[Megathread] Fallout 76

[Guy4123]

Just watched the Documentary. Knowing more definitely helps me understand the game better. I can see myself playing this game with friends and having a good time. Not too crazy about the survival stuff such as needing to eat to stay alive, but it's ok.

A new concern I have, is they said that you start the game and are put in a server with up to 24-30 people. If I want to play with my friends, but I was the 30th person to join that server, how will my friends join if it is full? Does that mean we have to discuss with each other to see which of us have enough room on our server for 3 more players?

Which is exactly why they should have private servers at launch. Not afterward.

But, eh! we'll see how it truly fleshes out.

I'm assuming you can create a party of sorts and it will migrate you all to a server that has enough spots for the entire group.

[VyersReaver]

So Private Servers and mods Post Launch

I am going off-topic a bit, but I just don't understand why people hate on Todd so much. He's such a likable guy.

[Kathandira]

I'm assuming you can create a party of sorts and it will migrate you all to a server that has enough spots for the entire group.

I would be 100% cool with that.

[GennGreymane]

I am going off-topic a bit, but I just don't understand why people hate on Todd so much. He's such a likable guy.

I dont see too much hate unless you go into the much older elder scrolls community since Todd is attributed to the more power fantasy elements of the protags

most of the fans just meme him cause its fun

[Yseraboy]

. And if a player's doing it on purpose, you can kill them. That's totally an option. Or just go somewhere they aren't; they've said you can see where other players are on the map.

I really think people are thinking this is going to be heavy PvP, when I suspect it's going to turn more into co-op and cautious friendliness. With the occasional asstard ganker being handed his ass on a pretty china plate by the server for being a problem.

None of that makes me feel any better about it.

I got spoiled in WoW by playing on a PvE server i.e. "Care Bear", and so PvP was either in designated areas, or you voluntarily "flagged" yourself for PvP. And ganking was officially tolerated because it was always against the other Faction, and so don't flag yourself - or play on a PvP server - if you don't want to be involved in combat with other players.

1. I can only kill them if they are not OP to me. Most ganking is done by people with significantly stronger characters than the ones they are making life hell for. It is not an accident that WoW has heavily-guarded, physically isolated starter areas for each of the races.

I predict that a Wanted bounty will be bragging rights for some of these clowns, similar to how Aion had (has?, its been years) ranking ladders to let the opposing side know who was worth the most points in PvP.

Getting their ass handed to them will just be a "ladder reset" - if they lose no gear/XP - and server reputation is just another incentive when you can have multiple characters on each server, and only play your notorious character when you want to let your asshat flag fly.

2. If I can see them on the map, then they can see me on the map. Why would I want to spend my gaming time trying to avoid some asshat(s) who are actively looking for someone to mess with?

3. Co-op works both ways. The game doesn't have to include a Raider faction if one or more can be formed organically by like-minded players. Again, it doesn't have to be their main character, or something they do frequently, but it will still be sand in my shorts when it does occur.

EDIT to add: I'm curious if the Bounty will be gamed by players, like the win-trading in the Star Wars online game. Have friend's badass character build-up a rep, then just stand there and let you kill them for the bounty. Then you get on your badass and build a bounty for them to collect on. Should be interesting to see if that becomes a thing. And if players can trade/share between characters, it could just be one character getting killed - over and over again - and splitting the loot between the participants.

Damn, they wouldn't even need to involve others outside the group. They could just let the badass character(s) pwn them - over and over again - and then get the easy kill for the cash. Lather-rinse-repeat.

[SavoirFaire]

They didn't "boast" that. Todd Howard specifically clarified that there were myriad sources of quests in the world; robots, locations, terminals, etc. There are NPCs, just not human NPCs.

Seriously, I don't know where you folks get this stuff.

I'm hoping that he isn't just blowing smoke. This is a great opportunity to lay some groundwork of early Fallout lore. I'm wondering if we'll see many normal humans at all. Would be interesting if the humans we see in later fallout games are mostly the direct descendants of the control vaults. I can't imagine things are going too well 25 years after the bombs, granted they've always been a bit loose with radiation.

[Gadzooks]

I am going off-topic a bit, but I just don't understand why people hate on Todd so much. He's such a likable guy.

It's cool to hate him. Gamers are no better or no worse than any other community, it's the same in music, sports, film - there are always people who are not an issue at all, that are the focus of hate. Plus, Todd is the public face for Fallout, and there are hardcore neckbeards who are still all pissy at him for making Fallout a first person type game, and not like the first two. I like him - he's got a great presentation style, he's able to make fun of himself (the Skyrim on Alexa was epic), and he's passionate about the games he's in charge of. But since he won't provide an exact fanservice in his games, and dares to try new things, he's the object of hatred from people who take games too fucking seriously.

Fallout 4 had issues, yes, but I played the fuck out of it, and enjoyed the fuck out of it. And will again. So many chowderheaded little 12 years old run around parroting about how great New Vegas was, and most of them have never played it! New Vegas had a lot going for it - the writing was off the chart, in parts, but honestly, i always hated how the game looked, and the combat is beyond clunky compared to F4. It's great game, yes, but it's hardly the be-all, end-all experience that everyone claims it is. The reputation of New Vegas is so off the charts and artificial, no game could ever hope to live up to that standard. (and you know "that guy" will respond to this in a pissy fashion, because I dared to criticize New Vegas).

Every Fallout, from 1 on, has had it's strengths, and weaknesses, and 76 will be no exception. And because it's not what a bunch of cranky try hards demand, they're shitting all over it, as usual. And, as usual, since it's not New Vegas 2.0, they're up in arms in outrage. It's nothing new. Todd Howard will never win with that crowd, unless he forces the devs that made New Vegas to leave the companies they work at now, to go back to Obsidian, and Obsidian makes New Vegas 2.0.

76 is obviously an experiment for them. It's not Fallout 5, isn't intended to be, and that's why they're referring to it as a prequel. It's not intended to be in line with F3, New Vegas, or Fallout 4. That will be Fallout 5, which they're undoubtedly working on - and judging by how fast they're releasing games, compared to the past, it will be sooner than we think. Once Starfield and ES6 roll out, then it'll be time for F5. And if it's not a fanservice New Vegas 2.0, it'll be the same complaining and sniveling and shitting on it from the usual suspects, with Howard as the target of their bile. Because, companies aren't allowed to ever change, and just have to pump out the same shit year after year, so a bunch of try hards are satisfied.

/rant

[Lorgar Aurelian]

I’m feeling so conflicted the more I learn.

[SirCowdog]

So Private Servers and mods Post Launch

Man, I have to say, listening to Todd talk about the game is pretty re-assuring. To contrast him vs someone like Ion Hazzicostas...worlds apart. Todd just comes across as honest, which is refreshing from a game dev. Unusual, even.

[Darknessvamp]

I am going off-topic a bit, but I just don't understand why people hate on Todd so much. He's such a likable guy.

He's gotten a bit of a reputation for being the new Peter Molyneux recently because of Skyrim and Fallout 4 although it has been around as far back Oblivion when it was in development. Todd, like Peter, has a tendency to exaggerate the wow factor and scope of certain features and locales in games he's worked on in interviews and at industry events like E£ so much so when players do eventually come to engage with said games they find them sorely lacking in comparison to what they were led to believe. E.g. Skyrim and it's infinite quests which turned out to be the radiant quest system involving repeatable fetch/kill quests with randomised locations. Fallout 4 and the "It just works." tagline for the game and settlement system which ended up causing a resurgence of the "Todd the Liar" meme.

Todd is a good guy and he has made some good games. He just needs to choose his words better when talking about them.

[Ooid]

I’m sure we’ll be able to place our bases wherever we want. I haven’t heard that he promise by any other game company before. Bethesda is known for having stable and bug free games that can handle dynamic game systems.

[Jinxz]

I’m sure we’ll be able to place our bases wherever we want. I haven’t heard that he promise by any other game company before. Bethesda is known for having stable and bug free games that can handle dynamic game systems.

you almost got me, almost!

[imabanana]

After seeing these new videos and info, I'll probably skip the game, so many negative points in all these news.

- in game transactions, fully cosmetic or not, I don't care, still an awful practice in non-free game
- throwing more nukes will be "rewarded"? Destroying your neighbour's shack with nuclear missile after a nuclear apocalypse is now a good thing? But radiation magically disappear soon after because reasons?
- also, radiation now giving "useful mutations"? wtf?
- all that "survival" stuff like durability being back or food perishing feels just like bringing back annoying outdated mechanics
- "balancing pvp" is the last thing I want to hear in a Fallout (or ES) game, having shitty and OP stuff has been part of the series since forever
- no NPC, hello empty world

[Endus]

After seeing these new videos and info, I'll probably skip the game, so many negative points in all these news.

- in game transactions, fully cosmetic or not, I don't care, still an awful practice in non-free game
- throwing more nukes will be "rewarded"? Destroying your neighbour's shack with nuclear missile after a nuclear apocalypse is now a good thing? But radiation magically disappear soon after because reasons?
- also, radiation now giving "useful mutations"? wtf?
- all that "survival" stuff like durability being back or food perishing feels just like bringing back annoying outdated mechanics
- "balancing pvp" is the last thing I want to hear in a Fallout (or ES) game, having shitty and OP stuff has been part of the series since forever
- no NPC, hello empty world

Radiation "magically disappearing" happens in, like, every single Fallout.
Useful or semi-useful mutations date back to at LEAST Fallout 2, if not 1.
No HUMAN npcs. I seriously do not understand why I have to keep repeating that. They clearly stated there would be robots and such. No NPCs with smoothskin human appearance. That's it.

[Deleted]

- in game transactions, fully cosmetic or not, I don't care, still an awful practice in non-free game

The cosmetic microtransactions are a way of paying for the completely free online servers and completely free updates and DLCs, and you might want to keep in mind that all of the cosmetics that can be bought can also be obtained in-game.

You can't do microtransactions better than this (lootboxes weren't even mentioned), and what then, would you argue, would be a better way of monetizing continued development and continued updates? Pay up front for the price of a regular game and expect to be fully entitled for updates and content indefinitely? Force everyone to pay a monthly fee?

It's also interesting that you're complaining about cosmetic mictrotransactions, as a Path of Exile player. Path of Exile uses the exact same monetization method. If Path of Exile having cosmetic microtransactions (which are worse, by the way, because they can't be obtained in-game) doesn't stop you from playing that game, and if the fact that they actually have lootboxes doesn't stop you, then your complaints about Fallout 76s microtransactions can't really be taken seriously.

throwing more nukes will be "rewarded"? Destroying your neighbour's shack with nuclear missile after a nuclear apocalypse is now a good thing?

More than likely the nukes will be targeted at specific areas on the map to gain the most out of them. Requiring a group of four people in full power armor, going after several nuke keys, spending a lot of time and a lot of effort just to be able to launch a nuke, only to waste it on some Timmy13years living in the sticks in the corner somewhere, nuking Timmy's base, killing him, breaking his base, only to see him respawn immediately and repair his base in a couple minutes if not seconds (Todd said repairing bases would be easy), seems like a really really pointless thing to me.

I don't expect people to be throwing nukes at other people.

But radiation magically disappear soon after because reasons?

Radiation has never been realistic in Fallout. Not in the first Fallout game. Not in the second one in which Lord Avellone joined the franchise. Not ever.

- also, radiation now giving "useful mutations"? wtf?

Look at the perks and traits from throughout the Fallout series. It's pretty obvious that some of them are radiation-caused mutations. Some are very much on the nose, actually.

all that "survival" stuff like durability being back or food perishing feels just like bringing back annoying outdated mechanics

Gear/food degradation being "annoying" is definitely an opinion you're entitled to, but a lot of people were actually complaining when they were taken away. One of those "dumbing down" -things that Bethesda gets shit for. You can thank people who hated on Bethesda for "dumbing down" the series for these features being back.

no NPC, hello empty world

I don't know how much you have actually played Fallout, but...I think I'm easily up to a few thousand hours throughout the series now, and...I'm pretty sure most of the time I've spent has been out in the world, alone, facing enemies, and not meeting "NPCs". Raiders will be represented in the form of the Scorched, and there'll be plenty of animals and monsters out there. As well as robots, terminals and, of course, other players.

[Endus]

Pete Hines gave another interview at E3 with a bit more Fallout 76 info;



Fallout 76 stuff starts around 3:25

What stood out to me;

- Still at its core a Fallout game; developing your character, going on quests, exploration, crafting, all that's still the focus. Multiplayer is an additional layer on top, not a replacement for anything.

- There are systems to prevent abuse; the game "won't allow" (Hines's words) people to chase you around the map griefing you. That's more strongly phrased than anyone else has put it.

- They can't loot your stuff.

- Hines plays it solo exclusively, himself, and loves it.

- One hope is to add uncertainty to the game; the existing games you really know how NPCs will interact before they do, for the most part, it's set by Bethesda and isn't up in the air. Interactions with players aren't certain.

- PvP is more like issuing a challenge to another player, than forcing it upon them. If you decide to nope out, they can't chase you and harass you.

That takes to about 10 minutes in and now they've shifted to ES: Blades so I'm tapping out.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't know how much you have actually played Fallout, but...I think I'm easily up to a few thousand hours throughout the series now, and...I'm pretty sure most of the time I've spent has been out in the world, alone, facing enemies, and not meeting "NPCs". Raiders will be represented in the form of the Scorched, and there'll be plenty of animals and monsters out there. As well as robots, terminals and, of course, other players.

Honestly, the parts of Fallout games where there's human NPCs are, to me, always the least interesting. Yes, life in the Wasteland sucks and you're struggling. Oh, you need me to go to a place and get parts, okay. Etc. It's not QUITE "collect 30 wolf tails" MMO bad, but it's easily the least engaging stuff in Fallout games, for me.

Seeing a building and going "hey, I wonder what's in there" and running into a half-functioning factory manned by robots which spawns a quest as I enter is way more interesting, for me. If Fallout 76 leans more in that direction, I'm going to like it more, as a result.

[Deleted]

I do have to say, though, that while I'm guessing 99.999% of the people who are bickering and complaining about this game and the decisions that made it what it is are doing so simply because out of frustration of not getting what they want, and from a need to vent, it's still a form of feedback, and it's still useful. It would be a bit more useful if it was presented in a bit more civil and constructive manner, but nonetheless, I'm sure Todd and the Beth people are absorbing stuff.

Which is to say, who's to say what they'll add? Maybe they'll launch the way it is now, and try out adding like, neutral NPC camps, neutral NPCs wandering through the area every now and then. Caravans that you can go rob. Whatever might fit the world and the setting. Those would have to be rare, of course, since you know, we're among the first actually healthy human beings in the world now, having been safe in a vault for the past two decades. But, who knows, maybe there were other ways for humans to survive the nuclear apocalypse somewhat intact? I mean, if any of you people complaining can come up with such an idea, post it, start spreading the information, and perhaps Beth will be inspired by it.

A caravan sent out from some other vault that has also opened, from a nearby state? That could be a thing. Maybe some survivalist family had a really nice bunker and was able to survive in it for a couple decades and has now come out into the world to forage and so on?

In any case, for the time and the setting, there's a clear reason why there aren't human NPCs out in the world. They wouldn't have survived. Simple as that.

[imabanana]

The cosmetic microtransactions are a way of paying for the completely free online servers and completely free updates and DLCs, and you might want to keep in mind that all of the cosmetics that can be bought can also be obtained in-game.

"completely free" if you buy the game

It's also interesting that you're complaining about cosmetic mictrotransactions, as a Path of Exile player. Path of Exile uses the exact same monetization method.

Did I pay to start playing Path of Exile? No. That's not the exact same monetization method.

Look at the perks and traits from throughout the Fallout series. It's pretty obvious that some of them are radiation-caused mutations. Some are very much on the nose, actually.

And did they magically appear from walking into radiation or take decades or centuries to develop?

Gear/food degradation being "annoying" is definitely an opinion you're entitled to, but a lot of people were actually complaining when they were taken away. One of those "dumbing down" -things that Bethesda gets shit for. You can thank people who hated on Bethesda for "dumbing down" the series for these features being back.

Which is where mods were great, but 100% online game will also kill that.

I don't know how much you have actually played Fallout, but...I think I'm easily up to a few thousand hours throughout the series now, and...I'm pretty sure most of the time I've spent has been out in the world, alone, facing enemies, and not meeting "NPCs". Raiders will be represented in the form of the Scorched, and there'll be plenty of animals and monsters out there. As well as robots, terminals and, of course, other players.

Probably spent around the same time tbh, though I mostly skipped F3. NPCs are what make most of the atmosphere imho, despite not being everywhere, well crafted towns that make sense and where you (mostly) feel safer than outside or "random" encounters (more like NPC in the middle of nowhere) is a HUGE part of the experience, and actually the very first thing I remember about every Fallout game. Having only towns built by WeedSmoker420 in the form of a giant dick isn't really going to make it for me.

Also, scorched are not raiders, not sure why everyone say they are, and the new monsters don't seem to make any sense so far to me (nukes suddenly made random west virginia folklore creatures appear, because magic?)

[Deleted]

After the disappointment of Fallout 4, i didnt expect that Bethesda can disappoint me more. Well i was wrong. This copy of Rust, what they call Fallout 76, is a slap in the face for the most Fallout fans. I hope the get so burned on this peace of multiplayershit.

[Deleted]

"completely free" if you buy the game

Did I pay to start playing Path of Exile? No. That's not the exact same monetization method.

You do realize you sound super entitled with these comments, right? You're fine playing a free to play -game when other people are using a form of monetization to pay for it - in other words, they pay, you play, they're paying for your fun - but if you have to pay a single cent up front for it, then having that form of monetization is suddenly somehow, completely inexplicably, completely illogically, an "awful practice."

Yeah, no. We all pay, equally, as we should. Then, on top of that, those who want to pay more, can choose to do so. That's how a fair system works. Path of Exile is a great example of a system where bums ride for free while suckers pay for everything. I'm glad Bethesda isn't at least completely going that route.

And did they magically appear from walking into radiation or take decades or centuries to develop?

Are we now arguing over realism in the world of Fallout. Really?

Which is where mods were great, but 100% online game will also kill that.

And mods will be coming, which I'm sure you know, because I'm sure you watched the interviews.

NPCs are what make most of the atmosphere imho

You're free to have that opinion. I disagree.

well crafted towns that make sense

And they don't make sense in 2102.

Also, scorched are not raiders, not sure why everyone say they are

I've not seen anyone say that they are raiders. I've seen people say, and I've said it myself, that they're what we have in stead of raiders; they're humanoid, they can use guns, they attack you. Exactly what raiders do.

and the new monsters don't seem to make any sense so far to me (nukes suddenly made random west virginia folklore creatures appear, because magic?)

Their explanation made perfect sense to me, within the confines of the Fallout setting and style. But then, I'm not expecting realism from a Fallout game, because that would be dumb.

After the disappointment of Fallout 4, i didnt expect that Bethesda can disappoint me more. Well i was wrong. This copy of Rust, what they call Fallout 76, is a slap in the face for the most Fallout fans. I hope the get so burned on this peace of multiplayershit.

After already having dropped like 1200 hours into Fallout 4, I didn't expect Bethesda to bring out a new Fallout experience so soon after Fallout 4 (since nobody expected a Fallout game in E3 2018), that would have me even more excited than Fallout 4 did. Well, I was wrong. This looks nothing like the shit that is Rust, or the shit that is Ark, or the somewhat mediocre showing of Conan Exiles, but actually looks like a survival brawler that will, for once, be actually fun and playable even as solo. I hope it becomes their most sold Fallout game yet!