Give some examples of choice and consequence in the original

[Zombra]

I played Wasteland back in 1988, but hey, I was just a kid.

There is a lot of talk about Wasteland 2 and how it will bring back Wasteland's myriad choices, moral quandries, and deep consequences.

That sounds great, but I don't remember any of that in the original Wasteland.

Remind me!

[Drool]

Highpool. Highpool's the big one.

Fat Freddy vs. Faran Brygo

Ugly vs. Felicia

Those are probably the three main ones people remember.

[krellen]

There are several opportunities to show moral character by not opening fire and slaughtering everyone around you - which for the time was kind of a big deal.

[Zombra]

Highpool. Highpool's the big one.

Fat Freddy vs. Faran Brygo

Ugly vs. Felicia

Those are probably the three main ones people remember.

So ... what happened in those three conflicts?

[Noble]

Highpool. Highpool's the big one.

Fat Freddy vs. Faran Brygo

Ugly vs. Felicia

Those are probably the three main ones people remember.

So ... what happened in those three conflicts?

In Highpool you walk into the store and see a bulletin with notes about the missing teenager Jackie, Bobbies dog Rex, and several other things. You can go find Bobby and question him "[Rex?] 'He just got sick is all! I put him in the cave for until he gets better!' [Jackie?] 'I told her not to go into the cave!' [Cave] 'Don't kill my dog please!" Following this Bobby runs away crying crying out "Rex!"

Upon going into the cave you find Bobbies dog Rex in the cave Jackie fell into and can crawl to save her -- but not before fighting Rex (Whom Bobby loves dearly) and killing him (although it is possible to save Jackie without killing Rex, but there is nothing new which opens up afterwards). Once you leave the cave Bobby buries Rex nearby and whenever you try to leave Highpool you encounter Bobby who confronts your group and accuses you of killing Rex and attacks; thus saving one child but forcing you to kill another, or letting one die and have the other live.

You can also fall into the creek in Highpool which provokes kids to come out and laugh at you after which you are able to massacre the whole town's population which brings a lone man (I forgot his name) who has come to to fight you and avenge the kids you have killed, once you kill him the whole town falls apart and the lake dries up and the grass dies, and anybody who remained packs up and leaves; thus creating a ghost town.

If you kill Faran Brygo and head back to Fat Freddy he tries to kill you and you killed somebody who could actually help Vegas, if you declined Freddies offer then he gases you and throws you into prison.

If you let Ugly go then you let a monster go and get the disarm code to save Felicia from being blown up by a bomb, if you decide to kill him than you don't get the code and have to fight Ugly -- and Felicia is likely to detonate into bits of flesh and meat around the room after you fail to defuse the bomb or simply run out of time.

[Zombra]

Great synopsis; thank you Noble and everyone.

[Drool]

There was another option with Bobby, but one that most gamers would never think of: run away. Bobby doesn't chase the party, and will only be there if you're 50' or closer to him, so it's completely possible to skirt the edges of his line of sight and run past him.

Like Liz Danforth, the writer of Highpool, said:

You never had to kill the kid, either. He’d throw himself at you, yes, but you’re playing a squad of big strong mega-weaponed Rangers! Grownups! Walk away. It’s not like you were chickenshit for backing down from some evil-hearted final boss bent on scourging the world and all you loved within it. It was a little boy.

[Noble]

There was another option with Bobby, but one that most gamers would never think of: run away. Bobby doesn't chase the party, and will only be there if you're 50' or closer to him, so it's completely possible to skirt the edges of his line of sight and run past him.

Like Liz Danforth, the writer of Highpool, said:

You never had to kill the kid, either. He’d throw himself at you, yes, but you’re playing a squad of big strong mega-weaponed Rangers! Grownups! Walk away. It’s not like you were chickenshit for backing down from some evil-hearted final boss bent on scourging the world and all you loved within it. It was a little boy.

This is what I did, but I didn't state it was an option to make it seem more of a moral dilemma.

[Zombra]

Wow, yeah, now I'm remembering how important "aggro range" was in Wasteland! Almost everything would simply stop fighting you if you walked far enough away from it.

[katz]

Also the ever-pressing moral dilemma of whether to shell the hobo dog stand

I always just walked away from Bobby--particularly easy because Highpool is just not that big and there aren't that many things to do there--the fact that you don't get any kind of "reward" for doing so is kind of unsatisfying, but makes sense (you didn't kill a little kid. Do you want a cookie?).

[Hell Razor]

Yeah I was thinking about the howitzer. Way too awesome to pass up, but you can destroy the crap out of Needles with it, ruining a lot of game content therein.

Typically I would lay waste to Highpool, because unlike trying to be honorable, if you wreak evil havoc on the poor kids you receive some awesome loot.

[Son of Max]

Also the ever-pressing moral dilemma of whether to shell the hobo dog stand

I always just walked away from Bobby--particularly easy because Highpool is just not that big and there aren't that many things to do there--the fact that you don't get any kind of "reward" for doing so is kind of unsatisfying, but makes sense (you didn't kill a little kid. Do you want a cookie?).

Knowing what's in a Hobo Dog actually makes it one of the easiest moral choices of the game...you serve transients as food, I send a 105 round through your establishment.

End of discussion.

[Ronin73]

If anything they actually could have added more consequences than what was in Wasteland

There was a choice they had the potential to add, but didn't in the Agriculture Center. When you first went there and said "just passing through" a kid throws a piece of fruit and you had the option of getting revenge. They defused it by someone pointing a flamethrower at you and you "decide" to change your mind. Always annoyed me that I could not try and go through with it, regardless of the odds.

Other consequences that could have been added included wiping out the police Station in Needles,wiping out Savage Village and blowing up the door/disabling the camera in the Mushroom Cloud church in Vegas. They were essentially free experience when something else could have been added to make you weigh up if it was a wise decision.

On a slightly related note there was an onyx ring in The Citadel (successful bomb disarm needed) that you could give to Fat Freddy to make him believe that you killed Faran Brygo.

[Son of Max]

If anything they actually could have added more consequences than what was in Wasteland

There was a choice they had the potential to add, but didn't in the Agriculture Center. When you first went there and said "just passing through" a kid throws a piece of fruit and you had the option of getting revenge. They defused it by someone pointing a flamethrower at you and you "decide" to change your mind. Always annoyed me that I could not try and go through with it, regardless of the odds.

Other consequences that could have been added included wiping out the police Station in Needles,wiping out Savage Village and blowing up the door/disabling the camera in the Mushroom Cloud church in Vegas. They were essentially free experience when something else could have been added to make you weigh up if it was a wise decision.

On a slightly related note there was an onyx ring in The Citadel (successful bomb disarm needed) that you could give to Fat Freddy to make him believe that you killed Faran Brygo.

You could also cause a reactor breach in the Mushroom Temple.

One of the rooms to the east had equipment you could use Electronics on.

It was the coolant system for the reactor, that big block located just before the main chamber. I believe it was either a failed roll or waiting too long caused the coolant pipes to thaw, melting ice off them and soaking (and shorting) the equipment beneath it, destroying the coolant system. Once that happened, the middle of the temple would slowly grow more and more rad spots until the middle of the temple became completely inaccessible unless you were wearing a Rad Suit.

Fun times...

[Ronin73]

I'd forgotten about that one!

[Drool]

Breaking the reactor's actually a tactic I use sometimes.

There's two doors to the back hallway that generally need explosives to take care of, but the doors to the control room can all be picked. I'll frequently go to the control room, turn off the panel and then leave (the panel shorts out once you leave the room), after enough time passes, the spilled radiation destroys all the doors in the central room, letting you waltz right up to the Sonic doors. Of course, if you do that, you can't get to Charmaine without crossing through the sludge.

[Son of Max]

I'd forgotten about that one!

Yeah, it's one of those things you actually have to go looking for though, so it's easy to miss.

I stumbled on it myself, when one of my characters had Electronics and I said "Hmm, wonder what happens if I use Electronics here?"

Then I gained a level in Electronics so I thought "Hey! Free levels in Electronics!"...then I broke it.

Ooops.