How 'unique' will my hero be?
The Hero changes and develops according to the way you play the game; and this culminates both physically and in terms of your attributes. He evolves according to the way you play the game; by the quests you undertake, by the experience you get, by the type of weapons that you use, by the people you talk to, and by the other friends and heroes he interacts with. Everything you do as a player will influence your hero.
Will my hero age?
Your hero will age and morph in real time, and the same goes for important NPC's such as your wife. But not to the point where you become decrepit.
How will I know how great I am as a hero then?
Towns applaud the arrival of a truly great hero. You may witness this in the early parts of the game, but ultimately if you achieve true greatness they will celebrate your arrival in town. The reactions extend to all facets of the game. For example, wear inappropriate clothing and they might start laughing at you, unless you have a lot of renown. Wander into a town after some courageous exploits, and people will come up to you, applauding your bravery and saying "Hey, you’re fantastic!" If you’re evil, people may initially boo and jeer, but after you have confirmed your ruthlessness they will cower before you. But the worst thing is when you wander into a town and no one does anything… You are nothing.
How will NPC's react to my hero exactly?
Every single villager in the world of Albion maintains a multidimensional opinion of the hero, which is continually being influenced by many actions the player can take, and also feeds into a shared opinion of the hero maintained by each village. These opinions influence subsequent reactions of villagers to the player's behaviour.
Does that mean I can’t be a hero in one town and a bandit in another town?
No, the people of one village may hate you due to evil deeds perpetrated there, but you may have charmed people elsewhere into thinking you're a saint.
So I choose to be evil or good?
The player does not have to be 'good' in Fable; their actions determine their path through the game. Also, what the hero does determines how they look, and how proficient they are at various tasks. It is, for example, possible to become legendary in the world. Fable has a renown system, in where you are competing with other heroes for fame. We also have a hero title system! You'll always know how you're doing with regard to good/evilness. Not only will it affect the appearance of the Hero quite dramatically, you can always look it up in your stats.
What’s best, being evil or good?
It's not all about cheating on wives, beating people up, etc. - you're quite able to do nice things for people, which they will be thankful for, plus your wife in particular has many ways to be kept happy - also there are many rewards for the good path as well as the bad. It’s really up to you as a player and what you want.
How is dialogue being dealt with?
There's not a single unspoken line of dialogue in Fable.
Does dialogue change based upon a person's opinion of you?
The way people react to you changes according to their opinion of you, and this is expressed through the wide variety of dialogue in the game.
So do I have to care about skills and experience?
There are three main attributes to think about in Fable, three topics that will make your hero unique. There's Strength: how hard you hit somebody, and there are some flourishes in there. There's Skill: like using bows and arrows or ranged attacks, pickpocket, steal etc. and there's the Magic System, which we call 'Will'. And the more you use each one, the more you will evolve in this attribute. Players earn various different types of 'Experience' and these can be used to 'buy' different levels and abilities: some are passive (like the ability to wear heavier armour) and some are far more active (like the ability to Battle Charge or Berserk).
How does Strength work?
Visually, Strength gives you size and other related character morphs. On one of the interface screens you can see your Strength bar, which is broken up into chunks – the first notch is level one, the next level two, etc. When you level-up, you’ll see your muscles pop as you go through a full strength morph.
How does Skill work?
Skill makes you lither, and is particularly useful for those who favour ranged combat. It’s also of interest for those who wish to specialise in things like – for example - trading, pickpocket, stealth and stealing...
How long will it take me to complete this game?
Fable - including the many side quests and things - will keep you playing for 100+ hours. You will need around 30 hours to complete the main story, if you know your way around, taking the fastest way possible and only speaking to those relevant to the quest. This would mean you didn’t explore the world of Albion, interact with the NPC's or do anything whatsoever different from what the story requires to complete.
Will it be possible to mount a horse?
The world is big enough to explore. Horses didn't make it in the game, but there are many other forms of transportation to aid those who hate to waste their shoe leather…
Will you be able to swim in Fable?
There is no need to swim in Fable.
There is a rumour going around I can get married, this is not true, right?
It will be possible to get married in Fable, or even have different women living in different towns in different houses. You can even have kids but don't get too attached to them as you are supposed to be a hero and not a friendly family guy! This is optional of course, you don’t have to get married.
Where will my hero be living?
On the streets, in the beginning! You will also be able to buy a house, or even a whole city, if you manage to find out how to.
Can I fish?
Yes, you can fish, and you can keep the big catches as trophies to show off with.
And I can get a house and a wife and..?
You can indeed buy your own house. Or indeed, houses, and you can even rent them out to other people or you can live there yourself and if you manage to acquire a wife then she can live there and will expect you to visit her and keep her happy!
Can I put items and belongings in my houses?
You can enhance your house with new furniture, and you can even hang your old Quest Trophies on the walls.
Would sleeping be of any use?
Yes, sleeping in Fable is of use.
I want to play as a laaaady!
Sadly enough, you can't be female. It doubled all the work we had to do on the hero, clothing and morphing. We were really unhappy about it. However, you can team up and compete with heroes (or mercenaries, henchmen) and, as some heroes are female you may find yourself on a quest with a female hero at your side, or at your throat! It's a nice way to meet (virtual) girls...or – if you really wanted to - you could always dress as a woman!
Any sign of having a pet on your side?
No - no pet animals, I'm afraid. The things we found took longest were the AI and the animation. Our creatures and people do a lot. We couldn't just have pets doing four animations and a 'home in and kill' AI. There are ghostly swords that you can conjure, though, and you can summon creatures to fight alongside you. You might also find yourself chasing the odd chicken around town…
The Hero changes and develops according to the way you play the game; and this culminates both physically and in terms of your attributes. He evolves according to the way you play the game; by the quests you undertake, by the experience you get, by the type of weapons that you use, by the people you talk to, and by the other friends and heroes he interacts with. Everything you do as a player will influence your hero.
Will my hero age?
Your hero will age and morph in real time, and the same goes for important NPC's such as your wife. But not to the point where you become decrepit.
How will I know how great I am as a hero then?
Towns applaud the arrival of a truly great hero. You may witness this in the early parts of the game, but ultimately if you achieve true greatness they will celebrate your arrival in town. The reactions extend to all facets of the game. For example, wear inappropriate clothing and they might start laughing at you, unless you have a lot of renown. Wander into a town after some courageous exploits, and people will come up to you, applauding your bravery and saying "Hey, you’re fantastic!" If you’re evil, people may initially boo and jeer, but after you have confirmed your ruthlessness they will cower before you. But the worst thing is when you wander into a town and no one does anything… You are nothing.
How will NPC's react to my hero exactly?
Every single villager in the world of Albion maintains a multidimensional opinion of the hero, which is continually being influenced by many actions the player can take, and also feeds into a shared opinion of the hero maintained by each village. These opinions influence subsequent reactions of villagers to the player's behaviour.
Does that mean I can’t be a hero in one town and a bandit in another town?
No, the people of one village may hate you due to evil deeds perpetrated there, but you may have charmed people elsewhere into thinking you're a saint.
So I choose to be evil or good?
The player does not have to be 'good' in Fable; their actions determine their path through the game. Also, what the hero does determines how they look, and how proficient they are at various tasks. It is, for example, possible to become legendary in the world. Fable has a renown system, in where you are competing with other heroes for fame. We also have a hero title system! You'll always know how you're doing with regard to good/evilness. Not only will it affect the appearance of the Hero quite dramatically, you can always look it up in your stats.
What’s best, being evil or good?
It's not all about cheating on wives, beating people up, etc. - you're quite able to do nice things for people, which they will be thankful for, plus your wife in particular has many ways to be kept happy - also there are many rewards for the good path as well as the bad. It’s really up to you as a player and what you want.
How is dialogue being dealt with?
There's not a single unspoken line of dialogue in Fable.
Does dialogue change based upon a person's opinion of you?
The way people react to you changes according to their opinion of you, and this is expressed through the wide variety of dialogue in the game.
So do I have to care about skills and experience?
There are three main attributes to think about in Fable, three topics that will make your hero unique. There's Strength: how hard you hit somebody, and there are some flourishes in there. There's Skill: like using bows and arrows or ranged attacks, pickpocket, steal etc. and there's the Magic System, which we call 'Will'. And the more you use each one, the more you will evolve in this attribute. Players earn various different types of 'Experience' and these can be used to 'buy' different levels and abilities: some are passive (like the ability to wear heavier armour) and some are far more active (like the ability to Battle Charge or Berserk).
How does Strength work?
Visually, Strength gives you size and other related character morphs. On one of the interface screens you can see your Strength bar, which is broken up into chunks – the first notch is level one, the next level two, etc. When you level-up, you’ll see your muscles pop as you go through a full strength morph.
How does Skill work?
Skill makes you lither, and is particularly useful for those who favour ranged combat. It’s also of interest for those who wish to specialise in things like – for example - trading, pickpocket, stealth and stealing...
How long will it take me to complete this game?
Fable - including the many side quests and things - will keep you playing for 100+ hours. You will need around 30 hours to complete the main story, if you know your way around, taking the fastest way possible and only speaking to those relevant to the quest. This would mean you didn’t explore the world of Albion, interact with the NPC's or do anything whatsoever different from what the story requires to complete.
Will it be possible to mount a horse?
The world is big enough to explore. Horses didn't make it in the game, but there are many other forms of transportation to aid those who hate to waste their shoe leather…
Will you be able to swim in Fable?
There is no need to swim in Fable.
There is a rumour going around I can get married, this is not true, right?
It will be possible to get married in Fable, or even have different women living in different towns in different houses. You can even have kids but don't get too attached to them as you are supposed to be a hero and not a friendly family guy! This is optional of course, you don’t have to get married.
Where will my hero be living?
On the streets, in the beginning! You will also be able to buy a house, or even a whole city, if you manage to find out how to.
Can I fish?
Yes, you can fish, and you can keep the big catches as trophies to show off with.
And I can get a house and a wife and..?
You can indeed buy your own house. Or indeed, houses, and you can even rent them out to other people or you can live there yourself and if you manage to acquire a wife then she can live there and will expect you to visit her and keep her happy!
Can I put items and belongings in my houses?
You can enhance your house with new furniture, and you can even hang your old Quest Trophies on the walls.
Would sleeping be of any use?
Yes, sleeping in Fable is of use.
I want to play as a laaaady!
Sadly enough, you can't be female. It doubled all the work we had to do on the hero, clothing and morphing. We were really unhappy about it. However, you can team up and compete with heroes (or mercenaries, henchmen) and, as some heroes are female you may find yourself on a quest with a female hero at your side, or at your throat! It's a nice way to meet (virtual) girls...or – if you really wanted to - you could always dress as a woman!
Any sign of having a pet on your side?
No - no pet animals, I'm afraid. The things we found took longest were the AI and the animation. Our creatures and people do a lot. We couldn't just have pets doing four animations and a 'home in and kill' AI. There are ghostly swords that you can conjure, though, and you can summon creatures to fight alongside you. You might also find yourself chasing the odd chicken around town…