Welcome to the Nukapedia News Digest, brought to you by Prometheus Coal... We don't want to set the world on fire, just a few small parts of it, one at a time.
In Your digest this week:
More votes[]
There's a vote on making the Notable Loot Guidelines an official policy. Have your say here by July 29.
Attention Nukapedia Shoppers[]
Steam's sales continue... In addition to the previous Bethesda Collection, Fallout 3 and New vegas are now down at very silly prices for the complete collection for the next few hours, but it won't last long. Its listed at £3.74 here in the Uk, which is not much at all in whatever currency you're working in.
News from the wastes[]
The following are from the most recent update on Kickstarter.
- It has been just over a month since my last update and we have been making progress on many fronts. The designers are all working at full steam and generating a wonderfully diverse set of ideas that are well written, nuanced, original, and sometimes creepy. There will be no lack of originality and deep game play in Wasteland 2. The team has risen to the challenge of making a rich world that will capture a post apocalyptic atmosphere and provide a unique experience for each player that dives in.
-Brian Fargo
Its Screenshot time![]
- Releasing a screen shot this early in the process is a new concept for me as we typically want to hone in every element before we show it. But based on the requests and our desire for fan input, we are doing so to solicit feedback on the basic look. Please keep in mind that we have not put in the particle effects and post-processing which will have a dramatic effect on the scene, and this represents just one of the various environments for Wasteland 2 so expect to see other quite different locales. Also, this particular camera angle is on the low end of a range that the player can adjust upwards to a much more top-down view, for those who prefer that style during game play.
-Brian Fargo
Art Director Koy Vanoteghem talks about Wasteland 2[]
In our effort to establish the appropriate look and feel for the re-launch of the Wasteland franchise, we sifted through a variety of media types available on the market for inspiration. Among all of the similarly natured games, CG film shorts, and various documentaries, it became increasingly clear that the modern day conception of a post-apocalyptic world has diversified.
Of course, the desert-oriented wasteland devoid of life was still there. But a newer and more compelling version which highlighted nature's reclamation of vacated places took hold of our attention. This new conception gives us the opportunity to generate a variety of environment types while staying true to the narrative. It also allows the location and geology to dictate the flora and fauna, as well as the manner and state of decay. From the dry deserts and icy mountaintops of Arizona to the coastal conditions of LA and larger southern California region, each region generates its own flavor. You saw a bit of this in our early concept pieces we had commissioned. Because the early part of the game, where our development is currently focused, takes place in Arizona, this first screen shot depicts (surprise) a desert scene.
As we moved into prototyping game-play scenarios and in-game environments, we wanted to keep in mind the long-term strategies we had been talking about in the press. With our small team structure and the expectation of a significant integration of contractor and fan/backer based assets, we wanted to consider the efforts that would be involved in synthesizing those contributions into a consistent style and theme. The Unity engine has this wonderfully integrated asset store, full of props, environment sets, FX and tools, and it seemed the perfect proving grounds for our first pass at this new approach of game environment creation.
Certainly, purchased or prefabricated assets are nothing new; a variety of sites are out there selling "game-ready" props, and like most developers, we are familiar with that opportunity. But Unity's Asset Store had a few distinct advantages that we found appealing. The store, being accessible from within the editor itself, along with the purchase, downloading and importing of those packages, made this surprisingly painless. Packages containing not only the models and textures, but also materials, particle attachments, and animations were ready to use and then modify immediately upon purchase. And so our goal was to purchase a variety of packages, modify them to suit our stylistic needs, and put together a scene by combining them with assets and textures generated in-house.
The big exception to all of this is of course characters, which we are developing primarily in house. RPGs have always generated strong relationships between the player and the characters they craft and breathe life into as the game progresses. And to this end, we will be working to create characters that can be read cleanly with our camera angles. Strong silhouettes and bold colors in costuming and accessories, and their animations and poses working with a camera angle (that is still being tested), seemed a tall order for this approach, and so in this shot a few examples of that effort are present.
We will continue to develop the style and look of the game, undoubtedly that is something that will evolve as we move forward and branch out with other environment types. As we become more familiar with our new found friend Unity, and the technologies that are available to us for lighting, shadowing, and material set-up/execution, we hope you'll enjoy seeing it evolve along with us.
We're going to party like its 2077?[]
In September 30 1997 a man walked into a video game store. He sees a strange box (yes, video games came in boxes back then) not shaped like the others, red in colour with a picture of a futuristic looking helmet on the cover. Eventually he got tired of the game, sold it to a second hand gaming store, where I gleefully snapped it up after being introudced to the "best game ever" previously by a friend...
15 years later, although the game may have changed a lot, the graphics more shiny, all the characters are now voiced and turns like pre war civilization remain but a treasured memory; yet one thing remains the same... War, war never changes.
We're not going to let this moment in history pass unnoted. I've been talking to Wikia to see what we can arrange, but what do you want to see? What ideas do you have? Join us in the forums to discuss how we can mark the event!
Project Spotlight[]
Here's The Old World Relics with a closer for another project....
As the Fallout 3 and New Vegas Icon Addition Project comes to an end I have many thanks to be given to everybody involved with the project. It was a very easy, yet meticulous project and everybody who helped with it's completion has my gratitude. The future of this project is nothing official, yet unofficially I'm sure we will all continue to add those icons. Thank you again to everybody who helped out with the project.
Nukapedia Project Medal You have been awarded the Nukapedia Project Medal for your efforts within the Fallout 3 and New Vegas icon addition project. Thanks for helping out with the project! -- "This is my road, you'll walk it as I say" 22:14, July 13, 2012 (UTC) |
And to everybody who helped out should find themselves bearing this award. If not, feel free to message me. Thanks again. -- "This is my road, you'll walk it as I say" 21:19, July 20, 2012 (UTC)
Well, looks like we have an opening for a new project. Drop me a note on my talk page if you start one!
Wrap[]
Josh Sawyer talks about... Art?[]
Not really fallout related, but still interesting... Take a look at Josh's blog here.
Relic of the war that wasn't[]
What weighs 45 pounds, wears a leather Jacket, and has an Antenna?
No, its not a model of Fonziebot5000.... Who's up for some (Nuclear) Football?
The Nuclear Football contains everything a President needs to order a nuclear strike. Bill Gulley, former director of the White House military Office in his book "Breaking Cover" summed up the contents thusly:
There are 3 Footballs, one with the President, One with the Vice President, and a spare one at the White house. Only an officer of Pay grade O-4 (thats a Major, or Lieutenant Colonel depending on service branch) or better can carry the Football, and must have the highest security clearance possible (Yankee White).
"Footballs" have been around since President Eisenhower, although the current playbook dates to JFK who was concerned about the possibility of (Russian) field commanders having the authority to launch nuclear weapons. The Football ensured that only the President (in the US's case) could ever give that order.
Just don't go trying to tackle the carrier this ball...
The Next Nukapedia News Digest[]
Will be on 27 July. Ciao for now. Agent c (talk) 21:13, July 20, 2012 (UTC)