Fallout 76 - Bethesda's new car crash of an online game

[importaku]

LOOOOOOL savage

[MartyG]

When IGN only give it a 5, you know something is wrong.

[eastyy]

https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-drops-to-dollar40-for-black-friday/

I would be really really surprised if they can fix the game as seems a lot of core issues with it

[Digfox]

'No more. I've gone from being giddy with excitement for Elder Scrolls 6 to being actively hostile.'

SkillUp's review of the game.

If nothing else this game is producing some wonderful quotes. That should be on the box.

[Cassius_Smoke]

This apparently has been a complete cluster****. Jim Sterling summed it up as "a bad idea executed badly".

I just watched his review. Its not just that he rips the game apart, but the gameplay videos just look dull as fook.

[Paddy]

Fallout '76% on release.

[Dogg Thang]

This game was never for me. I’m not an online player and don’t want an online Fallout and would much rather more single player games. But I don’t revel in its failings, which I’m kind of feeling happening here. Online games seem to be hard. Star Wars Galaxies needed a total overhaul. Final Fantasy XIV was as good as started again after it launched. There may well be other examples. This really doesn’t feel all that shocking to me. It’s not the first and likely won’t be the last and what is happening now doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t make a success of it.

Still, if they do decide to pack it in, they could put the team on giving us a Fallout 3/NV package for Switch instead. That would be nice.

[Digfox]

But I don’t revel in its failings, which I’m kind of feeling happening here.

I don't think it's revelling but more looking on in shock horror as everything starts to go off (think that cat.gif). Like being a fly on the wall in a reality TV show. Watching this almost palpable turning of disappointment into anger. For me there's a real 'wow' to watch some of the reactions from reviewers whether it's them asking for an apology, stating they are actively hostile or can't find anyone on staff who will consider reviewing the game (Jeff Gerstmann @ Giantbomb). It feels like one of those 'moments'; similar to the 2013 Xbox One reveal, SW:BF2 lootboxes, or DriveClub being released in such a broken state.

Obviously publishers like to control every aspect of a game's release until day one and that means there will be a larger explosion of emotions upon a game's release. And we are seeing a change in reactions as games have moved from being products to services that I don't think everyone understands.

There will be people that want nothing more than a new single-player game, particularly given the series and developer's history. I personally would have been open to a strong online PVE Fallout experience. Although there will be those of course hoping this fails so that Bethesda might return to more single-player focused games.

Indeed I think The Elder Scrolls Online is actually better in some ways than the mainline series but is always going to fight against those who aren't open minded to see that. And it massively benefits from being on a newer, different engine. Fallout Online isn't the problem in itself, but rather the way Bethesda have gone about it is. Particularly when they are selling a service that costs £80 + microtransactions + future content and requires many hours of your time to enjoy.

It's also hard not to agree with some of the criticism that Bethesda's use of existing engines isn't hampering it's games in some way.

[Dogg Thang]

And we are seeing a change in reactions as games have moved from being products to services that I don't think everyone understands.

Yeah I get that some of it is akin to watching a slow car crash. But this lack of understanding you mention feels like it might not fully apply here. You seem to be more of an online gamer from what you say so you’ll know this isn’t a new thing. Galaxies launched something like 15 years ago (or is my timeline all wrong... not sure), full price game plus subscription fee plus it was boring and needed an overhaul. And even back then I remember thinking that, until you have a large group of people playing and you can see what they do, some of this is hard to predict. It’s much harder to control than a single player game. And Galaxies is just one example. There are older. It’s not that the nature of this type of game is new. It’s really not. This one just seems to be one of those games that launched and now needs a huge amount of work, certainly not helped by the fact that this appears to be a default position for Bethesda launches.

I don’t know. I’m not trying to make excuses for it. I’d much prefer they just make single player games rather than this but I don’t necessarily want to see them fail either.

[MartyG]

Despite my misgivings, I pre-ordered to get a beta key with the view to hoping it wouldn't be as bad as I feared. I gave it a chance to prove me wrong.

It's not reveling in it; this game deserves to fail in the same way BF2 did - had this succeeded as is, it would lay the groundwork for Bethesda to keep churning out lazy, buggy, weak, ugly, bore fest, microtransaction money grabs with its future titles.

It's a bad game and I'm glad people are seeing it for what it is; a half baked unfinished game that should never have gotten a launch at £50+ in the state it's currently in.

[Digfox]

But this lack of understanding you mention feels like it might not fully apply here.

Services by their very nature attract more regular, fluid feedback and I think a lot of purchasers of this will be going in with a view to committing to this service for a long time.

It’s much harder to control than a single player game. And Galaxies is just one example. There are older. It’s not that the nature of this type of game is new. It’s really not. This one just seems to be one of those games that launched and now needs a huge amount of work, certainly not helped by the fact that this appears to be a default position for Bethesda launches.

As you know there are tons of online games that launch in a bad state. But what feels different here is that Bethesda seem to have been very lazy in the development of this one. Literally taking their Fallout 4 multiplayer mode and turning it into a fully fledged experience. They may turn it around - at least enough so that it brings in profits that they are satisfied with, but it probably faces more challenges than most. Zenimax Online Studios launched ESO to a lot of criticism but they were able to turn it into a successful venture in part because the game didn't have fundamental problems. It was designed from the ground up as an MMO. Fallout 76 doesn't have this advantage.

You seem to be more of an online gamer from what you say so you’ll know this isn’t a new thing. Galaxies launched something like 15 years ago (or is my timeline all wrong... not sure), full price game plus subscription fee plus it was boring and needed an overhaul.

I really enjoy any games but have found over the last 10 years I have moved away from pure online PVP experiences (Team Fortress, Battlefield etc.) to loot based games. The nature of which tend to be online just as much off (i.e. Warframe, WoW, Diablo 3 etc.). I readily admit now I love solo PVE experiences so I am happy playing through quests in WoW as much as running around the open world in something like AC:Origins. The online part doesn't bother me.

I'm not sure I agree about subscriptions in that whilst there has been a move away from them for individual games, this is as much about companies maximising their revenues streams. From a consumer point of view subscriptions are capped and can be switched on and off which can really limit the impact of the business model on the game itself. Something of an advantage when compared to some of these egregious business models we see now. Obviously subscriptions are harder to sell arguably, when compared to microtransactions. But many games actually have a subscription without people realising. £70 base price for this year's 12-months of destiny, with some microtransaction designed end-game...

[MartyG]

Angry Joe doesn't rate it very highly.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Short of them doing a FF: Realm Reborn, I don't think they can turn this ship around. I just hope it doesn't kill the franchise like the latest mass effect did.

[Digfox]

Bethesda outlines next two big Fallout 76 updates, apologises for radio silence - Eurogamer

Tone Deaf response.

I can't help but feel unless Bethesda truly acknowledges and deals with the issues then this bad game/PR will come back to bite them longer term.

[Dogg Thang]

Baggate is kicking off now. Apparently the limited edition came with a vinyl bag rather than the canvas bag shown in promo pics and, sure enough, in photos the difference is night and day. I know I wouldn't be happy. That's something they really should have flagged the moment it became apparent, which given manufacturing times has to be quite some time ago.