I think the Legion camps east of the Colorado would be the first thing, then supporting post-Hoover play, then more work on dungeons/secondary locations. I don't think I'd want to add any more faction content, honestly.

We always wanted to support post-Hoover play. A few milestones prior to being content complete, it was obvious that we weren't going to be able to support it to the extent that it deserved (robust reactivity to the choices the player made). Because we didn't have time to do it correctly, I made the decision to cut it.

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It's not a stupid question, since it's a question I had to deal with a lot on the DLCs. Here's what I would say about balancing any new weapons with existing weapons: first you find a conceptual place for them, then you stat, test, and iterate to hit that concept.

A weapon's balance is interpreted relative to weapons that are a) like it in function (e.g. a 9mm SMG is like a 10mm SMG) like it in cost/availability (e.g. you find 10mm SMGs around the same time that you find .44 Magnum Revolvers).

When considering the "conceptual place" for the weapon, you should really be answering these questions:

* Why will this weapon be fun to use? The first and most important question.
* What weapons should this weapon be similar to in role/function? This can help you establish statistics that make sense relative to other weapons that are similar.
* What weapons should this weapon be comparable to in overall power? When you answer this, you know what the player is likely choosing between for available weapons at any given point in their development.
* In what situations will I want to use this weapon instead of another weapon of similar power? If there is not a circumstance in which a weapon shines, players likely won't use it.
* In what situations will I want to use other weapons of similar power INSTEAD of this weapon? If a weapon dominates every situation, they will have no motive to use anything else.
* If there are less powerful weapons that are similar to this weapon, in what way will they still be valuable once I get this weapon? In some cases, this may be as simple as mod availability. E.g. Trail Carbines can take scopes; Brush Guns cannot.
* If there are more powerful weapons that are similar to this weapon, in what way will THIS weapon still be valuable when I find the more powerful version? Same idea.

Let's take two weapons that pose challenges: the Combat Shotgun and the Assault Rifle. There are a lot of shotguns and automatic Guns in F:NV, especially with all of the DLCs installed -- but I still think there's room for these two.

Combat Shotgun:
* Why will this weapon be fun to use? High rate of fire shotgun with high DPS, available earlier than the Riot Shotgun. It will also make use of 20 Ga. shells (16 per drum, 4 higher than the Riot), which stop being used in F:NV after the Lever-Action Shotgun.
* What weapons should this weapon be similar to in role/function? Most similar to the Riot Shotgun, distinguished by lower DAM, higher accuracy, and a higher RoF.
* What weapons should this weapon be comparable to in overall power? Tier 4 Guns (Hunting Shotgun, Trail Carbine, Sniper Rifle, 12.7mm Pistol)
* In what situations will I want to use this weapon instead of another weapon of similar power? Close range (closer than the Hunting Shotgun), when volume of fire is more important than raw damage (Trail Carbine, Sniper Rifle), and when reload speed is important (Trail Carbine).
* In what situations will I want to use other weapons of similar power INSTEAD of this weapon? When accuracy or high DAM are important. Slugs can mitigate the DAM and accuracy concerns somewhat, but even the lower-DAM 12.7mm pistol will still have higher accuracy.
* If there are less powerful weapons that are similar to this weapon, in what way will they still be valuable once I get this weapon? The Lever-Action Shotgun still has a higher DAM and accuracy, though the Combat Shotgun destroys it in DPS, RoF, capacity, and reload speed.
* If there are more powerful weapons that are similar to this weapon, in what way will THIS weapon still be valuable when I find the more powerful version? The Combat Shotgun has lower spread, higher magazine capacity, and higher durability than the Riot Shotgun. The Riot Shotgun kills the Combat Shotgun in DAM and DPS.

Assault Rifle:
* Why will this weapon be fun to use? Solid DAM automatic weapon with reasonable accuracy, high RoF, and plenty of ammo availability.
* What weapons should this weapon be similar to in role/function? Most similar to the Assault Carbine.
* What weapons should this weapon be comparable to in overall power? Tier 4 Guns (Hunting Shotgun, Assault Carbine, Trail Carbine, Sniper Rifle, 12.7mm Pistol)
* In what situations will I want to use this weapon instead of another weapon of similar power? Close range, when raw DAM is a concern but accuracy is less of a concern.
* In what situations will I want to use other weapons of similar power INSTEAD of this weapon? Long range, or when armor is more of a concern than total health (cf. Assault Carbine).
* If there are less powerful weapons that are similar to this weapon, in what way will they still be valuable once I get this weapon? The 10mm SMG edges the Assault Rifle out in weight and ammo capacity.
* If there are more powerful weapons that are similar to this weapon, in what way will THIS weapon still be valuable when I find the more powerful version? The Automatic Rifle destroys the Assault Rifle in raw DAM and DPS, but weighs much more and uses rarer, heavier ammo. The Assault Rifle also has a Recoil Compensator mod that brings its accuracy down below even the Assault Carbine.

These are just two approaches to tuning weapons. You could make completely different choices than I did. The point of the exercise is to find a place for the weapons so that their use becomes a choice that the player has to think about.

First question was me

Strategic.

Strategy includes most decisions made prior to the point of contact, so it also includes composition and placement of units, issued equipment, and standing orders. Hanlon goes into a bit of detail about why Oliver's strategy for the dam battle is not so bright (Rangers holding the road).

It is the most beautiful place I have ever been.

I have seen a few people say that Honest Hearts motivated them to go to Zion Valley. I count that among the greatest accomplishments of my career. It's really extraordinary.

NCR's imperialism is pretty kid glove stuff compared to Caesar's Legion. That said, though they are extremely self-interested, NCR genuinely *does* protect New Vegas and has sacrificed a lot to do so. Then again, it was the Desert Rangers, not the residents of the Mojave Wasteland (and certainly not Mr. House) who asked them to do so.

I created Arcade Gannon for Chris Avellone's Fallout tabletop game back at Black Isle. I brought him back and changed some elements of his background for New Vegas. His overall personality is largely the same.

Thanks. Most of what I know about firearms was learned during the development of Fallout: New Vegas. Before F:NV, I just had slightly-above-average pop culture/gamer knowledge about firearms and had never owned anything more powerful than a pellet gun.

33% of all IDF forces are female and 51% of all IDF officers are female. Like NCR's troopers, Israel's laws of conscription do not discriminate by six. However, unlike NCR, Israel's mandatory service is only two years for women, three years for men, which means male conscripts stay in service longer. Israel also still bars women from certain positions, which means only men may occupy them as a career path. NCR troopers have no such restrictions.

In contrast, most Rangers are male. Rangers are also volunteer-only. No one is conscripted into their ranks.

NCR is the most advanced state of large size in the American southwest. Unlike Caesar's Legion, procreation and infant/child mortality were never problems for NCR. This is also why (despite the broadly misogynistic talk of ordinary legionaries), Caesar essentially forces all women into slavery, breeding, or both.

Each of these governments populates its military forces according the principles of the state. NCR is egalitarian in conscription (barring corruption/evasion, though that isn't biased along lines of six) and leaves elite positions open only to volunteers. Caesar is concerned only with efficiency; all individuals are bent toward the will of the state. The result is all-male slave army that is continually being replenished by forced breeding.

Strategy includes most decisions made prior to the point of contact, so it also includes composition and placement of units, issued equipment, and standing orders. Hanlon goes into a bit of detail about why Oliver's strategy for the dam battle is not so bright (Rangers holding the road).

I like J.E. Sawyer as a developer but this just isn't true. Pre-battle deployment of troops are tactical decisions not strategic ones. It would be a strategic decision to redeploy the Rangers somewhere else in the Mojave or order them to counterattack Cottonwood Cove. It's a tactical decision to have them defend a position on your planned battlefield at Hoover Dam.

Just look at Clausewitz: "Tactics is the art of using troops in battle; strategy is the art of using battles to win the war."

Or Jomini "To repeat. Strategy is the art of making war upon the map, and comprehends the whole theater of operations. Grand Tactics is the art of posting troops upon the battle-field according to the accidents of the ground, of bringing them into action, and the art of fighting upon the ground, in contradistinction to planning upon a map."

I agree with you, which is why I asked him to elaborate on why Oliver's strategy was so bad. His answer, as you pointed out, made even less sense.

Maybe he just mixed up tactics and strategy. It's probably been awhile since he was in college and learned about the difference between the two, so he might have tactics and strategy confused at the moment. It's the only error I've ever seen him make about that kind of stuff (I've followed him on Formspring for quite awhile), so it's just natural that he would make a few mistakes in a relatively non-important, non-professional setting (like Formspring).

True. He knows more than I ever will about everything from guns to game design so I think maybe I can forgive him a mistake. Just thought I'd mention since it touched on our recent discussion.

Thanks. Most of what I know about firearms was learned during the development of Fallout: New Vegas. Before F:NV, I just had slightly-above-average pop culture/gamer knowledge about firearms and had never owned anything more powerful than a pellet gun.

Cool site, thanks for pointing it out

It is a cool site. I hadn't been there in a long while; he never answers my questions.
(Though he has answered some before, asked via PM).

Sounds about right.

Interesting developments:

This is related to the discussion over in the "House is best" thread:

Not really. I'd expected this, personally.
House is more ambitious, and some people might like that.