have on tap for 2017? Almost assuredly Wolfenstein and Enemy Within sequels but other than that it seems like most of their IPs and studios will essentially be in regen mode at that point. It's hard to imagine that they won't want something else of decent size for cash flow in 2017 so I can totally see some sort of Fallout spinoff then.
 

Ogimachi

Member
Yeah, what does Bethesda reasonably have on tap for 2017? Almost assuredly Wolfenstein and Enemy Within sequels but other than that it seems like most of their IPs and studios will essentially be in regen mode at that point. It's hard to imagine that they won't want something else of decent size for cash flow in 2017 so I can totally see some sort of Fallout spinoff then.
ZeniMax has also been trying to cover the first and second semesters in a year since the major expansion/acquisitions in 2010-11, and they saw that relying on a single big project for the year can go wrong, as it did with TESO.
It was supposed to come out in 2013, and when it didn't, it was the first time where they didn't have a single game released in a fiscal year since the 80s.

The company also had a major shift towards acquiring and creating new studios instead of funding games by other developers.
Since Oblivion and Fallout 3 were major hits, Bethesda Softworks published Rogue Warrior, Wet, Hunted: Demon's Forge, Brink, and Fallout: New Vegas. Then they also had Prey 2's development hell and they probably didn't want to risk making another expensive bomb.
Some of these were terrible bombs, most were failures, and only FNV was really successful. Now they're focusing on publishing games developed in-house, and I'd guess this is why they cancelled Obsidian's Backspace as well. I suspect it didn't have much to do with the game's quality, but rather this shift within the company.

So, for 2017 they'd have a new Wolfenstein and Evil Within sequels (or new projects, perhaps), but neither is a big money-maker, and a late 2017 release would be the sweet spot to keep it far enough from Bethesda's Behemoth, a.k.a TES VI, which should come out in 2018.
 
So, for 2017 they'd have a new Wolfenstein and Evil Within sequels (or new projects, perhaps), but neither is a big money-maker, and a late 2017 release would be the sweet spot to keep it far enough from Bethesda's Behemoth, a.k.a TES VI, which should come out in 2018.

Agreed. Unless they have something truly surprising up their sleeve (Elder Scrolls has already been in full production for 1.5 years and will release in 2017! We acquired Respawn and they are making a new Quake) it just feels like we have a pretty decent picture of the current status of their devs and IPs so an outsourced Fallout title in late 2017 makes a lot of sense.
 

jblank83

Member
As a counterpoint to the idea that Obsidian has lost too much writing talent, Pillars of Eternity was one of the best written games I've played in awhile and it was made recently.
 

Roni

Gold Member
I really like Fallout 4, but I wish there was more of that dialogue of NV and even 3. Being able to complete more quests and set pieces without having to fight a boss or anyone at all because you have high Intelligence, skills in Science, intimidating people with high Strength, smelling poison or gas with Perception and such.

Bethesda did some of this in 3. Sad to see focus groups didn't get it. One can only hope an Obsidian Fallout would correct that, but I share concerns with the themes and locations of core Obsidian Fallouts.
 
adding? Sure, but not removing stuff like classic monsters or factions. next thing you want is what, replacing nukes with meteors? "apocalypse brought you by meteors falling from the sky" /brb submitting this to bethesda for Fallout 5

you're acting like if they used the same content for 20 years and added nothing to the Fallout universe, which isn't even remotely true. Fallout NV alone was fresh enough. you had new factions, (some) new monsters, diverse setting and atmosphere etc., if you ask for more you're literally asking for a game that isn't Fallout.

Removing Deathclaws and Radscorpions =/= changing the cause of the apocalypse. Bethesda did a really great job creating things like Mirelurks, Stingwings, Bloaflies, etc. My argument is that they should strive to come up with an entirely new and diverse set of creatures with every game, like they do in the Elder Scrolls franchise. The same with factions; the Institute and the Railroad have far more depth than the BoS in FO4, who seem to be there mostly as an excuse to have cool guys in power armor hanging around.

There's a reason why I didn't include New Vegas when talking about rehashed concepts, Obsidian did manage to add in a decent number of new ideas. It still wasn't totally fresh, but they did enough to differentiate themselves from series staples.

Fallout is ultimately a satire on 50s-inspired America. It would not work if it was something else; it would be something else and it would function differently.

This is extremely similar to the argument frequently made before Fallout 3 released that "Fallout is, at it's core, a turn-based isometric CRPG. An FPS can't be a Fallout game."

If Bethesda actually tried something totally different in terms of setting and characters, people would accept it as Fallout in the end.
 
And how shallow they are. It's also a giant fucking fetch quest

I hated the shopkeeper so much in Fallout 3 that I haven't played another Fallout game. Moira Brown, just Googled her. Looking back, I'm sure the developers wanted me to kill her or nuke the town or whatever.

But I'm not really into mayhem for the sake of it. And now whenever I think of Fallout 3 (which I finished), I just think of that character and how bad I wanted to punch her.
 

tuxfool

Banned
Then they also had Prey 2's development hell and they probably didn't want to risk making another expensive bomb.

They have nobody to blame but themselves. But does also suggest a reason as to why they wouldn't ever work with an external Studio like Obsidian ever again.
 
I wish, NV was the real Fallout 3 for me. And while I still haven't picked up FO4 I don't think I ever will after seeing how Bethesda handled the game and streamlined EVEN MORE the RPG mechanics from 3. I doubt Bethesda will allow Obsidian to do another Fallout game though.
 

RE4PRR

Member
Yes, it really should be. All four of the core games have done the "50s-inspired America" thing, it's getting old. Not to mention we've been seeing roughly the same enemies, factions, weapons, and bombed-out locales from Fallout 1 to Fallout 4.

I'm sick to death of shanty towns, raiders, the Brotherhood of Steel, Deathclaws and Radscorpions. I want to see totally new settings with vastly different flora and fauna. I want a Fallout game that's totally unpredictable, not just the fifth rehash of the same tired 20-year-old ideas.

No it shouldn't.

Go play another fucking post apocalyptic game set in some other country if you want that.

This Fallout. A 50's Inspired America thing.


I would be happy if Obsidian got another chance to continue the West coast story, if they do hopefully they could get the whole band back together from NV. I know I've read articles where they've said they'd love to do another. Need something for in between F4 and F5/TESVI
 

lazygecko

Member
The 50's americana was one of several aspects that made up the identity of Fallout. But apart from old timey music and animations in the intro, it was generally pretty subdued and mostly lingered in the background through deprecated billboards and whatnot. You could remove that aspect from the worldbuilding but it wouldn't have been that noticeable of a loss.

Bethesda took that and made it much more blunt and overt than it was in the first games.
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
The 50's americana was one of several aspects that made up the identity of Fallout. But apart from old timey music and animations in the intro, it was generally pretty subdued and mostly lingered in the background through deprecated billboards and whatnot. You could remove that aspect from the worldbuilding but it wouldn't have been that noticeable of a loss.

Bethesda took that and made it much more blunt and overt than it was in the first games.

Blunt and overt are probably the first words on any Bethesda design doc.
 

lazygecko

Member
It's a kind of hit or miss thing. I don't mind things like the radio stations or art deco architecture, but women walking around with fancy 1950's hairdos in their ramshackle buildings strikes me as pretty odd and out of place.
 

Roni

Gold Member
It's a kind of hit or miss thing. I don't mind things like the radio stations or art deco architecture, but women walking around with fancy 1950's hairdos in their ramshackle buildings strikes me as pretty odd and out of place.

I used to hate on Fallout for its old Americana style, but then I read the lore and realized it's only their tastes that evolved differently and came to accept it.

Game wouldn't be nearly as charming if it weren't for that.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
The 50's americana was one of several aspects that made up the identity of Fallout. But apart from old timey music and animations in the intro, it was generally pretty subdued and mostly lingered in the background through deprecated billboards and whatnot. You could remove that aspect from the worldbuilding but it wouldn't have been that noticeable of a loss.

Bethesda took that and made it much more blunt and overt than it was in the first games.

Especially in Fallout 4. They lean into the Vault-Tec and Pipboy stuff way too hard.

The worst offender is the time they set their games in, of course. 200+ years later and everything being exactly how it was is just ridiculously stupid.
 
Fallout New Vegas is the only game for me in recent memory most closely replicated a true RPG experience....and by true RPG I mean thinking "I wonder if I do this/say this, will it change the way this whole thing pans out" and then having the freedom to make that choice in game with legit ramifications

As a long time player of RPGs (both in the dice-rolling and virtual sense) this freedom is what I crave in video games. Not "see that mountain up ahead...you can go there!" freedom, but interactive freedom

For the longest time I've longed to be able to kill enemy, pick up his outfit, wear it and then infiltrate an enemy hideout......Ok....I know it sounds trivial....but I try this in like every RPG I play and 99% of the time it amounts to me being shot up/sliced to pieces

New Vegas on the other hand.....you can do it! So satisfying and so fun :)

This is why Fallout NV reigns supreme for me. And i think it's the case for all the other NV fans out there...if you truly love RPGs, you love NV. If action is more your style then you probs prefer 3/4
 
The 50's americana was one of several aspects that made up the identity of Fallout. But apart from old timey music and animations in the intro, it was generally pretty subdued and mostly lingered in the background through deprecated billboards and whatnot. You could remove that aspect from the worldbuilding but it wouldn't have been that noticeable of a loss.

Bethesda took that and made it much more blunt and overt than it was in the first games.

Yeah, I've been playing Fallout 1 lately and other than finding the odd Nuka Cola or noticing the 50s sci fi style computers in vaults, you could honestly play the game for hours and never realize that it's supposed to evoke 50s futurism and Americana. It's rather subdued.

(That, and raiders being just raiders and gangsters who told you to buzz off if you bothered them, not drugged out murder zombies)
 

Arulan

Member
Fallout New Vegas is the only game for me in recent memory most closely replicated a true RPG experience....and by true RPG I mean thinking "I wonder if I do this/say this, will it change the way this whole thing pans out" and then having the freedom to make that choice in game with legit ramifications

As a long time player of RPGs (both in the dice-rolling and virtual sense) this freedom is what I crave in video games. Not "see that mountain up ahead...you can go there!" freedom, but interactive freedom

For the longest time I've longed to be able to kill enemy, pick up his outfit, wear it and then infiltrate an enemy hideout......Ok....I know it sounds trivial....but I try this in like every RPG I play and 99% of the time it amounts to me being shot up/sliced to pieces

New Vegas on the other hand.....you can do it! So satisfying and so fun :)

This is why Fallout NV reigns supreme for me. And i think it's the case for all the other NV fans out there...if you truly love RPGs, you love NV. If action is more your style then you probs prefer 3/4

You should check out The Age of Decadence.
 
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