Project V13

[Slingaa]

 

 

Fallout Online

 

PV13 is an upcoming Fallout game, which is being developed by Interplay, the first developer of the Fallout franchise before Bethesda moved in. PV13 will be an MMORPG set in the Fallout universe, and the open beta release is due for 2012.

 

 

What’s going on with the lawsuit?

 

I can't comment about any legal matters. Not won't, can't.

 

About the game itself... we're still keeping things quiet, but things have started to get locked down internally. We are making concrete decisions about game design, content, art, etc... Masthead has been sending us all sorts of character models, animations and other bits of art for our comments. They are able to produce an amazing amount of work in a short period of time. Unfortunately, I can't show what they are doing. I can't show what we are working on.

 

However, E3 is coming up and news announcements/press demos/etc are often made around that time. Let me be clear, I don't know what is going to be shown, what is going to be talked about, _if anything_, but this is a good time of year to hear new things. I do know that nothing will be released before E3.

 

You're not the only one who would like to get some real news about this project.

 

Oh, and it will be using the Earthrise engine. That news has been released, AFAIK.

 

What will Fallout Online be rated?

 

It will be restricted to a certain age.

 

What will the music in Fallout Online be like?

 

We haven't announced anything...

 

It's been discussed internally quite extensively.

 

Are you going to get Mark Morgan to do the music?

 

When we get to that point, I'm personally hoping Mark Morgan is available and willing. I still listen to the score CDs occasionally. Fine, fine music.

 

Will there be a monthly fee?

 

Not up to me, I'm afraid. If I had my way, it'd be free, but these services require a lot of money to maintain (equipment, bandwidth/IT, developer's salaries).

 

There are pretty much two ways most MMOs are making money:

 

1. Subscription (usually monthly, with discounts for longer durations)

2. Micro-payments

 

Advertising is a 3rd option, but it's really hard to generate enough revenue from just pure advertising.

 

Subscriptions are still very common, but you are seeing more and more micro-payment games.

 

Micro-payments usually mean that that game is free but not all content is available to free players. Usually, items, abilities or game events cost a small amount of money. The overall effect is that players pay as much as they want to get what they want out of the game. Want to play a little, you can play for free or spend just a few bucks every now and then. Hard-core players spend more (usually even more than what a monthly subscription would cost).

 

It hasn't been decided, but I would expect that V13 would be similar to the rest of the market.

 

What is Fallout Online going to be like? Is it going to be like WoW?

 

Show me a MMO developer that says they haven't played WOW, and I'll show you one that's lying. (Okay, I'm sure there are some developers that truly, honestly haven't played WOW, but they would be few and far between.)

 

WOW is the current industry standard. I'm not saying a developer should make their game based on WOW, but they should, at the very least, be familiar with WOW's content and mechanics. For any genre of game, it's important that game developers are familiar with the current crop of titles. I used to get reimbursed for my gaming purchases as a producer just so I could keep up with the competition. Neat.

 

Personally, I play all the new MMOs that come out, just so I can see what other games are doing. Most of the time, it's just for a few months, but I've played EQ, WOW, and COH to the elder game. Just for the fun of it. I've played AoC, WAR, EQ2, Vanguard, Wizard 101, E&B, DAoC, AO, SWG, AC2, EQOA, Shadowbane, and UO. I tried EVE for about 1 hour and couldn't hack it.

 

V13 isn't going to be a clone of any specific game with different graphics, but we're not going to make changes from what we think is best for the game just to be different. Let me put in another way -- we're going to make the best game we can that we would want to play. I'm sure that there will be similarities to other MMOs, the same way that CRPGs can be similar, but there will naturally be differences as well.

 

It is not our intention to just make a clone of game X. Our intention is to make a great game that stays true to source material while at the same time updating it properly for a great online experience.

 

Will there be vehicles?

 

A decision regarding vehicles has been made.

 

Will there be quests?

 

I think it's safe to say that we will have a variety of quests.

 

Will there be Fallout Online merchandise?

 

There has been some discussion of doing PV13 merch.

 

When will you announce more info about X, Y and Z?

 

We're keeping quiet until we have more definite details. We're still very early in production, and there are bound to be changes. We'd prefer not to announce game info and then have to keep making changes.

 

Myself and my co-workers are just working on the game. I don't know what plans there are for public announcements. That's up to other people to decide. ^_^

 

What will the viewpoint be? 1st person or 3rd person?

 

It will be 2nd person. ^_^

 

Second person? What is that??? Sounds shiny...

 

It was a joke. Really. ^_^

 

Will Fallout fans be able to pick this up and play it right off the bat? Or will there be a learning curve?

 

Interesting question.

 

It's going to have a whole new user interface, but we don't want to have a long learning curve to learn how to play. A long learning curve to master the game? Fine. But, we'd like people to jump right in and start playing.

 

When will Fallout Online take place? Where will it take place?

 

The exact setting (place & time) has not been announced.

 

Will Fallout Online be released for my console?

 

We haven't released any information regarding what platform we'll be on.

 

How will player death, respawning, etc, be dealt with?

 

Death is death in the Fallout world and there are no Resurrection spells or magic wands that bring people back to life. The Master in FO1 was on one path to immortality, but even he wasn't immune to 9mm (or plasma rifles, whatever your weapon of choice was.)

 

We have a pretty good handle on how we handle player character defeat in PV13.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Slingaa

[Reconite]

I'm expecting it to turn out sh*t, because y'know, it's an MMO, probably going to be a WoW-clone to attempt raking in cash. But it's funny, they have a few of the original design team from Fallout 1 working on it, and some ex-Obsidian employees from what I understand (Obsidian who is making Fallout: New Vegas).

 

Just have to wait and see.

[Tyler]

I'm just glad Bethesda isn't working on it. If they did and it fails, they lose too much.

 

If this company fails, they lost a lot, but not as much. If they succeed, they will be even better. It really works that they're the ones doing this.

[Zook]

Are they still doing this i thought they lost the liscence

[Reconite]

 

Are they still doing this i thought they lost the liscence

Yeah they're still doing this. There was a huge court battle with Bethesda over it but I think Bethesda gave up in the end and let Interplay continue with this Fallout MMO.

 

Also, maybe this might be good for the header of this thread? Or too big?

 

And the official site link: http://www.fallout-on-line.com/

Edited August 10, 2010 by Reconite

[Slingaa]

Thanks for the suggestions, I've updated the thread.

[Rockworm]

after 3 years playing WoW I have no desire to play another MMO. they'd have to change the entire concept of MMO for me to be interested.

[baptiste]

after 3 years playing WoW I have no desire to play another MMO. they'd have to change the entire concept of MMO for me to be interested.

Try Eve if your interested in MMo's but are tired of WoW+copies.