Wasteland 3 - First Impressions @PCInvasion

[Silver]

PCInvasion played through the Wasteland 3 beta and shared their impressions. They also had a chat with Brian Fargo about it.

In terms of combat, the most noticeable change in Wasteland 3 is that all characters can now be used within the same turn; no more alternating between one character and then an enemy depending on your initiative stat. As such, you've got all the time in the world to plan your tactical engagement be it running in with guns blazing, opening up with grenades and explosives, repositioning your characters first, or using certain options that can help you in a pinch. The environments and effects look decent as well, and this truly feels like Wasteland for the modern generation.

One key factor in your Wasteland 3 journey would be the Kodiak. This is the vehicle that you'll use to traverse the snowy landscapes on the world map. According to Brian Fargo, you won't need to worry about collecting resources in Colorado (unlike in Wasteland 2 where you had to find water). For a while there, I was concerned that players would need to find stockpiles of oil just to keep the Kodiak running.

In any case, the Kodiak does become usable in some fights. The first level against the ambushers lets you use one of its lethal explosive attacks, clearing out an enemy squad and destroying a walker bot.

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More information.

 

[tekulte]

A few things that, to me, are MAJOR improvements from W2:
1) Streamlining the CLASSIC system - Hallelujah!
2) Shared Inventory - ditto!

Bad (if true):
1) Cannot manually crouch during combat; it happens automatically when taking cover, but you can't crouch "voluntarily".

 

[Carnifex]

The shared inventory sounds like a god-send to me, kudos for making that happen this time around. Hopefully they adjust that crouching mechanic as to me it seems awful if you cannot manually control it during combat.

 

[Darkheart]

Hallelujah to streamlining CLASSIC. Last time I had no idea what the stats were doing. I also hope they get rid of useless skills (toaster repair) or make them useful.

 

[TomRon]

They apparently went the same way BG3 is going, with the whole group going at once making initiative moot (or team based). I'm not sold on this, for all the reasons that have been mentioned in the BG3 threads. I did get my beta key though, so I'll probably fire it up for an hour or so after I'm finished with PF:KM to see how it feels.

 

[Pladio]

A few things that, to me, are MAJOR improvements from W2:
1) Streamlining the CLASSIC system - Hallelujah!
2) Shared Inventory - ditto!

Bad (if true):
1) Cannot manually crouch during combat; it happens automatically when taking cover, but you can't crouch "voluntarily".

The inventory was my biggest pain point. I just hate having to run through 4 or more characters' inventory

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

 

[Silver]

There is toaster repair. You find unique loot with it and for perk points can add additional benefits to the skill.

 

[Mordegar]

Seems like they improved a lot about the CLASSIC System compared to WL2, after my first impression of the Beta i really want to play the full Game!

And i totally agree about the Inventory System in WL2, it was a pain to sort things there most of the time.

 

[Drithius]

I'm not sure of what to think on the initiative change. On one hand, it could be seen as a "dumbing down" of the mechanics, with less importance placed on individual character builds. On the other hand, Speed was the ultimate stat in Wasteland 2 - to the point that it limited effective build options.

I don't really have an opinion on the lack of water/gas - it wasn't really implemented effectively in Wasteland 2 (felt tacked on), so its loss is neither here nor there.

 

[ChienAboyeur]

I'm not sure of what to think on the initiative change. On one hand, it could be seen as a "dumbing down" of the mechanics, with less importance placed on individual character builds.

On the other hand, Speed was the ultimate stat in Wasteland 2 - to the point that it limited effective build options.

Watched a streamer who pumped up an attribute like luck or something, that affords chances of getting bonus actions. With this activation thing, quite effective, allowing the player to mop up a board with one character. Bargain is cheap as there is no banking onto it, character got his bonus actions, he kept acting, he did not, others took charge.

 

[rjshae]

I can't imagine you'll get much imaginative use out of your vehicle. It's not like it can follow you around most maps.

 

[JFarrell71]

I can't imagine you'll get much imaginative use out of your vehicle. It's not like it can follow you around most maps.

Couldn't in Fallout 2 either. Worked fine for what it was.

 

[Winterfart]

The game looks so damn cheap.
Animations are awfull (assets from W2?), art is downright ugly (those decals look like actual glitches), edgy teenagers obvioulsy wrote the dialogs (yay?), combats are the same lame and derivative shit as in W2, but simplified (lol)…

InXile are a real bunch of wankers, I don't believe they'll ever make a good game (W2 was their best work and it's far from being a masterpiece).

Bleh/10.

 

[rune_74]

The game looks so damn cheap.
Animations are awfull (assets from W2?), art is downright ugly (those decals look like actual glitches), edgy teenagers obvioulsy wrote the dialogs (yay?), combats are the same lame and derivative shit as in W2, but simplified (lol)…

InXile are a real bunch of wankers, I don't believe they'll ever make a good game (W2 was their best work and it's far from being a masterpiece).

Bleh/10.

Wow, I literally don't agree with anything you said.

 

[Winterfart]

That's perfectly fine

 

[JFarrell71]

Wow, I literally don't agree with anything you said.

I agree with his take on the visuals. I haven't liked them since the first time I saw them, and they haven't grown on me. Lumpy and cartoonish, like a bad Will Vinton animation. The rest looks fine to me. I usually don't balk at price, but if they're going to charge $60, I hope that means they're very confident about the quality and quantity of game they're delivering. The whole "Indy studios shouldn't charge $60!" vibe that was going around on Steam is nonsense to me, but charging a fair price for what you're selling isn't. I'm currently skeptical that I'll feel that W3 is worth that much.