Fallout 4 - it's official! Coming Nov 10, '15

[escrow4]

Don't bother with the hacking one if you're willing to use Valentine as your companion. He can hack any terminal. Just command him to do it.

Also, there are /A LOT/ more companions out there than I was lead to believe. I was using the dog for 10+ hours and then Danse became available... I used valentine too. So far I've used Paladin Danse a lot because he's /really good/ at killing everything. The dog was borderline useless. Good for picking up items that you might miss, maybe. But really not that worthwhile otherwise. He just doesn't pack any damage or live long like Danse can.

I might go back to Valentine though because of the hacking thing. Hard to say. Danse is so freaking OP in comparison. I literally don't have to ever attack anything. I can stay back under cover and he'll just clear entire levels like it's nothing.


One thing that bothers me about this game though is the ammo. I am constantly running out. I don't do VATS enough because it takes so much time for the animations. I'm also better at getting headshots on my own than VATS is. :/

One of the perks you can get tells you more detailed info about guys when you're in VATS so you'll be able to judge whether the gun you're using makes any sense. (Gamma gun does next to nothing against super mutants, for instance)

I run n gun and only ran out of 10mm ammo as I though the pistol was unlimited. It was actually unlimited in the sense it doesn't need a reload. In 20hrs of playing (on easy, too lazy) I already have a few hundred .45 and .308 and 12 gauge ammo plus any .38 I find I sell and replenish what I need. .38 is useless as you progress. 400 .38 rounds isn't great when you need 10 rounds to knock something down, whilst a .45 takes 2 or 3 at best.

The pistol perk is very very useful as a basic 10mm with some tinkering can slam up past 50 for a base damage each round. Plus the rifle perk(s). You need to manage different weapons. I rotate between a .45 rifle, a 10mm pistol, a .308 pistol and a double barrel shotgun. Any ammo I don't use gets scrapped and sold for top ups if raiders/environment doesn't provide.

Don't like companions, I use the dog (for now) as a bullet sponge as it can't die and occasionally as a loot mule.

 

[Rakewell]

Came across the following sad little vignette. Curious of its origin, I Googled it and found the below entry.

***WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS****

http://imgur.com/gallery/iofQm

I know there's plenty of hate for the game. But this is why I love FO.

 

[JujuFish]

I run n gun and only ran out of 10mm ammo as I though the pistol was unlimited.
[...]
(on easy, too lazy)

:hmm:

 

[TridenT]

None of the companions can die.

The dog gets incapacitated like the rest.

 

[Markbnj]

I'm having such a blast with this game. Went through the tweaks listed here and applied the ones that were worth the effort. The game is running very smoothly on my 660 with the latest drivers. Between the building and settlement management, side trips out into the countryside to scavenge and explore, I've spent probably eight hours and barely scratched the surface. I've even grown fond of Dogmeat, and once I realized I could just tap activate twice to get him to stay and twice more to get him to come, and do it from a distance, he became much easier to manage.

I do wish more of Concord's buildings were open, but perhaps we'll see a mod like NV interiors come out for this game. I'm still amazed at how cool the building and settlement stuff is, crafting etc. The effort that went in to add that is decidedly non-trivial, so it was a gamble and I think it paid off big time. It really adds a whole new dimension and lets you make parts of the world your own.

I know it has its critics, but more and more I'm seeing this as a tour de force in the Fallout lineage.

 

[Imp]

How much are you people using your power armor?

I've collected 3 suits and essentially walked them all home after a short test drive. I'm up to about 7 full cores but they seem to run out within an hour.

And I think I've found a bug? Walked into a mine field. Naturally, I died and reloaded a few times and the mines didn't respawn.

P.S. Love the reflex sight. Use them exclusively regardless of range in Call of Duty and way back when with America's Army. Found it the least cumbersome with a good balance of zoom and visibility. The reflex looks more like a holographic sight on the 10mm though.

 

[TridenT]

100% of the time I am using power armor. I've never taken it off after I gotten it. (I got it within the first hour of the game) I have probably 3 or 4 power armors but I only use one and upgrade it as I go. Using the T-60 II right now but want to get the nicer stuff soon. 😀 (Best way to do that from what I gather is doing the brotherhood quests; seems that's the best way to get all the good items, actually...)

I usually have over 15 fusion cores. That includes a lot of picking up scrap, building settlements, etc. I'm not just fighting.

ALSO, for those who are unaware... Once you get to Diamond City and other "cities" (places where you go in and the space is basically in the fourth dimension (i.e. it overlays with the existing territory outside but takes up no space in the outside world))... your map becomes highly inaccurate and borderline worthless.

The map system in Fallout 4 leaves much to be desired. It's horrendously bad. It gets really hard to find the right stuff when you have a thousand locations next to each other. (diamond city area has too many buildings next to each other to see quest locations easily and 4th dimension stuff doesn't make it any easier)

 

[zinfamous]

Never used the power armor. I've never liked it, tbh. This is the first out of FO3 and NV that I have actually stepped in one--of course because one is forced to.

With the customization, though, I might eventually get around to using it. I'm currently on hard difficulty, 11 hours in, and getting ~4 shot by most things which is fine by me. I will have the uptick the difficulty once my build starts blooming and things get too easy. Plus, I want fancier items.

Also, has anyone spent time looking at the Luck tree? It honestly looks like it could be hilariously OP if one wants to spend most of their time in VATS. I wonder if you could literally walk around reflecting most bullets, ricocheting bullets off of floors and walls toward your target's vitals, and have near-perma crit; because that's what the perks seem to suggest...

 

[warcrow]

Due to popular demand, I made a video about Power Armor, Fusion Cores, The Power Armor Station and the required Perks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czky-2GNGnc&index=6&list=PLUeP4wqAXXLAPtA87Yx1JEi9Mn7H57Rnd

 

[pontifex]

Damn, i spent the better part of the night scrapping stuff and building some settlement stuff. Trying to place walls sucks!

 

[Regs]

Played for a couple of hours and lost track of time and went to bed real late lol. Good game so far. The overhaul on the graphics is a nice welcome and dare I say it almost has a bioshock infinite feel to it. I am still getting the hang of the controls and exploration for materials and extras. I realized I have not thrown a grenade yet and it seems like selecting them and throwing them in the midst of battle is a bit burdensome. Changing weapons in the middle of a ghoul fight can be a PITA.

Besides getting past my learning curve, I love this game so far.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Finally got it and played about 3 hours last night before it CTD.

A few things.

The graphics -- how do I explain this...they look 'good', but there is something 'blocky/dated' about them, which is very noticeable when you are inside. Outside looks gorgeous and tons of dead vegetation...oddly it seems 'dead' compared to Witcher 3 due to the tornado like wind in that game lol.

I have a 290x and am playing at 1440p with everything on Ultra except for shadows (med), AA off, and godrays off. I am getting a mostly steady 45fps. But that is also what is interesting. It almost seems to be locked at 45fps. I see it drop lower, but never goes over.

Also, I found windowed fullscreen works better than plain full screen. (like 20fps better).

I do not like the total FPS direction they are heading but at least they still sort of have VATS. And what is it with games that when you run they warp the FOV?

 

[ShintaiDK]

- The USS Constitution. I won't say more.

That one is crazy!

I have gone rifle only pretty much. stacked with heavy combat armour and Cait as a companion with a Chinese officer sword. And Irish chem and alcohol addicted pitfighter. Whats not to love.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Never used the power armor. I've never liked it, tbh. This is the first out of FO3 and NV that I have actually stepped in one--of course because one is forced to.

With the customization, though, I might eventually get around to using it. I'm currently on hard difficulty, 11 hours in, and getting ~4 shot by most things which is fine by me. I will have the uptick the difficulty once my build starts blooming and things get too easy. Plus, I want fancier items.

Also, has anyone spent time looking at the Luck tree? It honestly looks like it could be hilariously OP if one wants to spend most of their time in VATS. I wonder if you could literally walk around reflecting most bullets, ricocheting bullets off of floors and walls toward your target's vitals, and have near-perma crit; because that's what the perks seem to suggest...

I have that perk but it doesn't seem to allow me to actively ricochet bullets. Am I missing something? Sometimes they are reflected back but I don't get to target them.

I have posted before that I don't like using the power armor. It just seems wrong in the game to be walking around and taking to NPCs etc in a suit of armor. Besides I really like some of the armor and suits you can get for your character. I have one that makes me look like a 1940s gangster, one that looks like the guy from the grognak the barbarian comics, and one that kinda sorta looks like Han Solo. You don't get to see the outfits on your character when you're in power armor. I also think that clearing out an old warehouse full of ghouls feels way off when you're wearing power armor. Almost too OP.

 

[zinfamous]

I have that perk but it doesn't seem to allow me to actively ricochet bullets. Am I missing something? Sometimes they are reflected back but I don't get to target them.

I have posted before that I don't like using the power armor. It just seems wrong in the game to be walking around and taking to NPCs etc in a suit of armor. Besides I really like some of the armor and suits you can get for your character. I have one that makes me look like a 1940s gangster, one that looks like the guy from the grognak the barbarian comics, and one that kinda sorta looks like Han Solo. You don't get to see the outfits on your character when you're in power armor. I also think that clearing out an old warehouse full of ghouls feels way off when you're wearing power armor. Almost too OP.

I misread the perk--it is % ricochet enemy bullets aimed at you, for instant kill on enemy. ...so it's even better? But I have no idea what percentages we are talking about.

 

[sze5003]

Due to popular demand, I made a video about Power Armor, Fusion Cores, The Power Armor Station and the required Perks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czky-2GNGnc&index=6&list=PLUeP4wqAXXLAPtA87Yx1JEi9Mn7H57Rnd

Thanks for that, it was useful. I think I'll get this for my ps4 today. Looks like it should be interesting.

 

[maevinj]

I'm having such a blast with this game. Went through the tweaks listed here and applied the ones that were worth the effort. The game is running very smoothly on my 660 with the latest drivers. Between the building and settlement management, side trips out into the countryside to scavenge and explore, I've spent probably eight hours and barely scratched the surface. I've even grown fond of Dogmeat, and once I realized I could just tap activate twice to get him to stay and twice more to get him to come, and do it from a distance, he became much easier to manage.

I do wish more of Concord's buildings were open, but perhaps we'll see a mod like NV interiors come out for this game. I'm still amazed at how cool the building and settlement stuff is, crafting etc. The effort that went in to add that is decidedly non-trivial, so it was a gamble and I think it paid off big time. It really adds a whole new dimension and lets you make parts of the world your own.

I know it has its critics, but more and more I'm seeing this as a tour de force in the Fallout lineage.

Do you remember which ones you did? I have a 660 as well. Thanks

 

[Markbnj]

Do you remember which ones you did? I have a 660 as well. Thanks

Yep, I did the following...

Clean install current nvidia drivers (I was also able to opt out of nVidia Experience so I didn't have to manually kill that service and the Network Streaming service).

Fallout4.ini tweaks

[Controls]
bMouseAcceleration=0

[Display]
fDefaultWorldFOV=90
fDefault1stPersonFOV=90

(also has to be done in the prefs ini file in two places, the folder under My Documents, and the Fallout4 folder under steamapps/common/Fallout4)

nVidia control panel tweaks

(make these changes under Manage 3D Settings, Fallout4.exe profile)

Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames: 1
Power Management Mode: Prefer maximum performance
Threaded Optimization: On
Anisotropic Filtering: 16x
Antialiasing - Gamma correction: Off
Texture Filtering - Quality: High quality

The last thing I did was to set all the fade sliders in the game settings to 25%, and after testing in-game I set them to 50% (recommended in the article) and I'm happy with that.

 

[Raduque]

Ah ok, so maybe by trying to unequip them while I was wearing the power armor I essentially looted the pieces.

"Power armor" itself is just a frame that you attach armor pieces to. I guess when you're in the suit they show up as part of your inventory, don't remember for sure because I haven't used it that much. When you exit the suit the armor pieces fusion core stay with the frame like a loot container. You can walk up to an empty suit and loot it's armor pieces. When you park the frame in a power armor bay, you can access the suit to upgrade and swap out armor pieces in a manner similar to modding armor or weapons. Also each armor piece takes damage and must be repaired.

When they get damaged they get removed from the Power Armor frame "container" to your inventory. That's how you end up with Power Armor legs/arms/etcs in your inventory.

 

[Markbnj]

How much are you people using your power armor?

I just walked that first unit you get back to Sanctuary and parked it. Figured it will scare off raiders. 😉

Power armor isn't really my thing. I'm more the ragged wasteland explorer type, with a streak of nobility. But it's nice to know it's there.

 

[Markbnj]

When they get damaged they get removed from the Power Armor frame "container" to your inventory. That's how you end up with Power Armor legs/arms/etcs in your inventory.

That's odd... so if they get damaged in a fight they are "unequipped" from the frame? That could be inconvenient.

 

[Raduque]

That's odd... so if they get damaged in a fight they are "unequipped" from the frame? That could be inconvenient.

I suppose they could have had them just go to zero health and stay on the frame, but another alternative is they get destroyed and you lose them, or they fall off and you need to pick them up after the fight. I guess they assumed that it would be easier/better to simply move them to inventory so you could repair them later. Who knows.

I'm left-handed and have remapped the movement to the arrow keys. The game didn't like it from the start, with pins only moving with WASD when lock picking.
Now, once I get the workshop UI up, the arrow keys go through items while I cannot move - WASD do nothing. Quite odd.
.

The whole Workshop UI is dumb. The game spends the entire time training you to hit to TAB to exit UI screens, but then in the Workshop, TAB stores an item, and you have to press ESC to exit!

 

[Merad]

That's odd... so if they get damaged in a fight they are "unequipped" from the frame? That could be inconvenient.

I dunno about the unequipping part, but you lose their protection anyway if they are "destroyed".

 

[GusSmed]

Power armor isn't really my thing. I'm more the ragged wasteland explorer type, with a steak of nobility. But it's nice to know it's there.

I'm afraid to talk my set walking, afraid that I'll take it somewhere to deal with something particularly hard, and the power will run out and I'll be forced to leave it in the building I'm assaulting.

So I'm mostly in Shadowed leather armor at this point, with a couple of odd Legendary bits - a Bolstering raider arm piece that claims it'll add some ridiculous amount of DR if I'm low on health, but which I haven't really checked, and a Sharp metal arm piece that adds +1 Int and +1 CHA in addition to being reasonable armor.

In the back of my head is the idea that I can go get the power armor any time something proves too hard, but I keep putting off doing that when it gets rough.

One thing I don't like about the new armor system is that the so-called "leather armor" is a few skimpy bits visually. So mostly I look like I'm running around in a slightly beefed up Vault Suit. Now and then I'll put on something that removes everything, like a hazmat suit, and I'll forget to put the vault suit back on when changing back to the leather pieces, and the next time I'm in conversation I look like I'm some sort of naked Raider clad only in a leather thong.

 

[Markbnj]

One thing I don't like about the new armor system is that the so-called "leather armor" is a few skimpy bits visually. So mostly I look like I'm running around in a slightly beefed up Vault Suit. Now and then I'll put on something that removes everything, like a hazmat suit, and I'll forget to put the vault suit back on when changing back to the leather pieces, and the next time I'm in conversation I look like I'm some sort of naked Raider clad only in a leather thong.

I've done that in every FO game I've played so far, and at least a couple of times in Oblivion and Skyrim, probably Morrowind too.