Fallout 3 - Back For Blood

[MattKeil]

Looks like it may not be dead after all. Whether it will end up being what BIS intended it to be, that's another matter entirely.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04/15/news_6093628.html

[Moore]

Ok, this is getting silly. They should just ask Troika to pay IPLYs 3 months rent before they get evicted in exchange for the Fallout rights.

[Ben]

I don't see anything good coming of this. AFAIK, the game was still some ways from complete, and I don't think a game that's 60% BIS and 40% some unknown studio would work as well as either one doing the whole thing. And IPLY is unlikely to give the new guys the time to do any substantial reworkings, given their cash flow problems.

[Peter Olafson]

Depends. Are the key people who were working on Fallout 3 still together at some other development house?

Also, what's the "LY" in "IPLY"?

Peter

[Jason McCullough]

We are so fucked.

[Brian Rubin]

Ah yes, another beloved and cherished being raped by greedy suits. I know we don't have a lot of information, so pre-judging such an announcement might be out of line, but given the track record of these sorts of things, it's not looking good.

[Kool Moe Dee]

Cautiously optimistic. (mainly because of the clear delineation between FO3 and offshoot Fallout titles)

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

We are so fucked.No shit. Worst game of the year, incoming...

[nutsak]

That would be Unreal 3.

I can see how you got confused, you know, both ending in 3, but come on.

I do sort of agree though. Having two companies make the one game is a pretty bad idea... but fans wanted to see it done.
PM me when the 'fallout 3 fans are rioting!!1!11!!!' thread gets made.

[Ben]

IPLY is Interplay's stock abbreviation.

Anyway, I hope The Fall is good.

[Filthy Ike]

Big Daddy Herve will say ANYTHING to get investment capital. Yeah sure, he's got a Fallout game coming out--but first he needs somebody to make it, and some money to pay them with. By that standard MY MOM has a Fallout game coming out.

[Ben Sones]

...And now apparently Interplay is being evicted from their corporate offices. That bodes well for all games in development, and even better for games that are only hypothetically in development.

[EricFate]

Close them down and auction them off.

If nothing else, it will give Volition-Inc a chance to buy back the rights to make another Freespace game.

[extarbags]

Why can't anyone be optomistic? Fallout 3 is better than no Fallout 3, and there's a chance it will work out nicely... depending on who ends up making it....

[Jack]

Why can't anyone be optomistic? Fallout 3 is better than no Fallout 3, and there's a chance it will work out nicely... depending on who ends up making it....

Really? Was MOO3 better than no MOO3? Sometimes, the dead are better left at rest.

[extarbags]

Why can't anyone be optomistic? Fallout 3 is better than no Fallout 3, and there's a chance it will work out nicely... depending on who ends up making it....

Really? Was MOO3 better than no MOO3? Sometimes, the dead are better left at rest.

Well yes, actually, it was. Thanks to MOO3, ten people have a new MOO game that they like, and everyone has a fun joke and still has the first two games to play if they really want to.

There's a *chance* that this cross-developed Fallout 3 will be good. As long as there's a chance, I say bring it on, because I want more Fallout.

[Ben Sones]

Why can't anyone be optomistic? Fallout 3 is better than no Fallout 3, and there's a chance it will work out nicely... depending on who ends up making it....

There's also a chance that unicorns will fly down my chimney and deliver my breakfast, but I'm not holding my breath. As EricFate said, it would be better for all involved if Interplay just sold the property to someone with the capability to actually do something worthwhile with it.

[extarbags]

I don't give a damn who publishes it, and if they farm the development out to Troika or Obsidian or somebody, what's the difference?

Also: How in the flying hell did you make that post so fast? I think I hit "submit," and by the time the page loaded, your response was on it.

[Ben Sones]

The difference is that Interplay probably won't survive as a company long enough to see this project done. I don't care who publishes it, either, as long as it does get published. With Interplay, I'd say you have a better shot at a unicorn breakfast.

[extarbags]

I agree. That's why my hopes aren't too high for it actually coming out. But if it does, I'll be there.

Why?

Because I'm a fan, that's why.

[soondifferent]

What's with the pessimism? Either Obsidian or Troika would do nicely.

[Sean Tudor]

Tim Cain ! Chris Taylor ! All is forgiven ! Please come back !

[Donald L.]

What's with the pessimism? Either Obsidian or Troika would do nicely.

I think enough of us have seen sequels of great games being diluted and the only thing they have in common are their names and the universe the games are in.

I hope whoever makes Fallout 3 remembers what made the series great, well at least the first one anyway.

[Tyjenks]

What's with the pessimism? Either Obsidian or Troika would do nicely.

I think enough of us have seen sequels of great games being diluted and the only thing they have in common are their names and the universe the games are in.

I hope whoever makes Fallout 3 remembers what made the series great, well at least the first one anyway.


Lords of the Realm III anyone?

I have little hope of this resembling anything I would want to play when it is released in 6 years.

[Chris Nahr]

I just wanted to add that the Gamespot writer has the coolest name of any game journalist: Tor Thorsen! :D

[Midnight Son]

I just wanted to add that MOO3 was a spreadsheet simulator that is better off never being mentioned again.

[curst]

What's with the pessimism? Either Obsidian or Troika would do nicely.

Enh, my main problem is the idea of multiple dev teams working on it. The last RPG I played that was developed by lots of people on a team with a ridiculous turnover rate (which seems to me to be pretty much the same thing as handing the game from one team to another) was Pool Of Radiance 2. And, um, yeah. HOLY FUCKING OUCH.

If they can ensure that the original team will be at least mostly kept intact (is that even a remote possibility? I obviously have no idea), then okay, maybe this is fantastic news. I'm just saying, here I see definite cause for concern.

Also, I can't speak for Obsidian because I am optimistic about a company with Feargus in their ranks, yet they've not produced anything as of yet. Who knows how they'll turn out. But my experience with Troika games can best be summed up as "meh". And even that may sound too excited to accurately convey what I really think about them. Don't get me wrong, I *think* I like what seems to be their underlying philosophy in RPGs - tactical combat and a character development system with lots of detail. But the end result has either bored me to tears (Arcanum) or frustrated the hell out of me (Temple Of Elemental Evil). I'm sure someday that they're going to create that awesome RPG that makes me forget about Baldur's Gate 2 - it just hasn't coem close to happening yet, and I have to question whether giving them a partially complete game is how they're going to accomplish it.

[Peter Olafson]

I really hope they succeed. But, right now, Fallout 3 is probably just a server full of unfinished code, a wish and a prayer.

I'm sure they can find a capable developer within the ranks of the recently departed, but, given all the reports of Interplay's deathbed financials, does the company have ready money to pay the developer? Has anyone seen any recent FTC filings, and know whether they've raised any new capital?

Another question: Did the Fallouts really make much money? Inquiring venture capitalists will want to know. Someone posted sales figures a good ways back (in response to my low guess); I -think- they were actually in the 150,000 to 200,000 range. Does that really qualify as a hit, and how much of it translated into sales for Fallout Tactics? (That is, has the franchise effectively dropped off the map?)

Peter

[mtkafka]

This game will be to Fallout what Deus Ex 2 was to Deus Ex (or Thief 3 will be to Thief). But who cares?!?! MO' MONEY! (or so they believe... the idiots, I wonder how Fallout BOS did HAHAHAHA!!!!111).

etc

[soondifferent]

Also, I can't speak for Obsidian because I am optimistic about a company with Feargus in their ranks, yet they've not produced anything as of yet. Who knows how they'll turn out. But my experience with Troika games can best be summed up as "meh". And even that may sound too excited to accurately convey what I really think about them. Don't get me wrong, I *think* I like what seems to be their underlying philosophy in RPGs - tactical combat and a character development system with lots of detail. But the end result has either bored me to tears (Arcanum) or frustrated the hell out of me (Temple Of Elemental Evil). I'm sure someday that they're going to create that awesome RPG that makes me forget about Baldur's Gate 2 - it just hasn't coem close to happening yet, and I have to question whether giving them a partially complete game is how they're going to accomplish it.

I'll trust Obsidian with Fallout 3 just because they got Chris Avellone. I loved Torment, enjoyed reading the Fallout Bible, and I think that New Reno is the best area in the Fallouts. Sure, some of it seems out of place, but I liked the attention paid to useless details. I liked the sheer amount of roleplaying choices. I liked that almost everyone responds differently to different characters and character choices (not just on a good/bad axis, but also male/female smart/dumbslaver/not slaver boxer/not boxer etc.) Compared to New Reno, everything else seems sparse and linear.

I haven't been wowed by Troika either -- Arcanum was a great concept, and ToEE is a decent combat engine. But they seem to learn from their mistakes, so I'm optimistic -- thought it was great that they focused on ToEE as a turn based single player game rather than some half assed hybrid (honestly, did ANYONE play Arcanum multiplayer?).

[extarbags]

This game will be to Fallout what Deus Ex 2 was to Deus Ex (or Thief 3 will be to Thief). But who cares?!?! MO' MONEY! (or so they believe... the idiots, I wonder how Fallout BOS did HAHAHAHA!!!!111).

etc

There's no way to know that. Forgive me if you aren't, but you sound like a No Mutants Allowed type fanboy here. You know, the kind that absolutely hates everything.

"I WANT A NEW FALLOUT GAME!"

"NO YOU DICKS NOT AN ACTION GAME CONSOLES ARE FOR KIDS AND SEX IS TEH GAY YOU GUYS SUCKS BOS SUCKS I HOPE YOU DIE YOU FUCKS WE ONLY WANT AN RPG IF ITS NOT FALLOUT 3 ITS CRAP!"

"NOW YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE FALLOUT 3 AND WE'LL LIKE IT? WTF YOU GUYS ARE TOOLS WHO JUST WANT OUT MONEYS!"

[helicon]

This game will be to Fallout what Deus Ex 2 was to Deus Ex (or Thief 3 will be to Thief). But who cares?!?! MO' MONEY! (or so they believe... the idiots, I wonder how Fallout BOS did HAHAHAHA!!!!111).

etc

There's no way to know that. Forgive me if you aren't, but you sound like a No Mutants Allowed type fanboy here. You know, the kind that absolutely hates everything.

"I WANT A NEW FALLOUT GAME!"

"NO YOU DICKS NOT AN ACTION GAME CONSOLES ARE FOR KIDS AND SEX IS TEH GAY YOU GUYS SUCKS BOS SUCKS I HOPE YOU DIE YOU FUCKS WE ONLY WANT AN RPG IF ITS NOT FALLOUT 3 ITS CRAP!"

"NOW YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE FALLOUT 3 AND WE'LL LIKE IT? WTF YOU GUYS ARE TOOLS WHO JUST WANT OUT MONEYS!"

I'm pretty sure he was joking. :wink:

[extarbags]

My point still stands about the fanboys though.