Fallout 4...

[WDeranged]

 

I remember how I felt betrayed by these repeating quests. I did a few of them because I thought something would happen, but after doing a few of them I slowly figured the game is just feeding me with boring fetch-quests (I honestly thought there were a bunch of BoS kids who wanted to learn from me and then something with plot would happen... Silly me). After that I never picked up any of such quests ever again.

 

You know, something like FNVs Return to Sender, which was mostly a boring slog as well until the awesome ending happens.

 

 

I recently read that....

 

So I knew that Oblivion was the last game created with TES' original staff on board, right? By the time Skyrim came out, not a single writer/developer from Morrowind and earlier was on staff save for obvious examples like Todd. This explains why Skyrim is so willing to take a dump on old lore and just not give a damn, as well as why the tone feels so different.

 

Apparently, at least one guy remained on board for Fallout 3. Most of the older Bethesda devs left after Oblivion was wrapped up, but one guy hung around. That guy was Mark Nelson. Nelson was responsible for both writing and quest design, as one of the leads.

 

This does so ****ing much to explain why...I mean FO3 had it's Bethesda-ness to it, don't get me wrong, but it still felt like it did an ok job of holding onto some Fallout elements, such as choice and consequence, SOME of the tone and writing, and just generally having quests that felt like someone put a lot of time and effort into them.

 

Fast forward to Skyrim and FO4, generic radiant quests are in abundance. The simple explanation is because their quest designers have changed. I already knew their writers had started changing starting with FO3, was not aware their quest designers were aswell.

 

 

So yeah, the jist of it is the simple truth that the same guys who gave you the hand crafted quests you saw in Oblivion or Fallout 3 are no longer working at Bethesda. Who's in charge of quest design now...? Hell if I know, but whoever it is apparently loves fetch quests and combat.

 

 

Ehh you're basically right but I'd be remiss if I didn't stick up for Skyrim's general quality and charm.  It may be missing fresh creative input of many previous writers but they stayed admirably close to what had already been established.  It was padded out with fetch quests but the world was interesting enough to make the journey worth it, the game truly feels like a labour of love to me.

 

With Fallout 4 it's as if they took all the things I hated about Skyrim and Fallout 3 (games I love) and turned them into the main attraction.  It's every unfocused plot point in Fallout 3 + Skyrim's most soulless quest design, with a copy of Borderlands shoved up it's ass 

Edited January 10, 2016 by WDeranged

[HoonDing]

i felt betrayed by the lack of b00bies in Morrowind

[MrBrown]

I'm only level 5 and getting my arse kicked in Lexington. It's still too twitchy for me and, for the love of God, where are the traders? I can't sell my junk anywhere. 

 

Don't bother with the items too much, you don't need money that much either. Grenades and drugs have the best weight/value -ratio, naturally.

[Amentep]

Surprise surprise, I'm enjoying it for many of the reasons cited for not liking it.

 

I'm only level 5 and getting my arse kicked in Lexington. It's still too twitchy for me and, for the love of God, where are the traders? I can't sell my junk anywhere. 

 

Drumlin Diner is North West of Lexington, it lies between Lexington and Concord on the main road.  There's both a permanent merchant (once you solve a problem/quest) and possibly a wandering merchant that shows up at the location (meaning sometimes you have two merchants there).

[Monte Carlo]

 

Surprise surprise, I'm enjoying it for many of the reasons cited for not liking it.

 

I'm only level 5 and getting my arse kicked in Lexington. It's still too twitchy for me and, for the love of God, where are the traders? I can't sell my junk anywhere. 

 

Drumlin Diner is North West of Lexington, it lies between Lexington and Concord on the main road.  There's both a permanent merchant (once you solve a problem/quest) and possibly a wandering merchant that shows up at the location (meaning sometimes you have two merchants there).

 

 

Cheers 'Tep

[GhostofAnakin]

When does Boxscar Sally or whatever her name is start showing up in Sanctuary Hills constantly?  I can't remember when she first arrived, but she seemed to live there.  Every time I'd fast travel to Sanctuary Hills, she'd be there on the street right outside the house with the workbench.

 

'Course, she might just be stuck there because her Brahmin kept getting stuck on the roof of one of the houses in town.  Not sure what is up with that.

[Amentep]

Trashcan Carla. She seems to travel between sanctuary hills, drumlin diner and bunker hill and it's easy to hit her schedule.

[Longknife]

Still obsessed with this:

 

 

 

 

The writer missed a great opportunity to at least be somewhat self-aware by naming the quest "Fridge Logic." :D

[Oerwinde]

How did that kid survive for 200 years with no food or oxygen? Ghouls don't age, but they still have to eat and breathe.

[WDeranged]

How did that kid survive for 200 years with no food or oxygen? Ghouls don't age, but they still have to eat and breathe.

 

He survived on cool, the pure liquid cool that our Lord Todd deemed eminently worthy of your attention!

[Amentep]

How did that kid survive for 200 years with no food or oxygen? Ghouls don't age, but they still have to eat and breathe.

Sure, it was empty when we opened it, but who knows what it looked like when the kid went in!

 

In case anyone isn't sure:

[Quillon]

How did that kid survive for 200 years with no food or oxygen? Ghouls don't age, but they still have to eat and breathe.

 Ghouls really don't age? Why did Raul keep complaining about his age/knees etc all the time? Was he always been complaining since he became a ghoul? Maybe they age real slow? : p

[Lexx]

They do age, but slower than humans. Same for super mutants.

[Quillon]

Then the kid should have been at least over 20/fully grown ghoul in over 200 years given that the bull**** he survived that long. Or they retconned the ghouls.

[Amentep]

Then the kid should have been at least over 20/fully grown ghoul in over 200 years given that the bull**** he survived that long. Or they retconned the ghouls.

 

Or he really wasn't in there for 200 years.

 

If it was up to me, the ghoul kid and family would have been working with the raiders to prey on the gullible.  Some sucker would free the kid and not knowing nothin' about ghouls would buy the story about the kid being in the fridge and reuniting with the family and all, the kid would lead the sucker to the raiders and make sure they got killed and everyone would split the profit.

 

Only the ghoul family decided to flip the script because they were tired of being under the heel of the raiders. So they got the kid to lead the toughest looking suckers home instead of directly to the raiders - always plausible deniability about how the sucker didn't follow the exact script until someone comes along who can actually take out the raiders.  Once that's done the ghoul family is free and the sucker is none the wiser.

 

Or it could have been that way had someone thought to flesh out the quest a bit.

[Lexx]

But how can anyone who lives in the world *not* know of ghouls? They are everywhere. You can pick up a stone and throw it in a random direction and you'll hit a ghoul hiding under some trash. He will be like *GWOAARRarblwarbl* and run straight up to you.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Lexx

[Gorgon]

You guys are overthinking it. It's supposed to be a wild wasteland episode. The reason you can't tell is that it's not even remotely funny.  

[Amentep]

But how can anyone who lives in the world *not* know of ghouls? They are everywhere. You can pick up a stone and throw it in a random direction and you'll hit a ghoul hiding under some trash. He will be like *GWOAARRarblwarbl* and run straight up to you.

 

Knowing of ghouls and knowing the dietary habits of ghouls in their natural habitat is something entirely different (and I'm not sure knowing to mow down a Feral Ghoul has any barring on non-Ferals).

 

 

You guys are overthinking it. It's supposed to be a wild wasteland episode. The reason you can't tell is that it's not even remotely funny.  

 

Overthinking things is fun, though!

[mkreku]

Kid in a fridge, holy ****, Bethesda are so stupid!!1

 

Chess-playing, talking radscorpion, no problem, it's canon.

[Lexx]

Actually chess-playing, talking radscorpion was always criticised. As well as all the other stupid stuff in Fo2.

[Amentep]

Mind you I didn't mind the stupid stuff in FO2 (anymore than in any of the other FOs including Kid Fridge)

[GhostofAnakin]

 

Then the kid should have been at least over 20/fully grown ghoul in over 200 years given that the bull**** he survived that long. Or they retconned the ghouls.

 

 

Or it could have been that way had someone thought to flesh out the quest a bit.

 

 

This one sentence sums up pretty much every quest/plot point in Fallout 4.

[Amentep]

 

 

Then the kid should have been at least over 20/fully grown ghoul in over 200 years given that the bull**** he survived that long. Or they retconned the ghouls.

 

 

Or it could have been that way had someone thought to flesh out the quest a bit.

 

 

This one sentence sums up pretty much every quest/plot point in Fallout 4.

 

 

To be honest, more than once playing Fallout 4 I wondered if the production had been rushed on it.  So many ideas but much of it is underdeveloped.

[Gromnir]

we got fo4, but haven't played it yet.  nevertheless, current discussion makes us curious.  in our opinion, bethesda open-world rpgs has always favored breadth over depth.  bethesda games has many small quests or encounters but those quests and encounters is, compared to obsidian or even bioware games, undernourished.  therefore, am genuine wondering if the feel that content is endemic underdeveloped is based on comparisons to crpgs in general, or does such impressions hold true when compared to oblivion and fo3? 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[WDeranged]

we got fo4, but haven't played it yet.  nevertheless, current discussion makes us curious.  in our opinion, bethesda open-world rpgs has always favored breadth over depth.  bethesda games has many small quests or encounters but those quests and encounters is, compared to obsidian or even bioware games, undernourished.  therefore, am genuine wondering if the feel that content is endemic underdeveloped is based on comparisons to crpgs in general, or does such impressions hold true when compared to oblivion and fo3? 

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

Speaking as a long time Bethesda fanboi with a medically dangerous number of hours logged in their games I'd say the quests are under-developed.  It's not like Morrowind or Oblivion had many branching paths but the quests were at least interesting or humorous, Fallout 3 is a wonderland of choices compared to Fallout 4.