I been playing Fallout since 3. And all the games had settlers looking for help, side missions, I have yet to find any. I came across 2 people getting ready yo kill a seath in the middle of the woods, and thats about it!
Now im only a level 17, but man I run around all over the map looking to find new places and such.

I saw a ghoul settler sitting next to a tree within the first 3 minutes of leaving the vault first time I played.. then proceeded to bludgeon them to death with my new found tire iron to see what goodies they had. Probably a good thing they stay away from me.

I agree it's pretty barren compared to past fallout games.. lots of settlments devoid of anything.

I ran into someone who was yelling for help. I eventually went to see what was going on. Let's just say it was what I thought. I took care of it, looted the area, and left. I haven't been out through the map yet, but I have run into things while exploring and heading to various quests.

I'm not super enthused, but I'm still dealing with the voice issues I have.

Makes you nostalgic for the Talon Company.

I have run into quite a few "quest NPCs" out in my travels.

However, instead of actually giving me a quest, like in past Fallout games, they tend to just: "Map Updated"...and it is up to me to go there and "create my own story", it seems.

True, many of the urban areas are very empty...you'd think many of the settlers would settle where there's solid buildings, instead of in the wasteland of the commonwealth.

Also, I haven't found as many smaller quests as I imagined. Most quests I find just sends me to the more dangerous areas I haven't been to, and although I'm familiar with that system from Skyrim, this time I've had those quests lined up in my Pip boy for ages.