# The Fallout 3 That Never Was **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301 "2007-05-01T13:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/1 "2007-05-01T13:47:47Z")
[Gameplay footage](http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/01/todays-most-if-it-happened-video-fallout-3-footage/) from Black Isle’s prototype of Fallout 3. The game looked pretty polished. I’d be more depressed if there weren’t an Oblivion-engined version coming out from Bethesda…which probably won’t be as cool but at least it’ll be pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/2 "2007-05-01T14:38:29Z")
[QUOTE=slortar] [Gameplay footage](http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/01/todays-most-if-it-happened-video-fallout-3-footage/) from Black Isle’s prototype of Fallout 3. The game looked pretty polished. I’d be more depressed if there weren’t an Oblivion-engined version coming out from Bethesda…which probably won’t be as cool but at least it’ll be pretty. [/QUOTE] Well, who knows. It could end up being a more “recent” version of Oblivion. It could be pretty fun. Although it DOES look good as the video. Damn. It looks like the old D&D games I used to play on the PC. Le sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/3 "2007-05-01T14:54:19Z")
My inner geek is crying his eyes out right now and looking for something to smash. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/4 "2007-05-01T15:01:19Z")
No kidding. Isn’t that song just about perfect? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/5 "2007-05-01T16:44:11Z")
ahhh man… now that would’ve been great!!! ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/6 "2007-05-01T21:17:13Z")
If there was one game that was never meant to be an FPS… it’s freakin’ Fallout. Needless to say, I’m very skeptical of the Oblivion-ization. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/7 "2007-05-01T22:07:50Z")
That footage was rough. It looked like they might have had a few environments, the framework of a character system, and the combat done. They probably could have turned out a good game with that system in the end… I suspect the song was a pick from someone who compiled the footage or was one that was their ideal choice. I doubt they’d have been able to get the rights to use it on their budget, but that wouldn’t have been a big deal since they had good taste is picking out more obscure songs for the intros. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/8 "2007-05-01T22:31:59Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Scrappy Hero Pup] My inner geek is crying his eyes out right now and looking for something to smash. [/QUOTE] Same here. My heart has shrivelled into a cold hard lump. OK, a colder, harder lump. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/9 "2007-05-01T22:53:04Z")
[QUOTE=nevermore] If there was one game that was never meant to be an FPS… it’s freakin’ Fallout. Needless to say, I’m very skeptical of the Oblivion-ization. [/QUOTE] As much as I love me some turn-based, isometric post-apocalyptic action, I have to dispute this. If you’re going to do any RPG as a first person shooter, it should be one that actually has guns in it. Makes more sense than having a game like _Oblivion_ be a FPS. Has any game done a first-person swordfight and made it actually work? Usually, it just ends up being pretty dull. I spent more time in _Oblivion_ out-running bad guys, because mechanically hacking at them with my sword was just too damned tedious. And if there was one game that was never meant to be an FPS, it would be _Civilization_, or _The Sims_, or _Pokemon_. A _Fallout_ FPS doesn’t faze me in the slightest. It’s a game where you run around shooting people. FPS seems a natural fit for that, even though I’d much rather have the traditional Fallout-style combat. But I’m just happy to get any _Fallout_ at all. I just hope they keep the same system of perks and skills: aside from the writing, that was what made the game stand out to me. ---
**Author:** ![Montgomery0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/0ea827/32.png) [@Montgomery0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montgomery0)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/10 "2007-05-01T23:42:07Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Has any game done a first-person swordfight and made it actually work? [/QUOTE] I’d say Dark Messiah of Might and Magic has a pretty decent swordfighting scheme. It is a bit sloppy, but it only needs a little fine tuning to become a great engine. Making Fallout real time or an FPS would be absolute heresy. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/11 "2007-05-01T23:50:44Z")
[QUOTE=Montgomery0] I’d say Dark Messiah of Might and Magic has a pretty decent swordfighting scheme. It is a bit sloppy, but it only needs a little fine tuning to become a great engine. [/QUOTE] I’d have chosen that game as the posterboy for why first person swordfighting just doesn’t work. I’m also surprised by how many people felt the combat system was central to the _Fallout_ experience. Makes me wonder why _Tactics_ wasn’t a bigger success. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/12 "2007-05-02T00:59:05Z")
I agree that making Fallout a FPS-type would be a disaster. More or less by nature, such games can never have the same amount of detail and depth; there’s just no place to put it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/13 "2007-05-02T03:45:01Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] I agree that making Fallout a FPS-type would be a disaster. More or less by nature, such games can never have the same amount of detail and depth; there’s just no place to put it. [/QUOTE] _System Shock_. _Deus Ex_. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/14 "2007-05-02T08:38:51Z")
Dead perfect song choice. Who is singing that particular cover? ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/15 "2007-05-02T08:41:12Z")
Never mind… I found it. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/16 "2007-05-02T09:09:47Z")
Blah. That’s a game I’d buy in an instant. An update on the classic engine, slightly prettier, probably with some flashier effects (the flamethrower looked cool), but fundamentally very similar to fallout. It appeared to be realtime with recharging energy points, which could work. Maybe an option to set it either way. It sucks how often good games get 50-90% done and then just get cancelled and scrapped, what a waste. There was a Babylon 5 space combat game coming out that I was really looking forward to, because it used realistic physics and practical design, and it got cancelled at about 90% finished, never to be seen. What a waste. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/17 "2007-05-02T11:56:17Z")
I’m keeping on open mind about the ftp Fallout. I mean, the Oblivion engine is more than capable of maintaining the same kind of detail clutter that the Fallout maps had. I just hope they manage to keep the plot as open-ended as the originals. Hopefully they will–one my favorite things (besides the quirky design and writing) about the originals was the sheer open-endedness of the game. There were so many things to do that you could literally play for years and not see it all. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/18 "2007-05-02T13:19:31Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] _System Shock_. _Deus Ex_. [/QUOTE] Nope. Not even close. They were good games in their own way, but neither had even a tenth of the detail in Fallout 2. Indeed, some solo stages in Fallout 2 had more actual challenges and opportunities than the first (better) half of System Shock. And Deus EX was good, but it also had relatively limited opportunities, few side options (I hesitate to say quests), and far fewer variables to work woth. For example: Deus and Ex and System Shock had a good few weapons. Fallout had dozens, and every one of them might be useful at a different stage of the game. I think much of it comes of bad level design (_cough_ Oblivion _cough_) and a lot of it comes from the sheer amount of work that goes into it. There’s a lot more graphical niceties in 3d, but it takes correspondingly longer to make a smaller stage. That’s not to say an FPS RPG can’t be good, but it’s set up for a differnt style, and I don’t want it to take over completely. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/19 "2007-05-02T15:31:47Z")
The moddability of the Oblivion engine is good enough reason for me to be excited by an Oblivion-based Fallout 3. Think of what the user community could do with it. ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301/20 "2007-05-02T17:56:10Z")
**Miller** , what you’re saying basically rings to me as “well, if it’s going to be an FPS, at least it’s got guns and not swords.” And… yes, that’s true, but it still doesn’t mean that the Fallout concept as a whole (especially the combat) will translate well to FPS. For one thing, who has ever heard of FPS turn-based combat? To me, that aspect of the game WAS essential to Fallout, but Tactics didn’t appeal to me because that wasn’t the ONLY essential aspect. What I liked best about Fallout were things that could possibly translate just fine to an Oblivion-like setting: the dialogue, the nonlinearity, the fact that you could talk your way into or out of almost ANY situation. There were an extremely impressive number of scenarios in which you had a choice to either fight or lie/negotiate. Another awesome thing about Fallout was the way that your skills affected your dialogue choices in a very real way… your choices were limited or expanded according to how you developed your character, which was so refreshing. I don’t like feeling like I’m the same person with the same knowledge and opportunities every time I play a different character. These are both things that could be incorporated into an FPS setting, but I don’t know how successfully, since those games tend to focus so much on the visual environment and AI that everything else tends to get marginalized. No matter what, I will probably buy it and attempt to enjoy it, but I do think the gameplay will suffer from being transplanted into this engine. The combat certainly will, and I can’t imagine the writing being nearly as good either… in all honesty, I expect it to turn out to be a post-apocalyptic Oblivion, complete with bad, repetitive voice-acting and all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallout-3-that-never-was/402301.md?page=2)