» Mon Dec 14, 2015 3:42 pm I've just joined the forum and am a first time poster. I've not reviewed the current group of posts (other than to scan the titles on page 1) so I apologize if this post is repetitive. Furthermore, I apologize for my first post being a complaint about what is clearly a work of art of a game. Just like the previous Fallout games but........
I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with one aspect of the game that has to be either bug related or bad design. This is, of course, settlements and their management. I'm hoping Bethesda can do something about these issues in a (near-term) patch. Given that this is such an integral part of the game one would think they'd devout some resources to fixing it. My specific concerns with them include:
1) Settlement Assets Missing:
In the Pipboy screen I will occasionally see settlements suddenly showing missing beds or even people. In a panic I fast travel over to the settlement and hold "V" only to find out that all assets are back in place. Clearly a bug that should be addressed.
2) Settlement Attack Notifications:
I often do NOT receive these notifications (no on-screen message after a fast travel nor is it shown in the Miscellaneous Quests list). The only time I find out about it is when I review the settlement workshop list in my Pipboy and see total destruction and few or no assets remaining. I just had one occurrence where suddenly there were no people, no defenses, no water, no food, etc. I get to the settlement and there's lots of people but I still need to repair just about everything. There HAS to be a better way of making sure we know when settlements are under attack.
On that note, I think the entire settlement attack mechanic should be rethought. I spend a significant amount of time on each settlement (several game days in fact) and am enjoying this aspect of the game. I wall the entire space, set up shelters, beds, power, turrets, etc. BEFORE I build a beacon. I am now in the habit of building defenses that total over 100 points and even up to 160 points (always between 3 and 5 times total food/water numbers). This begs the question of why I am even getting called to come to a settlement's aid with 160 points of defense in the first place? What's the point of building all these defenses if it means they still need ME to come to their rescue? In heavily defended settlements I now usually show up and then run for cover to let the turrets handle everything - the battle lasts about 10 seconds. I get that having the defense rating equal to or greater than the total food and water output will reduce the chance of attack but at some point we should never get a call. As the game progresses you get a LOT of settlements to manage which usually requires an occasional visit anyway to pick up excess produce, caps, etc. As it stands now I have virtually no time to complete the main quests or explore the map. I swear I am going to kill Preston Garvey just so he can't give me any more repetitive missions to the same places to do the same things over and over again. At a minimum, the number of times you get a request for help from a settlement should be a third as frequent or when you have only a few (as in 2) quests in your list or no quests active.
Its svcking the joy out of playing the game.
3) Settlements Under Attack That Aren't:
I've had it happen on MULTIPLE occasions where I'm told a settlement is under attack, I fast travel there and.................nothing. No one's shooting, no settlers are agitated, etc. If I leave I get the mission failed notice and have to rebuild the settlement (more time and resources wasted). Sometimes I can wait on a couch or sleep for a bit and when the game resumes enemies show up. Other times they don't at all. I just spent 3 games days in a settlement after killing a bunch of enemies but not getting the mission completed message. Obviously, there's one lone enemy out there (stuck in the terrain or something) that can't or won't engage and a tour around the settlement walls can't uncover him/her. I left after 3 days and sure enough, I immediately got the mission failed message. Grrr........
Another problem I have with this system is related to where enemies spawn (which could explain the above problem too). As previously stated, I spend a lot of time building settlements the way I would expect anyone to do in the "real world". I'm quite proud of my construction prowess but it seems enemies can bypass them with ease. Why is it that enemies seem to spawn well within the settlement walls when they attack without having to run my turret gauntlets at the only entrance? If the game would simply ensure that attacking enemies spawn outside the walls like on the road leading to the settlement (which makes sense now doesn't it?) it might possibly eliminate the above problem as well as reward me for all the time and resource I've spent on building up my settlements.
I strongly believe that these are legitimate issues that need attention quickly. They really do detract from the joy this game delivers - and it is delivering plenty of joy to be sure. In a game this big and complex there's bound to be issues. But, given that settlement construction and management is a key feature of this edition of Fallout one would hope these problems could be addressed quickly.
