"I like the look of this, kind of a turn based Fallout..."
August 29, 2013 7:15 AM   Subscribe

inXile (previously) have released 18 minutes of gameplay footage from their upcoming game Wasteland 2. [via]
posted by griphus (37 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Isn't Fallout already turn based?
posted by 256 at 7:33 AM on August 29, 2013 [5 favorites]


And also descended directly from the original Wasteland. I pulled it out of a comment on the video because it was a wonderful statement.
posted by griphus at 7:34 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


Isn't Fallout already turn based?

Short, short memories, my friend.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 7:36 AM on August 29, 2013 [6 favorites]


Yes Fallout 1, 2, and Tactics are all turnbased, it was only the advent of Fallout 3 and New Vegas that changed to FPS insta-action. It is a marvelous rage-inducing front liner. Filled me with hatred for all the kids that only started playing it recently and don't know its roots - man.
posted by Cogentesque at 7:38 AM on August 29, 2013 [5 favorites]


...it was only the advent of Fallout 3...

ahem
posted by griphus at 7:43 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


You and I have totally different takes on that Congentesque. I feel a little sorry for people who have always been somewhat aware of Fallout and never had that joy of having the 1950's/post-apocalypse genre mash up suddenly appearing at a time where fresh world ideas were far too rare.
posted by bswinburn at 7:44 AM on August 29, 2013


Yes Fallout 1, 2, and Tactics are all turnbased, it was only the advent of Fallout 3 and New Vegas that changed to FPS insta-action. It is a marvelous rage-inducing front liner. Filled me with hatred for all the kids that only started playing it recently and don't know its roots - man.

Speaking as someone who still thinks that Fallout 2 is the series' high point, I'm a lot less grumpy about all the Kids Who Don't Know Their History than I would be if 3 and New Vegas had sucked, or been stupid Call of Battlefield shooters with a thin post-apocalyptic vein. Okay, they're hugely different in some ways, but... they, they're good games! And still very Fallouty! They are totally reasonable heirs to the throne-that's-the-seat-from-an-old-car of Falloutness.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:45 AM on August 29, 2013 [7 favorites]


Fallout 3 (and New Vegas) are somewhat better for me personally because I managed to finish them, like Fallout, and unlike Fallout 2, in which I meandered for an endless while then kinda lost interest. I wonder how I'll fare in Wasteland 2 (one of two games I have ever paid up front for).
posted by hat_eater at 7:49 AM on August 29, 2013


I wonder how I'll fare in Wasteland 2...

Have you played Wasteland at all? They're recreating the feel of that explicitly in contrast to Fallout/Fallout 2. So ammo won't be as plentiful, your characters will be specializing in arcane things at the detriment of some broader skills, you crew will be weaker, tactics will have to be more refined, etc. They've repeatedly said that they're going old-school with this in a way that few revivals like this have (the campaign that came with Shadowrun Returns, for instance, was a cakewalk.)

So I have no idea if the game will be good, but if there's as much love being put into it as I think there is, I'd suggest you push through the frustration when it comes.
posted by griphus at 7:53 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


Also the original Wasteland is headed to GoG and Steam!

Maybe now I will finish it because I certainly have more free time than I did in college oh who am I fucking kidding even
posted by griphus at 7:55 AM on August 29, 2013 [10 favorites]


I backed this! Excited that it's coming out and that I'll finally get to experience the damn thing.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:56 AM on August 29, 2013


Yes Tomorrowful, quite right - they DEFINITELY don't suck. 100%. I really enjoyed the both of them (New Vegas specifically) and they did a lot to reinforce the atom-punk / googie architecture lilt that the first two gave only a nod to. In fact I enjoyed this new sweeping approach so much that I am actually in year 2 of developing a boardgame called AtomPunk that shares this theme and has already garnered a few fans!

But it does not take away from me that Fallout 2 was the tippy-toppy highlight of the whole franchise (please excuse me for being to young and not having played Wasteland). Much in the same way the GTA3 was just ... just not GTA. It was great - yes, but it wasn't my top-down baby :(

Eitherway, I hope we can all agree that, contrary to some of the youtube comments - this game looks very cool. Im hoping it will revitalise the top-down / rpg genre (take that Diablo and Skyrim respectively!) and be what the new Shadworun wanted to be.
posted by Cogentesque at 7:56 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oh man, I was so disappointed with Shadowrun Returns. So promising, but the combat is very samey, and I solved most of the goals I encountered three different ways without any real trouble. It just got sort of boring, so I stopped. A real shame, considering how many hundreds of hours I lost playing the Sega Genesis Shadowrun game.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:04 AM on August 29, 2013


Also the original Wasteland is headed to GoG and Steam!

I own the original in like three different formats, play through it every two years and have since it came out (went through three different rickety c64's playing that game), and am a W2 backer and so will be receiving another copy free, and that news STILL made me happy and excited. Seriously, I so love the hell out of Wasteland.

my most recent run was an all-clone melee party - since XP gets divided among all available party members, if you manage to get going with only one guy in the group he gets TONS of xp.. the beginning is damn rough, but after that you become a berzerker. Make it to the Sleeper base, and you can clone this super-bastard six more times. I took down the Scorpitron with a full party of Proton Ax-weilding superclones, it was glorious.
posted by FatherDagon at 8:06 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


I haven't played Wasteland (yet) for reason of not having a PC at the time, but I am well aware of its nature. What I worry about - if anything - is my dedication.
posted by hat_eater at 8:07 AM on August 29, 2013


So I'm going to have to learn toaster repair all over again?
posted by koolkat at 8:12 AM on August 29, 2013


So promising, but the combat is very samey...

I think there were a few battles that I genuinely enjoyed, but, yeah, on the whole it felt like I was playing a really, really good tech demo. The Berlin campaign just got pushed back to January, so I hope they're working on differentiating the classes a bit more and making netrunning something that's actually fun and worthwhile to put points into.
posted by griphus at 8:14 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


It just got sort of boring, so I stopped. A real shame, considering how many hundreds of hours I lost playing the Sega Genesis Shadowrun game.

It's not a terribly long campaign - and yeah, not as good as the genesis version. That said, I think it was meant more as a showcase for the editor than as a game. If you haven't looked at it, the mission editor is actually pretty easy to use and I think there is some promise there.

I'm sorta hoping someone does a decent remake of the genesis campaign in the new engine.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:14 AM on August 29, 2013


Oh man, I was so disappointed with Shadowrun Returns. So promising, but the combat is very samey, and I solved most of the goals I encountered three different ways without any real trouble. It just got sort of boring, so I stopped. A real shame, considering how many hundreds of hours I lost playing the Sega Genesis Shadowrun game.

Not to get too off-topic, but I think the level editor's really the meat of Shadowrun Returns - the campaign's not that great but I almost just think of it as a series of simple examples of what people are going to really go nuts with, building out proper hubs with missions and everything. I'm crossing my fingers, and it might never pan out, but I think there's some huge potential there that just wasn't tapped by the included campaign.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:15 AM on August 29, 2013


I was a very early backer of Shadowrun Returns and I was super excited about it given the people invovled, but I actually quit the (very short) campaign because the whole "hold off enemies while your crap decker fails his skill rolls in the matrix" thing got so old. I really hope someone makes something magnificent with it, but yeah. Sadness.
posted by The Bellman at 8:23 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


My PC was mostly a decker, so I was fine in the Matrix, but were there any decent deckers to be rented before the mission? Or were there scenarios where only the PC could do the netrunning?
posted by griphus at 8:29 AM on August 29, 2013


Psst, Fountain of Dreams=Wasteland 2
posted by JJ86 at 8:43 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


I have, over and over again, heard the line that the real core of Shadowrun Returns is the editor, and that players will make up for what is by all accounts a lackluster campaign by generating new and more interesting content. All of that may be true, but I think it reprehensible for them to advertise (and Kickstart) a game, just to turn around and release what sounds like (and has been described in this thread as) a demo for their editor and expect people working for free to fill in the gaps. I am very glad I canceled my preorder and those guys will get none of my money, ever.

Wasteland 2 I am still looking forward to. Here's hoping.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 8:57 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


I like the lack of a morality tree. I've always liked invisible morality systems (where you do a thing, and that thing has consequences in the world) more than overt Black/White/Orange/Blue morality. I like wondering if I've done "the right thing," and having a little icon over my head telling me I'm taking the path I want to takes a little of the mystery away.
posted by byanyothername at 9:02 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


...a demo for their editor...

It was disappointing in certain ways, but I absolutely played through the entire thing, definitely enjoyed what there was to be enjoyed, and got my $20 worth. Now, the mod community seems to be churning along nicely; the editor is simple to use but requires a lot of tinkering, so there's nothing coming out quickly, and that's good.

Berlin is probably not going to be free, but will almost definitely not be $20 and will be as good as or probably better than Dead Man's Switch as they just have to concentrate on making a campaign instead of an engine and a campaign.
posted by griphus at 9:09 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


All of that may be true, but I think it reprehensible for them to advertise (and Kickstart) a game, just to turn around and release what sounds like (and has been described in this thread as) a demo for their editor and expect people working for free to fill in the gaps.

Well, it was 20 bucks and I think it was worth the money. I thought the campaign, though short, hit all the right notes and certainly tweaked my sense of nostalgia.

And really, the stock campaign was only part of what was released. The engine and interface are also well adapted to tablets and PC/Consoles which is no small feat. That they also released a mission editor as complete and easy as that one was a savvy move on their part and I think demonstrates a commitment to the community.

All in all, it's a decent enough game and I'm looking forward to playing more of it in future months. YMMV, of course.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:21 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


What's disappointing about Shadowrun Returns is that the level editor doesn't allow the importation of new art assets, or the addition of new weapons, magic, or cyberware. If those features were available, or become available, I know the Shadowrun fan community could turn Shadowrun Returns into an excellent game.
posted by Tabs at 9:36 AM on August 29, 2013


You can add weapons, etc. but it's rather kludgy and not officially supported. There's some software and reddit links halfway through the thread.
posted by griphus at 9:48 AM on August 29, 2013


I'm curious to see the end result, but the videos are getting better, so I don't worry too much. The quality of the multi-million Kickstarters might make or break the viability of Kickstarter for similar levels of funding.
posted by ersatz at 9:50 AM on August 29, 2013


kind of a turn-based Fallout...

Like how Skyrim is Fallout 3 with swords.
posted by straight at 10:36 AM on August 29, 2013


Like how Skyrim is Fallout 3 with swords.

Ahem.
posted by Gelatin at 11:14 AM on August 29, 2013


it was an "Oblivion with guns" joke
posted by straight at 12:33 PM on August 29, 2013


I continue to feel good about having thrown in some money on this.
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:32 PM on August 29, 2013


It's looking shiny as all hell and I wish I had money to throw in on it.

Got a huge grin when they showed the cover art as a case for the 64 version was the centerpiece of a dork-cool mosaic of classic game boxes in an old apartment. (Yes, Sam is a fan of wall treatments of odd sorts.) Also loved their Bard's Tale. Now to hope we don't see an Aliens: Colonial Marines shift before release.

I must confess I am a little happy after the fact that Interplay flamed out in insanity and debt, releasing their IP to people that would not drive it into crap. [fingers crossed]

Had a chance to play S:R. Enjoyed it, but was SERIOUSLY disappointed with the decking. Oh, look, everything is blue quasi-wireframe. SOOOOOOOOOO high tech.
posted by Samizdata at 7:47 PM on August 29, 2013


One thing I like about SR:R decking is that multiple turns occur in the 'trix for every turn that occurs in meatspace, which is a neat bit of fidelity to the setting.
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:10 PM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


My PC was mostly a decker, so I was fine in the Matrix, but were there any decent deckers to be rented before the mission? Or were there scenarios where only the PC could do the netrunning?

Yes, there were, but I got hung up on this one mission where you were forced to use a crappy NPC decker because he was part of the story. And he just couldn't cut it. I don't hate the project, by the way, I just hate the campaign.
posted by The Bellman at 6:43 AM on August 30, 2013


Psst, Fountain of Dreams=Wasteland 2

Hush on that nonsense talk. No one from the first game worked on the second, it wasn't even associated with Interplay. It is spectacularly inferior in every way to the first, the game balance is atrocious, the world itself is miniscule, the interface is several steps backward. It is an amusing novelty but does not deserve to be put in the same breath as the one and only Wasteland.
posted by FatherDagon at 10:30 AM on September 1, 2013


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