Antti Niemi

Been randomly jonesing to replay this, won't be able to for a fortnight As time passes my appreciation of it just grows and grows. Orders of magnitude better than pretty much any game I've ever played. No idea what accies is on about. "Don't like the map being broken up into little areas." - Introductory area, Kaer Morhen and two areas bigger than Skyrim. "It all looks the same" - has been to Velen, war-torn swampland, Novigrad - inside one of the most impressive cities ever realised in gaming, outside medieval European farmland.

Spectacle Island. Haven't the foggiest. One of those settlements I've never gone near. In my first playthroughs I rarely went south at all - the odd excursion into the Glowing Sea or down Quincy way aside - and in my Survival I was based out of Jamaica Plain - a shithole btw, so small - and never really strayed too far from where I needed to go for quests. I've been to most if not all in-game locations, but I barely remember anything down that way at all. Editing to actually provide something somewhat useful: according to the wiki you need to flip the switch on the boat, then the one in the tower which will chase the mirelurks away. Assume you've done that?

Looked up an alternate start mod on YouTube. The first scenario they used to demonstrate it was you starting off as a fashion designer in Diamond City or something like that. Game loads up - first thing that pops up on screen is a quest objective to 'Find Shaun'. What's the point in that?! If you're going to allow people to make non-Sole Survivor characters you have to carry it all the way through, surely. Was thinking about how you'd do it and thought you could include the original main character in the game as a companion and progress through the main story that way.

I didn't play Fallout 3 tbf. Thought Skyrim struck a pretty good balance - the dragons are a threat, yeah, but it's not so urgent that you feel obliged to dash all over the world doing main story quests. I think 4 really picks up and hits its stride once you've found Shaun. The interplay between the various factions you become entangled in is really great.

The story in itself isn't necessarily bad, it's just that people don't want to go into a Fallout game as a grieving widow on a quest to find their missing son. They want to explore, piss about and play as their own character. I can have untold hours of quality time in this game, and then I bump up against the main story in some conversation and it's all "WHERE'S MY BABY" and I'm pulled right out of it. These sorts of games need to have a main story which provides enough leeway for the character to just piss about for hundreds of hours without any sense of urgency hanging over them. (Incidentally something I didn't feel the Witcher 3 got right - what's the point of all these contracts and side quests when Geralt is supposed to be tracking down his missing goddaughter and wouldn't stop to bother with any of that?)

And you're right that the game is about rebuilding the Commonwealth. Honestly I like the settlement building and have basically forgot what I'm supposed to be arguing here already. It definitely has a place in the game and when it goes right it's great. Just a shame they didn't take it a bit further - imagine building a string of Brotherhood fortresses across the Commonwealth, or setting up Railroad hideouts, or bringing Institute technology to the surface. I've heard that the modding scene hasn't really hit its stride yet. Skyrim took a year or so to get going. I've had a look through the Xbox catalogue on my brother's and it's like wading through shite looking for diamonds.

It's about immersion, isn't it? But that is nitpicking, I'll admit. A more important aspect of this ideal 'mod' I'd be looking for would be fluffing up some of the existing possible settlements - places like Tenpines, Starlight, County Crossing - into proper small towns like Covenant or Bunker Hill. Places you can pick up supplies, talk to people, pick up a quest or two. I want to travel and meet and visit and help existing settlements, not build them all myself. I'm not saying this would make for an improved game, but it would make for an interesting playthrough.

Incidentally I was playing New Vegas for the first time today. Graphics really, surprisingly hold up. Was watching Sunny Smiles running ahead of me into the desert and was already more immersed than I'd ever been in 4. If mods ever come to PS4 I'd seriously consider seeking one out that removes settlement building entirely. It's fun, but it's like something from a completely different story. That, properly realistic damage and the ability to save anytime in Survival mode (Fallout is not a stable enough game to be limiting saving, and I'm sick of my character having to sleep four times a day, increase their hunger and thirst and catch horrendous diseases) would be great. I'd look into doing it myself but I don't own a PC copy.

Interesting article which sums up the way a lot of people seem to feel about the game: http://www.pcgamesn.com/fallout-4/bethesda-dont-seem-to-know-what-fallout-4-is-anymore

I turned the difficulty down to 4-year-old-playing-with-their-eyes closed so I could get Blood and Wine over with. Let's be honest, it's the story and design we're playing for anyway, the gameplay is bang average.

^ obviously was a dick to Ciri and didn't get the good ending

I haven't finished Blood and Wine but have to say I'm a little underwhelmed by the main storyline so far. The writing seems a little off, as if it's a first draft that they haven't really knocked into shape yet - quite often you're left pointing out obvious holes in the plot or the characters' actions to yourself. Still, the world is wonderful.

Wiggo

Got a wee bit bored so my character's turned heel a fucker. Had originally found a peaceful solution in Far Harbor - went back and took out Dima's lot with the Brotherhood and blew up the Atom kids. Went and Order 66'd the Railroad for good measure then pitched up at the institute and capped Shaun in the forehead.

I was mimicking your posts on this thread m8.