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Fallout 4


Armada

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My mind is still running with the possibilities of what the game will have, and what my hopes are that it will include.

Bethesda is a great developer, but they're far more accomplished on the side of general expansiveness and exploration, than they are that of intricacies and details. So when Todd Howard says that the game will be sprawling with skyscrapers and ruins that you can actually enter and explore, I believe him. One of my biggest complaints about the last game is that for what was supposed to be a desolate metropolis, it didn't feel like one. A metropolis that is, it was more than sufficiently desolate. But it was full of facades you couldn't enter, random rubble arbitrarily blocking your path, and a series of tunnels and subways and tunnels that lattice everything together in a confusing and unfulfilling manner.

It was more than acceptable for a game from 2008, but 7 years later I expect more, especially after Skyrim, and it seems they are intent on delivering. They also made a claim that the world is entirely open, and that there are no walled off areas hiding behind loading times and the such as well, which I'll be interested to see. You don't claim something like that unless you know that you've already made your game like that.

I think New Vegas' desert setting made it easier to deal with a sprawling setting, and it was easier to manage navigation, without being closed off. There was more around every turn, and the communities felt more interconnected. That with more tangible exploration and no loading times or closed areas will do wonders.

Another thing that failed Fallout 3 in comparison to other the other Fallout games, and even directly so against New Vegas, is the use of factions. There were only a handful of unique groups in fallout 3, and your interactions with them weren't so relevant as you maybe did one quest or none at all with them. In both games you showed up and manipulated fates, but in the third game they were small in scale, didn't require much interaction, and the results didn't permeate the world as often, or as thoroughly.
I know that karma plays the part that faction loyalties do in New Vegas, but it doesn't work to the same effect, and is often obstructive rather than constructive. They need faction presences to exist and playout in a similar manner in Fallout 4, in particular having factions that butt heads with one another.

From what I can see, they're presenting the story in a similar manner to Fallout 3, where your character has a personal story, and their essence/presence is strewn throughout the game. New Vegas on the other hand had a character who was more of a blank slate and a proxy for the player, who was just an agent for change in the world.

In this respect for Fallout 3, as a game that attempts to be more personable, being shaped too much like an Elder Scrolls game does hurt it. Though one thing that's evidently visible in Fallout 4 is the way they tackled that issue head on. Adding a spoken character and a new dialogue system is already a big step to improving things, and fleshing out the main character.

But to add to that they need further depth to the surrounding characters. More relevant relationships and interactions with a wider range of people.

The game already looks more fluid. From the gameplay, to the dialogue/character interaction, to the vibrancy of the world (it's not all piles of rocks seen through a green filter). Considering that this is all gameplay footage, and the game is near done development, it's brilliant. That new footage in that Concord town looks exactly like what I was hoping to see. Vacated towns that were still standing, and ready to engage with.

With regards to the story, I'll be interested to see where exactly they take it, as it looks like they already through the player through a bender by having them start pre-war and wake up 200 years after the fact. Through these basic clues it seems like they're trying to give that Fallout 3 like story that I was speaking of above, and again, seem better equipped to deal with it this time with the mechanics.

I believe the intention of taking the game to Boston revolves around the game battling the Institute, and dealing with androids and slavery that they brought up last game. I think the idea of android personhood is a bit contrived, and felt a bit out of place in Fallout 3. I mean my favourite movie is Blade Runner, so them trying something like that is welcome for sure, I just hope it's not so big that it takes over a big part of the game's experience. And on whatever scale it has to be done right, and if they don't do much more than build a historical slavery allegory out of it, I can't imagine it will work out well.

There's the Enclave as well, though it's hard to say in what capacity they will return to this game. They have to be to some degree, though I can't imagine it will be a featuring role again.

The Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 3 felt entirely disconnected from what they were supposed to be, even if they explained it away quite well with Lyons and the Outcasts and all that. I just want more old school, in your face and in your way, Brotherhood. They're definitely in the game from the trailers and the way you're facing them seems to be in the typically aggressive and historical sense. They were easy to like in Fallout 3, and I wouldn't mind if the Capital Wasteland's branch makes an appearance or factors in some way to the new game (it's not a stretch with Dr.Li, and Three Dog returning at the very least. There are likely others), but if they were it would have to be at odds with this new Commonwealth Brotherhood. That would be awesome.

I would prefer other parties getting an ancillary mention at the least, like The New California Republic. Logically their base of power would still be far out West, but they could have some presence in scouting or diplomatic means at the very least.

The element to the game I'm most looking forward to is the one I couldn't have predicted would exist over a month ago, and that is the city building/homesteading feature they showcased at E3. I really want to build towns, populate them with refugees, and take the whole saviour complex to another level. I mean while looking at all the ruin in the past game, it's always been frustrating not to be able to give that land a rebirth, and now it seems like its possible to give them them the infrastructure and leadership to make it happen.

One thing I hope for but don't expect is a variety to whom you could recruit to these towns. What I really want to see is things like rehabilitation for raiders and other otherwise violent or criminal parties. Where you're taming and re-civilizing the lands. Even if they're not full modern cities, these Megaton-lites that offer a haven for people.

But on top of allowing you to set up your city like a saviour, I hope it comes with some sort of option to set it up in a more evil manner, whether abusing and exploiting your settlers, or just straight up enslaving them. Not that I want to, but the freedom to do so would be cool, and it's hard to feel good about being a hero type when the villain option isn't there.

That all is hypothetical, but this is the most fun part to speculate on. It likely won't be that much more expansive than what they've already stated, but I like to imagine.

It sounds like I'm trashing a lot on Fallout 3 there, but that's not the intention. I love that game to bits. It's just that so many years later there's a lot to improve on, and they've set my expectations sky high by showing all they've done to improve on it already. Though I do definitely like New Vegas better than fallout 3, and they would be better served taking their Bethesda formula and even better integrating it into a true Fallout game like that one tried. Taking those games and improving upon with Mass Effect 1 and Witcher-like mechanics is what could make for a generationally defining experience.

So basically I'm sitting around and waiting for a showcase from Quakecon.

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I'm interested to see how open-world it really is. Considering that in the beginning you don't get told where to go, and you just choose where you want to start heading on your own.

But in the gameplays they have shown, they have you meeting your robot butler from before you went in the vault. I just makes me wonder if that's something that's going to happen to everyone, or if you can completely miss it.

I'm assuming though that going back to that home town is what most people will do, since you'll be running away from that town and into the vault before the bombs go off. So a lot of people's first instinct is to go back there when you get out.

I kind of would just like to turn in the opposite direction and see what happens, though.

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I'm interested to see how open-world it really is. Considering that in the beginning you don't get told where to go, and you just choose where you want to start heading on your own.

But in the gameplays they have shown, they have you meeting your robot butler from before you went in the vault. I just makes me wonder if that's something that's going to happen to everyone, or if you can completely miss it.

I'm assuming though that going back to that home town is what most people will do, since you'll be running away from that town and into the vault before the bombs go off. So a lot of people's first instinct is to go back there when you get out.

I kind of would just like to turn in the opposite direction and see what happens, though.

I'm sure you could. I mean even in Fallout 3, the first thing you're expected to do is turn right and head towards Megaton. But you can go wherever the hell you want, even straight to Vault 112 if you can manage it (on that note through, the tranquility lane mission is probably the worst part of the game. God that was awful, lol).

Though in Fallout 3, what exactly can you do if you do if you decide to avoid the story quest? Take other random side quests? I mean that's entirely reasonable for any RPG, but I like the idea that there could be more with Fallout 4. City building, defending, and potential relationship building. Marriage and Family building? I'd like to think that it's a given that those things will be in the game as well, and hopefully at a better level than Skyrim.

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No problem. I understand that I spent most of that post speaking simply about Fallout 3, but I figure there's a baseline to establish and work off of and improve on with this new game, and I'm going on what it seems like the developers have picked on. It seems like they picked at my mind, and came up solutions to a bunch of issues I had, and improvements to things I wasn't even expecting them to. It's just easy to get excited about it.

I just hope there's even more coming in the way of some of the possibilities I brought up.

I didn't really speak about the realtime combat, the enhanced weapon modification, or the new powersuits (with jetpacks), but that's stuff that pretty much speaks for itself. The combat fluidity comes in line with fluidity across the board, and seeing the fight with the Deathclaw play out was great. I like that they found a way to use all the junk you find, via building construction and weapon creation/modification. It's a very nice touch, that adds a lot to the game, without too much effort (the effort itself seems to be in just how varied these weapons can become. Though it's not too important to me for the same reason the power suits are not, because it's a feature I never use. I'm always dependent on medium armour, and weapons that I pick up off the ground. Jetpacks might change that.

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I'm sure you could. I mean even in Fallout 3, the first thing you're expected to do is turn right and head towards Megaton. But you can go wherever the hell you want, even straight to Vault 112 if you can manage it (on that note through, the tranquility lane mission is probably the worst part of the game. God that was awful, lol).

Though in Fallout 3, what exactly can you do if you do if you decide to avoid the story quest? Take other random side quests? I mean that's entirely reasonable for any RPG, but I like the idea that there could be more with Fallout 4. City building, defending, and potential relationship building. Marriage and Family building? I'd like to think that it's a given that those things will be in the game as well, and hopefully at a better level than Skyrim.

I think in Fallout 3 though, it gave you a waypoint to go to Megaton but you could just choose not to.

I'm hoping with Fallout 4, they don't even tell you where you should be going in the beginning even. Like I hope they don't even give you a waypoint, and you'll have to remember where the town is that you came from or something. Although, I'm assuming it's right near the vault.

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I think in Fallout 3 though, it gave you a waypoint to go to Megaton but you could just choose not to.

I'm hoping with Fallout 4, they don't even tell you where you should be going in the beginning even. Like I hope they don't even give you a waypoint, and you'll have to remember where the town is that you came from or something. Although, I'm assuming it's right near the vault.

I don't want to load up the game to just have to go through the beginning gain, but it all depends on where your active quest is telling you to go. I don't remember if it's default activated, but the first time I played the game it was deactivated for whatever reason, and I went through Springvale to Big Town, before circling back to Grey Ditch, while missing the massive structure that was supposed to be Megaton, and forgetting the game even had a main storyline I was supposed to be questing.

I don't know if this game will have quest markers to start off with, or if you have to stumble upon the main quest. That would be quite cool, but Bethesda loves it's quest markers so I don't think they'll shy away from them. Plus I'm sure they're worried about disorienting and confusing certain gamers by talking away all direction right off the bat.

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I don't want to load up the game to just have to go through the beginning gain, but it all depends on where your active quest is telling you to go. I don't remember if it's default activated, but the first time I played the game it was deactivated for whatever reason, and I went through Springvale to Big Town, before circling back to Grey Ditch, while missing the massive structure that was supposed to be Megaton, and forgetting the game even had a main storyline I was supposed to be questing.

I don't know if this game will have quest markers to start off with, or if you have to stumble upon the main quest. That would be quite cool, but Bethesda loves it's quest markers so I don't think they'll shy away from them. Plus I'm sure they're worried about disorienting and confusing certain gamers by talking away all direction right off the bat.

Yeah, I'm going to assume that there will be waypoint markers throughout the whole game, just like Skyrim. Skyrim was easy in that way where it told you where to go for everything. You wouldn't even have to read any books, just open them and your quest would be updated.

I always remember playing Morrowind and having to actually learn the information to finish quests. I don't expect that to be the case in Fallout 4 though.

The game seems so massive and interesting, especially with all the things you can build like you were saying. I'm glad they waited this long to announce it so close to release, because otherwise it would have been a year or more of a wait after they announced it like what usually happens with games.

I wish that was the case with all games. Announce it within a year of release.

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Yeah, I'm going to assume that there will be waypoint markers throughout the whole game, just like Skyrim. Skyrim was easy in that way where it told you where to go for everything. You wouldn't even have to read any books, just open them and your quest would be updated.

I always remember playing Morrowind and having to actually learn the information to finish quests. I don't expect that to be the case in Fallout 4 though.

The game seems so massive and interesting, especially with all the things you can build like you were saying. I'm glad they waited this long to announce it so close to release, because otherwise it would have been a year or more of a wait after they announced it like what usually happens with games.

I wish that was the case with all games. Announce it within a year of release.

I'm an avid adventure gamer so any use of intuition to get from point A to B, and strong puzzle solving is something I'd love to see. I think they want to give this game a wider demographic though.

Even so in Skyrim, I enjoyed reading the texts and letters when it wasn't needed. Hell, reading the random non-quest books you find was fun as well. I'm waiting for Lusty Argonian Maid Volume 3 to come out.

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With Bethesda games I usually get through 3 or 4 of the main quests then I just get side tracked with side quests and exploring, and next thing I know I've played over half the game without even getting into the main storyline. That's why I love Bethesda's games.

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I won't lie, I found Fallout 3 and New Vegas far too dense to really get into.

I much preferred the isometric 1 & 2.

I hope this game does to the Fallout series what Skyrim did to the Elder Scrolls.

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I won't lie, I found Fallout 3 and New Vegas far too dense to really get into.

I much preferred the isometric 1 & 2.

I hope this game does to the Fallout series what Skyrim did to the Elder Scrolls.

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I'm very happy with the release date. I was hoping they would announce it in 2014, so it would be in time for a 2015 release. So when they announced it in 2015, and were releasing it the same year, I was ecstatic.

November 10th. So fast. It already looks so amazing. Like the single greatest gaming experience of all time.

See, I was estatic.

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I won't lie, I found Fallout 3 and New Vegas far too dense to really get into.

I much preferred the isometric 1 & 2.

I hope this game does to the Fallout series what Skyrim did to the Elder Scrolls.

I love the old Fallout games, but I'm two ways about it. I prefer the tighter world building, and stronger player control from them. I struggle to really think of anything to compare to going to New Reno to become a porn star, and the such.

But I liked how Fallout 3 gave a different means to view and explore the same world. It was dense, but it was ripe to pick apart.

What I really appreciate is that Fallout 4 has a "Why not both?" approach to things.

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I honestly haven't watched any videos or reveals on Fallout 4 besides the small amount shown at Microsofts conference.

I already fully pre-ordered the game (something I don't normally do). Its Bethesda. Its Fallout. I already know its going to be amazing. Having mods on console will be awesome.

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From a gameplay standpoint it looks pretty amazing but from an RPG it's looking more like 3 than new vegas so far.

Only basing this on how your background seems set. You're a citizen of Boston, you're married, etc etc.Much like 3 where you you live a specific background in the prologue and while you can do some Fable like activities it's still linear. I prefer the vegas thing. How I came to be was up to me allowing me to make my characters as altruistic, pragmatic or insane as I choose without a nailed down storyline that forces me to be the hero.

Skyrim was much the same. You are the Dragonborn and while you have an open world you really are just screwing around till you do what you are supposed to. Not to mention each faction you join doesn't affect anything you do outside of it except some guard comments.

Vegas you had multiple paths and storylines. You could join the factions, betray the factions, murder the factions or ignore them in any of those orders. The game was clever enough for you to be able to finish it no atter how you played. 3/Skyrim made certain NPC's immortal instead to make sure you followed the rails. Vegas made everyone killable except children.

3 also made the game more like a Boy and his dog world where it was a scavenger game that had an economy (caps) for no real reason as no town had any kind of structure that made a money system workable. Would have just been smarter to have a barter system where food and medicine could be traded for weapons and ammo. Basically Fallout 3 treated the world like the bombs fell 20 years ago instead of the 200 years setting. Humans would rebuild after 200 years as better shown in New Vegas

This is not me pissing on any game. I ardored them all equally. Just some observations. I think 4 will be amazing but in a great Fallout 3 shooter game way and not a Vegas RPG way. The action will be open world but not the stories.

Biggest thing I am looking forward to is custom armor and guns.

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