Obeservations For Bethesda So Far

Post » Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:29 am

Well here we are in Fallout 4, and I'm loving the game. It's a win for Bethesda. But, as is usual with a gamesas game, it's not without a few blemishes. So I'll list my observations here, partly in the hope that they'll be responding to player feedback.

So far the game has been relatively bug light. Oh, sure there have been some minor ones here and there (it's gamesas), but no major ones for me yet. I'm playing on a PS4 and having a ball; I adore the game. Here, however, are some of the bugs and annoyances I've run into:

1) Pipboy app on iPad Air: Runs great and is really useful. However, I've noticed that if I have the app set to display my Local Map, I start getting hitching and stuttering every few frames on the PS4. The moment I turn the app back to World Map or any other function (inventory, status, etc.) the problem goes away. I've tested this multiple times and reproduced the glitch every time. Everything is fine so long as I don't switch on the Local Map on the app. (I have bug reported this)

2) No way to scrap apparel directly: Various bits of armor can be scrapped as can weapons, but items like goggles, raider outfits, various clothing, etc. can't be scrapped in the workbench. I've found that if I drop said items on the ground and switch to design mode while in a settlement, I can then scrap everything I've dropped on the ground in the same way as we can scrap structures and environment items. Workable, but very inconvenient. I would love to be able to scrap these items from the workbench. Even better, I would love to be able to scrap any weapon, armor, or apparel from the Pipboy directly. Or perhaps it would be nice for any armor, weapons, or apparel I drop in the workbench to be auto-scrapped for materials in the same manner as junk items (assuming it doesn't work that way already, as I've seen no evidence yet that it does). Hopefully we'll see some refinements of the process from gamesas in further patches.

3) No map notes: Really Bethesda? After so many games you still haven't bothered to let us add our own notes to the map? So many things scattered in unmarked locations of this wondrous world you've built, but no way to directly mark them for return visits? One would think you'd have considered that by now. Oh, I imagine the mod community will hammer that out, but that's taking the lazy road Bethesda. Add the feature.

4) Encumbrance while trading: It'd be nice to see our encumbrance values while in the trading window. Kinda an oversight Bethesda.

I'll note other observations as I have them, but this is a start. As I said, loving the game, but it's not without its hiccups.

But here are some of the good things that impress me as I encounter them:

Radstorms, strange gloom, and rain. All impressive weather effects. Rain makes things wet looking. Gloom gives us pretty sun rays but screws up visibility and makes wandering into trouble a real risk. And radstorms...wow...scary, beautiful, and dangerous. Best to be indoors during them, but too impressive not to watch if you have the RadAway to spare.

Interesting random things happen. For instance I got chased into a culvert by some gunners, a male and female. I dispatch them and pick them clean. It's raining though, and it seems rude to leave them naked and in the rain, so I drag their corpses together into a more sheltered part of the culvert and then head over to a nearby trader post (who appears to be a crazy cat guy) to sell off their gear. Not more than five minutes later I pass by the culvert to find a raider picking over their corpses, or at least it looked that way. He was knelt by the bodies, so who knows what the freak might actually have been doing. I don't notice him until I clear the lip of the ravine, so a gunfight of course ensues. So I kill him and sell his stuff off to the crazy trader.

Quests have interesting changes on the world. For instance the following {{SPOILER ALERT}}

Spoiler
I did a quest to drain the flooded quarry at Thicket Excavations for a guy (can't remember the name) there. While I was puttering around, I found his terminal where his log indicated he plans to turn the place into a raider camp. I didn't have the skills to get him to fess up in conversation, but I did the work, and we start the draining. My suspicions about him didn't seem to lead anywhere and the quarry didn't seem to be draining. So I shrug and go about my business. Who knows how many days later, I come back, and sure enough the quarry is now drained and is a large raider camp with captured mirelurks, guard posts, and plenty of raiders. I'm currently crouched above the quarry with my custom sniper rifle "The Off Switch" getting the lay of the land. I think I may have to have a pointed discussion with the fellow.

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victoria johnstone
 
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Post » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:13 pm

Great pointa. I agree with you 100% and those are some of my pet peeves as well. I want to make map notes where master locks are so I can go back later to loot them. I also want to break down things easily for settlements
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IM NOT EASY
 
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