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Bethesda Licenses Fallout Franchise, To Make Fallout 3
An anonymous reader writes "According to an official press release, Bethesda will now develop and publish a brand-new version of Fallout 3, after the company 'licensed the rights to the Fallout [videogame] franchise from Interplay... with the option to develop and publish additional sequels.' Interplay, who is presumably licensing out its IP due to recent financial difficulties, is keeping the rights to its theoretical Fallout MMO concept, however, and this new attempt at Fallout 3 from the Morrowind developers doesn't look to be using code/assets from the previously half-completed Black Isle version."
I really wanted to see someboyd like Obsidian get their hands on Fallout III, since they already had a lot of the talent from Black Isles. I'm not going to get too excited with Bethesda behind the wheel. They've never disappointed me (in fact, they've uusally exceeded my expectations) in the Elderscrolls series, but I don't know how well they can shift from that to Fallout. Morrowind had great story behind it, and the open-endedness was above and beyond either of the Fallout games. I hope they can keep that level of depth, but fit it into the coarser feel of Fallout. Then the gameplay... When Black Isle had talked about making Fallout 3 real-time, a lot of people on the messageboards were upset, and wanted them to keep a system simmilar to the first two Fallout games. Especially after Brotherhood of Steel, I don't see many fans -myself included- of the series being very open to a shift to first-person like Morrowind. Especially with the sort of weapons that Fallout is based on, it'd be a very fine line between RPG and FPS.
It's not like any of Bethesda's other games have been released in Mac versions. :(
You knew you were in for a treat when you fired up Fallout: the kitschy black and white TV airing 50's style media slowly zoomed back and back and back, all to an optimistic tune, revealing finally a desolate cityscape devestated by nuclear war.
The game certainly took a number of popular concepts in the bleak future of a post-nuclear holocaust, but it did it with such style that you could ignore many of the familiar sci-fi memes. It was just a heck of a lot of fun to play, to discover what actions would lead to widescale changes in what were the remnants of California.
Although by the time Fallout 2 came out there were vast advances in graphics and sound, the game didn't take advantage of them, re-using the same engine from before. And that was OK, actually, because while others pushed for so much in 3D goroud shaded volumetric fullbrights with translucent starbright shadows and supercharged texels, the folks at Interplay concentrated on story. (OK, they threw in some excellent voice talent, too.) And it, too, was a damn good game.
I wonder what directions Bethesda will take with the franchise.
IMO, the Fallout License is in good hands
/. is overrun by bed-wetting elitist nerds
let it be known, for anything other than servers, a *nix OS sucks
I've been a big fan of FRANCHISE ever since FIRST RELEASE way back in FIRST RELEASE DATE. I love how FRANCHISE revolutionized GENRE with INNOVATIVE QUALITY #1 and INNOVATIVE QUALITY #2.
This new take on FRANCHISE has a lot of potential, as long as NEW COMPANY understands what made FRANCHISE great in the first place. I hope they don't go the way of LAST ATTEMPT AT UPDATING FRANCHISE and get back to FRANCHISE's great roots. I really liked NEW COMPANY'S LAST OFFERING, so maybe this is good news.
Still, the cynic in me can never trust these things, as I am still feeling burned by STAR WARS. We'll see how I feel on RELEASE DATE.
-3Suns
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The Revolution will be Slashdotted
Morrowing, the ultimate non-linear cRPG ... you can go anywhere, do anything the game allows you AND NONE OF IT IS INTERESTING.
Id rather have a small world with a lot of detail than Morrowind.
If they use isometric view and allow turn based combat it will be fallout 3, otherwise it will be just another franchise butchered beyond recognition.
From HomeLAN:
HomeLAN - How much input will Interplay have in the development of Fallout 3? Can they say "yes" or "no" to things like game design, story, etc?
Pete Hines - We have complete creative control over the development of the game.
HomeLAN - Will any team members from the previous Fallout games be involved in Fallout 3?
Pete Hines - Too early to talk about stuff like that.
HomeLAN - Ok. Final question..has development of Fallout 3 actually begun and can you give us any idea of a release date?
Pete Hines - I'll take the last one first. WAY too early to talk release dates. Yeah, we've started pre-production on Fallout 3 development.
Also, from Bethesda dev Gary Noonan:
Being a developer at Bethesda, I am also a big Fallout fan. I played all of the titles from FO1 to FOBOS. Not so much a fan of FOBOs or FOT, but I did play them through. To this day, FO1 is still in my top 5 fav games, not just RPGs. The campy humor, the grotesque action, and the integrated pop culture, as well as Pip Boy (can't leave THAT out!) are what allow FO to stand out from other titles. I agree, without these, it is simply NOT FO.
Now, the fact is, this news is just that.... NEWS. I have known about this for some time now, and I have been excited about it since the deal was still in the making. I AM a fan of FO. Who better to have working on a game than a FAN.... someone who knows the game, knows what it's about, knows the mood, knows the setting and atmosphere. Now, as a new development even here in the office, it's still quite a welcoming shock and we are ALL eager to be a part of it. I can't put into words how much I am dying to be a part of it.
So, for all the existing Tes fans, welcome the FO fans. Everyone has their opinions about titles and developers.
For the FO fans joining us, give it a chance. Everyone (well, I really speak for myself) here is excited about this opportunity and it is talked about quite a bit.
And for all, let's keep it cool. As everyone who has been here for a long enough period of time knows, we developers listen to what the fans have to say. The forums are our link to hearing your thoughts and input on aspects of the titles.
(All yanked from No Mutants Allowed).
Yes, the PC version is just as buggy, however, there is one great man who solves all that.
a r 3000 bug fixes, have fun)
http://www.baldurdash.org/TESMW/TESMW.html
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(And yes, its the same guy who fixed all the BG1+2 bugs as well.)