Quote Originally Posted by Beelzebub1111 View Post
I would cut the brotherhood out entirely. they, much like deathclaws and supermutants, feel really out of place in the new setting of boston. It would be like having the NCR show up. I say you can basically replace them with any kind of militia group that knows about and doesn't trust the synths. Also have them in a separate questline from the minutemen, like an alternative option from the start so you don't HAVE to join the minutemen at any point.
Brotherhood was in DC, which isn't too far from Boston. Same with Supermutants. Their being *present* isn't a problem. They're trying to do callbacks to Fallout 3 with this, while trying to ignore New Vegas. The way they are going about it is silly, their mere presence is not offensive. What is more offensive is the lack of Enclave (despite the recent addition from the Creation Club), given their proximity as well. You could have had the Enclave as the jackboot-stomping... that word that we're not permitted to use on this forum, while the BoS are the 'also possesses jackboots but can be convinced that they might get further without them' faction. See also, Lyon's Pride.

The institute's presence itself is not necessarily offensive. How they operate certainly is, though. Not in a 'proper villain you love to hate' sort of way, but more in a 'oh come on, even Starscream can do a better job at being evil than you!' kind of way. Either close yourself off from the surface world and pretend you don't exist other than a few discreet covert units to quietly collect resources otherwise difficult to obtain, or just go ahead and start playing actual puppetmaster like you're already being accused of doing. This half-and-half nonsense is just silly. Either embrace your inner Big Brother, or your inner Big MT. Pick one.

The railroad is the epitome of 'You are doing more damage than you are preventing. Please stop, you are making things unarguably worse for everyone involved'. And frankly, the painfully obvious parallels to slavery are borderline insulting, given how the matter is handled. Especially given how synths can basically have their personality overwritten at any time, either by the Railroad in an attempt to 'help' them, or by the Institute issuing a recall order. The more you find out about them, the more their story just... falls apart and doesn't *work* in any conceivable way.

The Minutemen as a concept isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, if handled right, it can be an excellent plot tool. And it can even be used as a rather uncomfortable mirror, as your choices as General *will* shape their tactical doctrine and moral standards. You can either be the shining example to live up to, putting foot to ass against threats but also extending a friendly hand to those who need it, or you can strap on a pair of jackboots yourself. And your troops *WILL* follow your lead. So if you start strapping on jackboots, so will the Minutemen in general. The problem with the Minutemen is that it is something the character is supposed to be investing in to grow into a faction, and that never happens within the context of the game, making it seem like a bad investment for no return.

All of the factions suck. Which is fine, it's a grimdark crapsack world. There are no good guys, only varying shades of grey. It's a good vibe for a post-apocalyptic setting. However, they don't suck as in 'these guys are ideologically bad, and capable of enforcing their ideologies on their neighbors if someone doesn't stop them' so much as 'wow, they have all the coordination of the Three Stooges, the competence of Starscream, and the survival instinct of a rabid lemming. How have they actually lasted THIS long?'.