The Obligatory Fallout 4 Thread

[Quintessence]

Fallout 4. It's coming.

When the next generation consoles came out, I didn't care because. I said "meh, until Bethesda comes out with the nest Elder Scrolls or Fallout game, not going to buy." I don't usually have a worshipful attitude towards corporations, but I do with Bethesda. Not only do they not use sleazy DLC schemes like everyone and their dog seems to nowadays, but they develop the sorts of game that a true role-player and bard just loves. And while I'm annoyed and disappointed about the voice-over on the main character, I think I can overlook that fault given what else this title is supposed to bring to the table.

Eleven days. After which time, I will quit my job and not leave my house for a month.

(okay, not really... but if I could... )

What are you looking forward to with this game? What are you concerned about? Any news you've heard that you want to share (please use spoiler tags where necessary, especially after it comes out)?

ELEVEN DAYS IS TOO LONG TO WAIT, BLAST IT! (and it'll be longer than that for me, because I need to order the console first, and I can't quite justify paying for super fast shipping)

 

[Laika]

I'm not a gamer, but I certianly like the idea of a 1950's "retrofuturism" as wikipedia puts it.

 

[Riverwolf]

Eh, the Fallout games never really interested me. They're good games, yes, but I'm probably one of the few that's not losing sleep in anticipation of Fallout 4.

 

[Erebus]

Loving the game so far. I have a stealth combat knife that I named "Friendship".

 

[Quintessence]

I don't have it yet. I'm being impatiently patient for a console deal.

It's annoying that they ran a bunch of great console deals last week, before the release of the bundle I wanted. That's probably why they ran them, though. Oh well. We'll see what the turnover in the ads brings for Sunday.

 

[Erebus]

For the vast majority of games I wait for a good deal. Sometimes I'll wait years before picking up a game. The Fallout and Elder Scrolls series (if we exclude Elder Scrolls online) are the exceptions to that rule. I payed full price for Skyrim and feel like I got every bit of my money's worth. So far, Fallout 4 looks to be shaping up the same way.

I do have a couple of nitpicks with it. Firstly, the perk system is presented as loads of little pictures, which means that at first glance it isn't always obvious what the perk is for without clicking on it.
Secondly, while it's nice to have a voice-acted character, it does make it a bit tougher to role-play. The voice itself conveys a certain personality and coupled with the (admittedly awesome) intro sequence, I have a tough time believing certain ways of playing the character. Compare this to New Vegas where your history is enigmatic and your dialogue isn't voiced. The New Vegas protagonist could be a good-natured humanitarian, an emotionless killer, a chem addict or anything else. Each of those felt appropriate for a character who is essentially a blank slate.

Those niggles are overshadowed pretty quickly though. I won't give any spoilers, but certain parts of the game have a lovely Noir feel to them.

 

[Quintessence]

Yeah, voice-over characters is a change that I find disappointing as well. I get that most mainstream RPGs of that sort have them now, but true RPGs in my book never have them (like Baldur's Gate, Pillars of Eternity, etc.). It leaves room for your own imagination, which lets you develop your character as you want to. But there are enough new additions that it'll likely make up for that when I play it. Namely, the new crafting system and settlement system. Considering my default/favorite character right now is an eccentric inventor, that will seriously beef up what I can do with that.

 

[Erebus]

I was actually very surprised by the crafting system. At first I thought it would be something I'd never bother with. Why plant crops when there are raiders to stab?
As it turns out, I ended up getting pretty into it. Obviously I started with weapon crafting. I've always liked having the ability to give weapons joke names, hence my knife "friendship" and my serrated sword "problem solver". Since I had tons of resources I wasn't actually using, I figured I'd try adding a few bits and pieces to a settlement. It has that minecraft quality in that you fail to realise how long you've actually spent building your own own shanty town.

 

[Quintessence]

OMFG you can name your own weapons?! Seriously?! I guess my brain didn't quite process that before with your earlier comment.

Yay! I love naming my inventor's weapons odd things. There probably isn't electric damage in the new game, but I'm still going to create an energy weapon named "Shocking, isn't it?"

 

[Erebus]

OMFG you can name your own weapons?! Seriously?! I guess my brain didn't quite process that before with your earlier comment.

Yay! I love naming my inventor's weapons odd things. There probably isn't electric damage in the new game, but I'm still going to create an energy weapon named "Shocking, isn't it?"

Yep, you can name weapons and armour You can even rename unique items.

I don't know how widespread it is, since I mostly focus on melee, but one sword upgrade is "electrified, serrated blade." As far as I can tell, electrical damage falls under the category of "energy damage" though. Weapon and armour upgrades in general seem to be pretty in depth, so if that's your thing I reckon you'll enjoy it. It does take perks to open up a lot of the options though, so it can be a tough call on which ones to take.

Also, if you're like me and find that companions just get in the way, there is a "lone wanderer" perk. There are three levels to it and each increases your carry limit while reducing incoming damage. Very handy for sneaky characters.

If you're more into a direct approach, power armour's had a massive overhaul. Again, the level of customisation for power armour is pretty staggering.

 

[Quintessence]

Whether or not I have a companion will depend on the companions. I loved Arcade Gannon to pieces in New Vegas. And if there's a robot follower, obviously I have to have one of those.

I'm hoping you're not forced to have the dog, though.

 

[Erebus]

You don't have to have the dog for the most part. I have come across one mission where you need him, but you can dismiss him again once it's done.

As for robot companions ... I can't really say much without spoiling

 

[Quintessence]

Do you at least get the cute robot butler Mr. Handy as an option? I remember him from trailer stuff.

British accents = win. I want my protagonist to have a British accent, but I know it won't.

 

[Erebus]

Do you at least get the cute robot butler Mr. Handy as an option? I remember him from trailer stuff.

British accents = win. I want my protagonist to have a British accent, but I know it won't.

You do get him as an option, yes

If there's an option to change your accent, I missed it. As far as I can tell, there's only one male and one female voice.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

OMFG you can name your own weapons?! Seriously?! I guess my brain didn't quite process that before with your earlier comment.

Yay! I love naming my inventor's weapons odd things. There probably isn't electric damage in the new game, but I'm still going to create an energy weapon named "Shocking, isn't it?"

I don't think you'd consider this a spoiler...but I just managed to procure a couple of shock batons in the game. Sounds about what you're looking for...

 

[Quintessence]

Woo, I can have a butler! Having one's shirts properly mended and pressed is a must, after all.

I don't think you'd consider this a spoiler...but I just managed to procure a couple of shock batons in the game. Sounds about what you're looking for...

Yeah, those were in the older games, so not really a spoiler. Melee weapons aren't really this particular character's thing, but if he has to use them, it's something like that. Or the sweet protonic inversal axe from New Vegas because of it's hi-tech goodness. Please tell me they brought back tesla cannons. They're ridiculous and impractical, but I love them.

 

[1137]

I might get it, especially if they fixed the VATS system to not be useless. But Bethesda just doesn't seem to try with Fallout, in my opinion. Every location is expected to be nuclear, sure, but they're identical. The only difference I remember in fallout 3 was buildings in the city.

 

[Erebus]

I might get it, especially if they fixed the VATS system to not be useless. But Bethesda just doesn't seem to try with Fallout, in my opinion. Every location is expected to be nuclear, sure, but they're identical. The only difference I remember in fallout 3 was buildings in the city.

This might be a disappointment, but I've found that I use VATS less than in previous games. For me it's pretty much used to check if there are any grey-brown enemies among the grey-brown rubble.

As for the environments, there does seem to be more variety than previous games so far. Obviously everything has that classic "demolished by nuclear war" look, but there are bits of forest and swamp among the ruins.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Woo, I can have a butler! Having one's shirts properly mended and pressed is a must, after all.



Yeah, those were in the older games, so not really a spoiler. Melee weapons aren't really this particular character's thing, but if he has to use them, it's something like that. Or the sweet protonic inversal axe from New Vegas because of it's hi-tech goodness. Please tell me they brought back tesla cannons. They're ridiculous and impractical, but I love them.

I won't give anything more away. But the weapon modification system is pretty sweet. It not only effects how weapons work, but also how they LOOK.

 

[Quintessence]

I might get it, especially if they fixed the VATS system to not be useless. But Bethesda just doesn't seem to try with Fallout, in my opinion. Every location is expected to be nuclear, sure, but they're identical. The only difference I remember in fallout 3 was buildings in the city.

You felt VATS was useless before? Man, I sure didn't. VATS was broken in Fallout 3 and basically made you invincible if you built around it. They toned it down for NV because of that, but it still was pretty darned powerful if you built yourself to take advantage of it.

Personally, I think it makes a lot of sense that locations look similar. I mean, look at the world we live in. There isn't all that much variety in our world. Look at your typical American suburb. All the houses look the same. Considering the Fallout universe is basically a nod to the cookie-cutter idealized suburban American dream gone wrong, I think it makes sense.