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Author Topic: Fallout: New Vegas  (Read 300701 times)

ArcAirbender

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #100 on: 08 Mar 2010, 03:44 »

I do not wish to hijack the thread, I know this is about NV; however I rather ask three quick questions here than to revive an old thread somewhere deep beneath the forum.

I haven't played games in a pc for a while now, most of my gaming is done in the 360. The most recent system I own is a macbook, so I got Fallout 1 & 2 for mac a few days ago; I've never played any fallout at all, so I figured the best place to start was F1 (duh!).
And so it happens apple stopped giving 256 colour support; now I have a very nicelooking doorstop.

My question for any of you here is: Is Fallout 3 a good place to start playing the franchise? Am I missing a lot (history-wise) by starting in the 3rd series of the game?
I'm about to get F3 game of the year edition from ebgames. Is 60 bucks a fair price for it, or are the various DLC included not worth it?

My main concern is if I should make the effort and try to play the first 2 titles... "somehow", or just blew it and go with the 3rd.

Thanks in advance.
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Quoted from: Inlander on July 29, 2008, 08:41:49 AM
Man, why is every new person who disagrees with group opinion on this forum suddenly and automatically branded a troll? I don't get it, and I don't like it. Homogeneity is the enemy of intellect, people

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #101 on: 08 Mar 2010, 05:52 »

It's perfectly fine to start with Fallout 3, because it's pretty much unrelated to the first two (it's not really a sequel - it just shares a setting and a name). I infinitely prefer the first two as games but you won't be missing out on anything in Fallout 3 if you haven't played them.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #102 on: 08 Mar 2010, 06:16 »

the first 2 games are definitely worth any reasonable effort to get them running.  but it doesn't preclude you from getting into fallout 3 if you don't.

60 is high. steam has it for 50, but i'm sure you can find it for less than that somewhere.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #103 on: 08 Mar 2010, 07:39 »

The DLC, with the exception of Anchorage maybe, is definitely worth it, though. Lots of added content.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #104 on: 08 Mar 2010, 09:46 »

I do not wish to hijack the thread, I know this is about NV; however I rather ask three quick questions here than to revive an old thread somewhere deep beneath the forum.

I haven't played games in a pc for a while now, most of my gaming is done in the 360. The most recent system I own is a macbook, so I got Fallout 1 & 2 for mac a few days ago; I've never played any fallout at all, so I figured the best place to start was F1 (duh!).
And so it happens apple stopped giving 256 colour support; now I have a very nicelooking doorstop.

My question for any of you here is: Is Fallout 3 a good place to start playing the franchise? Am I missing a lot (history-wise) by starting in the 3rd series of the game?
I'm about to get F3 game of the year edition from ebgames. Is 60 bucks a fair price for it, or are the various DLC included not worth it?

My main concern is if I should make the effort and try to play the first 2 titles... "somehow", or just blew it and go with the 3rd.

Thanks in advance.
I don't think there's anything in Fallout 3 that's dropped in without explanation. Given the distance between the settings (Cali and DC) it's actually something of a reboot. There are probably things you won't notice or things you'll find strange, but nothing that's going to ruin the game.
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Scandanavian War Machine

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #105 on: 08 Mar 2010, 12:01 »

You can get the GOTYE edition at Best Buy for $39.99, probably other places as well.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #106 on: 08 Mar 2010, 12:14 »

I have a somewhat odd question. I have the GOTY edition one, that came with the expansions, for the 360. I let my family borrow it so they could have the expansions, and play and see if they like it, and then just get the regular edition one, if they do. My boyfriend is telling me that he doesn't think the regular game disc is going to let them play any of the expansions, which I find hard to believe. Any idea if that's true or not?
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #107 on: 08 Mar 2010, 12:23 »

The expansions should have just installed onto your hard drive. The two I picked up did, so I can't imagine it being any different on the GOTY version.

Might check up on it, though. I have been wrong so many times before.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #108 on: 08 Mar 2010, 12:38 »

See, that's what I thought. You only ever use the expansion disc once, and that's to download the expansions onto your hard drive. I think they will be totally fine to buy the cheaper version on this.
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ArcAirbender

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #109 on: 08 Mar 2010, 17:41 »

Thank you all for the quick response.

Hey Scandanavian, are you sure about the $39.99 price tag? I mean if that's so, to keep on looking because the BB near my collage in Tx is giving the GOTY ed. for xbox 360 for $60, the pc version for $50, and the one that is $39.99 is the platinum hits edition, which I'm pretty sure doesn't have the DLC.

Just double checking, because I obviously want to get the best price possible.

http://anonym.to/http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Fallout+3%3A+Game+of+the+Year+Edition+-+Xbox+360/9554207.p?id=1218123464451&skuId=9554207&st=fallout%203&lp=7&cp=1 <-- $60 for the x360 GOTY ed

http://anonym.to/http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Fallout+3+Platinum+Hits+-+Xbox+360/8813313.p?id=1206749191125&skuId=8813313&st=fallout%203&lp=5&cp=1 <-- $40 for the platinum hits in x360

http://anonym.to/http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Fallout+3%3A+Game+of+the+Year+Edition+-+Windows/9554154.p?id=1218123464257&skuId=9554154&st=fallout%203&lp=9&cp=1 <-- GOTY for pc, $50
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Quoted from: Inlander on July 29, 2008, 08:41:49 AM
Man, why is every new person who disagrees with group opinion on this forum suddenly and automatically branded a troll? I don't get it, and I don't like it. Homogeneity is the enemy of intellect, people

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #110 on: 08 Mar 2010, 17:47 »

All I know is that I bought it used for $49.99 at Gamestop and regretted it the next day when I saw Best Buy had it for $39.99.

Maybe it was a sale, or temporary promotion but it was like that for at least a week (haven't gone in recently, maybe I'll check it out after work).
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ArcAirbender

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #111 on: 01 Apr 2010, 23:01 »

I want to give you guys a quick update about my purchase.

Yesterday I finally had some time to myself; went to a few different stores to see what is new and found out that ebgames/gamestop was having a sale. I found Fallout 3 for 20 dollars, which I presume is a great deal. I asked different people if the additional content for the GotY edition was worth the extra 40 bucks, they said it was about 6 more hours of gameplay, which made me drop it instantaneously. I rather have another 20 dll title plus add 20 dollars to my xbox live account. I'm considering buying shadow complex, I've heard great things about it.

So, if you have the time and the money, there are a couple titles that might interest you in the "sale of the year" bin. To me the best ones were fallout 3 and IL2-Sturmovik (world war 2 flight simulator). I remember seeing odd titles like Quake 4 for 5 dlls (I rather keep the 5 dlls) and Assasin's Creed 2 for 30 dlls.

I'm going to take it slow with Fallout. I'm already out the vault, but have been having trouble with the open spaces of the wasteland (I don't understand what am I supposed to do most of the time). After playing games like Mass Effect 2, I have to say: I've been spoiled rotten in the graphics dept. Fallout 3 is not a game that has aged well in that respect. And what's with the silent protagonist? Its Half Life all over again.
These are really minor complaints of what otherwise has been a really pleasant experience. (lovin' the V.A.T.S. system)

Thanks, all of you, for the help.
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Quoted from: Inlander on July 29, 2008, 08:41:49 AM
Man, why is every new person who disagrees with group opinion on this forum suddenly and automatically branded a troll? I don't get it, and I don't like it. Homogeneity is the enemy of intellect, people

Emaline

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #112 on: 02 Apr 2010, 10:02 »

What are dlls?


Also, if you check your "Quests" screen on Fallout, it should tell you what you need to do, and set markers, I think.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #113 on: 02 Apr 2010, 10:27 »

Wait wait wait...they said that all of the DLC was 6 hours?  It's more like 6 hours for each piece of content, and more like 15 for Point Lookout and Broken Steel
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #114 on: 02 Apr 2010, 12:49 »

Seriously? They said 6 hours of content on the DLC?

That's absurd. I spent way way way more than that on Point Lookout alone. That said, GOTY edition probably isn't worth an extra $40, but Broken Steel and Point Lookout are worth the $20 they cost on their own.

Also, Shadow Complex is fucking great. Go get it.
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LTK

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #115 on: 02 Apr 2010, 13:52 »

Mind you, a silent protagonist is one that does not speak. That means no dialogue.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #116 on: 02 Apr 2010, 13:55 »

I'm probably gonna buy GOTY from Steam for $50. Should I invest in a wired controller/wireless receiver or just play mouse and keys?
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #117 on: 02 Apr 2010, 14:01 »

I imagine the controls in Fallout 3 work best with mouse and keys. I haven't had any issues with them personally. Then again, my experience with this only covers PC ports.

Why this thread, anyway? The Fallout 3 thread is not ancient, it's right there on page two!
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #118 on: 02 Apr 2010, 14:37 »

Also, if you are anal retentive like me, than you can easily spend weeks on most of the DLC. It was like we got a whole other game when we got those.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #119 on: 24 Apr 2010, 12:38 »

There's a rumor going around that there will be a turn-based tactical combat "prequel" to F:NV coming out for the iphone around June.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #120 on: 27 Apr 2010, 00:04 »

Bullshit.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #121 on: 27 Apr 2010, 00:24 »

Worked for Dragon Age!
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #122 on: 27 Apr 2010, 01:08 »

I can't imagine why that would be bullshit?
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #123 on: 27 Apr 2010, 01:28 »

The DA flash prequel was brilliant, was the one for the Iphone the same thing?
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #124 on: 27 Apr 2010, 11:08 »

They released a Mass Effect game on the iPhone between the two console games.

I can't think of any reason why they couldn't do a Fallout one. They are cheap to make and usually do good business.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #125 on: 27 Apr 2010, 12:54 »

Yeah. It's a pretty savvy business move all told.
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Ptommydski

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #126 on: 27 Apr 2010, 13:52 »

Some publishers actually give the Apps away for free because they are such effective promotional tools.

Every time Volkswagen releases a new car, they put a new driving game in the Apps Store for free where you can race it around different tracks. I usually shop for Apps whilst on the toilet. They found a way to advertise their product towards me whilst I am taking a shit, it's a marketing dream.
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glyphic

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #127 on: 27 Apr 2010, 17:03 »

Marketing execs are now hunched in darkened stalls wiping the sweat off their touch screens as they try to think up the next big thing.

Because of you.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #128 on: 27 Apr 2010, 22:37 »

"He takes it with him to shit, man! To fucking shit! HOW ARE WE GOING TO WOW THIS GUY"
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #129 on: 27 Apr 2010, 21:26 »

He'll be amazed when he looks into the bowl and sees advertising on his turds.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #130 on: 27 Apr 2010, 21:27 »

The anti-corporatist in him will laugh and say "Yeah, advertising and turds, seems about right", and too late he'll realise they've got him.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #131 on: 27 Apr 2010, 21:28 »

He'll never even find out which food he ate contained the nanobots and the biodegradable paint microcapsules.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #132 on: 27 Apr 2010, 21:29 »

It could be the food you're eating right now.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #133 on: 27 Apr 2010, 23:23 »

Actually that is real marketing genius because that means you'll probably buy all of those foods at least one more time
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #134 on: 30 Apr 2010, 12:34 »

I can't imagine why that would be bullshit?



I guess I should have clarified that.

I don't think it's bullshit(as in not true), I think it's bullshit as in why the iphone. I hate it. rar rar rar abloo bloo bloo.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #135 on: 30 Apr 2010, 13:24 »

First actual gameplay preview I've seen is now up at IGN. Most of the features we've heard about, but some of the landmarks are new and interesting.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #136 on: 01 May 2010, 18:21 »

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*~

Imagine that there is an amount of damage that armor directly subtracts from damage... a "threshold" of damage, if you will. While a small percentage of damage may get through even the thickest armor, damage threshold can effectively neutralize a lot of small arms. Fallout 1 and 2 used numerical feedback to let the player know when their weapons weren't doing any damage. In F3 and F:NV, the player only sees enemy health meters that represent a percentage of total health rather than an exact value. This makes it difficult to tell how effective an enemy's armor is (as opposed to the target simply having a ton of health). In F:NV, the red shield appears next to a target's health meter when you hit it for damage that is equal to or less than the target's damage threshold. A HUD-colored shield appears next to the player's health meter when the player is hit for damage equal to or less than the player's damage threshold.

High RoF weapons typically have a low DAM, high DPS. E.g. 10mm SMG. Low RoF weapons are the opposite. E.g. Hunting Rifle. F:NV's Pip-Boy Weapons tab now cross-fades between DAM and DPS so the player can make more tactical choices about what weapon to use in any given circumstance. Having both of these values visible has also allowed us to revise the calculation of DAM/DPS values to be less abstract and more accurate. Using the weapons previously listed, a 10mm SMG would be best against unarmored/lightly armored targets at close range. The Hunting Rifle is ideal against armored targets at long range. But if the player wants to get fiddly with numbers, the Cowboy Repeater (mentioned in the Escapist preview) is better than either weapon against unarmored/lightly armored targets at long range since it is accurate, has a decent DAM and a better DPS than the Hunting Rifle. Add ammo subtypes and mods into the mix and there are a lot of ways to optimize the gear you carry and use.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #137 on: 01 May 2010, 20:39 »

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #138 on: 01 May 2010, 23:12 »

In summary, more interface and smarter damage types = cool spreadsheets to work on

Also, that Fallout is cool.

[needs thumbs up smiley]
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #139 on: 01 May 2010, 23:38 »

Are you trying to tell me I can't do the New Vegas equivalent of just getting the Rivet City dude's magic plasma cannon and coasting for the rest of the game with it?
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #140 on: 02 May 2010, 00:45 »

There probably will be a way. If not, the modding community will be all over it.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #141 on: 02 May 2010, 01:27 »

Also more design talk from Josh
Quote
At work, we have a lot of rules for how to write. These range from punctuation (single-spacing after terminal punctuation) to spelling ("all right" vs. "alright") to structural (where a "goodbye" response should be relative to a "start combat" response and where that should be relative to a "friendly" response). Every project has a document (or documents) on the specific guidelines for that project. In spite of all the details, there are certain high-level principles that tend to be common. Okay, maybe it's just in my mind, but here are principles that I believe are important for writing player-driven dialogue in choice-heavy RPGs.

* Dialogue should inform and entertain players -- inform them about the world and quests, entertain them with interesting characters and prose. If you aren't informing or entertaining, think hard about what you're trying to accomplish.
* Write an outline. Really. Just do it. You should have an idea of where you are going before you set out. If you don't know where you're going when you write your conversation, chances are the player is going to get lost at some point.
* Always give at least two options. At a bare minimum, you should always have an option that says, "Let's talk about something else," that leads back to a node where you can say, "Goodbye." You may think that your dialogue is riveting and no one could possibly want to stop reading/hearing it, but believe me -- someone out there does.
* Never give false options. Do not create multiple options that lead to the same result. It insults players' intelligence and does not reward them for the choices they make.
* Don't put words in the player's mouth. With the exception of conditional replies (gender, skills, stats, etc.), phrase things in a straightforward manner that does not mix a request for information with an emotionally loaded bias ("I'd like to know what's going on here, jackass.").
* Keep skills, stats, gender, and previous story resolutions in mind and reward the player's choices. If it doesn't feel like a reward, it isn't; it's just a false option with a tag in front of it. Note: entertainment value can be a valid reward.
* The writing style and structure are the project's; the character belongs to you and the world. As long as the dialogue follows project standards and feels like it is grounded in the world, it is your challenge and responsibility to make the character enjoyable and distinct.

All of these principles exist to support this basic idea: your audience is playing a game and they want to be rewarded for spending time involving themselves with conversation. If it is a chore, is non-reactive, is confusing, or is downright boring, it is the author's failing, not the player's.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #142 on: 02 May 2010, 13:41 »

Quote
Don't put words in the player's mouth. With the exception of conditional replies (gender, skills, stats, etc.), phrase things in a straightforward manner that does not mix a request for information with an emotionally loaded bias ("I'd like to know what's going on here, jackass.").

Oh thank god. 
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Storm Rider

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #143 on: 03 May 2010, 00:17 »

This is legitimately the first time I have ever been genuinely excited about a video game.

Someone tell me they have a new cast for the voice-overs though. Assure me of that much, please!

I dunno whether Bethesda or Obsidian handles that end of it, to be honest. Mask of the Betrayer had some pretty good voiceover, and what I've heard of Alpha Protocol's from various trailers seems pretty good as well. But if it's in Bethesda's hands, we can expect the usual pattern of two Hollywood people eating up 95% of the budget and the other 200 characters in the game being divided up among the same dozen shitty people they always use.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #144 on: 03 May 2010, 00:29 »

I'm not sure who does it either, to be honest. Could depend on the publisher. From what I understand the VA contracts hammered out for Alpha Protocol came from Obsidian's end - MCA had mentioned that one of the original designers on the project had worked with Womb Music before on Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines and that was how they decided who to go to. But given that the publisher is the one that signs the checks I'm sure it's up to them, ultimately. Womb employs a lot of veteran VAs but they I don't think they've gotten Names in the past. Hopefully they vary it a bit.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #145 on: 03 May 2010, 00:38 »

The cast list on IMDB for Alpha Protocol definitely doesn't have any 'names' on it, although there are definitely a few I recognize from being a huge nerd who plays too many video games.

Also, Josh Sawyer seems like a cool dude from what I've seen of him posting on forums and in interviews, although I've never interacted with him directly. I was really weirded out listening to that interview though because his voice sounds a lot like Avellone's. Maybe I'm just imagining that.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #146 on: 03 May 2010, 00:47 »

They do have similar cadences, now that you mention it. Now that Matthew Rorie's gone (back to Giant Bomb, most likely, though it's not entirely apparent at present) Sawyer's the only designer with an active role in the community, regularly interacting with people who try really hard not to appreciate him and his work. I relied upon him pretty extensively to fill in gaps in the Van Buren documentation a few years ago, but it's a lot harder to get direct messages to him these days - all the NMA types have filled his PM inbox and he's left it full, so PMs sent to him don't go anywhere. Very smart, very systems-oriented, as you can see from the quotes. Before this he was lead on the Aliens game that got canceled, he did what amounted to custodial duties on Neverwinter Nights 2 (the original lead left for Bioware and he came in at the tail end of the project's development) and he was the lead on the Icewind Dale games for Black Isle.
« Last Edit: 03 May 2010, 00:49 by KvP »
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Storm Rider

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #147 on: 03 May 2010, 03:25 »

Rorie left Obsidian? That's news to me, I was still reading previews and interviews with him as recently as a couple weeks ago. I wonder what happened. I can't imagine Obsidian going through layoffs, and you don't usually see people who jump from game journalism to actual development hop the fence in the other direction.
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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #148 on: 03 May 2010, 04:04 »

Well I'm only guessing it's Giant Bomb. It's something around San Fran way. And yeah, it wasn't that he got canned or anything, he was doing a good job (and the PR campaign for AP is kicking off pretty well now) but he got an offer and he took it. It's too bad, he was very accommodating, a good community liaison.
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Storm Rider

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Re: Fallout: New Vegas
« Reply #149 on: 03 May 2010, 04:36 »

Well there are roughly a billion publishers and developers located in the Bay Area, so it could be he got offered a full-on producer job rather than community management, which is a pretty thankless job in the grand scheme of things. It would be nice to hear him back with the old crew at Giant Bomb, though.
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