Category Archives: DLC

New Team Diary, Pitt screens

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The Pitt is less than two weeks away from release (March 24th), and we’ve got three new screenshots to share on the Fallout 3 Official Site. The shot above shows your character going after the Trogs with the AutoAxe — a new weapon you’ll come across.

In addition, there’s a new team diary from Jeff Gardiner, who serves as the lead producer for Fallout 3 DLC (and Oblivion’s as well). Jeff’s diary provides some insights into the process of creating DLC for our games. Here’s an excerpt:

Towards the end of the development of a game, there are three pretty well known, but very loosely defined phases, known as Alpha, Beta and finally Gold. Prior to that there are two major phases, Pre-Production and then of course Production itself which is where the bulk of the game goes from documents on paper (or in someone’s gray matter) to the screen where we can all enjoy them. It was right before we went Beta that the decision was made to start thinking about our DLC. Now, before you think we just cut existing content from the game in order to milk our fans, let me explain in more detail how we view these various stages.

To get the full story, and see a couple new concept art pieces from the DLC, read the full diary.

New at Planet Fallout

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Just a few things you might be interested in at Planet Fallout.

The staff have a new interview with DLC Producer Jeff Gardiner. Here’s a quick look:

We heard there will be an Arena, Mad Max style. Can you tell us more about that part of the DLC?

Jeff : At a certain point in the quest the player will have to prove their worth and fight a series of battles in the Pitt, a fighting area situated underneath the Steel Mill. Raiders climb the fence above the pitt as the player is challenged variety of foes. Each fight starts with barrels of toxic radiation being dropped down, which adds an additional element of tension. Depending on the player’s previous choices and allegiances, they’ll have different weaponry and other unique items at their disposal.

Blinzler continues his State of Modding interviews. The most recent interviews are with Antistar, who created Weapon Mod Kits and the Project Valhalla Team. Here’s an excerpt from the latter:

What is “Project Valhalla” about?

The premise of the story ties in very closely with the original Fallout lore but tries to expand upon a significant part of what is currently left unanswered. That mainly being what has happened to the state and people of Europe since the war of 2077. This mod tries to explore that idea with a story driven mod about Europeans who come to America on a quest to recover and research PreWar technology.

Moving along, J3X put up a new trailer for Enclave Commander — coinciding with the release of version 0.8. You can watch it after the break…

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Around the web — more news on The Pitt

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Plenty of links to share today.

We begin with news on The Pitt. On Friday, you’ll have your first chance to see The Pitt trailer on Gametrailers TV. The show airs Friday night at 1am (or technically, 1am Saturday morning) on Spike. I hope that’s not too confusing — especially with Daylight Savings last week.

Elsewhere on GameTrailers site, you can check out Geoff Keighley’s interview with Todd Howard from this year’s D.I.C.E. Summit. You won’t have to do too much searching, Geoff’s interview with Todd starts within the first minute of the video.

More news after the break…

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Weekend Update: Fallout 3 named top 360 game at GameSpy

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Hope everyone is having a great weekend. If you’re looking for some news to read, here’s a couple updates we thought you might be interested in.

All this week GameSpy has been counting down their list of the The Top 25 Xbox 360 Games of All Time (So Far!). Earlier in the week, Oblivion hit the list at #13, and last night the list concluded with Fallout 3 being named their #1 Xbox 360 game (so far).

Looking for something to listen to? Last night the latest AVault podcast (#22) went live — featuring an interview with Pete and Emil. Additonally, they’ve got a written interview with Pete here.

Curious about the image at the top of this blog post? You’ll get it if you check out Todd’s presentation from this year’s D.I.C.E. Summit. You can watch it over at IGN.

Wrapping things up, Castle Karstaag from Morrowind has been named one of the most expensive videogame castles over at College OTR. Champagne wishes and caviar dreams!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

The Pitt hits March 24th

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Today we announced that Fallout 3′s second DLC, The Pitt, will be released on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE on Tuesday, March 24th and cost 800 Microsoft Points.

Along with the announcement, we’ve got three brand new screenshots up on our official site — including the one above that introduces you to the Trogs. For more details on The Pitt, check out new hands-on impressions at OXM (UK) and Eurogamer.

That’s all for now…we’ll keep you posted on new details on The Pitt.

Around the web

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It’s been over a week since we last gave an update from around the web, so there’s plenty to catch up on.

We’ll begin with IGN, who are currently counting down The Top 100 Game Creators of All Time. We’re excited to see that Todd made the list at #70. Here’s a snippet of what they had to say about him:

“Where most designers tend to think in terms of simplicity and economy, Howard’s games have been defined by a staggering sense of scale and immersion that few others can match.”

The list is still ongoing, but there’s some of names worth mentioning. Morrowind/Oblivion composer Jeremy Soule cracked the list at #86. Meanwhile, Fallout fans might recognize a few other names on the list, including Feargus Urquhart (#89), Tim Cain (#85), and Chris Avellone (#80).

Sticking with developer news, if you haven’t seen it already, Todd answered questions for G4 while at this year’s D.I.C.E. Summit. In the ten minute interview, he discusses The Pitt, answers reader questions, and more.

Emil is in the news in a few places, too. At Edge, he was honored in their Hot 100 Games Developers list (#17). Meanwhile, a new feature on storytelling in games features him as well. You can read that here.

More news after the break…

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Around the Web: D.I.C.E. wrap-up edition

The 2009 D.I.C.E Summit wrapped up on Friday and there’s a few more interviews and Pitt previews that you might want to check out.

We start at Gamespot, where Richardo Torres interviewed Pete to find out more details on The Pitt (slated for release next month on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE). To check it out, just hit play on the video above.

Over at G4, you can get more information on the Pitt with hands-on impressions from Brian Leahy. Here’s a quick look (caution: some details could be considered spoilerific)…

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More coverage on The Pitt

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Yesterday we put up new screenshots for The Pitt. Today, here’s two new previews for the content based on impressions from this year’s D.I.C.E Summit.

Up first, Erik Brudvig took a trip to The Pitt for IGN. Here’s a snippet:

“Your goal in The Pitt is to infiltrate the slave camp, find Ashur, and get a cure he holds that can cure the mutations afflicting everyone in the local populace. Getting into The Pitt slave camp is easier said than done and you won’t find it as easy to access as Paradise Falls. In fact, to get in you’ll have to submit to slavery yourself and temporarily give up all of the great items and weapons you’ve been collecting.”

Meanwhile, RicardoT from Gamespot wrote:

“Unsurprisingly the Pitt has a pretty bleak and oppressive feel to it, which comes through clearly from a visual perspective. The slaves look pretty messed up, the raiders are spooky, and the environment has got that very special “exploded yet lived-in” you’ve probably come to expect from Fallout. Overall the Pitt’s looking cool, and we’re really anxious to download it when it gets released this March; so we probably won’t feel too bad about forking over the 800 points for the Xbox 360 version. There’s a fair chunk of content such as new weapons, plus achievements and perks, so there’s a lot to like.”

Update: Over at MTV Multiplayer, Pete answered questions from Stephen Totilo, as well as some community questions. Here’s a sample:

Is it as combat focused as Anchorage? Because that’s not what I want.

Hines: No. It is much more in line with some of the other stuff in “Fallout.” There are these two factions. There’s a story: the slavers vs. the slaves. And you have to figure out who you want to believe and who you want to help. Clearly, there’s combat involved, but there are multiple ways to go about doing things. You have to decide ultimately what you think is right, because there is no real right or wrong.

As more details/news emerge on The Pitt, we’ll keep you posted.

Around the web

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Here’s the latest online coverage for Fallout 3.

As we mentioned a few weeks back, PC Gamer named Fallout 3 as their 2008 Game of the Year. If you weren’t able to pick up the issue, you can now read the remarks written by Todd Howard and Emil Pagliarulo over at GamesRadar.

This week, Fallout 3 was nominated for two Game Audio Network Guild’s awards. The game was nominated for Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game, as well as Best Use of Licensed Music.

In DLC news, there’s a couple things you can check out. If you’re a Game Informer subscriber, you can read a new interview with Jeff Gardiner on their Game Informer Unlimted page. In the interview, Jeff discusses both The Pitt and Broken Steel. Elsewhere, Area 5 share their thoughts on Fallout 3′s first DLC, Operation: Anchorage, in a new video podcast.

Finally, here’s some new modding news from Planet Fallout. This week Blinzler has two new State of Modding Interviews this week — this time with Mr.SlackPants and Joefoxx.

While you’re there, check out some of Planet Fallout’s featured mods. If you’re seeking new apparel, check out Moira’s New Shipment by CrowBennett08 and Camo Uniforms Remix by rebel5555. Need a new place to stay? Check out Yevic1994′s Big Town Junk House or one of Princess Stomper’s homes located in Rivet City and atop the Washington Monument.