Wasteland 3 is shaping up nicely for an August 28 release. In a new development diary, lead designer David Rogers details changes to character creation and turn-based combat. They all look promising.

For starters, creating a post-apocalyptic entourage can be as simple or complex as you like. The new Character Duos feature allows you to start the game with a number of pre-made builds that not only complement each other, but also have tailor-made interactions and dialogues. While it is possible to spend hours poring over your own custom build, more effort is put into making the consequences of your decisions more clear from the start.

Parks are now available: in Wasteland 3 they are called "habits". Each perk comes with a "super strong penalty" and the two examples shown prove it: Doomsday Prepper gives 35% resistance to status effects, but the character can no longer read skill books, and Death Wish gives additional action points, but the character will not be able to use any armor.

Combat, on the other hand, appears to be more exciting than before, mainly because enemies take their turns at once, meaning that combat happens at a faster pace. The entire video is below, and you can read more about Wasteland 3 here.