Fallout 4

[Zephlar]

The amount of mods already out are seriously staggering in the short time since release. I've been playing around with some of the presets and I have to give Vogue ENB the gold at the moment. I think it works really well with the game.

The adjustment mod to add shadows to the pip boy light is also a really nice little addition.

A texture pack is probably right around the corner. These guys are machines.

[Spectere]

Heh, yeah. My favorite part is that the GECK for FO4 hasn't even been released yet.

The people who mod Bethesda games are some crazy mofos.

[vladgd]

I finished the main story at around level 40. Probably going to take a break from the game now.

I liked it. Probably the best combat Bethesda has put into one of their open world games, but overall, I still don't really like the setting at all. All that means is im going to invest like 60 hours into the game, instead of the 170 I put into skyrim. Which for a setting I don't even like, they did a damn good job.

[Zephlar]

I finished the main story at around level 40. Probably going to take a break from the game now.

I liked it. Probably the best combat Bethesda has put into one of their open world games, but overall, I still don't really like the setting at all. All that means is im going to invest like 60 hours into the game, instead of the 170 I put into skyrim. Which for a setting I don't even like, they did a damn good job.

I agree about the combat. They really stepped it up and that has pleased me greatly. It was very much needed. As for the setting, I'm sure you can make some major adjustments to that in the near future maybe more to your liking. This Touch of Green mod has made the aesthetic as a whole much more pleasing for me to play in. I'm sure there will be some massive setting overhauls in the future too.

Heh, yeah. My favorite part is that the GECK for FO4 hasn't even been released yet.

The people who mod Bethesda games are some crazy mofos.

Dude I know! The Skyrim modding community has bred an army over the last 5 years. It's crazy how fast these people move with user created resources. I've been considering taking a crack at texture modding. No clue where to begin though.

[Spectere]

When it comes to texture modding, the first step is to extract the BSAs. Fallout 4 is running on a 'roided up version of the Creation Engine (basically Skyrim's engine) so I imagine this page should help you with that: http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Skyrim_BSA_Extraction

Next step is to grab some sort of DDS texture extractor. This is what I use (it's for Photoshop...dunno what's available for other editors): https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

To change up the textures, just save your DDS files in the same location as they are in the BSA, relative to the Data folder. If you use any Skyrim mods that use flat files instead of packed BSAs (you're pretty much guaranteed to have at least one) then you can take a peek in your Skyrim\Data directory and get a pretty good idea of what it's doing.

After your mod is finished, I believe you can pack it up again using BSAopt. I haven't actually tried doing that, but I'm pretty sure it has the ability to do that.

You can change anything that's in the BSAs by just putting a flat file in the Data hierarchy, and with the engine used for Skyrim and Fallout 4 you don't have to do anything special to get it to overwrite the game assets with yours.

[Zephlar]

When it comes to texture modding, the first step is to extract the BSAs. Fallout 4 is running on a 'roided up version of the Creation Engine (basically Skyrim's engine) so I imagine this page should help you with that: http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Skyrim_BSA_Extraction

Next step is to grab some sort of DDS texture extractor. This is what I use (it's for Photoshop...dunno what's available for other editors): https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

To change up the textures, just save your DDS files in the same location as they are in the BSA, relative to the Data folder. If you use any Skyrim mods that use flat files instead of packed BSAs (you're pretty much guaranteed to have at least one) then you can take a peek in your Skyrim\Data directory and get a pretty good idea of what it's doing.

After your mod is finished, I believe you can pack it up again using BSAopt. I haven't actually tried doing that, but I'm pretty sure it has the ability to do that.

You can change anything that's in the BSAs by just putting a flat file in the Data hierarchy, and with the engine used for Skyrim and Fallout 4 you don't have to do anything special to get it to overwrite the game assets with yours.

Holy shit bro, thanks! I think your ass needs to be on the battlefield for the Skyrim Online modding team. They've been slowly chipping away at that for years making progress little by little. It's come a LOOOONG way! Feel like you would have a lot of knowledge to offer those guys in perfecting the process. I get the impression it's nearing completion at this point.

You would make a kick ass modder. Just sayin.

[vladgd]

It's nothing mods can fix. It's fallout, a post apocalyptic game. I don't like the 50's aesthetic, I don't like post apocalyptic.

Now I'm not saying I don't like the game, nor am I putting those things as faults to the game. You don't bitch about those things when you know what you're getting into. Like you don't bitch about Skyrim being in a fantasy setting, just because you don't like the fantasy setting.

But at the same time, it's not as enjoyable to me to rummage dilapidated buildings and wasteland all day compared to nice looking towns and scenery.

But that's just me, I like the game, I may even try some of the DLC, but if anything, Fallout 4 just makes me excited for the next elder scrolls game.

However if I did have a complaint about the game. The town building system sucks, they give you like 20 places to build towns that I don't give a fuck about, and like 2 actual real towns in the entire game. Not to mention all real questlines die after you complete the main quest. Not to mention you can craft a fucking toilet but you cant craft ammo? Come on guys, that's just silly.

[Sneaky]

I finished the main story line, not so sure how I feel about the quest progression at that point in the game. If you're friendly with all 4 factions, it gets very confusing with how they interact, disagree/agree with each other.  There should be more guidance in that way. Plus I felt after a certain quest chain, the story just kind of flops and ends with no real END ending.

The game does just roll credits and pick right back up where you left off wherever that is, and you can continue to explore and do side quests.

I started a new character and will focus on melee attacks (ninja shit) and maybe small arms.

[Spectere]

Holy shit bro, thanks! I think your ass needs to be on the battlefield for the Skyrim Online modding team. They've been slowly chipping away at that for years making progress little by little. It's come a LOOOONG way! Feel like you would have a lot of knowledge to offer those guys in perfecting the process. I get the impression it's nearing completion at this point.

Oh wow, that is really impressive. Kind of reminds me of Multi Theft Auto and the Just Cause 2 multiplayer mod. It's incredible what these teams can do.

That said, I wouldn't be a very good fit, haha. I'm not familiar enough with the guts of the Creation Engine to do something like that. I'm good at piecing things together and making stuff work, doing some basic scripting, performing some basic ESP-foo, stuff like that, but I still have a lot to learn.

But that's just me, I like the game, I may even try some of the DLC, but if anything, Fallout 4 just makes me excited for the next elder scrolls game.

That's generally how I feel about Bethesda's Fallout games, to be honest. I greatly prefer the original.

That said, when I do get around to grabbing FO4, I have a feeling I'll probably enjoy the gunplay a lot more. I considered FO3 to be half of a Fallout game; kind of seems like FO4 is more like an FPS set in the Fallout universe. I'm not hugely turned off by that fact, honestly, but I still want some shiny new Elder Scrolls awesomeness, dammit. That's most likely going to be at least 3 years out, though, and that makes me sad.

Plus I felt after a certain quest chain, the story just kind of flops and ends with no real END ending.

To be fair, the last time they tried to make a game with a real ending, they gave us Fallout 3. I don't think I really need to go into any more detail as to why that ending is complete shit. Even with the expansion packs installed, the decisions required to get the ideal outcome (from a rep/morality standpoint) make no goddamn sense for so many reasons.

[Zephlar]

It's nothing mods can fix. It's fallout, a post apocalyptic game. I don't like the 50's aesthetic, I don't like post apocalyptic.

Now I'm not saying I don't like the game, nor am I putting those things as faults to the game. You don't bitch about those things when you know what you're getting into. Like you don't bitch about Skyrim being in a fantasy setting, just because you don't like the fantasy setting.

But at the same time, it's not as enjoyable to me to rummage dilapidated buildings and wasteland all day compared to nice looking towns and scenery.

But that's just me, I like the game, I may even try some of the DLC, but if anything, Fallout 4 just makes me excited for the next elder scrolls game.

However if I did have a complaint about the game. The town building system sucks, they give you like 20 places to build towns that I don't give a fuck about, and like 2 actual real towns in the entire game. Not to mention all real questlines die after you complete the main quest. Not to mention you can craft a fucking toilet but you cant craft ammo? Come on guys, that's just silly.

You can craft Ammo It's the little dumb things like this (AND the cap on how much you can build) that mods really make the biggest differences in enhancing gameplay. I swear by mods changing the experience just because of how it effected Skyrim for me. Skyrim was great and I loved it, but it didn't grip me like Morrowind and Oblivion did. Until I started modding it, which was new to me as I had just transitioned to PC gaming. It completely changed how I felt about Skyrim. Seems like anything wrong with Bethesda games, mods can help fix or make better in some way.

I get what you're saying though, I am also not a huge fan of the post apocalyptic 50's style. Fallout never felt as special to me like TES series. ESO doesn't count.

Oh wow, that is really impressive. Kind of reminds me of Multi Theft Auto and the Just Cause 2 multiplayer mod. It's incredible what these teams can do.

That said, I wouldn't be a very good fit, haha. I'm not familiar enough with the guts of the Creation Engine to do something like that. I'm good at piecing things together and making stuff work, doing some basic scripting, performing some basic ESP-foo, stuff like that, but I still have a lot to learn.

I'm sure if you really wanted to do it you could, but yeah I think you have to really have a passion for it. I have realized one of the biggest things that drives some of  these guys, is boobs. Lol. It's kind of sad but true. I'm pretty sure nude females was one of the first 5 FO4 mods to come out day 1 & 2. Skyrim is just.....staggering with the amount of hot sexy female clothes/armor/models.

I finished the main story line, not so sure how I feel about the quest progression at that point in the game. If you're friendly with all 4 factions, it gets very confusing with how they interact, disagree/agree with each other.  There should be more guidance in that way. Plus I felt after a certain quest chain, the story just kind of flops and ends with no real END ending.

The game does just roll credits and pick right back up where you left off wherever that is, and you can continue to explore and do side quests.

I started a new character and will focus on melee attacks (ninja shit) and maybe small arms.

Melee is no joke. I was shanking the mess out of people for a minute there and it was a lot of fun. The combat has been a delight compared to FO3 that's honestly probably the biggest improvement as a whole that I've seen so far.

I haven't gotten too far in the main story yet. I feel like Bethesda was kind of lazy in some areas. We'll see what happens.

Are you guys all on Steam?

[vladgd]

I think im the only one here NOT playing on pc. Playstation 4.

No mods for me, but, I never used em in the first place. Skyrim the only mods I used are bugfix mods, and one that totally changes the entire game, get this, it adds roads to the map! TOTALLY GAME BREAKING SHIT RIGHT THERE! Like they shoulda been there in the first place, but they weren't, so I got em modded in.

[Spectere]

I'm sure if you really wanted to do it you could, but yeah I think you have to really have a passion for it.

And considering I work as a professional programmer now, I don't do stuff like that quite as much when I'm at home now.

Are you guys all on Steam?

spectere

I usually stay offline unless I specifically want to play on online game, so don't be too shocked if I'm not online very much.

Skyrim the only mods I used are bugfix mods, and one that totally changes the entire game, get this, it adds roads to the map! TOTALLY GAME BREAKING SHIT RIGHT THERE! Like they shoulda been there in the first place, but they weren't, so I got em modded in.

Yeah, Bethesda is really weird about things like that, some of the issues being more glaring than others. It's sort of like how Oblivion had gorgeous landscapes and outdoor areas (they still hold up fairly well by today's standards) but 90% of the face textures look like they're half-melted.

Apparently the PS4/XB1 versions are going to support mods to some degree. You definitely won't be able to use mods that require script extenders when those start coming out (obviously) but if you get frustrated by something in the gameplay you might actually be able to do something about it!

[Spectere]

I succumbed to peer pressure and bought FO4 for PC. However, I ended up catching the Bloodborne itch once again (and I'm nearly out of room on my gaming SSD) so I'm not sure exactly when I'll get around to playing it!

I'm guessing I'll probably get started with it after I build my new rig in early January. I have a 500GB Samsung 850 EVO just sitting there, but I've been too lazy to actually throw it in my case (to be fair, I did run out of 2.5" drive bays in my case, so I'm going to need to grab an adapter to mount it properly).

[Spectere]

Man, fuck the UI and controls in this game.

I figured Bethesda would have done the smart thing by now and just hired the guy/team who made SkyUI. But...no, still the same song and dance. It's not as bad as stock Skyrim, but it's still pretty bad. The fact that they seem to think that "ENTER TO CONFIRM, TAB TO CANCEL" is acceptable is just beyond comprehension (protip: having to shift your hand to the opposite side of the keyboard is the opposite of good design). And what the fuck is up with having to use the arrow keys to control dialogue prompts? It's even worse in the workshop menu, where you have to move around with WASD, control the menu with the arrows, and aim with your mouse. How many hands do they think we have?

As far as gameplay controls go, moving and shooting work fine, as expected (I'm very pleasantly surprised by how good the shooting feels), but what the hell is up with all of the press-and-hold controls? I'm not using a goddamned controller, I'm using a keyboard and mouse. The game is only using a tiny fraction of my keyboard as it is, so what is the point of that shit? If I wanted crippled FPS controls, I'd use a damn controller. I'm not using a damn controller, though, I'm using a fucking keyboard and mouse. Argh!

My system isn't the best system to judge performance on, but the game does perform very well. No stuttering with everything maxed out (including god rays). The bokeh DOF option looks awesome! Just like looking through a camera. It gives it a bit more character than the typical blur. It's really nice to see that they finally abandoned the puke green color filter that served them so "well" in FO3.

The texture work is far spottier than I was expecting. I understand that texture quality has to take a backseat in open world games, but FO4 doesn't even utilize the amount of VRAM in my old GTX 680 (2GB), let alone what would be available in modern cards. They could have pushed the quality up and still managed to make it work on modern consoles, too. I have no doubt that the community will take that into their own hands, but this is one case where I fail to see why they should have to. 4GB of VRAM should have been the target for Ultra, not 2GB.

As far as the actual game goes, I'm not too far in right now (just got back to Sanctuary and built myself a little house. Woo!), but I do wish that the intro sequence would have lasted a bit longer. While the opening does have some pretty powerful stuff in it, the family interactions felt a bit...rushed. I dunno, I just feel like what ended up happening should have hit me a bit harder than it did. Plus, what happened just felt way too obvious to me. I dunno, maybe it's just me.

But hey, ridiculously bad menu controls aside, I'm enjoying it so far! Let's see if it grips me as hard as Skyrim did this past year.

[Sneaky]

They did not put any effort into the control translation when making the port, for sure. Some of the functions are asinine and practically almost useless. Might as well hook up a console controller since that's all they focused on. Which surprises me given the great key/mouse controls of FO3/NV (IMO)

Waiting for awesome modz