Fallout 4

[Art Blade]

that sounds like a proper battle well done, mate

[nex]

This game sounds very complicated, or maybe my head's too flat......

[Dweller_Benthos]

Gunner's Plaza is always a tough fight, the first time I walked past it, between the minim-nuke on the roof and the turrets outside they almost did me in and I ran away. I also think the roof approach is the best, as that atrium in the middle from the ground floor is just an invitation for everyone there and on the second floor to just unload on you from all directions. Clearing it floor by floor from the top down makes it more manageable. Still a good fight though.

[fragger]

nex, it's not really complicated as such, but there is an impressive depth of gameplay to it. I actually didn't like it when I first started playing and nearly gave up on it. I thought it was lackluster,  the map was too empty and the graphics were a tad dated (they're hardly cutting-edge but they're actually not half bad, with great atmospherics and an excellent dynamic weather system). That was before I started to realize just how much there was in it. The game starts you off in a fairly sparse area of the map (which is roughly square, and you start near the NW corner of it) and there's not much you can do in the early stages until you start getting your Perks (skills) up, but as you do and you begin to venture further afield, more and more locations, situations and characters pop up until you find yourself in a richly-detailed world with an entire ruined city (Boston) occupying the central area of the map (there's more environs and places further south). The map's not huge but there is a wealth of stuff tucked away in it and it's enormously detailed. It's plenty big enough for the kind of game it is (there is no vehicular transport, but you can "fast-travel" to any one of the locations you have discovered, of which there are many dozens). After a year and a half, I'm still finding new places and stuff.

And the game is super open-worldy, in terms of where you can go, what you can do and when. There's never any time pressure and you have enormous personal freedom and a flexible story approach with multiple possible endings. I'm four months into my current playthrough and I haven't even touched the story part of the game yet. The game doesn't have to end when the story does, either - it can go and on indefinitely if you want.

There are multiple groups and factions in the game and literally hundreds of characters to encounter - some briefly, some enduring. There are scores and scores of quests and missions, a few of which are infinitely repeatable (these are called "radiant" quests and they are all different from one another, but each one has its own particular objective which is the same each time but in different locations). There's a large Perk assortment, 70 of them in 7 categories. Each of those can be "ranked up" anywhere from two to five times, and the categories themselves can be ranked up to 10 times, making well over 300 Perk "Levels" in all. There are heaps of modification and crafting options for weapons, armour, Power Armor, explosives, even cooking and drugs. There is also a lot of fun stuff to play with that the devs included just for the hell of it, like being able to set up combat arenas or fireworks displays.

And you can build all sorts of stuff in "Settlements" that you establish and which, over time, will attract wandering folks in the surrounding wasteland to come and live in. Once you have the Perks for building "stores" (shops, 6 types - General Traders, Weapons, Armor, Food and Drink, Clothing and Drug Clinic), you can appoint Settlers to w0#k in them and they'll start making money for you. You can also buy, sell and barter with them (you can buy and sell just about anything in the game). I love the Settlement-building part of the game, it's like a whole other game in itself. It's a bit like playing Lego, except you can then interact with and inhabit what you build

Sorry for raving on, but I think it's a wonderfully immersive game and I regularly lose myself in it for hours. It's a very unique gaming experience in my humble opinion (the design is a hoot too for someone like me - a big fan of 50s-era pulp sci-fi imagery. I spot all sorts of homages and references to "Golden Age" sci-fi in it).

[Art Blade]

nex, it's indeed neither difficult to understand nor to generally play. At first you'll get a chance to learn it but you may skip that altogether if you already know how to play (good for replay value).

Essentially it's a good mix of first person shooter (while being able to switch back and forth between first and third person at any time) and aspects of a role playing game (like the skill tree and character customisation) without being too much of either one.

And there are tons of mods available on the nexus if you want to change anything.

[fragger]

I noticed something interesting the other day: a T-45 suit with the "Calibrated" legs mod will allow you to carry more stuff than a X0-1 suit with the same leg mod.

I need to correct that. I forgot that I'd given the T-45 in question the "Military" paint job which increases Strength when all pieces are painted. That's why I can carry more with it than any of my X0-1s, none of which have that paint job.

Duh.

[Art Blade]

well, good (paint) job

[fragger]

Here's a short video showing the beginning and end of the side quest, "Last Voyage Of The USS Constitution". There's quite a lot that goes on in between the beginning and end of course, but I just wanted to show the start and especially the ending of the mission, which cracked me up the first time I saw it.

I like how the robot captain in the game is called "Ironsides", as the real USS Constitution is affectionately known as "Old Ironsides". The real one is in fact still a fully-commissioned and crewed US Naval ship and sailed as recently as 2012. She is usually berthed at the former Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston Harbor, at the end of the "Freedom Trail" (which is also featured in the game). She certainly isn't embedded in the roof of a building, nor is she equipped with rocket engines...

Incidentally, if you're wondering why I'm called "Sharon" in this game, It's because I chose a random face and hair at the start which just happened to make me look a lot like someone I know. So I named myself after her. So far, I've played through as male, female, male, female, male, and now female again. I alternate (in the game, that is...) So far I've been "fragger, "fraggerina", "[my actual first name]", "Sheila", and "fragger" again, so now I'm this dame. I know the real Sharon would get a laugh out of it

[Art Blade]

send her a pic of your virtual self

Nice little vid, it was a weird mission. Funny was what you showed, and absolute mayhem what you didn't show.

[nex]

I just knew it was gonna hit that building 

[fragger]

Funny was what you showed, and absolute mayhem what you didn't show.

Yep, especially towards the end when Raiders manage to get aboard and you have to fight them below decks. It's a pretty chaotic, close-quarters rumble in there.

[Art Blade]

I had extreme fights in and outside that ship, and in the neighbouring area as well. Probably one of the most extreme fights in the whole game.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I never saw that conversation between the robot and the player at the start, getting conscripted and all. I think I came from the other direction, along the shore, when I started that mission, so I never met that robot in the street until after I'd talked to the captain.

When I was in middle school, we took a class trip to Boston, and we saw the Constitution, though we were supposed to take the tour, we were running short on time due to the lines to get in so we skipped that and went to the next stop. So I saw it from the dock and that's about it.

[mandru]

There's something that happens at the start of this clip where you are scanned by the perimeter sentry that has long been a point of ponderment for me regarding another conversation that takes place with DiMA over in Far Harbor.

It's kind of insignificant but I don't want to let slip a possible spoiler.

Spoiler

At one point in your dialog exchange with DiMA he asks you if you "Are sure you're not a Synth?  What was your earliest memory?"  Which at best can only be "I was selecting my name and appearance at the start of the damn game.  I had been invited and was getting ready to give a stirring patriotic speech to the members of the local Veterans of Foriegn Wars Hall." 

However when the perimeter sentry at the USS Constitution first scans you and compares the results to pre-war records so it can conscript you into that mission.  It calls on a set of records that predate all Institute Synth developement.

If your character was indeed a Synth I find it unlikely that the robot could establish a positive clean match.  There was no mention of cybernetic enhancement or other possible conflicting physical changes that would be present in an Institute reconstructed automaton.

I have to draw the conclusion that DiMA in casting selfdoubt about your Synth-hood was factoring in your almost machinelike effectiveness (and taking a shot in the dark) he was trying to recruit useful allies for possible future need.  DiMA can't leave Acadia so he would be highly motivated to have a cooperative 1st Class Fixer on call as part of Acadia's resources. 

On another detail from your Vid.

I've always played as a Male so your video revealed something that was a bit of a surprise for me.  Your Female character was identified as a "law^&r" (no mention of military connection) by the perimeter bot instead of the Military Service (retired and subject to reactivation) records by which I've always been identified. 

That your character could be identified right down to occupation is somewhat disturbing.  Who knows how much and what else is in those archived records freely available to anyone who can hack and repurpose a Mister Gutsy. 

[Art Blade]

I think a law^&r is more likely to show up on public records as trials are usually public. Military could be more of an issue if they're specOps and their identity veiled.