[Bethesda] Fallout 76

[Blackhawk]

I tend to do every quest and explore every location and I have barely followed the main storyline at all yet

Just be careful in Fallout 4. The radiant quest system will give you infinite quests.

[Kraken]

I tend to do every quest and explore every location and I have barely followed the main storyline at all yet

Just be careful in Fallout 4. The radiant quest system will give you infinite quests.

I am prepared to spend the rest of my life playing. I'm even starting to get used to the slow-mo VATS. Realtime VATS is another reason FO76 doesn't appeal to me. If I can't pause or slow down combat, I'm toast every time.

[Max Peck]

How much do you lose if someone kills you?

If you do get killed, death isn’t a massive setback either. You drop all of your Junk on death, which is used to craft and build, but no weapons, caps, or other valuables. You can then respawn at the closest fast travel point for free, or a farther one at a small Cap cost, at which point you can run back and pick up your Junk if you choose to -- though it will probably have been looted if you died in PvP.

Junk really only stays with you until you break it down at a crafting station, so, in most cases, losing it won't be too severe.

When you scrap anything into crafting components, the components are still in your inventory under the junk category, so I believe you would still drop them if you die (but I haven't put that to the test yet). I don't think it's safe until you actually transfer it to your stash. The main advantage to scrapping junk as soon as you can is that it generally reduces the weight that you're carrying.

One nifty convenience feature that I noticed today is that all stash containers, whether you own them or not, are actually linked to your stash inventory, so if you find a stash container anywhere, even in another player's camp, you can safely store items in it.

[coopasonic]

My initial impression from the teaser is that they may be doing a settlement management simulation, expanding on that aspect of Fallout 4.

A fallout game I am fine with skipping. This... bothers me.

I failed at the skipping. Pre-ordered. I am weak.

I won't say it was $51 right out the window, but it certainly feels like it. I played the beta for about an hour last night and was totally not interested. I only got to 4th level so maybe things got amazing later, but I didn't feel any drive to find out.

[Sepiche]

How much do you lose if someone kills you?

If you do get killed, death isn’t a massive setback either. You drop all of your Junk on death, which is used to craft and build, but no weapons, caps, or other valuables. You can then respawn at the closest fast travel point for free, or a farther one at a small Cap cost, at which point you can run back and pick up your Junk if you choose to -- though it will probably have been looted if you died in PvP.

Junk really only stays with you until you break it down at a crafting station, so, in most cases, losing it won't be too severe.

When you scrap anything into crafting components, the components are still in your inventory under the junk category, so I believe you would still drop them if you die (but I haven't put that to the test yet). I don't think it's safe until you actually transfer it to your stash. The main advantage to scrapping junk as soon as you can is that it generally reduces the weight that you're carrying.

One nifty convenience feature that I noticed today is that all stash containers, whether you own them or not, are actually linked to your stash inventory, so if you find a stash container anywhere, even in another player's camp, you can safely store items in it.

Yeah, realized that as I got a little farther in. The good news is you can fast travel to your camp for free, so it's not too hard to get back if you find some real good stuff and dump it in your stash.

I got a little more into it last night and am enjoying it. It will definitely not be for everyone as, while it has lots of quests and missions, it's largely the exploration, combat, and crafting parts of Fallout with less of the overarching story and characters you interact with.

The upside is the progression is nice and slow, and scavenging for resources is a blast, just like in the base Fallout game. I spent a lot of last night just wandering from hamlet to hamlet clearing out the mutants and ghouls in them and gathering loot. There is lots of basic resources to find out there, but they did a good job of still making key resources harder to find, like aluminium. Still trying to get more of it to rebuild the crafting stations in my base after I accidentally scrapped them.

I also went back to the same spot I found the powered armor with my first character, and sure enough there was a suit there again with even more armor pieces. I can't use the anything but the frame until I hit level 40, but I at least have a frame. If you want one you can find it at:

Spoiler:

The airfield SSE of the first town you get sent to if you follow the overseer. You can see the symbol for it on the map before you find it even. Just head there and in one of the hangers probably protected by a couple of super mutants is the suit.

Also finally sat down and figured out the perk system last night, and I'm enjoying how that works. Basically at the start of the game you get perk "cards" divided into the Special categories (Agility, Charisma, etc). You can equip a number of perks of a type up to the stat (i.e. if your charisma is 2 you can quick 2 points worth of charisma perks). Every time you level up to level 50 you get a new special point to spend, and every few levels you also get to open a new perk card pack which gives you a random assortment of perk cards. If you get duplicates you can upgrade the cards that make them take up more spots, but also work better. You can swap perks out pretty much at anytime, so it's random to each player, flexible, and customizable. Really cool system so far.

[Max Peck]

I also went back to the same spot I found the powered armor with my first character, and sure enough there was a suit there again with even more armor pieces. I can use the anything but the frame until I hot level 40, but I at least have a frame. If you want one you can find it at:

Spoiler:

The airfield SSE of the first town you get sent to if you follow the overseer. You can see the symbol for it on the map before you find it even. Just head there and in one of the hangers probably protected by a couple of super mutants is the suit.

Cool, I'm actually camped near there at the moment. Next session, I'll have to remember to explore the area more thoroughly to find that.

[Sepiche]

One more update over FO4 I forgot I was going to mention: the sound. They did a fantastic upgrade of the audio for the game. Now you can hear footsteps of nearby enemies and if you're using headphones or surround sound, you can generally tell what direction and how far gunfire is from you by the sound alone. Really makes for some tense moments when you walk into a house and can't see any enemies, but you can hear tons of feet running around. Also cool being able to hear players fighting nearby and run in to help out.

[wonderpug]

Does this game have a way of letting you effectively team up with friends even if your character levels are very different?

[Sepiche]

Does this game have a way of letting you effectively team up with friends even if your character levels are very different?

I'm not positive, but from what I've seen I think you should be able to play together fine, even if you are separated by a lot of levels.

There is some scaling in terms of damage depending on levels, but I think higher levels mostly just give you more perks, slightly higher special stats, access to better gear and mods, etc.

Levels don't appear to be the hard restraint like in a lot of MMOs though. For example I am only level 8, but I was able to kill some level 15 ghouls without too many problems. They were obviously tougher than lower level ghouls, and too many would have overrun me, but I wasn't crippled like I would have been in some games.

[Max Peck]

Ninja, Logic, and Rick and Morty Stream Fallout 76

Feeling schwifty? You're about to.

We’re taking the biggest streamer on the planet, a once-in-a-generation rap talent, the most beloved animated comedy duo of our time, and forcing them to survive together in the wasteland of Appalachia. The good news is you don’t have to travel to an alternate dimension to find out what happens! Tune in to Bethesda’s Mixer or Twitch, or Microsoft’s Mixer channel on Thursday, November 8, for an unprecedented Fallout 76 stream on Xbox One featuring Ninja, Logic, and none other than Rick and Morty (yes, that Rick and Morty).

Catch all the action beginning at 6:00pm PT/9:00 pm ET on Thursday, November 8.

Huh, that should certainly be a thing.

[Daehawk]

Saw a video of a guy who is standing shooting another guy who hasn't shot back so no pvp yet. That other guy sets up 3 turrets THEN shoots back and his turrets kill the first guy. Ya fun. The first guy cant damage the turrets either. So all pvp is basically on the 2nd guy.

[Max Peck]

Saw a video of a guy who is standing shooting another guy who hasn't shot back so no pvp yet. That other guy sets up 3 turrets THEN shoots back and his turrets kill the first guy. Ya fun. The first guy cant damage the turrets either. So all pvp is basically on the 2nd guy.

If the guy was able to set up turrets, then he was either in his own camp, or possibly in control of one of the contestable POIs. Attacking someone at their base and waiting around while they set up defences sounds like something that should get you killed.

Out of 4 beta sessions, I was attacked maybe 3 or 4 times in total, but only ran into one serious attempt to gank me where the would-be attacker followed me around and kept pumping BBs into me. Sadly for them, shooting a player who doesn't shoot back does not flag that player as being in combat, so when I decided I had wasted enough of their ammunition, I just fast-travelled back to my camp. I had set the in-game voice to team-only, so I'm sure I missed out on some quality taunts and insults too.

[Sepiche]

Yeah, I've played the beta for maybe 5 or 6 hours so far and, despite almost giving the game a pass because I wasn't sure I could handle the PVP, I've found it's really not an issue once you get in game. As Max explained it's really hard to really grief someone as they have ample ways to get away. My wife was even more wary than me about playing, but after trying it out with one of my beta keys, she loves it.

[Stuie]

Any extra beta keys floating around? I was going to pass on this completely, but now I'd kind of like to give it a try before I start to maybe think about getting on the fence. Wasn't a big fan of the building stuff in Fallout 4, so if that ends up being the main focus here I'll just show myself to the door.

[MonkeyFinger]

30GB patch incoming!

[coopasonic]

Any extra beta keys floating around? I was going to pass on this completely, but now I'd kind of like to give it a try before I start to maybe think about getting on the fence. Wasn't a big fan of the building stuff in Fallout 4, so if that ends up being the main focus here I'll just show myself to the door.

You got PM. I think there are only two test windows left and neither is particularly convenient.

Tuesday, November 6: 10 am - 12 pm PT / 1 pm - 3 pm ET.
Thursday, November 8: 11 am - 5 pm PT / 2 pm - 8 pm ET.

[Stuie]

You got PM. I think there are only two test windows left and neither is particularly convenient.

Tuesday, November 6: 10 am - 12 pm PT / 1 pm - 3 pm ET.
Thursday, November 8: 11 am - 5 pm PT / 2 pm - 8 pm ET.

Thank you!!

My schedule at work should allow me to participate in some of Thursdays, so I can at least get a taste. Much appreciated!

[Max Peck]

Any extra beta keys floating around? I was going to pass on this completely, but now I'd kind of like to give it a try before I start to maybe think about getting on the fence. Wasn't a big fan of the building stuff in Fallout 4, so if that ends up being the main focus here I'll just show myself to the door.

From what I've seen so far, building stuff doesn't need to be a focus of the game if you don't want it to be. Until the most recent beta session, my "camp" was just some defensive turrets, a bed, a stash box, a water pump, a set of crafting stations and a bunch of crops that I was using to farm vegetable starch to make adhesive for crafting gear. There are a lot of public crafting stations, beds, plants, water sources, etc available, so even that minimal amount of building effort isn't strictly necessary.

Having said that, if you really hate the building UI in Fallout 4, Fallout 76 doesn't really make any improvements to it.

[Max Peck]

Any extra beta keys floating around? I was going to pass on this completely, but now I'd kind of like to give it a try before I start to maybe think about getting on the fence. Wasn't a big fan of the building stuff in Fallout 4, so if that ends up being the main focus here I'll just show myself to the door.

You got PM. I think there are only two test windows left and neither is particularly convenient.

Tuesday, November 6: 10 am - 12 pm PT / 1 pm - 3 pm ET.
Thursday, November 8: 11 am - 5 pm PT / 2 pm - 8 pm ET.

Those are odd hours; today is only two hours and Thursday overlaps with the first two hours of their big Twitch stream event. I wonder if they're cutting their staff loose early today so they have time to go and vote, and tacked a couple of extra hours on the next session to make up the difference.

[Sepiche]

If anyone happens to be around, I'll be playing this as Sepiche the next couple of hours.

[Stuie]

So it looks gorgeous. Nice job on the graphics.

I found the gameplay to be kind of meh. I suppose the draw here is that you can play with friends, and my son and his friends were running around doing stuff and I'd see them now and then, but for me the whole thing felt sort of soulless. I think I miss NPCs and more traditional questing... so I'll probably pass on this for now.

But thanks again for the key coopasonic! Wouldn't have known how I felt without it.

[Sepiche]

Yeah, I do feel like it's the type of game where you have to find your own fun to some extent, but that said there are a TON of quests out there... they just don't involve humans giving them to you.

A lot are just area quests that trigger when you go somewhere, but there are also a lot that trigger from finding items like notes or holotapes, not to mention there are a lot of robots still out in the wastes that give quests.

I had a funny moment playing yesterday. I finally got a small shack built out in the woods and I was working on upgrading my hunting rifle when I swear I heard the sound of a door open. I quit the crafting menu, turned around, and there was another player standing there looking at me with a shotgun pointed my way. So I pulled out my shotgun and waved at him. He waved back, put his shotgun away, and left closing the door behind him.

Scared the hell out of me for a second, but that's officially the closest I've come to PVP so far.

[Max Peck]

I stumbled across an interesting early take on character build planning this morning.



The character build planner he used can be found here. Even though perk cards can be swapped out as needed, planning ahead seems like a good idea given that you can't respec your actual SPECIAL points (which are capped at a total of 56 when you hit level 50) and you will be picking from a selection of cards every time you level up.

[GreenGoo]

My 14yo son is going to a birthday party tomorrow. The birthday boy asked for these.

nuka cola caps



On the one hand, that's kind of cool. Both the product and that a 14yo would know what they are and want them.

On the other, *I* don't even have any of these. If anyone deserves these, it's me. Because reasons.

[morlac]

Looks like they're sold out....custom made only had qty 1 ...tell that kid sorry.

[Blackhawk]

I've seen at least a half-dozen tutorials on how to make those. Search around.

[GreenGoo]

Looks like they're sold out....custom made only had qty 1 ...tell that kid sorry.

Well, those are what they look like, supposedly. Toy/collectible story nearby is supposed to have the same basic product. We'll see.

Birthday party is tomorrow, and my son only mentioned it today, so no time to look for alternate options.

Related, my wife and I love the birthday kid. Really great kid and we love that our son is hanging out with him. Parents are pretty great as well.

Separately, my son is a jackass.

[Max Peck]

The easiest next-best-thing would probably be the Nuka-Cola checkers set, although the caps are plastic rather than actual metal bottle caps.

[hentzau]

They sell sets of caps for the Fallout minis game. Got a FLGS in your area?

[Daehawk]

Fallout 76’s Day One Patch is Larger Than the Actual Game

The day one patch for Fallout 76 is going to come in at a whopping 54 GB, making it larger than the actual game itself by about nine GB.

[Max Peck]

That's not entirely unique. The upcoming "patch" for Overwatch actually requires the game to be reinstalled from scratch.

[jztemple2]

According to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the game has launched early and is now available in some markets. I don't have it yet so I don't know, but I figured someone would care.

[coopasonic]

According to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the game has launched early and is now available in some markets. I don't have it yet so I don't know, but I figured someone would care.

I have a key in my inbox and I am still deciding what to do with it... I won't touch it this week.

[Max Peck]

According to the Fallout Twitter account, the game has launched down under (NZ and AU). I just checked on PC and I was able to log onto a server, although the rumored day-one patch doesn't seem to have dropped yet.

[Asharak]

I have a key in my inbox and I am still deciding what to do with it... I won't touch it this week.

I could trade you... umm (checks Steam)... a gift copy of Civilization 5, Frozen Synapse, or Tomb Raider (2013) for it. I don't know why I even have gift copies of those games (and I know none of them are remotely new) but you're welcome to them if you happen to want to play any of them more than Fallout!

- Ash

[coopasonic]

I have a key in my inbox and I am still deciding what to do with it... I won't touch it this week.

I could trade you... umm (checks Steam)... a gift copy of Civilization 5, Frozen Synapse, or Tomb Raider (2013) for it. I don't know why I even have gift copies of those games (and I know none of them are remotely new) but you're welcome to them if you happen to want to play any of them more than Fallout!

- Ash

I think I am going to keep it and see if I can find some fun in there. Also, I have all those games.

[Daehawk]

I could trade Tomb raider Underworld or Psychonauts or other assorted Humble Bundle stuff but its nothing as nice as FO76 so Im out of the running I guess lol. Is FO76 on sale somewhere? Far Cry 5 is $35 so just over what I can get for Xmas.

[Asharak]

I think I am going to keep it and see if I can find some fun in there. Also, I have all those games.

I figured. I didn't really expect you to take me up on it. Enjoy (hopefully)!

- Ash

[jaskerr]

Sooo....ummmm....Good Morning? I'm back? So glad to see you guys are around still!

I lurked around a few days ago hoping to find this exact thread to find some like-minded people to play F76 with.

I played a bit yesterday and got to Lvl. 5, trying to model my character after something like ZiggyD's rifle build here.

Haven't tried to team up with anyone yet, have a grand total of 1 buddy who's going to be playing as well, haven't even tried to play with the Social stuff to see how to add friends. If anyone is going to play, let me know and I'll get that figured out. Not much time tonight, but tomorrow evening and off and on all day Friday for sure!

[Sepiche]

According to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the game has launched early and is now available in some markets. I don't have it yet so I don't know, but I figured someone would care.

I had the dumb idea of checking last night right before my wife was supposed to go to bed on the off chance the servers were up... now I'm going to have to deal with a tired wife tonight who stayed up too late playing Fallout.

Haven't tried to team up with anyone yet, have a grand total of 1 buddy who's going to be playing as well, haven't even tried to play with the Social stuff to see how to add friends. If anyone is going to play, let me know and I'll get that figured out. Not much time tonight, but tomorrow evening and off and on all day Friday for sure!

I'm Sepiche on BethSoft, feel free to add me. Probably won't be on a lot until next week, but always good to have more like minded folks in game!