When the Fallout Settles

Personally, it hasn't been the greatest couple of weeks for me and my gaming has been on a brief hold.  However, it has been nearly impossible to miss the massive gaming news of late 2020--the fact that the highly anticipated CyberPunk 2077 released and turned out to be a hot, buggy mess.  I've seen reporting on it in my normal gaming sources, but also in some very mainstream media--that tells you a bit about how catastrophic the launch was.  I had decided early on that it was probably best to sit on CyberPunk for awhile and see how it panned out, so luckily I didn't pre-order.  Here's where I would love to tell you "I told you so," and be triumphant, but I'm mostly just bummed that it turned out this way.

There is a ton of speculation about what exactly went wrong and you can spend five minutes on any gaming related social media and find plenty of articles describing the myriad issues surrounding the flawed release.  My skepticism about the release was built around the fact that the game was being completed in the middle of a pandemic (and so many games have opted not to release or to push back until later).  I was surprised that they did finally decide to release--from what I remember of The Witcher 3's release, it was delayed multiple times (but was awesome at release).  Maybe another, longer delay would have given them time to work out the kinks?  From what I've read another delay wasn't going to happen and the corporate overlords wanted it pushed out (even though it seems like it was known that it wasn't ready--and especially the console versions).

Another point of skepticism for me was the fact that releasing on PC, the now, last-gen consoles, as well as trying to release on the now current-gen consoles, seemed very, very ambitious--even in the best of times, and this isn't the best of times.  Even though I've always been a fan of CD Projekt and they have a reputation of being very consumer oriented, there was definitely some shady nonsense going on with the console versions of the game.  However, this hasn't stopped them from raking in massive profits and already reporting that with pre-sales they've already managed to recoup their production costs.

Is this CyberPunk fiasco going to damage CD Projekt's reputation?  In the short term, probably, but I would argue that people have short memories.  Many other games have rolled out in a catastrophically bad state and have managed to survive (and even thrive).  In a few months, after the bugs have been worked out, people will have forgotten and possibly will even start to really enjoy the game.  I've been avoiding reading any reviews, but just from what people are saying online is that they enjoyed the game, but the bugs are obnoxious.  Without the bugs, is it another great game?

I personally plan to wait until later--maybe until the first time it goes on sale, to grab it.  For the time being, I'm contenting myself with playing a different game that also had catastrophic release--Fallout 76.  If you're out there, playing CyberPunk, I hope you are enjoying it.

Non-Accomplishments

The hot gaming news this week has been the release of the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077.  Being that I'm a big Witcher fan, you would think that I would be one of those ravenous gamers who are currently gobbling up the glorious world of Cyberpunk, but I'm not.  I have stuck to my plan of waiting awhile for the bugs and kinks to be worked out (and, according to many of the review headlines--I didn't read any actual reviews) there's quite a bit that needs to be fixed.  So, for the time being, I'm going to content myself with listlessly wandering around in Fallout 76.

My CAMP (and dumpster armor)

What have I accomplished since my last update about playing Fallout 76?  Is my character decked out in uber-power armor and wielding legendary weapons?  Hahahahaha....nope.  I would describe the current look of my character as dumpster-diver chic--mismatched armor of varying levels and makes topped off with my favorite Civil War Era top hat.  Since I've opted for a stealthy, sniping/surprise attack build, I've chosen weapons suited to that playstyle--a sniper rifle for long distance attacks and a suppressed pipe pistol (I know....a crappy, pipe pistol).  My weapon choices have also been shaped by the amount of ammo I've managed to pick up--I accumulated a very large amount of .38 ammo and varying amounts of other ammo.  I'm trying to burn through the .38 ammo with my pipe pistol (largely since you can't sell ammo to vendors) to simply get it out of my inventory.

I'm largely spending my time in Fallout 76 trying to pursue the main and side missions and also, just wandering around and discovering new locations.  I've spent some time working on a long quest chain tied to a random item I looted from a dead woman in a weird dress.  The quest prompts you to check out this big manor house while wearing a mysterious, veil.  Once you've fought your way through a horde of Scorched, you make the discovery that the mansion belonged to a famous actress who played a comic book character.  Even better, she was using her mansion to secretly train orphans from the war and turn them into a force of post-apocalyptic crime fighters who roamed the land trying to aid the many people who were simply trying to survive after the bombs dropped.  The basement of the mansion functions as a large, lair-like area where you check-in, get missions, and can move up in rank using a computer system.  Part of the quest chain involves trying to reconstruct all the various items that make up the weapons and tools of the character--a sword, a stealth device, and a gun.  In order to do this, you have to head to specific locations to try to find specific objects that can then be turned into the full garb of the hero by a handy device called a fabricator that is part of the secret base.

Photomode has some fun frames to help capture Appalachia.

When I'm not following a quest line, I'm just exploring.  The map is scattered with tons of locations and a big part of the gameplay in Fallout has always hinged on finding places and then scavenging.  I've managed to accumulate an impressive amount of stuff--so much that I had to do some soul searching and clean out my inventory.  Past games have trained me to hoard (especially health items) and that's not much of an option in 76.   One of the irritating aspects of the loot system is that ammo cannot be sold to NPC vendors; it can, however, be sold to other players through CAMP vending machines.  I've had to figure out the best way to deal with the large amounts of varying ammo that I have built up--mostly, I'm just dropping it for some other lucky player to pick up.

One area that I want to work on more is my CAMP.  I've found a really nice location (close to a train station so I can run to the NPC vendor and sell stuff) but would like to spruce up the overall aesthetic of my building.  I found a plan for barn walls and converted my ramshackle, wooden structure into a slightly less, ramshackle wooden structure.  I also completed a quest to build a shelter but don't think I have enough concrete to make it a reality.  I'm going to work on visiting some other CAMPS to look for some cheaply priced plans for my own CAMP.

Next week....pics of my super, cute CAMP and swaggy armor (*hahahaha, that's unrealistic).  

Wasteful Wandering: Fallout 76

Sometimes you just have to go out on a limb and take a risk on a game that might be a bit iffy.  As a Fallout fan I was feeling a bit Fallout-curious about Fallout 76.  Due to many negative reviews (particularly when it first launched) I quickly decided that maybe this version of the apocalypse wasn't worth the attention.  In the next two-ish years, Fallout 76 has seen many major updates and I started to see the reviews tip in a more favorable direction.  I still teetered between grabbing it or not--quite frankly, multiplayer games really aren't my thing and I had many concerns about that particular aspect of the game.  But, like any good stalker, I continued to read reviews and look longingly at info about it.  Finally, after months of swaying between purchasing it or not, it was on sale for $13.  For $13 I was willing to take the risk and give it a try.

Thus far my experience in Fallout 76 has felt, well, very Fallout-like.  Similarly to the other games, your character starts off in a vault (Vault 76) and then is given a directive to go out and rebuild a new version of America in the post-apocalyptic world of Appalachia (West Virginia to be specific).  Character creation doesn't vary much from previous games although there does seem to be a bit more freedom in making small tweaks to specific facial features.

My character prepares to exit Vault 76.

Once you've finished gathering all the newbie materials from your vault you're ready to take the big step of entering the fray in the open world of Appalachia.  As a setting, Appalachia is pretty--lots of trees, mountains, and much less of a drab, ruined feeling than in the more urban games.  One of the first big gameplay changes that I had to get used to was the fact that there are more survival oriented elements built into the game--your character needs to periodically eat and drink or else they will suffer health losses.  A handy hunger and thirst meter indicates if it's time to chow down on some wasteland delicacies--maybe a nice mutt chop (finely crafted from the meat of a feral dog that attacked you) accompanied by some handcrafted tato juice.  The meal of a true wasteland champion!

The gameplay still largely functions around exploring the vast open world--poking through abandoned, ruined buildings and scavenging anything with remote value.  During your poking around you will also have to fight off the many dangerous post-apocalyptic denizens of Appalachia.  Many of the same enemies from previous games make an appearance--lumbering, robotic Protectrons; hulking, green super mutants; buzzing bloatflies--but there are also some new baddies; the Scorched are an infected group of humans who aren't quite as wasted away as feral ghouls.  Rather than blindly charging at you in flailing horror, the Scorched can wield a variety of weapons and will take cover.  Like feral ghouls, they also have horrible vocalizations that indicate their presence.  Since I'm still fairly low-level I doubt I've encountered the full menu of things that want to kill you.

One of the new features in Fallout 76 is the ability to craft your own personalized C.A.M.P.  Your C.A.M.P. is a portable device that allows you to build structures and workbenches and make your own personalized camp area.  The building function is very similar to settlement building in Fallout 4--you pick the individual pieces and snap them into place to form a structure.  You can also craft numerous workbenches to help you create, maintain, and modify your gear as well as craft survival materials (food, drinks, and chems).  Once you've built to your satisfaction, you can save a blueprint of your structures and easily move your camp as you search different areas of the map.  So far I've managed to make a number of very ugly, very square, boring buildings.  You can spruce up your C.A.M.P. by purchasing, unlocking, or finding plans to craft different material types for your buildings.

The most distinctive feature of Fallout 76 is the fact that it is multiplayer.  As you wander the wastes you will encounter other players--you can team up with them to accomplish tasks or you can wander on your own.  I've largely stuck to myself, but I have completed a couple of "events" (timed, special encounters that periodically pop up on the map and reward players for completion) with a few other players.  Thus far (fingers-crossed) my encounters have largely been peaceful and pleasant.  A fun feature is the ability to visit the camps of other players.  There is good reason to visit the camps of other players--you can purchase a vending machine for your camp and sell items you've looted using those machines.  Often other players will sell materials that you need (and, in most cases, much cheaper than the NPC vendors)--things like plans, mods, and recipes.

Playing instruments grants an AP buff.  Also, it's goofy.

My most interesting encounter with other players happened when a couple of people wandered into my camp and decided to drop some items they didn't need.  I'm not really sure why they did this, but they seemed to want me to loot them, so I did.  It was strange, but nice.

I've been half-heartedly following the main storyline missions (you're trying to seek out the vault overseer from Vault 76 and they've left a number of breadcrumbs in the form of holotapes scattered around the map) but have mostly just spent my time wandering and scavenging.  A major change in the gameplay that is taking some getting used to is the fact that you have to be much more selective in your looting--you cannot actively hoard in the traditional manner of other Bethesda games.  Storage in your camp is limited; food items will spoil over time, so lugging around a ton of food is usually a bad idea; it's a hard habit to break.

Thus far I've been enjoying my experience in Fallout 76.  Crafting my camp has been fun and I've enjoyed the simple pleasure of exploring a new world.  I'm struggling a bit with finding new/improved weapons and armor or crafting them and I'm still getting used to the vendor system in the game (it's undoubtedly better to purchase stuff from other players).  I feel like my $13 was well spent, but we'll see if that feeling persists as I play more.