Poll: The F4 Survey | So is Fallout 4 looking like a great title? | Part 1 of 2

[sky pies]

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I am going to split this thread into two - one guaging the people who are playing the game, and another in a week or two that guages people who have completed the game and have an opinion on it.

How is Fallout 4 shaping up?

How is it looking compared to F3? How does it feel compared for F1 and 2? What about things it takes from New Vegas?

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I've been on game forums for a while and back around the turn of the decade many people seemed to think Fallout 3 was one of the great games. They also liked games like Portal and Dragon Age a lot. It seems now with hindsight that people don't really feel that way anymore, at least not to the extent they used to. I want to try and apply the lessons of hindsight to this contemporary situation.

I want to try and chart Fallout 4's rise to the top of the pile in the popular consciousnesses. Otherwise, I want to track it's flop and failure - if that is the way the cookie will ultimately crumble.

I'm looking for First Impressions, Gameplay Observations, and comparisons to the previous titles. And of course personal reflections.

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[HEADING=3]Have you not played F4 yet? Why not? Do you plan to?[/HEADING]

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

It feels kinda like another game. It doesn't feel like Fallout at all in fact.
Everything is just wrong. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it. It just isn't Fallout in a sense.

It's kind of hard to properly express, but it's essentially wrong.

 

[Barbas]

I'm amazed at how much they've stepped up their game with this one. Every aspect seems improved over the last one, from the looting to the crafting and the enemy spawns to the aesthetic.

 

[sky pies]

I'm amazed at how much they've stepped up their game with this one. Every aspect seems improved over the last one, from the looting to the crafting and the enemy spawns to the aesthetic.

How do you relate to what was said in post #2?

 

[distortedreality]

Haven't played it yet.

Grabbed a boxed PC version on release day after it looked like the bugs weren't too bad, brought it home, started to install it, and it only installs about 5 gig or so from the DVD and decides to download the rest. Not a huge issue....

I stopped it for the night with about an hour or so to go, thought I'd boot it up when I got home tonight, download the rest and play for a bit. Steam decides to start the whole download again.

Tried to reinstall from the disc but it's done the same thing, so am just going to let it download over night, might get a chance to play it tomorrow.

My opinion on Portal hasn't changed btw - it's still excellent.

 

[Casual Shinji]

At the moment I have two major problems with the game;

1) You fill up on loot crazy fast. I got overencumbered within like the first 45 minutes of playing, and there's no longer a repair mechanic to off-load some of your similar items. The game also has armor now for your individual limbs, which adds even more to your inventory. And there's barely a shop anywhere so I just dump everything in the workbenches. Looting is more annoying now because you just fill up on stuff so frikking fast, even with a companion as a packing mule.

2) The settlement construction. I fucking hate it. I'm on a mission now where I'm tasked to clear out a certain area of ghouls and then place a transmitter to let settlers know the place is safe for them to set up camp. So I get rid of the ghouls easily enough, but then I have to build the transmitter... Ugh. It already took a while for me to actually find it within the cluttered construction menu, but then as I built it and placed it down I'm told I need to build a generator to supply power. Annoying, but fair, I guess. So I built a generator, and am then told to hook up the wire from the generator to the transmitter. At this point I'm seriously losing my patience. But I'm like, 'FINE, let's just grab that wire from the generator' as I'm assuming this generator comes with a built-in power cord. But guess what... I don't have enough copper to make a power cord. FUCK YOU, GAME!

At this point it sorta just feels like Fallout 3 with better graphics and shooting mechanics, and a crap inventory and some unnecessary base management. Also, really lazy to just lift the track list straight from Fallout 3, Bethesda.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

1) You fill up on loot crazy fast. I got overencumbered within like the first 45 minutes of playing, and there's no longer a repair mechanic to off-load some of your similar items. The game also has armor now for your individual limbs, which adds even more to your inventory. And there's barely a shop anywhere so I just dump everything in the workbenches. Looting is more annoying now because you just fill up on stuff so frikking fast, even with a companion as a packing mule.

This is a serious detractor for me too. Maybe I'll see more shops once I actually get to the major settlements, but so far the lack of traders is disturbing. I also found that getting the Int-perk that allows you to scavenge uncommon materials from items you dismantle was a boon for my encumbrance. Since most combat areas have at least one weapon bench I just turn every weapon I don't need into those oh-so-precious screws and springs now. As an added benefit I can then get even cooler weapon mods.

 

[sky pies]

At this point it sorta just feels like Fallout 3 with better graphics and shooting mechanics, and a crap inventory and some unnecessary base management. Also, really lazy to just lift the track list straight from Fallout 3, Bethesda.

How called for do you think the game actually was?

Like, what are you playing the game for? The set-pieces? Memorable enemies? Nuclear Intrigue? Does F4 bring much new to the table?

Here's something I always want to ask people who play the Fallout series, and which reflects perhaps the reasons for my not having played the games so often: How much juice can they squeeze out of a dreary post-apocalyptic landscape? Is there much story left to be told? Is it in a new area of the States to the last game?

These are the things that make me second guess any thoughts of buying the game.

What you said in your comment about it just being F3 with better graphics is again part of the reason I haven't invested in this game yet: I kind of had my fill of the landscape during my unfinished playthrough of F3, I got tired when I felt I had explored pretty much the most interesting part of the map and hardly got anything out of it. I didn't want to do the quests in the aircraft carrier (or whatever it was) because I just didn't feel like rabbiting around a dreary environment for hours on end, and the same applied for pretty much everything else. I think I had recently finished viewing 'The Road' when I played that game so I was pretty into the whole 'vicious post apocalyptic future' vibe, but even that wasn't enough to really keep me hooked.

 

[pookie101]

im missing skills and the effect they had on things and dialogue but enjoying the fiddly ass construction system. although it did took me a good few hours to figure out how to assign people to jobs.

best start ive seen in a fallout game really brought things home

creatures are faster and more agile.. freaking HATE mole rats and ghouls now, in previous games they were just target practice now they are dangerous

all up im really enjoying it

cities so far feel better to although still suffering from fallout most everything is boarded up

 

[Barbas]

How do you relate to what was said in post #2?

Not sure. I think the game's gone further from the original design with this iteration, which is what has divided opinion on it, but after two games with both FPS and RPG mechanics I'm not sure why. Personally (and this is not talking about post 2 here), I think that the more limited dialogue options are seen as the biggest indicator of the series being "dumbed down" in the opinion of some pre-Bethesda fans, but the hype surrounding the game is also a big factor - where there is great hype, there will be backlash and I think some of those fans honestly just don't like Bethesda or the success that they're having with what they see as their own series.

I'd say that it'd certainly be a big change for someone who hasn't played either Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas, since they'd be coming into an FPS from an isometric turn-based shooter. For anyone who has played the FPS iterations, though, it's basically like the third game but with much more thought and effort put into it. It surprised me with its enemies dodging attacks and lying in wait to launch ambushes, as well as packing some seriously deadly firepower.

The gunplay was never really a strong part of Fallout 3 or New Vegas in my opinion - it was clunky and objects you hit didn't feel like they had a lot of weight to them. While there are some glitches that result in flying bodies in Fallout 4, I'd have to say that weapons feel like they pack a real punch for the first time in the series and enemies give meaningful feedback with the way they stagger or flinch. You can take their arms off and not kill some of them as well, which is terrifying.

The protagonist's speech was previously unvoiced before Fallout 4, which is another big change, but I think it really pays off with better voice acting for every NPC I've heard so far. The facial motion capture is a bit off, with audio sometimes being out of sync, but I have not had my precious immersion broken. It looks different to the previous games, no doubt about that - it's not only more colourful, but more detailed - so it takes some time to get re-acclimatized.

 

[Barbas]

(Snip).

I wish I'd seen this before posting. I was wandering around the ruins of some town I forget the name of and it was like the opening scene of 28 Days Later - the whole opening scene. I wandered up to a ruined flyover and about five ghouls spilled and crawl out of it, saw me, froze for a second and then sprinted like the blazes toward me while hissing and screaming, torn rags flapping, long necks and tendril-like arms whipping in the wind. I think I remember shouting something along the lines of "OOOHHH, FUCK NOOOOO!", but in a good way. I managed to win that fight, but I like to think a part of the protagonist's pre-war innocence curled into a ball and died.

 

[tacotrainwreck]

I haven't played. All of the advertised features and review points pretty much compound into a game I wouldn't be interested in, so I'm gonna be skipping this one. No bad blood here. Life goes on.

 

[FalloutJack]

As I stated in another thread, I'm giving time to allow launch-time bugs to be fixed first, if any there are. Fallout has always had some, even though it is a most-lovable series to behold. However...I have heard a fair deal from my girlfriend.

I've seen the new Deathclaws...

Scarred for life AGAIN!

Strangely, she recommends that I don't make Jack as my character for this, and cannot explain why... Arrangements are being made, though, and soon I will have the game in question.

 

[Barbas]

(Snip).

Darn. I wish I'd seen this too. The help sub-section in the main menu will not get you very far, being more like a series of tool-tips than a comprehensive encyclopaedia, but it's very helpful to remember the following for crafting: in areas that you can loot for scrap or build settlements, you'll usually find a workbench, chem station, weapon workstation, armour workstation or whatever. Go up to one and press the button to transfer goods, then drop all your junk into it. I believe that it'll stay in the workshop system in that particular area if you've unlocked it for use (this may possibly be achieved by clearing the area of hostiles to make it safe for residence, or by allying yourself with the natives), but once it's unlocked (and again, not entirely sure), it should be connected to your other workshops, meaning that any connected workshop you visit in the network shares your junk conveniently in a global pool. Just dump that stuff in the workshop and it'll automatically be used for components whenever you want to make something that requires a certain component.

Even if that's not right, at the very least you should be able to make a container to store it in or find one to store it in, then fast-travel back to that location. Pipe guns are cheap, plentiful and are worth little more than the wood and steel they're made of. Much of the stuff ordinary raiders wear is similarly low-value (caps-wise), meaning you may as well drop them too.

Also, if you're looking for a certain component (copper seems to be the big ************ ATM), bring it up in any menu and flag it for search. When you encounter junk in your travels, it'll be marked with a magnifying glass icon next to the name, indicating that the junk contains copper. Hint: fuses, light bulbs, hot plates and heat/electricity-conducting shit. The Corvega car plant has some, but as part of a quest it's guarded by a multitude of bandits with turrets (loot these!) and searchlights (shoot these!).

The system's a bit overwhelming at first, but I think it makes sense once you start getting experience in. In my experience, components exist where you'd expect them to be, pre-war shortages notwithstanding.

 

[Barbas]

(Snip).

Oh, you haven't seen all the deathclaws...there are so very many ways to die in the wasteland, Jack!

 

[FalloutJack]

(Snip).

Oh, you haven't seen all the deathclaws...there are so very many ways to die in the wasteland, Jack!

Neither has she, but all I can say is I'm surprised there isn't a return of the cyberclaws and the frigging giant on the list. (What I have heard going to make poor Jack sooo worried...)

 

[Barbas]

Neither has she, but all I can say is I'm surprised there isn't a return of the cyberclaws and the frigging giant on the list. (What I have heard going to make poor Jack sooo worried...)

Tell her that, if I heard right that one time, you can identify an incoming Fat Man bombardment by the whistle it makes as it travels through the air. That should increase her life expectancy at least long enough to run up and pistol-whip the offender.

That's another thing I dig in this game: the improved audio and visual cues. When someone's taking shots at you with an SMG, boy do you know about it.

 

[FalloutJack]

Neither has she, but all I can say is I'm surprised there isn't a return of the cyberclaws and the frigging giant on the list. (What I have heard going to make poor Jack sooo worried...)

Tell her that, if I heard right that one time, you can identify an incoming Fat Man bombardment by the whistle it makes as it travels through the air. That should increase her life expectancy at least long enough to run up and pistol-whip the offender.

That's another thing I dig in this game: the improved audio and visual cues. When someone's taking shots at you with an SMG, boy do you know about it.

Sounds more and more like the terrible things soldiers have nightmares about. Which means...heh...war never changes.

 

[SpeedyPineapple]

I've played for a few hours, and I feel like its a mix of stuff that's better and stuff that's worse.

BETTER
The voiced protagonist, while it doesn't really add much in the long run, is a nice touch.
The base construction is kind of stupid and I love it. I'm building myself a tower to lord over the people in.
Looks better in general, due in no small part to the lack of filter.
You get a lot of big weapons real quick, so it's a little faster overall.
A lot of the new important story elements are pretty interesting.
BUT
Some of it is a little unclear. I'm still not entirely sure how to get electricity working in my settlement.
I haven't seen too many actual towns. I've only seen one thing so far that would resemble a "shop" and not just a trader. Maybe I'm lost
I do kind of miss the skills. Did not think I would, but leveling up doesn't have the same celebration anymore.

I haven't played enough to figure whether or not I like it better than New Vegas, but I'm enjoying myself nonetheless.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'll say what I said in a different thread:

I spent about 3-ish hours in Sanctuary just clearing up car wrecks, fixing white picket fences and making sure everyone has neat little patios and living rooms while listening to the new Classical radio station.


The new dialogue system sort of pisses me off though and it really needs some performance-increasing patches.

But next to that, in all honesty, the game does need quite a bit of work. It improved in a lot of ways, took a step back in a few and added plenty of cool new shit. But the performance across the board is terrible for a game with this kind of graphical fidelity and I am genuinely bummed out by my character being a lot more fixed in terms of roleplaying. If I pick "No" I don't have any control over what kind of "No" I say. Especially New Vegas gave me a lot more options in that regard and I'm sad to see Bethesda didn't want to take any queues from Obsidian. Come on Bethesda, those guys are ex-Interplay. They know their Fallout shit.

Now, the dialogue stuff probably can't be really fixed. But the performance? Yeah that needs work. I'd also like to see a lot more content in the base building stuff. There's not even two-person beds! And I really don't want my townspeople to be stuck in houses with roofs that leaky.