A short feedback report:
I pre ordered the game back in august and just got access to the beta servers for a couple of hours.
Update - 2nd Playtest done today
Took me a while to dig through all the functions and now i feel more confident. Here is the updated list:
Currency and it's function
# You have 2 currencies, the usual caps and a new atomic achievement-like one
--> caps are needed for FAST TRAVELING. Like 2-8 caps for a small jump to another location. Your camp is free of charge (i think with a greater radius attached)
--> atomic "coins" can be traded in like store credit for gestures, cosmetics and other stuff
Comment: At first, i thought caps were atomic coins and was angry about having to pay for fast travel. Now its alright, as you find some caps here and there and can sell your stuff, too.
Other players
# Still a mixed bag
I did an event, which demanded us to gather fireflies and turn them in at a light house lamp. A timer was attached to the event. Some random guy blocked me at times and all he managed was to gather 1 ("one") fly while i was depositing 19. We had to do 50. After 2 minutes, we ran out fo time and i had another 22, leaving my hopes on him and his ability to gather the last 8 and turn those in.
Guess what happened. He came too late and did not put in anything. We lost the event = 1/5 of level exp, 5-10 random items, 1-15 caps and maybe more. Thanks to him, we also got double the monster spawns and lost time fighting them, as he also managed to lack behind in dmg dealing value. So after we lost the event, he stood before me and hit me with his weapon. MAYBE the first hit does not count towards aggressive behaviour: This is based on the first ever encounter; i sometimes got staggered while he was running into or past me or maybe attacked me. This happened a couple of times and could have been due to running into me. Either way, in that moment i thought it was done by an attack, to justify me attacking him ...
That's why i hit him back 8 times, killed him, took all his loot and went back to my nearby camp with around 100 lbs worth of stuff.
Overall Gameplay
# Get used to it and it feels like a Fallout
It really did. After 2 hours, i had relocated my camp, build a small new one, ran into super mutants and axed them, helped a player with shelter indirectly through my camp walls and had a bad event with a pk end in my favor.
While leveling up you get 1 new stat to choose and sometimes a pack of cards. After 7 levels, my character finally starts to take shape and this was sorely missing!
Verdict
# If you can manage to get through the first levels, the game turns out to be better. Graphics on PS4 look pretty and with higher levels come more human like enemies (semi ghouls with guns, super mutants so far). These act a little more like the good old raider npcs.
So far we had a rough start with 6/10 and i will say its a 7/10 with potential for more.
Things that hold back the verdict:
- Big story/ big picture still to unfold
- Higher level perks and gameplay are crucial for the longlivity of the game
- PvP has not yet been experienced too well. You receive reduced dmg when NOT hitting back, but if this is enough to spare you the experience of being hunted and killed over and over again, i dont know
- Will holotape voices and robots be enough human interaction for a satisfying Fallout experience?
- Can you solo all the content or is group gameplay against bosses or other groups intuitive enough to not hold you back?
- Will it run smoothly? Currently, you sometimes sprint and run into loading issues, which slow you down noticeably and still drain your stamina. Other times, you look into a container only to see a loading arrow, as the server needs to update the world. Most of the time there is nothing in it, so i use it as an indicator for "nothing here, move on".
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After an hour playtime, i highly recommed waiting for the game release and or cancelling the pre order. The game feels like a 60% Fallout 4 with better graphics and loses it's charme due to the empty world and multiplayer function.
- Other players freely talking over mic and breaking immersion for you (you can see their "speaking" symbol from afar and hear ALL of their noises...)
- Other players walzing over enemies you are engaging with or already killed and looted all enemies before you
- Due to other players, enemies respawn really fast and this breaks with my personal game play style, where i kill, search and mark as "cleared"
- No npcs in the world who talk to you other than some robots or holotapes. It feels way too empty
- Stat system lets you put 1 point into a stat and then everything else happens after each level. You cannot build a specialist at lvl 1, you literally walk out with one "2" stat and all else on "1"
- Occassional, you find big chests here and there, filled with 10+ items, making usual loot bags seem trivial. The difference might be due to the "wear" system and you needing more res. to repair.
- VATS (which i personally never use due to melee only style) does not stop time, but auto aims for you
- no day time skipping through sleeping due to online mode
- sleeping is now a "channeled" heal as long as you stay in bed
- haven't figured out building; getting resoruces
+ graphics
+ perks seem a little more refined, if you get the level to unlock them
+ animations are richer
+ more weapons
+ New live events (monster spawns at a location with a timed quest)
+/- Stats on "1" makes you mediocre at everything. Skill cards define your role (at least on lvl 1-5)
+/- Building structures is fluently and got a new interface, but you cannot interact with resources like in F4 (no yellow marked wood to cut or otherwise objects to scrap)
+/- other people going their own way after a while but then the world feels completely empty and depressing
= no Fallout 5, hype is gone.
I pre ordered the game back in august and just got access to the beta servers for a couple of hours.
Update - 2nd Playtest done today
Took me a while to dig through all the functions and now i feel more confident. Here is the updated list:
Currency and it's function
# You have 2 currencies, the usual caps and a new atomic achievement-like one
--> caps are needed for FAST TRAVELING. Like 2-8 caps for a small jump to another location. Your camp is free of charge (i think with a greater radius attached)
--> atomic "coins" can be traded in like store credit for gestures, cosmetics and other stuff
Comment: At first, i thought caps were atomic coins and was angry about having to pay for fast travel. Now its alright, as you find some caps here and there and can sell your stuff, too.
Other players
# Still a mixed bag
I did an event, which demanded us to gather fireflies and turn them in at a light house lamp. A timer was attached to the event. Some random guy blocked me at times and all he managed was to gather 1 ("one") fly while i was depositing 19. We had to do 50. After 2 minutes, we ran out fo time and i had another 22, leaving my hopes on him and his ability to gather the last 8 and turn those in.
Guess what happened. He came too late and did not put in anything. We lost the event = 1/5 of level exp, 5-10 random items, 1-15 caps and maybe more. Thanks to him, we also got double the monster spawns and lost time fighting them, as he also managed to lack behind in dmg dealing value. So after we lost the event, he stood before me and hit me with his weapon. MAYBE the first hit does not count towards aggressive behaviour: This is based on the first ever encounter; i sometimes got staggered while he was running into or past me or maybe attacked me. This happened a couple of times and could have been due to running into me. Either way, in that moment i thought it was done by an attack, to justify me attacking him ...
That's why i hit him back 8 times, killed him, took all his loot and went back to my nearby camp with around 100 lbs worth of stuff.
Overall Gameplay
# Get used to it and it feels like a Fallout
It really did. After 2 hours, i had relocated my camp, build a small new one, ran into super mutants and axed them, helped a player with shelter indirectly through my camp walls and had a bad event with a pk end in my favor.
While leveling up you get 1 new stat to choose and sometimes a pack of cards. After 7 levels, my character finally starts to take shape and this was sorely missing!
Verdict
# If you can manage to get through the first levels, the game turns out to be better. Graphics on PS4 look pretty and with higher levels come more human like enemies (semi ghouls with guns, super mutants so far). These act a little more like the good old raider npcs.
So far we had a rough start with 6/10 and i will say its a 7/10 with potential for more.
Things that hold back the verdict:
- Big story/ big picture still to unfold
- Higher level perks and gameplay are crucial for the longlivity of the game
- PvP has not yet been experienced too well. You receive reduced dmg when NOT hitting back, but if this is enough to spare you the experience of being hunted and killed over and over again, i dont know
- Will holotape voices and robots be enough human interaction for a satisfying Fallout experience?
- Can you solo all the content or is group gameplay against bosses or other groups intuitive enough to not hold you back?
- Will it run smoothly? Currently, you sometimes sprint and run into loading issues, which slow you down noticeably and still drain your stamina. Other times, you look into a container only to see a loading arrow, as the server needs to update the world. Most of the time there is nothing in it, so i use it as an indicator for "nothing here, move on".
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