Feargus Urquhart at QuakeCon

[Sander]

More video footage from QuakeCon, this time Feargus speaks on Fallout 3 and some more gameplay footage is shown. Feargus mostly speaks on the game mechanics and how the game is balanced. <blockquote>What we have now is we have skill magazines which is a little different from the skill books and the skill magazines are things that actually give you a temporary bonus. So it's now a little bit harder to find the skill books in the world, but you actually get more of a bonus when you do find them. And so it also kind of gives you that thing where if there's this one thing you need like 'I really want to get in here, I really want to open this thing and I have this skill magazine that let's me get in, ups my lockpick for a little while' and gives you that temporary bonus. So there's a little bit about just managing your skills and your stats on sort of a moment-to-moment basis with the skill magazines. And then overall we did want to be careful about having people focus on things, rather than becoming the master of everything. But again, you want the game to be fun, so you still want to be able to get good at most things and that's really kind of the road we went.</blockquote>

 

[WorstUsernameEver]

Probably some wishful thinking on my part but his statements about quests in New Vegas translated into 'less random hidden thing to collect and more full-fledged quests' in my tiny little brain.

 

[jero cvmi]

Ugly orchestral battle music is ugly.

 

[mobucks]

I get where he is coming from. I have been self-handicapping in games for years so i just wont use them. But i get it.

 

[zkylon]

I get where he is coming from. I have been self-handicapping in games for years so i just wont use them. But i get it.

I've been doing the same. All my FO characters are early addicts

 

[Forhekset]

Ugly orchestral battle music is ugly.

If you want to hear some really shitty, out of place battle music, play Sacred 2.

 

[MrBumble]

Am I the only one who thinks that those temporary boosts do not make any sense whatsoever ?

Lockpick scroll anybody ?

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Am I the only one who thinks that those temporary boosts do not make any sense whatsoever ?

i have really bad ADHD, so i guess it could make sense to me. i forget what i read constantly.

 

[Meh]

Am I the only one who thinks that those temporary boosts do not make any sense whatsoever ?

Lockpick scroll anybody ?

For the lockpick example the PC would be shuffling through technical details of locks and apply that information while picking the lock. PC doesn't have any actual knowledge or motivation to learn the stuff so it would be like reading a walkthough or spoiler, so he discards the magazine afterwards.

...Yeah, still breaks the wall.

 

[PaladinHeart]

...lockpick example the PC would be ... picking the lock. ... he discards the magazine afterwards.

...Yeah, still breaks the wall.

So when he discards the magazine, it breaks the wall? Doesn't that mean the PC picked the lock for nothing?

 

[LionXavier]

Am I the only one who thinks that those temporary boosts do not make any sense whatsoever ?

Lockpick scroll anybody ?

No, you're certainly not the only one. I for one think that it's pretty stupid. If a magazine has enough data to imply a boost in one's skill, what exactly is the difference between reading that data from a magazine and doing so from a book? Does the format or... I don't know, the type of paper, somehow affect your memory capacity? No, it doesn't make any sense, no matter how you look at it.

They could, and in my opinion should, have resolved it in a more logical way, maybe making them just slightly more common than books but giving considerably less skill points... I don't know. What I know is that, the way we have it now, it's just, as you pointed out, a "Lockpick scroll".

For the lockpick example the PC would be shuffling through technical details of locks and apply that information while picking the lock. PC doesn't have any actual knowledge or motivation to learn the stuff so it would be like reading a walkthough or spoiler, so he discards the magazine afterwards.

Well, that certainly wouldn't be a bad explanation... but if that were the case: what exactly would prevent you from using the books in the same way? Why would you discard the magazine after one reading, considering that it's logical to assume that there could be more similar situations in which you will need that piece of information that you decided not to keep in your memory?

No, I still don't see it

 

[Sam Ecorners]

Magazines often focus on a specific topic. Let's say a specific brand or type of car engine. Books could focus on deeper understanding of mechanics and physics of a combustion engine, therefore giving you a long term wide range benefit.


Or I could pull some other ridiculous excuse out of my ass, if you'd like. But does it really matter? As long as it's implemented right, it's just a gameplay mechanic, not world or story building element.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

But does it really matter?

not really, no. it's no more or less silly than the skillbooks permanently increasing your stats over and over in any of the other Fallouts and a whole lot more balanced. i can't believe "balance" isn't the more important part of this discussion instead of "HOWDITGETBURNEDHOWDITGETBURNED!!!1"

 

[LionXavier]

Magazines often focus on a specific topic. Let's say a specific brand or type of car engine.

Then they wouldn't be very usefull, don't you think? If the data provided by the magazine were that specific, then it would hardly coincide with the situation you would want its help with; and, by logic, being that specific would prevent it from raising a "generic" skill.

Books could focus on deeper understanding of mechanics and physics of a combustion engine, therefore giving you a long term wide range benefit.

Knowledge is knowledge. If the magazine has enogh useful information to effectively raise your skill, then there's no reason to not retain it in your memory as if it were from a book.

Or I could pull some other ridiculous excuse out of my ass, if you'd like. But does it really matter? As long as it's implemented right, it's just a gameplay mechanic, not world or story building element.

Yes, it's a gameplay mechanic, but a gameplay mechanic that doesn't make sense nonetheless. It certainly isn't a matter of life or death, but it doesn't make it to stop not making sense.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Knowledge is knowledge. If the magazine has enogh usefull information to effectively raise your skill, then there's no reason to not retain it in your memory as if it were from a book.

i don't know about you, but as i said before i have a terrible memory. i could read how to do something while i'm doing said thing but need to read it all over again the next time i needed to do...whatever that "thing" was. not much of a stretch to me.

if ANYTHING it's the books with their permanent skill increases which is nonsensical, imo.

 

[Lexx]

The only strange thing is, that the items disappear after using. Are you eating it or what? Did you "read it empty" and throw away white pages? :>

 

[Verevoof]

I think the magazines make sense. I mean, I certainly do not remember all the information that I have read in textbooks throughout my years of schooling. But, then there are also skill books which permanently raise skills. Together, books and magazines do not make too much sense. Have one or the other.

The only strange thing is, that the items disappear after using. Are you eating it or what? Did you "read it empty" and throw away white pages? :>

Yes. I have wondered why the books are consumable. That after the player reads it, they just seem throw it away. I would certainly keep the useful books, and be even more inclined to keep the magazines, since they would weigh less than books. Perhaps they use the pages for toilet paper.

Perhaps, instead of temporary skill boosts, the magazines should be "applied" to say a lock.

 

[LionXavier]

i don't know about you, but as i said before i have a terrible memory. i could read "how" to do something while i'm doing something but need to read it all over again the next time i needed to do...whatever that "thing" was. not much of a stretch to me.

But the same thing could happen with a book, don't you think? What I maintain is that there isn't any sensible difference between books, magazines or whatever 'written-word' medium in their way of providing information.

And also, if that were the explanation for the case of the magazine, what is exactly the excuse for them disappearing after one use? In the case of books (aka permanent skill boost), it makes sense to discard (read: disappear) them after learning everything useful from them and knowing you wont forget it. Temporal-skill-boost magazines, on the other hand... why?

if ANYTHING it's the books with their permanent skill increases which is nonsensical, imo.

Well, I concede you that, as I wouldn't necessarily disagree with you. The only thing I affirm is that there are no difference between books and magazines in regard of the way they provide the skill boost.

 

[Verevoof]

I agree with LionXavier, mostly. Text is text, no matter what the format. But, perhaps the books, without length restrictions, go more in depth with a subject than a magazine, which is a smaller publication, where length of the articles matter a great deal.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

i'm assuming...and i thought this was p. obvious...that Obsidian is basically using "Magazines" so as not to officially break/fuck with Bethesda's current "ownership" of canon instead of just saying "look, we think the whole books raising stats permanently is retarded so we're just gonna do it this way, mmkay?"

and please.

let's not do the "why do they disappear?" thing. books disappeared in Fallout 1 and 2. how many of you HONESTLY really have that much of an issue with this? i mean, yeah...ok. it doesn't make a shit-ton of sense other than "i guess he threw it away" but how else to implement this mechanic? i mean, even if it was as it is in the Fallout 3 Wanderer's Edition (use it once, then it says "(Read)" you can't rationally explain why you can't read it a second time. they're a simple mechanic which represent ancient RPG items like potions or scrolls...things you can only use once which give temporary stat boosts.

it's really not that big of a deal guys. this kind of nitpicking gets into that realm of arbitrary whinging which is--imo--incredibly unnecessary and silly.