I voted yes with caveats and this is pretty much how I see the game overall. Until mods/DLC comeout, your sandbox RPing is pretty much limited to these 4 factions +/- the "good" ending. I suspect Beth may have deliberately? shipped the game in this state with the intention of adding to it in form of future DLC. I'm wondering how much this will add in terms of value to the game. Because IMO Fallout 4 seems way more limited in it's sandbox capabilities than Skyrim (or any prior TES game). Even if modders come up with an alternate start mod (similar to Skyrim's Live Another Life), the game mechanics are still limited to these 4 vanilla factions.

In contrast, Skyrim had over a dozen distinct and unique factions with side quests that had NOTHING to do with the MQ. FO3 and NV seemed to have better variety. But that was AFTER all the official DLC came out for both games AND the modding community added content like TTW, Project Brazil, tons of quest mods on Nexus/Steam etc. etc.

I think this poll is a bit premature at this point. No DLC or modding tools are available yet. Revisiting this around late Spring of next year would make for a far more interesting and accurate polling. Because all we have to go on at this point is sheer rumor and speculation.

this forum has a lot of obsidian fans who hate everything fallout related that bethesda does and they are vocal, its not a matter of them having an opinion, its just not an opinion that counts since most of them haven't played the game and they just arbitrarily are against anything BGS has done with fallout, so "polls" on forums and sites that have a lot of anti bethesda rhetoric don't carry weight, metacritic user polls havea lot of negative reviews and they gave the game like a 0 to 3 rating, there aren't legitimate, they are not people who even played the game, the comments are things like "story isn't branching" or "obsidian should of made it" or "the dialogue svcks", its just all the same rhetoric from all the other obsidiats and old rpg fans who hate that BGS owns the franchise so those type of opinions are all just biased and hate based so no different then a poll on a forum that has a lot of old fallout fans, since bethesda bought the franchise they are always going to have the "anti" crowd that doesn't like the direction bethesda has taken the game, so they have a right to their opinion but as far as a poll like this on a fallout forum thread, its gonna be skewed because of all these factors surrounding bethesda owning the franchise.

I voted yes because even though I'm still on my first play through, I'm alteady thinking of the different factions and builds I can do next time. Not to mention the fact that I I've only scratched the settlement feature. Gotta do that next time too.

^^^ really devoted fan right here.

Yes with conditions.. Conditions being modding the crap out of it until it's no longer recognizable.

Nope. The sandbox isn't nearly good enough to motivate me for a second playthrough. Heck, it was barely interesting enough for a single playthrough.

I have almost no motivation to replay Fallout 4, and it might be the only Fallout game I never replay.

The dialogue system offers a paucity of choices that often lead back to the same point, with limited opportunities to use perks or special stats in dialogue. The main quest is constituted of many of the same quests across the 4 factions, especially the institute and railroad playthroughs.


Combat style can be changed on the fly, and due to the lack of a level cap, you can switch from a sneaky sniper to a close quarters tank; with access to the pertinent perks at your next level up.


Removing skills, karma, faction reputation, traits (for the second time, they sure hate traits) and the previous dialouge system has robbed this game in ways that will continue to nonplus people for years to come.

The vanilla version (+DLC) will not have the same long term retention of players that previous Bethesda games had.Unless you love the combat, too much has been removed that previously diversified one character from another.

Not really.
Yes you can eventually have every perk, but with perks being attribute locked, and then to have those ranks level locked means that you are certainly not getting access to "pertinent perks" at the next level up.
First rank perks really don't do much of anything. It is the culmination of taking more than one that really develops any type of combat style.
I mean, if you wanted to grind to level yourself and become a master of multiple combat sytles, I reckon you could. Though, if you're simply picking combat perks, then you are neglecting skill perks. It's no where near as quick as you're making it out to be.

The point being it's still very quick, and can be accomplished most likely with a few level up points.It's fatuous that you can drastically change your character build at all, which just negates much of the premise of replaying as a different build.


I probably overemphasised the speed in which you could change your combat style, but we're quarrelling over whether it's quick or very quick

I don't think it's a matter of opinion. All characters eventually end up good at everything, any choices in main quest or side quests are with very little or no consequences, and the world is still the same. It has about as much replay value as Mad Max - i.e. if you like the gameplay, you'll start over to play the same thing again. But if anyone considers that "a good replay value", all and every game ever released has "good replay value".

I'm a creative person so I can fill in the blanks in the world that is provided to me.

I don't find it having any less replay value than any other Bethesda games. I do suspect that a year out an alternate start mod might be popular, though.

Do you play it as an RPG or an FPS?

It's an RPG. You're supposed to be roleplaying. That's kind of what the game was made for, but it only gives you one choice no matter how many times you play it -- you're a parent who is looking for their child.

If you're legitimately trying to roleplay, there is no replay value at all. Every single character you make will end up spouting things like "MY SHAUN, WHERE IS MY PRECIOUS SHAUN!@?!?!" And unless you switch sixes, every single character you make will sound exactly the same.

Well, I easily roleplay others ways and most of my characters have figured out tons of time has passed. When you hit the memory den its a particularly easy spot to drop off. If the voice acting prevents you from roleplaying with all the options in dialogue ( yes you fricking naysayers, that's what I said. Maybe one day I'll have the deluxe version of the older games like you but until then , I feel my choices are expanded) its on you frankly. So for you it may be true but not for me. I legitimately roleplay and completely immerse myself and even if you were 100% right about obsessively looking for your chld, I kind of feel soory for you that you can't find different roleplays with in that.

I'm an actual parent and this works for me.

As I said, this lack of replay nonsense is simply beyond my comprehension. Don't get it at all. I simply cannot come up with any legitimate explanation for this sentiment that makes sense to me.

Apparently you need to be. I seen to do it subconsciously or, in my mind more likely, folks just moss a lot.

I think that's frankly nonsense. To get to that point, you'd have to be at some insane level. This problem is much much less true than both previous Fallouts and TES for this game. Maybe you just tend to make the same character. This entire thread just seems insane and frankly very disappointing to me.

I just started a second character in parallel to my legacy character. There's replay value in companions as every companion is different, settlements, builds, the non-radiant side quests and the main quest after the

.

With the linear Skyrim MQ, each experience was different because of my characters' different motivations of slaying Alduin. But finding Shaun has both characters have the same exact motivations.

Seriously?

No, your character does not know that tons of time has passed. At least, not until you power through the main quest. Your character is ALWAYS looking for an infant. Always. That is how the dialogue is set up.

And no, you cannot just use all the dialogue options. There are so many points in the game where 3 of the 4 available options all result in the same exact thing. Sometimes, they even lead to the same exact response by the player. That's how poorly the dialogue was set up for Fallout 4, and the game is built around it.

1. You cannot ignore the main quest. There is a sense of urgency instilled on you the second you're thawed out and let loose on the wasteland.
2. You are a loving, caring parent and spouse. You are. The beginning of the game is canon and determines the personality of your character.

Those two things mean very little, if any replay value for Fallout 4. Unless you just want to ignore the story and play it as an FPS. But that's irrelevant. Fallout 4 is an RPG. When talking about replay value, you have to talk about being able to legitimately roleplay various different characters.

And that isn't possible because nearly every character you create is going to be the same.

Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas didn't do that to you. Each had a main quest, but you were allowed to develop the character you wanted without the game telling you otherwise. Especially Fallout: New Vegas.

Fallout 4 is a major leap backward. https://i.imgur.com/yPcC7X6.jpg Bethesda games aren't supposed to be like that, and neither are RPGs. How can you develop a character if you aren't given any meaningful way of progressing them?

Actually, a number of players are ignoring the main storyline and playing the game as an RPG and are having no issues in developing their characters in many different directions using the Commonwealth as a setting to create their own stories.

It's called imagination...something perfectly legitimate to use in an RPG.

But you can't. You cannot. You. Can. Not. It isn't possible.

Your spouse was just murdered in front of you. Your son was just kidnapped. No reasonable person would ever completely ignore their son to build settlements and collect adhesive. It just does not work that way. It does not.

Fallout 4 is an RPG. It's a roleplaying game. You cannot legitimately play the main role without looking for your son. You can't. The very beginning of the game establishes you as being a loving, caring parent. No loving, caring parent would just ignore the fact that their child was kidnapped.

The people who play Fallout 4 without doing the main quest are not roleplaying.

They are still roleplaying. They have merely rejected the role that the main storyline uses and have created their own. It's a perfectly legitimate way to roleplay and people do it all the time in all of Bethesda's games. For example, people would create old geezer characters in Fallout 3, so would ignore the vault and the finding dad storyline since they weren't playing a teenage character. Lots of people never become Dragonborn in Skyrim. Many never return the amulet in Oblivion and just wander off on their own adventures as if meeting the emperor was just a dream they imagined in some prison-induced fever. And on and on.

And in Oblivion the @#*%$*! EMPEROR was killed in front of you, after revealing he had a prophetic dream about you, and you need to take The Plot Device somewhere or THE WORLD WILL END! No pressure, or anything.

Hasn't stopped anyone from picking flowers, running errands for the Fighter's Guild, or running all over creation looking for Ayleid collectables.

The MQ in F4 reminds me of CoW questline from skyrim. It was also quick and urgent. There was just one sweet spot where you could be a mage studen't and not everyone was dying (where you had to find the books). I found out that once you finish memory den with nick, that it's the best spot to roleplay. While fallout NV had a small backstory(i hated that the DLC expanded on it) it had the memory wipe in the intro. From a RP view, that is perfect. F4 for me personally feels like it was done one weekend last summer. For a game that is 7 years in development and the success of skyrim and all the feedback...really that's it? I won't say its bad because it isn't but as a fallout fan, it's just sad.

You can.

I RP that my character stumbled upon the dead body of the SS near Vault 111 and decided to finish what the SS started, even though the side effects of taking someone else's memories means everyone thinks you're that person.

You never had to find your dad in Fallout 3. That was a choice, one that the dialogue didn't constantly force on you.

In Skyrim, it was only ever apparent that you were Dragonborn once you killed your first dragon -- something you never really had to do. And even after becoming Dragonborn, every other line of dialogue wasn't "OMG ALDUIN! OMG OMG OMG I NEED OT STOP ALDUION!??!?@?#@?.!@?!" like it is with Shaun in Fallout 4.

Previous Bethesda games didn't add a sense of urgency to the main quest. It was just there, and you were completely justified in holding off on them. Even in Oblivion, as you could close the gates yourself if you wanted to.