Welcome to the Nukapedia news digest. For the next 10 hours and 24 minutes all our back issues are 50% off, get em while its summer.
In your edition this week:
From the Administrative Enclave[]
The Administraton Conduct Policy vote has completed. This policy, detailing the user rights reconfirmation vote process has passed 12-3 with 3 abstains.
New this week...[]
This is something I'm piloting for the new look digest, coming soon.
News from the Wastes[]
Its good news, and slightly bad news (but for good reasons) from the Wasteland team.
The Good News? The game is pretty close to done, and they wont be needing any more money (unlike another recent high profile kickstarted game).
The bad news? Its about 6 weeks behind schedule, but Inxile will not be rushed into putting out an incomplete game (are you reading this, rest of the game industry?)
Over to Brian Fargo
- In the next month we expect to have a version of the game that is feature complete, meaning all basic game functionality is in. This covers the combat system, character creation, radio support, world map travel, logbook, inventory, loot drop system, save games, AI functionality and much more. In addition all of the game maps are in and we have been in the process of making art and reactivity passes already. The basic building blocks of each level are in and the artists are fully propping them out, and the progress on this front is staggering. The hallmark of a great RPG is how reactive the world is, so our scripters are busy focusing on increasing this aspect of the game. We have encounters that look at the gender makeup of the party, the health of the party, the NPCs who have joined you and so many of the various world states. This is the kind of subtlety I love and makes the games both deep and re-playable.
- Mark Morgan has had his all music segments assigned and is on schedule as expected. Our particle effects man is working hard through his list so we get the drama and graphical payoff we are looking for. The portrait artists are all cranking on an amazing array of different pieces of art. Our sound team is in full swing with all of the various sounds coming in at a rapid pace.
- This feature complete playable is about 6 weeks behind where I had wanted it to be but I can’t be too surprised considering the increased scope. We have been able to accomplish so much in so little time by our experience, fantastic team and tools.
- Unity has played a huge part in allowing us to make a game of this scale in a short period of time. The ease of use with Unity, the asset store and our working with the crowd to help source additional content has allowed us to spend less time on the mundane and more on the creative aspects. I read a quote once that said “art is born from adversity and restrictions” and I think that perfectly applies to this process. The process for development of this game is one that was born from necessity and has made us smarter about how to deliver an amazing amount of content for a reasonable budget. We have also benefited from having just one game in production at a time.
- As a producer I always find myself in a conflicting role of both pushing on the design and detail to achieve something special yet at the same time keep it on schedule but that is the job. I’m quite pleased with Wasteland 2 from both a graphical and creative aspect; the scope of the game will be quite a surprise for people.
- As this tremendous amount of content comes together, we get to the artistry of making a game. I will soon be able to truly experience the game to get a sense of mood, timing, balance, variety, reactivity, strategic thinking and overall fun. The first phase of this will involve getting it into the hands of a few select players so we can analyze what we have and hone in on the right elements. And once we have made several passes at this phase we will open it up for our beta testers to get reactions and help us further hone the experience.
- We plan to begin beta testing in October.
- You have helped make this game a reality and you will be with us to the end in shaping the final piece through your comments. The best moments in a reactive RPG come during this phase, which provides for touches and details that could have never all been captured in the upfront design. The beta testing will be critical to help us hone in on finalizing a game that can become a classic. And with your help and input we will release the game when it’s ready.
- Thanks to this new crowd sourced model of game production we have the luxury of working on a game that won’t be rushed out the door. Under the old process we would often have either retail or a publisher pressuring us to ship a game before we were happy with it. Or the more draconian measure of being sued or having the game handed to another developer to finish, (yes those clauses are fairly common) if we wanted to spend more time polishing our little gem… fortunately we have NONE of this.
- Once the beta testing begins in October and once we have enough feedback from testing, we can evaluate where we’re at and set a new release date. By that stage, over ten thousand of our backers will have gotten to play the game with us. In the end, quality comes before everything and fortunately the backers have been in line with us to make sure we get it right.
A New job for Erik Todd Dellums[]
Unlike some others, I'm not going to go out on a limb and say this means he isn't in Fallout 4 (doesnt mean he is either, its completely neutral on that subject). It just means he is going to be in another game y'all should be looking out for.
Joshvision[]
Choice cuts from Josh Sawyer's Formsrping and Blog
- Do you play video games? If so, which ones?
- VIDEO GAMES???
- I recently read that there was originally an option to complete the House questline without destroying the brotherhood but it was removed, was that an oversight or deliberate creative choice?
- IIRC, it was a specific creative choice that John Gonzalez and I discussed. Eliminating the BoS made sense for House and we believed it would make supporting House more difficult for a lot of players. I don't know how widespread this reaction is, but I've seen many players state that this was the point in the game where they decided to flip from House to an independent/wild card ending.
- Not sure if you were asked this already or not, but in FNV, why were the .32 rounds and the Smith and Wesson .32 Pistol in FO3 but were removed in FNV and why was the Hunting Rifle re-chambered for the .308?
- It was never really clear (to me, anyway) what real-world caliber .32 was supposed to represent. It was used in both a revolver and a bolt-action rifle, which generally aren't things that use the same type of case (revolvers use rimmed cases, bolt-actions usually use rimless -- though there are exceptions).
- With FNV, I mostly tried to stick to calibers (especially early on) that non-gun folk might be familiar with: .22 LR, .357 Magnum, .308, .50 MG, etc. People often use "22" to indicate relative weakness and "50 cal" to indicate high power. .308 Winchester is a common hunting round. .357 Magnum is understood as powerful -- even if .44 Magnum is understood as even more powerful.
- While that doesn't necessarily help someone who knows *nothing* about guns, my hope was that it would make things a little more intuitive for someone who is casually familiar with firearms in popular culture.
- In Honest Hearts, Waking Cloud mentions that she believes the White-Legs' ancestors angered God. Was she implying that she believes the Sorrows are descendants of the Nephites and White-Legs are descendants of the Lamanites? I've often wondered about this. Thanks.
- Waking Cloud’s understanding of Christian/Mormon history/lore isn’t that deep, actually. A lot of the Sorrows conflate or confuse different groups or details due to translation problems.
- Backspace (see last week's news) - your game?
- No, I never worked on it.
Fanzone: Lanius[]
Hiring Hall[]
Can you speak French or German? Zenimax Online are Hiring for the following positions:
- Customer Service Representative
- Customer Service Representative - Technical
- Customer Support Supervisor
- Content Editors German and French
- Social Agent French and German
And More...
All of these positions based in Galway, Ireland.
"But I'm not Irish" I hear you say... Well bear in mind that any European Union Citizen can move to work in any other EU member state. Also, if your Grandparents are Irish born, you are probably eligible for Irish Citizenship (and if your parents were, you may already be Irish), just ask at your local Irish consulate for more info. The two also might combine, so if your parents or grandparents were immigrants from another country, it might be worthwhile checking to see if you are already a dual national.
For those of you who have passable French, and game making skill, check out Arkane's studio in Lyon where they're hiring designers and programmers currently.
Wrap[]
Your next news will be next week... Agent c (talk) 18:13, July 21, 2013 (UTC)