No Mod Tools for Fallout 3 Launch 91
Rock, Paper, Shotgun interviewed Bethesda's Pete Hines about the upcoming release of Fallout 3. He talks about dealing with misunderstandings about the game prior to launch, violence in modern games, and the fact that the game won't launch with mod tools. "Folk probably took for granted that every time we make a game, there's a mod tool. We explained to folk that it takes a lot of time and effort to get that tool ready for release, and it's not on our schedule right now. We need to get the game done and out. ... Right now, we can't say definitively 'there will be mod tools, and here is when they'll be out.' We discussed some Fallout 3 gameplay videos a few weeks ago. That work remains to be done." In related news, Interplay has picked up Chris Taylor, designer of the original Fallout, to help develop their Fallout MMOG.
Re:Modtools prolong a game's life... (Score:5, Informative)
It doesn't say "no" specifically, it says "not immediately, and no guarantee on eventually".
Strange... (Score:4, Informative)
Fallout 3 is based on the same engine as Oblivion. They even use some of the same assets, you can see the same characters and models used in Oblivion in the recent demo videos. There is already a extensive set of tools available for Oblivion, so I assume they would just have to be modified for Fallout 3.
I have this nasty feeling that the devs realize this and they just want to push the tool development effort back onto the gamer community.
Re:And? (Score:4, Informative)
I strongly, strongly agree with you that exploring is not nearly as fun as in Morrowind. In addition to what you mention, I think another "problem" is that you can see the entire capitol province at almost any time. It really makes it seem smaller than it is. Another problem is that the wilderness got repetitive moreso than Morrowind.
That said, Elder Scrolls 5: Coolwordhere will be an instant purchase for me when it comes out in 2020. I'm glad Morrowind and GTA games are so popular, because it is large, open-ended and exploring kind of games that I find absolutely most enjoyable.
Allow me to recommend two Oblivion mods if you decide to play again:
* Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul
* Modular Oblivion Enhanced
These two add a lot more to the game. Try reading the features/manual to them, and you just might get the itch to start playing again.
Re:Chris Taylor. . . (Score:5, Informative)
Different guy.
Fallout guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Taylor_(game_designer) [wikipedia.org]
GPG/Total Annihilation guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Taylor_(game_designer) [wikipedia.org]
Re:Modtools prolong a game's life... (Score:4, Informative)
No modtools? That's a shame. Modtools really extend the life of a game- in fact, I'd say they probably extend the life of a game more than anything else .
I don't recall mod tools shipping with Fallout 1 or 2 - and the series has remained in print since 1997.
That's because they were made great from the start. The emphasis was on Gameplay and not graphics
That is the common problem with modern games, The designers are all "oohhh ahh look at my pretty gfx, look i got this rag doll to be the most realistic ever" yet the game play sucks
At the most basic level take the game breakout (i think that's what it was called for the amiga), Peggle is the most recent take on it I think. It's the game with bricks at the top, you have a paddle at the bottom and you bounce a ball. It does't matter about the gfx as the gameplay is great.
In fallout III I wanted the same top down view as fallout I & II and I just wanted the world to be better textured. I don't care about rag dolls, physics, etc. I want the storyline, the character development, the ablity to pimp my wife, the bare knuckle and boxing fights you could rig. I don't want VATS it's just a gimmick for the younger generation who are used to pretty gfx and shit gameplay.
Take Doom III, I loved the previous Doom games, but Doom III for all the work that went into the gfx the game became a flashlight simulator. It was soo dark and you couldn't have a flashlight equiped at the same time as your firearm (i think they eventually released a patch to add flashlights to weapons). To top it all off the game was nowhere near as good or replable as Doom I or II (I still play them on dos box)
Another game that suffered was the Monkey Island series, I & II where great epic games, III was a complete revamp with pretty cartoon gfx and the game sucked harder that Monica Lewinsky
Re:"Nooo!" indeed... (Score:3, Informative)
That's also why Halo 3 was such an amazing game. Bungie spent a huge part of their budget on developing and studying results from a staggeringly complete play testing environment. It was even featured in Wired [wired.com].
Game companies should really learn these lessons.
If you want a good RPG in the style of the classic Origin games, then you can have it: Eschalon [playgreenhouse.com]