New Vegas review from NMA, too good to be true???

SimpleComplexity · Oct 31, 2010

Patroling the Codex, almost makes me wish for a nuclear winter.

Jaedar · Oct 31, 2010

RK47 said:
but definitely fast travel is a must. Especially when you're doing 'Return to Sender'

Personally, I tend to use "movetoqt" when I get bored of needless fedex. Teleports you straight to where you need to be.

Hoaxmetal · Oct 31, 2010

Jaedar said:
RK47 said:

but definitely fast travel is a must. Especially when you're doing 'Return to Sender'

Click to expand...

Personally, I tend to use "movetoqt" when I get bored of needless fedex. Teleports you straight to where you need to be.

Same here. Hardcore purists will yell popamole etc. but I'd rather save 10 minutes I'd have to spend simply running back to quest giver (BoS quests being good example).

Elwro · Oct 31, 2010

I read all I could about it, but I cannot play Caravan. I have 9 clubs as the first card of my Caravan. I have 7 clubs in my hand and I can't play it on the 9 clubs. Why?

In fact, in my copy of the game it seems I can play no numbered cards on any other numbered cards. After beginning the caravan, I can only play face cards. Anyone knows why?

edit: heh, no one told me I have to press "down" arrow before playing a card, move along, nothing to see here

Mortmal · Oct 31, 2010

Topher said:
Encounter Design and why games stopped being 2D in the first place.

With the advent of 3D gaming the designer needs to begin to design content while keeping three-dimensional spaces in mind. Why then do all the enemies in New Vegas appear at roughly the same elevation? Strangely enough I actually think that Fallout 3 handled encounter design in a 3D space much better the New Vegas has. In Fallout 3 it was very common to engage enemies that were positioned several floors above or below my character, this was particularly prevalent in the ruins of outdoor building and in the subway tunnels. Enemies would fire down at me from the window of a second story building as I worked my way up to them or would notice my character while patrolling the upper levels of an underground subway platform. Yet all of this has been conspicuously absent during my time with New Vegas and I’m left wondering why. There are still outdoor ruins but I have yet to see any enemies in the upper levels of these even though they are surrounding the building at ground level and there are still plenty indoor factories and vaults with a network of catwalks for enemies to take advantage of. So why then does it seem like the designers approached encounter design with a two-dimensional frame of mind? Perhaps it all stems from Obsidian’s lack of familiarity with fully 3D environments? After all New Vegas is the first time they have worked in a fully realized 3D space (at least to my knowledge) and because of this I am willing to chalk it is as understandable oversight. Of course there are times when New Vegas remembers to take advantage of its extra dimension but these instances are the exception rather than the rule and in the future I would beg developers to remember why games gravitated to 3D in the first place and to be sure to take full advantage of that extra dimension when working on any aspect of game design. Remember that not everybody out there thinks that every game has to be 3D but if you choose to design a 3D game be sure to take advantage of all the extra possibilities it offers, otherwise what was the point in the first place.

That one is easy, you just need to look at the companions behavior. They hardly succeed in following you, that was the same in oblivion and nehrim. I wont spoil it, but you will realize why encounters on different levels are a no go when you enter vault 34, your companions will just get stuck everywhere trying to chase enemies.
Even outside, they cant target very well enemies higher or lower than them sometimes emptying all of their ammo in a wall .

Admiral jimbob · Oct 31, 2010

Played up to Primm, in the process of fetching them a new sheriff.

So far, so Fallout 3. One thing that's improved is a far higher number of skill checks and alternate routes through quests, and they are of a pretty high quality - been a while since I saw speech checks that weren't just "I hate games, please let me skip this quest so I can rush through the game faster". Hope that much keeps up, I'm seeing a fair bit of replay value already, and the overall challenge is a bit higher, but that might just be because I'm playing on Hard. As for the rest... still pretty Fallout 3. But it's looking up.

Elwro · Oct 31, 2010

It's nice you can use Science in Primm, at least twice.

Anyway, once I got this thing running (I think), it's shaping up to be a great game!

SuicideBunny · Oct 31, 2010

thrice, i think...

lower ed-e repair requirement, make cowboy bot realize it's been hacked and the gun is missing, make cowboy bot new sheriff

Elwro · Oct 31, 2010

I missed the first one. You're not talking about the

elevator, which needs Repair, not Science

?

edit: nevermind, found it. Goddamn, high reqs. Will get back to this place later on.

SuicideBunny · Oct 31, 2010

Elwro said:
edit: nevermind, found it. Goddamn, high reqs. Will get back to this place later on.

no need if you have the parts.

Elwro · Oct 31, 2010

Yeah, but I didn't feel like scavenging and I have tagged both Science and Repair. I went to the Mojave outpost, leveled up, went back and the skill was high enough to pass the req.

Freelance Henchman · Oct 31, 2010

Moar Turd Vegas lulz:

JOHN ROMERO, er, I mean, SHADY LEGION DUDE IS GONNA MAKE YOU HIS BITCH!!

Result of an assassination: she was sitting in the chair and didn't fall off even after her head exploded.

Radisshu · Oct 31, 2010

I haven't encountered any bugs yet, apart from a crash in the beginning of the game. The game is really cool, although the VATS combat is pretty stupid.

Topher · Oct 31, 2010

Mortmal said:
Topher said:

Encounter Design and why games stopped being 2D in the first place.

With the advent of 3D gaming the designer needs to begin to design content while keeping three-dimensional spaces in mind. Why then do all the enemies in New Vegas appear at roughly the same elevation? Strangely enough I actually think that Fallout 3 handled encounter design in a 3D space much better the New Vegas has. In Fallout 3 it was very common to engage enemies that were positioned several floors above or below my character, this was particularly prevalent in the ruins of outdoor building and in the subway tunnels. Enemies would fire down at me from the window of a second story building as I worked my way up to them or would notice my character while patrolling the upper levels of an underground subway platform. Yet all of this has been conspicuously absent during my time with New Vegas and I’m left wondering why. There are still outdoor ruins but I have yet to see any enemies in the upper levels of these even though they are surrounding the building at ground level and there are still plenty indoor factories and vaults with a network of catwalks for enemies to take advantage of. So why then does it seem like the designers approached encounter design with a two-dimensional frame of mind? Perhaps it all stems from Obsidian’s lack of familiarity with fully 3D environments? After all New Vegas is the first time they have worked in a fully realized 3D space (at least to my knowledge) and because of this I am willing to chalk it is as understandable oversight. Of course there are times when New Vegas remembers to take advantage of its extra dimension but these instances are the exception rather than the rule and in the future I would beg developers to remember why games gravitated to 3D in the first place and to be sure to take full advantage of that extra dimension when working on any aspect of game design. Remember that not everybody out there thinks that every game has to be 3D but if you choose to design a 3D game be sure to take advantage of all the extra possibilities it offers, otherwise what was the point in the first place.

Click to expand...

That one is easy, you just need to look at the companions behavior. They hardly succeed in following you, that was the same in oblivion and nehrim. I wont spoil it, but you will realize why encounters on different levels are a no go when you enter vault 34, your companions will just get stuck everywhere trying to chase enemies.
Even outside, they cant target very well enemies higher or lower than them sometimes emptying all of their ammo in a wall .

Yes, my companions acted pretty "wild and crazy and free" all through Vault 34 and come to think of it I don't remember companion behavior being so bad in Fallout 3. Boone in particular has a strong desire to get point blank range with enemies but I never noticed Charon(SP?) doing that; he always seemed good at keeping the distance.

1eyedking · Nov 1, 2010

Fuck it, I'm hooked.

Though it feels like an offline MMORPG at times, quests don't go as deep as they should, skill checks and character progression are not as hardcore as I would've liked, and there's a lot of player skill overriding combat mechanics, what I say is whatever: it's got plenty of cool stuff to make a good, long look worth it.

It gets the 1eyedking Bronze Seal of Approval™.

Multi-headed Cow · Nov 1, 2010

Don't you normally go

when people change their minds on games, 1eyedking?

HanoverF · Nov 1, 2010

Freelance Henchman said:

When you Pirate/Pay for New Vegas
:mca:

You are his Bitch

1eyedking · Nov 1, 2010

Multi-headed Cow said:
Don't you normally go

when people change their minds on games, 1eyedking?

I never changed my mind upon F3:NV. I never said it was shit, I just said it was retarded. Also I never said it was great, nor am I saying it now.

It's an average to good game that gets seriously dragged down by many gameplay issues and dismal art direction. Say, a 6.5/10 experience; still doesn't beat Gothic 2.

DalekFlay · Nov 1, 2010

I love that Boone and I just wiped out the Legion Camp at Cottonwood Cove with no discussion, no antics. We stood atop some rocks on a cliff and sniped them all until they were dead, failed quest notifications coming up twice over the course of it. Who cares? I will do them on my Legion playthrough someday, no worries. Go talk to Caesar? Fuck that, go KILL Caeser is more like it.

Oblivion and Fallout 3 were designed so the player could do every quest in the game in one playthrough, only the results of quests had any variation. I like that the fact I chose to play an NCR-loyal sniper who craves order and kills slavers, legionaries and murderers on sight has repercussions in the game world. More to the point I love that those repercussions feel good, not bad, because another playthrough will feel much more different than this one.

I sound like an advertisement for an RPG from 1999, which amuses me.

Elwro · Nov 1, 2010

1eyedking said:
Fuck it, I'm hooked.

Admiral jimbob · Nov 1, 2010

DalekFlay said:
I love that Boone and I just wiped out the Legion Camp at Cottonwood Cove with no discussion, no antics. We stood atop some rocks on a cliff and sniped them all until they were dead, failed quest notifications coming up twice over the course of it. Who cares? I will do them on my Legion playthrough someday, no worries. Go talk to Caesar? Fuck that, go KILL Caeser is more like it.

Oblivion and Fallout 3 were designed so the player could do every quest in the game in one playthrough, only the results of quests had any variation. I like that the fact I chose to play an NCR-loyal sniper who craves order and kills slavers, legionaries and murderers on sight has repercussions in the game world. More to the point I love that those repercussions feel good, not bad, because another playthrough will feel much more different than this one.

I sound like an advertisement for an RPG from 1999, which amuses me.

Is it pretty safe to wipe out factions you don't like? I assumed some later-game quests would make use of them to some extent; I'm always kind of afraid to kill people in games like this in case I fuck something up spectacularly.

Also, game's definitely getting better. Huge improvement in enough areas to keep me interested, it's a solid 7/10 at the moment and apparently the best is certainly yet to come. I'll probably buy it when I have the money.

DalekFlay · Nov 1, 2010

POOPOO MCBUMFACE said:
Is it pretty safe to wipe out factions you don't like? I assumed some later-game quests would make use of them to some extent; I'm always kind of afraid to kill people in games like this in case I fuck something up spectacularly.

The game actually encourages you to do it... when I wiped out the Powder Gangers at the prison a lot of NPCs commented on it. When I wipe out Legion Camps they comment on it. "Heard someone cleared out Cottonwood Cove... bout time!" Shit like that. I doubt it screws up the ending unless you piss everyone off, and even then you could do the Yes Man independent ending I would guess.

When you have Boone with you heading into Legion territory he says "I shoot every Legion member I see, so if that's a problem we part here." You can then tell him "that's not a problem, that's a solution." Fucking awesome.

Felix · Nov 1, 2010

ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT CORPORATE ESPIONAGE.

Elwro · Nov 1, 2010

Played up to Novac. Game plays and feels like a true new Fallout title (apart from the combat). Fantastic.

Admiral jimbob · Nov 1, 2010

DalekFlay said:
POOPOO MCBUMFACE said:

Is it pretty safe to wipe out factions you don't like? I assumed some later-game quests would make use of them to some extent; I'm always kind of afraid to kill people in games like this in case I fuck something up spectacularly.

Click to expand...

The game actually encourages you to do it... when I wiped out the Powder Gangers at the prison a lot of NPCs commented on it. When I wipe out Legion Camps they comment on it. "Heard someone cleared out Cottonwood Cove... bout time!" Shit like that. I doubt it screws up the ending unless you piss everyone off, and even then you could do the Yes Man independent ending I would guess.

When you have Boone with you heading into Legion territory he says "I shoot every Legion member I see, so if that's a problem we part here." You can then tell him "that's not a problem, that's a solution." Fucking awesome.

New Vegas review from NMA, too good to be true???

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