Fallout 76

We should get some more information on this over the weekend but for now, how about some wild speculation?

1. The game will have a lot to do with Vault 76. OK, maybe that's not so wild.
2. The trailer uses "Country Roads" by John Denver. This means the game will be set in St. Louis which is half way between West Virginia and Colorado (Denver).
3. The trophy case has awards for cutting hair, using the toilet and hall monitor. This means that the game will be released in November of 2019
4. There's some kind of weird Pokeyman on the washing machine. This means that Pokeys will be replacing Deathclaws
5. Obviously, Reclamation day is going to be a big thing. You'll probably have to hunt a Yao Guai bare handed to roast up for the festivities

Not that excited based on this report.

https://kotaku.com/sources-fallout-76-is-an-online-survival-rpg-1826425333

Originally prototyped as a multiplayer version of Fallout 4 with the goal of envisioning what an online Fallout game might look like, Fallout 76 has evolved quite a bit over the past few years, those sources said. It will have quests and a story, like any other game from Bethesda Game Studios, a developer known for meaty RPGs like Skyrim. It will also feature base-building—just like 2015's Fallout 4—and other survival-based and multiplayer mechanics, according to those sources. One source cautioned that the gameplay is rapidly changing, like it does in many online “service” games, but that’s the core outline.

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Your Star said:

Not that excited based on this report.

https://kotaku.com/sources-fallout-76-is-an-online-survival-rpg-1826425333

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And to boot apparently they will no longer support mods. If that is what this game ends up being I think I will have to give up on the Fallout franchise. Bethesda has just ruined Fallout and into turned into another AAA microtransaction mess.

Carjosse said:

And to boot apparently they will no longer support mods. If that is what this game ends up being I think I will have to give up on the Fallout franchise. Bethesda has just ruined Fallout and into turned into another AAA microtransaction mess.

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If it is multiplayer, mods would be difficult at best to allow.

And Fallout has been going downhill since Fallout: Tactics. Elder Scrolls since Morrowwind.

Lutherf said:

We should get some more information on this over the weekend but for now, how about some wild speculation?

1. The game will have a lot to do with Vault 76. OK, maybe that's not so wild.
2. The trailer uses "Country Roads" by John Denver. This means the game will be set in St. Louis which is half way between West Virginia and Colorado (Denver).
3. The trophy case has awards for cutting hair, using the toilet and hall monitor. This means that the game will be released in November of 2019
4. There's some kind of weird Pokeyman on the washing machine. This means that Pokeys will be replacing Deathclaws
5. Obviously, Reclamation day is going to be a big thing. You'll probably have to hunt a Yao Guai bare handed to roast up for the festivities

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https://www.debatepolitics.com/apps-and-gaming/319466-bethesda-livestreaming-tease-new-fallout-game-imminent.html

Redress said:

https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/30/17409604/fallout-76-trailer-breakdown

Multiple things of note. The date is 2102, which makes it before most of the other fallout games(Fallout 4 was in 2287, Fallout 3 2277, Fallout 1 2161, Fallout 2 2241). The Pipboy is similar in design to the Pipboy from Fallout 1 and 2. Vault 76 is a control vault, one where Vault-tech did not actively experiment. It is likely in Virginia or West Virginia.

Best tho is the following award that is seen: "Excellence in Bravery: In recognition of the canned mystery meat experiment. You volunteered to eat when no one else would. We are proud of you and glad you are not dead."

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Redress said:

If it is multiplayer, mods would be difficult at best to allow.

And Fallout has been going downhill since Fallout: Tactics. Elder Scrolls since Morrowwind.

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I dunno about Fallout, but Skyrim was the best Elder Scrolls ever.

Redress said:

If it is multiplayer, mods would be difficult at best to allow.

And Fallout has been going downhill since Fallout: Tactics. Elder Scrolls since Morrowwind.

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Fallout: New Vegas was peak Fallout.

I was one of the nerds who ended up watching the Fallout 76 presentation at E3... here is my take away:

1) Multi-player: Yes. MASSIVE-Multiplayer: No.

Essentially the game is online only (Boo) and will allow you to invite up to 12 (?) people to play with you... they did say that many challenges are geared towards groups and not, if I recall, not auto-leveled to the number of people.

2) The world will be roughly 4 times the size of Fallout 4, set in West Virginia in the earliest moments of survivors emerging from the vaults. This world will be mostly inhabilited by mutated creatures rather than warring tribes and mutants.

3) It is an open ended survival world where "you make the story". So, a sandbox.

4) Your character and levels will transfer seamlessly between your version of the world and worlds create by other people. No starting over in order to join a new world.

5) The highlight of the presentation was a prank "first look" at "Skyrim Echo", the first version of Elder Scrolls for the Amazon Echo:

Alexa: (paraphrase) "He ht's you for significant damage"

Man on Couch: "Alexa, take a health potion!"

Alexa: "You are out of health potions"

Man: "Do I have any cheese?!"

Alexa: "You have 104 wheels of cheese in your inventory"

Man: "Alexa, EAT ALL THE CHEESE!"

Wife: "Alexa, wait. Honey, don't you remember you are lactose intellerant?"

Man: "Right, thank you baby. Love you."

Man (angry whisper): "Alexa... eat. all. the. cheese!"

:lamo

I'd totally play Skyrim Echo.

And... 6) One of the Group tasks you can perform is gathering launch keys scattered around the map that when used in unison can unlock one of several nuclear silos around the map, allowing you and your friends to send a nuclear bomb to devastate anywhere on the map that might offend you. Doing so levels the area, creates much more difficult mutated monstrosities, but also uncovers valuable resources needed for high end crafting.

Redress said:

If it is multiplayer, mods would be difficult at best to allow.

And Fallout has been going downhill since Fallout: Tactics. Elder Scrolls since Morrowwind.

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Ah the fabled Bethesda purist :lol:

Redress said:

If it is multiplayer, mods would be difficult at best to allow.

And Fallout has been going downhill since Fallout: Tactics. Elder Scrolls since Morrowwind.

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Nah. Fallout New Vegas was like one of the best fallout games ever. Probably the best time for Fallout.

Lutherf said:

We should get some more information on this over the weekend but for now, how about some wild speculation?

1. The game will have a lot to do with Vault 76. OK, maybe that's not so wild.
2. The trailer uses "Country Roads" by John Denver. This means the game will be set in St. Louis which is half way between West Virginia and Colorado (Denver).
3. The trophy case has awards for cutting hair, using the toilet and hall monitor. This means that the game will be released in November of 2019
4. There's some kind of weird Pokeyman on the washing machine. This means that Pokeys will be replacing Deathclaws
5. Obviously, Reclamation day is going to be a big thing. You'll probably have to hunt a Yao Guai bare handed to roast up for the festivities

Click to expand...

I watched Bethesda's E3 Presentation last night, and I have to say I'm still weary about the game. Even though Howard said that you will be able to play solo, I don't know if I'm sold on the idea of it being "totally online". But I do think a lot of the new enemy designs look awesome, from what they showed us at E3. It looks good, but I'll wait until I can get my hands on it for myself. It's coming out this November, which I didn't expect.

Redress said:

If it is multiplayer, mods would be difficult at best to allow.

And Fallout has been going downhill since Fallout: Tactics. Elder Scrolls since Morrowwind.

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Fallout 2 was the pinnacle.

Also, really Elder Scrolls hit its zenith at Daggerfall.

So there.

TheGoverness said:

Nah. Fallout New Vegas was like one of the best fallout games ever. Probably the best time for Fallout.

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LOL I remember the final battle I had with the legion boss of that game. His first blow knocked me back into the side of a hill and I got stuck there. He also couldnt hit me anymore so I just kept shooting him in the face til he died. :gunner:

I'd rather have a first person game, not a multiplayer RPG. I am restarting New Vegas, I never finished it, but I see they are coming out with a big expansion pack for it this fall, New California, woo!

I have an Oculus, but I don't think I'll get the VR version, I find that the Oculus controllers really give me hand pain (I have carpal tunnel, both hands, have had surgery on both, and I need my hand for doing endless spreadsheets at work."

jmotivator said:

Fallout 2 was the pinnacle.

Also, really Elder Scrolls hit its zenith at Daggerfall.

So there.

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Daggerfall was great, but I think Morrowwind was better. Incredible world, great gameplay, complex and hard, but not unfairly so.

Redress said:

Daggerfall was great, but I think Morrowwind was better. Incredible world, great gameplay, complex and hard, but not unfairly so.

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I thought the game lost considerably when they dumbed down the soul gem system.

I'm willing to give it a shot, though the absence of NPCs is extremely troubling. Interactions with settlers and townsfolk are one of my favorite aspects of Fallout and the ES series. I do like the prospect of playing co-op with my siblings, but I would rather do so in a world that feels alive and lived-in. I feel like they're taking the huge map concept and combat of Fallout and forgetting what else makes these world compelling to explore. I'm interested in finding places like Megaton, not playing Monster Hunter: Fallout Addition.

Perhaps I should focus on playing Miami, and this Daggerfall: Unity Project that my brother and I stumbled upon. (I grew up with Arena and Daggerfall, and am creately interested in seeing what they do with this.)

Redress said:

Daggerfall was great, but I think Morrowwind was better. Incredible world, great gameplay, complex and hard, but not unfairly so.

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The best thing about morrowwind were the mods.

DH Kirkwood said:

I'm willing to give it a shot, though the absence of NPCs is extremely troubling.

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There are NPCs, there are simply no human NPCs. We have already seen the footage released, which had robot and super mutant NPCs. And I would not be surprised if we meet Scorched and Ghoul NPCs in the future.

I myself think this has been needed. I for one never got involved in the "Creation Club" other than getting the items for free they keep offering, because I saw no point. Spending real money for a new armor skin in a game nobody but myself would ever see simply made no sense to me. But in other games (Guild Wars) I have paid for outfits, knowing that I could show them off to others later on down the line.

As for mods, those will come when they open up private servers. And this is like any other on-line games that allows mods. They can seriously disrupt game play and balance, and need to be kept in their own areas, away from the regular players. I know that if I was playing this game, the last thing I would want is some player on a Scorch Beast to come flying up and attacking my settlement, thinking they are from a post-apocalyptic Pern.

And no, this is not Fallout 5. That is still years away, once they finally get the new game engine sorted out. They are still using the Creation Engine (2011), which is itself an offshoot of the Gamebryo Engine (2003). And it is really showing it's age. Bethesda has been working largely in secret for over a year now on a new engine, and rumors seem to be pointing at it being finished in the 2021-2022 time frame roughly. Only after that will we finally see Fallout 5.

But I bet that ultimately this may turn out to be another WoW for it's longetivity. A system with regular updates and expansions, that can be milked for at least a decade or more. Not unlike ESO, which is still going strong 4 years after release and still has over 2.5 million active members. With the newest DLC pack being released 2 months ago.

I expect that once the initial hype dies down, FO76 numbers will be similar to that of ESO. Tens of millions of copies sold, but after a year or so the number of active members to fall to the range of 3-5 million. Enough to keep it alive and active, especially since it will appeal to casual gamers since it will not have a monthly subscription cost (outside of what Sony and Microsoft charge for their console multi-player capabilities).

My brother and I got drunk and pre-ordered it. Well, I was drunk, don't know about him.

I've never gotten into online gaming. Ever. I never played Everquest, WoW, or Final Fantasy 11. I largely gravitate towards games with very strong narratives (MGS, The Last of Us, JRPGs) and while I understand that these games have quest-lines and such like any other RPG, I am not attracted to the social aspect of it at all, and doubly if it means logging in and playing at a certain time. I did try to play WoW once, but it just kept downloading . . . or whatever it does whenever you first put the disc in your computer, and being just a stupid console gamer, I simply gave up on it.

Talking about the overused, aging engine, and the years we might wait for an actual FO5 . . . or a TES: 6, and I can't help but think of this trend we've seen in gaming for the last decade or so. As game budgets and expectations have increased, so has development times. There was a time when we could expect sequels to occur on a yearly basis, much like in the film industry, but now it's more like three years, or six if we're talking about Bethesda.

On one hand, I like that developers take time to produce an adequate product, but at the other end of things, I'm going through entire stages of my life while I wait for these games, lol.

One of my favorite youtubers did the beta... Aaaaaaaaand it appears to be a messy heap of broken garbage.

Jetboogieman said:

One of my favorite youtubers did the beta... Aaaaaaaaand it appears to be a messy heap of broken garbage.

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Aaaaaaaaand, it's a Beta.

I have participated in many Alpha and Beta tests over the decades. And in this case like many what I have been following is the changes in the various versions of the program. And there have been many as they continue to dial in what it is they want.

Oozlefinch said:

Aaaaaaaaand, it's a Beta.

I have participated in many Alpha and Beta tests over the decades. And in this case like many what I have been following is the changes in the various versions of the program. And there have been many as they continue to dial in what it is they want.

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Half a month til launch mate.

If what my favorite youtubers showed, even remotely comes to pass in the release version this game is a disaster.

Quick example here as I’m on the move, but you can make up your own mind.

https://www.vgr.com/bug-players-download-entire-beta/

The bug, which seemingly surfaced in the game’s launch client, was hardly subtle. It causes the game to freeze, and pressing any button causes the client to delete the entire BETA. As a result, players have to download the Fallout 76 BETA again. Overall, the game is almost 60 GB in size. Given that this has occurred as today’s BETA has begun, PC players are understandably frustrated. Bethesda recommends that players not press any buttons on the client until the issue has been resolved.

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I own it and will give you my honest opinion after spending some time with it this weekend.

I will say that as an MMO it will lose the one thing I very much like in all of my RPGs: the magic of the big find. You know, the random mob that drops some great piece of gear that totally changes the game for you... or in the Fallout world, it is usually you finding some warring factions and getting geared off the leftover corpses *.

As an MMO progression is always heavily regulated, and improvement is usually relegated to a grind of some sort. Whether Fallout can survive that conversion remains to be seen.


* - Kenshi is the only RPG I have played where the warring factions actually loot the corpses of the vanquished. I fe;lt like I was being robbed the first time I saw it happen. :lol: