Hey guys before presenting my question concerning New Vegas I'd like to introduce myself, ever so briefly, and my experience with Fallout. My name is Ivan and I'm more of a person who reads posts and reflects rather than posting whatever comes to mind at any given moment. That being said I haven't read too much about Fallout 3 and its reception here, though I'm pretty sure it's negative. I just want to say I started playing Fallout when I switched over from the console (PS2) to the pc. It was during that initial switch that I started to play older games since my rig was shit and couldn't run any of the modern games. It was then that I played Fallout, Planescape, System Shock 2 etc. I consider both Fallout 1 and 2 as among the greatest experiences I've had, but to a greater degree Fallout 1. I don't really think about it as the best game, just simply one of the best works of art I've ever experienced, much like watching a PTA movie or reading Dostoevsky. I can still think back to the characters and the wonderful, yet simplistic music. Moving on, I have been playing Fallout 3 like crazy. First and foremost, I should say that I like open world games. Actually, it would be more correct to say that I enjoy exploring. A sandbox is only good if it has areas that are worth exploring. I can give a shit about loot, my main interest is dialogue and atmosphere. I am someone who reads quite a lot and watches a lot of movies. Those two art forms are among my favorite ways of expressing myself.
Anyway, back to Fallout 3, I found that the primary reason why I kept playing the game was because of the sense of improvement through the exp system. And though I found the dialogue and characters to be atrocious, the greatest sin I found with the game was that it doesn't react in any meaningful way. I felt this most strongly when you solve that stupid vampire quest and I returned to the boy's sister in Megaton only to have her say something along the lines of "Oh thanks for delivering my letter! You're quest is complete. Goodbye!" So to finish this rant, I want to say that though I did enjoy exploring the wasteland I got really bored with once I saw 70% of it. The places felt empty, not only physically, but most of the optional locations were poorly explained and grounded within this post apocalyptic setting. I don't know, maybe it's because I've been reading McCarthy but the capital wasteland doesn't seem bleak enough. Sure, there's violence, but I don't like violence when it's supposed to be "hilarious." I like it when it is treated as a vehicle for horror, something more akin to the world seen in McCarthy's novel "Blood Meridian." As a side note, I interpret the western setting as being very much the other cheek of the post apocalyptic setting.
So now to my actual question concerning New Vegas. Although I am happy knowing that Obsidian is behind this I want to know a few things about the game as well as propose some ideas that could possibly make the game a little more like its predecessors. First, the issue of difficulty. As I'm sure most of you had the same experience, ammo, health, etc, are far too plentiful in Falllout 3. And despite the fact that hardcore mode takes into account the weight of said items, would it not be a good idea if the game's difficulty (does the game still ONLY measure difficulty in combat?) applied to the amount of resources present in the wasteland? I don't recall too clearly, but I don't remember my character in Fallout 1 or 2 swimming in caps and stimpacks. Secondly, the issue of experience. I bought Fallout 3 when the GOTY edition came out and was 75% off on steam (I'm both a patient and cheap person, and yes I am waiting for the inevitable Fallout NV Complete or whatever they end up calling it before buying) and so I had the luxury of having 30 levels to play with. The problem is that I reached that level BEFORE the end of the main campaign (Take it Back!) It was at that point that I stopped playing the game like I did in Fallout 1 and 2. I stopped looking for resources because I realized that I didn't NEED them. I was already swimming in stimpacks, I was dumping 20 some skill points into skills I NEVER used in the game, and choosing Perks that made my Godly character that much more Godlier (And I was playing the game in what was called "very hard" mode!) THIS IS NOT FALLOUT. I understand that one of the reasons why it's easier to reach the level cap in 3 than in the originals is because the game is open world and thus you have far more opportunities to encounter hostile creatures. But to reach the game's max level before the end of the campaign ends is just ridiculous. As previously mentioned, it was because of this rpg system that I kept playing the game and it became ever more evident once I reached it because the game IMMEDIATELY lost its appeal to me. I could care less about the story, and I fear I may not even go on to the DLC's. I ran through OP Anchorage last night and it was meh. I hear the other two are pretty decent but what's to hope for if Fallout 3 doesn't have a story it just knows how to meander and misdirect the player. I don't know how long this is but I think I'm done. Mainly I wanted to propose those two questions about how exp and loot are handled in New Vegas and whether or not it would be a good idea to rein back the exp earned and loot found in the world. I apologize for the long post but these elements infuriated me in Fallout 3, perhaps it's b/c I've invested some 65 hours in it but I am never replaying this game, though I may go through the remaining 3 DLC's (Lookout, Pitt, Zeta). I'm out.
Anyway, back to Fallout 3, I found that the primary reason why I kept playing the game was because of the sense of improvement through the exp system. And though I found the dialogue and characters to be atrocious, the greatest sin I found with the game was that it doesn't react in any meaningful way. I felt this most strongly when you solve that stupid vampire quest and I returned to the boy's sister in Megaton only to have her say something along the lines of "Oh thanks for delivering my letter! You're quest is complete. Goodbye!" So to finish this rant, I want to say that though I did enjoy exploring the wasteland I got really bored with once I saw 70% of it. The places felt empty, not only physically, but most of the optional locations were poorly explained and grounded within this post apocalyptic setting. I don't know, maybe it's because I've been reading McCarthy but the capital wasteland doesn't seem bleak enough. Sure, there's violence, but I don't like violence when it's supposed to be "hilarious." I like it when it is treated as a vehicle for horror, something more akin to the world seen in McCarthy's novel "Blood Meridian." As a side note, I interpret the western setting as being very much the other cheek of the post apocalyptic setting.
So now to my actual question concerning New Vegas. Although I am happy knowing that Obsidian is behind this I want to know a few things about the game as well as propose some ideas that could possibly make the game a little more like its predecessors. First, the issue of difficulty. As I'm sure most of you had the same experience, ammo, health, etc, are far too plentiful in Falllout 3. And despite the fact that hardcore mode takes into account the weight of said items, would it not be a good idea if the game's difficulty (does the game still ONLY measure difficulty in combat?) applied to the amount of resources present in the wasteland? I don't recall too clearly, but I don't remember my character in Fallout 1 or 2 swimming in caps and stimpacks. Secondly, the issue of experience. I bought Fallout 3 when the GOTY edition came out and was 75% off on steam (I'm both a patient and cheap person, and yes I am waiting for the inevitable Fallout NV Complete or whatever they end up calling it before buying) and so I had the luxury of having 30 levels to play with. The problem is that I reached that level BEFORE the end of the main campaign (Take it Back!) It was at that point that I stopped playing the game like I did in Fallout 1 and 2. I stopped looking for resources because I realized that I didn't NEED them. I was already swimming in stimpacks, I was dumping 20 some skill points into skills I NEVER used in the game, and choosing Perks that made my Godly character that much more Godlier (And I was playing the game in what was called "very hard" mode!) THIS IS NOT FALLOUT. I understand that one of the reasons why it's easier to reach the level cap in 3 than in the originals is because the game is open world and thus you have far more opportunities to encounter hostile creatures. But to reach the game's max level before the end of the campaign ends is just ridiculous. As previously mentioned, it was because of this rpg system that I kept playing the game and it became ever more evident once I reached it because the game IMMEDIATELY lost its appeal to me. I could care less about the story, and I fear I may not even go on to the DLC's. I ran through OP Anchorage last night and it was meh. I hear the other two are pretty decent but what's to hope for if Fallout 3 doesn't have a story it just knows how to meander and misdirect the player. I don't know how long this is but I think I'm done. Mainly I wanted to propose those two questions about how exp and loot are handled in New Vegas and whether or not it would be a good idea to rein back the exp earned and loot found in the world. I apologize for the long post but these elements infuriated me in Fallout 3, perhaps it's b/c I've invested some 65 hours in it but I am never replaying this game, though I may go through the remaining 3 DLC's (Lookout, Pitt, Zeta). I'm out.
, anyway, pretty much everything Yamu said is true, NV is alot less of a lootfest than FO3 was, well, until you play OWB at least. And welcome to NMA from me aswell.