Wasteland 3 studio lays out its "vision for the apocalypse"

Wasteland 3 was a big crowdfunding success, hitting its $2.75 million goal on Fig in less than three days and ultimately finishing with more than $3.1 million in funding. With pre-production now well underway, developer inXile Entertainment has released the Wasteland 3 "Vision Document," which breaks down the game's core elements and features, and how it will (hopefully) improve upon Wasteland 2.

"Dating back to the Interplay days, our studio philosophy is to create a vision document for each of our projects," inXile wrote in the latest Fig update. "This document contains the game's core elements and features, and serves to remind us of our high-level goals throughout production, as well as to give new team members an introduction to the game’s core features."

The document begins with a brief (and spoiler-ish, so be warned) setup of the Wasteland world and an overview of the events of the first two games and their immediate aftermath. "The years since have not been kind to the Desert Rangers. They attempted to regain their footing but could find no adequate base of operations to replace Ranger Citadel," it reads.

"Despite their heroic attempts to protect the communities of California and Arizona, they were outgunned or outnumbered by enemies old and new. The Rangers barely had enough resources to defend their ad-hoc base of operations, let along venture out into the wastes."

From there, the document covers the "pillars" of Wasteland 3, core features including multiplayer and vehicles, companions, the improved combat system, which will give players a "greater level of depth and customization," and "encounter design."

"Wasteland 2 had a a few memorable encounters, such as battles against the Scorpitron, or huge firefights inside enemy bases, and we want to continue by making more and more battles you'll remember," it says. "This extends to more careful level design and placement of cover, but it also includes more ways to interact with the environment. Over the course of some encounters, you will be faced with new and daunting challenges, battlefields that shift as reinforcements come in, or objectives that change mid-flight. We want to vary your combat experiences throughout the game so that each significant fight brings something new with it."

Most of the information the document has been revealed elsewhere, but it's handy to have it all in one place, especially if you haven't been keeping up. Grab it here—and if you're interested, you can also have a look at the Wasteland 2 vision document on Google.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.