#world building fnv

[photosyntheticfox]

If I had a dollar I wrote a whole ass background and timeline stretching back to ancestors for courier six that stretches before the war and includes FEV.

This is the third time I’ve done this. I’d have two dollars unintentionally.

[gaymarioo]

god i fucking love fallout

[lesvegas]

absolutely bonkers reactions from the fallout fandom. The only criticisms I'm seeing are from fnv fans who are rightfully calling the show out on its poor world-building. But that apparently means we're 'toxic and pretentious'. really cant win with these people smh 🤦

It's incredibly baffling. I mean I always knew there'd be an uncritical crowd that would overlook any and all flaws because they only really care about the same things Bethesda does (cool power armour! cool guns! cool explosions!) but the fact that it seems to be... almost EVERYONE? Is so fucking weird. I went to nma to see what their consensus is because despite how awful the site is they're also one of the few groups that actually criticize Bethesda Fallout but even THEY liked it. Even after watching the end of season one. They didn't really seem to care about the 'twist' or problems when I expected them of all people to tear the show a new one.

I knew most of the critics would be FNV fans, I just didn't expect us to be the *only* critics. It almost made me think hey, maybe it really *isn't* that bad and it's critically acclaimed for a reason, but... no, watching it just kinda hurts. A friend of mine who genuinely loves fo4 also hated it. In fact all of my friends who have seen it hate it, despite the wider reaction. It's an odd feeling.

[ihateyouvulpesinculta]

and ofc CAESAR is so interesting as a character bc fnv is incredible in its character design

i think the thing that sticks with me about caesar is his names.

how do you leave behind your name for a title that you know, you hope, will strike fear in the hearts of enemies and compatriots alike? you work everyday for that to happen. who gets to call you anything but Lord anymore ? When does the Son of Mars want to be called Edward again like his mother used to ?

he trapped himself in this title. yes he “needed” to “kill” joshua but did he want to ? did he ever have doubts ? that was what Caesar needed to do but did Edward want to kill his best friend ? could he feel joshua slipping away the deeper they got into this ? was he trying to grasp onto him or did he convince himself he was okay with letting him go? does he ever still think about him ?

does it all feel like a costume at some point ?

he’s not caesar he’s not the son of mars he’s Edward Sallow. when does that fact catch up to him ? he’s build up this world around him, man made, he’s convinced himself this is his place and he’s deluded others into the same belief. does he ever feel like the saddest puppet master alive ? surrounded by yes men, killing the only man who knew him, and now slowly dying of a tumor. his body is turning against him.

is this tumor Edward, still in him, taking revenge over his body’s new owner, Caesar ?

DONT FORGET TO LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW !

[wildwildwasteland]

Ive been scrolling the fallout crit tag cause the show... is itself and ive got questions. any media you would consider groundbreaking? like people celebrate fnv for amazing world building but its still very ignorant. Anything youd recommended thats smarter? (in your opinion) the smartest even?

Depends on what you're looking for. The apocalypse genre is very flawed in and of itself, and I feel like a lot of what sucks in Fallout is kind of as a result of these genre staples (misanthropic gun-toting power fantasy, for example). If you aren't just interested in post-apoc, there are a couple sci-fi titles I might recommend which I do consider Groundbreaking.

As for post-apocalypse media only, here are 3 that I can recommend off the top of my head:

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice: This one is great if you want an apocalypse that's smartly written and are interested in real-world rather than an elaborately worldbuilt setting. The actual cause of the 'apocalypse' is never named, it's far removed from the remote community who the book focuses on. I recommend this one a lot.

Caves of Qud: Roguelike RPG with cute pixel graphics. Takes the idea of a post-apocalypse and adds a few more 'posts' until the world before isn't even a memory and the ruins are themselves from earlier post-apocalyptic societies. It's very out there and wacky, bordering on fantasy, but plays with this type of setting in a way totally unlike anything else.

Mad Max: Fury Road: On the off chance you haven't seen this. Fallout draws a Lot from Mad Max titles, though not very well. While extremely campy, I do think the wasteland worldbuilding of Mad Max holds together better largely because the genre-staple "raiders" are built up more to be recreations of old power systems, which helps explain why things are so rough out there. In Fury Road this sees Immortan Joe as a warlord sitting atop a total resource monopoly.

I also want to recommend Mad Max: Thunderdome but I kind of just want to make an entire post about it, because it has more genre staple flaws than Fury Road but is also probably the most emotionally resonant of any apocalypse fiction for me.

If any of my followers want to add more then please do! I know a lot of people recommend Wasteland, and I've seen good things from it, but I won't rec it without having played it myself.

[that-stone-butch]

Is Fallout 4 really that bad? As someone who enjoyed FNV, does it make sense to play it in your opinion?

i'm not going to say fallout 4 is a bad game in a vacuum, but it fails to be a fallout game as well as 1, 2, new vegas, and even 3 was at times.

it's not much of a play-your-way RPG. you don't build a character with attributes and skill points and whatnot; it's literally just your SPECIAL points *are* how you level up in fallout 4. the only thing you can do when you level up is spend your one perk point on either increasing a SPECIAL stat, or buying a perk that is gated by SPECIAL stat and level. no tagged skills, no traits, nothing. when building a character, fallout 4 does not respect your intelligence as a player enough to let you have a say over any of the fun shit. it's the antithesis of new vegas' character design and if you enjoyed that then you're in for a real sad time with f4.

additionally, it is mechanically focused on scaling procedurally. instead of being able to take on tougher enemies and score a better weapon like the progression of FNV, in fallout 4 the manner by which your weapons scale to the difficulty is by buying the 'more handgun damage' perk and maybe the 'upgrade weapons even morer' perk, which are both level-gated. this means that the game plays the same at level 10 as it does at level 40. it's just that Super Mutant Orc Man's hit bar is more health, and Perk Upgraded 10mm Pistol is more damage, so it evens out.

furthermore, the story is completely on-rails and the factions are like, really fucking hard to care about when all they have to offer is procedurally generated go to place X, kill all of the raiders/synths/super mutants/critters there, and retrieve mcguffin Y item, rinse and repeat.

while in fallout new vegas (2010), you can build your own character your own way, everyone's fallout 4 character is fundamentally mechanically the same, as well as literally being a voiced character with a set backstory, motivations, and quest line. in FNV you could be whoever you want however you want. in fallout 4, you have to be either Nate or Nora, with their prescribed heterosexual husband/wife, and their baby. if you don't care about this story, then fallout 4 is just an open world crafting game with very constricted mechanics.

i would say fallout 4 makes a sort of fun open world base builder if that's your jam, but if you're a fallout fan through and through it's mostly just worth playing to appreciate all the things that actual fallout games got right. and that's not worth $60 and hours of my time to me.

[artbyblastweave]

Do you think the fallout 3/4 DLCs were impacted by not being very connected to each other? i know that fnv's could've been more interconnected but even as they are it's fun to pick out the small interconnected parts and the shadows Christine/ Ulysses/ Father Elijah cast in different ways. Feels like at least FO4 could've done something similar (unless i missed it?)

I think the thing is that the DLC in Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4 are all doing different things from each other and for the most part all three sets are succeeding at their intended projects. Fallout New Vegas is the most heavily narrative-focused, each of the DLC being a reiteration of the main game's core theme of people and societies who are just stuck doing the same things over and over until someone finds a way to break the cycle. They're principally narratives. Fallout 3, the DLC are less narratives for you to experience and more adventures for you to go on- weird whacky setpiece oneoffs that you wander into, resolve, and wander out of. I mean I don't think Point Lookout really had a theme. I actually recall much of the base game being structured similarly to that, the communities of the game feeling isolated and unmoored from each other in a way that hurt the worldbuilding but helped the vibe, so I'm not entirely against them being basically isolated from each other in the way that they are. Bonus episodes of the Lone Wanderer Show {complementary}.

Fallout 4's DLC's wouldn't be aided much in their project by the addition of a New-Vegas style metanarrative. The goal of those expansions wasn't principally to tell a story- it was to expand the simulationist aspects, give the player more things to make and more things to be. Make robots, make vaults, make contraptions, make arenas, make the fake little people in your settlements dance like marionettes. The narrative scaffolding wasn't all bad, but it was often very visibly a fig-leaf, a lubricant. Isabel Cruz was fun but she's not why people bought Automatron. Nuka-World is the pinnacle of that impulse- a whole new region acting as a clumsy patch for the complaint that there are few meaningful "evil options" in the base game.... by creating a DLC that's bizarrely cocksure that you'll pivot and commit to trashing a whole playthrough's-worth of good-guy settlement building. I'm not making a novel complaint here, there's like a hundred youtube videos complaining about this. But it succeeds in that you can be a raider boss now, on top of all the other stuff your character can be. Far Harbor is the only one of the addons that breaks from this, where the workshop takes a backseat to a fairly well-thought-out narrative with something to say. And I feel like that narrative doesn't have a lot to gain from any of the other addons chiming in, and vice versa.

[spoonhead]

all those fallout faction maps that show what states are controlled by who all have the four corners area (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) controlled by the legion and it's got me thinking

fallout four corners wasteland when?

i wanna see more about the legion as a society and culture not just their military and shit

like i know that they kinda are just supposed to be a easy to hate bad guy in fnv but wouldn't it be cool if they weren't one dimensional. maybe some redeeming qualities so it could be "semi reasonably built nation but it's america" vs "semi reasonably built nation but it's rome" like. we could see their actual cities out there instead of just their big military camps like the fort. wouldn't that be neat. just wouldn't it

idk where i'm going with this i just want more world building about factions that aren't living the american dream. it's interesting ok

[mechagrrl]

according to many sources and rumors, Bethesda doesnt like New Vegas because people liked it more than their own developed fallout games, hence why fallout 4 is getting a free upgrade rn for ps5 and pc but fallout new vegas hasnt been touched since it came out. Like todd howard specifically has a grudge against new vegas and doesnt like it according to insiders.

even without insiders confirming it, it isn't hard to tell that bethesda hates fnv with the way they've treated it and obsidian over the years-- and as an actual sequel to the og two instead of the shitty world building of 3 and 4 it makes me so mad!!

fnv is made with so much love and care and regard for the actual themes and history of the series and its constantly getting disrespected by its 'owners' its so infuriating that they nuked the ncr, destroyed new vegas and essentially pissed all over fnv prior to it taking place

[astrovagrant]

fallout show final notes (attempting to keep this Short because i can and will keep going if i'm not mindful)

firstly: people who liked it getting mad at people who didn't and going "eugh fnv fans are so crazy" is silly. there are legitimate grievances to take with the show, which i will do in just a second. i'm sure there ARE fnv hardcore fans out there who are spitting mad because they didn't actually learn one of the most important lessons of fnv (the status quo must be broken continually to improve) - the shady sands bit isn't necessarily strictly bad BECAUSE it changes something fundamental about the ncr. i also don't think the show was going out of its way to spit on fnv as a whole Necessarily - there are too many nods and the fact that house is around at all just adds to that. it's not a todd dick contest, i think they were doing it in good faith, the fact remains that they still didn't do it Good.

so here are the things that i actually didn't like, now that we all got our kneejerk pissed off "group x says y and they're WRONG for that" reactions out of the way. SPOILERS spoilers Spoilers.

dealing with vault tec mysteries isn't actually a bad thing - kind of interesting inherently. however: vault tec AKA a group of Shadowy Elites is Responsible For Everything is so. pointed look at camera.

vault tec bearing sole direct responsibility for bombs dropping (and having that suggested to the board of shadowy elites by a black woman no less) is truly the least interesting progression point for fallout lore as a whole. we're going to ignore the war as a whole and The US Government in favor of corpo responsibility offloading.

lucy's dad being a freezy pop who nuked shady sands landed on a broken ankle because they're serving us Nuke Revelation with a side of Nuke Revelation. and it's all the same company. WOAHHH can it get ANY more interconnected!

i started straight up guffawing at ghoul mom reveal. pleasssseeeeee god

moldaver had so much build up as an interesting character and then got wasted on being the vaguest possible revolutionary who then died way too soon. hello? why is she dead already? what was the fucking point of the flame lady cult? why open this can if you were immediately gonna discard it? why isn't lucy's mom moldaver? CHRIST.

i dislike the attempt at new ghoul lore that just seems ultimately pointless? like ghouls as a concept were not Advanced in any way with this lore. i did like the pause to provide empathy with the feral ghouls, was a nice touch. buuuut Big Drug Energy is nothing to me and loss of discussion of radiation effects on a changed being that now lives in harmony with radiation is a sad loss for fallout as a setting imo.

i don't dislike ghoulman cooper. i think his character Concept is inherently very funny and good for its irony, except they didn't even use the irony at all? the myth of the american cowboy and The Western, the poison of american individualism, the sad reality of bouncing from one big lie (american exceptionalism esp in a time of war) to another one (ads for vault tec aka selling the end of the world) was instead turned into Oh No, My Wife (Black Woman) Is Actually Pretty Evil And I Forsook My Good American Boy Values For Her! and then just being a right bastard in the postwar.

bethesda will never be tired of Privileged Person Is Subjected To Horrible Degenerate Wasteland. lucy's character arc is supposed to be That (But Look, She's Still Good, Because She's A Good Vault Girl!), but it mostly just involves her being actively tormented in various situations. idk i don't think she should have to forgive cooper's humanity or lack thereof just because she's So Nice. character arc implied but not executed in a way i find noteworthy.

maximus. face in hands. he's literally maybe the most interesting character on the entire show. the brotherhood even got portrayed as an Actual fucking cult (which it IS. this is the best thing the show did imo). but for WHAT? for a CHARACTER ARC OR DEVELOPMENT OF ANY KIND? nope! he isn't even given the grace of a full scene where he actively realizes and says out loud or internally like. hey. maybe brotherhood............. is bad for me? and others? he goes back to the bos again and again to take his punishment, but still has to be Part of them for the final encounter. and doesn't even get to go with the "you have nothing to lose but your chains... Of Morality" duo at the end. i just want so much more for him & i feel like he's being squandered by the end of the season. i have 600 more things to say but i'm gonna shut. up

shady sands hot take: the ncr needed to be challenged and have the status quo shifted. by a random pissed off prewar man w too many resources being divorced? not really useful to change the worldstate in a meaningful way, to be honest. nuking the capital of the ncr not inherently bad. there being zero power-seeking (on behalf of other factions) behind it happening, NO factions fighting over the scraps (THE NCR WAS MORE THAN ONE CITY), and everything just smoothing back out into bethesda-preferred shantytowns and empty wastes where society isn't what you really have to care about, just your individual morality, is a big yawn for me. we've been here and we've seen this and it comes off worse in a tv show than a first person rpg.

of course all the survivors of shady sands immediately did a cult *from inside a vault* where they smear nuclear corpse ashes on themselves. and there don't seem to be any other survivors of note, just those ones.

i have many more things to say but let's cap it here.

final notes: so many of the things in the show feel like they were done for setpiecing shock value (can you BELIEVE it's ALL CONNECTED? here's some fun unexpected gore) (i actually don't mind the gore bc it's pretty falloutcore but sometimes it's like. okay we get it, shit's crazy in the wasteland!) rather than for actual coherent 'let's advance the world of fallout and its themes and lore' reasons. i understand that they were doing an external-to-games timeline and kind of a mishmash of elements, hence why i'm not bothering to complain about stuff in the show feeling Too Similar to game events - bc i don't really care about that. i care about it feeling like fallout and doing things actually meaningful with fallout's core themes, and at the end of the day, i don't really think i got that.

[techtow]

Exploring the Fascinating World of Fallout: From Games to TV Shows, Memes, and Fan Art

Introduction:

Fallout, the beloved post-apocalyptic video game franchise, has captured the imaginations of millions of players worldwide. With its immersive world-building, rich storytelling, and iconic aesthetic, Fallout has become a cultural phenomenon that extends far beyond the realm of gaming. In this article, we'll delve into the various facets of the Fallout universe, including its games, upcoming TV show adaptation, fan creations, memes, and fan art.

Fallout Games:

At the heart of the Fallout franchise are its critically acclaimed video games, which transport players to a retro-futuristic world devastated by nuclear war. From the original Fallout released in 1997 to the latest installment, Fallout 76, each game offers players the opportunity to explore vast open worlds, engage in morally complex quests, and shape the fate of the wasteland.

Fallout TV Show:

Excitement is brewing among fans as a live-action TV series based on the Fallout universe is currently in development. Produced by Amazon Studios and Bethesda Game Studios, the Fallout TV show promises to bring the gritty, post-apocalyptic world of the games to life on the small screen. With a talented creative team and a dedicated fan base, anticipation for the series is at an all-time high.

Fallout Memes:

The Fallout community is known for its creativity and humor, as evidenced by the plethora of memes inspired by the games. From humorous observations about in-game glitches to clever references to iconic characters and moments, Fallout memes have become a beloved form of expression among fans. Whether you're a seasoned wasteland survivor or a newcomer to the franchise, Fallout memes are sure to bring a smile to your face.

Fallout Art:

The Fallout universe has inspired countless artists to create stunning works of art that capture the essence of the wasteland. From breathtaking landscapes to intricate character designs, Fallout fan art showcases the talent and passion of the community. Whether it's digital paintings, traditional sketches, or 3D renders, Fallout art celebrates the iconic imagery and atmosphere of the games in new and exciting ways.

Fallout OC (Original Characters):

One of the joys of being part of the Fallout community is the opportunity to create and share original characters inspired by the games. From lone wanderers wandering the wasteland to charismatic faction leaders vying for power, Fallout OCs allow fans to immerse themselves in the world of the games and tell their own stories. Whether through written stories, artwork, or role-playing, Fallout OCs offer endless possibilities for creative expression.

Fallout New Vegas (FNV):

Among the many entries in the Fallout series, Fallout: New Vegas holds a special place in the hearts of fans. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment and released in 2010, FNV is praised for its compelling narrative, memorable characters, and deep role-playing mechanics. With its unique setting in the Mojave Wasteland and its branching storyline, FNV remains a favorite among players and continues to inspire fan creations to this day.

Conclusion:

From its immersive video games to its upcoming TV show adaptation, Fallout has captivated audiences with its compelling storytelling, memorable characters, and iconic imagery. Whether you're exploring the wasteland in search of adventure, sharing laughs through memes, or expressing your creativity through fan art and original characters, the Fallout community offers something for everyone. As we eagerly await the future of the franchise, one thing is certain: the legacy of Fallout will continue to endure for years to come.

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

If anon is looking for western AAA games there’s like red dead redemption assassin’s creed fallout franchise mass effect tomb raider watch dogs deus ex etc. most of those are already open world RPGs of different genres. Most rpgs published by major companies go for open world nowadays.

I still suggest sailing the high seas for AAA though unless you’re supporting them for their diverse content or wait until they go like 50-70% sale. In this economy those prices are not worth it for the amount of content they give and the increase in sales doesn’t even really go to the dev teams anyway its more direct to the company. For me its just a metric to tell the companies I want more diverse content. Support Indie devs steam has its own indie tag to make it easy to find!

or if AAA isn’t a necessity open up steam and search by tag. I got 1200 results checking fantasy open world and rpgs on steam.

Some particular suggestions that I haven’t seen though I guess its because its been like 4 years since their release?:

- The Outer Worlds open world rpg scifi shooter is made by a AA company which is known for Fallout New Vegas Pillars of Eternity and SWTOR KOTOR II. The player character doesn’t get a romance but you do get a companion who is a sapphic asexual and you can help her get a girlfriend. Its has choices and relationships in a similar style to FNV

- Tell Me Why is a narrative adventure game by Dontnod who made Life is Strange. It features a trans man as one of the leads and Dontnod had this on their FAQ https://www.tellmewhygame.com/faq/ : “Trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming staff at both DONTNOD and Xbox have made countless key creative contributions to Tell Me Why, including in character design, narrative and dialogue, building inclusive online spaces for the game, and much more. To ensure that Tyler’s character would resonate with a wide and diverse audience of trans people, the Tell Me Why team worked closely with two of GLAAD’s transgender staff: Nick Adams, Director of Transgender Representation; and Blair Durkee, Special Consultant for Gaming. For over two years, Nick offered foundational guidance on story and character, consulted on casting, and reviewed scripts at all phases of production. Importantly, August Black, Tyler’s voice actor [who is trans], also made significant contributions to Tell Me Why’s dialogue. During recording sessions, August provided edits to the script if he felt a certain line or moment did not do justice to Tyler’s story, making him an invaluable part of the creative process. August’s personal experiences also inspired key moments and lines of dialogue.”

I say why go for a game who names a trans character in the same ignorant way it named Cho and Kingsley when you could go for games that have creators who genuinely care for and listen to the perspectives and rights of the people they’re trying to represent right? In addition to all the other issues.

if magical systems in particular are a need aside from open world rpgs:

- Tiny Tina’s Wonderland – if you’re more familiar with borderlands this is a spinoff but spellcasting instead of guns

- Pillars of Eternity is fantasy from the same studio as outer worlds and is really good. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire was the latest release

the TES games have been mentioned but I wanted to reiterate that there are 5-6 magic schools and 100+ spells for those games. Worldbuilding and roleplaying is very fun and makes it quite repeatable so worth the money. They all also have quite a prolific modding community especially oblivion and skyrim and it isn’t that hard to download mods to personalize the game. But even without mods its still fun to replay and go on sale along with ESO often enough

Most JRPGs in general have magic systems and are largely open world. All of the final fantasy games have magic. Adjacent is kingdom hearts. I’ll just add the Shin Megami Tensei series which is related to Persona. The Atelier series brand is alchemical magic. The “Tales of ____” of bandai namco series allows you to main the magical casting characters if you wish. Ni No Kuni is again fantasy setting. Valkyrie Elysium was recently released. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 too was released last year.

Forspoken is a recent game published by SquareEnix so its technically jrpg but its setting is western with a black main character that was rendered based off the VA who is half black caribbean. The main character is based in New York then gets transported to a fantasy world where she gains magic and mixes that up with parkour style movement. if you can’t afford it yet wait for a sale.

Check out golden week for sales since they tend to really go low for JRPGs during that time more than any other sale

Some indie games that have witchy elements:

Flying Neko delivery – if you like studio ghibli and kiki’s delivery service why not fly around on a broom as a cat making deliviries?

Little witch nobeta – you play as a little witch to explore ancient castles. The magical system is a bit limited but at the price you’re getting it I think its a good deal

Little Witch in the woods – 2d pixel art in the style of old school rpgs you play as a witch and make potions and cast spells, help people and refurbish your house.

Potion craft – not an rpg but its an alchemy simulator

Kena: bridge of spirits – not witchy but it has magic and exploration. Not quite open world in that you tend to travel linearly but you’re free to go back to places you’ve explored before. The gaming company partnered with a vietnamese animation studio and they based the animation on the environment of SEA/East Asia so if you’re from there and find the environmental aspects familiar in a fantastical way like buildings and the way the characters were conceptualized that’s why. from where im frm Kena costs the equivalent of $15 but it seems like its still expensive on steam US though as it costs $40? it tends to get 50% off on epic stores though so you can wait for its sale there

some upcoming indie games aside from witchbrook:

kitori academy – should be coming out this year. You’re a magical apprentice going to school to learn magic.

Lawmage academy – 2d pixel art old school style where you go to an academy to learn spells and craft potions

[lesvegas]

not to be rude but i dont think you could have a good grasp on fallout world building if youve only played fo4. or even fo4 and/or fo3. and especially not if youve only played fo76. you dont *have* to play the classics to get a good idea about the world of fallout but i feel like ten hours of fnv is a minimum requirement. ive seen more accurate and detailed world building in goodsprings alone than all of fo4.

[twosides--samecoin]

13 and 20 for the Fallout Asks, please!

13. Which companion quest did you enjoy the most?

RJ. Only because it kicked me in the ass to start writing fanfic and to be a creative person again after a really long hiatus. It was left unfinished, for me to finish it and lay it to rest. His story is deserving of a game of its own, let alone a DLC-sized adventure to actually complete the story. I kinda don't care that it's canonically left unfinished anymore because I made his story mine.

20. Which is your favourite faction? Why?

Shi in Fallout 2 are a faction that inspires me a lot. In my fic, Long Time Running, my two Sole Survivors Jack and Olivia have a background in melee combat. Jack was a successful boxer and met Nora when he was not quite yet a champ, right when she started law school. Olivia grew up in Vault 150 and they had a dojo where her father was the judo sensei. She is worried about getting her red belt (basically a master's ranking) and Deacon points out to her that she can get training in Chinatown on the west coast. He's referring to the Shi.

The Shi are kind of the one example of the games really showing off hand-to-hand combat in the worldbuilding. Like, yeah, we have Veronica Santangelo using a power fist in FNV. You have baseball bats and super sledges. There is always unarmed/melee available but it's largely up to the player - It is a "hey you can do this build if you want". The modern games don't show unarmed as part of a lifestyle in the world, when martial arts/hand to hand combat really is a part of you. I was in judo as a kid and really loved seeing the Shi - these games are much quicker to encourage gun use.

Who else, faction-wise? F3: The Little Lamplighters, obviously. Love those rag tag kids :) Bonus: When the Hubologists appeared in Nuka World my mouth dropped. I really cherish the shoutouts to F1/F2 in the Bethesda titles, rare though they are.

[digitalstickzac]

Personal thoughts on: Fallout New Vegas DLC 1/4 - Dead Money

I have started a new FNV playthrough and am going to 100% everything, which included replaying the DLC. Now that I've finished it, I can take my time on a repeat playthrough and thoroughly explore the new areas. I will add onto these reviews after playing through them. Now for Part 1 - Dead Money. (Spoilers below the cut)

QUICK SYNOPSIS

Courier 6 receives a radio broadcast inviting them to the Sierra Madre's grand opening - a paradise away from the clutches of the old world and safe from Nuclear Warfare, a place to let go and begin again. Rather than get a paradise the Courier will be in a fight for their lives as they are forced to survive the horrors that await them.

OVERALL PRESENTATION

DM has my second favorite design out of all the DLCs. The Art Deco is a beautiful contrast to the Futurism Design of the Mojave, combined with heavy red colour pallet. Despite being abandoned and left to the elements the Sierra still looks amazing.

GAMEPLAY

I do like how the game forces you into a fight-for-your life for the entirety of the DLC's runtime. No fast travel, no waiting or resting, you need to move fast and react faster. I enjoy having to scavenge and look around for supplies as every bit helps and going into the DLC with a Level 30 Courier opposed to Level 25 and putting skills into MELEE and SURVIVAL made my run more enjoyable this time. The Exploding Collar and Ghost People were a nice addition at first but quickly got annoying, especially when you have to manage both at the same time.

STORY

DM tells a beautifully tragic tale of the inhabitants - past and present - that reside in the Sierra Madre. Sinclair wanting to build a safe sanctuary for the love of his life Vera Keyes but instead created a tomb that would be his and hers demise. Near the end where you hear Vera plead to escape from the Sierra and beg for forgiveness, Sinclair's message to Domino and the ending you can get if you read the message hits hard and well.

Father Elijah is a well written villain and at times can be chilling with how spiteful and angry his tone, wording and delivery can be. The Courier is expendable and is treated as such, we are not the first and could potentially not be the last victim that came to this death trap.

Christine having gone through a constant nightmare of getting his vocal cords torn out and replaced over and over and still having the courage to want to finish the job and kill the man who had destroyed her life. Getting her voice back and working together to open the Vault is beautiful.

Dean Domino... I'll be honest I don't care much for him. He is well written and has a few good lines but I am indifferent.

God / Dog's journey from two enemies who hate each other to coming to a middle ground and becoming one is a feels great journey that I still enjoy doing.

FINAL NOTES

I initially dreaded replaying this DLC because of the weapons / equipment removal, the Collar and the toxic cloud but after getting over that initial hump I still love coming back to the Sierra and reexpericing it all over again. Also I killed Elijah with the Holorifle he gives you at the start of the DLC, giving him another example of a bad choice he has made.

[pixeljade]

*sighs* you know i really wish there were a full game with all the best parts of FNV and FO4 combined.

Like, FNV has a great story, and great player progression! Your story is malleable enough to have any number of archetypes fit into it, and there's a complexity to the world politics that I have only seen its equal once since then, with Disco Elysium. But the home spaces you get from the game are lacking, the crafting is simple and fairly unsatisfying, and there's areas with nowhere near enough fleshed-out content! Plus the leveling system is limiting, so changing your build partway through is basically impossible without spending several of your limited number of perks on Intense Training.

Meanwhile Fallout 4 has some of the best base-building mechanics I've seen in any game, and with a couple of mods, it becomes so robust ive literally spent hundreds of hours just building up settlements! The crafting is IMMENSELY satisfying, especially the ability to mod everything, and each corner of the map is full of interesting places to explore. But the plot is fairly lackluster and straightforward, with stakes that basically boil down to "pick your favorite faction". And the main character's basically PREWRITTEN! Sure you can branch off for specific sections, but outside of that you MUST play a military veteran who had a spouse and a kid! And dont even get me started on how boring the dialogue choices for 90% of the game are.

I know theres that project to mod all of New Vegas into Fallout 4 but idk if thats even what i mean, because its still just adding some places and questlines. I want an entirely new fallout game, which blends these best parts into something new and satisfying in every way!!!