Fallout 4 Bethesda....Bethesda Never Changes

[Nibb31]

I've always thought that Bethesda games were fairly repetitive and lacked diversity compared to, for example, GTA. Dunno what it's like in Fallout 4, but the radio in Fallout had about 5 songs playing over and over for hours, and wherever you went, the same models of houses and buildings and car wrecks were reused over and over again. Compared to GTA where you could listen to the soundtrack for hours until it looped, or where no two buildings are the same, Bethesda games feel rushed.

[CptRichardson]

I've always thought that Bethesda games were fairly repetitive and lacked diversity compared to, for example, GTA. Dunno what it's like in Fallout 4, but the radio in Fallout had about 5 songs playing over and over for hours, and wherever you went, the same models of houses and buildings and car wrecks were reused over and over again. Compared to GTA where you could listen to the soundtrack for hours until it looped, or where no two buildings are the same, Bethesda games feel rushed.

Fallout 4 is MUCH better about that. A lot more unique designs, much more variety in places, enemies, and ways to fight, a lot of just... well, visual polish. I can't say overall polish because the settlement system needs a lot of development still, and the companions (while each vastly more characterful than before) have issues with controlling them, but the the world is much nicer. And yeah, they've got more radio this time. Classical station with loads of songs, the song choice on the main station is much larger (borrowing from NV, FO3, and a few new ones), and even with the radio off there's a very impressive soundtrack that is quite moody and suspenseful.

[Randazzo]

I've always thought that Bethesda games were fairly repetitive and lacked diversity compared to, for example, GTA. Dunno what it's like in Fallout 4, but the radio in Fallout had about 5 songs playing over and over for hours, and wherever you went, the same models of houses and buildings and car wrecks were reused over and over again. Compared to GTA where you could listen to the soundtrack for hours until it looped, or where no two buildings are the same, Bethesda games feel rushed.

Fallout 3 (and Oblivion, since it's on the same engine) reuses a lot of resources since it has such a massive level of interactivity. GTA IV may have a lot of different paint jobs, but a vast majority of those objects and buildings cannot be interacted with.

I haven't played Fallout 4 enough yet to make a comparison with GTA V, but it might be a tougher competition. Compared to earlier installments, GTA V had a much more in-depth open world (as in, parts not involved in the scripted story that still had a purpose for existing beyond being cardboard façade). There were still a lot of cookie-cutter backdrop objects though, plenty of buildings with no interiors, etc.

[Brethern]

Hah! I saw that screen last night and said aloud to myself, "What the *bleep*?"

Then I became exceedingly paranoid during my adventures.

Yeah I vote we nuke it from orbit.

[Camacha]

Yeah I vote we nuke it from orbit.

How about orbiting it with a nuke?

I guess the trick it to run for the nearest power armour, or hide in a cubbyhole those things can not reach. I disabled a legendary super mutant at level 3 that way.

[moogoob]

Won't likely get it until I get a current-gen console, which at my current income is a few years out (and after a new video card in priority), but it's a must-buy when I do. 3 and New Vegas absorbed a _lot_ of my time, and still do periodically on the 360.

[Brethern]

How about orbiting it with a nuke?

I guess the trick it to run for the nearest power armour, or hide in a cubbyhole those things can not reach. I disabled a legendary super mutant at level 3 that way.

Just got the power armor.

Anyone complaining about this game needs their head examined.

[Albert VDS]

Whats wrong with the graphics, because I can't see anything wrong with it.

[Dodgey]

Yeah I vote we nuke it from orbit.

Oh yeah because that worked so well last time.

[Camacha]

To be frank, I was planning on skipping Fallout 4 completely. I loved Fallout 3, but played it so much that I totally burned out on it. I did not buy New Vegas because it looked too much alike, and even Skyrim felt a lot like Fallout again, causing me to put it aside after a handful of hours. Then my friend showed up with Fallout 4 as a present... what are you going to do?

I must admit I am pleasantly surprised. It is definitely an evolved version of the previous games in almost every sense, but adds enough new and tweaked elements to be fresh and interesting again. Crafting existed in Skyrim, but felt a bit stuck on. In Fallout, it lines up with the story and environment perfectly. It really adds to the whole setting and atmosphere, combing through the wasteland to find that one part for your upgrade. The radiation system has been changed into something more natural and more interesting from a game mechanic point of view. The same goes for power armour, which tells a much more comprehensive story and is also much more about weighing the cons and the pros, rather than some overpowered end game situation.

Graphically Fallout 4 is pretty decent, which some really pretty parts here and there. It is not like Fallout 3, that could be breathtaking (at the time, it is all relative), but it is fair enough. It is good enough to convey the style and atmosphere and this Fallout has in spades. Gameplay wise they are moving more and more to a proper shooter combined with an intermediate RPG. I think Fallout 3 made a good first effort, with Fallout 4 improving on pretty much everything: more in-depth RPG elements and better shooter elements. There is a still a gap to 'proper' shooters, but most of the gap has been bridged. Whereas Fallout 3 was unplayable without VATS, it is very enjoyable to do that in Fallout 4.

My main gripe are the bugs. I encountered a couple of them. None were permanently game breaking, but having to tweak settings and fiddle around to play a new game really is disappointing. I wanted to call it sub par, but unfortunately all the big titles seem plagued by hosts of release day bugs and quick patches. Somehow it has become the way of triple A.

All in all, I feel Fallout 4 really is a great game again. Not perfect for sure, but very enjoyable and a good next step in the Fallout saga.

[Bill Phil]

FNV was quite different from 3. The story was more enticing, the weapons way more awesome, and the endings more diverse. And the quests are better, too.

I hope F4 does even better still, and from what I've seen/heard/read, it certainly will. Once I play it.

[Gojira1000]

About 80 hours in and I'm enjoying it a lot. Biggest gripe: They need to optimize the hell out of it. It's basically Skyrim with a lower frame-rate.

Skyrim with guns and deathclaws. I have no problem with that.

[Brethern]

[quote name='Gojira1000']About 80 hours in and I'm enjoying it a lot. Biggest gripe: They need to optimize the hell out of it. It's basically Skyrim with a lower frame-rate.

Skyrim with guns and deathclaws. I have no problem with that.[/QUOTE]I'm running everything on high and haven't had a fps drop yet.

[briansun1]

I've only owned it for a day and I already have 10 hours in the game. So, ya I'd say it's good and not bad. I do have 2 issues with the game. The weapon choice is kind of limited without modding and I'd like to see skills again (ie energy weapons).

Anyways everyone know you don't buy a Bethesda for the game you buy it to mod the crap out of it. Edited November 17, 2015 by briansun1

[Kelderek]

The frame rate drop from "god rays" effects are pretty horrible. I have a new PC which can run the game at 2560x1440 with everything at ultra and I get a steady 50-60 FPS all the time... except when the god rays kick in and it drops below 30 FPS. So for now I disabled that effect and kept everything else at ultra and it's a lot smoother now.

I had CTDs for the first couple days, and I'm not exactly sure how I managed to fix it, but now I can play for hours at a time with no crashes and I have been really enjoying the game. I got a character up to level 18 and then decided to re-roll a new one with different starting SPECIAL stats -- I realized that these stats matter most for unlocking perks and not as much for any bonuses they give directly. So I chose 3-5-1-3-6-7-3 for the SPECIAL attributes respectively. I've been playing almost exclusively with non-automatic rifles and I like the sneaky-sniper style of play. I also don't use power armor yet (maybe later, I have 3 full suits already) nor do I have companions with me (Lone Wanderer perk is awesome).

I like the crafting a lot more than FNV, it's cool to turn an ordinary pipe rifle into a sniper rifle or into full-auto assault rifle just by changing mods. I love the Long Recon Scope - it allows me to track enemies, perfect for sniping. It would be nice to craft ammo, I may need to invest in the perk to make finding ammo be easier -- some ammo types have been hard to find for me, while others are very abundant.

As a fan of FO3 and FNV, I am thrilled with this installment so far.

[Randazzo]

I'm really liking the settlement building. I went a touch overboard at Sanctuary, not knowing the population limits and such, but at least it's a nice place to live. Power routed all through the settlement, lots of turrets, completely walled in.

One of the neatest non-spoilery moments I've had so far happened when I fast traveled there. I was unloading a bunch of junk I had collected when the trader who comes through went running down the street, yelling for help. I was mostly confused, hadn't seen that before and had never been attacked without a quest warning before. Then the sirens started going off, followed by bouts of gunfire from turrets and guards.

By the time I got my head out of the clouds and ran to help, it was over, but it was a strangely neat moment. Edited November 17, 2015 by Randazzo

[briansun1]

[quote name='Randazzo']I'm really liking the settlement building. I went a touch overboard at Sanctuary, not knowing the population limits and such, but at least it's a nice place to live. Power routed all through the settlement, lots of turrets, completely walled in.

One of the neatest non-spoilery moments I've had so far happened when I fast traveled there. I was unloading a bunch of junk I had collected when the trader who comes through went running down the street, yelling for help. I was mostly confused, hadn't seen that before and had never been attacked without a quest warning before. Then the sirens started going off, followed by bouts of gunfire from turrets and guards.

By the time I got my head out of the clouds and ran to help, it was over, but it was a strangely neat moments.[/QUOTE]

So the guards will trigger the siren? Also what's the population limit?

[Randazzo]

[quote name='briansun1']So the guards will trigger the siren? Also what's the population limit?[/QUOTE]

They will, yes. They will even go turn it off after the attack is over.

Pop Limit = 10 + Charisma level

[briansun1]

[quote name='Randazzo']They will, yes. They will even go turn it off after the attack is over.

Pop Limit = 10 + Charisma level[/QUOTE]

Looks like I neede to put more points into charisma.

[Randazzo]

I think this sums up exploring a "dungeon" in Fallout 4 quite amusingly:

[IMG]http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/UniformRealImperialeagle.gif[/IMG]

[Deadpangod3]

[quote name='Randazzo']I think this sums up exploring a "dungeon" in Fallout 4 quite amusingly:

[url]http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/UniformRealImperialeagle.gif[/url][/QUOTE]

Dogmeat: la de da de da da dee.

Player: DOGMEAT NOOOOOOOOOO!

*KAPOW!!*

[briansun1]

It would have been nice to know the range of the artillery and flare.

[Kelderek]

[quote name='Deadpangod3']Dogmeat: la de da de da da dee.

Player: DOGMEAT NOOOOOOOOOO!

*KAPOW!!*[/QUOTE]

Previous versions in the Fallout series taught me to avoid using companions. I'm glad this version provides a perk for playing solo too.


By the way, if any of you like to read fiction and like the Fallout games, I highly recommend the Silo series from Hugh Howey ("Wool", "Shift", and "Dust"). The first book, [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Wool-Hugh-Howey/dp/1476733953/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447951795&sr=1-1&keywords=wool+hugh+howey"]"Wool"[/URL] is one of my all-time favorite books and the story has a lot of similarities with the vault dwellers of the Fallout universe -- enough so that it would not surprise me if the Fallout games helped inspire the books, though I don't know if that is the case.

[Brethern]

[quote name='Kelderek']Previous versions in the Fallout series taught me to avoid using companions. I'm glad this version provides a perk for playing solo too.


By the way, if any of you like to read fiction and like the Fallout games, I highly recommend the Silo series from Hugh Howey ("Wool", "Shift", and "Dust"). The first book, [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Wool-Hugh-Howey/dp/1476733953/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447951795&sr=1-1&keywords=wool+hugh+howey"]"Wool"[/URL] is one of my all-time favorite books and the story has a lot of similarities with the vault dwellers of the Fallout universe -- enough so that it would not surprise me if the Fallout games helped inspire the books, though I don't know if that is the case.[/QUOTE]
Fallout new vegas taught me to grab Boone as soon as possible and then laugh as he kills everything all the way to vegas.

[Astronomer]

My favorite part was where I got my PipBoy edition and it was awesome.

[quote name='Randazzo']I think this sums up exploring a "dungeon" in Fallout 4 quite amusingly:

[url]http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/UniformRealImperialeagle.gif[/url][/QUOTE]

xDDDDDDDDD