Should I want Interplay to win v. Bethesda?

[Gnarles Bronson]

Just for clarification-I have been a Fallout fan since 1999, Fallout 2 is my favorite game, and I think Fallout 3 was more or less terrible.

But that being said, aside from the fact that Interplay winning would mean a fallout MMORPG coming out much sooner than Bethesda could, should I still want them to win?

I mean, interplays gameography is hardly stellar, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Interplay_games, sure theres a few gems but a lot of slugs as well. And the fact is, the developers that worked on FO1 and 2 (Tim Cain et al.) are working for obsidian now, which seems to have a good relationship with Bethesda.

The thought occurs to me that, even though I dislike where Bethesda has taken the game personally, perhaps it would be in my own best interest as a classic fallout fan for them to win, considering their relationship with obsidian.

So, mainly if you are a classic FO fan, do you really think Interplay winning (in any scale) v. Bethesda would be best for the franchise? What if Interplay somehow magically won the rights outright? (Obviously if you are a fan of 3 this question isn't for you, as we all can guess your position.)

 

[Surf Solar]

I don't care for either one winning. It is basically a choice between jumping in a sea of piss or diving in a pond full of turds.

 

[Korin]

A majority of the people in Interplay aren't even from the original F1/F2, so no. The people running it now are the reason they've had so many problems, now and in the past.

 

[Ben]

1/2 are amazing RPGs and know how to tell stories. They are also pretty hard to pick up as a newbie, and can be hard to do things like keep all your companions alive.

3/NV give oodles of hours of gameplay if you want to uncover every mystery, secret and easter egg. They are a lot of fun and the Gamebryo engine is amazing. In converse, they can be too easy or too hard for the wrong reasons (like Lanius having thousands of health). Also, the storytelling isn't as good as FO2 because they don't need to with all the flashy things.

Either way, you win some you lose some.

 

[Surf Solar]

FO3/NV[...]

They are a lot of fun and the Gamebryo engine is amazing.

 

[Yamu]

Watching this lawsuit unfold is kind of like watching the devil wrestle the retarded kid from life goes on, only the devil has promised to buy you an (admittedly mediocre) ice-cream cone if he wins the match and the retard has promised to crap in your mouth.

Sometimes, it actually makes more sense to root for the devil.

 

[Atomkilla]

 

[Wintermind]

When faced between a choice of two evils, I pick the one I haven't tried yet.

 

[thegaresexperience]

F3 and NV were pretty good, but the gamebryo engine being great?

How much are they paying you to say that?

 

[PainlessDocM]

or

 

[Ben]

F3 and NV were pretty good, but the gamebryo engine being great?

How much are they paying you to say that?

Nothing, as a semi-professional programmer, I appreciate the plethora of features it has, such as NPCs having a disposition toward you or each other. I like that NPCs will have their weapon disarmed/broken and look for a new one. I like that packs of Legionaries and NCR soldiers patrol the Mojave looking to whack each other. There are still kinks to be worked out, such as how everyone says 'Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter' but this is the latest, greatest step against signpost characters (like almost every other RPG). Take Dean Domino, if you are rude to him, he will call you his 'ball, chain and collar' but if you're friendly to him, he will call you 'partner'. You might not understand if you've never tried coding but this shit is amazing.

 

[Surf Solar]

F3 and NV were pretty good, but the gamebryo engine being great?

How much are they paying you to say that?

Take Dean Domino, if you are rude to him, he will call you his 'ball, chain and collar' but if you're friendly to him, he will call you 'partner'. You might not understand if you've never tried coding but this shit is amazing.

This has nothing to do with coding, more with the creativity of the writer. You had the same mechanics in 10+ year old RPGs, same as npc seeking on their own for new weapons, or two opposing patrols meeting each other, different stands towards your character etc.

 

[Ben]

F3 and NV were pretty good, but the gamebryo engine being great?

How much are they paying you to say that?

Take Dean Domino, if you are rude to him, he will call you his 'ball, chain and collar' but if you're friendly to him, he will call you 'partner'. You might not understand if you've never tried coding but this shit is amazing.

This has nothing to do with coding, more with the creativity of the writer. You had the same mechanics in 10+ year old RPGs, same as npc seeking on their own for new weapons, or two opposing patrols meeting each other, different stands towards your character etc.

You had pseudo effects like that, such as Final Fantasy 3/6 where you could 'convince' soldiers of the empire to stop fighting. That, however, was an illusion. When you play Oblivion and talk to someone, you can pull up a menu about how much that person likes you, the variable of which determines what responses you get, if they'd report you for a crime or aid you in a fight. Those 10+ year old RPGs just don't do that.

 

[Surf Solar]

Those 10+ year old RPGs just don't do that.

You haven't played any older RPGs, haven't you? Final Fantasy are jRPGs and have nothing to do with this discussion.

 

[Ben]

Those 10+ year old RPGs just don't do that.

You haven't played any older RPGs, haven't you? Final Fantasy are jRPGs and have nothing to do with this discussion.

Then tell me what you mean because the 1990s seems to fit in that 10+ year old

 

[Surf Solar]

You do realize that npc variables have been around since forever? It was like that in the old Goldbox games, the Baldurs Gate Games did that, Fallout did it, etc. - basically everywhere where you have dialog options at all. This shit is nothing new and nothing to write home about in the Gamebryo Engine. If you only played japanese games and think these were the pinnacle of RPGs, then I do not wonder though.

 

[Ben]

You do realize that npc variables have been around since forever? It was like that in the old Goldbox games, the Baldurs Gate Games did that, Fallout did it, etc. - basically everywhere where you have dialog options at all. This shit is nothing new and nothing to write home about in the Gamebryo Engine. If you only played japanese games and think these were the pinnacle of RPGs, then I do not wonder though.

Sure Fallout 1 & 2 have reputation variables but when does anyone in Fallout attempt to find a new weapon? or even have theirs degrade? There are random encounters but when does an NPC actually trek across the wasteland?

 

[Surf Solar]

There are all kinds of different variables, not only depending on your reputation.

but when does anyone in Fallout attempt to find a new weapon?

Depending which AI pack they use they search for new weapons when their main weapon was taken away.

There are random encounters but when does an NPC actually trek across the wasteland?

All of the named npc (except maybe 1,2 exceptions) stay at their fixed location in New Vegas. The npc "treking the wastes" are unnamed patrols which have no impact in the maingame, which is basically the same as the random encounters in FO1/2.

Degrading Item conditions is nothing new to gamebryo either and can be easily imported in FO1/2 aswell as user created mods show.

 

[Ben]

Depending which AI pack they use they search for new weapons when their main weapon was taken away.

Give me one specific example

All of the named npc (except maybe 1,2 exceptions) stay at their fixed location in New Vegas. The npc "treking the wastes" are unnamed patrols which have no impact in the maingame

They might not be named per se but there are about 6 traveling merchants who do laps around the map. You can prove this by using a glitch to make Sunny Smiles warp to Hidden Valley or Sloan at the beginning of the game and watch her walk back. Before the Companions fast traveled through the patch (to help the impatient), those poor SOBs walked.

which is basically the same as the random encounters in FO1/2.

No it doesn't, the closest thing to those random encounters are the assassination squads or gift bearers. Those random encounters from 1 and 2 are barely better than Final Fantasy, with the exception that they have the special ones.

 

[Surf Solar]

Depending which AI pack they use they search for new weapons when their main weapon was taken away.

Give me one specific example

Startup the game, fight any foe above average towndweller (=whimpy AI) and see for yourself. Shoot them their weapon out of their hands, they will grab either their old one or look for better weapons on corpses/weapons laying around.

All of the named npc (except maybe 1,2 exceptions) stay at their fixed location in New Vegas. The npc "treking the wastes" are unnamed patrols which have no impact in the maingame

They might not be named per se but there are about 6 traveling merchants who do laps around the map. You can prove this by using a glitch to make Sunny Smiles warp to Hidden Valley or Sloan at the beginning of the game and watch her walk back. Before the Companions fast traveled through the patch (to help the impatient), those poor SOBs walked.

Wow, I can watch NPC walking through an empty desert for hours and hours till they could potentially be killed by a random glitch/enemy. Truely the Gamebryo Engine is ahead of its time.

Random roaming merchants could be found in Fallout1/2 too, by the way.

which is basically the same as the random encounters in FO1/2.

No it doesn't, the closest thing to those random encounters are the assassination squads or gift bearers. Those random encounters from 1 and 2 are barely better than Final Fantasy, with the exception that they have the special ones.

Fallout 1/2 - you walk over a map and find random encounters which contain different content depending on the Worldmap area you are on currently. Those encounters (not counting special encounters) all contain un-named and non crucial NPC.

Fallout 3/NV - you walk over a map and find random encounters which contain different content depending on the map cell you are in currently. Those encounters (not counting special encounters) all contain un-named and non crucial NPC.


Ah yes, now I see the huge difference you were speaking about.