Where and when in the world is Ranger Sandiego?

[Ausir]

I'd like to see nuked remnants of the 80s future from Back to the Future 2!

[Flamekebab]

I'd kinda like to see some elements of The Warriors style. That feeling that the world was going to come crashing down in the near future due to more than just nuclear war.

[Brother None]

At the least, add an NPC banging bottles together.

Waaaarrriooooors, cooome out toooo playyyaaaaay.

[Scorpitron]

Desert. It's gotta be in the desert. I would love to see it return to the original location and get to revisit all those great locations. Maybe go dancing at Scott's bar!

But then again, it's Wasteland 2! I'm game for whatever.

[The Beast Man]

I really like the idea of an "eighties retro-futurist" setting that some previous posters have been floating. I'd say take some inspiration from 80's sci-fi, which really tends to be kinda dark and grim (Blade Runner, Terminator, RoboCop), but also take some inspiration from cheesy sitcoms like Full House, Family Matters or the Fresh Prince (I don't mean for jokes or style! I mean for "attitude" ...if that even makes sense?), and of course, New Wave culture.

As for location, I think that Southern California is seeing a lot of action in post nuclear apocalypse role playing games these days. Of course, due to the fact that that's where the original Wasteland was set, but I think for the sake of not (ironically) looking like a Fallout clone, "somewhere else" is a good place to set Wasteland 2. How 'bout Canada? I'd love to see mutated lumberjacks and hockey players... and beavers... and moose. You could subtitle it "Nuclear Winter Wonderland" (okay, that's probably going a little to far on the silly scale).

I like this idea. The 80s had a very distinct (and bleak) view of the future which should make for a sick-ass setting. Not sure what is meant by "attitude", but I think using some 80s pop culture references could counterbalance all the despair.

The three movies he mentions are set in urban environments. I like the idea of the American southwest only because you can go from desert to city in a matter of hours, but Tanglebones is right; the SoCal desert environment is played out now. It would be cool to see it set in the northeast, where you can travel from a dense urban setting to the woods in a matter of hours and be forced to deal with extreme temperatures and blizzards during the winter months.

[Gregz]

I really like the idea of an "eighties retro-futurist" setting that some previous posters have been floating. I'd say take some inspiration from 80's sci-fi, which really tends to be kinda dark and grim (Blade Runner, Terminator, RoboCop), but also take some inspiration from cheesy sitcoms like Full House, Family Matters or the Fresh Prince (I don't mean for jokes or style! I mean for "attitude" ...if that even makes sense?), and of course, New Wave culture.

As for location, I think that Southern California is seeing a lot of action in post nuclear apocalypse role playing games these days. Of course, due to the fact that that's where the original Wasteland was set, but I think for the sake of not (ironically) looking like a Fallout clone, "somewhere else" is a good place to set Wasteland 2. How 'bout Canada? I'd love to see mutated lumberjacks and hockey players... and beavers... and moose. You could subtitle it "Nuclear Winter Wonderland" (okay, that's probably going a little to far on the silly scale).

I like this idea. The 80s had a very distinct (and bleak) view of the future which should make for a sick-ass setting. Not sure what is meant by "attitude", but I think using some 80s pop culture references could counterbalance all the despair.

The three movies he mentions are set in urban environments. I like the idea of the American southwest only because you can go from desert to city in a matter of hours, but Tanglebones is right; the SoCal desert environment is played out now. It would be cool to see it set in the northeast, where you can travel from a dense urban setting to the woods in a matter of hours and be forced to deal with extreme temperatures and blizzards during the winter months.

I agree with this, popular culture was frozen when the bombs dropped. Everything that developed after is a tribal interpretation of that culture. The road signs, shops, advertisements etc. The 'Road Warrior' films do a great job with this. The oil commune who thought that their brochure to 'paradise' was real, the kids who thought they could get to Disney Land with their airplane, etc. These kinds of misconceptions and memories of 80s pop culture are a great storytelling backdrop.

[The Beast Man]

I really like the idea of an "eighties retro-futurist" setting that some previous posters have been floating. I'd say take some inspiration from 80's sci-fi, which really tends to be kinda dark and grim (Blade Runner, Terminator, RoboCop), but also take some inspiration from cheesy sitcoms like Full House, Family Matters or the Fresh Prince (I don't mean for jokes or style! I mean for "attitude" ...if that even makes sense?), and of course, New Wave culture.

As for location, I think that Southern California is seeing a lot of action in post nuclear apocalypse role playing games these days. Of course, due to the fact that that's where the original Wasteland was set, but I think for the sake of not (ironically) looking like a Fallout clone, "somewhere else" is a good place to set Wasteland 2. How 'bout Canada? I'd love to see mutated lumberjacks and hockey players... and beavers... and moose. You could subtitle it "Nuclear Winter Wonderland" (okay, that's probably going a little to far on the silly scale).

I like this idea. The 80s had a very distinct (and bleak) view of the future which should make for a sick-ass setting. Not sure what is meant by "attitude", but I think using some 80s pop culture references could counterbalance all the despair.

The three movies he mentions are set in urban environments. I like the idea of the American southwest only because you can go from desert to city in a matter of hours, but Tanglebones is right; the SoCal desert environment is played out now. It would be cool to see it set in the northeast, where you can travel from a dense urban setting to the woods in a matter of hours and be forced to deal with extreme temperatures and blizzards during the winter months.

I agree with this, popular culture was frozen when the bombs dropped. Everything that developed after is a tribal interpretation of that culture. The road signs, shops, advertisements etc. The 'Road Warrior' films do a great job with this. The oil commune who thought that their brochure to 'paradise' was real, the kids who thought they could get to Disney Land with their airplane, etc. These kinds of misconceptions and memories of 80s pop culture are a great storytelling backdrop.

This is it. Engaging in dialogue like this with NPCs, even if it is only a few lines, really immerses the player in the game world.

[Shane_for_Wax]

South-Southwest of New Nevadan proper. Time received 1614, March 2088 AD

[Perhaps 5 to 10 years following the events in the original Wasteland. Maybe further east than Nevadan]

[Drunknmunkey]

Well in Texas we have copious amounts of military bases, refineries, and medical facilities. Also to erase the shame of F:BoS from. Honestly I think the best place to write about is one with copious amounts of diversity, technology/tribals water/deserts gardens/factories cities/villages. That way people from anywhere can identify with at least one location and say "This is my favorite place, I like to hang out here. I even killed this guy and stole his house."

[Quarex]

I mentioned elsewhere that you could still have some repeated locations from the first game (assuming you could explain the endless radioactive desert disappearing/being traversable) and expand whichever cardinal direction best suited the new game's thematic direction--as the last couple of posts suggested, having Wasteland 2 take place in Southeastern Nevada/New Mexico/Texas would be a totally different feel from Fallout without deviating too far from Wasteland, and having it be only a few years after the first game opens up a lot of continuity possibilities as well.

[Abe Sargent]

I feel like the SW and deserts have been a bit Been There, Done That. I like arid dry land, but perhaps moving a bit to the east would be in order. Perhaps set it someplace in the great Plains, but have the area have been dried out in the Bomb? Remember, before settling in there in droves, the Great Plains were very wasteland-y, with few rivers and irrigation, insect swarms, and twisters. Without irrigation, with swarms of things worse than insects, and with Twisters a-go-go wreaking havoc after the weather was spoiled in the bombs, I think the area is rife with ideas for a location, still being near the other story of the original, and could still justify the name Desert Ranger

[MesmerMesmer]

Texas could be pretty neat, with the arid character and big open spaces but a bit more local flavour. Or the swamps of Louisiana, with crazy Mardi Gras Krewe-based tribes and stuff. Mardi gras doubloons and beads as accepted currency.

[jmarsh07]

I think keeping it close to the same timeline would be the way to go, maybe just a generation after and maybe a new area like New Mexico or Texas. Yeah, Texas - think GUNS!!!

[alexandergr]

I vote for something iconic like London, Paris or New York.

[UniversalWolf]

The mountains of northern New Mexico and the desert to the south and west.

[CoreyHaim8myDog]

Given the setting of the original, I think it might be creatively rewarding to branch out. Having been to the desert [the classic post-apoc setting] we might go for something new. What about the jungle? What if it were set in Hawaii where the lush canopy of mutated flora twists around the broken cities? Mad surfer clans might roam the beach, strange Tiki idols could fuel the Googie-era imganiation. And hell, what might be inside one of those volcanoes?

To say nothing of Pearl Harbor, and what might have become of that. The location is still quintessentially American, but gives the ambiance of the foreign just enough to liven things up. What's more, who wouldn't like to see what the apocalypse looks like in paradise? Plug in some Don Ho and Dick Dale and we're off to some pretty great adventures on the other side of the end of the world.

[Lucius]

I think it should have a very similar setting. I'd love to see Vegas and the Citadel with updated graphics. Although an entirely new setting may be easier since you wouldn't have to deal with trying decide who conquered Vegas and making it strictly canon (like it would ever be the fatman anyways.) I'd like to see a direct sequel taking place within 100 years after the first game. Perhaps an original ranger's child grown up and has become a ranger as well, perhaps not by choice.

[Ausir]

I'd prefer them to feature new locations instead of going back to Vegas. Especially given that this would result in too many comparisons to Fallout: New Vegas.

[The Dutch Ghost]

I think it would be interesting of doing something in the mid west opposed to going to the West Coast or Texas as that is a region that has not been used in most previous PA games I know with the exception of Tactics.

Not sure if there are interesting locations there though.

[Clausewitz_]

Hi,
I agree - i would like Wastelands2 to be set as close to the original as possible. As much as I love the Fallout games i like the ones set closer to the Great War than those set much later.
I would like to see it set as close to the apocalypse as possible, and done in a darker tone than Fallouts. More Cormac Mcarthy than comic book.