Rumors on the Game Informer article

[Tannhauser]

The July issue of Game Informer, which has Fallout 3 as the cover story, hits shelves on June 18th; subscribers receive their issues a few days earlier. Sallokin on the NeoGAF forums claims to be in possession of this issue, and has been relaying information he says is from the magazine.<blockquote>The article is based on an hour long demo GI was given. I'll list the high points

- Game runs on an evolved version of the Oblivion engine. Third person view has been reworked since the verdict was that the Oblivion version sucked balls.

- Game starts with your birth and your mother's death in a vault hospital. This is essentially the character customization part of the game. Your father hands you up to have your DNA analyzed and you get to pick out all your character traits. Your dad takes off his mask to reveal similar traits to the ones you picked.

- You grow up in the vault and as you grow you get your first book titled "You're Special" which allows you to choose you baseline stats for each of your 7 primary aptitudes. You'll also get your first weapons and wrist computer (menu) as you get older and take tests to determine the initial layout of your skills and traits.

- Every aspect of character creation is based on S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system. Of your 14 skills you can tag 3 to grow at a faster rate than the rest as you level up.

- Battle system is called the Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.). The article states. "While you'll certainly be able to tackle enemies in real time using first person shooting, V.A.T.S. lets players pause time and select a target at their leisure". Battle system still uses action points, but once you've used them up you'll still be able to fight targets in real time while they charge back up.

- Game is still violent and gory. One of the featured screens is of a guy's head exploding in super gory detail. Apparently all gory deaths in the game will be in slow motion.

- More than one way to play the game. Go balls out and kill people, or sneak past situations, or perhaps talk your way out of situations.

- Enemies can target you just like you can target them, so you can get injured in very specific points on you body. This in addition to an all new health/radiation system. This new system has you measuring how radiated certain things (like water) are and how they affect you when you consume them.

- Karma system returns

[. . .]

It doesn't say anything specifically about party members, but there's a section that talks about how integral NPC's are to the game, and that a lot of the progress in the game will be made via quests.

EDIT. A little caption under a screen shot says you'll be able to hire henchmen to help you out but this is definitely not a party based game. Also Bethesda confirms that there'll be a dog in the game.

[. . .]

As a matter of fact they do. The game does not scale like oblivion, so if you enter a high level area expect to be promptly murdered.

Also, I just read a little caption.

Level cap is 20.

Definite ending to the game, but there are 9 - 12 possible endings.

[. . .]

It is XP based. Most of your XP comes from quests.</blockquote>Keep in mind that there is no confirmation on this information, it may be entirely false.

Links:
Where's my Fallout 3 teaser Bethesda?! thread at the NeoGAF forums.
New Fallout 3 Info from GI thread at the NeoGAF forums.

Thanks to Autoduel76 for bringing this up in our forums.

 

[Morol]

I certainly hope it’s false.

edit:
On a second thought some of it sound okay.

 

[dev]

damn, no info about the world - will it be one big map (gothic series for example), or sth like in previous fallouts?

but its interesting read, im excited :]

 

[Jimmious]

While you'll certainly be able to tackle enemies in real time using first person shooting, V.A.T.S. lets players pause time and select a target at their leisure

Crap.

 

[trustno1]

It sure is badly written. Can't really tell how the hell this VATS thing works. Sounds like some RT with pause, the pause works like a turn, but the pauses are limited by AP... what?

 

[Autoduel76]

I think its poorly worded and quite possibly the preview article was written by someone who doesn't really understand turn-based combat anyway.

But, here what someone else said about it

The person in interview tries to speak about combat system much worse than I do now. It seems to be complicated than what I am saying.


So about the combat system you should wait and see.

It sounds like the same thing as Fallout 1 but the details about AP's and real-time turn based switching is quite left in mystery.

I can only confirm the VATS system that enables turn based combat. but you also have the option to engage combat in real time. nothing more.

Sounds like it could be ok, or could suck. Funny that even finding out concrete info doesn't tell us anything.

 

[Morbus]

I'll personally wait the article, but it sounds nice to me. I don't like the 14 skills and the real time that doesn't give a fuck about action points (action points in real time are a nuisance anyway), but it looks nice to me... Except the combat... There's a slight hope it will not completely suck, but considering Bethesda's past, its very unlikely...

 

[Stag]

It sounds like Bethesda might not be so evil after all, but yes, that bit about the VATS system sounds a bit too vague.

Goddammit, I was subscribed to GI up until last month!

 

[Morbus]

It sounds like Bethesda might not be so evil after all, but yes, that bit about the VATS system sounds a bit too vague.

Goddammit, I was subscribed to GI up until last month!

Bad luck it seems

 

[Morol]

"While you'll certainly be able to tackle enemies in real time using first person shooting, V.A.T.S. lets players pause time and select a target at their leisure". Battle system still uses action points, but once you've used them up you'll still be able to fight targets in real time while they charge back up.

Sounds like max payne to me.

 

[Jonigigolo]

Please i wanna see some scaaaaaaaans!!

 

[Kan-Kerai]

That's actually pretty close to everything I've heard.

If it's all true, there WILL be backlash, yet the fact still remains that something along these lines is honestly the best thing anyone could have (realistically) expected from BETH3.

To be honest, it sounds about ten million fucking times better than Oblivion already. Well, maybe not that much... but better, at least.

The combat still sounds a bit... er... wonky.

Yet here's the thing:

The game was always going to be Real-Time. Anyone who thought otherwise was kidding themselves.

Taking that into account:

The rather interesting idea of normal attacks+Action Points.

You can attack normally at any time, but Action points allow you to pause and initiate larger, more dramatic actions (targeted shots, critical hits?). This at least adds SOME strategy to the combat, though not much. It's better than Oblivion, at least. And probably KotOR as well.

The key thing is that enemies can do this to you as well. However, I doubt regular enemies will. It'll be the type of thing you see mostly against "major/epic" NPCs, like the Lieutenant, the Master, Horrigan , Mother Deathclaw, etc.

If the "Action Points!" moves were executed well, it could actually have a very "comic-bookish" vibe to it. Sort of like in Freedom Force. Or Max Payne, to echo what someone else said.

Though it could also end up seeming like a disembodied announcer should be screaming "FATALITY! MULTI-KILL! ULTRAAA KILLLLL!!!" in the background.

It's all in the execution.

The slowmo will likely get annoying, though I don't know. I remember something similar in Soldier of Fortune, and I still chuckle at some of the death animations in F1/2. The ones in FOT annoy me though. That might be a problem, considering they're likely close to what we can expect.

Violent... but still seeming almost... sanitized, somehow.

Everything else sounds about as good as we could have (REALISTICALLY) expected, though Oblivion also sounded good while the hype machine was in operation.

Still need a lot more information.

 

[alec]

Scans or it didn't happen.

Screenshots and all? I don't buy it.

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

So if you choose to be a retard, your dad will be a retard. Interesting.

 

[Silencer]

So if you choose to be a retard, your dad will be a retard. Interesting.

Nope, the camera will just fly rapidly to the ground, Max Stone style

This worries me though:

- Every aspect of character creation is based on S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system. Of your 14 skills you can tag 3 to grow at a faster rate than the rest as you level up.

I hope it does not men you don't get to decide WHICH skills to bolster on a level up.

 

[Jimmious]

And that's what worries you most?
I don't think they'll import the "skills grow as much as you use them" system in FO3...Somehow I don't.
However I'm really concerned with the battle system. How are all these cool stuff gonna work if you can actually engage combat in FPS mode? What's the use of the SPECIAL system or your abilities in general?
We need more info!

 

[Silencer]

Nope, I'm also worried whether your character stats will at all count in combat, whether recruitable NPCs aren;t going to be marginalized, and if there will be any chance of setting the camera to even vaguely resemble iso and make sense at the same time.

That should about cover it.

 

[zioburosky13]

- Game runs on an evolved version of the Oblivion engine. Third person view has been reworked since the verdict was that the Oblivion version sucked balls.

Okie. So a third-person view is the default camera angle? Bubye isometric (if they let you rotate camera... )

- Game starts with your birth and your mother's death in a vault hospital. This is essentially the character customization part of the game. Your father hands you up to have your DNA analyzed and you get to pick out all your character traits. Your dad takes off his mask to reveal similar traits to the ones you picked.

Not much different from how Bethesda's character creation in its TES franchise.

- You grow up in the vault and as you grow you get your first book titled "You're Special" which allows you to choose you baseline stats for each of your 7 primary aptitudes. You'll also get your first weapons and wrist computer (menu) as you get older and take tests to determine the initial layout of your skills and traits.

So the early age of PC is essentially a tutorial? I do hope this 'tutorial' involve in all kinda test like diplomatic, thief skill (sneak, steal, backstab) instead of purely combat

- Every aspect of character creation is based on S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system. Of your 14 skills you can tag 3 to grow at a faster rate than the rest as you level up.

Sounds like the 'hit more to lvl' scheme to me instead of the point system

- Battle system is called the Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.). The article states. "While you'll certainly be able to tackle enemies in real time using first person shooting, V.A.T.S. lets players pause time and select a target at their leisure". Battle system still uses action points, but once you've used them up you'll still be able to fight targets in real time while they charge back up.

.... Fallout: tactics anyone?

- Game is still violent and gory. One of the featured screens is of a guy's head exploding in super gory detail. Apparently all gory deaths in the game will be in slow motion.

Death animation strikes back :

- More than one way to play the game. Go balls out and kill people, or sneak past situations, or perhaps talk your way out of situations.

In terms of 'talking yourway out of situations', just don't let us have one 1 dialog choice like Borevillion (like 'yes or no' that kinda stuff?)

- Enemies can target you just like you can target them, so you can get injured in very specific points on you body. This in addition to an all new health/radiation system. This new system has you measuring how radiated certain things (like water) are and how they affect you when you consume them.

So I can become a ghoul now? (if FEV still exist)

- Karma system returns

I hope they put children in the game...

It doesn't say anything specifically about party members, but there's a section that talks about how integral NPC's are to the game, and that a lot of the progress in the game will be made via quests.

Fallout is not party-based game. Okie I admit it the NPC system does suck in Fallout. Fallout 2 gives better NPC management (but still cumbersome with all the click. The best NPC management I seen is Arcanum )

Also Bethesda confirms that there'll be a dog in the game.

The return of Dogmeat! Again

As a matter of fact they do. The game does not scale like oblivion, so if you enter a high level area expect to be promptly murdered.

Good. I don't want to see a raider in power armor with gauss rifle in his hand.

Level cap is 20.

Having a lvl cap is good. It force the player to choose and play wisely instead on focusing lvl-up.

Definite ending to the game, but there are 9 - 12 possible endings.

PC's own ending or other's? (like town and personal)

It is XP based. Most of your XP comes from quests.</blockquote>Keep in mind that there is no confirmation on this information, it may be entirely false.

Not good..not good...point-putting system is essentially part of SPECIAL system. For god's sake we don't want the 'hit more for lvl up' type system

 

[Autoduel76]

It is XP based. Most of your XP comes from quests.</blockquote>Keep in mind that there is no confirmation on this information, it may be entirely false.

Not good..not good...point-putting system is essentially part of SPECIAL system. For god's sake we don't want the 'hit more for lvl up' type system

Wait, huh? XP leveling system is what Fallout was. Morrowind was use based skill increases.

What are you thinking this means? I see it as saying you will level up and get to choose which skills to raise, just like Fallout.

 

[Nim82]

Clearly a lot of stuff needs explaining in more detail, but my initial thoughts are that it sounds a bit dodgy - espescially with respect to combat and SPECIAL.

What I don't get is why they seemingly have AP's for the combat, then let you hack away at real-time when they run out? Sounds like it's a power up mode (like bullet time) rather than a concession to the turn based heritage...

As for stats (unless I've read it wrong) it sounds like it will be oblivion/mw but you get to tag 3 to grow faster? Wonderful :/

Most of the rest sounds reasonable, to be fair, and it certainly sounds slightly more interesting than I had feared it would.... Mind you Oblivion sounded like the dogs bollocks at this stage.... Radiant AI & mounted combat anyone?