<Ramius> right people
<Ramius> As you all know we are here to discuss Fallout 2
<Ramius> The way this is going to work, is questions will be messaged to me, and I will pass them on to Feargus
<Ramius> then i will paste them in here so he can answer them
<Ramius> just message me, dont dcc chat me =]
<Ramius> <Satoru> Howmuch bigger is the fallout2 world compared to the original?
<Feargus> It is going to be around twice as large. ga
<Ramius> <diamon> Will there still be a DOS version of FO2?
<Feargus> We won't be doing a DOS version this time. To be honest we don't have the time to keep both versions updated.
<Feargus> ga
<Ramius> <Martian> is the npc ai better
<Feargus> Yep the NPC AI is going to be a whole lot better.
<Feargus> There are about 50 changes that are being done that make them a lot more intelligent.
<Ramius> <Methicus> How many new weapons will there be in Fallout 2?
<Feargus> I'll finish the other question first.
<Ramius> k - sorry =]
<Feargus> They will also act more or less intelligent depending on their IQ stat.
<Feargus> There will be about 50 new weapons.
<Feargus> I like the number 50.
<Ramius> <Shadow> ok. Can you elaborate more on the Martial Arts specialties? Will we be able to select punch or kick? Or will it be like the first Fallout and random?
<Feargus> You will be able to pick punch or kick, by switching between the two readied weapons like in the first game.
<Feargus> That works as long as you don't have anything in your hands.
<Feargus> Also you will get different types of punches and kicks as you go up in levels, skill levels, and attributes.
<Ramius> <Simm2077> q: if Tim Cain isn't working on Fallout2, are there still people working on the design who had a part in Fallout?
<Ramius> that relates to overall story
<Feargus> Yep, I designed/re-designed a couple of the areas on the first game. Plus most of the scripters from the first game are working on this oen.
<Ramius> and design
<Feargus> And they did a lot of design as well.
<Feargus> Also all of the programmers other than Tim Cain returned as well.
<Ramius> <zeplin> ? will the code be better optimized than Fallout?
<Feargus> What do you mean?
<Ramius> <zeplin> Fallout was almost as slow as Ultima4 on the C64 ;)
<Feargus> I guess that depends on what kind of computer you were running, your install, and how much RAM you had.
<Feargus> There is a lot of art in the game, and if you didn't have much memory then it had to swap a lot.
<Ramius> the question we all know what the answe will most likely be...
<Ramius> <IMDoctor> When is the predicted date of release of Fallout 2....and what steps are left that might delay release?
<Feargus> We are shipping in Fall of this year. What will delay at this time will be bugs in the scripts since the engine is mostly the same.
<Feargus> Plus we have a lot of art still left to do.
<Ramius> <Simm2077> will there be options for non-violently ending fights? eg. dropping your weapon, being captured and tried, etc.
<Feargus> Nope, it's a violent world. We would have to script what happened in every instance and that doesn't really makes sense.
<Feargus> ga
<Ramius> <Jobe^1> Will world interactivity in Fallout2 be increased?(Using t.v.´s, computers, etc.)
<Feargus> There will be a lot of thigns to play around, but I wouldn't count on being able to play with too much more.
<Feargus> There will be more things that happen when you do something, but you won't be able to play with every scenery object in the game.
<Ramius> <Bill> are there any new stats, skilss, or attributes?
<Feargus> The character is staying the same in a lot of ways. We are adding more perks that the player can get, and we might still change one of the skills. However, we haven't really been able to figure out what would be a cool skill to replace.
<Ramius> <g0lem-VN> when you go full auto, can you adjust the direction of your gunfire so as not to throw all your lead into 1 opponent?
<Feargus> Nope, the idea of Full Auto is that you just pump a lot of bullets into the air. We are looking at the cone of fire though and might modify it by either your skill or your to hit roll. But that isn't definite.
<Ramius> <Vrana^AGC> What type of soundtrack will the game have?
<Feargus> It will be like the first game.
<Ramius> BTW Feargus, if you want to say something for yourself, like an intro, bit about the current state of development etc, please go ahead =]
<Feargus> If you didn't play the first one it is sort of ambient industrial.
<Feargus> I'll probably be putting a update up on the Fallout2 website about that kind of stuff in the next couple of days that would say more than I could type quickly right now.
<Ramius> <Ranger2> will you be able to continue adventuring after the gane is over, or restart the game with a character that finished
<Feargus> We are thinking about how to have the player continue after the game is done, however we won't be giving the option of starting over in the world with an old character.
<Ramius> <Jay> What's the situation w/ the Unwashed being in FO2? Also, will the enemies be totally different from those in Fallout?
<Feargus> To be honest, I don't know about the Unwashed in the game, but I bet one of the designers put htem in there.
<Ramius> sorry - 2 q's in one - guess that one got by me
<Ramius> lucky Jay...
<Feargus> A lot of the enemies will be the same, but we are probably doubling the number of critter types as well.
<Ramius> <Kyron> What precautions are being taken to help stop savegame/character edit/hack programs?
<Feargus> Ummm, none? Probably not the question you want to hear, but I guess we don't really worry about that kind of stuff.
<Feargus> I mean the answer.
<Ramius> <Pinochet> Will there be more effect when you shoot at different body parts? In FO1 shooting at a man's leg usually killed the poor sod before you crippled that leg.
<Feargus> We are looking at all the critical hit tables to see that they make more sense. All the code is in there to do that, it just didn't work out very well. It seemed like people either hit things for tons of damage or small amounts of damage.
<Feargus> Nothing in the middle which would cause a cripple, but not a death.
<Feargus> ga
<Ramius> <diamon> I have been told that you are building the game to be able to get modules, like mini-quests and maps. Is this true? If so, will you possibly provide instruction or utilities so users can do so, a la doom .wads?
<Feargus> We are going to be making some mini-adventures that you guys will be able to download. As to releasing the tools.
<Feargus> They are not like Quake/DOOM editors, so they are kind of difficult to use and take a lot of coding.
<Feargus> However there is a chance we might do so sometime next year.
<Feargus> ga
<Ramius> <Methicus> Will we see more material put on the Fallout 2 homepage?
<Feargus> Ahh, probably more screenshots, a small walkthrough, and things like that. Probably some stats of things when we get closer to ship. Was that the kind of stuff you were looking for?
<Ramius> something along the line of a message board ?
<Feargus> ga
<Feargus> Is that a question for me?
<Ramius> yeah
<Feargus> Ummm, there already is a message board.
<Ramius> oops....
<Ramius> next question =]
<Ramius> <Vrana^AGC> What do you think will set Fallout 2 above the many upcoming RPG's?
<Feargus> Well it is using the Fallout Engine and game system that people really liked.
<Feargus> Other than that we are refining what we did the first time, and adding more features that people really wanted.
<Feargus> ga
<Ramius> <Jobe^1> How many more beasts will there be in Fallout2?
<Feargus> I would say that there are around 30 more.
<Ramius> <Ilibard> Will mutants figure into the plot of the game at all?
<Feargus> They will be in the game and in some ways a part of the plot.
<Ramius> <Pinochet> Will you be able to give commands to your npc's during combat?
<Feargus> Not during combat. However, while you are talking to them you will be able to change how they act once you are in combat.
<Feargus> You can modify when they burst, when they use chems, where they go (distance from you), etc..
<Feargus> However some characters will not take certain commands, but you'll know that they act that way when you look at them.
<Ramius> <Funkytone> Will there be some characters from the Fallout making return appearances in the second?
<Feargus> A few, Tandy will have a big role in one of the areas.
<Ramius> will there be changes to the gui? in what areas?
<Feargus> We have made new NPC screens, plus given some of the gui's a facelift. Changing their look, but not their functionality.
<Ramius> <Vrana^AGC> Will there be any expansion packs coming out for Fallout 2? (besides the modules u mentioned)
<Feargus> We are not really sure yet. We have been talking about it, but haven't really decided anything yet.
<Feargus> ga
<Ramius> <Funkytone> What aspect of FO2 will you be most proud of?
<Feargus> I think the new way in which you will be able to control the party members will be the coolest thing about the game.
<Ramius> <Pinochet> Is the game going to be more difficult? I hope one won't be able to use the "brilliant" tactic of always shooting at the eyes to win easily.
<Feargus> More guns are kind of fun too.
<Feargus> Skills will progress more slowly in Fallout 2, plus we are working harder to balance the later parts of the game.
<Feargus> There won't be an area like the Military Base, which was just way too easy.
<Ramius> relating to the team issue then - <Simm2077> i heard that the control over team combat (with friendly NPC's) will be improved. will the game still be as playable for those who like to go solo?
<Feargus> Yep, you don't need them in your party if you don't want them. They aren't required for any plot specific things.
<Ramius> <Funkytone> Will it be possible to use vehicles?
<Feargus> There is going to be a car that the player can get, but that is the only vehcile that they can control.
<Feargus> Also, they won't be able to actually drive it.
<Ramius> <DOGMEAT> ask PLEASE about: the carry weight showed a problem sometimes, if you has a power armor, you couldn't carry anything else (in my case, I was a skinny weak guy)even ammo for myself.... did you guys improve this ?
<Feargus> We are going to work on this, Hendee brought it up the other day, and its on a list of things to take care of.
<Ramius> <Simm2077> will the PC ever sleep this time around? :)
<Feargus> Nope. Not really a reason to.
<Ramius> <Bill> WIth the NPCs you could avoid their weight limits by bartering, did you address this?
<Feargus> Yep, you now trade with them and that all gets tracked while you trade stuff back and forth.
<Ramius> <jobe^2> Will there be more facial conversations, or only with the more important npc´s?
<Feargus> There is a trade interface now, so you don't need to barter and steal items.
<Feargus> There will be less digitized heads in this one, but you will probably see all of them unlike in the first game.
<Ramius> <Simm2077> will the PC ever sleep this time around? :)
<Ramius> i guess that relates somewhat to needing to eat
<Feargus> This ain't UO.
<Feargus> :)
<Ramius> <Methicus> Will the game fit on one CD?
<Feargus> Most likely. However if it goes to two CD's then you will install from one and then never need it again. So you won't need to switch in the middle of the game.
<Ramius> <Pinochet> How about adding a random-hit-location chance? Wouldn't have to be high, just high enough, that sometimes you hit a completely different body part than what you were aiming for.(or if you weren't aiming at all)
<Feargus> We have the normal to hit and the called shots. If you have a low to hit % then you will miss. NOt really sure that being able to hit another location would really work.
<Ramius> <Methicus> Will there be more armor types?
<Feargus> Yes, we are adding a few more armor types. And Party Members will be able to wear armor.
<Ramius> <DOGMEAT> ask: I read that you can't find spots by walking close to them this time... unless you learned of it.. so, pretty much there will be a "normal" order of things ?
<Feargus> A lot of things will still be on the worldmap, so you can randomly walk around and find things if you want.
<Feargus> However, certain special locations will not appear unless you have learned how to find them.
<Feargus> This won't detract from the non-linearity of the game.
<Ramius> <WraithHBF> About how many quests are there going to be, and how long does it take to complete one of these quests on average
<Feargus> There will be around 50-100 or possibly even more sub-quests. As to the length of time, I really don't know.
<Ramius> <Bill> Are there more new ways to improve your skills? Did you keep books, etc?
<Feargus> There will be books. There will also be places you can learn skill points from teachers.
<Ramius> <MrOndine> I heard about the martial arts system of perks. Very cool. Are there other special building-up systems such as that?
<Feargus> The Unarmed one is the only one that is in right now. We might be trying to add a couple of others.
<Ramius><El_Pagano> any easter eggs? any hints to them?
<Feargus> There are a lot of them in there, but finding them is half the fun.
<Ramius> <Simm2077> how is the trade interface different than the original barter interface?
<Feargus> It looks exactly the same, but instead of an "offer" button there is a "trade" button and you can just swap stuff back and forth between you and the party member you are talking to.
<Ramius> <Bill> Are bottle caps still the currency?
<Feargus> Nope, we are using bucks this time.
<Feargus> I am going to get out of here, that cool?
<Ramius> <SingE^AGC> What will the ESRB raiting be for the game?
<Feargus> Mature again, and we are going to use it as well as we can.
<Ramius> sure - thank you for dropping by. anything you would like to add ?
<Feargus> Just that Fallout 2 is going to be an awesome game. The guys here (especially T-Ray) are working their asses off to give you all what you have asked for. And thanks for coming by. Also thanks for all the feedback we have gotten on the website.