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Fallout 3 Back From the Dead?

BiteMyShinyMetalAss writes "According to a GameSpot story, Interplay plans to publish Fallout 3. However, development has not been restarted, and it will likely be farmed out from the sounds of it. There is supposed to be an announcement with more details coming soon to your neighborhood. No Mutants Allowed is also covering it."

44 comments

  1. Awesome by Pluvius · · Score: 1

    If they get Bioware to do it then this might be good.

    Rob (fp)

    1. Re:Awesome by incubusnb · · Score: 1
      i tend to agree, Bioware has an Amazing track record and have the co-CEOs have openly stated that they enjoy the Fallout series.

      what a better company to go with, if Bioware wants the job i hope that Interplay gives it to them

      --
      /. is overrun by bed-wetting elitist nerds
      let it be known, for anything other than servers, a *nix OS sucks
    2. Re:Awesome by Slashdot+Hivemind · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Bioware have turned crap.
      NWN was an uninspired hack and slash. SOU and HOTU were good, but too short and too linear.
      KOTOR was a very pretty, overdeveloped and underwritten POS with all the balancing of a news report on FOX
      Additionally, they now have a very close relationship with Microsoft, which means if they did Fallout 3 it would be XBox exclusive

    3. Re:Awesome by Ayaress · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm particularly hoping for Obsidian, or one of the other companies that picked up lots of Black Isle workers. Bioware has some good work, but Black Isle worked on this game for a long time. They know what they wanted it to be.

      From the developers posting on websites like nma-fallout.com, it sounded to me like they were fairly well along in development. They were writing quests, composing a storyline, inserting towns into the game world. Bioware might be able to take it and run, but it's a much more sure bet that the former Black Isle guys will take it and run in the right direction.

  2. Good news by hords · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I hope they pick someone who can do the series justice. Not a developer that will just dig the grave for us.

    I have windows on my computer. Right on the side of the case

    1. Re:Good news by Pxtl · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Remember Star Control 3? Justice, yeah, right.

    2. Re:Good news by Pluvius · · Score: 1

      Star Control 3 was actually pretty good. Not as good as the ridiculously good Star Control 2, but good.

      Rob

    3. Re:Good news by obeythefist · · Score: 1

      It was okay. It just wasn't StarCon2. What they could have done was kept most of the mechanisms for StarCon2 instead of inventing new and untested ones. The game came out as a strange kind of StarCon/StarCon2 hybrid but without keeping the same kind of feel that StarCon2 had.

      I think it's about time there was a re-write of StarCon2 with modern graphics, sound, and a true 3D galaxy.

      --
      I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
    4. Re:Good news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope they pick someone who can do the series justice.

      They had picked Chris Avellone !

      Quality was probably not the reason Black Isle was eviscerated. So I would not expect quality developers to pick up this project, just cheap ones. This is obviously being done just because enough of Fallout 3 was developed to patch into a salable game to recoup some of the investment.

  3. Old news... by Chester+K · · Score: 1

    Unless they're going to develop it under a bridge somewhere, it's not going to get done.

    --

    NO CARRIER
  4. Ick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I'd rather it never come out that have it come out, and suck.


    I'll buy it either way, I can't help myself... and they know it. :o(

  5. Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by Rayonic · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...Troika! You know, the people responsible for the first Fallout game.

  6. Great... by Thedalek · · Score: 3, Funny

    Fine. One cult-following series sequel is probably getting published, but what developments on the Sam & Max: Freelance Police front?

    Oh, wait, "off-topic" is a negative moderation point.

    --
    Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
    1. Re:Great... by cabra771 · · Score: 1

      I'm thinking it's about time for another wave of pissed off emails to Lucasarts' PR department.

      --

      -my other sig is your mom
  7. Re:new news... by hords · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here is some new news for you.

    "The company's net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2003, was $3.3 million, compared to a net loss of $5.4 million for the same period in 2002."

    ""These results mark an important milestone for Interplay. In 2003, we had a return to operating profit and substantially reduced our debt. However, we continue to operate under cash constraints," said Herve Caen, chairman and CEO, Interplay."

    Sounds like they are still having financial difficulties, but it seems they haven't been kicked out yet.

  8. I'm normally an optimistic person... by the_ed_dawg · · Score: 5, Informative
    ...but a big name publisher wanting to create a sequel to an amazingly popular game without the original developers? How many times have we heard this before? I believe that the Fallout SPECIAL system is one of the better ones out there, but Fallout 1 and 2 were so great because of the details: the dry humor, the cartoons, the subtle pokes at famous people, etc. Interplay is going to have a hard time replacing the developers' attention to said detail.

    Because of the previous Fallouts, I will probably buy this one, but I'm going to wait a few weeks to see what corners get cut in the sake of budget and schedule (because we all know where quality rates with big companies), as opposed to getting on the waiting list 3 months in advance.

    Note: This is all under the assumption that Interplay didn't fire everyone at Black Isle just to contract them out.

    --
    There are two types of people: those prepared for the zombie apocalypse and those who will be eaten.
  9. Obsidian's Delaware Project? by Kulic · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is just idle speculation, but Obsidian Entertainment hasn't announced what it's "Delaware" project is yet (nor have they announced who the publisher is). They are also hiring, possibly indicating another project. There is plenty of speculation on the forums, but no official word yet.

    If they were finishing off FO3, I'd definitely buy it. Look who founded Obsidian, any of those names look familiar?

    1. Re:Obsidian's Delaware Project? by incubusnb · · Score: 4, Informative
      actually, its been unofficially confirmed by IGN that the game Obsidian is working on is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 (source)

      i know its a bit off-topic but i figured i'd clear that up a bit before people start assuming that Obsibian is making Fallout 3

      --
      /. is overrun by bed-wetting elitist nerds
      let it be known, for anything other than servers, a *nix OS sucks
    2. Re:Obsidian's Delaware Project? by eudas · · Score: 1

      jesus christ on a pogo stick, they couldn't think of a better fucking title than KOTOR2? god damned marketing bitches running sequels...

      eudas

      --
      Blessed is he who expects the worst, for he shall not be disappointed.
    3. Re:Obsidian's Delaware Project? by Ayaress · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but they're the one's who SHOULD develop it. They were the people who were developing it to begin with. As I said before: There's a lot of people who can take Fallout 3 and run with it, but Obsidian are the one's I'd bet on to run in the right direction.

  10. 'Fallout 3 Back From the Dead?' by MMaestro · · Score: 3, Funny

    Zombie! Kill it before it infects other games!

    1. Re:'Fallout 3 Back From the Dead?' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I wouldn't expect too much from this... expect some big news related to Interplay very soon. Them being late on rent is a good indication of what is about to be announced.

  11. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by MacroRex · · Score: 3, Informative

    You mean the same people who did Temple of Elemental Evil, the game that was so buggy that the community had to release a patch for it?

    On the other hand, Arcanum was moderately entertaining, though it still has the merit of being the most dissappointing game I have bought.

    And besides, of their team of about 30 only five or so have had anything to do with Fallout. I'd rather have Fallout 3 done by Black Isle Studios. I still get the warm and fuzzy feeling when I think about Planescape: Torment.

  12. SC2 remakes abound by Haeleth · · Score: 3, Informative

    I think it's about time there was a re-write of StarCon2 with modern graphics, sound, and a true 3D galaxy.

    Not 3D, but high resolution and open source: Star Control: TimeWarp. Looks like it's melee-only at the moment, but it seems to be pretty active.

    Alternatively there's The Ur-Quan Masters, which is a more straightforward remake based on the original source code (to the 3DO version), if you just want to play the original on a modern PC.

  13. If the original developers aren't involved by eXtro · · Score: 5, Insightful

    they'll probably botch it up. Fallout and Fallout 2 were both games with dated graphics which still ended up with a vocal, if not huge, following. I just replayed Fallout 2 last week myself. Their skill system was excellent but I don't think that explains the popularity. Instead I think it was a combination of that alongside the attenion put into the gameplay itself. CRPG are usually nasty linear affairs and while Fallout suffered from some of that you could still complete the game in a variety of ways and with a variety of different starting characters. A Big Dumb Slugger was one way but most recently I finished it with a grifter. Good speech skills, excellent pickpocketing skills.

    1. Re:If the original developers aren't involved by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Lord knows BoS was a valient attempt, but just didn't pan out. (What do you mean I can't climb over, move, cut open, blow up, or otherwise get over a waist-height pile of sandbags!?

      Still, if whoever winds up finishing it are fans of the series, something good may happen.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    2. Re:If the original developers aren't involved by pragma_x · · Score: 1

      Agreed on all counts. If only Fallout 3 could be composed by the original team.

      I was really sold on the franchise when in Fallout 1, I realized that I could double-cross some NPC's who had bounties out on each other's heads. Combine plot twists like that with the "1950's-cold-war-era that never ended" art-direction, using bottlecaps for money, two-headed cows, briliant (and appropriately campy!) cinematics, and of course the Pip-Boy based character generator and you have nothing short of sheer game development genius.

      Oh, and most importantly: it was fun to play too.

      Playing the game as a gunslinger-fighter type was probably the most action packed way to complete the game.

    3. Re:If the original developers aren't involved by BiteMyShinyMetalAss · · Score: 1

      Another thing I loved about Black Isle`s work on Fallout was the Fallout Bibles that Chris Avellone published for a while. Not only fun to read, but interesting to see how some of the ideas were developed, extra background info, etc. I doubt that many developers would do that kind of thing for fans, especially so long after the release of the games. (The first issue came out in March 2001)

    4. Re:If the original developers aren't involved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry to say, a lot of the information was skewed, or was still being corrected by those who actually played the games, not just throw any goofy stuff they felt like it under the guise of a "sequel developer". After awhile (maybe tired of reading the numerous corrections), the Fallout Bible kind of sank into fewer updates.

      MCA also admitted that New Reno and the other number of lame easter eggs (along with CSawyer previously of 14 Degrees East on that last point) did not belong in the universe.

      Most of the core was already gone by the time the Fallout Bible was being put to pen, so to speak. About the best you can do is think if someone read Star Wars and came up with a "The Eye of Argon Edition" with a fleet of Millenium Falcons (the car in Fo2, when gas was the reason for the warandthe electronic ones got mostly friend by EMP) docked just outside of Mos Eisley (NCR's magical "fleet of cars"), and you'll have MCA's approach to the Fallout universe.

      Cheers, MCA. ;)

      -Rosh@NMA-Fallout.com

  14. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by The+Evil+Couch · · Score: 3, Informative
    unfortunately black isle got shut down in november.

    during the interview, they said that it would be done by an outside developer. they're not saying who, which probably means they haven't awarded the contract yet. which, naturally, means that the game itself is probably a year or more away from store shelves.

    bah. this news isn't nearly as good as I would have liked to hear.

  15. Fallout 3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There are two possible outcomes, assuming that fallout 3 is not completely canned again.

    1) It is given to Troika, or Obsidian Entertainment (largely composed of ex black isle staff) and they make another superb fallout game.

    2) It is given to any other studio, who will promptly make an abomination (like Brotherhood of Steel) and kill off the fallout licence once and for all.

    I'm betting on 2)

  16. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by rRaminrodt · · Score: 1

    What in Arcanum dissapointed you? I remember really liking that game, of course I loved the setting to death and it was the the last windows game I bought so that may color my perception.

    --
    They'll think I've lost control again and leave it all to evolution. -- Supreme Being, Time Bandits
  17. Great news by samsmithnz · · Score: 1

    This is indeed great news... but I like others wonder if it will be farmed out to some poor little independent, that will only have 6 monthes to produce a game that will require 3 monthes of testing and game play tweaking alone... but then again I'll probably still buy it... like I buy all the star wars games, as atmosphere can quite often save a poor game (take for example Star Wars Rebellion...)

  18. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by Torgo's+Pizza · · Score: 1

    That "farm" smell seems to reek of Interplay trying to get this on a console somehow. I'm not sure if I would touch this project. It's got "disappointment" written all over it.

  19. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by InThane · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think Troika did a pretty good job, all limitations given. Atari was stingy with the money, and WotC overrid some of the content that they wanted to put in, forcing them to strip a lot of stuff out at the last minute.

    Yeah, they bit off a bit more than they could chew, but I don't think it was really Troika's fault other than being overconfident.

    --
    InThane
  20. Descent Sequel by Kyouryuu · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I want to add that another game idea Interplay has been shopping around is a sequel to Descent, according to GameSpy.

    Link to article

    They also mention revisiting Kingpin, Earthworm Jim, Dark Alliance, Airborne, and Exhaulted.

    1. Re:Descent Sequel by Omicron32 · · Score: 0

      I'm all for a Descent sequel, but whatever happened to originality?

    2. Re:Descent Sequel by Ayaress · · Score: 1

      Another Earthworm Jim game? I'd forgotten all about that game. I knew there was something missing from my GBA collection. That's it.

    3. Re:Descent Sequel by Kyouryuu · · Score: 2, Informative

      There has been a port of Earthworm Jim to the GBA already. http://www.gamespot.com/gba/action/earthwormjim/in dex.html

  21. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yes, but three of those people were Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarski and Jason Anderson. Take a look at the ending credits from Fallout and you will notice thier names show up more times that you could wag a stick at.

  22. Is that really necessary? by 0x0d0a · · Score: 1

    Instead of just buying the game because it's in the Fallout series (as I've seen a couple of people saying), wouldn't it be easier to just see what the reviews say?

  23. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by DS-1107 · · Score: 1
    Some information for the masses.
    The BiS that was shutdown recently was hardly the BiS that made Planscape: Torment, nor the people that made Fallout in the first place - All the talent and bigwigs already left BiS to form companies like obsidian and Troika.

    Troika have since had other publisher problems, first with sierra and weird demands on Arcanum, and then the one year long, or rather if you will short, development time on ToEE - a game they wanted to patch, but Atari at first did not want to pay for the patch, thus the Co8 patch for the game. When finally Atari buldged and agreed on paying for the patch, they kept it for testing for weeks, and then left it at that even if the game would really need a 2nd patch.

    Besides that Troika fled Interplay back in the day, it would be kind of sad to see them fallback, even more so with the unstable ground Interplay is standing on, after all half the cash they earned recently "bringing them back from financial disaster" they owe in rent see

  24. Re:Farm it out? Great, maybe they can get... by rpillala · · Score: 1

    This is kind of an obvious dig, but pray it does not go to ION. Years ago, the joke would have been John Romero. While he's still a joke, this time the joke is Deus Ex: Invisible War. I can completely see a company wanting to "update the production values and gameplay of a popular franchise to bring it in line with other AAA titles on the market."

    Ravi
    --
    When the axe came to the forest, the trees said, "Look out - the handle was once one of us."