I Second this last question!

This is one for any of you that worked on Fallout 3. Is there any factual basis to http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100810210714/creepypasta/images/b/be/Fallout_3_Number_Stations.jpg

Wow! That is just weird.

WOW..... yeah, we need answers!

But, is that ...true? I mean, the audio files are real?

Vids or it didn't happen.

I saw vids of Santa Clause flying around the globe.... did that happen?

I have never seen video footage of the civil war..... did that happen?

bliviongate:

Seriously, some yes or no would help me not pull out FO3 to try this!!!

Its very simple to check. Find appropriate files in the BSA, translate, and see if it matches up. If its not in the bsa to begin with, its likely from some mod (which would explain why not everyone gets it).

Not sure if this has been ask, but I know that in during making of oblivion disc that came with the CE Ashely Cheng said not all of the artist were able to get everything in the game that they wanted to and to just not worry about it. To the artist and designers. DID you get everything you guys wanted to in the game this time around?

Am I the greatest person since Jesus Christ?

Not sure if this has already been asked, but I've been wanting to know for a while.

What types of Mythology does Bethesda draw on when creating the TES universe. Do you drawn on all sorts of Mythology, or only on a few that fit the game series? There are mythological comparisons for many of the Aedra and Daedra, but were those comparisons meant to happen, or were they accidental?

If designers get ideas from other games where do you coders get ideas?

Some of the concepts are the same (a filesystem is a filesystem) - but the implementation details are usually different. Windows hides a lot of stuff from the programmer because it has to abstract away millions of combinations of hardware and software, but the consoles are more low level - partially because the OS's job on a console is to get out of the way of the game and take up as small a chunk of time and memory as possible.

I don't think we need to *write* x86 assembly on PC anymore - the compiler usually does a better job and can take into account the way a processor works better. However you should be able to at least read and understand assembly, as well as the basics of the architecture like how memory is managed. You'll be looking at it when trying to track down obscure bugs or timing issues - especially when you're trying to find a bug that happens in a release build, but not a debug one.



Other games Though we probably look at it differently then designers/artists do. And I, personally, like to look at how other games are moddable to see if they have any awesome ideas for our own stuff (they usually do!) I can also find inspiration from non-game programs. For example, databases have a lot of interesting mechanisms for data manipulation and retrieval - and our masterfile is kind of one big database!

Have you guys ever though about having a TES spin off game which took place in a couple hundred or thousand years in the future with an emphesis on mixing together the existing lore with sci fi elements? Having Mages go at it in a futeristic city would be trippy as [censored].

And just imagine, Dark Elves, in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!!!

Programmers these days will rarely write a program using assembly. It's fairly tedious to use and isn't portable to other instruction sets for obvious reasons. You can write inline assembler code in a language such as C++, but generally this is only ever done for low-level software such as drivers, or maybe when writing complex API hooks (the Script Extenders probably use blocks of inline assembly, but I can't remember for sure). Knowledge of x86 assembly is still very useful for any programmer using a programming language that compiles to native machine code, as this knowledge comes into play when debugging. When you compile your program, the compiler can output a pdb file or similar that can be used in conjunction with a debugger/disassembler. Debuggers often require a pdb file in order to work, and when used with a disassembler, it also gives you context as to what the code within the disassembly actually corresponds to. When a crash occurs, a programmer who would want to debug the program would want to have the crash report handy, as it includes the address the crash occurred at; using that address, they can jump to it in the disassembler and see where exactly the failure is happening. The function that contains the instruction causing the crash isn't always going to be the one at fault, though; it could be any number of things that go on further upstream. Even with the address from the crash report, which you really need in order to figure out what's going wrong, you may have a lot of work ahead of you in resolving the problem. Knowing x86 assembly can also give you a greater sense of understanding and appreciation for the language constructs in whatever language you're using when you take a look at what your code is compiling to. I never truly understood how, for example, virtual functions and virtual function tables in C++ worked until I checked out the disassembly.

First of all I am really glad that the developers are doing this Thanks

In Morrowind on the PC under data files-sound-Fx- there is a file called funny and I am pretty sure it is someone saying critical damage in a weird voice. Lol Whats the story behind that?

Nope, try reversing it. It's "Sam (or is it Shane?) has no pit hair". Which is why it's funny.wav.

Do you play WoW? If so, which realm(s)?

1) Best/Funniest bug(s) you had to squash/witnessed in past games?
2) What games have you worked on that we might know about (outside Bethesda)?

Does anyone from BGS particularly like classic funk? Such as Gil Scott-Heron?

How many of you have played a Bethesda-developed game that was not either an Elder Scrolls game or Fallout 3? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bethesda_Softworks_games. I'm sure some of you have played their Terminator games, but I'd be curious to see how many of you gave played the more obscure titles like IHRA Drag Racing.

We never get everything into the game that we wanted. I doubt that any developer ever does. We always dream big and have lots of crazy, wonderful ideas. There aren't enough years in the development cycle to put them all in. If we tried, we would probably never get around to shipping it.

There are 6 on here that I have played which aren't FO3 and TES. I would be interested to know if the devs play these other games too... and if any of them will admit to working on them, haha.

How does the design portion of the work typically take place? Do the designers initially come up with a bunch of ideas and plans for the world, quests, activities, etc. and then present it to the team? Or does the design happen in parallel with the development?

Also, is the meaning of life really "42"??

Thanks.

Terminator: Futureshock
Skynet (and I worked on it)
PBA Bowling
Xcar