Alright, here me out. I don't think the game is going to svck, and I am not going to wait for people to play it on youtube to see if I like it. The real issue is, I want to wait for the Wiki to get up and running first. Now, when I played F3, I cant tell you how many times I played the game, I might have killed someone who was important. I was not evil, I just didn't know if they were important. I mean, it was my first time playing a game like Fallout. I also missed many opportunities when playing through. Like Ravenrock. Remember that? My veteran fallout friend told me about the wiki, and he said that I should read through before I play through. He said not to read the plot, but the *Loot* and other details. If I would have blasted my way out, I would have risked overlooking the Energy Weps Bobblehead. I look and loot thoroughly , but I have overlooked items in the past.

Another mishap. One of the first things I did when leaving V101 was I wanted to take over the White House and make it my base. My most powerful weapon at that point was the Hunting rifle. After a several hour struggle, going through the absolute hell of Downtown DC, (Which, I had no idea how to navigate, got lost a lost, many times) I met Charon, and tried to get past the debating senators of the Capitol Building, (They are fighting over politics, of course.) I found the white house, and was utterly disappointed. It was nuked to @#$%. Which makes sense, but yea....

I would like to know what Im getting myself into, so I don't get killed a lot and go on some crazy crusade and find out that it was not worth it. I know how t go through the wiki and dodging spoilers, so I know I will be alright storywise.

So I don't want to say I am a wimpy, spineless gamer, I just like to play it safe. So I want the Wiki up and running with a few pieces of info first, before I start it up.

Is it bad to play like this? I just don't want to ruin the game, but to each his own playing style I guess. Thoughts?

Of course it isn't. Play it however you want.

I dunno. I feel like the interesting part is going out there into the wasteland, somewhat oblivious to what awaits your and making the best of what you learn and find. Gradually exploring my surroundings and getting better is what makes for fun gameplay for me.

If I knew where things are beforehand, what to do etc. - it'd take half the fun away for me.

Why not just don't kill everything that moves and only kill hostile things that try to kill you first? Lol, seems pretty simple.

Anyway, your attitude is completely alien to me. You want to read the wiki first? That's a new one for me. But if it's what you want go for it man. Do what feels right to you.

I personally enjoy the sense of unknow that you get when you play a game like this without knowing everything ahead of time. I'll play through how I want to and then try to make sure that I do everything in correct orders and get stuff that's unique. But to each his own.

Playing blind is the best way to play anything, imo. No play-through is as great as the first one, when everything is new and you don't know what's what.

I always play on the Hardest Difficulty whenever I play a game for the first time. So that I don't overlook anything... and so I actually have a legitimate challenge and wasteland/RPG/FPS experience. My goal in F3 wasn't so simple... actually... all I did was wander wherever the winds carried me until I decided to do the main quest.

You could just get the guidebook, that's what I'm gonna do

Half the fun of practically any game, is figuring it out for yourself....

I prefer not knowing what's going on and pick it up along the way. Sure, I miss stuff and make mistakes too, but that's part of the game.

I don't do hundreds of play-throughs, usually only one or maybe two, but I take my time and explore everything. I'm still playing Skyrim, over 800 hours now, and I still haven't completed the main story.

The Wiki is awesome, and I consult it if I get stuck, but that's about it.

Ok ... first, I'm did HEAR you out.

Second, if you are not evil, don't shoot people who are not shooting at you. That's pretty easy you know.

Third, playing through before anyone has figured out anything can actually be a lot of fun. If you were only going to play once, then what you're saying would make a lot more sense. But since it sounds like you replay these games having yourself just screw up totally the first time through is a lot of fun IMO.

You know the Prima guides are usually released same day.

I got my guide for NV when I picked up the pre-order

Play however you want. I can see why you'd want a guide to let you know where all the important stuff are. If you're worried about killing someone important, well then only kill the creatures/people trying to kill you. Leave the non-hostiles alone. Enjoy!

Is it bad? No. I prefer discovering things on my own and less hand holding, but like you said, "to each his own".

I got the big hardback guide for Skyrim and really regretted it later. Wasn't that much art in it anyway and the wiki did a better job of giving walk-throughs for quests and such. But I still got the thing ... sitting here on my desk just taking up space.

I don't think I'm going to play at launch either (and I think I have a good reason too) though I do have a F4 pre-order.

I enjoy Tomb Raider too, but that game is short so I don't want to start Fallout 4 with my game agenda cluttered with something else to play.

I expect Tomb Raider will be done in a few days and then I can start Fallout 4 with no time pressure and can enjoy first playthrough at leisure.

I always used to use the official guides, as well as the wiki, and I used to save like every 4 seconds. But I actually enjoy now just exploring unknown areas and seeing what happens. Makes Bethesda's games much more interesting! Although the wiki can be useful if you get really stuck

Any guesses as to whether the hard copy will include a Boston map? Like Skyrim had a map. I hung it on my wall and it was super sweet not to break the game to look at maps constantly.

Yes. You're ruining everything and you are, in point of fact, an objectively bad person for doing so! SHAME! SHAME!

Not really. Play however you want. Personally I play through the game at least once only using the wikis when I'm stuck and then I play with the wiki's on my second playthrough. The second playthrough is usually more fun but I wouldn't give up the unsullied feeling of the first either.

Gotta get that virgin feel =)

Like playing Vanilla before you mod the hell out of it.

I personally don't want to know that kind of stuff on a first playthrough. Sure, you might not find all the bobble-heads or unique weapons, but you get the thrill of discovery when you do find stuff, rather than just ticking it off a list because you already knew where it was going to be.

On subsequent characters, I might go for more of a completionist game and look up things that I didn't find the first time through.

Play it however you like, but I think you're still spoiling the game for yourself even if you avoid learning plot details.

K pal.K.

I would just buy the game guide book, as others have already suggested. They will usually have them instore when you go to buy the game on day one. That's how I got my New Vegas and Skyrim books. It's gonna take a decent amount of time for the wiki to be fully updated for 4, as it's going to be extremely large. It might not better than the wiki, but for the first week or so when the game is out it will be the best source of info.

Which is a worse scenario for you OP: waiting for however long it takes for someone to make a complete and detailed guide (could be months) while twiddling your thumbs, OR playing right away, making your mistakes, figuring out some stuff on your own but generally having a good time and then when the guide is made, playing a second playthrough to have the "perfect" run?

I agree with the sentiment of the OP but I’ll play as early as I can and the first character will be used for learning the game mechanics, basic layout of the region, and be disposable after a few levels. Then I’ll find out what I need before getting too deep into the game and restart a fresh character and do it right and continue on.

By the time I started playing FO3 the wiki was already well established and an excellent fallback when I would get stuck or needed a hint for that special unique weapon, bobblehead, character dialogue line etc. that I would otherwise have missed out on after leaving an unreternable location. I would literally just wander around and bump into side quests. Until I knew about the Nuka-Cola Challenge and the Nuka-grenade I was drinking Nuka Cola Quantum for the AP and the refreshing sound it made when you popped the cap off and drank it. Of course the BS Quantum Chemist perk fixed that but for a long time I was unaware and had played most of the game. I didn’t get BS until after I had Fawkes as a companion at level 20 and noticed that I wasn’t getting any more XP.

With FNV I used the hardcover guide on release day and used it for awhile on those occasions when I didn’t know what to do until the wiki became established. The wiki was presented better than the book and the wiki became established really quickly. I don’t like missing something important either and even saturation playing each room and location you can still miss something important and then later on not be able to return back and get it.