It's a pretty fun game. Probably the weakest of the newer 3 in the RPG department but they massively improved the shooting mechanics. It definitely feels like an FPS with RPG mechanics than an RPG with FPS mechanics.

It's good you like crafting though because there's a real shortage of quests compared to New vegas or Skyrim. I've got over two weeks logged on it so far though so I can definitely say i got my money's worth.

I'm kind of hesitant to even call it an RPG let alone a Fallout game.

>dialogue wheel that's somehow actually worse than Bioware's
>no Karma
>minimal ""choices""
>no faction reputations so you have no idea where you stand with each faction

It's a serviceable game but to call it an RPG is an insult to the RPG genre. Bethesda took a complete nosedive into casualized territory and seem to be more interested in developing sandbox games now rather than choice orientated RPGs.

It's pretty good based on its own merits. As a Fallout game, not so much. Bethesda don't really understand the series as much. My favourites are still 1 and NV, and I'm making my way through 2.

why don't you like fallout 3 again

if it's strictly for story reasons then lmao

If one reads their own blueprint, they know intimately why each detail is present down to the miniscule. If one reads another's blueprint, they can see the ultimate goal and make inferences of what each part is intended to do; however, they do not truly know the work.

That's the issue with Bethesda. Regardless of the game's quality, it shows an outsider's understanding of a work. It's why most FO fans prefer New Vegas to FO3, the lead writer for FO2 worked on it and was able to provide a better insight on what makes a game a Fallout game.

It's why I can say that FO4 is a pretty good game, but I would be lying if I said it was one of the best Fallout titles if only because Bethesda's trying less and less to properly try at a Fallout game rather than a game with a Fallout title.

this time they did the opposite and polished the game but forgot to put in content

The game actually has a lot of content, it's just not pointed out to you plus it's all covered up by the excess of radiant quests.

That's great that you enjoyed it, but another settlement needs your help. I'll mark it on your map.

you made me want to punch the fucking screen after reading that

Also if you're going to align with a faction either side with the BoS or the Institute. No spoilers but they're the only factions with genuine substance to their storyline's. The Minutemen are just a gameplay framework for settlement building and The Railroad has a shitty pay off. I made the mistake of siding with the latter only because I wanted to keep their companion. Next character I roll will be faithful to Elder "purge the mutant" Maxson.

Being a triple Agent was pretty fun to be honest. I honestly forgot at one point which faction I was actually aligning myself with.

Quote from: Mordo on April 18, 2016, 07:36:04 PM

Also if you're going to align with a faction either side with the BoS or the Institute. No spoilers but they're the only factions with genuine substance to their storyline's. The Minutemen are just a gameplay framework for settlement building and The Railroad has a shitty pay off. I made the mistake of siding with the latter only because I wanted to keep their companion. Next character I roll will be faithful to Elder "purge the mutant" Maxson.

I got just far enough to team up with the Paladin at the Police station and do a few quests for his crew.

From the dialogue I've heard it sounds like the Railroad are a bunch of SJW fags, and the Institute are straight up evil. Robots are not people. Like damn nigga you wouldn't pretend the Terminator is a person would you?

Also I didn't enjoy the settlement bullshit much. It felt like Hearthfire in that it was boring and stupid.

Both the Railroad and the Institute provide relatively compelling justifications for their stances, although I will say the former isn't as developed as much. The Railroad offers a companion who's pretty based and provides a perk for stealth builds, but other than that, there's really not much cause to join them unless you really want to liberate synths. Bethesda tries to establish some kind of moral ambiguity between the factions but doesn't execute it very well.

I didn't invest much time into the BoS but from what I've heard their storyline is much more developed than the others. I'd say if you're a stealth build who enjoys banter, go for The Railroad, if you like settlement building then go for the Minutemen and if you want a compelling story, the BoS or the Institute is for you. The factions aren't as refined as NV but it's miles better than F3, that's for sure.

I just want Obsidian to get their hands on it again.

Definitely the weakest entry but by no means bad. I'm still playing it (And the DLC isn't that substantial yet so that's not contributed much) now, so it's done something right.

Now that Bethesda has got their heads round decent combat mechanics, I hope Obsidian will get a chance to use the engine to make New Vegas 2 or something.

Knowing OP's thoughts on the FO3 Brotherhood of Steel, I imagine he'll like the new Brotherhood more (Without wishing to spoil). I consider them the best faction in the game.

Protip half-spoiler for the railroad (No story spoilers, just gameplay spoilers)

All of the factions in FO4 are shit and poorly written.

Got super hyped for it, played about a days worth and then felt instantly done with it. Which is shitty because every Bethesda game prior to this felt as though there was still tons to do by the 100th hour. It's also super shitty coming from The Witcher 3 which set such a high bar that I was expecting so much more. Hoping to buy all the dlc when they're done to see if it gets any better.

Quote from: Batch on April 18, 2016, 11:44:27 PM

I just want Obsidian to get their hands on it again.

Can Obsidian even do anything with it, though?

Obsidian makes RPGs, first and foremost. Frankly, I don't see HOW you can turn what Bethesda slapped the Fallout logo on into a proper RPG this time. The framework is just not there.

I don't think voiced characters are a requirement of the engine - people are dabbling in stuff without it right now on the modding side of things as far as I'm aware. It's ultimately on the same engine as FO3, Vegas and Skyrim (if modified a bit), they could easily go back to the old dialogue system if they had full access to the code, which they would  they could do wonderful things on the Fallout 3 mechanics after all.

I think the issue is whether Bethesda would want them to do that. I'm not a conspiracy BTESDA R EVUL kind of guy but I do wonder if they'd allow Obsidian to go back (in their eyes) a step or if they'd be cool with Obsidian going back. I wouldn't be surprised if stuff like voice characters would be a part of the contract, though I wouldn't expect it either.

Things like settlements and crafting I don't think would interfere with regular gameplay too much provided they weren't forced on players like in FO4. And I think Obsidian could even take crafting up a notch now the base system is there (Like gunplay in FONV).

If Obsidian were given complete creative control, I imagine they could easily remove the voiced protagonist, limited choices and stuff while keeping the better additions like gunplay and crafting. Settlements could be toned down (I think settlements is why there's no quests in the game. Settlements mean less towns, less towns means less quests) and more optional, and even more useful if player feedback is considered. I think Bethesda, not the engine itself, would be the limiting factor in it. But both companies have said they're open to the idea, so I don't subscribe to the idea they hate each other because of the metacritic thing.

Ultimately, Beth's next game will be TESVI. We could well be seeing another 8,9 year wait until the next fallout game by them. They have ESO to cover the gap between Skyrim and VI so I wouldn't be surprised if we get another Fallout game to cover the gap.

Quote from: Batch on April 18, 2016, 11:44:27 PM

I just want Obsidian to get their hands on it again.

Can Obsidian even do anything with it, though?

Obsidian makes RPGs, first and foremost. Frankly, I don't see HOW you can turn what Bethesda slapped the Fallout logo on into a proper RPG this time. The framework is just not there.

Even mods can change the dialogue to a more classic look, then they just need to add more options