Fallout 76

[Wrathbone]

Eurogamer say avoid, so fair play to them for taking a firm stance.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018 ... roken-mess

[Achtung Englander]

this game is getting slated

[Raid]

From everything I've seen and read, that slating is thoroughly deserved. It looks incredibly boring.

[Sly Boots]

I think the saddest part of that EG review is the second para, when he makes it sound how awesome a Fallout MMO could be. What a missed opportunity.

Bethesda developed Elder Scrolls Online, didn't they? They're not novices in this area.

[Raid]

No they didn't, they just published it. ESO was developed by Zenimax.

[Sly Boots]

No they didn't, they just published it. ESO was developed by Zenimax.

Oh ok. They have developed functioning games with an iota of entertainment value, though, right?

[Snowy]

Mmm ESO was pretty shit - it is still going so might have something going for it now, but it wasn't much cop when I played. I always struggle with MMOs with guns too - having opponents stand a distance away from one another trading pew pew while health bars are worn down is just balls. An MMO where you could use stealth, VATS etc similarly to the SP offerings might be fun, but you just know that no, it has to go down the buffs, debuffs, Tank/DPS/Healer path work to a nub by all the others.

Better just let this be a hugely costly slap for Bethesda, let it die, and have the world move on.

[Raid]

Bethesda have developed Fallout 4, Skyrim, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Morrowind. Titans of the open world RPG genre perhaps, but completely lacking multiplayer.

I get the feeling Fallout 76 has been pushed out the door to give the company a microtransaction platform, because that's seemingly where the money is in gaming these days. They've tried and failed to produce a platform for paid mods in their previous titles, so creating a multiplayer game was perhaps the next logical step. Microtransactions seem to be easier for many people to stomach when it's a multiplayer game, where people are competing or showing off their purchases. I don't know why Fallout 76 fails so miserably to work as a multiplayer RPG or capitalise on its concept; perhaps it's the limitations of the engine they're working with, maybe it's just their lack of experience with multiplayer games. I can't help but think that they knew this was a subpar Fallout game prior to launch, hence why they kinda apologised for it just beforehand.

[DjchunKfunK]

I think this game was foisted on BGS by Zenimax executives who wanted to cash in on the survival game craze. It lacks direction which is something that often happens when developers are perhaps not interested in making the game in the first place. I think the possible delay in getting Starfield off the ground has also forced the studio to push this through when perhaps if Starfield was near to release they wouldn't have had to.

[Sly Boots]

Bethesda have developed Fallout 4, Skyrim, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Morrowind. Titans of the open world RPG genre perhaps, but completely lacking multiplayer.

I get the feeling Fallout 76 has been pushed out the door to give the company a microtransaction platform, because that's seemingly where the money is in gaming these days. They've tried and failed to produce a platform for paid mods in their previous titles, so creating a multiplayer game was perhaps the next logical step. Microtransactions seem to be easier for many people to stomach when it's a multiplayer game, where people are competing or showing off their purchases. I don't know why Fallout 76 fails so miserably to work as a multiplayer RPG or capitalise on its concept; perhaps it's the limitations of the engine they're working with, maybe it's just their lack of experience with multiplayer games. I can't help but think that they knew this was a subpar Fallout game prior to launch, hence why they kinda apologised for it just beforehand.

Yeah, my question was rhetorical

It sounds like the biggest single failing for this game, gleaned from all the sources I've seen and read, is that it's boring. Like, really, really tedious. Half-hearted 'quests' to collect a dozen bottles, or gameplay revolving around collecting trash like an OCD hoarder. Surely that's the part where they could have used all their single-player RPG experience to at least craft a world people want to spend time in. The multiplayer part is almost secondary, as strange as it sounds. Make an outstanding, involving world that has multiplayer even in this bastardised guise and people will be able to extract a lot of fun from it even if interactions are extremely limited.

Bethesda have no excuses for creating such a dull, lifeless world given their background, and ultimately that's the game's biggest failing.

[DjchunKfunK]

It sounds like the biggest single failing for this game, gleaned from all the sources I've seen and read, is that it's boring. Like, really, really tedious. Half-hearted 'quests' to collect a dozen bottles, or gameplay revolving around collecting trash like an OCD hoarder. Surely that's the part where they could have used all their single-player RPG experience to at least craft a world people want to spend time in. The multiplayer part is almost secondary, as strange as it sounds. Make an outstanding, involving world that has multiplayer even in this bastardised guise and people will be able to extract a lot of fun from it even if interactions are extremely limited.

Bethesda have no excuses for creating such a dull, lifeless world given their background, and ultimately that's the game's biggest failing.

So it's an MMO then.

[Sly Boots]

It sounds like the biggest single failing for this game, gleaned from all the sources I've seen and read, is that it's boring. Like, really, really tedious. Half-hearted 'quests' to collect a dozen bottles, or gameplay revolving around collecting trash like an OCD hoarder. Surely that's the part where they could have used all their single-player RPG experience to at least craft a world people want to spend time in. The multiplayer part is almost secondary, as strange as it sounds. Make an outstanding, involving world that has multiplayer even in this bastardised guise and people will be able to extract a lot of fun from it even if interactions are extremely limited.

Bethesda have no excuses for creating such a dull, lifeless world given their background, and ultimately that's the game's biggest failing.

So it's an MMO then.

Even by those standards this sounds really dull.

On another note the randomisations of perks upon levelling up - you get random cards some or even all of which may be unusable in your current build - is a really bizarre system for any RPG, multiplayer or otherwise.

At least one reviewer remarked that he wouldn't be surprised to see microtransactions come in to play for new perks at some point, and you can see where he's coming from.

[Wrathbone]

One of the most telling things for me is that for such a high-profile game, not a single one of us here (as far as I know) has been a canary. I can't remember another game which we've discussed so much without any of us actually wanting to play it.

[Sly Boots]

One of the most telling things for me is that for such a high-profile game, not a single one of us here (as far as I know) has been a canary. I can't remember another game which we've discussed so much without any of us actually wanting to play it.

Or someone has bought it but been too ashamed to 'fess up

[Maturin]

It's true; I absolutely adored FO4, I think it's a truly brilliant game - but I'm circumventing this one, as if I were crossing the street to avoid the smelly village idiot who never bathes.