First and foremost, I want to preface that I was not expecting BioWare/CDPR-level romance, six scenes, etc. I would never expect BGS to do anything that extensive because they have no history or precedent for it.

However, what I was expecting was something with a bit more substance than Skyrim. In truth, the romance system in Fallout 4 is just the Skyrim system with a few tweaks. Instead of just having the option to marry an NPC immediately with the necklace of Mara, you have to build affection, similar to a BGS game.

Once your reach the maximum threshold, which doesn't take long at all depending, the romance is essentially complete, much like getting married in Skyrim. The benefits of your new found romance? You get a 5% extra boost for being well-rested if you sleep near your "lover" and you also get a companion-specific perk based on who you romanced.

I think what largely bothers me is it's not even really a romance. There are a lot of innuendos and suggestions that you are in a romance, but never once were the words "I love you" or anything nearly that explicit were made. I think even those words were used in Skyrim, even if it was a bit silly given how romance worked in that game. It's more so a "friend with benefits" dynamic in Fallout 4, and yet again I feel the "romance system" is largely pointless and over-sold by BGS.

What's actually ironic is you can have a one night stand with Magnolia, which will fade to black and take you to a hotel room the next morning. That is far more explicit and direct than at least the romance with Piper, which I just find to be a bit strange and peculiar as you aren't even really aware the romance has been complete as all you have is dialogue and then the achievement unlocks.

Overall, I think companions in Fallout 4 are better than BGS has ever made them before. Most of the ones I have come across are interesting and I could adventure with any of them, unlike the dozens in Skyrim who were all cookie cutter. The problem is there is really little reason or purpose to engage a "romance" as it has little value in the game from a character progression/storytelling perspective.

I could care less about romance personally but don't worry the mods will add a lot of... love in the game eventually.

There is even a nvde mod at the top mods atm in nexus. Won't link since I will get a warning again like that like with the killable children trololo

I don't believe I stated anywhere in the OP I wanted a gratuitous nvde mod. What I did suggest was I wanted something of greater substance than the "romance" in Skyrim, which wasn't romance at all. Really, Fallout 4's system is more of a "friendship" system and once you reach the maximum peak, you get the companion perk and that's the end of it. That would have been fine had BGS articulated that is all the system was. However, they more or less implied romances would be more relevant in Fallout 4. I just don't really see how they are anymore relevant in this game than they were in Skyrim. Honestly, I see it more as a waste of resources more than anything else.

You seemed to be disappointed from the black screen - I must have misunderstood! *cough* *cough*

I've had piper tell me how lucky she feels to travelling with the man she loves and helping people in need. She's also made a few comments like 'I can't believe they thawed you out just for me' but overall I agree the romance side is pretty shallow. Apart from that I've found the companions to be a breath of fresh air compared to the ones in Fallout 3 and Skyrim. I even got quite attached to having Dogmeat around.

Actually, I was stating the black screen was perfectly fine, as that's what BGS did in Fallout 3. I merely brought up it being comical that the one night stand with Magnolia was more of a "romance" than actually pursuing a relationship with Piper. There is no black screen with Piper. I don't think there is a black screen for any of the companions. You just reach their maximum and you get their perk. That's it. That's the "romance."

Ah. I guess I haven't heard her make those remarks yet. Either way, I still feel this system itself is largely worthless and didn't even need to be implemented. I loved the quality of companions this time around, but the romance system does nothing to add to them for me personally.

Also, not sure why a mod moved this thread to the "spoiler" section of the forums when nothing is being spoiled here, other than how the romance system works, which isn't actually anything new for BGS.

Bethesda showed in Serana from "Dawnguard" that they have the capability to write compelling companions, and Fallout 4 has a lot of that too.

While the romance system is definitely not as well made as it could be, it is a improvement to the one in Skyrim. "Marry anyone you did a quest for that one time."

I prefer Cait's "Next person that asks me to shag gets a well placed kick, if you catch my meaning."

Curie if romanced expreses her love towards you a lot, ive also heard it from Piper though rly rarely so i think its a bit companion dependant, i do agree though that its rly basic sytem but its still an improvment from previus Bethesda products and while it wud be nice if it wud be done more in depth i do think its rly not that desired part of the game by majority of players to warrant time/money invested to make a rly complex sytem.(mybe we will have one in future Bethesda games, or ofcourse someone will mod in some custom companions or upgrade current ones in Fallout 4 to that complexity lvl)

I didn't even know there was romance in this game, I saw a couple flirt options but they failed and they dissapeared and I can never do them again, dialog system in this game svcks v_v

It doesn't add a huge amount but I don't mind it, it adds a little more depth to the relationship with the companion I suppose. That said if they hadn't included it I wouldn't miss it. One thing I did like with having a companion is that they do ocassionally join in your conversation with other npc's.

I don't like any of the male companion romance options.

It's a bit underwhelming but still far better then Skyrim.

Not done any of the romances yet, but I've watched a lot of them. The word love is used. Not like Skyrim where every time they say something it's followed my "My Love", which granted, gets a little old. I wouldn't even expect my RL wife to do that.

There is no official marriage, which at first seemed a little odd since FO3 did have a marriage in it so we know even in the time of FO4 marriage is a thing. Plus you find married couples throughout the game everywhere. I think it was done this way so that people could romance several people with just one character. Being in open relationships is easier if marriage isn't used because even in FO4 marriages tend to be monogamy.

Personally I have a hard time even comparing the Skyrim romance to FO4's. FO4 is leaps and bounds better just based on what's mentioned in the OP alone. There were no cut-scenes for romance in Skyrim other than the wedding that all characters got. No affection to build up that took more than just chopping wood or delivering a package, etc. There is just no comparing them, FO4 is by far better.

I just wish the the final dialogs to 'lock in' the romance where not strictly CHR based. CHR has it's place, but in building a personal relationship the end result shouldn't be based on whether or not I switched to a black suit and top hat before speaking to her. My actions and words prior to the discussion should win the day, not my funky sunglasses.

I had hopes for the romance and was a little let down as well. Especially since they hyped it up like they did, and did such a fantastic job with the companions otherwise. But when the romance happened I was like... "oh, that's it? huh." Like the OP I'm fine that there's nothing shown... even relieved, since the wonky animated 'love' scenes in games are awkwardly silly to watch more often than not. And I wasn't expecting any big declarations of love, since with the particular companion I romanced it wouldn't make sense for his character. But I was still hoping for more. More unique dialogue, some new banters while in combat or exploring (though apparently they exist - I just completed my romance, so maybe they just haven't turned up yet?) Just having the relationship addressed in some way beyond an extra sleep perk, I don't know. It's a nice addition, and I'm glad it's there, but yeah... 'underwhelming' is a good word for it. It feels more like a game achievement than something integrated into my character's story, which is what I was hoping for.

Also, this. I HATE that charisma and luck are factored into the companion romances. Sure, it makes sense if you're trying to seduce random NPC #2 for a one night stand... but building a romantic relationship with a person I've spent time with and helped out and impressed through our travels shouldn't be based solely on whether I can manage to sweet-talk him into it. Or 'get lucky.' Literally.

Actually I find it normal.

Not the luck part of course, but not having enough charisma is the reason why some guys always gets friendzoned IRL, so why not in the game?

Like I said in another thread: I play games to be entertained. Not to have romantic relations with a bunch of pixels. If I want to have six I'll turn the games off and go play with my wife.

Actually IRL how you dress is at least a good third of the "getting the girl" thing.

First off... I'm a girl who likes guys, and my character is the same, but sure, girls can get friend-zoned too, and will dress up pretty for guys they like... But in my own experience in real-life dating, and relationships, me being 'charming' has had little to do with anything. There's a bit more that goes into attraction than that... like common interests. Or for some it's common values, or looks, or they're really attracted to intelligence, ambition, whatever. Especially where romantic relationships form out of friendships or working relationships (like they do in the game), it's even less about you saying the right pick up line.

I mean, I'm a bit of a geek (obviously - this is a gaming forum, and here I am). I'm awkward (thanks to the high-functioning autism that makes reading social cues REALLY HARD), and I svck at flirting (see previous). And most days I'm in a jeans and t-shirt and can't be bothered to wear make-up. And yet I've been able to get dates. I've had plenty of boyfriends, and am in a long-term relationship now.

Even in games... look at Dragon Age Inquisition. Who are the two most popular male romance options? Awkward Cullen who stutters when you hit on him and Solas the nerd, whose favored outfit is leggings and a sweater.

So my high-intelligence, low-charisma techie nerd (who did manage to find a loving husband at one point) should be able to get her friend and travel partner to like her romantically, when she's managed to impress him and gain his trust and so on. Plus, it svcks that I will always have to play a high charisma character to romance anyone at all, since I do like the romances, underwhelming as they may be, but I like to RP different types of people.

Good thing they are optional then, eh?

At the beginning maybe, but it shouldn't be near the end. If someone is that shallow then the relationship would be better off not starting at all.

Unless you want that NPC Perk. I'm sure some people are going to romance and max the relationship of every companion just to get the companion Perk. Those Min/Max players you know...

We shouldn't have to rely on mods to fix Bethesda's game. That type of mentality, saying it's alright because someone else will fix it, is the exact reason anyone has to fix it in the first place.

If Bethesda were actually held accountable, like every other developer/publisher out there, we wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

Any game with an unofficial patch that fixes thousands of bugs should not get GoTY. Developers should be fixing and maintaining their games, not the players themselves.

Wat?
White knights these days....

Ha, yeah. Even without the wife, I feel the same. Not to mention pretty much every time a game decides to do this it comes off as horribly sophomoric and embarrassing.

I will agree the romance department is a bit lacking, but to compare it to Skyrim is crazy. Skyrim you can only romance one person. And if that one person ends

up being so annoying and you decide to kill her/him than that is it, your done. At least FO4 you can romance multiple people at the same time and have one night stands.

You also do not need high CHR to pass the FLIRT checks, when those come up I just turn away from the person speaking whip out my pip boy. Magically change clothes in an instant,

my dirty black suit, trilbly hat, dark-rim glasses, and pop a graqe mentat for good measure. Voila they love me