Fallout Game Creation Quest

[Karlov]

It is now November 2008, and those gathered in the room at the moment we're here for a reason. Fallout 3 was released just a month ago, but has already been able to die off all over the world. Well, or rather, many people liked her and received extremely high marks from the press. Bethesda has certainly managed to make a great game as a commercial product, and they will sell it well. But at the same time, you personally thought that it does not correspond very well to the very world of the game.

The world was not quite what it should have been. It seemed that ten years had passed since the Great War. Okay, thirty maximum. But definitely not two centuries. Capital Wasteland was still in ruins, while states like the New California Republic had already emerged in California thirty years ago. And what is there in the capital Wasteland? Dave's Republic, is it a non-state? It's not even funny.

The Brotherhood of Steel, meanwhile, has turned into perfectly good paladins, which they, in fact, have never been. Remember at least how the Brotherhood of Steel could not decide on an operation against the Master and his supermutants because of the debate between elders. They turned into knights in shining armor in its most typical representation. And these are far from the only examples.

And then something almost incredible happens for you, as for a relatively small studio. Bethesda, who decided to weld on the release of Fallout 3, decided to contact you with a request. When you found out about this, your first guess was that they wanted to get a spin-off. But the reality turned out to be even more incredible. They wanted to get an MMORPG.

This was followed by rather complicated negotiations, as a result of which some agreements were reached. First, there should be no East Coast. This means that you should confine yourself to the rest of the United States, without the opportunity to work, for example, in Philadelphia or New York. But at the same time, where there was already a scene of the game series, to use it as a hook for the fans. Secondly, you were given carte blanche not only to use the lore of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, but also lore of canceled games, as long as you, of course, do not leave America. It was a nod to Fallout Exodus and its events in China. Thirdly, the events should begin within several years after the end of Fallout 3, in order to avoid contradictions in the plot, according to them, the universe should develop progressively. In addition, Bethesda made a couple more requirements, but they are related to more specific details.

For Obsidian Entertainment, this could be the beginning of an incredible heyday, or finally bury her. What you never did as Interplay, the V13 project ended in failure. But at the same time, your studio has never undertaken such a large-scale project. Your area of expertise was deep and sophisticated single-player RPGs, not MMOs, and working in this direction was something new for you. This may open a new page for the Fallout Universe, but at the same time, it will definitely be an ordeal.

But before working directly on the creation of the game, it is necessary to present the concept that will be used to create the gameplay. Genre, game engine, game graphics, setting (determining the factions available for play), the presence or absence of classes in the game, as well as features of the game itself.

Mechanics description: you have 12 finance points for the concept of the game, outside the game engine, which are ready to allocate for your project in Bethesda. You cannot take more, but you can take less, although you must choose an option from each category, in addition to the game features. Plus, you have a difficult score. How difficult the game will be for your studio to implement. It is advisable to keep this parameter to a minimum. But at the same time, there is also player approval and Bethesda approval, hidden parameters from you, which are determined by various combinations of your choices. And they often love complex things, albeit different ones.

Game engine:
[x] - Gamebryo. This is what Bethesda used for Fallout 3, and we can say that he is not too bad for this role, having shown himself to be quite good in the management of the game engine. Although it is unlikely that we will make the game as an add-on using content from Fallout 3.
[x] - Hero Engine. Quite an impressive newbie that's not too bad. In addition, there are rumors that BioWare is planning something big in the form of an MMO using it.
[x] - CryEngine. Great game engine that is capable of delivering incredible pictures. An example of this would be Crysis. But there are problems - its graphic side can be a problem for us, because there are not so many beautiful places in the Wasteland.
[x] - Unreal Engine. A proven veteran of the gaming industry, who has made a huge number of games, for example, World of Warcraft. To some extent, one might say - take it if you don't know what to take on.

Game genre:
[x] - Classic RPG. Of course, not in the form in which we did it in the first games of the series. There are quite objective reasons why it will be impossible to fully implement this type of gameplay in MMOs. But the MMO genre also has its own trendsetters, for example, World of Warcraft, or rather, the most likely spawned Everquest. This gameplay model is familiar to gamers, tested, reliable and functions perfectly. Are there any problems with it? Yes, she's too popular. Whichever project we do, we cannot avoid comparison with World of Warcraft, which is now receiving its second expansion. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]
[x] - Action RPG. The system that WoW offers is good enough, but we can mix it with what Fallout 3 offers by giving players an Action MMO RPG. For example, we can make a non-targeted combat system, bringing the game closer to MMO FPS. Another advantage is that no one has yet made large projects with such a gaming system, so this will be a rather original move for us. [1 finance, 2 difficulty]
[x] - Tactic RPG. We already have a similar experience with Fallout Tactics. If you didn't use a game bug, then only a relatively small team had to act. Moreover, including in real time. [0 finance, 1 difficulty]
[x] - Japan RPG. Putting aside what the European gaming school offers, we can turn to Japanese, from such little-known and ancient games as Breath of Fire to the great and terrible Final Fantasy. Of course, we cannot fully implement the genre conventions, and in view of other players, it would be rather harmful for us. But you can take something from there. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]

Game graphics:
[x] - 3D graphics. This is the new standard that was set with the arrival of Fallout 3, and one that many old fans don't like much. But at the same time, 3D graphics are the standard for modern MMOs. Ultime Online was the prime of RPGs, but you can't be in a lullaby forever. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]
[x] - 2D graphics. Well, at least something like that. Pseudo-2D graphics with an isometric view. Something that would make the game stand out as belonging to the Fallout series. Moreover, in a way, it is also a symbol of the old school RPG. Legendary old games like Planescape: Torment. But do we want the product to be associated with them? However, we have a role model in this direction - Ragnarok Online. [-1 finance, 0 difficulty]

Scene:
[x] - West Coast. The easiest choice for us, which, in fact, will require from us the possible minimum of work, given that Fallout 2 took place only thirty years ago, so the world has not changed so much. Fallout and Fallout 2 are the most famous games, top marks and so on. It would be as easy as possible to work here. Bethesda's requirement for this region was to make the New California Republic a playable faction as a relatively good faction. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]
[x] - Midwest. A rather controversial choice, especially given the ambiguity of Fallout Tactics' adoption, as well as the timing of the game. Almost a century separates it from the events of the third part. On the other hand, the setting is not so bad, but instead of the city-states of the Wasteland with a gray morality, it offers a rather gray Brotherhood of Steel, which is fighting against an existential threat to the Wasteland. Bethesda, however, is asking to lighten up the local Brotherhood a little. [1 finance, 2 difficulty]
[x] - Texas. We can venture into a completely unexplored steppe and turn to the little-known Fallout Brotherhood of Steel that took place here. Formally, the events of the game took place in 2208. What the players don't know is that we still have the design documents for the second part of the game. And her actions also unfolded relatively at the same time as the second part of the series. Likewise, Bethesda requires a positive representation of the Brotherhood of Steel, or the creation of an NCR-like faction. [1 finance, 1 difficulty]

Number of playable factions:
[x] - One. This is ... an unusual option, but still possible. We will not create a game focused on factional PvP, but on the free interaction of players with each other. The closest example of EVE Online. And the issue of battles between players is decided by the zones where such behavior will be allowed or not. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]
[x] - Two. The most classic version. World of Warcraft. Horde and Alliance, simply named differently. The option is old, reliable and simple as a cork. But at the same time, it is simultaneously used by almost everyone who is possible. [1 finance, 1 difficulty]
[x] - Three. A very unusual option, but also quite workable. Firstly, it gives interest to the plot confrontation. Secondly, it makes the confrontation between players more unusual. But at the same time, it requires more actions to create content and balance it. [2 finance, 3 difficulty]

Game classes
[x] - None. This is the SPECIAL system with its variability, and at the same time ... a disgusting balance that allows you to create an absolutely impossible character that will be incredibly strong. In board games, this was decided by the Game Master, but we just can't keep track of every player. On the other hand, this is one of the branded parts of the series. [2 finance, 3 difficulty]
[x] - Present in pure form. Again, analogs with World of Warcraft, but in fact, it goes even further, in board games. And especially Dungeon and Dragons. In this case, we will need rather unusual classes in order to justify the gameplay. [1 finance, 1 difficulty]
[x] - Hybrid. Why don't we try instead to do something in between with predefined archetypes, which can then be corrected in the course of non-linear development. [1 finance, 2 difficulty]
Number of classes (select if you chose pure class system or hybrid, summed with pure or hybrid):
[x] - Two. Taking WoW as a basis, we can easily fit all the necessary tactical roles into just two classes, with two specializations in each. Tank, healer, melee dd and ranged dd. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]
[x] - Three. The system can be expanded somewhat, while still leaving two specializations for each class. Divide the Rifle DD into one using an Assault Rifle and a Sniper Rifle, and add a specialization focused on invisibility. [1 finance, 1 difficulty]
[x] - Four. Again, we can expand the gameplay by adding heavy weapons, as well as an auxiliary dd that summons helpers. [2 finance, 2 difficulty]

Features of the game:
[x] - Playing as a ghoul. Let the players experience the skin of a ghoul, a former person who still remembers the times of the Great War. Considering the general models, the problem here is not that you have to redraw a huge number of models, but that you need to show the reaction to ghouls in different settlements. [1 finance, 1 difficulty]
[x] - Play as a super mutant. In fact, the same as indicated above, but at the same time in an even more radical form, which comes into partial contradiction with the canon. If super mutants were accepted into the NCR rangers calmly, then such in the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel, in addition to the Midwest ... plus, we need to take and make another set of models for another skeleton. [3 finance, 1 difficulty]
[x] - Complex system of factions. Fallout has always been more of a game about the world we go through, and not about the path of the player himself, which was somewhat secondary. So why don't we focus on that by presenting the stories of many minor factions, not just the major ones. [1 finance, 1 difficulty]
[x] - Class stories. We can offer for each class - if we, of course, have classes - its own class campaign, which will tell about their history in this world, linking the plot between locations in addition to the class quests of the game, which will consistently guide players through the locations. [1 finance, 1 difficulty if two classes; 1.5 finances, 1.5 complexity if three classes; 2 finance, 2 difficulty if four classes]
[x] - Full voice acting. Why not? Well, it's not hard for the studio to do it. Many players will love this. On the other hand, it is quite costly. [3 finance, 0 difficulty]
[x] - Detailed maps. Fallout enchants with the world, although in the first games it was necessary to think out a lot for the developers, since the possibilities of the game simply did not allow to reflect the views that were there. With the new technical capabilities, we may well reflect all this. [1 finance, 1 difficulty, or 2 finance, 3 difficulty, depending on the chosen graphics]
[x] - Complex dialogue system. This is a rather unusual attempt, given that MMOs are rarely focused on dialogues, in which NPCs serve only as automatic machines for distributing quests, but Fallout is not a game about that at all. We could very well strain our writers and make a complex plot. [2 finance, 4 difficulty]

Voting (example):
[x] - Gamebryo.
[x] - Action RPG.
[x] - 3D graphics.
[x] - Texas.
[x] - Three.
[x] - Present in pure form.
[x] - Two.
[x] - Play as a super mutant.
[x] - Complex system of factions.
[x] - Class stories.
10 finance, 10 difficulty

 

[Karlov]

Winning vote:
[X] New Vegas Online
-[X] - Gamebryo. This is what Bethesda used for Fallout 3, and we can say that he is not too bad for this role, having shown himself to be quite good in the management of the game engine. Although it is unlikely that we will make the game as an add-on using content from Fallout 3.
-[X] - Action RPG. The system that WoW offers is good enough, but we can mix it with what Fallout 3 offers by giving players an Action MMO RPG. For example, we can make a non-targeted combat system, bringing the game closer to MMO FPS. Another advantage is that no one has yet made large projects with such a gaming system, so this will be a rather original move for us. [1 finance, 2 difficulty]
-[X] - 3D graphics. This is the new standard that was set with the arrival of Fallout 3, and one that many old fans don't like much. But at the same time, 3D graphics are the standard for modern MMOs. Ultime Online was the prime of RPGs, but you can't be in a lullaby forever. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]
-[X] - West Coast. The easiest choice for us, which, in fact, will require from us the possible minimum of work, given that Fallout 2 took place only thirty years ago, so the world has not changed so much. Fallout and Fallout 2 are the most famous games, top marks and so on. It would be as easy as possible to work here. Bethesda's requirement for this region was to make the New California Republic a playable faction as a relatively good faction. [0 finance, 0 difficulty]
-[X] - Three. A very unusual option, but also quite workable. Firstly, it gives interest to the plot confrontation. Secondly, it makes the confrontation between players more unusual. But at the same time, it requires more actions to create content and balance it. [2 finance, 3 difficulty]
-[X] - Four. Again, we can expand the gameplay by adding heavy weapons, as well as an auxiliary dd that summons helpers. [2 finance, 2 difficulty]
-[X] - Complex system of factions. Fallout has always been more of a game about the world we go through, and not about the path of the player himself, which was somewhat secondary. So why don't we focus on that by presenting the stories of many minor factions, not just the major ones. [1 finance, 1 difficulty]
-[X] - Class stories. We can offer for each class - if we, of course, have classes - its own class campaign, which will tell about their history in this world, linking the plot between locations in addition to the class quests of the game, which will consistently guide players through the locations. [1 finance, 1 difficulty if two classes; 1.5 finances, 1.5 complexity if three classes; 2 finance, 2 difficulty if four classes]
-[X] - Full voice acting. Why not? Well, it's not hard for the studio to do it. Many players will love this. On the other hand, it is quite costly. [3 finance, 0 difficulty]

Result: 11 finance, 10 difficulty

The concept created by our team could be called both extremely conservative and breakthrough. The main revolutionary idea is to use a non-targeted combat system, which was not yet available in 2008. On the one hand, this allows you to better feel the impact of the combat system, increasing the involvement of players in the game itself, making it less monotonous and grind-like if properly organized. When Bethesda found out about this fact, they were very surprised, since they did not count on innovations in the gameplay, their reaction can be conveyed at the same time as joy and doubt in our power.

But at the same time, we took a rather conservative gaming setting - the West Coast, which is well known to fans of the gaming series, and to which they will not have to get used to. An additional benefit for us is the availability of Van Burren design documents. Added to this is the presence of three playable factions at once, which to some extent makes the game close to Planetside, where there were also three of them, although RPG elements are almost absent there.

The faction that must be present is the New California Republic - one of the few truly full-fledged states in the Wasteland, copying the state structure of the Old World. Their first opposition force is the Caesar Legion, a formidable army of conquered tribes, transformed by the will of one person into a tribal federation, formally similar to Rome, but in fact copying Prussia and representing an army with a state. The question remains with the third sufficiently strong faction in order to resist them, and this is the Brotherhood of Steel, which possesses huge technologies and is scattered throughout the Wasteland. In the end, we end up with a system with a good New California Republic, a bad Brotherhood of Steel, and an evil Caesar Legion. At least at first glance. This structure is also arranged by Bethesda.

While the NCR and the Brotherhood of Steel are based in California, Caesar's Legion is based in Arizona, with the Colorado River as the natural border. There are only two cities around which there could be a conflict on the border of these two zones - Mexicali and Las Vegas. The first is a relatively unremarkable city in Mexico. The second is one of the most famous cities in America, next to which is also the Hoover Dam. The choice seems clear enough. It is around the rivalry for Vegas and Hoover Dam that the entire conflict will take place at the start of the game, according to the plot. The Hoover Dam is relatively clear. To be of value to the parties to a conflict, it must be relatively whole and workable. But the state of Vegas remains in question.

Select the state of Vegas (one option only):
[x] - Completely survived. The city was not affected by nuclear bombing, time, or anarchy, as a result of which it became the basis for a thriving community that has preserved much of the knowledge from the time before the Great War. This will make him attractive to the Brotherhood of Steel looking for new technology here, to the New California Republic looking to join him, and also to the Caesar Legion looking to subdue him.
[x] - Partially survived. Although the city was not hit by nuclear warheads, however, time, as well as fires and riots, took their toll, as a result of which many buildings were destroyed, and others needed serious repairs. The city still retains some of its luster, but it can be seen that two centuries have passed since the Great War. The local population has experienced severe social and technical degradation, but gradually rebuilt its gambling industry.
[x] - Destroyed. Of course, not to a terminal state, this is not a radioactive heap of rubble in which no one can survive. No, there should be places here that will attract players. But there are not many people living here, there is no developed economy and there is no own community. These are ruins, extremely rich in untapped technology, which still attracts all the factions in the vicinity.

But Las Vegas and Hoover Dam are not the only places of interest in the Mojave that we could use. This territory also requires filling a certain number of secondary locations, some of which are natural attractions. Others are completely original places, which, however, rely on what is known about the Mojave in our world.

Choose five options from the list below:
[x] - Missile complex REPCONN. The Mojave has always been a hub for nuclear and missile technology since World War II, so why not salute it with a space museum and research center in the field. Not to mention the fact that there can be a variety of useful items.
[x] - Office of RobCo. This corporation has been in the game since the very first part, and there may well be one of the main offices of this corporation, where countless technologies about robots can be stored, not to mention the robots themselves.
[x] - NELLIS airbase. Located practically in the city limits of Vegas, it is one of the famous places in the city where ammunition and weapons left over from the Great War can be stored, as well as those who, one way or another, do not allow them to be plundered.
[x] - Nuclear polygons. At one time, Vegas was known for the fact that it was there that tests of American nuclear bombs were carried out, and tourists even came to see it. The complex, which was designed for the explosion of a nuclear bomb, could well have survived, but there might remain components from which they wanted to make a nuclear bomb of a new type.
[x] - School of Elvis Pressly look-alikes. Who is the most famous person from this city if not Elvis Pressly himself, and how difficult is it to walk along the Strip and not meet any of his counterparts? So why not immortalize him in the form of a whole school of those who are learning to be like him.
[x] - Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. And why not diversify this post-nuclear desert at the expense of the green oases of this reserve. It is unlikely that we will have so many opportunities to imagine green forests and parks in post-apocalyptic America.
[x] - Intact Vault. This is a fairly trivial idea, considering that we already had Vault 8, which nothing bad happened to. But still, why would one of the Vaults in Mojave turn out to be not just a dungeon, but really a town in which its own faction is located?
[x] - Red Rock Canyon. This rather beautiful place is located in the vicinity of Vegas, in which the rocks are painted in various shades of red, which makes it seem as if they are on fire at sunset or dawn.
[x] - Mojave Airport. The Mojave Desert is also known for its excellent conditions for long-term storage of aircraft. Considering that technology in the Fallout universe practically does not fail, we can place an airport there with almost working planes that will try to fly into the sky.

We have a total of four playable classes, of which can play the role of the one who inflicts damage, but only one class can be a tank and one class can be a healer. The Tank / Heavy Weapon is a member of the Cult of Vulcan in Caesar's Legion, Heavy Infantry in NCR, and Paladin in the Brotherhood of Steel. Assault Rifles / Melee Weapons - NCR Sergeant, Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel and Decan in Caesar's Legion. Sniper / Stealth - NCR Ranger, Legion Frumentarian, and Squire of the Brotherhood of Steel. And the summoner / healer is a scientist of the NCR Bureau of Science and Production, auxilarium of the Legion and a scribe of the Brotherhood of Steel. Each of the classes is planned to be endowed with its own class history, giving it uniqueness not only in terms of its playing role, but also forcing players to replay in order to try the game for all factions.

Each of them starts in the starting location of their own faction, from there they gradually begin their journey, which will lead him to the forces involved in the conflict over the Mojave Desert, the main factions that will issue players with tasks on the level cap, as well as in the first updates after the game is released. This is the maniple of the legate Joshua Grackham, sent by Caesar to capture the Mojave. This is a Brotherhood of Steel expedition led by Elder Elijah to capture Mojave technology as well. As well as the Expeditionary Force of the New California Republic, led by General Lee Oliver, whose task is to find sources of resources in the Mojave for the expanding republic.

We also decided to add a large number of minor factions, on the interaction with which the plot of events in Mojave and beyond will be built. They will be involved in the plot, and depending on the decisions made by the players, they can both help the players and turn against them. Some of them have already been outlined as a whole. For example, in any case, we will have Vegas inhabitants, whether they are inhabitants of a democratic city, mafia families, or clans of scavenger-gatherers. Other factions will be dictated by the selected secondary locations. But there are also a few more options that could well be considered.

Due to the fact that you have chosen the emphasis on small factions, choose three that will be NOT included in the game.
[x] - Faction of ghouls. Why not? We already have a few tech-focused ghoul concepts. From a techno-religious cult to the survivors of the Great War, the ghoul technicians who have kept the Hoover Dam operational for two hundred years.
[x] - Super mutant faction. In the conflict around the Hoover Dam, the aggressive super mutants following the Master's behest simply would not have survived to represent a formidable force. But they may well be a peaceful faction, like the Broken Hills mutants led by Marcus. Actually, Marcus can lead these super mutants as well.
[x] - Khans. This is the gang that players have encountered most often, but nothing prevents us from deepening the way we show them, transforming them from a simple gang into a warlike culture that sits on the border between people, tribe and gang.
[x] - Vipers. The second gang emerged from Vault 15. And according to the design documents for the first part of Fallout, it should have had an even deeper elaboration than the Khans. We can use these developments and present them in the form of a native culture, which plays a big role in the worship of snakes, and not just another gang of raiders.
[x] - Jackals. And finally the third gang emerging from Vault 15. Again, we can work with him and expand their image, focusing everything on their tragic history. People who left the Vault almost in the very winter were left without food and were forced to resort to cannibalism, gradually going crazy from this.
[x] - Raider Coalition. And why not try to add new images of the raiders, making them not so much a gang as techno-barbarians trying to preserve their way of life and at the same time being attacked from three sides at once - the Brotherhood of Steel, Caesar's Legion and the New California Republic.
[x] - Fiends. A kind of opposition to the previous one. Instead of trying to humanize the raiders, we can present them in a completely negative light, making them complete monsters that no one will deal with except the most unprincipled people. Raiders who use drugs are raped, cannibalized, and so on.
[x] - Trading houses. We may well draw more attention to the product from the merchants. These include NCR corporations, Phoenix merchant houses under Legion control, or energy weapon dealers serving the Brotherhood of Steel.
[x] - Followers of the Apocalypse. Maybe we need a few really "good guys" who are nobler than the NCR and are ready to help everyone, including the Caesar Legion, for which they possess some semblance of neutrality, although they are hardly tolerated for their humanistic and anarchic views.
[x] - Remains of the Enclave. Why not? In the end, some of the representatives of the Enclave could not have gone to the east, but remained in the West, getting lost among ordinary people, preserving their own network of acquaintances. Something similar to the Nazis after the Second World War, especially since creating the Enclave, we were certainly inspired by them.
[x] - Union of Atomic Workers. It is unlikely that any of the players remember them, given that they were mentioned in the only dialogue in the first part. But this is a high-tech, militarized group that was almost destroyed by super mutants in the days before the first part. Perhaps one of them went east?

What Bethesda didn't like, though, was our commitment to making full voice acting. The problem is the high cost of this action, while the funds could be spent on other things, leaving the usual quest descriptions of tasks. But in general, our concept of the game world itself completely satisfied the game studio.

 

[Karlov]

Winning vote:
[X] Beauty in the Wasteland

[X] - Partially survived. Although the city was not hit by nuclear warheads, however, time, as well as fires and riots, took their toll, as a result of which many buildings were destroyed, and others needed serious repairs. The city still retains some of its luster, but it can be seen that two centuries have passed since the Great War. The local population has experienced severe social and technical degradation, but gradually rebuilt its gambling industry.

[X] - Office of RobCo. This corporation has been in the game since the very first part, and there may well be one of the main offices of this corporation, where countless technologies about robots can be stored, not to mention the robots themselves.
[X] - Nuclear polygons. At one time, Vegas was known for the fact that it was there that tests of American nuclear bombs were carried out, and tourists even came to see it. The complex, which was designed for the explosion of a nuclear bomb, could well have survived, but there might remain components from which they wanted to make a nuclear bomb of a new type.
[X] - School of Elvis Pressly look-alikes. Who is the most famous person from this city if not Elvis Pressly himself, and how difficult is it to walk along the Strip and not meet any of his counterparts? So why not immortalize him in the form of a whole school of those who are learning to be like him.
[X] - Springsky Nature Reserve. And why not diversify this post-nuclear desert at the expense of the green oases of this reserve. It is unlikely that we will have so many opportunities to imagine green forests and parks in post-apocalyptic America.
[X] - Red Rock Canyon. This rather beautiful place is located in the vicinity of Vegas, in which the rocks are painted in various shades of red, which makes it seem as if they are on fire at sunset or dawn.

[X] - Fiends. A kind of opposition to the previous one. Instead of trying to humanize the raiders, we can present them in a completely negative light, making them complete monsters that no one will deal with except the most unprincipled people. Raiders who use drugs are raped, cannibalized, and so on.
[X] - Jackals. And finally the third gang emerging from Vault 15. Again, we can work with him and expand their image, focusing everything on their tragic history. People who left the Vault almost in the very winter were left without food and were forced to resort to cannibalism, gradually going crazy from this.
[X] - Union of Atomic Workers. It is unlikely that any of the players remember them, given that they were mentioned in the only dialogue in the first part. But this is a high-tech, militarized group that was almost destroyed by super mutants in the days before the first part. Perhaps one of them went east?

The team continues to work on an already working concept of the game in terms of plot and setting, while the programmers work with the game engine and try to develop a game client and create a working network code, which is especially important for a game with a non-targeting system, so that all hits registered properly.

Gradually, the plot of what is happening in the Mojave Desert looms. Las Vegas managed to survive the nuclear bombing with little or no casualties, but there was no one who was able to maintain order in the city. The failure of water supply systems and the depletion of food led to hunger, anarchy and the death of most of the population, the remaining ones were not enough to sustain society and they degraded to the level of the tribes. It remained that way for many years, the Mojave Desert was virtually deserted, apart from small farming communities living in ghost towns from deep-sea wells and nuclear batteries.

But at the same time, there was a force that was watching the city during all this time, making its own conclusions. Robert Edwin House, our allusion to Howard Hughes, is an eccentric billionaire, genius robotics, and just an extremely interesting person. And it is he who is responsible for keeping New Vegas safe during the Great War.

But what else did he do? He was able to live for more than two centuries with the help of skillful life support systems, and is also the one who, for his own reasons, pulled the local population out of the state of barbarism. But how long ago did he do it? This will determine how much the rudiments of the old tribal structure are preserved and whether those who still remember it survived.

Choose one option:
[x] - Several generations ago. Now the presence of a small army of House police robots is not surprising to anyone, everyone accepted the dictates of the mysterious ruler of Vegas. He had enough time to transform these tribes into anything and erase their former identity, returning the Old World to the city. However, the isolation of Neo Vegas hampered its development until the forces of the New California Republic and the Caesar Legion arrived here.
[x] - Several years ago. Only the emergence of really strong players in the Mojave forced him to act, rapidly rebuilding Vegas. He managed to subdue the Vegas tribes, restore old casinos, make them wear old clothes and speak English. But in their hearts they are still tribes, often keeping their dark secrets.
[x] - Hasn't made his move yet. Mr. House's robots have not yet left his casino, and only a few people, the heads of the tribes that have become the Strip Families, know about his activities. Its casino is officially closed, abandoned and protected by a small army of robots. Vegas is formally ruled by a federation of tribes. With this very move, we leave the appearance of Mr. House as an event that will form the basis of one of the small updates.
[x] - Enter your version and explain how it will affect the game's plot and gameplay.

Several of the groups we have approved for use have been present in the Mojave since the Great War. For example, ghouls. Others have come here a long time ago - Marcus' super mutants are a perfect example. But most of these are fairly recent settlers, who were driven from the west by the NCR and the Brotherhood of Steel, and from the east by the expanding Caesar's Legion. Before the arrival of the expeditionary forces of all the factions, they had enough resources to exist in the desert, but when the troops of the three factions arrived, they began to withdraw water, food and energy, they became less and less, and the tension grew to explode shortly before the events of the game.

Another interesting approach that we should probably consider is our relationship to the game's storyline before we go into detail about the storylines. There is a fundamental difference between single-player and multiplayer MMOs. In the first, the player changes the world, events almost always revolve around his person, while in the second, the world develops by itself, the player is often only one of many soldiers, and no matter how hard he tries, he does not correct the development of the world. But we can try to give the players that opportunity.

Approach to the plot of the game.
[x] - Classic plot design. The global line develops quite independently of the player's personality. He participates in the events taking place, but is nothing more than an executor. As a result, it is much easier to prescribe the storyline, without taking into account many of the possibilities.
[x] - New plot design. Considering that we are already making a plot with a complex story, why don't we try to show an unusual approach to the plot. The main story is shared. All sides will converge in the battle for Hoover Dam. But the difference is in the details. NCR players can help the Arizona Rangers save their outposts while the Legionnaires completely destroy them. This will affect the plot, but only the plot of your faction, creating a unique story for each of the factions. Added to this is the fact that each of the players makes his own small choices. But this is much more difficult.

Mojave, although it is the highest-level location in which players will obviously spend most of their time, it is far from the only one. We can offer a large number of locations throughout Arizona and California where players can act, but simply picking a location and creating a location is not enough. It should have some purpose in terms of the gameplay. We have a fairly large number of ideas for organizing this gameplay, but at the same time, we do not have enough funding to implement absolutely everything, so we will have to sacrifice something.

Select two locations that will NOT be included in the gameplay.
[x] - Startlocations. First of all, starting locations, an almost irreplaceable detail in any game world, the purpose of which is not only to give players an introduction to the main mechanics, but in our case, to lay the foundations of their company. Within the framework of this universe, various military camps are more than suitable for this role, where training will look quite organic, especially considering that almost all versions of the main characters are, in one way or another, military.
[х] - Faction capitals. It is there that the player comes after he is selected from the starting location - a large city where the entire game life of a particular faction is concentrated. These will be Shady Sands at the NCR, Flagstaff at the Legion and Maxson with the Lost Hills bunker at the Brotherhood of Steel. Here the opponents of the players will be, first of all, the urban rabble, but not too dangerous due to the proximity of the city guards, which prevents the city from falling into anarchy. Here they can see the strength of their faction.
[x] - The first location for leveling. Here players will find themselves when they leave the cramped city into the vast open areas, where they will be confronted by a variety of rebels, independent and simply disagreeing with the decisions of their faction. The twisted hairs tribe the Legion seeks to conquer, the raider-invaded squatter settlement near Vault 15, and so on. Here, players can not only diversify the gameplay itself, but see that not everyone agrees with the position of their faction.
[x] - Second leveling location. Players will have to go here after they have reached at least some decent level, this is a much more hectic place. Yes, the power is still strong here, but the bandits are also strong. In Phoenix, the Legion will have to face cultists-fire-worshipers, in Junktown, the NCR fighters will be confronted by various mafiosi, and in Santa Barbara, Luddites will be in the way of the Brotherhood of Steel players. This location is intended to deconstruct the very image of the faction, displaying its negative features.
[x] - Location of the collision. Here the path of the players diverges, because they have the opportunity to choose one of two locations for the development of their character, where for the first time they will have to face not just bandits, savages and raiders, but an organized enemy sponsored by one of the two opposing factions. So, the NCR is confronting the Legion in Arizona with the hands of the remnants of the Arizona Rangers, and the players will have to either help them evacuate, or finally break them. The NCR and the Brotherhood will clash for control of Vault 13, for the former it is of historical importance, as the homeland of the Vault, and for the latter it is another source of technology that should not fall into the wrong hands. And finally, the California ridge, where Legion-sponsored raiders hunt down the communications of the Brotherhood of Steel, and the plot of the location revolves around this.
[x] - A relatively neutral hub for mid-level players, in this case it will be the Hub. Formally, this is part of the NKR, but at the same time there is a separatist movement that requires special preferences for itself, and therefore the guards prefer not to pay too much attention to a visiting paladin or a frumentar, and it is around the separatism of the Hub that the local plot will revolve. The same place will also have a second auction.
[x] - Second collision zone. Here again there will be a clash between the three factions, which clash in the struggle for influence. The Legion and the Brotherhood will have the remnants of the Arizona Fellowship at the Bloomfield Space Center. For the NCR and the Brotherhood, this is the struggle for Necropolis and the resistance of the ghouls to the Brotherhood from underground communications, and for the NCR and the Legion, this is the protection of the path to the east through Barstow.
[x] - Grind location. It is quite possible to take certain details from the Korean MMOs, namely the grind, and the locations intended for it, but at least clothe it in the form of daily tasks. Players will be forced to face a wide variety of monsters, from radscorpions to death claws, with the result that the threat will persist even for high-level players.
[x] - Neutral combat zone for three factions. In this case, it will be the San Bernardino Ridge, where players will have to face the organized force of the remnants of the Enclave, which gathered a variety of raiders around them. The NCR will seek to end the threat to itself, the Brotherhood will seek to gain technology, and the Legion will lure the raiders into their ranks. This is a kind of location that brings all three sides to the confrontation with the Mojave, but is designed for players who still raise the levels, and not have reached the cap.
[x] - Enter your version. The variant should describe:
1) Between which locations in the story your version is located?
2) What is its function in terms of plot and game design?
3) Also write in an additional option that will NOT be included in the game from the above.

In addition, before proceeding with the creation of the game locations themselves, it is also necessary to consider the issue of the game scale. As you might guess, we have a completely natural problem - we cannot make locations full-sized. Both for practical reasons and for financial reasons. Shady Sands, as we well know from the history of the second part, is a city with a population of at least seventy thousand, and that was more than thirty years ago. Can we create a city for that many people? Of course not. But Las Vegas is not too inferior to them. Therefore, the question arises, what should we do, this problem traditionally has two ways out.

Choose one option:
[x] - Scaling. Why don't we try to display the locations in miniature? Orgrimmar from WoW is much smaller than the city that should be in this world. But does this interfere with his perception for anyone? Not. But at the same time, it is worth recognizing that the game, unlike ours, is completely in a fictional world.
[x] - Realism. We can try to get to the real scale. Yes, in this way, playing Shady Sands, players explore only a few blocks without seeing the city from the outside, but it is possible that this is not so necessary for them? And besides, we already have quite a lot of open locations.
[x] - Zoom in. This is a rather adventurous step, but nevertheless, why don't we try to get additional funds for expanding locations. Of course, we still won't be able to make Phoenix realistic in size - this is not possible with a city worth millions, but in the case of Flagstaff we will not be relatively constrained, at least trying to convey the size of the city. But this is also a serious additional burden on location designers.

Also, I would like to address a few meta-questions, but related to the quest itself. How interesting are you looking at the quest chains for each location, and possibly each class? Do you have a desire to iterate over all the locations, specifying the main quest line for each of them, or would you prefer to move on to another question, without exploring each individual location?

Answer form:
[x] - Enter your version.

 

[Karlov]

This is all locations map.
Faction capitals - Flagstaff, Shady Sands, Maxon
First leveling zone - Vault 15, Vandeberf, Twisted Hairs Lands
Second Leveling zone - Junkton, Phoenix and Santa-Barbara
Location of colision - Vault 13, Ranger Dam, California Ridge
Hub - Hub
Secon colision zone - Necropolis, Bloomfield Space Center, Baker
Grind location - Death Valley
Three side zone - San Bernardino.

 

[Karlov]

Winning vote:
[X] Plan: Groundwork for DLS
[x] - Hasn't made his move yet. Mr. House's robots have not yet left his casino, and only a few people, the heads of the tribes that have become the Strip Families, know about his activities. Its casino is officially closed, abandoned and protected by a small army of robots. Vegas is formally ruled by a federation of tribes. With this very move, we leave the appearance of Mr. House as an event that will form the basis of one of the small updates.
[x] - New plot design. Considering that we are already making a plot with a complex story, why don't we try to show an unusual approach to the plot. The main story is shared. All sides will converge in the battle for Hoover Dam. But the difference is in the details. NCR players can help the Arizona Rangers save their outposts while the Legionnaires completely destroy them. This will affect the plot, but only the plot of your faction, creating a unique story for each of the factions. Added to this is the fact that each of the players makes his own small choices. But this is much more difficult.
[x] - Second collision zone. Here again there will be a clash between the three factions, which clash in the struggle for influence. The Legion and the Brotherhood will have the remnants of the Arizona Brotherhood at the Bloomfield Space Center. For the NCR and the Brotherhood, this is the struggle for Necropolis and the resistance of the ghouls to the Brotherhood from underground communications, and for the NCR and the Legion, this is the protection of the path to the east through Barstow.
[x] - Neutral combat zone for three factions. In this case, it will be the San Bernardino Ridge, where players will have to face the organized force of the remnants of the Enclave, which gathered a variety of raiders around them. The NCR will seek to end the threat to itself, the Brotherhood will seek to gain technology, and the Legion will lure the raiders into their ranks. This is a kind of location that brings all three sides to the confrontation with the Mojave, but is designed for players who still raise the levels, and not have reached the cap.
[x] - Realism. We can try to get to the real scale. Yes, in this way, playing Shady Sands, players explore only a few blocks without seeing the city from the outside, but it is possible that this is not so necessary for them? And besides, we already have quite a lot of open locations.

The work continues and slowly we are getting clues not only to what is happening directly in the game campaign, but also to future updates. House is an example of this. Yes, he will be present in the game at the time of its start and there will be tasks related to him, but his full participation will be introduced into the plot only after a while, when he decides to make his move. Until that moment, he acts relying on dummy personalities and his human agents.

Vegas itself is a fairly large city, but the most famous part of it is the casinos, therefore the whole plot will revolve around them. Each casino is occupied by one of the tribes, forming one of the Vegas Families, which jointly rule this city. From the very moment of work, we had several developments that can be fully implemented now, plus, some famous places in the Mojave provide us with ideas for other families. Each of the families, in fact, represents the exploitation of one or another human vice, so that they are all in one way or another negative, the degree of their negativity is simply different.

Choose four options to represent the Neo Vegas families:
[x] - Omerta. This image is a tribute to the traditional Mafia of the Prohibition era, not in the least romantic image of a brutal criminal organization profiting from human vices, dealing with drugs, prostitution and many other things that are prohibited from gaming nations. This will often be the reason for conflict with them.
[x] - White Gloves. This image is more based on elite casinos, which do not turn to inferior entertainment, but maintain a demonstrative elitism in everything. At the same time, we may well add to them some sharply negative trait, which they abandoned, at least formally. For example, cannibalism. Or make them a religious sect. We have a lot of options for action, and our main problem is age restrictions.
[x] - Chairpermens. The most typical casino representatives. They no longer show the brutal crime of the mafia of the twenties, but a much later mafia, which has moved from open murders in the middle of the streets to bribery and political lobbying of its own interests. They may be the most typical family, but this is not a problem either, as it takes someone typical to fill the extras among the many vivid images.
[x] - Kings. We already have Elvis Presley fans, and although we originally planned to place them in the outskirts of Vegas, in its slums, no one is stopping us from making a casino focused on the rock and roll style. They can become a kind of hallmark of this city, for which it is known in the rest of the world. And also the basis of a reviving pop culture, for example, music, but they do not create anything new, they worship a person from the past as a living deity. This is blind repetition without understanding and development.
[x] - Kaganate. We may well position the Khans in Vegas as well, turning them into another Vegas mafia family. In their role, they are similar to Omerta, but their trick is not prostitution and drugs, but fierce battles, perhaps even to death. After all, such a brutal and bloody sport is not uncommon for the Wasteland. They can also become Vegas guards.
[x] - Vipers. Again, we may well add this cult, which in our interpretation is a matriarchal sect worshiping snakes and producing organic hallucinogens from snake venom. If Omera's drugs are more designed for pure ecstasy, then this is immersion in the land of dreams, the experience of visions generated by their own subconsciousness.
[x] - Clowns. It seems that Vegas has a casino based on circus culture. Why don't we turn them into a casino and a really creepy circus at the same time? Well, with brutal performances as well as animal fights forced to kill each other.
[x] - Embalmers. They represent a cult inspired by the Luxor casino and the likeness of ancient Egypt, representing a rather exotic cult focused on the worship of death itself. For them, gambling is not only and not so much a source of income as a test of luck, a struggle against the vicissitudes of the world. An attempt by dishonest games and small losses of people to appease their cruel deity.

In addition, each of the three main gaming factions will have their own casino in Vegas, which will act as their diplomatic base, as opposed to a military base. The New California Republic will have the Imperial Palace, where they are trying to restore the collection of cars of American presidents. Legion Caesar, quite logically, will occupy Caesar's Palace, where the Legion's consul, its diplomatic envoy, will be located. And the Brotherhood of Steel will be located in Excalibur, which is quite ironic, given the image of the Brotherhood itself as post-apocalyptic knights.

However, we simply will not succeed in a single and indissoluble Vegas due to quite objective reasons - we decided to make the locations corresponding to realistic sizes, so they will have to be loadable locations between which players will move. There will simply not be any semblance of an open and seamless world.

Also, if we already decided to take on the creation of class stories, then we need to determine what we will describe. Each class already creates its own image due to its specialization. You expect from an NCR sergeant that he will be cool, but a simple person, for example, if only because he has neither high technology, nor highly refined ranger skills. He relies on his own courage.

Select Sergeant story option (one option):
[x] - Survivor. The sergeant will be joining the New California Republic Army Special Forces squad, which will soon be joining the Mojave expedition. However, in the last mission before sending, near Vault 15, the squad is surrounded and almost completely destroyed, in addition to the Sergeant. His path is not only helping the Republic by rebuilding his squad, but also a secret personal vendetta against incompetent commanders who allowed this to happen.
[x] - Commander. Our hero turns out to be a sergeant only at first, becoming the commander of a special detachment of the army of the New California Republic. His goal is not so much to play an important role in the war, but also to assemble a special composite regiment, freeing troops from other directions in order to help the troops in the Mojave. But this role will often be much more difficult than that of others, because he will have to condemn ordinary soldiers to death, denying them the necessary reinforcements due to the wishes of politicians.
[x] - Hero. The sergeant managed to single-handedly defeat the enemy squad near Vault 15, and this makes him a real legend, firstly only in his battalion. However, the more he becomes a living legend, the more the supply officers who envy him will sabotage the player's activities. Until being sent on an openly suicidal mission, upon returning from which the player will have nothing to do but solve the problem with the commander in the most radical way.

Select the Heavy Infantry story option (one option):
[x] - Bodyguard. Our hero is not so much an ordinary soldier as the bodyguard of the republic's congressman, who is desperately trying to fight corruption, albeit with too cruel methods. He will have to protect him from competitors until the next crimes of the congressman are revealed, and the player will not be faced with a choice - to help him establish order with criminal methods, or to prosecute.
[x] - Stormtrooper. In this version, the hero will serve as an assault specialist assigned to the battalion, who is always at the forefront of the offensive. In the end, he is noticed enough to invite him to test the new type of power armor collected by the NCR, but this makes him a target for the Brotherhood of Steel, since the armor is a reworking of the Enclave's developments, and they are confident that through the player they will be able to reach possible refugees from the Enclave in the Republic.
[x] - Military police officer. In this version, the protagonist is not so much a complete soldier as an officer of the military police of the New California Republic. Rather, the part of it that is responsible for suppressing the uprisings against the Republic until they turn into a civil war. The oddities begin when more and more brutal orders begin to be issued to them, as the commander plans a coup in the Republic, for which he forces the soldiers to commit war crimes and leaves them no way back.

Select Ranger story option (one option):
[x] - Sinner. Our Ranger is a former criminal who is trying to find his new place in the Rangers of the New California Republic, but the past haunts him. And he has a choice - to walk with fire and sword through the old brothers in crime, or lead them, starting to organize a crime syndicate right inside the Ranger Corps.
[x] - Cleaner. We offered players the opportunity to play on the dark side of the Ranger Corps. Namely, the fact that they are often forced to work as assassins on the orders of the high command of the Republic. The player becomes one of them, but gradually the orders coming to him become ambiguous, aimed not only at helping the Republic, but also at settling opponents. And he can both oppose his commanders, and start to cash in on this, officially pretending to be "a good ranger follows orders."
[x] - Commissioner. You can also refer to the fact that as the most ideological part of the armed forces of the New California Republic, the rangers can also act as commissars, similar to what the communists had in the second world war. And his role is to fight the enemy agitators who undermine the morale of the troops. Moreover, the agents of the Legion have penetrated the command structure of the army quite strongly. And how he will do it, by personal example or by executions under the law of martial time - this is the choice of the players.

Select the Scientist story option (one option):
[x] - Archaeologist. This story focuses more on the search in the ruins of the Old World and the scientist's attempts to obtain technology valuable to the Republic, while confronting the Brotherhood, which is trying to obtain technology for itself, and the Legion, which is trying to destroy it. But the technologies themselves are dangerous, because they led to the death of the Old World, and sometimes the NKR will try to capture what they themselves do not fully understand.
[x] - Medic. We may well show him not only as a scientist moving with accompaniment, but also as one of the few really educated people. And the more fierce the battles become, the more often he has to make difficult decisions. Who to help in the face of a lack of supplies, and whether to help at all, or send a soldier suffering from PTSD to the meat grinder of war, because the experience is not a physical trauma, and the commander desperately needs everyone who is able to hold a weapon.
[x] - Repairman. Our hero speaks not so much to those who are trying to save technologies for future use, but to those who are trying to quickly return equipment to operation, when the fact of its operation will determine whether people will survive now or not. And along the way face difficult choices - to reactivate the security systems of the complex during the battle, killing both enemies and your allies, or risk theoretically even greater losses?

Also, we seem to have a problem. They came to us from Bethesda, where they learned that... BioWare is doing Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is practically the same game. At least in the sense that it is story-driven, which is quite atypical for an MMO. Up to class storylines. And their game is much closer to release, at least in the form of a conceptual version, than ours. As a result, our publisher fears that the previously released game will simply outshine ours if it is successful. Or it will aggravate the situation if it fails.

In any case, we cannot avoid comparing these games, and if we do not try to highlight something original in terms of gameplay, which they do not have. Something to help avoid copying accusations and grab the attention of players when it's time to announce. It will be best if this mechanic will already be present in the game, but that option is also suitable if it will be possible to make it for a relatively small fee.

Choose your option:
[x] - Write it down.

 

[Karlov]

Another map, with Mojave locations based on previous Votes. There is fractions areas, safe locations with storng guard. There is Neo Vegas neutral territory. There is Prohibited Zones with very strong defence. And there is Battle Zones, which will be PvP center.

 

[Karlov]

Winning vote:
[X] Plan: Combinated Vote
[x] - Omerta. This image is a tribute to the traditional Mafia of the Prohibition era, not in the least romantic image of a brutal criminal organization profiting from human vices, dealing with drugs, prostitution and many other things that are prohibited from gaming nations. This will often be the reason for conflict with them.
[x] - Chairmens. The most typical casino representatives. They no longer show the brutal crime of the mafia of the twenties, but a much later mafia, which has moved from open murders in the middle of the streets to bribery and political lobbying of its own interests. They may be the most typical family, but this is not a problem either, as it takes someone typical to fill the extras among the many vivid images.
[x] - Kings. We already have Elvis Presley fans, and although we originally planned to place them in the outskirts of Vegas, in its slums, no one is stopping us from making a casino focused on the rock and roll style. They can become a kind of hallmark of this city, for which it is known in the rest of the world. And also the basis of a reviving pop culture, for example, music, but they do not create anything new, they worship a person from the past as a living deity. This is blind repetition without understanding and development.
[x] - Clowns. It seems that Vegas has a casino based on circus culture. Why don't we turn them into a casino and a really creepy circus at the same time? Well, with brutal performances as well as animal fights forced to kill each other.
[X] - Hero. The sergeant managed to single-handedly defeat the enemy squad near Vault 15, and this makes him a real legend, firstly only in his battalion. However, the more he becomes a living legend, the more the supply officers who envy him will sabotage the player's activities. Until being sent on an openly suicidal mission, upon returning from which the player will have nothing to do but solve the problem with the commander in the most radical way.
[X] - Stormtrooper. In this version, the hero will serve as an assault specialist assigned to the battalion, who is always at the forefront of the offensive. In the end, he is noticed enough to invite him to test the new type of power armor collected by the NCR, but this makes him a target for the Brotherhood of Steel, since the armor is a reworking of the Enclave's developments, and they are confident that through the player they will be able to reach possible refugees from the Enclave in the Republic.
[X] - Cleaner. We offered players the opportunity to play on the dark side of the Ranger Corps. Namely, the fact that they are often forced to work as assassins on the orders of the high command of the Republic. The player becomes one of them, but gradually the orders coming to him become ambiguous, aimed not only at helping the Republic, but also at settling opponents. And he can both oppose his commanders, and start to cash in on this, officially pretending to be "a good ranger follows orders."
[X] - Archaeologist. This story focuses more on the search in the ruins of the Old World and the scientist's attempts to obtain technology valuable to the Republic, while confronting the Brotherhood, which is trying to obtain technology for itself, and the Legion, which is trying to destroy it. But the technologies themselves are dangerous, because they led to the death of the Old World, and sometimes the NKR will try to capture what they themselves do not fully understand.
[X] - The trade and economic system of fractions. That is, awards, prizes and prices for NPCs depend on the welfare and features of the game of the players, as well as the NPCs themselves. Promise that the NPCs "Can overtake you in the grind", sending visible in-game detachments of hunters and scavengers, as well as fight with players for raids and grind quests.

We are slowly but surely creating the image of the Strip, complementing it also with crime families and creating a division of labor between various mafia families. Neo Vegas itself, the city of sin, is gradually acquiring more and more details. The four factions of the Strip Families vie with each other to please their master, Mr. House, or to do exactly the opposite and find a way to overthrow him. And each of the families also looks different. Creepy Clowns, rude and cruel thugs Omerta, elegant, but cunning as if poisonous snakes Chairmens; and one-faced like soulless copies of the Kings.

But Vegas is not limited exclusively to the Boulevard itself, there are also several other areas of the city, each of which has its own surroundings and history, which we could easily borrow and use for our own needs, diversifying the overall picture of Vegas with its typical post-apocalyptic landscapes.

Choose three options:
[x] - Black Westside. The Fallout universe is focused on the 1940s and 1950s, and if so, then you can remember those times when there were serious restrictions on the Strip for blacks, and therefore they opened their casinos in Westside. We can keep the area as a predominantly African American area, add some voodoo culture and famous black artists like Louis Armstrong.
[x] - Housers. Mr. House's prototype, Howard Hughes, once became the largest landowner in the New Vegas Valley, and his heirs organized the construction of a luxury residential complex on the site of his possessions. This place is now known as Summerlin. Take the eccentric nature of the real Hughes, add self-centeredness, right down to his portraits hung everywhere. And in two centuries we will get a whole cult focused on the worship of House itself.
[x] - Steel Heart of Vegas. Henderson is also known as one of the few Vegas neighborhoods that has had an industry. Mainly because the Hoover Dam was under construction in the 1930s. Why not locate some family-owned refurbished factories in Southeast Vegas. Locals are forced to work for them in harsh conditions, while the Followers of the Apocalypse try to help them, and also secretly spread their anarchist views.
[x] - A city from the past. We may not refer to North Las Vegas as just a neighborhood close to Las Vegas. In the end, during the time of Prohibition, it was he who became the center of activity of the bootlers with their underground establishments. Of course, after the collapse of the Old World, there is no sense in its laws, but they can organize an underground market in secret from Mr. House and Semey, refusing to pay taxes on such entertainment.

On the other hand, our words did not make Bethesda too happy. In their perception, what we were proposing sounded not more like an imitation of life on the map, but more like a full-fledged economic system, more similar to the one in EVE Online, but at the same time involving non-player characters. And this is difficult to balance, extremely difficult.

Also, as they said, the problem is that it will be difficult for us to organize the right audience for it. Traditionally, Killers, according to Bartle, who seek to achieve superiority over other players not by interacting with the world, but at the expense of the players themselves, are the first to profit from auctions. And whether it is trading at the auction, or fighting with other players is a completely different question. The problem is that by providing too much content and opportunities for Killers, we can frighten off other categories of players. And by complicating the financial system, we run the risk of not fully thinking through something, and thereby destroying the market.

While Killers are highly likely to buy paid content from the in-game store from the very beginning, the problem with them is comparable to that of Whales. They can buy a lot, but they will leave the game as soon as dominance is no longer interesting to them. Or, destroy the gaming market, scare away other players, and make the world empty before the game pays off.

Nevertheless, the contract has already been signed, and all that remains is to try to move forward in the hope that the project does not fall apart in the process. Moreover, the time has come to think about E3 2009, as well as the possibility of the very presentation of the fact that we are working on this project. So far, Bethesda itself plans to disclose solely the fact that a new project is being prepared, but we can try to convince them otherwise.

Your position on preparing for E3:
[x] - Do not divulge anything. For now, we will keep a secret the very fact of the preparation of the IMO for Fallout, so that the excitement does not burn out.
[x] - Disclose the fact of cooperation between the studios. Yes, we are indeed working on a Fallout game, which is pretty obvious given that there are many early game authors among the founders of our studio. But what kind of game it is and how it will function is not necessary for them to know at the moment.
[x] - Disclose the facts of the MMO. Yes, we are working on a Fallout MMO, but this is not an overly ambitious project that is not trying to become a WoW killer.
[x] - Catch up on the excitement. Yes, we are working on an MMO, which should become, if not a killer for the current king of online games, then at least become a competitor for another ambitious project - SWTOR, since our games are extremely similar.

Now is the time to move on to the campaign of characters belonging to the Caesar's Legion, of which we also have four. They all have similar tactical roles to their counterparts, but there are also differences. Dean and Sergeant have both similar gameplay and are similar in their images to each other. They are both simple people who rise to the top through their own courage and training, the hero who is easiest to empathize with due to a certain similarity with the player. Likewise, both the Ranger and the Frumentarian use the imagery of the intelligence agent, which also makes them look similar.

But at the same time, there is a big difference between the Heavy Infantry and a member of the Cult of the Vulcan. If the first is just a soldier with elite equipment, who, as a result, are given special tasks, then a member of the Cult of the Vulcan stands outside the main command chain of the Legion. He is a warrior-scholar of the Caesar Legion who obeys the orders of his cult, reporting directly to Caesar. His task is to look for new technologies, as well as ways to apply them. A similar situation with the Scientist and Auxilarium. If everything is clear about the first, then the second is a member of a tribe allied to the Legion, but not part of it, he is also outside the culture of the Legion. But his knowledge is the result of being passed on within the tribe since the time of the Great War, in the form of religious rites, and not restored after the Great War.

Select Dean's story option (one option):
[x] - Survivor. A similar story, where the dean will have to endure the death of his entire century, thrown into a hopeless battle. Standard plot. But in this case, the reason for the decision will be by no means incompetence, but malicious intent. Players will have to expose the tribal enmity that has survived in spite of everything in the Legion, which threatens to tear the Legion itself to pieces.
[x] - Centurion. Again, in general, a similar plot, where our dean gradually rises to the centurion, withdrawing from various sectors of the fronts the troops that Joshua Grackham needs to storm Hoover Dam. The challenge will be managing such a messy and messy mix, most of which is green newbies. The hero can be put in charge of all the salvation of personnel or victory at any cost.
[x] - Triarius. Its plot is the story of one who changes the course of history, remaining in the shadows. Who can rush with a machete at the enemy squad, interrupt it, get out of the battle unharmed and change the course of the battle. He is appreciated by the centuria, but he himself refuses promotions, confident that his place is right here. But who is he himself? Loyal servant of Caesar, following the spirit of the ideology of dialectics around which the Legion was created? Or a bloody maniac with blood on his hands?

Select the story option for a member of the Cult of the Volcano (one option):
[x] - Talent Seeker. Few will volunteer to work for the Legion, most will prefer to lay low, because the offer of the Legion cannot be refused. His task will be to look for those who can possess knowledge valuable for the cult and in one way or another get it into the service. Far from voluntary, but even so, his methods will vary. Kidnap a scientist and take him to Arizona? Or use his family as hostages, threatening to kill them or sell them as slaves?
[x] - Defector. We can show as a member of the Vulcan Cult not just an ordinary savage who received training and weapons, but remained a savage at heart. Why not show instead a surviving Enclave member who both respects the Legion's martial culture and Caesar's mindset and is driven by hatred of the Brotherhood of Steel and the New California Republic. But will he stoop to methods acceptable to the Legion?
[x] - Mechanic. We can revert to the image of the repairman, and its importance will become even greater within the Legion. In the end, most of the ordinary legionnaires are uneducated savages who do not understand how their weapons actually work, and only follow the instructions for solving standard situations. But what happens in all other situations? They have to turn to the cult of Vulcan. And he has a choice - to try to educate his fellow-in-arms, or to continue to preserve knowledge for the sake of growing the influence of his cult.

Select the Frumentaria story option (one option):
[x] - Hand of Caesar. We may well show the work of a frumentarian as a scout and counterintelligence officer who both searches for enemies and penetrates enemy boundaries, sabotaging enemy forces, and collecting valuable intelligence. The question about the ambiguity of his image is how far will he go in deviating from the Legion lifestyle? He has permission to do so, but will he remain faithful to the ideology of the Legion, or become a plutocrat in everything but the name.
[x] - Mouth of Caesar. In the same way, we will help to show him as a diplomatic agent who not only receives information, but also controls the tribes and whether they will become part of the Legion or be exterminated. Its goal is to look for allies, enter into discussions and convince native cultures to voluntarily go into slavery, so as not to be forced into it.
[x] - Eye of Caesar. And we can again return to the role of the Frumentarians and their ilk as commissioners. Why not? They are outside the main command structure, reporting only to Caesar himself. Ideal fighters for cleaning out those who are too free-thinking and plotting any coups.

Select Auxilarium story option (one option):
[x] - Shaman. The option is similar to the Medic's story in the sense that he will have to choose who to keep alive and who not. But there are major differences between them. The witch doctor also goes back to the image of a shaman, he only heals bodily wounds, but also mental wounds, and also conducts initiation rites. His choice is to help preserve a piece of tribal culture, or ruthlessly erase it within the framework of the Legion-approved Cult of Mars.
[x] - Champion of the tribe. The Auxilarium is not directly part of the Legion's military chain. He is a savage who serves the Legion, for his tribe has sworn allegiance to him. And on him, like on other members of the tribe, Caesar's close attention is paid. He needs to show himself in order for the Legion to continue to believe that granting autonomy to his tribe is the right choice. And the question is - how far is he willing to go to deserve such an attitude towards himself?
[x] - Skirmisher. We can refer to the auxilias as real Roman connections, namely the Cretan archers and the Balearic slinger. A former member of a gang of savage raiders acts as the foremost scout for the Legion's invasion army. But even after joining Caesar's army, he was brought up under the Legion as a recruit who knows no other life. He is a raider who will try to find a way out even in Caesar's army. Including if it means looting and clandestine trade, kidnapping of civilians and the like, bypassing military service.

 

[Karlov]

The hero begins as an ordinary soldier of the 12th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the NCR, which is organized from volunteers in a military camp near NKR, he has to be trained, before his connection is sent first to the capital itself, in Shady Sands, in order to finally arm a battalion and give relax before shipping to the front.

But what was expected as a simple passage before shipping into battle turns into a separate adventure. When criminals decide to arrange a fire in a warehouse of weapons, in order to hide the traces of their robbery, the hero is among others trying to save the situation, and in many ways, thanks to his person, he succeeds. This is the foresight of his willingness to take responsibility when other will remain indispensable. But so far it passes unnoticed.

But at the present, he manifests himself during an unsuccessful battle near the Vault 15, when his company turns out to be crushed, and it remains among others to cover the retreat of the wounded. And he successfully restrains the enemy until the opponents are simply ended. When he is the only one returns to the camp, they just do not believe it. But as a reward for saving the camp, full of injured, he is given one of the highest military awards of the new California republic.

Then his battalion is transferred to replenish in Junktown, and the mayor invites him to his honor, representing him as the only one who saved hundreds of people while the officers were incapable of leadership. It will seize the evil attitude of the higher to him, and they will begin to act. He will be presented to the position of lieutenant and the most mediocre platoon, with whom the hero has to go through, trying to save the lives of these beginners, with a constant shortage of everything.

Then two military assignments follow, where in both cases the hero unit turns out in a dangerous position - the legionnaires clamped in the vice of the legionnaires in Arizona, then under the strike of artillery, which was supposed to come across the paladines near the Vault 13. But every time the hero is removed not only to bring his hero. People from under fire, but in essence alone to fulfill the task, because of which he in his battalion already acquires the reputation of the army consisting of one person. And to his decisions, soldiers listens are often stronger than to the teams of officers.

The hard battalion is again sent to replenishment, but this time to Hub, where he will command company. The city is informably known for his crime, where attempts will almost immediately be organized at him, and together with its fellow arms, the hero will have to sake the sake of his own survival to strangle the hive of the cities of the city to eliminate the killers and try to understand the reason why it all started. He recognizes enough to understand who is specifically worth the attempt. And then, either quietly get rid of the commanders, in order to avoid accusations, either raise the riot in the battalion in order to capture the superior to the title and transfer the military police.

By this time, glory about him was already separated by the Armed Forces of the NCR. The command does not remain anything except to recognize the fact and appoint him to the deputy command of the battalion, and the battalion itself is sent to Mojave. Together with the hero, which actually acts as a live banner, one presence of which raises the morale of the troops.

 

[Karlov]

Winning vote:
[X] Plan To Cross A Rubicon

[X] - Black Westside. The Fallout universe is focused on the 1940s and 1950s, and if so, then you can remember those times when there were serious restrictions on the Strip for blacks, and therefore they opened their casinos in Westside. We can keep the area as a predominantly African American area, add some voodoo culture and famous black artists like Louis Armstrong.
[X] - Housers. Mr. House's prototype, Howard Hughes, once became the largest landowner in the New Vegas Valley, and his heirs organized the construction of a luxury residential complex on the site of his possessions. This place is now known as Summerlin. Take the eccentric nature of the real Hughes, add self-centeredness, right down to his portraits hung everywhere. And in two centuries we will get a whole cult focused on the worship of House itself.
[X] - Steel Heart of Vegas. Henderson is also known as one of the few Vegas neighborhoods that has had an industry. Mainly because the Hoover Dam was under construction in the 1930s. Why not locate some family-owned refurbished factories in Southeast Vegas. Locals are forced to work for them in harsh conditions, while the Followers of the Apocalypse try to help them, and also secretly spread their anarchist views.

[X] - Disclose the fact of cooperation between the studios. Yes, we are indeed working on a Fallout game, which is pretty obvious given that there are many early game authors among the founders of our studio. But what kind of game it is and how it will function is not necessary for them to know at the moment.

[X] - Triarius. Its plot is the story of one who changes the course of history, remaining in the shadows. Who can rush with a machete at the enemy squad, interrupt it, get out of the battle unharmed and change the course of the battle. He is appreciated by the centuria, but he himself refuses promotions, confident that his place is right here. But who is he himself? Loyal servant of Caesar, following the spirit of the ideology of dialectics around which the Legion was created? Or a bloody maniac with blood on his hands?
[X] - Talent Seeker. Few will volunteer to work for the Legion, most will prefer to lay low, because the offer of the Legion cannot be refused. His task will be to look for those who can possess knowledge valuable for the cult and in one way or another get it into the service. Far from voluntary, but even so, his methods will vary. Kidnap a scientist and take him to Arizona? Or use his family as hostages, threatening to kill them or sell them as slaves?
[X] - Eye of Caesar. And we can again return to the role of the Frumentarians and their ilk as commissioners. Why not? They are outside the main command structure, reporting only to Caesar himself. Ideal fighters for cleaning out those who are too free-thinking and plotting any coups.
[X] - Champion of the tribe. The Auxilarium is not directly part of the Legion's military chain. He is a savage who serves the Legion, for his tribe has sworn allegiance to him. And on him, like on other members of the tribe, Caesar's close attention is paid. He needs to show himself in order for the Legion to continue to believe that granting autonomy to his tribe is the right choice. And the question is - how far is he willing to go to deserve such an attitude towards himself?

E3 2009 took place, where we first revealed the very fact of cooperation between our companies in preparation for the creation of a new game. What kind of game we are developing is in secret, at least formally. The players instantly added 2 + 2 and got 4. Namely, this is a new Fallout project, but its scale is still a secret, and no one, even in their wildest dreams, can imagine that it will be an MMO, the scope of the project is too large.

Meanwhile, our direct competitor SWTOR from BioWare has exploded in popularity amid a cinematic trailer for the game itself. Perhaps it's even better that you never divulged what the game should become, because it would inevitably be overshadowed by the project. In addition, so far we have the opportunity to work on the project without giving even an approximate release date for the players. And this is the case when Bethesda will not insist on an early release, because they understand that an incompletely finished game will not be able to compete with a direct competitor, it is easier to let the excitement around him subside soon after the release.

In general, the map, the main locations and factions of the Mojave Wasteland are already finished to one degree or another. Now we have a large number of places not only for the factions of the players, but also for the neutral factions, between which there will be different relations, and by inclining one of them to their side or the side of their faction, players will worsen relations with others. They will also serve as neutral zones, where daily tasks will be taken, the completion of which will take considerable time for players at higher levels. Now it remains only to sketch out separate, smaller locations that do not pull on the global factions, on which the outcome of the confrontation in Mojave depends.

Select 6 options:
[x] - City of buses. The United States is much worse off than Europe in terms of rail services, and buses play the role. Therefore, we can easily make it from old buses, which are used both as living quarters and as walls. And all thanks to a construction crane located in the center of the settlement, which allows them to be moved.
[x] - Undercity. During the pumping of water to supply Las Vegas, cavities were formed, where after the war some part of the population could well have taken refuge. In addition, these caves can be connected to the sewerage system, forming a second communication system that allows you to move between areas of the city below. But at the same time, this is an absolutely lawless zone with PvP, even within the faction.
[x] - Dune Island. This is a small oasis after the Mojave Desert, near which refugees from Hawaii camped, even before the Great War. They created not just a camp here, but gradually adapted, combining the lifestyle of a tropical island with deserts. For example, windsurfing on the sand dunes.
[x] - Call center. It is one of RobCo's businesses that has responded to calls from consumers. Oddly enough, but after the war they survived. And since they were engaged in technical support for robots, they were able to reactivate the robots that were available here, making them full-fledged defenders of their small culture, which fights off raiders in this way and trades its stocks of blank paper, rare in the Wasteland, with other factions.
[x] - Improvised Vault. The Las Vegas Convention Center is the largest exhibition complex in which they could demonstrate various achievements of technology, from the latest weapons to the life support systems of the space station. And the people who survived here after the war over time turned into a techno-religious tribe that hardly maintains technological artifacts, advanced even by the standards of the old USA. But they have no other options, because their lives depend on it.
[x] - Zoo and aquarium complex. It has a zoo and a huge aquarium. An entire isolationist tribe that lives on the use of traps, special mutants and actively thrives on the rare trade in water supplies that they sometimes sell. The only ones in the wasteland prepare sushi.
[x] - Pinball Hall of Fame. Oddly enough, the huge museum of airsoft, paintball and laser tag along with an attached factory became an excellent resource for a new group of civilized raiders who began to imitate the "military airsoft" culture and became excellent shooters in the wasteland.
[x] - Football fields. Oddly enough, Vegas has a whole sports complex of classic European football. There you can create a district that hosts the local "Vega Games", once a season inviting everyone to the "Deathball" championships.
[x] - City University. A suburb of the city with a large number of old university campuses and the Vegas University itself. Local Followers of the Apocalypse may settle there, competing for resources to work with marauders and plunderers of ancient knowledge. That there is only the concept of looting for books for fuel.
[x] - Neon Museum. Las Vegas is home to a unique neon sign museum, and accordingly, there may well be a center dedicated to restoring and reworking neon signs to keep the restored Vegas casinos running.

Finally, it's time to outline campaigns for the last, third faction in the Wasteland - the Brotherhood of Steel. Although in terms of game balance they differ little from the fighters of the New California Republic or the Caesar Legion, the positions held by the fighters are very different. In addition, they are all members of the same command chain, unlike the same Legion, where Auxilarius is not a member of Caesar's Legion at all, and also the New California Republic, in which the Scientist is formally completely civilian.

Each class is also different. The Brotherhood of Steel Paladin is very similar to the NCR Heavy Infantry, acting as a military leader, but very different from a member of the Cult of Vulcan, who is a heavily armed Scientist Warrior. The knight does not look like either the Sergeant or Triarius, because he also has the responsibility to maintain the equipment in working order. The Scribe is similar only to the Scientist, having nothing at all to do with Auxilarium. And finally, neither the Ranger nor the Frumentarii are like Squire in their positions, because they are outside the usual command chain of the armed forces of their faction, which gives them a special status.

Choose one Paladin story option (one option):
[x] - Commander. Once again, the Paladin's role as leader and commander of the Order of the Brotherhood of Steel, in which he is once again tasked with gathering forces that will act as a replacement for the troops in Mojave. He will have to free troops from the most dangerous places, trying not to expose other areas that are extremely important for the Brotherhood of Steel, threatening not a distant expedition in Mojave, but Lost Hills itself.
[x] - Bodyguard. Again, back to the Heavy Infantry as a bodyguard. The Paladin can play the same role, accompanying the emissary of the Elder on his important assignment throughout the Wasteland. But the problem, as it turns out, is that this entire mission, although important for the Brotherhood, goes against its military structure, bypassing the chain of command, and is aimed at eliminating political rivals, no less.
[x] - Feudal Paladin. We can turn to the origin of the Brotherhood of Steel in the form of a philosophical knightly order, copying the structure of real royal orders. For example, the Teutonic Order. And the paladino, accordingly, is presented as the feudal lords of this very Order. Actually, in this branch of events, the Paladin represents the right hand of the local Lord Paladin, who carries out his orders and fights against riots, agitation of the NCR and the Legion, sometimes with medieval cruelty.

Choose one variant of the Knight story (one option):
[x] - Survivor. And again, a classic story about almost the only survivor in a clash with the surviving fighters of the Enclave near the Wandeberg base. Only to find out that the Brotherhood of Steel is actually using the labor and development of defectors from the Enclave to dominate and win their conflict with the NCR and the Legion.
[x] - Mechanic. While each member of the Brotherhood of Steel can handle their own weapons to some extent, only knights are the only true experts in this field. And here the question is not so much that he will have to work with electronics, as others are capable of. His role is a reaction to the emerging techno-religious movement in the Brotherhood of Steel, worshiping technology and increasingly radicalizing everyone except the members of the Brotherhood of Steel itself.
[x] - Tradeк-diplomat. Also, most of the contact with the inhabitants of the Wasteland goes through the knights, for it is they who are responsible for such trivial issues as supplying the rest of the Brotherhood with food. He will have to solve the problems of lack of supplies from the Brotherhood of Steel, balancing between the Brotherhood's inability to deal with commodity-money relations and the need to seize property from farmers and merchants by force.

Choose one Squire story option (one option):
[x] - Recruit. This story refers rather to Fallout Tactics, where the Brotherhood actively recruited recruits from among the savages who become members of the Brotherhood of Steel. Why not try something similar for the Western Brotherhood of Steel? But the main difference between this character and the rest of the heroes is that he is not a member of the Brotherhood of Steel itself, and therefore he regularly has to face contempt from the conservative members of the Brotherhood. And, accordingly, the question is what he himself is ready to do in order to earn respect for himself.
[x] - Fighter of survivors. The Brotherhood of Steel is far from the most humane organization, besides, it has an extremely long memory. And certain circles within the Brotherhood of Steel itself may believe that mutants, like super mutants, simply have no right to exist. And the squire will have to decide - whether it really should be so, or the example of people like Marcus proves the opposite.
[x] - Ideal. Why don't we show not so much the way up for the hero, as his struggle against his own shortcomings. We have a promising new recruit who dreams of becoming a paladin and has all the makings for this. But he is appointed nothing more than a squire and sent to serve before the paladin general, while his friends become paladins. His task is to eventually realize that this role has been chosen for him due to the fact that the paladin-general believes that his path is to become not just another paladin, but an officer of the Brotherhood, and perhaps even his deputy, and then a replacement.

Choose one Scribe story option (one option):
[x] - Historian. This version of the Scribe's story is more focused on his role as a representative of the social sciences. He acts as a collector not so much technology as knowledge and culture of the Old World, which has now been destroyed. And his direct role is, accordingly, to act as a censor of this knowledge, deciding what should be preserved for future generations, and what should be hidden so that no one knows about the mistakes of the Old World.
[x] - Medic. And again we return to the Medic as a physician in a purely secular sense. It will be very similar to that of the Scientist of the New California Republic, as it distributes the wounded like him. But in the case of the Brotherhood, it is more likely not a question - who should be helped from the military, but is it worth providing at least some assistance to the civilian population, or letting them die of hunger?
[x] - Robotic machine scientist. The Brotherhood of Steel is, in fact, the only faction in the Wasteland that actively uses robots. But are all robots just robots? Isn't there real Artificial Intelligence among them, and who will it be in the eyes of the Brotherhood of Steel itself? Is it just another technology? A fully-fledged sentient being? A dangerous relic better to destroy? These questions can be answered by his campaign.

 

[Karlov]

The game card is divided between various states and non-colonized territories, each of which holds one or more provinces, being their owner.

The fundamental difference in provinces from typical strategies is that they do not represent an elementary unit of territory that is immediately taken under control. Each of the provinces has indicators of exploration and control. Exploration is an indicator of how well a province is explored and cleared of possible threats. This indicator limits the maximum control over it, as well as the possible economic potential, since the population mainly lives only in the studied territories. Control is used during wars. Armies do not instantly seize territory, but do it gradually, increasing the proportion of control, but at the same time depleting in battles.

The economic system of government management is based on caps, local currency, and resources, which are divided into two types - available and unavailable. Resources are mined in some provinces, and go to the creation of buildings, as well as especially strong troops. Available resources are not required without fail, they can be purchased in addition, but the cost of construction increases several times. Available resources cannot be purchased, these are high-tech products that are not available at the current level of technology, and without them, construction is impossible.

Each of the provinces also has slots for buildings. In most of them there are only a few, and most of the population lives off agriculture. Exceptions are cities where their number can reach up to ten. Cities are the center of life in the Wasteland, for it is they who produce the bulk of industrial production, and from there they spread.

In the military unit, each nation controls one or more armies, assembled from troops of various types. Armies are designed to take control of the enemy's provinces, forcing him to sign a peace. Completely capturing a large enemy is hampered by the fact that the supply comes from their own cities, depleting on the way through the Wasteland, because the armies inevitably lose their combat effectiveness as they deepen deeper into the enemy's territory.

At the same time, a meeting between two armies in a province does not necessarily lead to a battle, they must also decide to attack each other, as in Masters of Orion, because the size of the provinces is sufficient for them to disperse. They can be in the same or adjacent territories, slowly exhausting each other with battles.

Diplomatic relations in the Wasteland are rather reduced in comparison with the real world. Only civilized countries that have the ability to send embassies to other nations to conclude treaties have full access to diplomacy. But any army at any time can attack a neighbor, thereby starting a war. But each nation has an indicator of tension on the border with the other, upon reaching which a war will inevitably begin, which, however, does not necessarily lead to the seizure of territory.

The states themselves are divided into several categories: civilized republics (New California Republic), city-state (Vault City, Vegas), tribal federation (White Legs, Dead Horses), dictatorship (Caesar's Legion), army of raiders (Vipers, Jackals), and also a little more exotic, for example, the Brotherhood of Steel, or the Wasteland Rangers. In each of the states, one has to deal with certain political circles, preventing a civil war from flaring up.