Fallout 4
- Thread starter Reverend
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So far I'm liking more or less everything that I'm seeing.
I like the innovative, more direct face sculpting approach to the character creation. Having said character be a pre-war survivor--presumably kept in suspended animation for the duration like in FO3's Vault 112--is also a neat twist. Indeed I think it's worth noting that so far, every Fallout PC has had a pretty distinct origins and I'm glad they've continued to change it up while at the same time keeping to the same basic themes.
The crafting system looks like a game in it's own right. Indeed, between the the mind boggling array of weapon/armour customisation and the ability to built your own settlement, it looks like they very cannily paid very close attention to what nexus mods were the most popular for extending the previous games' re-playability.
I especially like the layered armour modding system which will presumably allow us to keep the iconic vault suit relevant and viable all the way through the game if that's what we want. Also the fact that power armour now seems to be treated more like a vehicle than just another cosmetic outfit is inspired.
The weapon sounds and animations seem much improved. They have a real snap and punch that had been very much lacking in FO3 in particular.
Also rather surprised that they really did go for a voiced PC this time, which I believe is a first for a Bethesda RPG.
I like the innovative, more direct face sculpting approach to the character creation. Having said character be a pre-war survivor--presumably kept in suspended animation for the duration like in FO3's Vault 112--is also a neat twist. Indeed I think it's worth noting that so far, every Fallout PC has had a pretty distinct origins and I'm glad they've continued to change it up while at the same time keeping to the same basic themes.
The crafting system looks like a game in it's own right. Indeed, between the the mind boggling array of weapon/armour customisation and the ability to built your own settlement, it looks like they very cannily paid very close attention to what nexus mods were the most popular for extending the previous games' re-playability.
I especially like the layered armour modding system which will presumably allow us to keep the iconic vault suit relevant and viable all the way through the game if that's what we want. Also the fact that power armour now seems to be treated more like a vehicle than just another cosmetic outfit is inspired.
The weapon sounds and animations seem much improved. They have a real snap and punch that had been very much lacking in FO3 in particular.
Also rather surprised that they really did go for a voiced PC this time, which I believe is a first for a Bethesda RPG.
^Nope, sounded to me like Courtenay Taylor (Mass Effect's Jack) is voicing the female PC. She also voiced a number of NPC's in New Vegas.
Honestly, the very specific origin here (and F3's) is terrible, in that it really cripples roleplaying replayability. The Courier origin works well in that it's vague enough that you can be just about anyone you want, just like the prisoner origins in all the Elder Scrolls. Here nope, you're always going to be a suburban husband/wife with a baby. The voiced protagonist and dialogue wheel are awful as well. Saw no evidence of any skill/SPECIAL checks in dialogue. Shallow dialogue system confirmed. And speaking of skills, notice how there isn't even a skills tab in the pip-boy?
Honestly, the very specific origin here (and F3's) is terrible, in that it really cripples roleplaying replayability. The Courier origin works well in that it's vague enough that you can be just about anyone you want, just like the prisoner origins in all the Elder Scrolls. Here nope, you're always going to be a suburban husband/wife with a baby. The voiced protagonist and dialogue wheel are awful as well. Saw no evidence of any skill/SPECIAL checks in dialogue. Shallow dialogue system confirmed. And speaking of skills, notice how there isn't even a skills tab in the pip-boy?
Being a bit dramatic there pal. The fact that your character was a husband/wife with a baby prior to the war is about as vague as being a courier was in Fallout: New Vegas. I don't get your complaint here.
So, with the two brief clips of dialoge we saw - one talking to your old robot, and one talking to a dog - you have "confirmed" a shallow dialogue system?
I'm gonna go ahead and not take your premature complaints seriously.
Yeah, to date the PC's origin in Fallout games has only ever been a very thin frame-work on which to build your own character. FO3's Lone Wanderer was the only one who's background directly tied into the main plot. For most of them it didn't matter at all and I don't think it will as much here either.
Sure, you start off as a parent and spouse who has lost their family and everything they've ever known....but so what? You could roleplay it any way you please. You character could be broody, depressed and angry at the world. They could be strong and determined to make this new world a better place....or they can just say "fuck it all" and run around in their underwear, making rude pixel art out of lights and launching teddy bears at passing merchants because why the hell not?
Premature and possibly inaccurate too. If you look at the dialogue with the robot, one of the options ("what's wrong with you?" IIRC) was orange. I'm guessing that indicates something like a science or repair skill check.
Sure, you start off as a parent and spouse who has lost their family and everything they've ever known....but so what? You could roleplay it any way you please. You character could be broody, depressed and angry at the world. They could be strong and determined to make this new world a better place....or they can just say "fuck it all" and run around in their underwear, making rude pixel art out of lights and launching teddy bears at passing merchants because why the hell not?
So, with the two brief clips of dialoge we saw - one talking to your old robot, and one talking to a dog - you have "confirmed" a shallow dialogue system?
I'm gonna go ahead and not take your premature complaints seriously.
Premature and possibly inaccurate too. If you look at the dialogue with the robot, one of the options ("what's wrong with you?" IIRC) was orange. I'm guessing that indicates something like a science or repair skill check.
While Fallout 3 was a great game, it wasn't a great Fallout game however, and I am expecting this to be like that as well. Obsidian's New Vegas was better as both a Fallout game as well as a normal game in every aspect besides the music and the bugs, and perhaps the exploration. But then, I wasn't a fan of the isometric turn-based Fallout games, so I prefer Bethesda's version over the originals.
What do you consider to be essential to a good Fallout game?
One of the biggest complaints I see levelled at Bethesda's Fallout games is the lack of the original games quirky sense of humour.
I see their complaint, and raise them a cross-dressing Super Mutant called Tabitha.
I thought FO3 had plenty of sardonic humor, almost right from the beginning!
Although that's not quite the same as the dark comedy theme of the original games (which is probably overstated by nostalgia, to be honest.)
Although that's not quite the same as the dark comedy theme of the original games (which is probably overstated by nostalgia, to be honest.)
Tabitha was from Fallout New Vegas, a game developed by Obsidian entertainment, which is composed of the original Fallout devs. It was only published by Bethesda.
Fallout 3 had some humour, but not much. It was also designed as if the bombs fell yesterday rather then 200 years ago.
Original Fallout was less post apocalyptic, more post post apocalyptic. It had a lighter feel, with some black comedy, and some grudging optimism-that war may never change but neither does humanity's ability to survive.. And Fallout 3 threw all that rebuilding away. They shouldn't have set it 200 years after if they wanted a more post apocalyptic feel. It's atmosphere and feel felt like a totally different franchise.
If we want to look at a Fallout game with all the tone of the originals, then it's New Vegas, which is also IMO the better game. I love Fallout 3 more then Fallout 1 and 2, but that's sorely because of 3's gameplay, and if Fallout 1 and 2 were made again with 3's gameplay, I would love them more. And that's why New Vegas is so beloved, because it felt like that.
But I am optimistic. Fallout 4, appearance-wise, seems a lot more like New Vegas then 3. Brighter, more colourful, more civilization, more rebuilding. But I don't expect a story on the level of Obsidian, because Obsidian is miles ahead of Bethesda when it comes to story, especially Fallout's story, since they know it better then anyone else. I love Bethesda, and I actually like their background lore and side quests , but they are not good at the main quest, nor are they good at writing characters. Obsidian, on the other hand, is good at everything.
When it comes to story in RPGs, IMO Obsidian>>Bethesda=CD Projekt Red>>>>Bioware(especially these days).
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On that note, Minecraft is probably going to go down in history as one of the single most influential games of all time.
Yes, I'm aware of who was involved in creating Fallout: New Vegas. I guess I spent so much time playing that and Fallout 3 in a relatively close timespan that some of the elements bled together. Guess my nerd-fu isn't as strong as it used to be.
I never got that feeling from Fallout 3. In fact, there were many aspects of the game that would not have been around had the bombs only dropped yesterday.
^The area around Megaton alone makes it very hard to credit that it's been 200 years. For one thing, it's said that the town was founded in the immediate aftermath and that the population quickly grew. Enough at least to have enough manpower to drag airplane parts across miles of rugged terrain. Cut to EIGHT generations later and there's only about two dozen people living there, which apparently is enough to support two drinking & eating establishments, a supply shop and a church only about 6 people attend.
What's more the immediate area (like, 60 seconds walking distance from the walls) look utterly untouched. There's wooden houses they should have been all torn down and burnt for firewood over a century ago. There are even cars sat in the road, right where their owners abandoned them despite the fact that one of the quests has to do with the town being in desperate need of scrap metal.
Hell, you can easily walk to an old super-market and back in less than a day where there's still food on the shelves. It's nuts. That whole area should have been picked clean within the first few years.
This kind of incongruity runs all the way through the game. Remember that in Fallout 1, the first place you're liable to visit is a village built years *after* the bombs fell, complete with several stone buildings, a well, crops, livestock and an irrigation system. In Fallout 3 *everyone* is living in ruins and shacks made out of scrap.
For me though the weirdest thing is Little Lamplight. I mean it's a place populated entirely by children, descended from a group of kids who happened to be on a field trip to the caves when the bombs fell. OK, but here's the thing: they expel their people when they get too old (i.e. hit puberty) and are never allowed to return. So...where are the new kids coming from? They can't all be runaways from the wastes who just happen to stumble upon this isolated, hard to find underground settlement, no?
What's more the immediate area (like, 60 seconds walking distance from the walls) look utterly untouched. There's wooden houses they should have been all torn down and burnt for firewood over a century ago. There are even cars sat in the road, right where their owners abandoned them despite the fact that one of the quests has to do with the town being in desperate need of scrap metal.
Hell, you can easily walk to an old super-market and back in less than a day where there's still food on the shelves. It's nuts. That whole area should have been picked clean within the first few years.
This kind of incongruity runs all the way through the game. Remember that in Fallout 1, the first place you're liable to visit is a village built years *after* the bombs fell, complete with several stone buildings, a well, crops, livestock and an irrigation system. In Fallout 3 *everyone* is living in ruins and shacks made out of scrap.
For me though the weirdest thing is Little Lamplight. I mean it's a place populated entirely by children, descended from a group of kids who happened to be on a field trip to the caves when the bombs fell. OK, but here's the thing: they expel their people when they get too old (i.e. hit puberty) and are never allowed to return. So...where are the new kids coming from? They can't all be runaways from the wastes who just happen to stumble upon this isolated, hard to find underground settlement, no?
Issues like Megaton being too small, I just chalk up to lack of technology/time. Cities in RPGs are never as big as they should be, because nobody actually wants to spend an hour walking from one end to the other. Even a town of a few thousand people can easily require an hour or more to walk end to end.
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