Amentep

I see your Gelato Shop and have to tell you, "The Adirondacks are beautiful this time of year." "Yes, but the Alps are lovely all year long"

Okay so I've decided to help the Naval robots anyhow. What's the worst that could happen? Note to Self: Check for signs of Skynet involvement. Its like an episode of Space Cruiser Yamato come to life! Note to Self: And a happy ending for all involved. If getting stuck on another building is a happy ending. I guess. Exploring the wasteland more. Note to Self: Is it just me, or does this look a bit like Speed Racers' car? Must have anime on my mind now. Looks like this house is a fixer-upper as well. Note to Self: Looks like all the houses are fixer-uppers. Local ice cream shop seems to have shut down. Note to Self: Now I want Ice cream. Irradiated Dandy Boy Apples as far as the eye can see, but the only working freezer I've found just had some ghoul kid stuck in it. Bet he ate the ice cream. All the ice cream. Why you little... Nutters at an old forge decided to take issue to my walking around. I engaged them in dialogue. Note to Self: Dialogue with my bullets in their faces. You'll believe a man can fly! Note to Self: And you won't believe where I shot him to get him to jump that high! "Nuh" indeed! Finally got a new job. Nodded off through the orientation video. Note to Self: Would have helped if there had been an actual orientation video. Radiation in the clean room. Note to Self: It'd be ironic if it wasn't, you know, deadly. Created a new scientific discovery and was promptly fired from my job. Have done what all people fired from their job do, went home and sat on the couch to watch TV. Note to Self: Would help if the TV had something other than a test pattern on it, though. At least I have Curie and my Giddyup Buttercup. And apparently creepy voyeur Preston. GET OUT OF MY LIVING ROOM PRESTON!

I felt the same way, like the story could have used some more time in development to flesh out and develop and create more choice and consequence. Its like they decided to go the exact opposite of the heavy narrative + finite ending of FO3 but created a number of new weaknesses in doing so.

Fair enough, I guess there are a number of more awkward scenarios. Like it could have been the Vasa up there on the building. Complete with Swedish speaking robots and rockets. I should rephrase that, but the idea of Swedish speaking rockets gave me a giggle.

If they can't handle someone saying mean things about them, especially mean things that are essentially true, they can perhaps try taking their own advice and grow a thicker skin. Or, alternatively, they can try and prove the writer wrong by reacting in a different manner than buying things ("These walking simulators are not real games! Also, journalistics ethics is super important to me, so I'm going to buy Hatred because the people I don't like didn't like it! THAT will show them!"), spackling over memes (oh so many GG memes) and getting angry on the internet (self-evident). Predictably though, that didn't happen. Or they could decide that the writer is coming from a fallacious standpoint (you can take your pick - that games culture is embarrassing when comprised of buying things, perpetuating memes and jokes and getting angry on the internet; that games culture is accurately summed up by buying things, perpetuating memes and jokes and getting mad on the internet or even the concept that game culture as a monolithic entity that can be summed up by the terms buying things, perpetuating memes and jokes and getting mad on the internet) and ignore the entire thing.

Arrr. Note to Self: Not sure the wasteland can get more awkward than Robot manned, wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate. On a building. With rockets. House hunting. Note to Self: Which in the post apocalypse resembles lurking behind a bush with a sniper rifle. This looks like a lovely new home! Note to Self: Pity about the Ghouls in the Waterlogged basement... See what I mean? Note to Self: I think a leaky foundation is the least of this place's problems! I have decided it is time to finish exploring the Museum of Witchcraft! Note to Self: Can't leave without my power armor This was the location that previously...I ran away like a little girl when the house started shaking. Note to Self: Now I'm little girl in power armor. Totally different story this time! WHEN GIANT DEATHCLAWS ATTACK! Note to Self: While Curie wrestles the giant deathclaw, let me tell you about Mutual of Omaha's great insurance plans... GIANT DEATHCLAW DEFEATED! Note to Self: News at 11 And now there are more super mutant problems Note to Self: Maybe they're cranky because they're getting too much ghoul in their diet and not enough fiber?

Spin off maybe - and I'd like to see it; I think the main series' sales would have to go down significantly for Bethesda to move the main series to a 3rd party developer though.

Another day, another job. Note to Self: How did anyone survive here since they all seem to be waiting on me to do stuff for them? Another raider goes down Note to Self: How did that boat get up there? Guess I don't care, the sniping is good from it. More Feral Ghouls Note to Self: Wonder what makes their brain decay? You'd think scientists might look into something like that rather than building killer robots The Dance of Pain Note to Self: They lost their head over it. Outsniping the Sniper Note to Self: He didn't know who he was messing with. Literally - we were too far apart for him to recognize me. Having put down the quarry raiders, we creep on to loot the bodies and investigate the location Note to Self: Always loot the bodies

That said, I'd start with enough INT and AGL to get Gun Nut and Stealth and trick out your sniper rifle as fast as possible. Once that's done the new system allows you to add points to SPECIAL or PERKS so its just a matter of following whatever path you want (FO4, like the ES, pretty much allows you to be excellent at most everything if you level enough).

I could see this as a Luchadore based game. Like the El Santo / Blue Demon films where they'd fight in the ring, walk outside and be attacked by a horde of alien dwarf wrestlers working for Bond-Style super-villains, vampires and/or Aztec Mummies. I'll quote myself from similar threads about something I'd like to see that'll never exist:

Baring Obsidian becoming a multi-billion dollar company with money to burn and/or Bethesda going bankrupt, that isn't going to happen

More gunners after I left the Gunner vault. Note to Self: Where exactly are all these Gunner and Raider replacements coming from? I mean do people just get drawn to the commonwealth to strap on some makeshift armor, wear a stupid haircut and get mowed down by one another? I don't like how you're saying that while holding a gun in my direction, Curie. Note to Self: Is the Honeymoon over? Desolation. Note to Self: On the plus side, the freeway's actually more passable than it was in my time, even with parts of it flopping to the ground. Strolling through the park Note to Self: I guess it was a park. Kinda hard to tell anymore the difference between a part, wilderness and a settlement. Seems like someone was expecting company Note to Self: Those turrets seem ubiquitous in the wasteland - and ultimately useless. Even in my own settlements. I mean I have a turret for every person and building and still I have to defend the dang things... I could make a joke, but in a wasteland without computer encyclopedias, will anyone know the reference? Note to Self: I do wonder what the question mark was for.

Its just the top of her outfit. It's got a feathery shape

to nominate you for an oscar (or have you win it), your performance as an actor (or any part of the film industry) is not as important as some other things like political views. i dont know what it is in Leo's case, but i do know that the music of the first Conan (the one with Arnie) was hailed as the best OST of any film made in that year, yet it was not even nominated for an oscar because the composer was a comunist sympathizer 1982 had Vangelis' Chariots of Fire, Alex North's Dragonslayer, John Williams' Raiders of the Lost Ark which are all good. I remember Randy Newman's Ragtime soundtrack getting a good bit of praise but I confess its been ages since I've heard it. On Golden Pond by Dave Grusin seems like the potential weak link in the list but having never seen it - much less heard its soundtrack - I couldn't say if Poledouris' Conan soundtrack should have replaced it - but even if it had there was no way it was going to beat Chariots of Fire that year (as much as I like CtB, I'd have a hard time seeing it beat Raiders, either). As far as I know, Poledouris has never had an Academy Award nomination.

I finally finished the main quest with my original character. Will get back to posting screenshots soonish. General bulletpoint thoughts: Not as strong as FONV or FO3 Strong ideas that were poorly developed High CHR characters should have a way to reconcile Institute-Railroad; that this doesn't seem possible (given the way the plot progresses) was maddening. Allied settlement management is fun in small doses. However it is really annoying when you have a settlement with over 100 security and people get kidnapped from it. Endgame choices were designed to be "hard choices" but it was difficult to accept when the hard choices exist because the PC is completely ineffectual in pointing out the obvious flaws in the "logic" used to explain why certain events happen. Endgame plot thread seemed very short Liked combat, like playing with weapons, armor and mods. Enjoyed the setting Plot holes and lore holes could be distracting.

Am going to apologize in advance, but I probably won't be in a position to post screenshots for awhile so I'm going to post another round: ********** With a locked door stymieing me from discovering the secrets of Covenant, I resume wandering sneaking through the wasteland Note to Self: I'll come back when my bobby pin skills are stronger, Covenant. Your mysteries shall not long defy me. Unless a shiny object distracts me. This is why you sneak through unknown areas. You never know when a Feral Ghoul will leap out of the bushes. Note to Self: And what exactly was he doing in the bushes? Do I even want to know? Faced with a Deathclaw, I unleashed the Protectrons of Justice. And shot at it on an island in the pond as the Deathclaws won't cross water. Like Dracula. Note to Self: "By your Powers Combined, I am Captain Protectron!" Clearing the land of ghouls and Deathclaws, I entered an old house and found...more bloodbugs. Note to Self: I didn't like mosquitos before, dislike them more now. Unfortunately despite great need, no DEET based products survived the war. Thankfully many, many, many bullets did. Skirting the heavily radiated south-west, I found another vault. And not coincidentally, a Gunner Base Note to Self: Are the Gunners all that's left of this vault's populance? Or did the Gunner's take this base from the Vault Dwellers? Gunners seem pretty well entrenched. But your silly can chimes will not catch me. Note to Self: They will catch Curie however. Curie takes point. Note to Self: Forgot to turn my pip-boy light out...that explains why the Gunners kept spotting us even when we avoided chimes. So it seems the Vault Dwellers did themselves in after all. Note to Self: A pointed lesson on the value of "Just Say No."

So an older Minuteman requested help and now we're traveling long forgotten tunnels to get to some loot useful goods for the help of all in the wasteland Note to Self: Must have been a E.A. Poe fan, what with all the amontillado around... Besides the guns, ammo and equipment, more reading material! Note to Self: Unfortunately I can already answer this without reading: yes booby pins are. Bedecked in Minutemen's Finest Note to Self: I love a good tricorn hat. Preston seems impressed at least. Note to Self: Bet he still will ask me to defend random towns rather than doing it himself. Okay, well maybe "Do you have a stimpack ready for me?" was innuendo after all. Note to Self: Find way to replace the other door; Preston and Mama Murphy have an unnerving habit of hanging around my house. Tests? Nobody said anything about tests! Note to Self: Study for random Wasteland pop-quizzes next time. Luckily the test questions were pretty simple. Note to Self: And it goes without saying, you simply do not want a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity. The doors open! Note to Self: Welcome to Covenant, Isabelle, we hope you survive the experience! The town looks completely like the pre-war towns did. Why couldn't my house have survived as well? Note to Self: To be honest, this place is a bit...suspicious given the state of everything else I've come across. Not to disturb the locals, I've opted to try and blend in. Note to Self: I'm like the Dian Fossey of crazy creepy wasteland setlements

Haven't played Tresspasser yet, but I understand it as a plot is connected directly to the main story. Jaws of Hakkon adds a very large area, similar to all of the other areas in the game. The Decent adds a large Deep Roads segment. I liked both.

Okay thanks, I finally caught it between the people moving. That was bugging me. It had to go somewhere!

In the US at least its mandated that men and women's sports have to have an equality of access. That's fine with a lot of sports because there's a women's equivalent. Football there isn't, so if you have a football team there's usually some women's team around to make up for that. Most schools don't get the money, the foundations do. The foundations then are often called on to pay non-teaching coaching staff, facilities upkeep, etc.

Where does the "bowling ball" go?

I can't say that I've ever been more excited about seeing a teaser that has almost no real information about the show!

It's amazing what you can find in old boxes around the Wasteland Note to Self: Like RadAway. How much of this stuff was just lying around pre-war? Curie...I know you're new to that humanoid body, but I'm not sure you understand what asking "Do you have a stimpack ready for me?" really means... Note to Self: No really, it wasn't meant to be innuendo. Honest! Okay now that that is settled, off to help the Minutemen take back their base. Note to Self: Is sneaking in Power Armor even possible? Sounded like a pitched battle was happening somewhere in the distance, so running further on to make the objective without getting caught up in that mess. Note to Self: I mean after all, I had my own pitched battle to get to. The Minuteman fort has become a mutated Shellfish breeding ground. Note to Self: Hadn't seen a Mirelurk that big before...good thing I opted for the self cleaning interior on this Power Armor Swarm required a smaller, faster weapon. Sprayed area with that "alien blaster" I found. Note to Self: And by found I mean took off the body of a hostile alien that I killed. Victory! I'd like to say I took my helmet off for the photo op, but to be honest the mirelurk queen knocked it off my head Note to Self: With my luck, it fell into that gooey mirelurk I killed earlier. Time for a new helmet?

Sibling looking for other Sibling. I can see it now, your family is living peacefully in the vault when raiders come and destroy and loot it, killing your family. You hide but your younger brother/sister is kidnapped by raiders. With the vault destroyed, and all your family dead but your brother/sister, you leave the vault to rescue them (after traveling around the wasteland for 3 years dispensing justice like you're Cain from Kung-Fu and finally feel like getting on with the main questline). BOOM! Fallout 5 for ya. I do think Bethesda has great marketing. I'm just not sold that marketing is the tail that wags the game development's dog. I think the kid thing could have worked, but it certainly requires a degree of dialogue interaction that Bethesda seems to not really do well and/or go for. Just being pre-war would have been easier, but either way it'd require one of the thing that Bethesda is generally weak at and that is having the open world really recognize you in a significant way without making you Dovahkin/chosen one. They'd have to have create a way for their systems to keep track of what you've actually learned; they'd also have to have set certain things that you'd recognize that others didn't (like being able to correct the guy about Baseball in Diamond city, but more of it). In fact, along those lines, as someone who is living in Sanctuary Hills pre-war, you should actually have a better idea of where the major landmarks were pre-war. Not everything, but certainly stuff close to home and major landmarks. They could still have the PC find those landmarks (ie find a path to them in the wreckage), but the map shouldn't have been a big blank. But Bethesda's games have always been fairly compartmentalized, that seems to be part of what they do.

I think I mentioned it once before, but to me Bethesda's recent games somewhat defy categorization. Rather than RPGs or FPS or Sandlot games, I've taken them to refering to them as "Bethesda Games". In that sense the development of Skyrim and Fallout 4 seems to have pushed further into what Bethesda seems to want to do within their niche of gaming lots of freedom to interact with the world, but weak narratives - the idea being you're so interested in looking at the trees you don't think about how crappy the forest you're in may be (obviously, tastes differ). Don't get me wrong, I love Skyrim, and am still enjoying Fallout 4, but I'd objectively say both aren't great RPGs. I actually think a weak hook isn't neccesarily a problem. I found the FO3 hook particularly weak, it actually made the game a bit more enjoyable for me than Oblivion's main quest, just cause Oblivion's screams urgency while FO3's doesn't. I'm not someone who falls for emotional hooks, and to top it off, I don't really have a father. My father is the one who ditched me here in Germany to starve, so I mean if a father tells me "don't come looking for me" then my response is "lol ok." For me I guess it's more that I get the impression that Bethesda is convinced this style of writing is effective. I get the impression they pat themselves on the back and think "damn, that hook was so good! Good job Bethesda!" when in reality it's just so weak. The hook itself I think is no damaged by this, because you can have fun with this style of game whether the hook leading into the main quest is strong or not. However, I do think a weak hook can function as a red flag that suggests writing quality may be lacking. In FO1, finding the waterchip is simply a motivation given to you. The game states "here's the rules of the game, you're from a vault, you need a waterchip. Go." It's not really trying to immerse you, just giving you a goal. In this case, it's like they didn't attempt any writing with the hook beyond a reasonable and plausible premise to demand the gameplay begins. In Bethesda's case, they're actively trying to write in a hook and motivation, but failing at it. I think the thing is that where Bethesda falls down oftentimes is that Forest-trees thing. Looking for your kidnapped baby in Fallout 4 is a great hook, a great way to get in the forest. Problem is, the game wants you to look at the trees, not the forest. If that mangled metaphor makes any sense.