We have a thread for bad design choices: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1137253-bad-design-choices/
So I thought I might as well start a thread based on the great stuff.

1. Healing over time with hardcoe Mode.
I really increases difficulty and actually makes it easy for one to die which is a big plus in my book.

2. Enemy layout, I really like that we have fixed spawn locations for enemies this time around, it really makes you think before just going off to explore.

I like what they did with the vaults. They have the same awesome background story with all those freaky experiments as in fallout 3 but they have improved on it. I've you've been to vault 22, 34 and another cool one you'll know what I mean.

hardcoe mode and crafting, they paid attention to the large number of RPG fans who like this sort of thing in their games.

I can't seem to turn around without getting another side quest, and they are of a good quality - no heavy reliance on (IMO) tedious and easily failed "escort duty" type quests.

Faction reputations, I thought they were very well done.

FO3 had an annoyingly limited number of marked side quests compared to the huge amount of unmarked quests. FNV seems to do a better job actually letting you know "yes, you're actually supposed to pay attention to this person."

Crafting recipes related to skill

Item condition buffer

Companion Perk

Vendor scale to player

Extra Unarmed moves

I like the sniping and all the different scoped weapons we have in NV. I get a little kick out of dropping NPC from fairly long ranges. When you look through the scope and see the target's head is not too much bigger then the intersection of the cross hairs. Those are fun shots to make.

FO3 didn't have that many scoped weapons and the ranges you could shoot effectively at were shorter without mods. So I think they did a better job this time around. Only change I would make would be an option to add realistic ballistics. Bullet drop, spin drift, windage and such.

:tops: Agreed.

That's one of the best (if not even the best) changes in the mechanics of the game from Fallout 3, when the core it self is so easy by default. The reputation is another good one. As is the more frugal use of levelscaling (even though I would've preferred even more frugal one - but steps towards the better, even small ones, are always a plus).

Gosh, there are SO many great things with FNV it's hard to narrow it down. But here are a couple of my favorites:

Vault 11 - The story unfolding there really captivated me and while I sort of figured out what was going to happen before I got to it, it was pretty epic when it commenced!

Art design of casino interiors on the Strip are great! Towns like Primm and Goodsprings really capture the "western" feel.

Humor - some of the little quips and one-liners are hilarious.

Formidable enemies - Deathclaw herds & Cazadores, and even some of the higher level ghouls are tough! I have to keep a keen eye out when traversing the wastes.

That's a few to ponder.

Making some encounters really hard/impossible for a low level character, and thus cutting off some routes and areas in the early stages of the game. I know this is on some peoples' list of complaints, but I'd FAR rather have this than Oblivion style scaled encounters, which just made combat boring after a while. It makes levelling up worthwhile, knowing you might now stand a chance of getting through a particular area.

Just focusing on game mechanics design, there are a bunch of great improvements since Fallout 3. My favorites:

1. Administering stimpacks to companions in battle without pausing all the action to have a leisurely chat with them.

2. Ammo has weight (in hardcoe ... now if only stimpacks, cases, and drugs also had weight...).

3. Eating, drinking, sleeping requirements (in hardcoe).

4. Balanced character progression – no more unbeatable godlike jack-of-all-trades level 30 PCs that negate any sense of challenge and progress whatsoever. I like that I'm level 30, 65 hours in, haven't been to the strip, and still get excited when I find new unique weapons because I could still use the help!

5. Clever perks that leave me really wondering which to choose.

6. Blending Small Guns and Big Guns into Guns, and adding a Strength requirement to weapons. Makes so much more sense than Big Guns weapon damage being separate, and weapons like Minigun and Gatling Laser being unaffected by Small Guns/Energy Weapons perks.

7. "Owned beds" now more logically placed, rather than arbitrarily refusing to let you sleep elsewhere.

I'm sure there's more stuff I enjoyed, but that's the stuff that really excited me when I first noticed it.

Re-categories weapon is probably the best improvement in combat. Missile launcher fall under explosive and Flamer consider energy weapon makes the "big" guns more practical (even in FO3 Rock-it Launcher isn't that great as a starter weapon).

Some aspects to Fallout: New Vegas that I think were fantastic "design" choices:

1. The companion wheel to simplify NPC management - this was both a Great design choice and a Great implementation of that design - two thumbs up! :goodjob: :goodjob:

2. Adding a hardcoe mode for advanced players - this was a great compromise for the die-hard difficulty nuts like me that want to struggle for every inch, while leaving a more friendly, less difficult mode for everyone else. Great way to cator to multiple crowds in a simple manner.

3. Adding ammunition crafting for breaking down/building up ammunition. This was Excellent and well implemented, simple to use yet very effective. This is the kind of "mini-game" that I really enjoy, it causes me to use my brain. Wonderful design choice.

4. Factions / Relations: Building a very complex questing-branch logic structure in which what the player does impacts the story-line and has real consequences was not only a good design choice, it was inspired genius in my view and must have taken thousands of hours to implement. It may have some logic bugs, but I have _never_ seen this level of sophistication in faction relations in a video game. Really evolutionary in my view, but at the very minimum, a good design choice.

5. The wasteland encounters most often involve Groups of enemy, not singular bad-guys. This was great because it made all such encounters much more challenging.

6. Believe it or not, I have changed my view on Steam and now fully support and agree with the decision to use it. Normally I don't like programs that steal my private info and potentially spread it around, but Steam has proven incredibly useful. I am most impressed with the automatic patch installations, as that keeps me up to date without having to worry about it. I am also incredibly grateful to Steam/Valve for supporting NVSE (New Vegas Script Extender), which they did Not have to do - but they did, and in so doing showed the modding community so Real and Concrete love that I will not soon forget. Steam is turning out TONS better than GFWL did, and I have to give them credit for picking the right delivery system this time.

7. Iron Sights. Damn this is nice, I love the implementation. Nuff said.

I could go on and on, but those are some big ones that have impressed me thus far after 134 hours in-game. I love this game, can't you tell? :fallout:

Miax

Weapon mods is another thing I love

Iron Sights.

LOTS of Side quests.

Factions.

Great writing compared to other games in the genre.

Believeble world. That spoils us with a fully realized projection of a working society post-apocalypse.

Less dungeons.

Crafting.

Basicly everything that theyve added on from FO3.

Yes! I've seen some people complain about the less-than-interesting locations in New Vegas but you know what? They're there because they make sense.

Fully agree, but... Some of them honestly didn't need their own map marker to use for fast-travel.

IRON SIGHS <--- this alone makes NV > F3

weapon mods

better character developmnt

The way Vegas is tiered:
Outer Vegas, filled with desperate Fiends
Sewers: Dim existence.
Free Side: Thug infested cess pit.
The Strip: Heavily defended and exclusive.

Factions

etc

I love iron SOOOO much i think thats the best thing so far.

I like Vegas its self and teh area around it is great but i think the wasteland in the game the WHOLE thing was done very well i liked every thing about it.

And Hard Core mod was done very well love it. give the game a extra little something.

I :fallout: all of it

Everything from hardcoe mode except the food/drink/sleep needs. But that's more related to an awkward interface for checking on those things and the abundance of food and drinks found everywhere in the game.

Factions, more interesting NPCs/Companions/Quests, some special VATS moves...

And the Damage Threshold system!

Nightkin.

Cutting down on the amount of feral ghouls.

LikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLike

Even some inconsequential NPCs have a tail to tell that will chill your heart or bring a tear to your eye.

In an age where graphics, placement and even short snippets of dialogue have a cost that must be justified many games are designed to parade these assets in front of the player such that all can be experienced in a single play through. NV does better than any game I've played in the past 5 years when it comes to providing a differing experience for various character builds, choices etc. Makes my character feel quite special

May be petty/minor to some but the new Reinforced Leather Armor. The mesh, texture, and rigging are practically perfect. So big kudo's to the 3D artist that pulled that off. Very Mad Max and very cool. :goodjob:

Healing Overtime, Nightkin, Jacobstown, hardcoe Mode, Wild Wasteland, And the joinable Factions.

This is'nt close to the amount of great design choices they made though, These are just a few..