Okay, I felt that I had to contribute my two cents after reading through all the threads in this forum. First off, let me say this: for the most part I like classic RPGs, and was not at all happy with Oblivion (liked Morrowind much more than it), BUT I also agree that the game hasn't been made yet, and isn't predestined to be a big pile of crap. I like games where you actually have to think and strategize, as opposed to furiously click and mash buttons. I don't find Oblivion's combat system particularly compelling. if you have only worked with blades and then pick up a mace (in Oblivion), you won't be able to hit the broad side of a barn or do any damage, even if your dexterity and strength are nearly maxed out. In D&D, you would incur penalties, sure, but would still be plenty successful with it. One of the things that always irritated me about Oblivion's gameplay was that I had a character with very good armor, and very high [combat] attributes and stats, yet I would still have that stupid bandit hitting me if I didn't push the block button quickly enough. In D&D, he just flat out wouldn't hit me, because he doesn't have the ability to (minus some sort of sneak attack). In D&D, I could just laugh at him, and then proceed to alternate between tripping him and knocking him down indefinitely- at some point he would hit me because I'm being stupid, but my armor would soak most of the damage. In Oblivion, it really didn't seem to make a huge difference what quality of armor I was wearing, or whether I had 50 points in light armor or 100, or whether my stats were nearly maxed out- it all seemed to come back to twitch reflexes. That being said, I don't think that FO 3 should be turn-based, simply because the originals were. Real time with pause would be perfect, under one EXTREMELY important condition: ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS MUST BE BALANCED PROPERLY. If my attributes, skills, and perks say that attacking NPC SHOULD NOT HIT ME, then I should automatically avoid the attacks. Likewise, the I SHOULD HIT THEM problem seems like it could be easily remidied by having autotargeting- my sniper guy sneaks into position behind that outcropping of rocks, I pause and put the bandit leader in my cross-hairs, decide that I want to blow off his family jewels, and then hit the attack button and unpause. My character then proceeds to blow off bandit leader's family jewels because his skills, attributes and perks say that he should, or he doesn't and maybe misses or hits him in the shoulder. Bandit leader now proceeds to attack me, or maybe finds cover himself and we continue firing at one another, with our hits occuring because of dice rolls. I know that you have mentioned this before with the whole Kotor thing, but while I have absolutely no evidence to support it, I would warrant to guess that this is what Bethesda is going to shoot for. I don't have the urls or links handy, but I have read that they ARE going [are?] to be consulting extensively with the past creators of Fallout [1 and 2], so I just don't think that they would actually bother doing that unless they were planning to keep the essence of the originals in their own product (which is not limited to the atmosphere, location, and multiple available ways to complete a quest). They did also say that they were going to keep the SPECIAL system, as well as perks, so while I suppose that they could do that in name, and not reality (meaning that they could keep the format in the various level up menus and attribute screen, but not really make it relevant to the actual gameplay), I throughly doubt that they would do that. They themselves have said that they love the game, and that is one of the most critical and unique characteristics of the game. I would very much assume that what they're trying to do, and eventually do, is figure out how to make the codes so that the to-hit, or to-dodge is actually based ON the SPECIAL system, not the one that they've used for their own original IP. MY CONCERN is that they are going to successfully implement the atmosphere, combat, and humor, but are going to fail in the storyline department. I very much enjoyed Morrowind. All the different styles of armor, weapons, the trainers, the use-based development, dozens of different localities, a massive amount of backdrop storyline, guilds, useful skills, and a good storyline (additionally, whether you got hit or not was based on your attributes and skills, and I didn't face bandits wearing daedric armor and wielding enchanted glass weapons. Oblivion was just commercial- lots of bells and whistles, but stupid combat [twitch] system, nearly identical environments, too many forts/dungeons/caves, and a really flimsy storyline. That being said, Oblivion fortunately/unfortunately made them, and will continue making them, plenty of money. Fortunately, because if they truly desire to do justice to FO 3 like they claim to, they have the money to do it, and don't have to worry about finding investors in another year (Black Isle, Troika, for instance). Oblivion was definitely one big cash cow, and if they read any of the forums for their own games, then they are already aware of the criticisms that have been leveled against it, which they might very well have been before they released it. If they have already taken those things to heart, and are treating it as a source of capital, not a template, then we should be okay. The unfortunately is if they are genuinely very proud of, and happy with Oblivion ON ALL FRONTS. If they don't recognize the shortcomings of it's ROLE-PLAYING immersiveness versus it's SENSORY immersiveness, then we have a problem. If they are now huge fans of TWITCH combat, versus stat/skill/perk based combat, then we have a problem. If they are content with keeping shallow storylines, so that you can raid ten billion random forts, then we have a problem. If they like cash cows more than creative products that reflect careful thought and design, then we have a problem. So, admittedly, there are many potential "problems" here. Essentially it all boils down to whether or not they are going to make it a FPS with no deep storyline, or whether they are going to effectively integrate the combat system with their technology, and not neglect the role-playing in the process. I personally am not too worried that they'll make a good combat system that remains true in spirit to the fallout series. The real trump card is about the role-playing. Bethesda can make an RPG, the question is, do they want to? I'm putting my bets on yes, Oblivion nonwithstanding. To sum it up, I think that Bethesda won't screw the pooch here. What I envision is essentially a fallout that is in either fp or behind the shoulder 3rd person (like Morrowind and Oblivion). I believe that it can work if they implement the "rules" of the SPECIAL system correctly (and think that they will) and also use the scripting options for Fallout 2 for party NPCs (much like Kotor did). Computer AI rarely does the right thing, which is why that whole pause feature is absolutely essential, so that you can stop your aggressive fighter from running into the mine field, or blowing your cover (but it would be nice if he actually listened, unlike in the Kotors and only briefly paid any regard to your orders to stay put). I think it will look and play well, and "true" to the Fallout series (except not turn-based, which many fallout fans consider essential, which is just stupid). But again, in order for it to be a true heir to the Fallout legacy, it can't just feature good combat, good graphics and dark humor- it MUST have a compelling storyline, something that actually makes you want to be more than just a drug-addicted gang enforcer, or Dirty Harry making honest people's lives easier, or a scientist hiding out indefinitely in a discovered vault trying to make a super dog. It has to make you actually want to ROLE play, not run around looking cool, cracking dark dirty jokes and shooting things. I think that Bethesda CAN do it, and is PLANNING on doing it, but we really won't know until they start throwing us a bone or two.