Yes, I completely agree with you. I feel Beth short changed the game by wasting resources on voice male and female protagonists--when all that budget could've gone into a more dynamic dialog selection based on your SPECIAL attributes as with past games, adding more quests/side missions, world encounters, companion AI content. Or refining the settlement building feature and providing us with pre-war textures so we could build the absolute range of pre-war to lowly fallout shanty settlements. So we could open the Pandora's box and get into a whole new OT debate on that one.

So my dream to rebuild Vault City in the Commonwealth is on temporary hold until next year when GECK ships. But instead of complaining about the lack of things to do--or what Beth failed to add to the game because of obvious development budget and time constraints--I've opted to be more proactive and positive in the meantime.

Example: eagerly anticipated rebuilding Vault City based on the lore when Beth revealed we could build settlements. Was very dissappointed with the lack of textures and building material limitations encountered and unlocked in the workshop so far. But rather than being ungrateful and blasting BGS for failing to include "X" features to make me enjoy the game more/longer, I opted to direct my energy to innovative RPing instead. And do creative, non mission custom quests and activities which Beth didn't add by way of game mechanics features.

So my point to the OP was that the degree of satisfaction they can expect to receive from an open world, sandbox game like this one, is only limited by their imagination. Because it didn't sound as though sandbox gaming suited their achievement based gaming style. In which case, they're probably better of playing the likes of GTAO or CoD. Those games were explicitly designed to always provide the player with something to do in them.

SOOOOOOOOO what i get if after spend over 100hs u dont have nothing else to do, ok how many game give u that many hours????

I remember i complete skyrim and i mean i got every shout and explore everything in around 120hs, after what i star using mod to do what ever and wait for DLC.

Right now i have 98hs on Fallout 4 and still doing main quest. Yeah is true im move slower on Fallout 4 but that is the way i play Fast travel on the virtibird now actually take time and isnt just a load screen like on Skyrim and im doing a PA play, that mean i dont sprint much.

Still any game that give me over 100hs for me is a 10.

For me Skyrim look smaller that Fo4 i really dont see how much u get from skyrim when Fallout 4 have more places to explore.

Skyrim is Skyrim... almost a definition of HUGE game! Bethesda is going to have much trouble in trying to keep up with that game's greatness and extension.

Ouch someone said Skyrim could not keep you going for around the 2000 hours mark without repeating everything, well for one thing that's what Beth Games are all about, are they good enough to keep you going back in and still playing even if you do repeat some stuff? Morrowind, Oblivion (not as much) FO3 and for sure Skyrim achieve that ultimate in Beth gaming, Skyrim for me and some others I know have 6000+ hours on record plus offline, CK and I still find the odd thing I've not seen before. Mod making of course helps, so does Mod testing for others especially when I was playing FO3 but it's the Game World they create that keeps you going back in for more oh and of course changing your mods around to achieve differing play throughs. So far FO4 does not show that is has the longevity potential that previous Beth Games had but it's still to early to really tell if Beth has given us less due to many players not needing or wanting that long term game experience anymore? The GECK and then after that Mods for Xbox and PS4 may change how this all works out, it will be interesting to see how this Beth Game pans out with the new direction of adding mods to consoles, never know FO4 could well end up being here for the long haul???

i have 300hs on Skyrim, and really i have see everthing over and over and over. Really u cant come and tell me u have 600hs on Skyrim and havent explore the whole map.

Fallout 4 is bigger that Skyrim so ppl cant come and tell me they have see everything when im sure they havent. Bc there are place w/o a map mark that are intent to be find. So really i still fail to see how is possible u never run out of think to do on Skyrim.

I mean i know i have see and explore everything on skyrim after 120hs. After that i was just killing dragons over and over for more shouts till the DLC come out.

I think ppl are over exaggerating about what they expect the Fo4 was going to be. I fail to see how a map with more places to explore is smaller that Skyrim.

Even more so than Oblivion or Morrowind? The f.a.n. b.o.y.s whose first TES game was playing either of these 3rd and 4th gen TES games would argue with you.......

IMO, I've always found Daggerfall to be the largest but MW the most immersive and variety filled in terms of factions and side quests. Oblivion comes in a close second to MW when loaded to the gill with mods like Better Cities etc.

1500 on PC with 310 mod deck (using Wrye Bash). Have yet to accomplish Moonpath to Elysweyr, any of the Fight the Thalmor saga, explore new worlds like Falskaar or Wrymstooth--let alone complete the official DB and HF DLC. I only completed the DB DLC about a month ago with my day 1 PC.

I take on vanilla side quests from time to time. But BGS vanilla game doesn't impact how many hours I'm continuing to rack up. So I still have a loooong ways to go before I ever get around to completing the MQ. Not that this will ever happen, since I'm too preoccupied just trying to survive the game daily with mods the likes of Civil War Overhaul and Frostfall. Besides, neither I nor my PC really give a flying f@ack about those annoying flying lizards. I'm only reminded of the MQ due to the infrequent nuisance Alduin's siblings can be showing up at random villages and holds around the realm. Or from sporadic Dragon bashing favor quests from barkeeps from time to time.

With the exception of Ac3S amazing overhaul of Lakeview Expanded mod, I'll unlikely ever finish the HF DLC. Because my PC has enough modded mansions, castles, and working farming cottages (where he can actually grow crops, make wine, cheese for sale etc) all over Skyrim. So much property that he's got enough to bequeath at least 2 properties to each of his 6 Brady Bunch rugrats. And of course, his wife Mjoll gets the lion's share (save Honeyside the only property he owned in the prenuptial agreement before marrying her). Sooo.......

Thanks to mods, I've got a TON of additional custom gaming content, collectibles, treasure, and world spaces to explore in Skyrim. Expect to do the same thing when modders finally get their hands on GECK next year.

Sorry it's impossible to 'See' all of Skyrim in 300 hours, BUT you missed the important bit, is the game strong enough for you to keep playing even if you do repeat some parts? There are players still playing Morrowind right now, still making Mods for it, that is Game Longevity.

300 hours in Skyrim, that would not be enough to even explore all the countryside, caves, mines, dungeon's, side quests yet alone do any major quests, Beth games are for savouring not seeing how quickly you can finish them, I still have not finished the Main Quest, I want to keep something I've not done in there. BTW start the game (Skyrim of course) leave Helgen then turn Left instead of going to Riverwood and go around the map avoiding the Main Quest it's amazing how much more there is to do?

EDIT: Try Dead is Dead, you get killed you start again, that slows you down a fair bit, He He

If you've only played 60 hours you've probably missed at least half the game. Maybe 3/4 of it. May have done all the quests, but you missed a huge chunk of the game

I'm more than 70 hours into Fallout 4 and I haven't seen all of the map yet, with much of Central Boston and the southern sections yet to be explored. I've only met two joinable factions the Minutemen and the Brotheroood of Steel and the latter only because I followed a radio signal into a firefight. I've only been to a couple of friendly settlements that I didn't build myself and I don't really appear to be running out of missions or content just yet. If memory serves I got about 100 hours out of New Vegas so potentially this will turn out to be on par with that, which would be fine by me all things considered.

Of course, I'm not much of a fan of the radiant quests, particularly the "protect settlement x" missions which can, and do, repeat themselves ad infinitum if you play long enough. Evidently ten blokes armed with laser rifles can't defend a patch of ground themselves, I have to be there personally - or else! Besides that though I've mostly enjoyed the missions I've been given and exploration hasn't ceased to be engaging.

Thanks for letting me know too that only one faction can survive the endgame - that is, of course, in no way a spoiler I hadn't heard until just now. It's okay though, it's not as though I previously had the ending itself spoiled for me as well. I mean how often does that sort of thing happen really?

I've never played Morrowind, I've started it many times lately, but I've always found it not... charming. I think I'm too late. I've tried Oblivion, but I didn't like the graphic style. I played it only a few hours, then I dropped it.

Maybe Skywind and Skyblivion (when complete) will allow me to enter their "world".

https://tesrenewal.com/skywind-download

Oh no, I finished this single-player game and now I have nothing else do do in the game. Must be the games fault.

Im 56 hrs in and i haven't even visited Diamond City yet....

I didn't know that now games are good based on the length, not quality. I find Fallout entertainment superior to Skyrim, since I managed to play 20h in Skyrim before getting bored, and in Fallout 4 I'm 70+ hours in and still going So what does it tell me, that you wasted 2000 hours of your life on Skyrim, other than you wasted your time? It is no argument at all.

I've barely started the main quest either. Too afraid I'd accidentally end the game.

There are a lot of times in F4 where a random person will talk to you and either A. Let you know of someone who gives a side quest or B. Tells you about a location which more than likely will open up a side quest.

well YEAHH DHOOOOO, Mod will extend the game alot, LOL have u see that whole new campaign for Fallout NV. Fallout Brazil i think is call.

But the Core game and w/o DLC ( bc Fallout 4 dont have any DLC out yet) is bigger. So i dont understand how the OP is comparing both game as saying is smaller.

are u crazy or what u can complete all skyrim in alot less that 100 hours exploring all. U guys are seriusly over rating how fast u can explore the whole map on Skryim YEAH the game will be bigger if u get 10000 mod for Skyrim. But the core game Skyrim isnt bigger that Fallout 4.

I am also on 56 hours (just checked) and I have not been to Diamond City as yet, only reached as far down the map as the Corvega Assembly Plant and a fair way across the top, I do side quests as I find them, stealth approach around a lot of the map and check out everything. Now I'm up for a Dead is Dead re-start, TBH it should not have happened but I got boxed into a corner by ghouls in Corvega and bloody Dogmeat as well plus I cannot get used to that damn active crosshair. I always found a normal crosshair fine and played on hard or higher with MMM as well in FO3 but this strange newer crosshair setup is so different to any other Beth game I've played, it's actually making me play worse than I know I'm capable of, bloody annoying.

EDIT: Nope I'm not crazy nor are the many others who have clocked up big hours with Morrowind, Oblivion, FO3, New Vegas and Skyrim, it's how you play and how immersive you find the game. They are designed to either follow the quests and finish quickly, or make believe you are in that Game World and just play without following the Main Quest. I'm still way behind others in the amount of hours I've put in but we do test a lot of Mods which causes a lot of new starts to prove them properly, FO3 was probably higher hours but I was testing for FOOK in those days and that took a lot of time.

You like being sent to do essentially the same thing over, and over, and over, with generic dialogue at the start and end, and no unique story element to them.

Right.

ha I feel like such a deadbeat when I think about what I should be doing in game. I suspect he's grown anyway (don't tell me anything as I don't know for certain).

As long as you have beaten the main story you might as-well. I saved a bunch of the game for 2nd and 3rd play-through. I have not even been to Salem yet or any of the far south part of map and I too spent about 60 hours + on my first character. I felt my stealth sniper build was getting a bit too OP and boring so now I'm playing as a female melee in 3rd person. Also have to mention that I'm liking the female voice actor a lot more already.

120 hours in, still did not finish the Dangerous Mind quest and have a lot of thing lefts to do (I finish the MQs in phases, as each phase kinda unlocks something new in the game which allows me to feel everything at a more comfortable pace so it was only around 110th hour that I finally met the BoS in all their full glory). Granted, I also play with all factions (and it will get harder to betray some of them later, though I still did not decide who to side with).

From my own experience, finishing the MQ first in any RPG that doesn't have a definite ending makes one feel like there is nothing else left to do.

This exactly. In skyrim, even if you had the best armor and gear etc. it was still fun because you can lvl up dragon shouts, and the books added story to a lot of things if you took the time to read them. I'm 60 hours in, and I've spent the last 20 hrs of game time doing quests that the institute and preston assigns me. Taking me to the same places where the NPC's magically spawn back for me to clear again.

Sounds more and more like money well not spent. I had 1100 hours logged in Skyrim and still have few things to do I might go back to one day.

Yeah, I feel the same way about the lockpicking and hacking minigames.