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[Gstaff]

About a month ago, we asked all of you to start submitting your Fallout: New Vegas questions to be answered by the team at Obsidian. Today we're kicking it off with 12 answers. We'll be posting more questions next week.

You guys submitted tons of great questions. The following questions were answered by Obsidian Entertainment's Josh Sawyer -- Project Director on New Vegas.

And away we go!

Will perks be available every level, every other level, every third level, etc.?
From OakTable via Bethesda Blog

Josh Sawyer: We have shifted the perk rate to a game setting within the GECK. We currently have it set to one perk every two levels. Internal feedback to it has been mixed, so it's too early to say if we will keep it at this setting.

Will we be able to level past 20? Or 30?
From Justin via Facebook

JS: Our level cap is 30.

Will the PC retail game be able to be activated via Steam?
From @litrock via Twitter

Jason Bergman, Senior Producer at Bethesda Softworks: Yes. Fallout: New Vegas will fully utilize the Steamworks SDK. This means that retail PC copies will activate via Steam. We are also using Steam for achievements and other features (but not multiplayer, of course. FNV remains a single player only game).

I’m assuming that you are reusing some of the animations from Fallout 3. Have you done anything to improve these or are they going to stay the same way that they did in Fallout 3?
From Zearox via Bethesda Blog

Josh Sawyer: We started our animation work by determining what new animations we needed, what existing animations we thought needed revision, and what else we could revise. We have already changed some of the core combat animations (for example, all first-person firearm aim animations have been revised) as well as creature animations (our "West Coast" Super Mutants have new idles, walk, and run cycles).

Can you confirm 'Dogmeat' will be a companion?
From Barry via Facebook

JS: The Mojave Wasteland is full of dogs. Who knows who will want to be your pal this time around?

You hinted at multiple ammo choices being available. How deep are you going with that? Will that only be regular and AP ammo?
From DanishMIKI via Bethesda Blog

JS: What ammunition sub-types are available to the player depends on the base type. Not all ammunition types have standard, hollow point, and armor piercing variants. For example, there is no armor piercing .22 ammunition. In addition to "standard" ammunition, hollow point and armor piercing are the two most common variants. 20 gauge and 12 gauge shotguns have slug variants in addition to the standard (buckshot). Some calibers also have +P (overpressure) rounds, military surplus rounds (bought in bulk, increased power, increased wear on the weapon), or hand loads. Hand loads are always built at reloading benches in the world and can take a number of different forms. For example, you can craft .308 Jacketed Soft Points or .45-70 Gov't Semi-Wadcutters with very "hot" loads.

Energy Weapons and Explosives can also use ammunition subtypes. Some energy ammunition has "over charge" or "bulk" variants, the former being high-powered but damaging to the weapon and the latter being cheap but under-powered. 25mm grenades (used in the grenade machinegun) have a high explosive variant and 40mm grenades have an incendiary variant.

Are the Super Mutants in the screen shots graphical stand ins? Will they eventually have the unique appearance of the Mariposa Super Mutants from FO1 & FO2 (as seen in talking head dialogues), or will they appear as they do in the screen shots, almost identical to FO3 Vault 87 mutants?
From Chadious Maximus via Bethesda Blog

JS: Our early Super Mutant and Nightkin models were placeholders. All of them have been re-textured, slightly remodeled, and re-animated to more closely resemble the Mariposa Super Mutants.

Will the ending slides for all of the settlements return in New Vegas?
From @B3nt0k via Twitter

JS: We may not hit every single group or location, but our ending is pretty comprehensive in what it covers.

What other creatures are in New Vegas, and is it possible to see concept art of a new creature?
From Richard via Facebook

JS: One of my favorites is the Cazador. Cazadores are mutated tarantula hawk wasps that have found their way north from the Sonoran Desert. They aren't very durable, but their poison is deadly and they are very creepy looking.
Cazador Concept Art

Will each faction have a radio station?
From @hawker101 via Twitter

JS: Not every faction has a radio station, but I hope people are happy with the radio stations, DJs, and music selection we have.

Will there be any sort of party involved? A few companions to tag along?
From Rui via Facebook

JS: Yes. The player may have one humanoid and one non-humanoid companion at any given time.

Will you get to meet that badass from the teaser trailer?
From @Xenoliath via Twitter

JS: Eventually.

[Nick Breckon]

What does Steamworks mean to you? Senior producer Jason Bergman explains:

"Fallout: New Vegas uses Steamworks for achievements and other features (such as friends lists, cloud storage of user preferences and so on). Use of Steam will be mandatory at retail. So what does that mean? We’ve implemented Steamworks in as light and unobtrusive a way as possible. Yes, you will have to install Steam when you install Fallout: New Vegas if you don’t already have it. And yes, you will have to be online at the time of that initial install. However you can install the game on as many systems as you want (with no restrictions!), and you do not have to be online to play the game after your initial activation. Not only that, but once the game has activated on Steam, you can throw out the game DVD entirely and just download the game over Steam. If you don’t even have a DVD drive, you can just take the CD-Key from the box, enter it into Steam, and download it without ever using the disc at all.

For those concerned, this will have no affect on mod development whatsoever. Modders will still be able to create and distribute their plugins the same way they have in the past.

We made the decision to use Steam after looking at all the various options out there and decided that it provided the best, least intrusive experience for PC gamers. We think you’ll agree."

[Gstaff]

Here's the second half of answers for our New Vegas fan interview.

Thanks for submitting the questions, and special thanks to Josh Sawyer for taking the time to answer them.

How many new perks are there planned to be included in Fallout: New Vegas?
From Oerjeke via Bethesda Blog

Project Director Josh Sawyer: A lot. We've removed some old perks, modified some existing perks, and added a bunch of new ones. We believe that New Vegas' selection of perks will make the selection process difficult but rewarding for the player.

Will the Fallout: New Vegas Version of the GECK ship with the game, or be downloadable on release?
From @The3rdType via Twitter

JS: Yes. In addition to the normal GECK functionality F3 modders have come to expect, the F:NV GECK will allow modification of ammo lists, ammo subtypes, the hardcore "basic needs" rates, and a lot of the other new bits of data we have added. It will also contain the F:NV dialogue editor, which can be used with or without the standard F3 dialogue editor.

Will Area 51 be in the game?
From Daniel via Facebook

JS: Area 51 is a bit too far outside of our Mojave Wasteland to include.

What type of graphics options will there be? DX 9/10/11?
From @Z999z3mystorys via Twitter

JS: F:NV's renderer still uses DX9.

Will there be character "traits" as in the classic Fallout games?
From @TheBearPaw via Twitter

JS: Yes. During character creation, you will have the option to select one or two traits. Traits include some of the classics, like Small Frame (in F:NV it gives a bonus to AG but you break limbs more easily), and new ones, like Four Eyes (bonus to PE while wearing glasses, penalty while not).

What kinds of Companions will we see this time round.
From @Neo_Wolf via Twitter

JS: We have a varied cast of companions ranging from Raul the ghoul mechanic to Boone the ex-NCR sniper to some more unusual fellows. Each of the companions has their own personal conflict the player can help resolve. These conflicts can be relatively simple to address or they can involve major quests that span the Mojave Wasteland.

Will there be anything like Fallout 3's bobbleheads in New Vegas to collect?
From @Neon0x via Twitter

JS: Yes, there will be something similar to bobbleheads in the game, and you'll receive an in-game reward for finding them. That said, they do not give you SPECIAL or skill bonuses when found.

In Fallout 3, it was easy to max out most, if not all, of your skills. Is anything being done to prevent this?
From Ryan via Facebook

JS: We have done several things to adjust the skill point economy. First and foremost, the formula for calculating skill points per level has changed. We are still experimenting with what formula to use, but a 10 IN will likely not boost a character's skills as much as it did in F3.

Most of the skill boosting perks have been removed, which means that method of advancing skills no longer exists. Skill books now give +3 skill points, +4 with Comprehension, but there are far fewer skill books in the world. This both reduces how much of a boost skill books will give overall and reduces the impact of Comprehension on that value (don't worry, Comprehension also gives a bonus to skill magazines, so it has more broad applicability). Our "Bobblehead equivalent" does not give SPECIAL or skill bonuses, so those are also removed from the skill point economy.

Are Bottlecaps the source of currency or will it be poker chips?
From Rob via Facebook

JS: Bottlecaps are the main currency in the Mojave Wasteland. Bottlecaps are a water-backed currency controlled and regulated by NCR merchant caravans. The caravan houses conspired to re-introduce the currency when traders lost faith in NCR money. This loss of faith was the result of the NCR moving from a gold-backed currency to fiat currency due to repeated attacks on NCR gold reserves by the Brotherhood of Steel. Though the transition helped stabilize NCR's economy, NCR dollars are devalued compared to bottlecaps and even more devauled when compared with the third form of currency: Legion coins. Caesar's Legion mints silver and gold coins from captured pre-war material. Despite the NCR's running conflict with the Legion, merchants and citizens throughout the Mojave Wasteland accept all three forms of currency.

Poker chips are used by all functional casinos. Each casino has its own chips that must be used for gambling. Players can exchange any form of currency for chips and can receive their payout in any form of currency. Mr. House doesn't let the ongoing war get in the way of potential profits.

Will you be able to marry or even bettter marry a super mutant?
From Josh via Facebook

JS: Only in your dreams.

Will we be able to keep playing once we beat the game with this one?
From Sean via Facebook

JS: This is something we really wanted to do, but ultimately we realized that supporting post-endgame content would jeopardize the quality of the ending, which we wanted to tell the definitive stories for all of our major factions, locations and characters. Instead, after the credits roll the game will prompt you to reload a save created just before the endgame sequence, allowing players to go back and complete any quests they may have missed. Additionally, we make it very clear when you're about to reach the end of the main plot, so it shouldn't come across as a surprise.

Demo anytime soon?
From Gavin via Facebook

JS: We have no plans for a demo.

Will I be able to play, and complete, F:NV without killing anyone or anything, except perhaps in self-defense?
From Billy Ocean via Bethesda Blog

JS: Yes. There are ways to win the main plot by killing no one and by killing everyone. It was one of our initial design tenets. You will find it difficult to get by as a pacifist, and you will miss a great deal of content by killing everyone you meet, but it can be done.