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2019-05-20, 02:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
So, am I the only one that thinks that Rage 2 was a better RPG than Fallout 4 was, despite being billed as an FPS game?
I mean, they both have the same 'go here, kill stuff, loot' cycle. Rage 2's combat is WAY better, go figure for a game from Id Software (now owned by Bethesda), although Rage 2 doesn't have any actual 'sniping' weapons, they want you to get up close and personal. Weapon balance is far superior in Rage 2, as one would expect from a dedicated shooter. But the surprise is the story and characters and overall plot.
Fallout 4... well, we all know where it went. Rage 2 doesn't get too fancy, but it does polish what it has very well. You're a Ranger, so you're already 'a badass'. I mean, your character in FO4 was starting off as kind of a badass being a military veteran as part of his backstory, but Ranger is a title people WILL recognize and WILL react to. You walk into a bar in your Ranger duds... people make room. That's a good feel, man. You've got your typical revenge plot, again nothing too fancy but at least you have a believable plot with a believable villain and a believable way to kill them eventually. I mean... it's pretty out there, but there's enough verisimilitude that it doesn't knock you out of the groove. Unlike "I am yourfatherson".
It does the survival wasteland thing better as well, in my opinion. Vehicles are definitely a thing in Rage 2, and their inclusion is a good thing. While you can fast travel to certain locations in Rage 2, there's just something awesome about jumping into a vehicle and driving there. While the world did a better job at filling the world with random locations, it can still be a bit sparse if you are going on foot, and it is doubtful that you will notice it while driving because you'll get between the dead areas pretty rapidly. So they hit the 'mostly abandoned wasteland' without 'gee... this sure is empty... I wonder when we're going to get some action'.
Rage 2 is a game that wants to get you into the action, that's what it is there for. The parts between action are there for you to loot, level up, and take a break before your next action sequence. And it does so far better than Fallout 4. You'd expect that from a self-proclaimed and unashamed shooter, right? Well, how about better character development from your supporting cast, a more believable and less annoying supporting cast, and despite being a silent protagonist, better dialogue trees?
I mean, YMMV and all, this is just from my personal perspective. Whenever you start talking about 'quality', you are inherently discussing a very subjective topic, because everyone has differing values for the term. But as far as I am concerned... Rage 2 showed everything that Fallout 4 COULD have been... but wasn't.
Not going to compare it to F76 because... well, that just wouldn't be fair to F76. It's gotten bashed enough, I think. It's time to just let it rest in peace already.SpoilerQuite possibly, the best rebuttal I have ever witnessed.
Joker Bard - the DM's solution to the Batman Wizard.
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2019-05-21, 05:35 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2013
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2019-05-24, 12:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Am I getting something of a STALKER vibe from this description? The Stalker series obviously had problems -- like the somewhat undistinguishable characters and the bugs, two problems that were more or less solved with COP -- but always beat Fallout 3 and 4 when it came to combat. I still think it's the series with the most satisfying ballistics I have ever played. The monsters, anomalies, and artifact detectors all were pretty greatly executed. And the setting is great. Also good AI (I seem to remember that it isn't actual AI though, more like invisible rails on the levels for the bots to follow). It's also less crammed with features (which can be good or bad, depending on taste).
Of course, it is no RPG, just an open-world shooter with a map, an inventory, and dialogues.Originally Posted by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1955
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2019-05-24, 02:01 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
If you ran with the husband's storyline.
If you ran with the wife's storyline, she apparently was a working woman who got a law degree... so her only military experience was being the Soldier's Wife.
So whether soldier husband or lawyer wife, you had the same skills in ... shooting a gun in combat?May you get EXACTLY what you wish for.
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2019-05-24, 03:10 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2006
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- Protecting my Horde (yes, I mean that kind)
Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
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2019-05-24, 09:33 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2006
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
I always thought of her as having served as well, but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. Lawyer Corps are a thing after all.
I am trying out LPing. Check out my channel here: Triaxx2
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2019-05-24, 10:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2013
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- Germany
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
I just assumed she was a military lawyer. I don't know if it was a tidbit I read or if this is just head-canon to explain away how Nate and Nora met. It could also explain why Nora has enough time for maternity leave, because if she had her own law firm, I would assume Nate would have to watch Shaun on his own. Then again, the Great War takes place on a Saturday.
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2019-05-24, 11:07 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2007
Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Most of the other Fallout games start you as a dumb kid from a vault that learns all kinds of skills unrealistically quickly. The background of the characters in FO4 is probably the very least of its problems.
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2019-05-24, 11:24 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
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- Manchester, UK
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
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2019-05-24, 11:29 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2007
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2019-05-25, 12:21 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2006
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
It is actually quite a bit longer than weeks to get good in Fallout 1 and 2, unless you're really speed-rushing things and very particular on your skills and traits. Even at mid-levels you're going to be reliably hitting, but head-shots with great accuracy are pretty late game. I can't remember the timeline for sure, but the waterchip timer in FO1 150 days, extendable to 250 days, and that is pretty "mid-game."
Granted a year isn't a huge amount of time to become an expert. But if you trained and practiced pretty hard at anything for a year in real life you would get pretty good at most things. And you're practicing that sort of thing all throughout the game. Which is orders of magnitude better than many games where the whole thing lasts very little time.
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2019-05-25, 08:57 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2007
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- San Antonio, Texas
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
According to the wiki, she had a law degree, but was not yet practicing as a lawyer.
https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/NoraThe Cranky Gamer
*It isn't realism, it's verisimilitude; the appearance of truth within the framework of the game.
*Picard management tip: Debate honestly. The goal is to arrive at the truth, not at your preconception.
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2019-05-25, 10:10 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2006
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Yeah, but they 'Improved the shooting', by totally disconnecting it from character ability.
Last edited by Triaxx; 2019-05-25 at 10:10 AM.
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2019-05-25, 01:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
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- Manchester, UK
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2019-05-25, 02:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2007
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- San Antonio, Texas
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Meh, people have hobbies. Yes, she was a woman with a law degree. But she also might have been a hunter. Or a sport shooter. Maybe she grew up on the mean streets of Boston and learned to shoot in the racist gang wars that resulted in a burned out Chinatown, then went to law school afterwards and tried to put it behind her.
If your Nora starts out able to shoot well, ninja-kick a Protectron, or carve the giblets out of a deathclaw, maybe that's the background she had. If your Nora can't shoot her way out of a paper bag with a flamer, but can build a flamer out of an empty aerosol bottle and half a lighter, maybe she did really well at the science fair, maybe she just watched way too much Junkyard Wars.The Cranky Gamer
*It isn't realism, it's verisimilitude; the appearance of truth within the framework of the game.
*Picard management tip: Debate honestly. The goal is to arrive at the truth, not at your preconception.
*Mutant Dawn for Savage Worlds!
*The One Deck Engine: Gaming on a budget
Written by Me on DriveThru RPG
There are almost 400,000 threads on this site. If you need me to address a thread as a moderator, include a link.
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2019-05-25, 02:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2013
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Are we really going down the "character is inexplicably skilled for a normal human as part of being the main character of a game" route? I mean REALLY?
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2019-05-25, 04:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2006
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Within the context of F4 holding onto the Pretext of being an RPG, with a character you can mold, yes.
I am trying out LPing. Check out my channel here: Triaxx2
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2019-05-25, 06:43 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2009
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
That's always going to the question that game developers have to ask, though: how much should character skill affect the out-come of player actions? Fallout 4 is what happens when you have no connection between character skill and player actions. Err too much the other way, and you get games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, where the early game is torturously difficult.
I actually imagine that Fallout 4's design with character skill was directly influenced by the criticism that Fallout 3 received. As you may remember, Fallout 3 had a system where poor gun condition and low weapon skill made a weapon less accurate. The result was that game critics and the general public alike lambasted the game for its wildly inaccurate weapons.I run a Let's Play channel! Check it out!
Currently, we're playing through New Vegas as Gabriel de la Cruz, merchant and mercenary extraordinaire!
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2019-05-25, 08:12 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2008
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- Orlando, FL
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
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2019-05-25, 11:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2006
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
I actually imagine that Fallout 4's design with character skill was directly influenced by the criticism that Fallout 3 received. As you may remember, Fallout 3 had a system where poor gun condition and low weapon skill made a weapon less accurate. The result was that game critics and the general public alike lambasted the game for its wildly inaccurate weapons.I am trying out LPing. Check out my channel here: Triaxx2
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2019-05-26, 02:30 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
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- Manchester, UK
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
That's actually the way the RPG difficulty curve used to be--much harder at the start due to the low skill of your character, getting easier later on as your skill improved. I actually kind of liked that, because it meant if you managed to make it through the first few hours of the game you stood a pretty good chance of being able to complete it--I like completing games, and getting partway through and finding the game's difficulty has surpassed my skill level is incredibly frustrating.
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2019-05-26, 02:53 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2013
Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Huh, I had forgotten that "Nora" had a canon profession. I always assumed it swapped who was the combat veteran based on who the player character was.
Going by the Wiki article, her profession is mentioned all of three times - by the lookout on the USS Constitution, by a holotape right at the start of the game, and by her diploma in the house before the bombs fall.
Why are we getting all twisted up about this, exactly?
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2019-05-26, 03:44 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2009
Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Completely agree. The thing about games where the world levels up with you is, if you mess up your own build, the game actually gets harder rather than easier as you level. Then you end up devising strategies to compensate for the game mechanics, rather than strategies to accomplish your goals.
"None of us likes to be hated, none of us likes to be shunned. A natural result of these conditions is, that we consciously or unconsciously pay more attention to tuning our opinions to our neighbor’s pitch and preserving his approval than we do to examining the opinions searchingly and seeing to it that they are right and sound." - Mark Twain
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2019-05-26, 11:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2007
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- San Antonio, Texas
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
The Cranky Gamer
*It isn't realism, it's verisimilitude; the appearance of truth within the framework of the game.
*Picard management tip: Debate honestly. The goal is to arrive at the truth, not at your preconception.
*Mutant Dawn for Savage Worlds!
*The One Deck Engine: Gaming on a budget
Written by Me on DriveThru RPG
There are almost 400,000 threads on this site. If you need me to address a thread as a moderator, include a link.
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2019-05-26, 12:31 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2013
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- Bristol, UK
Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
The end of what Son? The story? There is no end. There's just the point where the storytellers stop talking.
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2019-05-26, 03:43 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2009
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- Middle-o'-Nowhere, Idaho
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Oh, I absolutely agree. I love having a really difficult first act, where anything and everything can kill you. I love tiptoing around Daedric shrines in Morrowind, because I know that if an Orc warrior appears around the corner and starts sprinting at me, I'm toast. I can either run or die. It makes it that much more satisfying when, in the late game, you can come back to that same Orc and give them the righteous butt-whupping they deserve.
I prefer it, but I also don't think that Bethesda will ever sacrifice money for a better game.I run a Let's Play channel! Check it out!
Currently, we're playing through New Vegas as Gabriel de la Cruz, merchant and mercenary extraordinaire!
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2019-05-26, 04:13 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2013
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- Germany
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Or maybe just hand craft a few more NPCs instead of using a radiant system to populate your world. By TES lore, an Orc warrior is something to fear, a mage encounter is almost always deadly.
Considering Fallout, they even made Deathclaws into first level "bosses" (before you realize the DC you fight is apparently an elderly variant and you basically just beat up the giant lizard equivalent of an old grandma).
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2019-05-26, 04:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
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2019-05-26, 04:43 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2006
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Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
Scaling the world to your character always seemed counter productive and the opposite of what should happen in an RPG. I know it is so they can reuse an area more times and still have it be challenging but it doesn't make sense. Although there are a few games where events might cause the dangers in an area to increase dramatically, that shouldn't be done by having the same orc with a club be level 40 instead of level 2.
I think the biggest issue with games like Fallout 3 and 4 is that they're fighting against expectation. The combat in early game doesn't feel "challenging because your character lacks skill" it feels like "we've made a really bad shooter with a clunk feel." The shooter/action RPGs that I enjoy the guns/combat always feels good, but it just doesn't do as much damage, you don't have as much health, and you don't have the skills for nearly as many options. But in Fallout the guns do the same damage (essentially, if they do change it is hidden from the player), which also sucks in that even though all the weapons have a different feel and combat style, you don't get to choose that style because some are "early game" and some are "end game" weapons so you really only get to use them while the game says they're good options, not because you like them.
Nostalgia is a weird thing... here I am still following this thread and Fallout in general simply because I loved 1&2 so much, even though they've proved 4 times now that the direction their taking Fallout is not one I like and have no interest in playing. I didn't find anything about Fallout 3 worth making it into even mid-game. Was like 80% of the way through New Vegas and just came to a point where the busy work just wasn't worth it and saw the story "payout" of several DLCs and decided the ending was going to be exactly as predicted and not even that interesting.
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2019-05-26, 08:18 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2007
Re: Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!
I've never found any of these games to be difficult enough where world scaling was actually a roadblock though. These type of games already tend to run on the mind numbingly easy side of the street. They're designed to make you feel powerful and important in a sandbox world, not to be difficult. World scaling at least keeps things somewhat interesting, as opposed to literally not even needing to look at the screen as you play after a few levels.