Fallout 4 (Part 1)
Background
Fallout 4 was released in 2015, 7 years after Fallout 3. Although Bethesda Game Studios did "publish" Fallout: Nevas in 2010, the 18-month development time was made through Obsidian Entertainment. Fallout 4 was built on the backbone of the original company's Gamebryo engine, now updated and renamed as Creation Engine (which can also be found in Skyrim). It was released the same year as the mobile free-to-play mobile game of Fallout Shelter (an attempt was made reaching the limit of 4 hours before deeming it not worthwhile). Patches were made to fix a lot of the problems with the game and several DLCs were offered (which I'll mention more in detail as I reach them). The one thing that a lot of people hated about Bethesda was their mini-DLC program. Various content packs are purchased using their in-game currency that is only obtainable through spending real money (besides the free 100 credits for using the program). The service adds items like backpacks, alternative colors to your Pip-boy, and unique weapons. People were also upset to learn that they would have to buy another core-edition of the game for VR-support when Fallout 4 VR released alongside Skyrim VR in 2017.
Foundation
There was no need to download any stutter removal programs. It seemed to support Windows 10 just fine. I only crashed to desktop (CTD) a couple times simply because I went overboard with switching between programs outside of the game. Although I did play the game for 20 hours before installing any mods, it is recommended to download the Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch from the start for the issues that were not addressed by Bethesda. Most of the problems I encountered while playing the first 100 hours resided with quest triggers found outside the quest objective. It was the same issue I had with Final Fantasy 15 where nothing happened until I stepped in a specific spot. Another infamous issue I had was when a quest requested a companion's assistance. Either I had to wait for my companion to walk to their original designation within the guidelines of the quest (from whereever I moved them) or my current companion would involuntarily dismiss themselves whenever I completed one.
Perks
The game has been streamlined. There are no traits with both a positive and negative outcome like Fallout: New Vegas. They have been merged into a large perk chart. There is no limit to how high you can level which means there is no limit to what skills you can obtain. A person could continue leveling to 286 in an effort to collect them all. The only limit is what you can access from the start of the game. I initially started with the following: STR: 4, PER: 4, END:3, CHA: 5, INT: 5, AGI: 3, LCK: 4. However, I later felt my points should have been arranged more accordingly: STR: 6, PER: 5, END: 1, CHA: 6, INT: 7, AGI: 1, LCK: 2. The main reason is the requirements of the crafting stations: Demolition Expert for Grenades (PER: 5), Local Leader for Settlement Supply Lines (CHA: 6), Gun Nut (INT: 3), Science (INT: 6), Chemist (INT: 7). There are also a few perks I feel are necessary to enjoy the scavanging aspect of the game: Scrounger (LCK: 2) allows certain scrap items to glow, Strong Back (STR: 6) increases carry weight, Locksmithing (PER: 4) for lockpicking, and Hacker (INT: 4) for accessing terminals. You will also have a higher percentage to succeed certain dialogue choices with more charisma.
First 20 Hours, Introductions
I was quite surprised how much the game improved over its predecessors. Everything is amazing. Everything looks real... well except for that baby of course. There is an added level of darkness during the night. I am embarrassed to say that it took me a couple hours wandering around before learning how to use the Pip-boy to light the area around me. Being able to see and loot items just by pointing your cursor on the object removes the additional step of bringing up the sub-menu. Obtaining your first power armor and learning how it works like an exo-skeleton within the first two hours of gameplay just makes you want to kiss Bethesda for knowing exactly what makes Fallout so awesome. I spent a few hours messing around with the Settlement System and made some modifications to my weapon. I found Dogmeat rather quickly and played around with the companion options. It isn't as quick as using Fallout: New Vegas companion wheel but it's still efficient at what it is meant to accomplish. Oh and I gave Dogmeat a teddy bear to rip up. I remembered that from a post long ago. Things moved rather quickly as I ventured into Diamond City, recruited Piper, and left without having enough caps for the house there. You have no idea how scared I am of ghouls. I have jumped out of my seat from ghouls suddenly rising from the ground when I thought they were dead, falling out of the ceiling, climbing through windows, and crawling through cars. They are fast and are somehow more terrifying when shining a light on them. Even things popping out of the ground like radscorpions or mole rats still give me a bit of a scare. There was a time I shot off a round from my shotgun when my phone rang (in real life). Back in Sanctuary, I felt like the game was requiring too much from me. I didn't want to spend hours decorating a settlement and sorting my items. It was time for me to find a solution to my problem.
Time for Mods
- To solve my first problem with refusing to micro-manage my settlements, I found a mod called Sim Settlements. I'll argue that this should have been included in the game. In fact, the creator of this mod is still working on it! You should see all the support he has. It is arguably the best Fallout 4 mod ever created. It allows you to plop a station down and have it automatically build from a randomized list of user-generated buildings. If that sounds too easy, you have a wide range of options from halting additional upgrades until you are visibly present (to watch its progress) to selecting which settler is assigned to each plot. The only downside is your settlement will lose its original identity once everything is scrapped and the sheer amount of items that are built up can be taxing on a person's frame rate. Or if you want you could always create your own plots, like in SimCity, within the confines of your current settlement. There are still a bunch of other options that I have yet to fully check out.
- The second thing I had to fix was finding a better way sorting items. I spent hours splitting items into different containers in the previous two games. The problem only grew with the addition of stuff like armor types and weapon modifications. Valdacilis Item Sorting helped with separating items with labels, AWKCR (Armor & Weapon Keyword Community Resource) helped with separating weapons & armor with labels, and DEF_UI helped with replacing those labels with icons.
- In the process of downloading those, I also decided to grab Full Dialogue Interface to change the Mass Effect abbreviated dialogue wheel to stating exactly what he would say in any conversation. And I installed Language Filter for good measure.
- I have played around with a lot of other mods including but not limited to ones that add hair styles, clothes, furniture, body types, weather, and texture upgrades. Though some would argue these mods better the game, I didn't feel they were completely necessary. Nonetheless I do recommend people to at least try other mods to their heart's content and decide for themselves.
40 Hour Marker
There was plenty to do around Diamond City. I'm sort of embarrassed to say that it took me way too long to realize the place was inside an actual baseball field. The clues were everywhere: a vendor selling baseball equipment, a man asking me to gather green paint to brighten up the wall, and guards equipped with catcher equipment. It wasn't until I took that lift to see the mayor that I truly noticed the entire stadium the city was built on. I personally enjoyed how playful Vadim was at the Dugout Inn, especially during the quest "Confidence Man." I managed to have enough caps to buy Home Plate and christened it as my collection hub for unique and valuable objects. I just wish everybody would shut up about synths. Reminds me of Battlestar Galactica too much. Running around town has made me keenly aware of a new issue in the dialogue. Instead of having the option appear for a successful pass like in Fallout 3 or having all options appear with their skill requirement like in Fallout: New Vegas, you are given an option to roll the dice against your charisma. In other words, you aren't ever sure if you will pass any of these speech checks in Fallout 4. Like in the case of the scientist by the entrance of Vault 81, I wish I knew why she hated outsiders so much. I guess I could always look it up online. I'm still mad that a stupid mole rat bit me and gave me this irremovable disease because I was too nice to use the cure on myself. It takes off 10 points of health and forever haunts my status window. At least I gained my new companion: Curie.
After wandering the streets for hours, I also found Drinkin' Buddy. He led me to Goodneighbor. After hearing the measly offer for the droid, I decided to keep him for myself. Now if only that quest would disappear from my log. The robot told me he could make more beer if I can find more recipes. But I guess I haven't been looking hard enough because I can't find those holotapes anywhere. I've found plenty of beer recipe notes! No matter. He does tell the best jokes.
60 Hours In, Friendly Neighborhood
Goodneighbor certainly had more than I bargained for. The Memory Den was definitely interesting, especially with the Silver Shroud questline. Making that heroic voice was a hoot! I personally like how I can tell people that I have already been at the places they mentioned or have already obtained what they were asking for as they offer the quest. Very nice. What I don't like is deciding between four negative choices just to progress the story. In this case, walking away literally means not taking the quest in the first place. I was also paranoid, but went along with, Bobby's plan digging underground. It is too bad I couldn't convince her to lay down her weapon in the end. Surprisingly, I didn't know that there were two routes I could have taken through the tunnels until after I finished the quest. It probably would have been better to battle the mirelurks in addition to the ghouls in the station. I was really surprised to suddenly have Hancock part of my team after all that.
At first I thought ammo was really scarce until I realized I had enough to shuffle between my weapons. I started a rotation with the different weapon types. I even started naming some of them: Vault Rage, Vic's Gun, Wooden Sanctuary, Curie's Journey, Last Resort, Ashmaker's Cousin, Black Knight's Arm. I found it useful to be flexible with weapons by categorizing them as short-range (melee/pistol), mid-range (assault rifle/shotgun with explosive bullets), and long-range (sniper rifle with magnifier scope). Watching your weapon mods for magnification, fire rate, and range are also very important. At first I thought grenades were considered obsolete without the help of VATS. That isn't entirely true. You can equip them as a secondary weapon, hold onto the weapon for a throwing arc, and even shoot the grenade upon release using VATS.
My Time at Scavanging
I can't believe after playing the game for 3 days that I am still discovering new things. It is difficult to balance out where I should spend all my play time. I get stuck in this rotation: Spend a couple hours working with the settlement like some sort of Minecraft game, spend another couple hours visiting a quest point from town, and then wander endlessly in the Commonwealth hoping for something exciting to happen. I look forward when an area is considered "cleared." Sadly, this ambiguous status can come from a quest objective, main quest, a named boss, a unique item, or even a rare weapon. Enemies repopulate the area and the location gets reset after certain conditions are met. I wish an area is "cleared" when there isn't a reason to return, that includes obtaining unique items like magazines and bobbleheads. Oh well. Let me list a few of my favorite spots I visited:
- Already knew beforehand that the Jamaica Treasure wouldn't be anything valuable. I still brought them home to put on display at Home Plate. I did like how ghouls popped out of the water when half the town was flooded.
- I found they used the same idea in Fallout 3 to extend a relay tower in order to find a radio broadcast. I tuned to one frequency of woman asking for help at a train station. I guess it felt so real that I actually began running to the carts as fast as I could. The moment she screamed on the broadcast was the instant I opened one of the cart doors and heard "This has been a pre-recorded message". I don't think I have ever immersed myself more than that moment.
- Coincidentally, I was just north of the river when I turned level 20 and saw the UFO fall from the sky. I was kind of mad to find out that the UFO Crash Site is unmarked and uses a cave I already explored just moments before. Though in retrospect, I did find the entire event pretty neat right down to the details of the bloody trail leading to the cave. I'll never forget Piper telling me to go see if there were survivors.
- Court 35 has an elevator that takes you to the very top of the building. Stepping into the area will alert two ridiculously overpowered robots. I was so outgunned that I took the chance and jumped off the roof. Amazingly my power armor still broke my fall. I turned around and one of the robots fell and exploded behind me. The other one was still shooting me from the top. I must have unloaded 50 bullets into that thing before it died. All for what? Another power armor. And yes, I actively sought out in obtaining the Robotics Expert perk right after this incident.
- I went out into the water and stumbled across the Yangtze. Though much later while visiting the same area, I did see for a brief moment this green... oozing... eye-thing come up out of the water. Scared me to death. It wasn't until I met up with a kid that I made the connection. I tried recreating the event or finding a picture of precisely what I saw online but to no avail. Now I'm starting to think I hallucinated the whole thing.
- One time my base in Sanctuary was attacked by raiders. I was shocked to see settlers jump into the 4 Power Armors I had setup by my home. That's when I learned that I could tell people, even companions, to jump in and out of the power armor. Later on I tried telling Deacon to get out but he wouldn't without me saying his stupid password first. Can't believe I fell for another one of his stupid pranks. I learned not to have any fusion cores left inside my power armor.
Time for some DLC
At approximately the 75 hour mark, I met with a robot named Ada.
She, if you can give a robot a gender, was fighting off a string of
robots. The encounter felt like any other part of the game except for a
few things: my frame rate dropped a few points during the battle, I
received a few robot parts to which I had nothing to use them for, and
my new companion didn't make any new comments on my actions (no
affinity). I decided to browse online for answers when I noticed it was
all part of the Automatron DLC.
This was the first add-on, released for $10 approximately 4 months
after the game was released. Some people didn't feel the DLC was worth
the cost. Amusingly during Bethseda's Quake-con, the Game of the Year
edition with all the DLC was priced at $30. I personally enjoyed this
DLC. The package includes a few new areas with quests associated with
'em, new robots, new armor reminiscent of Fallout 3, and the ability to create robots with a ginormous variety of parts (including some from another add-on), There are a few new weapons, Tesla Rifle being the most unique with 5 different mods that drastically alters its usage in combat. An added bonus is the ability to alter Cogsworth
Codsworth and Curie with different robot parts. Sadly, any
modifications will remove the ability for them to wear the Bowler hat
or Triggerman bowler on their heads. If you plan to see the DLC to the
end, come prepared. This was perhaps the first time I used everything in
my arsenal to survive.
It didn't take too much longer until I discovered Vault 88 at Quincy Quarries. This area is huge
compared to the other settlements. Just don't expect much for its $5
price point. There is a small chain of quests with very little
interactivity between you, the overseer, and your guinea pigs settlers. Most of the area is filled with giant fights so come prepared. Mostly, the Vault-Tec Workshop
gives you a way to build a vault underground. There are quite a few
additional items you can build elsewhere, including the ones built
during the questline. The Vault-Tec Population Management System
is a welcomed object that allows you to manage settlers and track down
current companions without going out searching for them. Many people
argued that this was not a proper DLC, stating that workshop items
should have been included in the core game. At the very least the
Vault-Tec Workshop offered quests. The Contraptions Workshop and Wasteland Workshop didn't even offer those (considering they too were $5 each).
4 days In, Companions
I'm going to come out and say that Bethseda did a wonderful job making each companion interesting. Every one of them has a ton of unique dialogue and stories to keep you entertained. All companions, except for Ada, give you a neat little perk on reaching the maximum affinity. Dogmeat is the exception of the clause. Although there isn't an official way to have two companions by your side, someone did release the mod Everyone's Best Friend reminiscent to the original Fallout. In fact, some companions will react to you using a stimpack on Dogmeat. You could say that Dogmeat's actual perk is located in the Charisma tree (4). He has the unique ability to hold enemies (without any upgrades) and not count as a companion (thereby granting access) for the Lone Wanderer perk, a callback to the ending of the Lone Wanderer in Fallout 3. Though because each companion is unique, you have to watch what you say or do in the Commonwealth. Companions like Piper, Deacon, and Cait might be easy to please picking locks while Codsworth, Danse, and Preston seem to be only happy if you modify a weapon. And I have no idea how to keep MacCready or Strong satisfied. Most fascinating is when a companion offers you a personal quest to embark on. So for the next 20 hours or so, I made sure to spend some time with these guys out in the field.
100 Hours In, The Brutal Bug Blunder
While out scavenging with my companions, I started to realize the lack of activity happening in my quest log. I should have gotten another main quest or at least been visited by a couple of new faces by now. I did kill Kellogg (the man, not the cereal... though he was a serial killer). Something else should have happened. When I did a search online about it, the phrase "Prydwen not appearing" was used multiple times. The Reunions quest was still active and pointing directly back to Fort Hagen. Then it hit me. I should have exited the rooftop elevator instead of running down the hallway to the doors under the giant EXIT sign. So I went back and went through the area you were supposed to go and triggered the next part of the quest. Then all was forgiven when Prydwen turned out to be a giant war machine instead of a person. It was definitely cooler to see it come out of nowhere in the middle of the night through a deep fog. I must have spent the next couple hours in glee riding with the Brotherhood of Steel, talking to their people, and receiving more quests to work on. It was all worth it.
8-19-2018