Fallout: I want to hear your ideas and suggestions

[Ghost]

Hello all,

For a short while now I have been trying to help a friend of mine with a fan based Fallout project that is a response to Bethesda’s Fallout 3.
Though in general positively received by the magazines and sites, not all Fallout fans are so favourably about it and the changes Bethesda has done.

Next to trying to help with finding skilled people for the project my friend has also asked me to make up ideas for a storyline, factions, locations, Non Player Characters etc.
Well at first I started with an idea I thought was good but after going over it several times and comparing it to Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Tactics, Van Buren (cancelled Fallout 3) and even Bethesda’s Fallout 3 I am not so happy about it anymore.

I am also stuck with a large writer’s block trying to invent some good new stuff, and I have the unfortunate luck that I know very little to no Americana (American culture, history etc.)
I talked about it with Harrison and he suggested that I would make a topic for it here where I ask for what ideas and suggestions you have for a Fallout game.

It can be everything, from perhaps some changes in the gameplay to new factions, characters to perhaps even suggestions for storylines but please try to stay in the spirit of Fallout, so not dozens of suggestions of super factions that appear out of nowhere ready to conquer the world, or stuff that would stick more in a modern future.

[Puni/Void]

Hello all,

For a short while now I have been trying to help a friend of mine with a fan based Fallout project that is a response to Bethesda’s Fallout 3.
Though in general positively received by the magazines and sites, not all Fallout fans are so favourably about it and the changes Bethesda has done.

You are right about that, Ghost. Many fans of Fallout, myself included, are quite sceptical of the path Bethesda has chosen to walk concerning Fallout 3. But as it has been mentioned in this forum earlier, we should hope for the best. It's great that you and your friend has started out with a fan based Fallout project. Are you going to create a Fallout 2 mod?

It can be everything, from perhaps some changes in the gameplay to new factions, characters to perhaps even suggestions for storylines but please try to stay in the spirit of Fallout, so not dozens of suggestions of super factions that appear out of nowhere ready to conquer the world, or stuff that would stick more in a modern future.

I would love to help out, so I'll give you a sign if I get some ideas on paper.
Hopefully I can do some brainstorming during the weekend.

Will the game take place in the same areas as Fallout 1 and 2, or are you going to use other locations btw?

Good luck with the project!

[Ghost]

Hello P G,

Great to hear from you.
Well I have to admit that regarding screenshots it looks nice, its when it comes to gameplay or the handling of the universe that I am perhaps even more skeptical than you are.

Already we have the BoS and an army of Super Mutants (rather impossible as it has been almost a century since the vats were destroyed), and now also the possible return of the Enclave (which you pretty much annihilated at the end of Fallout 2) who run their own radio station!

Are you going to create a Fallout 2 mod?

Actually my friend is working on a complete new 3D engine (think Van Buren), if possible the team would like to recreate all the Fallout graphics in 3D.
If working of course, the engine would have a moveable camera and zoom function.

Will the game take place in the same areas as Fallout 1 and 2, or are you going to use other locations btw?

We would like to use a complete new locations, to prevent screwing with existing locations, but also to show how the rest of the US has been doing since the War.
Of course, again the problem is that I myself don't know much Americana, so its hard to choose which region.
We also don't want to use regions used by other mod project.

I would love to help out, so I'll give you a sign if I get some ideas on paper.
Hopefully I can do some brainstorming during the weekend.

Hope to hear from you on it.

[Puni/Void]

Hi Ghost,

Thanks for the reply. Check your PM inbox.

[nightrain]

One thing that is missing from RPGs in general is a more aggressive, interactive police force. NPCs are not vigilant enough when it comes to thieving and murdering. Example from Bethesda's Morrowind game: I can kill and rob six people in the first town I go to and get away with it completely. Nobody hears the screaming and fighting. Nobody cares about the dead bodies lying on the ground. Nobody cares that the places have been broken into and robbed. There's no follow-up ever from guards or citizens.
To make the game more immersive, the NPCs should be more aggressive about coming after the main character with accusations and criminal charges. Being in trouble with the law is hilarious and exhilirating. I remember the Bounty Hunters used to chase me around in Fallout 1. In Fallout 3 there should be Bounty Hunters, aggressive cops, crooked cops, and vigilantes that won't put up with the looting and murdering we find ourselves doing. It adds to the excitement of robbing and murdering people that you have to clean up after yourself and make sure there aren't any living eye witnesses if you don't want to be hunted by the law.

[Harrison]

That is a very good point and something that developers have always had problems with. Getting the NPCs to feel believable and realistic to the player. The problem is that in creating a justice system within a game you can end up making it very hard to play and enjoy.

One that did include law enforcement is the Baldur's Game series. I remember the first time I played the original first game in the series I began by doing what you do in every other RPG, going through the belongings of everyone in the inn, and in the town. The problem was that one of the NPCs discovered missing items and I was sprung. And on fleeing to the next town some magicians were waiting for me and killed me on the spot as I entered the town. Nasty! But cool too.

Another was the Thief games. Being discovered or an NPC finding a dead body meant others were alerted to your presence. The MGS games are another example of a similar system, and many Ninja games also include similar systems.

Oh and welcome to the forum nightrain

[Puni/Void]

One thing that is missing from RPGs in general is a more aggressive, interactive police force. NPCs are not vigilant enough when it comes to thieving and murdering. Example from Bethesda's Morrowind game: I can kill and rob six people in the first town I go to and get away with it completely. Nobody hears the screaming and fighting. Nobody cares about the dead bodies lying on the ground. Nobody cares that the places have been broken into and robbed. There's no follow-up ever from guards or citizens.

Hi Nightrain and welcome to the Classicamiga forum. Hope you'll have a good time here!

As for Morrowind, I don't agree completely about the law enforcement factor. All towns, like Balmoro, Vivec, and so on, does have a form of police in the guards. These guards patrol the streets and they are fighting crime. If you try to steal someone, or maybe you decide to attack an NPC, they will respond and thereby try to arrest you. You can of course try to avoid this by using sneak mode, or attacking an NPC at a spot were no guards are around. If you get caught, you'll have to spend time in jail, which will reduce your stats.

There is also a bounty-system, and the bounty goes up and up depending on how much crime you are comitting. I believe the bounty-system is also implemented in Oblivion. Beside this, I would also like to mention that in Morrowind and Oblivion, there is is a reputation level which will influence what other characters think of you. Therefore, if you commit crime, non-criminals will be reluctant to help you out for example.

Anyway, I understand your viewpoint, and I think it would be nice with an RPG were such a system was more developed.

[Harrison]

That is true regarding Oblivion. If a guard spots you trying to break into a house, or you are caught trying to pick someone's pockets then the guards are instantly attacking you and throwing you in jail.

Another game with a good justice system was Frontier: Elite 2.

[Puni/Void]

Yeah, Frontier had a law-enforcement system that worked well. If you by mistake fired a cannon or launched something at a city or spacecenter, they would come for you right away.

[Demon Cleaner]

The first Elite also had that feature, a bit annoying was, when you were in a fight, and hit the space station only one time with your fire, the cops immediately swarmed out with their vipers, and you couldn't dock there anymore.

Welcome nightrain, nice to meet you.