Fallout 4 is coming soon.. is there a new OB Fallout Scheduled?

[Gorgon]

Actually you get the background bit when you have enough influence. Influence is tied to dialouge choices obviously but also for some strange reason to gameplay actions. One follower might dislike you when you pick locks and like when you eat corpses so if you want to max out your relationship you have to change the way you play to suit the follower.

 

It's too much of a nuisance to put up with just to get to the special quest/romance option. Nearly all followers cramp your style in one way or another. No they aren't that interesting from a writing standpoint either.

 

It's a Bethesda game. Bethesda games are primarily about exploration. Once you have seen most of what there is to see and done most of what there is to do, you are done. 

 

I never finished Morrowind, or FO4 for that matter because I hit that mark before I had finished the main quest. 

[GhostofAnakin]

I had this gem of a conversation with my companion tonight.  It was the reporter I mentioned above.  I forget the exact one word option I had available -- it was something to do with asking them their thoughts, so maybe it was just that.  But in any case, this is the best I've seen so far in terms of "getting to know her".

 

Me: "Thoughts?"

 

Follower: *random comment about raiders*

 

Me: "Thoughts?"

 

Follower: *random comments about making a difference*

 

Me: "Thoughts?"

 

Follower: *random comment being a good person*

 

Rinse and repeat.

 

Essentially, my "dialogue" with her consisted of my character literally repeating the phrase "Thoughts?" and her making some random observation that you usually get out of those NPCs in other games you don't actually chat with, but if you click on them they say a pre-determined one sentence over and over again.

 

I mean, come on.  I don't think it can even be written off as just because it's a Bethesda game.  Skyrim and FO3 had more dialogue than this.  Even the important NPCs have almost nothing to say to you.  They may say something the first time you meet them -- and even then it's sparse -- and then they're mute after that.

 

Having said all that, I am actually enjoying the adventuring/exploring.  It's just the actual dialogue/character interactions that disappoint me so much.

[HoonDing]

It's not a BioWare game.

 

You only get meaningful interactions when they "admire" and "idolize" you.

[eLPuSHeR]

I hear you. I have only completed Nick Valentine quest to obtain his perk. I think Nick is one of the few characters who actually has got a bigger background. And I find his remarks funny too. I also like his Bogart-esque style.

 

The other recruitable npcs just suck in my humble opinion. And yes, it's pretty lame why some npcs like or dislike any actions you do. I am now in my way of "romancing" Paladin Danse but, come on, the guy seems to be dumb as a rock.

 

BTW: Can you romance anyone of the same sex?

 

 

You get his perk after completing the "Eddie Winter" quest.

 

Edited December 1, 2015 by eLPuSHeR

[Humanoid]

Every single romanceable character is bisexual, yes. Nick is asexual though.

[HoonDing]

Deacon & ghoul are best companions. Deacon's comments are hilarious, ghoul is the only one (aside from the boring BoS one) who doesn't seem to suck completely in combat.

 

Irish chick is okay too, though. She's the only companion with some character development.

[Elerond]

After doing all companion quest I must say that best companion is Dogmeat because he don't constantly comment why I take all the stuff with me, even though it should be obvious to anybody that has traveled with my character even little bit of time (I use that junk to build my empire, which is aspect of the game I like most especially now that I can use artillery to bombard my enemies).  

 

 

EDIT: Most of the companions will become much better in combat when you equip them with better armor and weapons. Robots seem to be most useless and suicidal of the bunch.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Elerond

[Gorgon]

I had this gem of a conversation with my companion tonight.  It was the reporter I mentioned above.  I forget the exact one word option I had available -- it was something to do with asking them their thoughts, so maybe it was just that.  But in any case, this is the best I've seen so far in terms of "getting to know her".

 

Me: "Thoughts?"

 

Follower: *random comment about raiders*

 

Me: "Thoughts?"

 

Follower: *random comments about making a difference*

 

Me: "Thoughts?"

 

Follower: *random comment being a good person*

 

Rinse and repeat.

 

Essentially, my "dialogue" with her consisted of my character literally repeating the phrase "Thoughts?" and her making some random observation that you usually get out of those NPCs in other games you don't actually chat with, but if you click on them they say a pre-determined one sentence over and over again.

 

I mean, come on.  I don't think it can even be written off as just because it's a Bethesda game.  Skyrim and FO3 had more dialogue than this.  Even the important NPCs have almost nothing to say to you.  They may say something the first time you meet them -- and even then it's sparse -- and then they're mute after that.

 

Having said all that, I am actually enjoying the adventuring/exploring.  It's just the actual dialogue/character interactions that disappoint me so much.

Apparently the dialouge tree has to fit on a controller keypad. Part of the price of having the game fully voiced maybe, but having had the experience of playing Shadowrun Hong Kong and Pillars recently.  There are at least a few pivotal plot instances where the game is let down by its over slimplicity.

[Humanoid]

Did Bioware patent the ability to put six options on a dialogue wheel?

[masteratt]

Did Bioware patent the ability to put six options on a dialogue wheel?

And after playing other RPGs, I'm starting to think Obsidian patented 'being a competent writer for an RPG game'.

[Gorgon]

Actually I'm curious to see the dialouge trees. Whether there are more than one or two branches and dependencies per faction and companion in the entire game, my guess is most dialouges will have none.   

[Gorgon]

The level design on some of the small 'dungeons' is really good though. I never even knew the game had desctructable cover until i noticed it in one. 

 

A raider silently praying by a grave, a raider building an abstract statue. You notice a lot if you stealth it.  Kind of a shame you aren't allowed to talk to any raiders, still with the dialouge system as weak as it is maybe it's a blessing.

 

Still, I would much rather have had partial voicing and more options.  

[Fenixp]

Skyrim had an awesome mod (called SkyRe) which completely overhauled the skill tree. I think it merged stealth and lockpicking into a single tree and added an entirely new skill, outdoorsman or something along those lines, which contained a chain of skills allowing you to don clothes of various factions around Skyrim, making them non-hostile. What I expected to see was a bunch of bandits on patrol routes, but it turns out Bethesda put a lot more effort into this and the bandit 'colonies' were a lot more lively than that.

 

It's just a shame that Fallout 4 sounds like it was never even made for roleplaying, so such mod would quite simply not bring much of a benefit.

[Rosbjerg]

Yeah, I can totally see what Mkreku and others love about the game - they nailed gunplay, graphics, environment exploration etc. I can totally see the good comparison to Rage and Stalker. Had some great battles in Boston, running from cover to cover from Raiders and mutants. I'm just the kinda player that values all the other things higher, so I think this is gonna be the last Bethesda game I buy if they keep on this track. Shame, but oh well. I'm quite sure they'll live

[WDeranged]

I've found the stilted dialogue and the general lack of skill checks to be the most galling issues.  As Longknife said this does feel like the death knell for the Fallout that we knew...but if I were to be less reactionary I'd say that the gameplay and world design is fiendishly fun, it might even be their best yet.  It is a good game but it's not quite Fallout 

 

In other news I fought my way up a skyscraper and leapt joyfully from the roof while wearing power armor, ****ing hell yeah 

Edited December 1, 2015 by WDeranged

[ktchong]

 

Did Bioware patent the ability to put six options on a dialogue wheel?

And after playing other RPGs, I'm starting to think Obsidian patented 'being a competent writer for an RPG game'.

 

 

.... CD Projekt Red was excellent in The Witcher 2 and 3.  I'd personally rank CDPR as currently being the best in business right now, above Bethesda, BioWare, and Obsidian.

 

Next year's Game of the Year and/or RPG of the Year awards will likely include these two finalists: The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4.  Based on what I've been reading and seeing on YouTube, (and you can google it and search for the videos yourself,) the overwhelming majority who compared those two titles think The Witcher 3 is the better game and the better RPG. 

Edited December 1, 2015 by ktchong

[GhostofAnakin]

Yeah, I can totally see what Mkreku and others love about the game - they nailed gunplay, graphics, environment exploration etc. I can totally see the good comparison to Rage and Stalker. Had some great battles in Boston, running from cover to cover from Raiders and mutants. I'm just the kinda player that values all the other things higher, so I think this is gonna be the last Bethesda game I buy if they keep on this track. Shame, but oh well. I'm quite sure they'll live

 

Agreed.  There are a lot of things to like about FO4, including the stuff you mentioned.  It's just that one of the things I like most in an RPG is incredibly lacking in FO4, so I tend to notice it more.

 

What's weird is that previous Bethesda games had it.  So it's not like I'm wishing a feature that Bio/Obsidian/CDPR do (ie. depth in dialogue) and Bethesda never did.  Bethesda's dialogue may have always been generic, but it was at least present.  FO4 seems to have really streamlined this to a weird degree.

[Hurlshort]

Bethesda does tend to invest in things that people complain about, so I do think you can expect a better dialogue system in the future.  However the general trend of moving away from RPG mechanics is probably not going to change for them.  SPECIAL is dead, man.  

[Gorgon]

Well, true light, FOV and sound based stealth mechanics are superior to modified score checks any day. I can still crawl through a spotlight though so special is still there in gameplay situations, just deliberately obfuscated. All the dialouge checks have probably been cut on the altar of 'fully voiced' as well. 

 

They did dumb it down too far no question, but if they lose a bunch of RPG fans and add twice as many soccer moms they are probably fine with that. 

[Darkpriest]

WTF is a soccer mom? You mean the ones buying games for their kids?

[Amentep]

Well, true light, FOV and sound based stealth mechanics are superior to modified score checks any day. I can still crawl through a spotlight though so special is still there in gameplay situations, just deliberately obfuscated. All the dialouge checks have probably been cut on the altar of 'fully voiced' as well. 

 

They did dumb it down too far no question, but if they lose a bunch of RPG fans and add twice as many soccer moms they are probably fine with that.

Charisma persuading checks are in the game. I've avoided several fetch quests by having a high charisma (for example getting into Vault 81). But there's not a lot of them mainly are certain big quests and I haven't seen any non-Charisma checks.

[Hurlshort]

WTF is a soccer mom? You mean the ones buying games for their kids?

 

Pretty sure it was just an expression, relax.

[GhostofAnakin]

The only charisma checks I've noticed dealt with trying to get a NPC to pay for money for a fetch quest.  I also noticed it once or twice when it comes to getting a NPC to reveal a bit more information that they may not be forthcoming about.

 

I have a 10 in charisma, so maybe I've seen the option appear more than some who don't bother with high charisma.  Still, it doesn't seem there's all that many opportunities to use it compared to most games that utilize it.

[Elerond]

The only charisma checks I've noticed dealt with trying to get a NPC to pay for money for a fetch quest.  I also noticed it once or twice when it comes to getting a NPC to reveal a bit more information that they may not be forthcoming about.

 

I have a 10 in charisma, so maybe I've seen the option appear more than some who don't bother with high charisma.  Still, it doesn't seem there's all that many opportunities to use it compared to most games that utilize it.

 

My character has done 130 successful persuasions (charisma checks) during the game, for comparison my character has picked 326 locks and hacked 111 computers. 

 

Persuasion seems to be there mostly to get more money from the side quests. In some occasions you have option to persuade people help you in fight or leave before fight so fight is easier. And some rare cases you have given option to dodge fight altogether. And of course in flirting and romancing are charisma checks. Then there are occasional check that give you background information sooner or more information and some cases you get earlier/easier access to some locked areas.

[Amentep]

I've circumvented some quests (like getting fusion cores fir vault 81) with charm a checks. Resolved the feud between the shop owner and the drug dealers with a charm a check. Think I backed some people out of a fight.

 

That's without the companion or extra caps ones. I only mention it because - unless I misunderstood and Gorgon's use of All was hyperbolic - I wanted to counter the idea there were no attribute checks. I'm playing 10 charisma + black widow and while I'd like more options, op tons are there