On Leveling - Characters will be able to reach up to level 20, with
points towards stats being awarded every level, and perks awarded every
two levels.
On Corpse Eating - The loading screen shows random statistics, one
of which was Corpses Eaten. They would not tell us what that referred
to. Sounds delightful though, doesn't it?
On the PC
version - Windows Vista will not be required to play the game. The
reason given being more display options available in DX9 over 10. I
suspect the actual reason is much more colorful.
On Setting - The game takes place 30 years after Fallout two on the
other side of the country. Washington DC will be represented on a small
scale, though not accurately modeled...though on my way out of the
event I heard Emil mention that a certain game studio's offices might
wind up modeled int the game.
On Weapons - Create your own weapons by gathering resources from
fallen foes. Weapons will deteriorate over time and with use, so
maintaining your arms is a constant consideration.
On Nipples - Completely remodeled humans with detailed nipples. I
don't know why they decided to focus on nipples, but I'm not going to
argue. I get to type nipples, which makes me happy.
On Beginning the Game - Characters start off as babies, where their
DNA is mapped to determine their looks. Then various flashbacks
introduce new game concepts, until at the age of 19 your character is
fully formed. As with Oblivion, exiting this area will pop up an option
to keep your stats and such as they are or modify them.
On Titles & Karma - The karma system will be in place, and
depending on their deeps a player can earn any number of displayable
titles. Players can choose to either walk a neutral path or sway to the
side of good and evil, with NPC reactions changing accordingly.
On Music - The company has licensed 20 songs from the 1940's that
will played via an in-game radio station, complete with its own DJ. The
radio will also be used to discover new areas, picking up signals as
you approach bases and settlements.
On Difficulty Ramping - In certain areas the level of the creatures
and challenges within with be fixed as soon as the character enters,
giving players the chance to go back after they've leveled up and
basically feel like Billy badass, as opposed to the game leveling with
the character to provide constant challenge.
On Children - Children will be in the game, though no word on
whether you can kill them or not. This was an actual Q&A question.
An excellent follow up question would have been, "If you can kill
children, can you eat their corpses too?"
On Story - The main storyline of the game will run around 20 hours,
with side quests fleshing the total out to around 40. The game
currently has 9-12 endings in place, and the devs seemed to suggest
there could be even more down the line. The story is highly mutable,
meaning you can make choices that destroy entire quest lines and or
open new ones.
On NPCs - While you will not be able to form a party, you will be
able to hire NPC mercenaries who will fight along side you much like
the NPCs in Oblivion. The game features far fewer NPCs than Oblivion
did, but with more AI options. The living, breathing world aspect is
being looked at with great attention to detail. There are 30-40
different voices in the game, lessening the possibilities of hearing
the same voices over and over as in Oblivion.
On Death - There are many different ways to die in the game, all
based on hit locations and various other factors that provide for some
truly surprising death scenes. They described it as Crash Mode in
Burnout with body parts, which sounds utterly beautiful.
On Vehicles - No vehicles in the game.
On Online Play - Ditto. No online play.
On Weather - Weather will indeed be a factor in the game...expect dust storms and the like, as will a day & night cycle.
On Collectibles - There will be 21 collectible bobble head dolls in
the game. Why? Because people love those bobbleheads, dammit.
