It's All Over But the Scavenging of Typewriters and Glue - The Fallout Thread

Discussion in 'Games' started by Jonesy, Jan 7, 2016.

  1. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Ever since the Brohood made that shiny-yet-very-humble entrance...there are always explosions happening wherever I go, they re also most of my source of fusion cells...!
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2017
  2. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    It's usually rapid gunfire followed by an explosion followed by silence. Gives me a typical "There goes another one..." feeling every time.

    Anyway, I've been meaning to mention that I started playing FO4 again recently, after a bit of a "I've seen everything there is to see in this game" hiatus. Proving myself wrong, I have;
    - Built a beachhouse at Dalton Farm, using Vault-Tec Workshop building parts and furniture. The result is a fairly small 3x3 structure, with almost all being a single room serving as a combined kitchen / dining area / lounge joining onto a bedroom, along with a 1 'square' bathroom as a separate room. Geographically, it's the northernmost building I've made (aside from the actual Dalton Farm settlement at the top of the nearby cliff), making it nice for a little getaway.
    - Expanded Echo Lake Lumber Mill with an additional building, containing weapon, armor and clothing shops (plus accommodation for the settlers manning it). Also put a phoropter and soda fountain in the main building. The reason is that Echo Lake is the most remote of the Far Harbor settlements, making it the only settlement nearby for a good half of the island. As such, I thought it best to make the most of it, and give it as many amenities as possible.
    - Used the Conquest mod to build a settlement inside the wind farm maintenance bunker. Since the town of Far Harbor is reliant on the wind farm to keep the fog condensers running, I put in some fortifications to make sure there's no sabotage.
    - Built a memorial to Shaun and Nora at Graygarden, since that kind of overlooks the area where the Institute once stood. You can't see the crater, but you get a good enough view of Cambridge and the river to see that the world's doing fine without it. The memorial consists of a concrete platform with two flagpoles (one US, one Institute) and a wall with their names on it, along with a potted plant (in lieu of flowers) and a couple of candles. As an added bonus, I keep Codsworth at Graygarden, since that's where the other Mr Handys live; I like to imagine he'd tend to the grave of his former owner and her son.
    - Also used Conquest to start on an ongoing project; building a settlement inside Nuka Town (i.e. the part of Nuka World where the raiders were formally headquartered). Had trouble finding the best place to put the workshop, since the boundaries are limited and will never cover the entire area. But I think I've found a good spot where I build towards the middle of the park, which gives me enough space to build a water purifier in the lake but (hopefully) leaves enough room to build in the middle of the town. As a stroke of luck, the clinic area is juuust covered enough that I can build a first aid station in there, but there's still a lot to put in there. Should stand as a monument to everything the Raiders stood against; peace, solidarity, trade and farming.
     
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  3. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Good blazes thats quite some progress! also I find it almost impossible to get to the "I saw everything there was to see" point... Boston (and DLC) look absolutely immense! and sure I stick to the beaten path quite a bit (for the sake of ol target practice), and yet I always find something else to see! some little corner, or building I missed! though I have not played much lately. I met this adorable Ms Nanny with a french accent and thought it was a solid stopping point for the time being.

    Wait what? you can build those??
     
  4. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    Yeah, it's hard to run out of stuff to do. But I think I reached the point where I've seen just about everything, and that most of my enjoyment come from repeated content and settlement building.

    Yeah, they're a part of the Vault-Tec Workshop DLC. Once you complete the 'test' quests, you can build the resulting equipment across all your settlements.
     
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  5. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Blue blazes! I completely forgot about Vault Tec! and Nuka world for that matter... Hrrrm... since I want to murder about every breathing entity in that amusement park (not counting civvies) when would you say its high time to roll the drums and let the bombs fall? (what lvl, gear and ammount of ammunition) I am looking forward to the fireworks, but I would like to be prepared!
     
  6. Arnust

    Arnust Big Damn Hero

    You don't have to worry, becouse this game scales to insane levels! (Kill me pls)
     
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  7. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    What I did was went through the raider questline until they asked you to start attacking settlements in the Commonwealth. You can purge them sooner, but doing it at this point does have some benefits. Namely, it comes after you 'claim' the park and assign the different areas to the gangs. I assigned each area to the Operators, meaning they set up camps in each one. Upon turning on them, it meant I had a few extra epic gunfights to get into that I would have missed out on, otherwise. That, and a lot of the DLC's non-repeating content comes from clearing out the different areas of Nuka World one by one.

    There is a specific quest you can get about killing the raiders in the park. Talk to Mackenzie in the marketplace, and she should give it to you with the right dialogue options.

    I know. Some enemies, like Super Mutant Warlords, scale with you indefinitely. So, while your ability to deal damage is technically limited, their ability to take it isn't. I'm kinda scared that one day they'll become too tough to handle, but I'm doing OK so far thanks to the Problem Solver (i.e. unique handmade rifle that deals a lot of damage when upgraded properly, and deals increasing damage upon successive hits).
     
  8. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Thats something I noticed, I usually just get into some yawn fire fights, and then a couple super mutants come and I have to actually aim and take cover! I got adamantium skeleton to avoid annoyances but its still pretty difficult from time to time... some of them are so bullet spongy and annoying!

    Edit: so I played a bit again... ehem, tried to get to Nuka World (strong emphasis on tried) I thought Cait would be a good companion on this venture, until I decided to give her Big Boy... needless to say, we did not make it one hundred meters before she blew me, my settlement, 3 super mutants and everything else into orbit.

    Ill probably just stick to that cute french robot... she uses lasers!

    further edit:

    Oi! I found this... looks very 80s actually!


    It isnt ready yet
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2017
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  9. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    Had another go at my Survival character today, and it's going reasonably well. I'm currently operating settlements at Sanctuary, Red Rocket and Abernathy Farm, with the latter being my base of operations for something different. I don't plan on finishing the game properly on this character, instead just focusing on those three settlements (because they're all so close together) until I get bored. I'm thinking about starting an Institute-focused character someday, or returning to my Railroad one. And I'll always have my Minuteman main to drop in on occasionally. That Nuka Town settlement project is doing OK; it's working, but it's not much to look at.

    Also, I've developed a bit of an addiction for Oxhorn's Fallout 4 videos, which are quite fascinating and easy listening to boot. Here are some good Nuka World ones as a sample.





    Edit: Also...

    https://www.reddit.com/r/fo4/comments/5v4813/dont_play_on_train_tracks_kids/
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2017
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  10. General Nuclear

    General Nuclear Supernova

    bethesda. bethesda never change.

    anyway on ohter news (thats not really about fallout but more for old school fallout fans and hardcore choice matters rpg fans)
    the remastered Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition are coming to steam. its made by black isle studios and is seen as a one of the best rpgs next to fallout and baldurs gate.


     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2017
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  11. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    Been a while, but it's probably time I mentioned it here.

    Just before I started back at university, I began a new character with the intention of siding with the Institute. I've since completed the main questline, ending up as a lighter shade of grey thanks to my actions (framing Justin Ayo to get him replaced with his more moderate assistant, forgiving the mutineers instead of punishing them, remaining general of the Minutemen, etc.). It was actually a bit upsetting to destroy the Railroad and Brotherhood, having been on good terms with them both on my main character. But not as much as the ending...


    ... in which you stay with Shaun at his bedside as he passes away.


    But one of the big things I've been doing different this time is taking a different approach to settlement building. I held off on too much of it until I unlocked Vault 88 (which I'm using as my main base instead of Sanctuary), meaning I can roll out Vault structures across all surface settlements. Makes it look as if the Institute is actually doing something for the wasteland by deploying prefabricated buildings for settlements to use. In some cases I work almost exclusively with Vault structures, but for the most part I adopt a combination of them and more typical wasteland buildings.

    Anyway, screenshot time! Here's Vault 88's atrium, which doubles as the settlement's farm. The Vault also contains a clinic, cafeteria, bar, gym, classroom, library, laboratory, shopping center and two barracks, as well as my private penthouse with adjoining workshop.

    Institute Settlement 1.jpg

    Sanctuary's also got a fair amount of love. Most folks live in the refurnished houses (complete with Preston inheriting my early-game house in the middle of the settlement), but I've added two Vault-based buildings as well. The one to the left contains the various traders, while the one on the right holds the clinic and cafeteria. The only other noteworthy thing is the little rest area I've set up around the caravan stop. Nothing impressive, but it's nice to see them using the couches and cooking pot.

    Institute Settlement 2.jpg
    My old favorite Murkwater's been turned into a veritable fortress once again, albeit with a more technologically advanced look. The main building holds the clinic, cafeteria, general store / workshop, living quarters, farm and even the artillery, while the generator bunker and caravan stop are located close enough to be easily defended.

    Institute Settlement 3.jpg

    Far Harbor's also getting the Vault treatment. Dalton Farm's been set up much like Murkwater, except with an extra floor containing more shops and living areas. But Longfellow's Cabin is still serving as my main base for the island, and has a clinic, cafeteria, and an honest-to-God apartment building complete with personal penthouse and marketplace. There's even a Vault-based outhouse!

    Institute Settlement 4.jpg
    Currently, I'm working on Sunshine Tidings Co-op, which I'm going to use to house excess child settlers at an orphanage of sorts. Child settlers (from the Orphans of the Commonwealth mod) are only really useful for farming, so sometimes you'll end up with a child when you needed an adult instead. Some may call it child labour, but I like to think that I'm teaching them vital skills in a hands-on manner. :mwahaha:
     
  12. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Wow, that is quite an update buddy Roo! I am very glad you decided to side with us... heh! wish I had something as impressive to share, but I ve been exploring the game for what it IS thus far, and I have probably just experimented with the settlement mechanics on a couple places, and on a very small scale; some engines, lightning and lamps to adorn the place, kind of thinking about using those factory-like machines to create an Institute-tech facility, for the purpose of better defending the commonwealth of course! as for places to settle, I actually want to set with just 3, but very specific and well thought locations, thus why I have focused on exploring (and wow, I should check out V88 as soon as possible, was keeping that on the backlog!)

    edit: I love the tech-overhaul of Murkwater, looks pretty snazzy!
     
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  13. Arnust

    Arnust Big Damn Hero

    I can't but encomiate you guys.
    Not trying to pick up a fight, but... Why? The game does not award that at all. You can have all that in a compact space like Red Rocket, at near the exact same effectiveness. You can even put the teleporter there if you go Minutemen. Turrets and defense are pretty moot as you can just walk there and put some shots in, and becouse the places being early areas, those enemies are as much a challenge as it is a mosquito to a windscreen.

    Anywho, on the NMA forum we are planning a podcast retrospective thingy as it is the 20th anniversary since the first Fallout game, to talk about it.
    Thread here: http://www.nma-fallout.com/threads/nma-podcast-extravaganza-returns-fallout-1-retrospective.212797/

    We're also planning to make the podcast a recurrent thing and have more interviews with Fallout or RPG devs in general. We actually got one with Chris Avellone already and on the old days we had a lot of touch with the devs, even Bethesda until Fo3's release.
    MCA interview:


    So come by if you want some involvement! S'good ^^
     
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  14. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    Because... fun? I enjoy building up settlements, and seeing people have a nice place to live. Especially when I can pull off something creative yet practical.

    Besides, you make it sound as if there's no benefit to it. If you set up your settlements right, you'll have a series of well-defended safehouses churning out crops to craft into vegetable starch, purified water to sell and bottlecaps provided by trading stands. Becomes even more important in survival mode, where access to food, water and a bed can mean the difference between life and death.
     
  15. Arnust

    Arnust Big Damn Hero

    I DON'T UNDERSTAND "FUN" :lod:

    Played a bit of Survival mode with the FROST mod. You wake up more tired from 1-2 hour naps and having any kind of Chem dehydrates noticeably. Makes me not believe that Nate (Nora isn't canon) is a war veteran, rather some hipocondriac ninny :facepalm:.

    But really, it's like all balance in Bethesda games. First pair of hours are challenging as you're starved for resources, and then you get a mini gun and a Power Armor. Them you have to even leave all that food behind for basically not needing it. Food is everywhere, Mirelurks are EVERYWHERE and make for some fine food. And then there's free clean water in any settlement around each time you reload the area/let some time pass.
    Also selling guns hath always been the money maker, grab all your trash loot mid-game or whenever and you won't need money for a long, long time, unless you actually purchase expensive things like PA frames, spam shipments, or guns (why would you?).

    Btw, is there still not a numerical counter? Just the adjectives?

    To me it feels like very much an afterthought (of course it is, coming out the prime) and it's not really the intended way to play like it was in NV (and on launch). It just feels like an annoyance and makes the whole thing even less immersive than it already is.
     
  16. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    I think the settlement building mechanic is ultimately something of a prototype.You're right to say it's imbalanced in ways new and old, especially when it comes to having no need for money after a certain point. But considering that it has its roots in the quite half-baked Hearthfire DLC for Skyrim, I wouldn't be surprised if they're heading towards a more refined system for Elder Scrolls VI. Maybe starting a rebellion in Elsweyr, using the Renrija Krin as a combined Railroad-Minutemen faction. It'd need some rethinking (ain't no turrets in Tamriel), but I can see something along those lines working.

    It'd be particularly great if they took cues from the Sim Settlements mod. For those who missed it, it basically lets you build 'zones' for different things a la Sim City. So, instead of building houses and shops yourself, you let your settlers build them. And the furniture changes over time, making them all looked lived-in. Sounds simple on paper, but apparently it changes the system quite dramatically.
     
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  17. Arnust

    Arnust Big Damn Hero

    My gripe isn't with the system itself. It's that it makes the world more relying in you than even Skyrim, and that it replaces actual Settlements. There's no Nipton, there's no Novac, there's no Goodsprings. Dare I say actual cities.

    There's only "Settler". No Jeannie-May, no No-Bark, no Ranger Andy, no Sunny Smiles, no the McBride couple, no "the nice old lady that actually is a Vertibird pilot (and look at that, not a space nazi)". I can't remember any of those places, nothing actually happens there out of the radiant quest you do to be able to steal all their shit and never come back. Fallout was all about seeing the post-post-apocalyptic world, where man has rebuilt and now fights over the future, thus "War, war never changes".
    It's not about an errand boy rebuilding an entire province with his bare two arms while getting laid in every bed he sees becouse "it increases my EXP gain", or so he says.

    You use the "Settlement Size" mods, right? Trying to make a mancave in the Castle already filled it, lmao.
     
  18. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    There's the dilemna. Do you let the player do everything, which gives them plentiful content but makes them an errand-boy? Or do you let them delegate work, which makes sense from an in-universe perspective but might result in them missing content? Ideally a bit of both, I guess. As long as there's still some way of letting them get around to seeing unique content and loot.

    And it would be nice to have some more unique characters to serve as settlers. You've got the Bunker Hill lot, the tier 4 vendors and good ol' Sheffield, but surely they can do more with it.

    And no, I don't, actually. I do occasionally abuse the weapon-scrapping exploit, but not to a major degree (because performance). Mind you, I have noticed that it's very easy to get to max capacity at the Castle...
     
  19. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    *recruits kahjiiti mage*
    ok, you cat stand here on this pedestal... perfect! a magic turret!

    oh you also forgot the pedestals that had the "floating" soul gems firing spells at you so long there was visual contact in skyrim.

    I play games for fun, what about you?
     
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  20. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    I remember them, but for some reason I imagine they'd look a bit silly set up all over the place. But then again, I suppose turrets are no better. At the end of the day, practicality trumps aesthetic sometimes.

    Also, I'd be pretty keen for some Khajiiti mages. Hell, imagine if J'zargo returned to Elsweyr, and became a major (and romanceable! :love::catblush:) character.
     
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