Time for a change.

[Whungerman]

Introduction…

• I want to preface this by saying how amazing FOnline is.. Almost 20 years of fan-made games, fueled entirely by passion. Take a look around (I have) and there is nothing quite like it.
  
  I think what all the devs and teams have done here is an amazing accomplishment and this post is in no way an attack on anybody involved.
  
  I have spent many hours playing FOnline and many more playing with the SDK and tools used to create it.
  
  But…
  
  It doesn’t take a genius to see that this once thriving community has been dying for a long time.
  
  There’s so much talent here and, in my opinion, it is wasted.

It’s time for change…

• We’ve got multiple teams all layering on top of multiple revisions of an engine that's almost 20 years old, based on a game that's 25 years old.
  
  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect all the different teams to unite under one game - I don’t expect anybody to abandon ship or anything like that…
  
  But I’ve played around with development on a bunch of different revisions and there always seems to be some kind of error or compatibility problem. 
  
  Scripts are messy, revisions are messy… Development is messy.
  
  There are balancing issues and it’s no surprise, given the mountain of code-spaghetti this engine is built on.
  
  The whole thing is outdated and breaking at the seams. The closest thing we’ve seen to modernization is Slowhand’s 100 year plan and, as good as it is as a concept, even that is impractical (as revealed by the title).

Why?...

• New players are put off by the outdated and janky gameplay.
  
  And perhaps more importantly…
  
  New devs are put off by the clunky and cumbersome editors.
  
  There is very little growth or innovation outside of a handful of developers who don’t seem to have the time or patience to help new devs learn the broken systems used to create new content.
  
  The worst part is that there is so much potential here for something good…
  
  Fallout is resting (once again) in a shallow grave - thanks to Bugthesda. An eighteen karat run of bad luck. The FOnline community could be a place for fans who are disappointed in the direction of the franchise to unite and build something great.
  
  Instead it’s a toxic cesspool… But it doesn’t have to be this way.
  

What I propose…

• Fodot… A new SDK - built using Godot’s open-source engine as a foundation.
  
  Re-create the whole thing from the ground up, without the hassle of dark-work; that comes as a given with an independent (and outdated) engine.
  
  It sounds like a lot of work, yes. But as the old saying goes, spend 5 minutes now to save 20 minutes later.
  
  If you think about it, a fresh start on a clean slate is exactly what this dev community needs.

How?...

• Get the basics down first, of course.
  
  The core of gameplay, the art assets, FO2’s SPECIAL system.
  
  Create the foundation and build from there, using Fallout 2, r412 and Slowhand’s 100 year plan as a basis.
  

Why?...

• Because it would make development so much easier, because it would bring FOnline into the modern age.
  
  No more technical limitations based on an engine that’s 18+ years old. No more compatibility problems from using a piece of software developed for computers from 2004.
  
  Mapping would be easier and faster. Creating new features and implementing modernization would be easier and faster. Bringing in new players and rebuilding the fanbase would be so much easier.
  

Conclusion…

• This community needs a reboot, this game needs a reboot. We as fallout fans need FOnline more than ever. If a dedicated few of us could pull this off, the rest will follow - devs and fans alike.
  
  There. I've said my piece. Condemn me if you must.

Footnote…

• I'm not just spouting this out as some nobody. I have 7+ years of mixed media experience (work & education) - including 3 years of game design/development and 1+ year of digital marketing. I'm a life-long fallout fan and I've been playing FOnline for years.
  
  I want to see this community be something great again instead of a fragmented, toxic mess and I would feel remiss if I watched it die without at least trying - even if that means I get pushed out as a result.
  
  Of course, there are other issues but in my opinion this is the core of it.
  
  Thanks for taking the time to read this if you did, I hope we can all come together to create a new age of FOnline.
  
  Whungerman#1993 on discord if you wanna talk.
  
  
  

Peace.

[Dagnir]

Look at the number of players on the servers. Around 100 on all of them combined. Most stick to the same server. Do you want to spend years creating something that maybe 20-30 people will enjoy? Yeah, I didn't think so.
Overall, the game was already doomed back in 2009 when we've split into TLA and 2238. For a stupid reason of the primary developers of TLA not speaking good English. Hardcore enthusiasts who can do development in their spare time are hard to find, and by splitting them into two (later - many more) teams we've made the development unsustainable.