While playing for a long while last night I did a decent amount of exploring and I noticed that there are not much people or random spawning creatures like in previous bethesda games. Too much times where I would see a giant interesting looking area and find nothing there. No people, nothing to fight, nothing. It makes the game feel like it is lacking content and unfinished.

Mind you I'm only about 6 hours in and the game could double back quest to the areas I've been to later, but I must admit It is actually hard to find people to talk to without them blurting out "huh" what" "hmm".

Am I missing a ton of stuff or is the game really that dead?

You would kind of expect that in a nuclear fallout with super mutants and deathclaws every 2 feet, reminds me of fallout 3 with megaton city being the only city in the game.

So, has anyone seen any random encounters? Those are still in the game, right?

It's a wasteland, what did you expect?

Maybe increase the difficultly setting to get more creatures? I'm playing on normal right now, just to get some feels for the game but will bump it up as high as I can go after I get about 10 hours in.

Are you not finding random enemies every 2 feet? cause that has been my experience so far, maby its different on normal mode.

This is what I'd like to know too.
3 had perfect pacing and variety for a lone wanderer in the waste.

Had 2 false starts in NV. Totalling maybe 15 hours before I gave up on it.
Maybe the stories were ok if you enjoyed fast traveling everywhere. I don't.

I'm really not terribly excited about 4 anymore. Glad I didn't pre order.

blablabla....

Better "filling" than the Mojave, no? Unsure if its random encounter or not, but got to face plenty of enemies along the way. Pace is slow, but I got plenty of action.

Enemies are not characters.

I think OP's complaint is that there's no one to talk to or interact with, not that there aren't enemies to battle.

Random enemies are cool and all.
But do you run into random traders, robot salesman, slavers, escaped slaves, Outcast patrols, caravaners on their routes?
Can you.find a high point and glass around and find interesting things happening in the distance that have nothing to do with you?
For ME, that's what FO3 did (does) so well.
And I understand op's disappointment about hiking somewhere and having zilch going on. I saw this awesome dam shortly after leaving Goodsprings and when I got there, there was one mirelurk king and a locked gate.
And yeah. I know I know.

That's not what a random encounter is.

This is sounding better, and better; a lot more like the wastelands in Fallout, and Fallout 2. There's hope yet.

(Yes, my absolute favorite times in FO3 were out in the wastelands, with nary a town or NPC in sight. That part of it was ~perfect. I got to watch the PC explore the tops of the Interstate overpasses, and other desolate locations; spot on perfect ~in keeping with the atmosphere of the Fallout series setting.)

I have the strategy guide and it lists a ton of possible random encounters in the game. There's actually a whole section for it.

Strange, I encountered crap ton of npc's and enemies.