Hopefully the Companions in Fallout 4 Are More Colorful

Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 2:50 pm

One aspect that I love about RPGs is the ability to have followers tag alongside with the player. Not only do they provide assistance in combat, but they also carry their own backgrounds and stories that players can learn through dialogue and quests. I loved learning of Craig Boone's story in New Vegas and discovering why he is so distant and bitter through questlines and interactions with other characters. I also loved Cass' crude humor and her frequent comments about the locations that she and the main protagonist visits. I find that details such as this make RPGs feel alive.

This is where I find that Skyrim terribly dropped the ball. The followers were some of the blandest characters I have ever encountered in any video game. Not only were they devoid of any personality, but most of them had no substantiall story or background worth remembering. Maybe the sheer number of followers in the game is what caused the lack of substance in the characters. It's as if Bethesda went for more of a quantity over quality approach for them.

I will admit that I feel Serana's introduction was a big improvement. She had a friendly personality, a detailed background, a compelling story, and a questline made just for her. The thing I liked the most is how Serana interacted with the environment. She would complain about the weather and wear her hood during day hours, she would make unique comments about the cities she visits, and at she would interact with workbenches, labs and dinner tables. She actually felt like a living being instead of some synthetic pack mule like the other followers.

I hope Fallout 4 has companions similar to the ones in New Vegas and Serana in Skyrim. They should have vibrant personalities, interesting stories, dedicated questlines, unique dialogue, and advanced behaviors that makes them seem alive. They shoud be more than just pack mules that lug around your equipment. A game can have all sorts of fancy features and graphics, but that does not do much if the actual world itself lacks any form of flavor.

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Robyn Lena
 
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Post » Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:20 am

I had an interesting idea... Seven super-companions like in FONV, each an exemplar of one of the SPECIAL stats.

Strength... A friendly super-mutant.

Perception... Dogmeat.

Endurance... A crazy pre-war ghoul survivalist.

Charisma... Codsworth? He's always so genteel and polite.

Intelligence... ?

Agility.... ?

Luck.... ?

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rebecca moody
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:54 pm

That actually does sound interesting. They could have personalities that reflect the SPECIAL they are based on, and could also have skills that match them which could strenghten areas your character could be weak or strong in.

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X(S.a.R.a.H)X
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:29 pm

What Madcat just said-- And

I hated Serana.. :yuck:

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Eduardo Rosas
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:49 pm

Companions based on SPECIAL is a fantastic idea. I'd really love it if those companions have quests attached to them as well. Give followers a purpose beside "I'm sworn to carry your burdens." Got to give us a reason to care about what happen to your followers, . Skyrim failed horribly in this area, I hope Fallout 4 takes a step or two in this direction.

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Rudy Paint fingers
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:17 pm

What has Serana ever done to deserve hatred? :cry:

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casey macmillan
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:36 pm

Hm... Well, Intelligence would have to be a scientist of some kind. Maybe a mad scientist...

Agility would probably be some kind of thief.

Luck could be a ghoul whose luck is actually bad... Until you do the quest where he needs your help.

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Steve Bates
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:50 pm

The thing I want to see is companions reacting to the environment more, to quest and so on. Share their opinions when you are on a quest and so on and done randomly not at request. Plus we could use more bat[censored] crazy companions. I want my Trevor (GTA5) Raider companion!

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Noraima Vega
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 2:31 pm

A whiny, sardonic goth with parent problems. She could have been named "Cliché"

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Leanne Molloy
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 11:19 pm

More in-depth companions would be nice, so long as they don't have personal quests that require the use of a guide to do. I liked New Vegas' companion characters, but I didn't like how in order to get all of their dialogue and personal quests I had to have them with me at the right time to trigger their next dialogue. I have no idea why anyone would have thought that was a good idea.

Wow, that sounds like a rather obnoxious character. I figured I wasn't missing much by skipping the Skyrim DLC.

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u gone see
 
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Post » Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:07 am

while i agree that Serana was anoying at times and also verry cliché, she does show why the other companions failed. Wether you hate or love her, she has a move living feel to her then anny of the other companions.

Also, i think Luck companion needs to be some lucky sweet talking scoundrel/thief with a nack for bad ideas. Just fits with the whole lucky theme.

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bimsy
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:14 pm

The Fallout NV mod Willow was one of the best mods I've ever seen.

A good companion really adds to the game.

Here is hoping that Bethesda has been looking at the many great companion mods out there for Fallout 3 and Fallout NV and made the companion more interesting.

I want to have earn the trust of the companion.

I want there to be several quests for a companion.

I want to hear comments and maybe a little background from the companion (with an option to set the level of pvssyr).

I want having a companion along getting you treated different by some factions then when you are by yourself or with another companion.

I want there to be deal breakers and lines that you can not cross with a companion as long as they are fairly clear a head of time.

Having a companion get you in with a faction and then you betraying the faction would be a good example.

I liked the companion Perks from Fallout NV, and hope they will be showing up again just as long as they are not over powering.

For Fallout 5, I want to be able to travel with more than one human(iod) companion and get to hear them bicker, gossip, and even flirt.

Hopefully they will follow the same game plan and hire someone away from Bioware. :wink:

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Dale Johnson
 
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Post » Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:41 am

Great point about Serana, love her or hate her, she was the most alive companion of the bunch unless you want to one of the excellent companion mods.

Maybe with having the protagonist voice actor doing the voice work for almost 2 years and still at work on it, they will have greatly expanded the number of lines from the companions.

It is a perfect example of where having a voice protagonist can greatly improve the experience.

If nothing else, I bet having the protagonist lines voiced will give the companion voice actors more to work with.

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Flutterby
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 11:49 pm

Say what you want about Sarena, she was the most useful companion in the game as far as I'm concerned and the fact that she's more lively (heh get it?) was an added bonus. So she was a whiny goth chick with daddy issues, what's so bad about that anyway?

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Del Arte
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 10:15 pm

That's not saying much. Skyrim's companions were little more than meat shields and pack mules.

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jess hughes
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:44 pm

Too true, but any progress in the right direction needs to be recognized and encouraged.

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phil walsh
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 10:38 am

I absolutely agree, but let's encourage Bethesda to aspire towards something a bit greater than irritating walking cliche.

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Charlie Ramsden
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 10:35 am


I would absolutely love this.

Some ideas:

Strength is a super mutant.
Perception is a sniper.
Endurance is a robot.
Charisma is a con artist.
Intelligence is a doctor/scientist.
Agility is a thief/spy.
Luck is Dogmeat.
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Siidney
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 2:28 pm

People are tired of pack mules? I like the interaction of the Baldur's Gate 2 npcs.
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Lucie H
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 12:06 pm

I avoid the hell out of companions in Beth games. They just get underfoot. (That was one of my minor annoyances in FO:NV - they tied more story to the companions, so I felt more required to take some of them in order to get their quests.)

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Neliel Kudoh
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:55 pm

If grandma had only one present for me, I would want it to be fewer companions that are more fleshed out. I promise to try not to treat them like pack brahmin!

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lucile
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:25 pm

Totally agree there.

So many times I just wanted Dogmeat to watch my six and not run out in front of me.

Let me know if someone was sneaking up on me and maybe slow him down.

But it looks like you will be able to direct your companions to a particular spot.
Hopefully you will be able to have them take cover and provide you covering fire.

Or if you are on point, they stay beside or behind you.

One of the few annoyances in Witcher 3 was trying to follow a companion.

I do have to admit they were pretty good about offering you the option to jump to it.

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JUDY FIGHTS
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 5:47 pm

It does add a lot to the game.

I'd love to see Bioware companion interaction.

Maybe for Fallout 5, they will hire someone away from Bioware.

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Josee Leach
 
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Post » Fri Nov 27, 2015 8:27 pm

I like the idea of companions being based on SPECIAL, also if Codsworth would try to sell me radiated peanuts; i would buy that [censored] because he's dat smooth. xD

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maya papps
 
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Post » Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:41 am

Personally I would like both, a set of unique companions (perhaps based on the SPECIAL like suggested above) along with a bunch of Grunt goons we quickly hire when we want pack mules or bullets shields..

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Michelle Serenity Boss
 
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