Chris Taylor/Strategy Games Online Interview (April 2000)

1. How did you decide to make a Fallout game based entirely on combat? Was it due to feedback from fans? This was definitely my favorite aspect of the originals.
Combat isn't the entire basis of Fallout Tactics. It is a strategy game that emphasizes combat more than previous Fallout titles (mostly because previous Fallout titles were _sooo_ good at making sure that there were multiple solutions to the various problems presented to the player).

Fan feedback specifically asked for more control over your party members and the ability to play multiplayer. Both of those features are key components to Fallout Tactics, but I think they would detract a little from the Fallout RPG experience. Fallout Tactics is a better place for them.

  2. Will there be an in-depth story line like the originals? Or is Fallout Tactics focused on smaller scenarios with their own separate background?

There is an overall storyline, and it is similar to the depth of the stories found in Fallout 1 and 2. In Fallout Tactics, the story is broken down into chapters and missions, however.

 3. How about the setting? Will it take place before or after the other games?

It takes place in a different part of the country (the mid-west area). The time period is sometime between the end of Fallout 1 and the beginning of Fallout 2.

 4. The originals had a wide variety of weapons, both real world and sci-fi. How are you expanding the player's arsenal? Can you give us a preview of a couple of the new weapons?

The weapon selection will be similar to previous Fallout titles, with more "mundane" weapons being added. One of the new features is the ability to modify your weapons, in order to add different features.

 5. Vehicles were treated pretty abstractly in the past. Will they play more of a role in Fallout Tactics? Can you still fire while using the vehicles? How about running a few people over?

Vehicles can now be used in combat. You can assign drivers, gunners and passengers to vehicles. There is a new skill related to vehicles as well. You can fire out of vehicles, and you can fire _at_ them. And you will definitely be able to run your victims, er, other people over.

 6. Now, there were few complaints about the interface in the Fallout games, but I'm sure you've been working on that as well. What are the notable improvements you've been making that will make playing this latest addition to the series even easier?

We are making the game more point and click and less point, click and hold. A version of the automap is always displayed on the screen (like a radar), making it easier to navigate. It will be easier to switch between different characters and manipulate their inventories. And we are touching the inventory screen as well.

 7. How about graphics and sound? Will Fallout Tactics use the same engine, or just an improved version of the old one?

It's a brand new engine. Supports high resolutions (800x600, 1024x768, 1280x960) and up to 32-bit graphics. 3D hardware cards improve performance. All the art has been re-rendered. The core "game" engine, the one that determines how you shoot, the effects of your characters and so on, is fundamentality the same, but everything else is new.

 8. One of the greatest assets of the original Fallout games was that while they provided a great story line, players could just as easily abandon it and do, really, whatever they pleased. The game world was that huge. Will Fallout Tactics provide openness like that, or is it focused more on individual battle scenarios? If so, will there be some kind of random battle generator or battle maker to ensure replayability?

The gameplay in Fallout Tactics is mission-based, but within each mission you have some flexibility. The game also responds to your decisions. Make no mistake, it is less flexible than previous Fallouts, due to the change of genre, but it has a lot of the same flavor. There are random encounters and optional missions, to help break up the linearity. We plan on giving the users access to the same tools that we used to create the missions.

 9. Last, but certainly not least, are there any other notable elements of the game not touched upon in the questions that you'd like to let strategy gamers know about before the game hit store shelves?

The cute little PIP-Boy guy is still there! I know he is really popular with Fallout fans, and I get a lot of questions about him! He's there! He's there!

And I think it's pretty cool that we are planning on multiplayer battles featuring 2 to 18 players (controlling two to six characters each, there is a max of 36 characters in a multiplayer mission). That's nifty.

And speaking of multiplayer, we are tweaking some of the game rules and item statistics in order to better balance it in multiplayer. That's very important to us.

pax,
-Chris