Fallout 4, problems and possible solutions.

[DirtyOldShoe]

Fallout 4 is not a good/fun game, but it could be. I have been playing it to answer the question "Can Mods Fix It?" While that is subjective, perhaps a better question could be asked. What would need to be changed in Fallout 4 to make it less shit and possibly enjoyable?

This is a 'to be' overwhelming list of what needs to be modded. This list will likely never be complete as the amount of garbage in Fallout 4 is crushing. Problems and suggestions are welcome.

1: All NPC's and PC fall under the same rules.
a.) No generic leveled bosses
b.) No generic legendary NPCs
c.) No essential NPCs
No Essential Npcs
Mortal Settlers

d.) No protected NPCs
e.) No hidden perks to make NPC's seem tougher that the player cannot obtain.
f.) No NPC's exceeding special stats.
g.) No scripted amount of damaged, all damage is calculated the same for all NPCs and PC.
h.) NPCs should be balanced into the world. eg, Preston, Strugees, Mamma Murphy, and the Longs should be able to make it from Quincy to Concord with an additional 15 weaker links. Lucas Miller should be able travel to all his destinations without dying.
i.) If the player is limited to one companion out of a settlement, then so should NPCs or allow the player to have a creature and a human or as many companions as the enemy does.
Unlimited Companion Framework

2: Essential characters need to have fail quests in the event they die with the potential of having a pop up that you may not be able to complete the game or with an alternate ending.

3: NPCs need to be aware of death in immediate circle of friends or family. They need to be aware if the leader or a member of their group has passed on.

4: Super mutants
a.) Need a better reason for being in the world other than Institute or Shaun, or have no reason to be there with dialogue removed for things like "You created us now suffer for your arrogance."
b.) Need to be in smaller numbers and finite as there is not an unlimited supply of them.
Longer Area Respawn
c.) Should only be able to place low skill traps like land mines. Elaborate traps like tripwire that require rigging need to be removed in Super Mutant areas.

c.) The locations that they decide to live in must be logical, eg. If they live next to a farm they would need to be friends with the farm, if they are sharing a rooftop with another faction, they would need to be allied.
d.) Not all Super mutants should be hostile, at least a 1:10 ratio.

5: Spawning NPCs
a.) Need to be finite and not respawn
Longer Area Respawn

b.) Need to not spawn unless it is a one time scene or event. This includes all factions from friendly to hostile.

6: All non-hostiles need a real name and a hand crafted ID, no leveled generics.

7: 400 more quests that are not radiant, to be on par with Skyrim.

8: Skills need to be re-introduced into the core game and effect leveling as well as playing mechanics.

9: All factions need sub factions and splinter groups, variety of raiders, mercenaries, BOS, Railroad, etc.

10: Cells should not reset looted items.

11: Magic needs to be removed from the game.

12: CoA need to be removed from the game.

13: The three main factions need to be re-written with no major plot-holes.

14: Preston and the Sanctuary gang need to have quest aware stages that show progress to them working on improving the area.

15: NPCs with better AI so they equip better equipment when it is laying right in front of them. Not stand next to an exploding creature, etc

16: Spoken words need to match text on screen and spelled correctly.

17: If a companion dislikes something the player does, the player can speak to them about it, or the dislike can be ignored as the companion probably does things the player doesn't like.
Visible Companion Affinity
No Negative Affinity and No Affinity Cooldown

18: Post war items need to be removed from prewar areas.

19: Leveled "boss" containers need to have a wider variety then ammo, ammo, ammo, ammo, ammo, ammo, Pipe weapon, Silver junk.

20: Companions need to be able to be healed at all times, not just when on their ass.

21: Multiple radio stations with a variety of music and genres.
OLD WORLD RADIO - BOSTON

22: Ghouls need to be Ghouls again, not 28 days later zombies.
Walking Dead Ghouls WIP

23: Magnolia needs to be replaced with a decent voice actor/singer or her face represent someone in their 70s.

24: Player's title for the Minutemen needs to be changed from General to Labourer.

25: User interface to be PC aware, No TV text font and controls based on keyboard/mouse, Holotape games playable on keyboard and mouse. PC friendly mods.

26: More guards or legitimate need for a violent trade route. More established, non-hostile locations of Wastelanders.

27: Player and NPC animations need to give the illusion that they are natural.

28: Better player head tracking improved, eg, active during entire conversation.

29: Dialogue
a.) Needs to be PC oriented in its display.
Full Dialogue Interface

b.) Topics redone to cut repeat dialogue.
c.) 1-20ish topic choices to match words used, not limited or forced to have 4 for every conversation.

30: Proper conditions on select conversation topics. eg, player should not ask about caps if they have already bartered, shouldn't have the option to ask Nick what a super mutant is if Strong is with them, or what a Ghoul is if Hancock is with them.

31: Companions need to be stripped from the main quest and an alternate available.

32: Grandiose entrance to Diamond City needs to be scrapped, as the interior dialogue does not reflect it being sealed then remaining open.

33: Flag or indicator that a quest is radiant.

34: Combat options via dialogue for companions for distance and passivity added back. (These appears to be cut content based on the quest "Follower & Companion System Control Quest")

35: Fresh tire tracks need to be removed or, usable vehicles introduced.

36: NPCs to be effected by limb damage. ie, can't hold a gun if their arm is broken. 0% chance to hit if head broken.

37: Dinosaur dragons need to be removed.

38: No Silly names like IMPROVED TARGETING BOOSTED AGITATED IMPROVED AUTOMATIC LASER PISTOL. List stats and effects when in inventory including the gun's abilities; give the gun a name with no more then 3 words.
Laser Pistol+

39: Standing by a barrel of acid should not give more rads then ground zero in the glowing sea.

40: Alduin should not be voicing a super mutant, sound files need to be swapped with creation engine.

41: Should not need to jump through hoops to use mods because of console. Nor should I need to log in to a website to use an editor for the game.

42: Game loads when textures are loaded. I can wait an extra minute or two, no more milky or soupy textures.

43: All NPCs in factions and settlements to be quest aware, or more quest aware. If I've helped an NPC, they should be aware of it the next time I see them and not act like we never met.
Dialogue Settlers Fix

44: One Fatman, all others are removed. Even from hostiles.

45: Only BOS and Player can wear Power Armor. No more Raiders in Power Armor.

46: Power Armor re-balance, needs to be weaker to justify the cost and abundance. Power armor shouldn't be more durable then a vertibird.

47: Settlements with X amount of defenses are not victimized while defense is high.

48: It's an adult game with no adult content.

49: Remove references to NV

 

[Millim]

Hmmm, I would personally change the Skills System.
The one we have in F4 is just fucking awful.
I would change it to something more on the lines of F3 and NV, but expanded a bit.
Now, in order to lockpick a door which has a level 100 lock, if you're under that 100 mark, you still have a chance to unlock, it's just extremely hard, plus your lockpicks break easier.
If you're around the 80 mark, you'll have an easier time than say 50.
Once you've reached 100, it'll be as easy as it would on a lockpick with 10.

Edit. I understand these can't be fixed via Mods, which upsets me a lot as solving that one issue fixes a huge problem with the game for me.

 

[Irwin John Finster]

My solution was to buy Stellaris and go play that, as I have more role playing in that game than Fallout 4. Doing this actually solved every single problem I have with Fallout 4.

 

[R.Graves]

My solution was to buy Stellaris and go play that, as I have more role playing in that game than Fallout 4. Doing this actually solved every single problem I have with Fallout 4.

Really? Did it give you the fallout you deserve? Or did fallout 4 remain garbage?

 

[DirtyOldShoe]

Hmmm, I would personally change the Skills System.
The one we have in F4 is just fucking awful.
I would change it to something more on the lines of F3 and NV, but expanded a bit.
Now, in order to lockpick a door which has a level 100 lock, if you're under that 100 mark, you still have a chance to unlock, it's just extremely hard, plus your lockpicks break easier.
If you're around the 80 mark, you'll have an easier time than say 50.
Once you've reached 100, it'll be as easy as it would on a lockpick with 10.

Edit. I understand these can't be fixed via Mods, which upsets me a lot as solving that one issue fixes a huge problem with the game for me.

8: Skills need to be re-introduced into the core game and effect leveling as well as playing mechanics.

 

[MercenarySnake]

Ditch Fallout 4 and find some incline instead of wondering if something that is clearly unfixable is fixable. If installing 15GB of mods is needed then it's no good, waste of hard drive space and everyone's time.

 

[Mr Fish]

And getting all of those mods to work together without the game crashing constantly due to conflicting modifications? Sounds hairpullingly awful.

 

[Black Angel]

Well, in Tale of Two Wastelands forum for Fallout 4 modding, they already made a thread for that. I suggest your refer to that page.

If you ask me, though, I say don't waste your time trying to fix what's broken.

 

[Ragemage]

I really agree with this list. I'm going to pore back over it and see if I have anything else that I could add to your list.

The only thing I'll disagree with is Magnolia. Honestly I thought she was fine. If only because she managed to fix one of the major problems with the radio. I still can't get over the fact they reused the entirety of Fallout 3's radio in Fallout 4 and only added like 5 new songs. The Magnolia ones make it more like 15 new songs. Considering how long it took me to beat the game due to wanting to find something good in it because I was a Bethestard and couldn't believe they'd release such an awful game, it was appreciated. She's not that good of a singer but she broke up the huge amount of repetition present on DCR.

 

[Izak]

I understand the sentiment, but honestly, why would you bother making this list? Fallout 4's just such a broken product that in the process of fixing it you'd basically end up making a new game; let sleeping dogs lie, let Fallout die.

 

[Ragemage]

I understand the sentiment, but honestly, why would you bother making this list? Fallout 4's just such a broken product that in the process of fixing it you'd basically end up making a new game; let sleeping dogs lie, let Fallout die.

Simply put, Fallout 5 will probably be a repeat of Fallout 4 unless they learn from their mistakes. This is simply listing a chunk of mistakes from FO4 that need to be addressed for FO5.

And also Far Harbor seems like it's going to have a loooot to complain about lore-wise (local Maine soda company VIM somehow getting a hold of power armor to advertise their shitty soda when even Nuka Cola wasn't allowed to do that, as an example) so we're all hyped up to do some Bethesda bashing again.

 

[Mr Fish]

Simply put, Fallout 5 will probably be a repeat of Fallout 4 unless they learn from their mistakes. This is simply listing a chunk of mistakes from FO4 that need to be addressed for FO5.

Yeah we pretty much did that over at the official Bethesda forums for years about Fallout 3 and yet Fallout 4 still happened.
The list is pointless. Bethesda ain't gonna listen to shit unless there is a massive uproar.
There isn't one, so Bethesda won't give a shit.

I spent 20.000 posts over on their fucking forum and at least half of them were about criticizing Fallout 3 and providing solutions for how to steer Fallout back on track. 20.000 posts completely down the drain. And you think this list will make any difference? If the point is to show Bethesda what they fucked up and how to fix it then it is completely and utterly pointless. But by all means, waste your time like I wasted mine. Maybe then you'll end up as much of a bitter cunt as I am after a few years of wasted effort.

 

[Einhanderc7]

Mr. Fish said it just as well as I would. There is no point to this unless you want to revisit old wounds.

The game is dead, it died in pre-production, and they shipped a corpse. The only way I can see any change for this game is if all the brain dead drones suddenly grow additional brain cells to understand what they think is "great" is actually a rotting carcass talking up space on their hardware.

You need to understand that you are combating a mob, mobs are dumb and full of misdirected emotion as well ignore valid information. If you can somehow get the mob on your side then you have a chance. But even then the chance is still very small.

Let go, move on, and enjoy another game that is worthy of your attention. At least that's my intention.

 

[DirtyOldShoe]

My solution was to buy Stellaris and go play that, as I have more role playing in that game than Fallout 4. Doing this actually solved every single problem I have with Fallout 4.

I'm broke right now, so that doesn't help.

Ditch Fallout 4 and find some incline instead of wondering if something that is clearly unfixable is fixable. If installing 15GB of mods is needed then it's no good, waste of hard drive space and everyone's time.

I recall someone saying they hate Fallout 4 but installed some naughty mods and doing naughty things to Piper. Did he enjoy himself? Probably. Was an arbitrary amount of disk space factored in to his decision? probably not. Is this person a fan of Fallout 4 because they got enjoyment out of violating a Fallout 4 character? No. I respect your thoughts Snake, always have. Did you read through the list or just the two paragraphs at the top. If you plan on holding a counter position I would expect more from you then the standard "Fallout 4 sucks", which is why this thread exists.

And getting all of those mods to work together without the game crashing constantly due to conflicting modifications? Sounds hairpullingly awful.

I'm a Modder for another shit game, Skyrim. I don't have compatibility issues because I am familiar with conflicts without effort. eg, if a mods only edits radio, that would be a quest, is it editing any existing quests? If a mod changes a flag on a leveled template for an NPC, any mod that edits the same template will conflict. It literally required little thought on my part. If someone doesn't understand the basics of modding, they won't for any game no matter how shit it is. This is a weak argument imo. Also, in the two paragraphs at the start, I did mention that it would be overwhelming at some point.

Well, in Tale of Two Wastelands forum for Fallout 4 modding, they already made a thread for that. I suggest your refer to that page.

If you ask me, though, I say don't waste your time trying to fix what's broken.

As much as I respect RiseWild and the TTW team, I don't use their forum because I think F3 is a shit game with a shit modding scene. On it's own, F3 doesn't have a huge selection of mods. If NV can stand on it's own, I have no reason to add a shit game to it. I'm not trying to fix anything. I am asking a potentially rhetorical question as it may never be answered and the amount of work is overwhelming as stated in the OP. One could argue that you posting on something that you think is a waste of time is also a waste of time.

I understand the sentiment, but honestly, why would you bother making this list? Fallout 4's just such a broken product that in the process of fixing it you'd basically end up making a new game; let sleeping dogs lie, let Fallout die.

Thank you Izak, Respect brother. Why? Because I am bored, I like the community here even though opinions will vary I respect them all. I didn't expect many people would post on this thread due to the nature of it, but I see it as having a variety of purposes.
1.) A catalogue for myself of things that break the game and frustrate me,
2.) Something that others may agree/disagree with and that they can share their thoughts on.
3.) To definitively show the scope of error with the help of my brothers and sisters here.
4.) To potentially provide solutions to those that have the game installed, hate the fuck out of it and would like to scrape $10 worth of fun out of it.

Mr. Fish said it just as well as I would. There is no point to this unless you want to revisit old wounds.

We should probably just close the Fallout 4 threads down then. Silence any opinion about it because it might "reopen" an old wound. I could put a disclaimer at the top, but it already says Fallout 4 in the title, so you know the subject matter when you came here.

The game is dead, it died in pre-production, and they shipped a corpse.

You should probably read some of my older posts before combating me. It makes you look silly.

The only way I can see any change for this game is if all the brain dead drones suddenly grow additional brain cells to understand what they think is "great" is actually a rotting carcass talking up space on their hardware.

I think the only way for the franchise to be saved is for the current owners to actually play their games. Even Fanboys bitch about "radiant" quests. GStaff did a let's play on twitch and all he did was complain about how bad the game is and how he was disappointed in it, the same way we are here.

You need to understand that you are combating a mob, mobs are dumb and full of misdirected emotion as well ignore valid information. If you can somehow get the mob on your side then you have a chance. But even then the chance is still very small.

Dude, it's just a video game, and a shit one at that. I think you might be taking things a bit too seriously, even for NMA. As I have mentioned before, I am a modder, I have been ground zero of a horde of misguided braindeadians, so don't come preaching to me like I ain't got no business writing a question here and I am starting to think that you as well skimmed the thread.

Let go, move on, and enjoy another game that is worthy of your attention. At least that's my intention.

Agreed. You should let go and move on. Don't go to the Fallout 4 section and don't post in a topic for a game that be left to die.

 

[0wing]

It shouldn't left to die because NOW whe have at least acceptible shadows and lighting, semi-acceptible face and body editor, a world less looking like a cat toilet with dioramas buried in and some lesser but handy features. But badly written and produced quests are the problem №1 in this game. And them require a lot of work. Else in comparison are just little inconveniences.

 

[Mr Fish]

I'm a Modder for another shit game, Skyrim. I don't have compatibility issues because I am familiar with conflicts without effort. eg, if a mods only edits radio, that would be a quest, is it editing any existing quests? If a mod changes a flag on a leveled template for an NPC, any mod that edits the same template will conflict. It literally required little thought on my part. If someone doesn't understand the basics of modding, they won't for any game no matter how shit it is. This is a weak argument imo. Also, in the two paragraphs at the start, I did mention that it would be overwhelming at some point.

It's not an argument, dude. I'm not saying it can't be done or even that it shouldn't be done. I'm just saying that it sounds like it'll be tedious and frustrating and that personally it ain't worth my time.

But hey, if you figure out how to make Fallout 4 good? You figure out what mods to use and how to sync then together to make it a good game? Then please upload a compilation that has an easy install/unpack for the rest of us who don't want to spend hours if not days on something just to fix Fallout 4.

It's not that I can't mod a Bethesda game. I can. I just find it frustrating and tedious enough as it is to get 10 mods to work so 49 mods? I'll pass. The time spent installing the mods and making sure that they work would be better spent masturbating to Nico Robin. Besides, I have no idea what mods will conflict and 'where' they will conflict. One mod may give a general vague description of what it does to NPC's and then another does the same and I have no idea that the two mods are conflicting over a small NPC in the ass end of nowhere that I never even knew existed. How am I supposed to know that is the issue?

 

[0wing]

Mr. Fish is right too. Mod a game to make it playable is completely unacceptable and shows how Bethesda loves their fans. I've never seen such exploitation of free labor, it's beyond impudence. Modders should claim fucking briefcases of money for doing devs' job. And the job is plenty...

 

[Risewild]

I can understand what DirtyOldShoe is doing with this thread.
Many modders don't even play the games they mod for or very rarely play them, modders are usually problem solvers that mod the game because they have fun and want to fix stuff, yes Fallout 4 is beyond fixing for any modders and would require years and many modders to mod it to something close to a RPG of any kind, but still there is a point in threads like this. Like Black Angel mentioned we have a thread a bit similar to this one in the TTW forums and pretty much everyone in our team does not like fallout 4 and yet they still mod for it and try to fix certain things one by one, it is the modders mentality I guess .

Also threads like this condense all or most of the problems that Fallout 4 has, so in a way it is another Bethesda bashing thread but in a "what needs to be done" to make the game be less shitty way.

Hell, I trade all of the "Why so much hate for Fallout 4" threads around here for one like this at any time .

 

[Einhanderc7]

You should probably read some of my older posts before combating me. It makes you look silly.

Dude, it's just a video game, and a shit one at that. I think you might be taking things a bit too seriously, even for NMA. As I have mentioned before, I am a modder, I have been ground zero of a horde of misguided braindeadians, so don't come preaching to me like I ain't got no business writing a question here and I am starting to think that you as well skimmed the thread.

Agreed. You should let go and move on. Don't go to the Fallout 4 section and don't post in a topic for a game that be left to die.

Whoa slow down there Dirty Old shoe, you misunderstand the context there in my statements. My post was not a personal crack at you, I rather enjoy your company. I'm simply stating my opinion, it was not intended to be inflammatory, simply objective.

I am a modder as well, not for any Bethesda games but enough of others to know what to expect and how to handle myself. I am also a fledgling game developer working on my own projects and others. At no point did I make a statement about your personal history or influences. I honestly don't know where the anger is coming from on this other than a potentially exaggerated response to an opinion.

My experience gives me insight to the various processes and planning of games and I am well aware of the neglect this game suffered in development.

And you are right I should move on to better horizons, but I do feel my opinion should count even in games I dislike. Its individuals who have opinions like mine that help paint a broader picture, reacting negatively does not promote discussion, but hamper it.

If you do so wish to discuss viable ways to turn this game into something enjoyable feel free to, but I will continue voicing my opinion no matter the amount of anger or dislike I receive.

 

[The_Guide]

Well, I hate Fallout 4 as well, but I appreciate some modders are aware how bad Fallout 4 is. Maybe this type of mods can educate some young minds what a good game should be. Maybe. I won't hold my breath for a miracle.