Fallout 4 [PS4, PS5, XO, XBSX|S, PC, XGP]

Great critique of Fallout 4 by Noah Caldwell-Gervais

I liked his perspectives own previous fallout games but this perspective, even from only(!) having invested about 100 hours into Fallout 4 and not yet having completed any of the main faction quest lines, really demonstrates he's missed or overlooked some fundamental things. From this I can only conclude he went into the game absolutely cold and did not even having watch the S.P.E.C.I.A.L videos, which I think would have served him better and prepared him to make different build decisions early on.

For example he talks about having to invest four early levelling points to boost Strength to get the Strong Back perk, because carrying stuff is obviously key for wealth or crafting, but in the next breath dismisses the early armour crafting options as useless. If he'd looked more carefully he would have seen that if you want to boost carrying capacity early then then adding pockets to your gear is the easiest and fastest way to do this short of starting with a high Strength build and the materials are readily accessible to low level players.

He mentioned he had a high Intelligence, high Charm build and found it difficult, which is hardly surprising unless he was planning on charming Deathclaws or challenging them to a nice game of chess. High Intelligence and Charm builds have always been a harder choice in modern Fallout games because fundamentally, there is generally a fair amount of combat and neither Intelligence or Charm help combat nor stealth, which is what you need if you're planning to avoid or minimise combat.

But his simplified explanations of S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats (e.g. Luck is for VATS, Perception is for targeting, Agility for Action Points, Charisma is for Caps etc) suggests he's not really conscious of the wider impact of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L beyond the headline mechanics. He also suggests the Luck perk Idiot Savant and low Intelligence as an alternative to average or high Intelligence but I believe early testing has demonstrated that the random experience boosts given by the perk are no substitute for more Intelligence over the long haul so this is also a tougher/slower way to play the game.

He mentions not realising early on that a microscope is more valuable than a hunting rifle. The caps and component breakdowns are visible in the inventory screen and knowing which components are used in which type of mods is a case of applied sense (it's fairly logical for the most part) or just looking at crafting recipes which are visible from the get go. So him not know is really a case of him not checking.

And wackily, judging by the video at least, he doesn't seem to know that you can move around the environment with the workshop mode active. He moves somewhere, engages workshop, places something, exits workshop mode, moves somewhere else, engages workshop mode, rinse repeat. No wonder he found it hard work! But he's not wrong about the poor explanation of most settlement mechanics.

First impressions are always interesting but I'll be interesting hearing his impressions after a few more play throughs. Plus 60 hours he invested, he's barely scratched the surface of this game. Evidenced by his claim that there's only one Intelligence level check - I've encountered more than that and I'm a long way from completion although it's fair to say there seem to be far less non-Charm skill checks through the game which is a little disappointing.
 
So I was in Diamond City taking care of some business when suddenly a Triggerman started taking shots at me. I have no idea who they are or what quests set them off, but I didnt want to attack back just in case this was some kind of bug. So I tried to get Diamond City Security involved by walking near them and they wouldn't attack back. So I tried to lure the Triggerman so while shooting me he would also hit the security guard, but all the guard would say is "I don't see anything."

Comical. Kinda.

 
I don't think so.

The triggermen showed up way before I encountered the gangsters in the vault. Not to mention we parted ways on friendly terms. Did you do the quest for the jealous husband (with the barkeeper)? I'm pretty sure the reason for why the triggermen showed up is because you've killed a certain someone during that quest. Eventually their boss will come into the picture as well.
 
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Skip the first 10 seconds with the mission description to avoid spoilers. Basically I turned into a semi bad guy at the end :)
 
I've begun ploughing through the main story full on now. I've got my head chip and I'm ready to build the magic-travel-through-the-air-travel-device and I'm trying to decide which faction to assist in construction which will presumably also steer which faction I'll be working with down the line.

I have to say that I'm really really apathetic about the Minute Men. Noble cause to be sure but they think too small and really don't have the resources to help the Commonwealth. Ditto the Railroad. I've really quite enjoyed being part of a small secret underground movement and helping a few Gen 3 synths become free has felt great but they also lack the infrastructure to really turn the Commonwealth around. Which basically leaves the Brotherhood who are a bit OTT when it comes to supernatants and ghouls. I've never seen them hostile towards non-feral though so bizarrely I find myself thinking they are the better hope. They fly around in their vertibirds taking out dangerous things and they sure do have a lot of resources.

Jesus. Am I really about to throw in with the Brotherhood? :runaway:
 
Ok so I'm giving away 3 copies of y{Fallout 4}y (PC, XBO, PS4). If you're interested go here:
, if not, that's cool too.

For those of you on the fence, now's your chance! Trying to have fun with this. :)
 
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BETHESDA.NET - DLC ANNOUNCED

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Fallout 4 Add-Ons – Automatron, Wasteland Workshop, Far Harbor and More

Since Fallout 4 launched, we’ve been blown away by your support for the game. It stands as our most successful title ever and that couldn’t have happened without you. It’s been truly inspiring, the stories, images and experiences that you’ve created. And now it’s time to share with you some of what we’ve been creating – our first series of add-ons: Automatron, Wasteland Workshop and Far Harbor.
Automatron
Price: $9.99 USD | £7.99 GBP | $16.95 AUD
Release: March 2016​

The mysterious Mechanist has unleashed a horde of evil robots into the Commonwealth, including the devious Robobrain. Hunt them down and harvest their parts to build and mod your own custom robot companions. Choose from hundreds of mods; mixing limbs, armor, abilities, and weapons like the all-new lightning chain gun. Even customize their paint schemes and choose their voices!
Wasteland Workshop
Price: $4.99 USD | £3.99 GBP | $7.95 AUD
Release: April 2016​

With the Wasteland Workshop, design and set cages to capture live creatures – from raiders to Deathclaws! Tame them or have them face off in battle, even against your fellow settlers. The Wasteland Workshop also includes a suite of new design options for your settlements like nixi tube lighting, letter kits, taxidermy and more!
Far Harbor
Price: $24.99 USD | £19.99 GBP | $39.95 AUD
Release: May 2016​

A new case from Valentine’s Detective Agency leads you on a search for a young woman and a secret colony of synths. Travel off the coast of Maine to the mysterious island of Far Harbor, where higher levels of radiation have created a more feral world. Navigate through the growing conflict between the synths, the Children of Atom, and the local townspeople. Will you work towards bringing peace to Far Harbor, and at what cost? Far Harbor features the largest landmass for an add-on that we’ve ever created, filled with new faction quests, settlements, lethal creatures and dungeons. Become more powerful with new, higher-level armor and weapons. The choices are all yours.
And more important, that this is only the beginning. We have plans for more. More than $60 worth of new Fallout adventures and features throughout 2016.

Given the expanded DLC plan, the price of the season pass will increase from the current $29.99 to $49.99 USD (£24.99 to £39.99 GBP; $49.95 to $79.95 AUD) on March 1, 2016. However, if you already purchased the season pass for $29.99, nothing changes - you still get everything at no additional cost— the full $60 offering of add-on content for the original price of $29.99. In addition, if you didn’t buy the season pass yet, there is still time: anyone who buys the Season Pass for $29.99 before March 1st will get all $60 worth of content. This is our way of saying thanks to all our loyal fans who have believed in us and supported us over the years.

Want a chance to play these add-ons early? We’ll be running closed betas for each of the add-ons for consoles and PC. And you can sign up right now on Bethesda.net. In order to apply, you’ll need to create a registered Bethesda.net account. We’ll be selecting applicants in the upcoming weeks. Players accepted into the beta will receive a code to redeem the content. The beta is the full version (complete with achievements) and those participating will not have to purchase the add-on.
Beyond add-ons, we’ll continue to offer free updates to the game, including new features like the recent weapon debris for PC, and increased draw distances for consoles, as well as more optimizations to gameplay and quests. And something that we’re really excited about, a complete overhaul of Survival Mode that changes how you play the whole game: food, sleep, diseases, danger and more.

We’re also hard at work on the Creation Kit, which will allow you to create and play mods absolutely free. We’re currently testing both Survival Mode and the Creation Kit now, and more details will be forthcoming.

Thanks again for your continued support of Fallout 4. We can’t wait for you to play more!​
 
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So I went back to the game and finished the story, and boy was it much shorter than I expected, but what a whimper of an end :rolleyes: ! PAthetic end, experienced two fo them and both were bland boring and meaningless ends :( ! I felt nothing, literally nothing by it.

Totally saddened me.
 
Same here. But hey, as much as the destination may have sucked, the journey was pretty damn entertaining. Glad they're retooling the survival difficulty. It's just a bummer that unlike in, lets say, Fallout New Vegas, the lack of actual role playing will still make for an awfully similar experience. At least from a narrative point of view.
 
I don't think any of the endings feeling particularly satisfying. The Brotherhood campaign is pretty kick arse though but they have a lot of firepower. And use it. BOOM.

It's better than Fallout 3 though, before the DLC you died at the end!
 
I killed the Brotherhood cos because of their power armours they atleast made for a fun enemy. Nothing in the game campaign makes u fear it at all. Railroad and Institute are no fun to fight at all.


And agree, the game still is fun in its own way and I just spent a whole night liberating Camps and exploring after the end and it was all good fun. In fact I am considering getting the season pass, as side stories ave been fie all along,but the campaign was really bad. I am jut torn that I will be playing the Witcher DLC rather than FO4 DLC, on release. But the fact that the season pass will go pricier within a few days makes me want to buy it and keep it tucked around safely.
 
So I went back to the game and finished the story, and boy was it much shorter than I expected, but what a whimper of an end :rolleyes: ! PAthetic end, experienced two fo them and both were bland boring and meaningless ends :( ! I felt nothing, literally nothing by it.

Totally saddened me.
Do I have to start a new game for survival difficulty? or ca I just change it to survival and keep my unlocks in the current game?
also, does it have New Game +?
 
Ok so difficulty can be changed simply from the menu. I think I will go back to an old save and do all the Brotherhood missions on Very Hard and see how it feels. Starting a new game will take me too back in terms of perks.
Now lets see if i have any old game save where I haven't yet locked out the Brotherhood missions.
 
Starting over really does restore the challenge and you can make better perk choices so you suck less initially.

I can't recall a Bethesda game where the challenge didn't fade after a while and Fallout 4 doesn't change that. It is a complicated game balance mechanic to get right and all the harder in an open world game where the player can progress at an predictable speed.
 
It's not impossible to get right, though. You just have to be willing to stump or outright waste the player if he ventures where he probably shouldn't. Since inconveniencing the player is something most AAA devs are terrified of, it's just rarely ever going to happen.
 
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