F:NV Fallout New Vegas thoughts

[JDR13]

I want every interface to function in the most familiar, usable and least distracting way, (though it can certainly be aesthetically different) which may naturally be similar to others, because if something works it works.

That's completely understandable, although I personally didn't find FO3's interface to be unusable or distracting.

 

[DArtagnan]

Interface is for me a major issue always: games are computer programs too… and they have to be usable as much as any other program.
Interfaces that are based on metaphors are fine and 'immersive' and all, but my favorite ones are the ones that are usable.

Metaphors?

The pipboy isn't a metaphor

Anyway, I think the FO3/NV interface is, overall, functional - but it DOES have a few really annoying aspects. It takes too many clicks to get to where you want to go, and it doesn't provide enough feedback for certain details.

I can partially solve the first problem, by binding the function keys to my mouse buttons - but I need a mod for the last problem.

It never gets really comfortable, because it was designed with a console controller in mind, and they didn't bother doing anything to utilise the PC keyboard.

I think that's pretty stupid, but as I said, I find it an overall functional interface and doesn't annoy me during the most important parts of the game, which would be the action parts. Nothing worse than not being able to perform adequately under pressure, and thankfully that's not an issue.

So, it's more a matter of simple convenience, and having to access a "top-menu" before getting access to a "sub-menu" is downright retarded interface design. The font size for things like skills/inventory is way too large, and I would have preferred a main screen for ALL character related info, like stats/special etc. - so again, retarded interface design.

But, we can't expect too much from commercial interests - and Beth is the original design team. Obsidian can't do interfaces for shit - so let's be thankful they didn't try changing anything.

Still, I've seen much, much, MUCH worse than this

 

[BillSeurer]

Annoying thing:

I am walking along and come across a Hostile Faction location. A big battle ensues and I kill all the Hostile Faction members **gaining karma** with each kill. I loot the bodies and head into camp and...

...wth? It's stealing to take the stuff in the camp. So it's good karma to blow their heads off and loot their still warm bodies but bad karma to pick up the scrap metal they left lying in their camp?

On the positive side I took the perk that lets you see all the locations just to see what was left because I seemed to be getting close to the end (maybe) and WHOA! I've only been to fewer than half the locations.

 

[crpgnut]

Yeah, they should definitely change it so that you're not considered stealing if the faction is hated or vilified. What I did was installed a mod that just makes stealing not give a karma hit at all. Still, it really doesn't make a difference one way or the other. The karma gains are very high per kill versus the karma losses for stealing. You'll end up with very good karma evein if you steal everything. Karma is basically useless compared to reputation.

 

[mute]

Annoying thing 2 (which become a showstopper for me right now). Kill faction member, put faction armor on, enter faction camp. Get shot at by faction guard. Talk to faction member (whilst engaged in shooting a faction guard - the game come to halt enter the dialouge). Finish killing the guard and enter building. Talk to faction member, finish quest.

Fast forward.

While dressed in faction armour, enter other faction dwelling, and get killed by a person to whom you where in very good reptutation with (And was very grateful for rescuing him before).

I know that i should not enter another faction camp with the wrong suit. But faction guard can see through me (according to manual i think) and still attack me if they recognize me as an enemy. However a person i talk to can not recognise me and therefore kill me.

I am having trouble with the lack of logic. Whish the faction thingie wasn't so stupid.

 

[JDR13]

The karma gains are very high per kill versus the karma losses for stealing. You'll end up with very good karma evein if you steal everything. Karma is basically useless compared to reputation.

Sounds like they didn't make any improvements regarding karma compared to FO3. I hated how it was nearly impossible to stay neutral if one wanted to.

 

[BlackHarmo]

You gain karma when you kill "definitely evil" foes. There's some raider/torturer/rapists ones that spawn regularly in 2 or 3 areas, even after you've officially decimated their faction by killing their leaders. So, that's always an option to boost up your karma if you really *had to* steal something from some other faction. Still, there's so much stuff to find in this game, that I never had to steal anything.

Granted, I am a completionist, but I'll start the game again trying to stick to the main quests just to see if my feeling about a too generous and unbalanced economy hold the water, as I think it does. We'll see, I may be wrong (end of slight disgression ;-) )

 

[curious]

Yeah, they should definitely change it so that you're not considered stealing if the faction is hated or vilified. What I did was installed a mod that just makes stealing not give a karma hit at all. Still, it really doesn't make a difference one way or the other. The karma gains are very high per kill versus the karma losses for stealing. You'll end up with very good karma evein if you steal everything. Karma is basically useless compared to reputation.

while karma has much less effect in this game than fallout 3 due to the great reputation system you are completely wrong in that stealing has no effect on karma. its true the karma for killing fiends is pretty high, not sure if its as high for powder gangers and or the legion, but even without killing any one 'good' i found myself quite easily going from very good to evil karma multiple towns/locations in the game where i had to "cleanse my soul" to get the karma back up if only so that Cass wouldn't give me the boot. in some locales items that are flagged as stealable will actually become aquirable later on in some instaces either by completing certain quests or by gaining faction rep, usually the prior i believe. also there are so many items in the game world that at least having some consequence for getting them makes the choices in gameplay meaningful at least to me. most of new vegas is NOT abandoned buildings and shacks like it was in fallout 3 so there our obviously more "owned" items which you could look at as either a part of an indiviual, faction, or town. if you are looking for items that you can steal that don't affect your karma, all hulls and casings can be stolen from an NPC caring them which respawn and can be helpful to pennypinching ammo hogs.

 

[curious]

Sounds like they didn't make any improvements regarding karma compared to FO3. I hated how it was nearly impossible to stay neutral if one wanted to.

the improvements to karma is that its a bad system for a game which is why reputation works so well. all of those people who like the unrealistic "chaotic good" characters should appreciate it as you can be fairly wild in your gameplay in New Vegas as long as you are more or less solving peoples problems (often varying degrees of "help") which would net you "good" repuation even if your karma fluxes up and down. to me that's a fair system that warrants problem (quest) solving rather than doing the "right" thing. for instance although it can take a lot to raise your rep with some factions killing members of that faction can drop your rep with them like a mofo regardless of what is going on with your karma. there's so much grey in new vegas that karma is the least and hardest to gauge element for the most part. disguises too can play an intergral part in the game which is a damn welcome change from most games and in some ways more fitting to the gameworld than someother way doing "takebacks" with a faction to get them on your good side.

 

[curious]

just finished playthough number 2 and didn't find the House ending nearly as satisfying as the NCR one. Did finish some of the companions quest though that i missed in the first one like Boone and Arcade. Definately left the indepence one to motivate another finishing playthough but I'm still wary about going the Caesar route.

 

[crpgnut]

How many hours do you have logged, Curious? I just passed 200 hours last night/this morning but I've not finished a single character. I almost always like low-level characters best, so I'm terrible about starting over. I tell myself that I'll finish it this time. We'll see. I think this guy is level 10 or so and I'm still having a great time. Unlike a certain lazy vegetable, if I make a claim, I post proof

 

[curious]

the first playthrough was somewhere in the range of 100-120 while the 2nd took a bit less at around 90-100 which I finished last night. My hours show quite a bit higher on steam though as I usually leave it on even when I'm asleep or go out, though not when I'm at work. The save time is a bit more reliable I suppose. I'm only doing 1 character at a time, just started my 3rd tonight, this time I'm going to build up explosives, unlike last time which was energy/plama build who sided with house. While the world is bigger, with actual locations smaller than Fallout 3, this game offers a lot more meaningful replayabilty than fallout 3 which although I had many a replay were all about the same just in a different order.

 

[crpgnut]

Hmmm, since I generally make a savegame with the console, I have no idea how many hours it shows in game. I could save with each character's last save and add it up. I wonder how much of this time is fluff time. I generally don't leave steam up if I'm not playing New Vegas, but I do pause the game and go eat, etc. Nobody cares anyway

I've actually used the Jacobstown npc for the first time with this character. I'm really liking the voice acting/lines on that character. Some pretty funny stuff. "Jimmy! Is that you Jimmy? Come and give your spoiler a hug." Love it!

 

[Greymane]

Well, I have finished the game with one of my characters.
A couple things I'm not fond of: game ends.. you're done, exit game interface.
All choices are gray: Don't worry about who you decide to help, makes no difference to the 'world'.
I enjoy playing the game, but because all the important choices are 'gray' I feel no accomplishment, it's just something to do. I'd much rather have a good side, bad side like FO3.

 

[HiddenX]

Good review by Vault Dweller over at NMA.

 

[DeepO]

All choices are gray: Don't worry about who you decide to help, makes no difference to the 'world'.

That´s nonsense. They make a lot of difference.

 

[Ashbery76]

That´s nonsense. They make a lot of difference.

Indeed I do not know what the guy is talking about.

 

[holeraw]

He's probably annoyed that the game doesn't make you feel like a Hero... (which never bothered me but is certainly considered a huge advantage lately)

---
BTW

Is it me or do dialogs are sometimes a bit messed up? I keep having the feeling that I keep getting more information than I should... a few times I seem to be rushing quests without realizing it and I end up not knowing what's going on, what I need to do and why.

 

[crpgnut]

I finally finished a game at 250 Steam hours. This is about 22 hours more than real hours invested in the game. I just like restarting. If you do nearly everything in one playthrough, the game will take anywhere from 80 hours on up. I like screwing around, so my game took about 103 hours and I still missed a handful of possible quests.

 

[Greymane]

That´s nonsense. They make a lot of difference.

Game over Dude! Whatever you picked is what you picked, we don't see how your choices affected the common man left to live with who you decided to push to the top. You might have personal feelings about your choices, but consequences aren't really shown in my opinion.
Unless you're just referring to making choices determines who shoots you on sight and who doesn't. Such heavy thought there, let me see, if I kill all of them, will they still love me?