Fallout 76

[Edward64]

New Fallout game!

Some nice screen captures in the article.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fa.../1100-6459293/

Bethesda has officially revealed Fallout 76, the next entry in its beloved RPG franchise. After a day of teases, it announced the game with a brief teaser trailer that gives us some hints at what to expect and its Vault 76 setting. But as Bethesda boss Todd Howard said just before it debuted, this was only meant as a tease--more is coming at E3 2018.

... there's not yet any word on a release date. That said, the company has made a habit of not announcing things far in advance, so it's reasonable to expect the wait won't be terribly long.

More will undoubtedly be revealed during Bethesda's E3 press conference, which happens on June 10. We'll also be hearing more about Rage 2 and whatever other projects the company has in the works--it's already teased that this will be its biggest show ever.
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Given the game's name and what we see in the trailer, Vault 76 is seemingly set to play a major role in the game. Although it's not a place we've visited before, this isn't the series' first mention of it. Both Fallout 3 and 4 reference it and, according to the Fallout Wikia, it was occupied by 500 people who were meant to be a control group. It was intended to be opened 20 years after a nuclear war. A poster seen in the Vault shows its existence was meant to mark the United States' tricentennial in 2076.

Fallout 76 is at least partially set in the year 2102, based on the date subtly displayed on a Pip-Boy in the trailer. In Fallout lore, the bombs fell in 2077, and the first Fallout game was set in 2161; Fallout 2 in 2241; Fallout 3 in 2277; New Vegas in 2281; and Fallout 4 in 2287. That would mean this game is set far earlier than any previous title, which could offer a different sort of perspective on the world. The specific date on the Pip-Boy is October 27, 2102; that could be pointing to a release date for the game.

The trailer begins with the Pip-Boy playing a song--"Country Roads" by John Denver. It talks about going home to West Virginia, which could perhaps serve as the location for the Vault 76 and the game.

[Edward64]

Apparently an on-line game.

https://kotaku.com/sources-fallout-7...rpg-1826425333

When Bethesda announced Fallout 76 with a teaser trailer this morning, promising more information at E3, it was easy to assume that the new game would be a traditional single-player role-playing game. But Fallout 76 is in fact an online survival RPG that’s heavily inspired by games like DayZ and Rust, according to three people familiar with the project.

Those people, speaking anonymously so as not to damage their careers, confirmed that Fallout 76 is an experimental new entry in the longrunning post-apocalyptic series. When Bethesda first teased the game on Tuesday morning, fans and pundits speculated that it might be a Fallout 3 remaster or a New Vegas-style spinoff in a new location, but as Kotaku reported that afternoon, it is in fact something completely new and completely different. The teaser might lead Fallout fans to believe that this is a traditional entry in the series, but according to our sources, that’s not the case.

Originally prototyped as a multiplayer version of Fallout 4 with the goal of envisioning what an online Fallout game might look like, Fallout 76 has evolved quite a bit over the past few years, those sources said. It will have quests and a story, like any other game from Bethesda Game Studios, a developer known for meaty RPGs like Skyrim. It will also feature base-building—just like 2015's Fallout 4—and other survival-based and multiplayer mechanics, according to those sources. One source cautioned that the gameplay is rapidly changing, like it does in many online “service” games, but that’s the core outline.

[Izulde]

Well, my interest in this just tanked to 0. Wonder how many others they'll lose due to going online.

[EagleFan]

Oh crap, should have read the second post before getting too pumped...

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Well, my interest in this just tanked to 0. Wonder how many others they'll lose due to going online.

I kinda agree.

[CrimsonFox]

I still haven't played new vegas or 4 :P

[CrimsonFox]

LOL

I burst out laughing at the part...."The pepboy indicated the year 2102 but that could be the release date of the game"

hahahaha

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

I still haven't played new vegas or 4 :P

New Vegas is the best Fallout in my opinion. Fallout 4 has great visuals comparatively, but the game itself isn't as good from a story standpoint. There are some really cool side quests that are worth seeing but overall it just doesn't have quite the same "grip" that New Vegas manages to get on you.

This Fallout 76 thing.. I don't know what to think about it just yet but the online game idea is pretty unappealing on the surface. I feel like it is going to end up being something like Ark mixed with GTA but in the Fallout universe. Just not sure how going online makes it a worthwhile game except that it will enable Bethesda to cash in similarly to how Rockstar did with GTA V.

[Maple Leafs]

Oh good, I was worried the next real Fallout would come out in five years like they usually do instead of seven (and counting) like Elder Scrolls now that it's online.

[Groundhog]

If it's optional multiplayer/co-op, great. If it's an MMORPG... no thanks. I guess on the positive side, if there is base-building then it's hard to see it being an MMORPG type game, but I'm guessing it will be something more like RUST with a storyline.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

If it's optional multiplayer/co-op, great. If it's an MMORPG... no thanks. I guess on the positive side, if there is base-building then it's hard to see it being an MMORPG type game, but I'm guessing it will be something more like RUST with a storyline.

Agreed.

[dubb93]

I haven’t played World of Warcraft in an expansion or so, but it went hardcore into base building so there could definately be base building and it still be an MMO. The way it would work is that everyone’s base is in the same spot and when you enter that area you zone into your own personal base that no one else can see. They would always enter their version of the base when they enter that area.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I haven’t played World of Warcraft in an expansion or so, but it went hardcore into base building so there could definately be base building and it still be an MMO. The way it would work is that everyone’s base is in the same spot and when you enter that area you zone into your own personal base that no one else can see. They would always enter their version of the base when they enter that area.

Pretty much how City of Heroes' superhero/villain bases worked (like, 10 years ago).

[Groundhog]

I guess it's been... yikes, maybe over 10 years since I gave up my WoW addiction.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Pretty much how City of Heroes' superhero/villain bases worked (like, 10 years ago).

:::sniff::: COH

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

If it's optional multiplayer/co-op, great. If it's an MMORPG... no thanks. I guess on the positive side, if there is base-building then it's hard to see it being an MMORPG type game, but I'm guessing it will be something more like RUST with a storyline.

but what you are describing is exactly an MMORPG...at least how they did Star Wars the Old Republic was like that. You could really just solo it (no pun intended) but there were certain quests that required multiplayer for that level or you could solo it at higher levels than the area. And there were certain flashpoints (aka dungeons) that had to be grouped up to do but they were also optional...

[Edward64]

Not quite Fallout 76 news but still relevant to FO fans.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...-this-october/

While the recently announced Fallout 76 might be diverging from series standards, it looks like fans of traditional dialogue and roleplaying-heavy Fallout adventures won’t be entirely left out this year. Originally announced in 2010 as Project Brazil, Fallout: New California is effectively a whole new Fallout game built on top of the New Vegas engine by modding crew Radian-Helix Media, and it’s due for release on October 23rd. Within, a quite dramatic announcement trailer featuring some decent enough amateur voice-work and a whole lot of shooting.

Right now, the main quest of Fallout: New California is finished – present, correct and playable from beginning to end. The developers will be looking for beta testers soon to help work out any kinks before the final release, as well as help them flesh out the mod with some side-quests. Apparently the branching main story (replete with 16,000 lines of dialogue, so say Radian-Helix) isn’t quite enough, so they’re aiming just that little bit higher. They also hope to squeeze in tweaks before launch so that less beefy PCs can run everything smoothly.

[Edward64]

Article is about modding FNV but I highlighted the relevant section.

Fallout 76 is expected this November just in time for Christmas.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...A+Steam+RSS%29

While Fallout 76 isn’t out until November, you can experience a taste of post-apocalyptic multiplayer survival today in a new mod for Fallout: New Vegas. Modder “funkySwadling” has blessed the Mojave Wasteland with the sort of folks you might meet online: jerks camping newbies, jerks spamming terrible sounds and shouting hateful epithets, and groups of players geared to the nines who’ll be tickled by your puny weapons. The Fallout 76 Experience continues the fine tradition of mods for old games parodying newer games in the series, and I… hated the bit I played, in the way I’m supposed to?

[JonInMiddleGA]

That's gold.

[Abe Sargent]

I can't tell you how happy I was to see this set in good ol wv. I was so happy! I knew various locations. Here is the Greenbriar! New River! Etc. I was so happy! I can't wait to play the CRAP out of this game. FOr that reason. And the Fallout thing too.

[Edward64]

This is pretty cool. Nice job Bethesda.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...e-studios-does

The games are great but they're not, according to studio leader Todd Howard, the greatest thing Bethesda Game Studios does. That honour belongs to something the studio doesn't shout about, a fairly private thing. Every so often Bethesda Game Studios opens its doors to terminally ill children who wish to see where their favourite games are made. It's part of the company's quiet ongoing support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

[Atocep]

meh

https://kotaku.com/21-things-we-lear...day-1828276548

[Galaril]

Yeah this mentioned in that article seem this will be basically a MMORPG

"Player versus player combat is opt-in. To initiate it, you shoot at someone and it does a small amount of damage. Howard likened this to “slapping someone at a bar.” If that person wants to do PVP with you, they fire back, and then weapons do full damage. Winning a PVP battle gives you some caps (the game’s currency) and some experience points based on your levels.
If you kill a player who never accepts your invitation to do PVP, you become a “wanted murderer.” You get no caps or experience."

[JonInMiddleGA]

But since they were too lazy to create a cast of NPCs, you can either deal with PVP griefers or wander around in a digital travelogue.

Rest in peace Fallout, the lazy bastards killed you

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Yeah this mentioned in that article seemsmthis will be basically a MMORPG

"Player versus player combat is opt-in. To initiate it, you shoot at someone and it does a small amount of damage. Howard likened this to “slapping someone at a bar.” If that person wants to do PVP with you, they fire back, and then weapons do full damage. Winning a PVP battle gives you some caps (the game’s currency) and some experience points based on your levels.
If you kill a player who never accepts your invitation to do PVP, you become a “wanted murderer.” You get no caps or experience."

It sounds like they're trying to keep both the PvE/Explorers and the PvP/blow shit up crowds happy and based on what they've explained in that article they're making a boring game where neither group is going to be particularly happy once the novelty wears off.

[JonInMiddleGA]

In #Fallout76, Perks are represented through Perk Cards. You earn them every time you Level Up.
Earn Perk Card Packs solely through leveling up. Every other level up to 10, and every 5 levels after.

Countdown to P2W starts .... now

[RainMaker]

They're just going to try to copy the GTA: Online model. I personally hate it but that game prints money so I guess it was inevitable.

At least we have Red Dead Redemption 2 coming which looks incredible.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

At least we have Red Dead Redemption 2 coming which looks incredible.

It does look awfully good, and I'm a fan of what they've done in the past (arguably one of the best stories, characters in a long time I think) ... but am I just completely alone in not being entirely comfortable with the story they've chosen to drop us into?

I mean, we already know these are the bad guys. And not in the lovable rascals kind of way.

I dunno, that just kinda cools my jets a bit (yeah, I end up playing as a Paladin in most games, no matter what my intentions)

[Edward64]

This is positive, sounds as if solo-play will be fun and productive.

'Fallout 76' preview: This isn't 'Fallout 5'

Are there any aspects of the game that require multiple people or a team?

The entire game can be solo'd –- and that's actually how I prefer to play. That said, certain things are easier if you work in a group. Definitely. Especially the end-game content, where you're trying to collect and decipher nuclear codes. So we encourage joining up, but we don't require it. What I've generally found is that even if you're solo'ing the game, the fact that there are other players in the world with you means you always have help within arm's reach if you need it

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Edward64

This is positive, sounds as if solo-play will be fun and productive.

'Fallout 76' preview: This isn't 'Fallout 5'

The early impressions I've read are that it's different from Fallout games, but a good survival game. I really would like to get it and explore WV to see the areas I know very well, but I'm still not $60 sure I want it.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Atocep

The early impressions I've read are that it's different from Fallout games, but a good survival game. I really would like to get it and explore WV to see the areas I know very well, but I'm still not $60 sure I want it.

Deep down ... you know you want it. You know you'll cave in sooner or later. So spare yourself some grief and just get it.

Even if you conclude its not worth $60, you will be (if like me) still net positive on the other Bethesda games.

[Edward64]

Great idea on the partnership.

Forbidden

The West Virginia Tourism Office has announced a partnership with Bethesda to promote Fallout 76, which is set in West Virginia (albeit a version of the state destroyed by nuclear war), and also encourage people to visit the state.

As part of the partnership, Bethesda and the Tourism Office will work together on new advertising campaigns that aim to suit the interests of both parties. The goal for West Virginia is to "educate players about West Virginia's unique landscape and culture," and get people to come visit and spend money, or potentially relocate there, while Bethesda gets to slap Fallout 76 on all the advertising materials.

[Edward64]

I'll play it but I won't be that hardcore guy so its good they are lessening the effects of PvP.

Fallout 76 multiplayer and PvP | PC Gamer

Ever since Bethesda revealed that Fallout 76 players will be able to nuke and kill each other, many Fallout fans have been worried that they won't be able to explore West Virginia without griefers constantly killing them and destroying their stuff. However, as Pete Hines explained earlier this year, nukes are hard to get and relatively easy to avoid, plus your personal camp can't be destroyed by them. And while players can technically kill each other at any time, there are several systems in place to rein in PvP and discourage the griefing seen in games like Rust and DayZ.

Most importantly, PvP level balancing is more even compared to PvE. If you're level 10 and you bump into a level 50 Scorchbeast out in the wilderness, you're probably going to die in a radioactive fire. But if you're attacked by a level 50 player, you'll be able to hold your own even if you're only level 10. High level players do wield some advantage thanks to their gear, but they can't one-shot or otherwise bully low level players. The amount of caps you get for killing another player also scales with their level, making low level players less desirable targets.

On top of flatter PvP level balancing, players are also protected by the murder system. As Bethesda's Todd Howard explained, when you initially attack someone, you'll deal greatly reduced damage until they return fire. Those opening shots are "like slapping somebody in a bar" and asking for a fight, as Howard put it. If you ask for a fight and the other person accepts, you two can duke it out like normal. If you win, you'll get a few caps—that's it. If you lose, you'll only lose some of your scrap materials—the adhesive, metal bits and other junk clogging your inventory—and can easily respawn nearby, so duels are really just for fun.
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If you attack someone who doesn't fight back and kill them, you not only won't receive any caps, you'll also be marked as a wanted murderer. While marked, you won't see other players on the map and you'll appear as a big red target on the map to other players. You'll also have a bounty placed on your head, and if someone kills you, that bounty will be taken out of your caps.

[CrimsonFox]

can they please just make another fallout 3 and be done with it???

[Abe Sargent]

I will be going into a deep dive into Fallout 76 and it won't even be pretty. One of my favorite game series and in my home state? A place I Love? A place I head to and vacation in still? I've been to all 5 counties, and their county seats. When I die, I have requested that my ashes be spread to all 55 counties of my home state.

That's my WV! And I can't wait!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

can they please just make another fallout 3 and be done with it???

At this point, I'm afraid the answer may be "probably not".

Releasing the current abomination suggests to me that the creative well (or at least the creative will) at Bethesda is simply dried out

[Edward64]

A beta tester report.

The 'Fallout 76' Beta Makes Me Sad

Once I cycled through the first few initial quests, I….simply never saw anyone again. Probably three of the four hours of the beta was completely devoid of other players. I hit level 5 and got the opportunity to PvP, but I didn’t, and no one else did either, judging by the fact that no one got themselves a Wanted bounty on my server. You can see where other people are on the map if you really want to find them, but I tried to just play Fallout 76 like it was…a Fallout game.

But while you can do that to a certain extent, because the multiplayer aspect of the game exists, that has come with certain tradeoffs. Some of these I don’t find to be a huge deal, like you can’t sleep to insta-heal and skip time anymore, you literally have to lie in bed for a spell until your health fills up (it doesn’t take that long, it’s fine).
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The worst is easily the lack of VATS. I say “lack” because the new system may as well not exist at all, but perhaps “the gutting of VATS” is a better phrase. As shown in certain previews, because the game is happening on a live server with other players, you cannot slow down time for VATS anymore for obvious reasons. But rather than scrapping the system entirely, it exists in this bizarre state where the percentages pop up in real time and you simply pull the trigger and your bullets will magically fly toward your target even if you’re not aiming at them directly. Not only does this look incredibly goofy in practice, but it’s not even effective, even after investing some Perception points into upgrades. The percentages change too fast in real time to be useful, and unless you are literally the world’s worst shooter player, you are probably better off just trying to manually hit the shots yourself.
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With live servers and multiplayer you also lose the ability to quicksave, which is something I didn’t even consider until the beta went live tonight. If reach certain areas or complete certain objectives you will get “checkpointed,” but you can no longer save exactly where you want, when you want, and dying will not return you to your last save, but instead some arbitrary checkpoint and you’ll have to trek back and get your dropped loot
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Finally, however, what we’ve given up the most for multiplayer here is…life. While Fallout’s worlds have always been desolate, Fallout 76’s Appalachia is on another level with the total removal of all speaking, non-enemy NPCs outside of robots. While this does feel like a Fallout game in many ways, especially many of the missions, there’s this constant void when you’re constantly receiving all your instruction through holotapes and computer screens.
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I guess that the other players are supposed to make the world feel more alive but A) again, this map is so sprawling you can easily not see anyone else forever and B) they still don’t communicate with you like NPCs would, and lord knows I don’t want to know what most randoms would say to me over open voice chat anyway.

And in other news, the California mod is out for FNV

Fallout: New California mod released for folks who crave single-player - Polygon

[CrimsonFox]

can a mod please delete that big link i posted? that was an accident. i don't know what happened

But i can't delete it

[Antmeister]

It is now done.

Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Edward64

A beta tester report.

The 'Fallout 76' Beta Makes Me Sad

So they took Fallout and removed most of the fun stuff so that I can maybe run into another stranger every few hours and fight.

I love me some Fallout but this seems terrible.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

I will be going into a deep dive into Fallout 76 and it won't even be pretty. One of my favorite game series and in my home state? A place I Love? A place I head to and vacation in still? I've been to all 5 counties, and their county seats. When I die, I have requested that my ashes be spread to all 55 counties of my home state.

That's my WV! And I can't wait!

I just found out Camden Park is in the game. I'm sold.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I just found out Camden Park is in the game. I'm sold.

That's pretty awesome. I used to go to Camden Park when I was a kid.

[Edward64]

Well? Any early adopters?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by alicetaylor

The article you have shared here very awesome. I really like and appreciated your work. I read deeply your article, the points you have mentioned in this article are useful

Mutilate A Doll 2

Thanks! I just might click on your link.

[cuervo72]

Show me on this human where the doll hurt you...

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Well? Any early adopters?

I've played about 15 hours or so.

I'll open by saying it's not a bad game. Definitely not as bad as some (most?) of the reviews make it sound. Most people would have preferred Fallout 5 and it's definitely not that. The fact that it's not Fallout 5 seems to be influencing a lot of the reviews I've seen. Some of the less mainstream reviewers are trying to see if they can out-meme everyone else in their review, while even some of the mainstream reviews are fairly poor.

With that said, also definitely not a great game by any means and it struggles a lot of times to be good. Right now it's filling a nice niche in my gameplay rotation as a relax and explore kind of thing. In that sense I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit.

You can solo most of the content in the game, but not everything. You don't necessarily need a group to do the public quests in the game, but you do need others in the area to help you out. Most of those I've done so far are solidly done, but nothing groundbreaking. The daily quests tend to be the fetch and return type and those every bit as boring as they are in every other game that's ever done them.

The game world is hands down the best ever in a Fallout game. Seriously, the size, scope, and detail of the world easily surpasses 3, 4, and New Vegas. The world is the star of the show here and it being set in my home area makes it that much more enjoyable for me.

No real NPCs does hurt the game. I get why they did what they did, but I think it would have been much better for the game overall if they found a way to incorporate NPCs into the game world (even on a very limited basis) to help bring more life to it and mix up the gameplay a bit.

Base building a crafting are every bit as well done as they are in Fallout 4. You can plop down a camp and build just about anywhere. Whether or not what you build survives depends on location and the resources you put into it. On that note, I thought I ran into my first major bug last night, but it's actually just a quirk based on the game's design. My camp disappeared and after googling a bit I discovered what happened was it was put in storage because the server shard (or whatever they're calling them for this game) already had a camp where my camp was. Because of that I had to move my camp, check the storage tab in build options and could simply place my home back down free of charge. Very annoying in that it's not explained anywhere in the game what happened or what to do, but not as terrible as I thought it was going to be.

If you really want this game to be Fallout 5 and aren't willing to have an open mind it's probably a 3/10 type game. If you can look past that and accept that it's a survival game set in the Fallout Universe then it's probably a 6.5 to maybe 7.0/10 type of game. With some work in the coming months Bethesda could get this up to a 8 or so, but they're going to have to accept the fact that some of their design decisions were wrong.

PCGamer's review is probably the most fair out of the online reviews I've read so far:

https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-review/

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Atocep

No real NPCs does hurt the game. I get why they did what they did, but I think it would have been much better for the game overall if they found a way to incorporate NPCs into the game world (even on a very limited basis) to help bring more life to it and mix up the gameplay a bit.

Why don't they have NPCs? If I'm understanding things right, it's at least a little bit like Elder Scrolls Online, which is crawling with NPCs. It feels like they just made a marketing decision -- every human you see is a real person! -- and they stuck with it even as it became clear it was hurting the game.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Why don't they have NPCs? If I'm understanding things right, it's at least a little bit like Elder Scrolls Online, which is crawling with NPCs. It feels like they just made a marketing decision -- every human you see is a real person! -- and they stuck with it even as it became clear it was hurting the game.

They were going for an experience similar to DayZ or Rust. I expect an update later on will add maybe Enclave and Brotherhood of Steel NPCs on a limited basis as their way of dipping their toes in and testing how NPCs work in the world they made. Those factions are already in the game and you're able to join them so the world is already built for it.

I feel they wanted PvP to be a significant part of the game and probably felt NPCs may take away from that experience, but PVP just isn't happening. They built a system that's kind of stuck in the middle on PvP and since the risk/reward just isn't there no one is really doing much PvP as far as I've seen. It's like they wanted to capitalize on the popularity of a PUBG, Fortnite, DayZ, and other primarily pvp games but didn't want to alienate their core player base. Instead, they created a system that doesn't really cater to either group.

There are robot NPCs that give quests. I did a quest chain last night that came from one of the robots. The entire quest chain took me a couple of hours and the writing on it was excellent. Experiences like that are why I know I'll get my $45 out of the game, but the potential is there for a lot more if they bend on some design decisions.

The NPC thing isn't what bugs me the most btw. No typed chat system at all really sucks. Voice chat is on by default and is the only way to communicate other than emotes. It's annoying.

[Edward64]

Just bought from GMG for $35 and downloading now.

Did ask my son if he wanted a copy for early Christmas present. He said no, it would be too distracting ... pleasantly surprised.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I've played about 15 hours or so.

I'll open by saying it's not a bad game. Definitely not as bad as some (most?) of the reviews make it sound. Most people would have preferred Fallout 5 and it's definitely not that. The fact that it's not Fallout 5 seems to be influencing a lot of the reviews I've seen. Some of the less mainstream reviewers are trying to see if they can out-meme everyone else in their review, while even some of the mainstream reviews are fairly poor.

With that said, also definitely not a great game by any means and it struggles a lot of times to be good. Right now it's filling a nice niche in my gameplay rotation as a relax and explore kind of thing. In that sense I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit.

You can solo most of the content in the game, but not everything. You don't necessarily need a group to do the public quests in the game, but you do need others in the area to help you out. Most of those I've done so far are solidly done, but nothing groundbreaking. The daily quests tend to be the fetch and return type and those every bit as boring as they are in every other game that's ever done them.

The game world is hands down the best ever in a Fallout game. Seriously, the size, scope, and detail of the world easily surpasses 3, 4, and New Vegas. The world is the star of the show here and it being set in my home area makes it that much more enjoyable for me.

No real NPCs does hurt the game. I get why they did what they did, but I think it would have been much better for the game overall if they found a way to incorporate NPCs into the game world (even on a very limited basis) to help bring more life to it and mix up the gameplay a bit.

Base building a crafting are every bit as well done as they are in Fallout 4. You can plop down a camp and build just about anywhere. Whether or not what you build survives depends on location and the resources you put into it. On that note, I thought I ran into my first major bug last night, but it's actually just a quirk based on the game's design. My camp disappeared and after googling a bit I discovered what happened was it was put in storage because the server shard (or whatever they're calling them for this game) already had a camp where my camp was. Because of that I had to move my camp, check the storage tab in build options and could simply place my home back down free of charge. Very annoying in that it's not explained anywhere in the game what happened or what to do, but not as terrible as I thought it was going to be.

If you really want this game to be Fallout 5 and aren't willing to have an open mind it's probably a 3/10 type game. If you can look past that and accept that it's a survival game set in the Fallout Universe then it's probably a 6.5 to maybe 7.0/10 type of game. With some work in the coming months Bethesda could get this up to a 8 or so, but they're going to have to accept the fact that some of their design decisions were wrong.

PCGamer's review is probably the most fair out of the online reviews I've read so far:

https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-review/

How often do you run into other players and is it a big part of the game?