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[s0]

none in fallout 4

just goggl it

[gimymblert]

Okay skills is the "stat" and perk the "action", right?

By increasing stat you increase all associated perks efficiency?

So fallout 4 has individual perks increased and stat as the overall "folder" that group them (what makes you s.p.e.c.i.a.l.)?

[s0]

in the old fallout games SPECIAL stats represent your character's capabilities. they mainly influence your skills and things like HP, AP, max carry weight etc. skills represent how good you are at certain actions (weapon damage, talking, sneaking, lockpicking, bartering etc) and perks are bonuses that you get to pick every couple levels. those range from simple stat boosts to weird special abilities. most perks have level, stat or (less commonly) skill requirements.

So fallout 4 has individual perks increased and stat as the overall "folder" that group them (what makes you s.p.e.c.i.a.l.)?

yes. it's similar to skyrim's system.

here's how it works in FO3 for instance
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_3_SPECIAL

[gimymblert]

Oh okay, skill are for broad common interaction and perks for very specific action to differentiate build of character?

The thing is for design I tend to over generalized, I reduce all rpg system to interaction, gauge (resource that limit or enable actions) and stat (define the strength of interactions). Gauge and stat are close though, gauge are supposed to be refill and emptied (hp, mp, cooldown, stamina) etc ... but we can have hybrid stat/gauge (fatigue for example is a guage but affect strength of interaction).

I didn't pay much attention to specific montage or collage of system like that lol

[s0]

Oh okay, skill are for broad common interaction and perks for very specific action to differentiate build of character?

well yes AND no. they're bonuses. they can be anything pretty much. for instance in fallout NV there's a perk that gives you a boost to EXP earned but there's also a perk that unlocks special sidequests and easter eggs.

except in fallout 4 where everything is a perk

so anyway the problem in FO4 is that stats that govern basic interactions like fighting, talking, sneaking etc are now treated as the same thing as special abilities that you might not always need. and everything is worth the same too. you get exactly 1 perk point per levelup and increasing a perk always costs 1 point. also every rank of every perk has a level requirement, same as in skyrim, so you can't level up a perk twice in a row and it's also pointless to save up your points.

that means the system is hugely unbalanced because obv the basic interaction perks (mostly the fighting perks) are just plain better under this system. and the only strategic reason to pick a non-basic perk is if you can't. and as with every bethesda game since oblivion, combat-oriented builds just destroy everything else due to the level scaling.

tl;dr: the price/value ratio of stat upgrades in fallout 4 is fucked.

i mean granted this is a problem with the other fallout games too but it's more pronounced here.

[gimymblert]

Okay thanks

[starsrift]

Skyrim used skills, and perks to make skills more interesting (or just more effective). It seemed to be actually modelled on the Fallout system, which was the same thing.

Fallout just has skills cut out entirely. I wouldn't be surprised if instead of skills, it was just a formula based upon your base stat and level.

[J-Snake]

Don't know if it is a mod or if it really ships with that game loop.

[s0]

i like how the robots are by far the best written characters in this gam and the human characters are mostly just soulless exposition dumps.

[starsrift]

i like how the robots are by far the best written characters in this gam and the human characters are mostly just soulless exposition dumps.

I haven't found a character yet that wasn't a soulless exposition dump. :/ Except the first boss, Kellogg, and perhaps Elder Maxson, if his backstory is what I suspect it is (secretly an escaped synth). And I dunno if you got there yet or not, but without being spoilery, Kellogg's backstory dump is possibly the most hamfisted exposition I've seen in years. I would've prefer a Bond-esque overconfident master-villain monologue.

That said, some of the voice acting is just superb. Particularly for the reporter caricature and the Rick Deckard knockoff characters (IMDB doesn't list their actors yet, sadly).  Both of those performers take those roles and really own them and work them hard. I'm not sure I'd be entirely happy listening to Harrison Ford's voice in Bladerunner, now, instead of... whoever he is. It's just sad they seem two-dimensional.

[s0]

this game actually has good writing for a bethesda game tho

which, yes, isn't saying much.

[starsrift]

So very true.

[s0]

btw i really like diamond city radio. sure a lot of the songs were already in other fallout games and the host is kinda annoying and gimmicky but there's a lot of old R&B and tin pan alley gems in there. including some unorthodox choices like big maybelle's 'original' version of "whole lotta shakin goin on" rather than the more popular jerry lee lewis cover. "grandma plays the numbers" is a really fun song too.

im basically listening to the radio 24/7 in this game. the actual OST is trite corny bullshit and seems to try for the EPIC STRING ORCHESTRA feel all the time, even when all ur doing ingame is rummaging through public toilets for crafting materials.

[gimymblert]

No robot singing daisy bell? I'm disappointed

[starsrift]

btw i really like diamond city radio. sure a lot of the songs were already in other fallout games and the host is kinda annoying and gimmicky but there's a lot of old R&B and tin pan alley gems in there. including some unorthodox choices like big maybelle's 'original' version of "whole lotta shakin goin on" rather than the more popular jerry lee lewis cover. "grandma plays the numbers" is a really fun song too.

im basically listening to the radio 24/7 in this game. the actual OST is trite corny bullshit and seems to try for the EPIC STRING ORCHESTRA feel all the time, even when all ur doing ingame is rummaging through public toilets for crafting materials.

Yeah, it's great. Diamond City Radio music + 3Dog would have been fantastic. Instead, we have this uncomfortable-sounding geek.

So, uh, wat. After the end of the second act, the game is basically "do a faction's quests"? So I guess that makes... Five endings? Or maybe the minor factions roll into the major ones?

I'm rolling with the BoS, I guess. How about you, CA?

[s0]

i'm not actually that far yet. i only got to diamond city today. before that i was mostly just clearing out dungeons and stuff lol. the story does kinda pick up once you get there tho.

btw is it the same shit as in FO3 where the BoS are a wasteland paladins in shining power armor rather than an elitist cult of conservative assholes who deprive everyone else of access to good technology?

[starsrift]

btw is it the same shit as in FO3 where the BoS are a wasteland paladins in shining power armor rather than an elitist cult of conservative assholes who deprive everyone else of access to good technology?

Yes, and then later, yes.

One of their faction quests gave me the feels. Reminded me of WH40K, where there's no 'good' side anywhere.

[s0]

i was just thinking that "uranium rock" sounds like a song the cramps would have covered.

[s0]

also i like how much they hyped dogmeat in the trailers and how useless he is ingame, mainly thanks to bethesda's trademark shitty follower AI.

also in true bethesda fashion i've had a bunch of times where npcs i was supposed to follow for a quest just stopped or disappeared and i had to reload the game to continue lol.

[TheLastBanana]

Dogmeat is at least more useful than in previous games, though. You can get him to sniff out items and containers, and his ability to pin down enemies comes in handy sometimes. Really though, the main feature is that you can put goofy welding goggles on him.