I love that game. The pacing is so good, the world is really interesting, the role playing immediately starts from a more interesting place than most RPGs. I'd love another from obsidian.

I bought that game as a form of escapism after the 2016 election. Absolutely a game that doesn't get enough credit. Unfortunately, it's also one of those games that feels like it ended just as it was getting really interesting. They were obviously setting things up for a sequel, but it didn't sell well enough, so the story just kind of stops where it stops.

It sort of made me think of if magic were for people who could code. Magic is sort of like compiling where your skill is your processing limit. Such a fun and interesting magic system.

I second this, also Tyranny is easily up there among my favorite rpgs, not only is it not a traditional setting because the bad guys have already won, but it's so good for replaying due to how branching paths are handled.

Classic Obsidian. 😁🤌 Like the Dark Side system in KOTOR 2 turned into an entire RPG. I loved it.

love the perks that make use of the mechanic, the ones that really encourage a glass cannon build

I also liked it's idea for a crit system, even though it doesn't really fit into an rpg as well. Instead of randomness, your critical rate builds up a bar, which perhaps we could overflow to bank multiple crits for deliberate use. There's plenty of games that do stuff like that, they just don't call it crits cause it's kind of it's own thing at that point. Still, I'd like to see more games adopt a system like that over crits, which I think are sometimes used in games that could do with more agency while keeping us on our toes through other means instead, which are often already present anyway.

@@Gnurklesquimp2 I absolutely love the crit system in 4 and it's associated perks. When you spec into Agility and Luck it just becomes an entirely different game, it changes the combat so much in so many fun and unique ways.

someone having something nice to say about Fallout 4 is rare and welcome sight.

@@renaigh I'll do you one extra, I think settlement building was a cool endgame activity. Open-ended system that you can do and redo, and it gives you an excuse to continue spending money at vendors by buying supplies.

That's sounds really awesome! I never did play Populous, though. Back in the day, they never had it in stock at my local game stores (we're talking Crown Books and Walden Soft... yeah, I'm "old"!). But I have played two other titles by Bullfrog that had a similar feature... 1) Magic Carpet had several spells that you could cast, which could drastically alter the landscape depending on where you cast them. iirc, there was earthquake spell, a volcano spell, and the spell for creating/growing your castle. But too, things like fireball would cause trees and ground to burn and scorch. 2) Not anywhere as impressive was Powermonger. You could have your army build things, and this would have an effect on the local ecology (trees being cut down and needing time to grow back). Buildings would also be destroyed if you hit them with catapults or canon fire, though I don't recall if those would eventually be rebuilt or not.

I second this. I'd like to see him and Beth make a fallout together. Not sure it's possible, but would be interesting.

@@lonneansekishoku8288 I mean he is semi retired and contracted through Obsidian rn. But he could come on as an advisory role or something similar if they wanted I'd imagine whenever they get around to making another one lol.

To be fair, they are pretty good. They're only a disappointment in relation to what Fallout could be. I played Fallout 3 first coming from Oblivion and genuinely enjoyed it, but when I played New Vegas, I was blown away by what was possible even with the same engine and limited development time. I also played Oblivion before Morrowind and it was my favorite game for a long time, but when I got into Morrowind I realized how Bethesda had started to dumb down the series.

I played each Fallout game in the main series in order and I agree with the things Tim liked in Fallout 3 and 4. There's also plenty to dislike in the Bethesda games. New Vegas is the best game in the series because it combined some of the best aspects from Interplay and Bethesda Fallout and improved on both. I doubt there will ever be another game like New Vegas, but there's always hope.

​@@Ved000000 putting it simply: they're good, but their lack of ambition really hurts them compared to what they used to be.

I haven’t really seen many comment on the radiation system but from my experience fallout 4 is controversial from the perspective a lot of old and new fallout fans it streamlined a lot of what both groups found engaging about the games

@@jess648 Yes, and to an extent they streamlined the radiation system, simplified it so that it doesn't remove SPECIAL stats but HP. I can understand the other criticism but the radiation mechanic I find way better.

@@Voult_Bioy yeah I wasn’t disagreeing with you, you’d think that radiation would be more of an urgent immediate concern. I’m disappointed we don’t see more of the radiation storms that are described in various fallout media, that could be a cool way to add a bit more urgency to the mechanic and exploration but that’s counterbalanced in the games at least on default difficulty you get enough Rad-X and Rad-Away to just nullify it completely

What makes radiation in Bethesda's Fallout games "obsolete" is that they also drop Rad-X and Radaway as though they were candy. Radiation is rarely ever a threat because there's no way you'll ever run out unless you're selling them or passing them over. Were that drop rate, along with stimpacks, scaled back considerably, radiation might feel like the threat it should be in the Wasteland without necessarily going all Dust and Frost on us. As it is, I always had hundreds of stimpacks, Rad-X and Radaway on ice by the time I was just a few hours into the games, even on "survival" difficulty. I could have opened a pharmacy were that a thing and have never once have had to avail myself of a Wasteland doctor's services. I gather they've been made part of the "economic" system of Bethesda's Fallouts and, in fairness, such systems always have been borked in video games. I had to laugh when a Let's Player got his first whiff of a radiation storm and ran around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for shelter. (He'd just played S.T.A.L.K.E.R and perhaps forgot radiation just isn't a problem in Bethesda's Wasteland.) Honestly, I think Bethesda is afraid so-called "casual" players would be turned off by any and all environmental challenges that might be implemented in their systems. Being that I'd hardly consider myself a "hardcore" gamer, I think that fear may be a bit misplaced.

in New Vegas at least I think radiation being a largely obsolete mechanic works for the game's aesthetic, it's only barely a post-apocalyptic game, Nations and Empires are back - Nevada just happens to be the equivalent of Afghanistan or something

The thing about Pirates! is that winds were seasonal, just like the real world. During certain times of the year, it is more favorable to sail east or west in the old Spanish Main. A, uh, (ahem) competent captain would plan their course as much on the winds as on the destination(s). And this was back in the mid 80s. Pretty amazing!

Yeah, until you find out how your immortality works and you end up running from the shadows in the Fortress of Regrets shouting "I'M SO SORRY DUDES! I HAD NO IDEA!!" :)

Indeed and I hate that Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 has a ridiculous weapon and armour system. I don't want Epic weapons. I want scarce weapons. In Fallout 3 I go around looking for Sniper Rifles because they're fairly scarce, as are the bullets for them. In Fallout 4 you find weapons everywhere and can upgrade them to silly levels. It's even worse in Fallout 76.

@@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968 but as a replacement you now can have a Diablo-esque epic loot 𝅘𝅥𝅮epic loot epic loot loot loot𝅘𝅥𝅮 yeah, not a fan of it myself

@@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968 That is also one of my main critiques of fo4. Too many legendaries, removal of skills, infinite levels and less dialog options. Other than that, it's still a great game in its own right. Survival mode is really well done, the gunplay is a big improvement, base building is a nice addition that fits a transition from post-apocalypse to Post-post-apocalypse.

@@lonneansekishoku8288 Starfield is getting infinite levels and I feel that's a mistake. They should just cap it.

@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968 I agree. A level cap, even if high, gives the player an endgoal for leveling. It feels complete. You also have to manage the character's skills and perks because you can't have everything. Good replay value.

Oh yes the "stun" bar fills up the health bar. It's not just smoke but stun grenades also. Easier to stun a wounded alien than a healthy one.

Never thought it of that way before, but you're right!

As do I. I prefer lower-level RPGs in general. I feel more vulnerable.

I think he has talked about Cut Content restoration.

I've not seen such terms "thrown around" unless qualified as exhorbitant. Not saying they haven't been, but I've never seen it myself. From Software fans get really testy when a critique points out that every region in Elden Ring contains the exact same assets: ruins w/single cellar w/single chest w/single item, rises, churches, etc. with little to no variation to be found among them whereas the legacy dungeons are quite intricate and beautifully designed. Those assets are pretty obviously there for one reason and one reason only: to drop an item, e.g. a weapon, into the game for players to pick up. It's more than just a little strange that such a "vast, open world" doesn't have any architectural variety to speak of as worlds generally do. It was From's first foray into open world game design and it glaringly shows there. The open world itself exists for no other than the aforementioned purpose. The biomes were very artistic and distinct, but certainly not the structural assets resued in them over and over and over again. In fairness, From is not a super-large studio and, while Elden Ring had more than a descent budget, it's fairly obvious where it was all spent: the unforgettable legacy dungeons and the plethora of weapons and shields and armor sets and assorted other items to be found in it. “More! More! is the cry of the mistaken soul." ~ Nietzsche And "bigger is better" and "more is good" is probably not the prevailing industry design philosophy From really wants to adopt at this point unless, perhaps, it's aiming to lose its hard-won identity.

I agree. Radiation is a constant threat in Fallout 4 that needs to be tackled. Especially in 3 and NV it is very rare to have problems with radiation, outside of a few select locations, whereas in Fallout 4 having Rad-Away and Rad-X with you always is a very good idea. I remember the video you're talking about and attacking the RAD system out of all systems seems dumb

Ur quan masters

It actually isn't GoG. The source code for Star Control 2 was set free years and years ago by the developers, and so a fan team made an updated port for modern systems in the early 2000s. To escape copyright, it's called The Ur-Quan Masters, and it's free to download and has been since 2002. You'll find it at the first link when you do a Google search for The Ur-Quan Masters.

I found downloading GDC lectures as background listening on 9 hour shifts

Money. People don't have enough to spend on VR, so it stays forever niche. Solve late-stage capitalism and you solve the VR growth problem.

It's not hard to find specific elements to enjoy or appreciate in any studio's games and it would be nice if more non-industry reviewers and critics did so. It's a game in its entirely but perhaps, especially, its direction and marketing that can be difficult or impossible to appreciate at times. Some players themselves are all about a game's mechanical systems just as a game's developers can be. There are KZfaqrs who pretty obviously concentrate solely on a game's mechanics, never minding anything else (e.g. story and characterization) in their reviews and critiques. It's not surprising there's a such a huge emphasis on mechanics over and above (and, often, at the expense of) anything else, all things considered.

He said he like Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, did not play 76 because it's online. m.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/orenhKR-vdm4dIk.html

I played plenty of Rogue back in my Unix days at UCI. I guess seeing Diablo do procedural generation married seamlessly with handmade content in the same level and with nice graphics just made a big impact on me.

Curse in Dark Souls had a similar mechanic/visualisation

Just read my other post. Nostalgias is nice but I want to get beyond hedonistic similitude between our fond past memories and create new ones.

We're just trading old tropes here.

It's a very bad game, comparing to Fallout 1-2.

@@destroyerrunemo fallout 3 can simultaneously be a good game and inferior to another game in certain aspects.

@@destroyerrunemo nah it varies which game i rank as best ever but most days it is something like this: Fallout 4 Fallout 2 Fallout New Vegas Fallout 3 Fallout 1 Arcanum Total war warhammer 2 The top t switch places. F4 has nr 1 spot most days though probably, possibly New Vegas...or F2...maybe f3.....yeah tough cookie. Today it is the above list

The spots on my list changes by the days (but it is always these 7 games that are S tier, A tier i could probably have 100 games to list). Arcanum is a very unique game and one that ive been playing the last couple of weeks so perhaps it should hold the nr 1 spot for now. Before that i played f3 a lot. Before that fallout 2. And before that fallout 1.