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Sacul64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,749
Polygon is a joke.

They put this game on their top games of 2018 list and then publish an article like this.

There's a reason I never check their website.

I suggest looking at giantbombs game of the year talks that are transparent about the way end of the year lists for large sites are made and the discussions that go in to them that lead to reddead redemption 2 being on both the top games list but also most disappointing list. This is and article written by one person and not a site wide list.
 
Oct 26, 2017
1,004
It's not worth saving. This is the dark, greedy, and dare I say predatory end result of GaaS to AAA publishers.

Release a barebones version of an existing IP, preferably on an existing engine, tack on; multiplayer, microtransactions, and do as little as possible to make sure it runs smoothly because you're running on brand recognition.

And the best part is that you can fix it later and people will not only forget you screwed up in the first place: they'll praise you for saving the game from the mess you created in the first place.

Fallout 76 is a failure, let it die.
 

Calibro

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,822
Belarus
giphy.gif
 

Fitts

You know what that means
Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,149
For as much as it got shit on, I really enjoyed Fallout 4. Historically, I've enjoyed Fallout more as a franchise than TES.

But 76 has damaged the Fallout name and they're going to have to wait a long time before they release a proper follow up to 4. And that sucks.
 

PanzerKraken

Member
Nov 1, 2017
14,968
yeah, but I think that just shows managment can make all the difference.

TESO I think was also a serious effort, and it fundamentally worked when it launched. They had reasons to keep it going, plus they had already long term plans and work put into the future content for it. FO76 feels like a half assed cash in they slapped together and rushed out for the holidays. All these months later and they still have zero to show as coming content. Online game, what about some in game events? nope, nothing. They keep adding stuff to the atom shop to sell, and it's just crap taken out of FO4
 

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
92,987
I'm still floored that they managed to fuck this game up so hard when they touted support from Zenimax.
The fucking studio that 1.Currently has a VERY successful Elder Scrolls online game. 2. Has the experience and infastructure of converting a game like Fallout to an online experience. 3. ESO literally went from being absolute trash to absolute gem in under 3 years. Seriously it's a totally different game now. The famous Angry Joe review is horribly outdated.
FO76 had no reason to be this godawful. And honestly this piss poor performance has actually made me very wary of any new games from them. Including the new Elder Scrolls.
It kills me, cause the minimum they had to do was a Fallout Skin for TESO
 

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
The Fallen
Jul 14, 2018
23,529
The same Bethesda that remastered their game thrice and kept the same bugs in all versions? Color me surprised.
 

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
92,987
TESO I think was also a serious effort, and it fundamentally worked when it launched. They had reasons to keep it going, plus they had already long term plans and work put into the future content for it. FO76 feels like a half assed cash in they slapped together and rushed out for the holidays. All these months later and they still have zero to show as coming content. Online game, what about some in game events? nope, nothing. They keep adding stuff to the atom shop to sell, and it's just crap taken out of FO4
It does feel like someone's side project they goof around with on the weekend turned into a product. But without the budget or time needed.
 

Aaron D.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,293
Every failure is an opportunity.

Hopefully Bethesda learns from this experience.

It could eventually leave a positive impact on their future projects.
 

Mington

Banned for use of alt account
Banned
Dec 22, 2018
1,429
If Rage 2 and the next Doom underperform, what situation are Bethesda in?

Fallout 76 was meant to be a huge money spinner for them
 

Weltall Zero

Game Developer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
19,343
Madrid
Very rarely is it worth it to "save" games. Once the public perception is negative, the amount of work needed to turn that ship around is proportionally higher than just making a new game. I can't think of any case where that's every worked besides Final Fantasy XIV, which was one-of-a-kind-newsworthy in that it did.
 

Prolepro

Ghostwire: BooShock
Banned
Nov 6, 2017
7,310
There's a lot of 76 that I really like and as a whole, I enjoyed my time with it much more than FO4, which I loathe.

But it's straight up cognitive dissonance to recognize this game and its post-release news as anything other than a monumental embarrassment.
 

CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,506
Polygon is a joke.

They put this game on their top games of 2018 list and then publish an article like this.

There's a reason I never check their website.
Why do people talk about sites like they're a single entity hivemind? This is clearly labeled as an opinion piece, it's just one person's thoughts.

Don't people want a site to be filled with differing tastes and opinions? Isn't that a good thing? The way people speak about IGN/Gamespot/Polygon like their a single person is so bizarre lol
 
Oct 27, 2017
6,348
Has anyone really thought there is even a sliver of a chance that Bethesda of all developers could turn this around?
 

Mirage

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,548
Very rarely is it worth it to "save" games. Once the public perception is negative, the amount of work needed to turn that ship around is proportionally higher than just making a new game. I can't think of any case where that's every worked besides Final Fantasy XIV, which was one-of-a-kind-newsworthy in that it did.
No Man's Sky really turned things around.
 

lazygecko

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,628
It's plain as day that this entire project has been held together with duct tape from the very start, and there's just no way you can salvage that. Other online games with rocky launches usually have the benefit of a (comparatively) solid, dependable foundation to work from. F76 was technically ill conceived from the beginning.
 

tuxfool

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,858
Very rarely is it worth it to "save" games. Once the public perception is negative, the amount of work needed to turn that ship around is proportionally higher than just making a new game. I can't think of any case where that's every worked besides Final Fantasy XIV, which was one-of-a-kind-newsworthy in that it did.
As others have pointed out, this publisher has an example of its own TESO.
 

xrnzaaas

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,125
There's absolutely no hope for this game both in terms of player reception and its actual state. Bethesda should just let it die slowly and focus on making a proper (singleplayer) Fallout 5.
 

Demacabre

Member
Nov 20, 2017
2,058
All I remember is the people who fought for this game tooth and nail even after the nylon bag and the release of people's private info trying to get their canvas bag.
 
Oct 27, 2017
42,700
While the post launch work seems to have been making things worse, there is a silver lining in that Bethesda clearly does want to salvage this, and that's encouraging. Looking back at the launches of No Man's Sky and Sea of Thieves, those games were largely declared to be DOA, and now they're doing very well for themselves. I'm not saying it will be easy, but I think Fallout 76 might be better eventually.

Those games were simply feature bereft. I don't recall them having significant technical issues nor do I recall patches ever making things worse. In that situation yes, continued support can greatly improve the game, but with F76, it seems to be some core/fundamental technical issues at play, in addition to just how complex the game is
 

JoRu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,791
I'm usually a proponent of trying to improve on flawed games after launch, but I draw the line here. The amount of effort required to make this game anything more than mediocre has got to be immense for this one; let's just let this failure be a failure and push for Bethesda focusing on making the next one better.

You don't always need to give these publishers and developers infinite chances to turn things around.
 

Aaron D.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,293
Is Bethesda just fundamentally bad at making games? What is up with their engine that year after year, their games release with crippling bugs?

Based on the general reception of their Elder Scrolls & Fallout titles (sans F76) I'd say no.

People really dig what they produce, regardless of how much entertainment Era gets from dragging on them.

And it's reflected both critically & commercially.
 

Deleted member 20433

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
249
Got this game when I ordered my Xbox. I wonder if I should try it or not. All this news and articles about its state makes me kinda sad, I've liked all the previous Bethesda Games I've played.
 

LiK

Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,018
Is Bethesda just fundamentally bad at making games? What is up with their engine that year after year, their games release with crippling bugs?

Apparently it's Todd Howard's decision and I almost feel like we've gone way beyond the same issues Telltale went through with their old crappy engine for their games which hindered their development.
 
Oct 27, 2017
4,759
They should've just gotten Obsidian to make a new single player Fallout game. Sure a lot of the New Vegas people have left the company, but it'd still no doubt be better than 76 and also Fallout 4.
 

janusff

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,122
Austin, TX
in this day and age in a post fortnite world, if you're not giving meaningful updates to your online game, at the very least once a month, you're just doing it wrong. nevermind if you can't even fix your game in that amount of time.
 

Khrol

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,179
I feel like they're on the hook regardless. At least for a little while for appearances sake. I can see them giving a full, solid year of support trying to fix it and if that doesn't keep people engaged they kill it.
 

Ambient80

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,594
Never been so disappointed in a game. Finally, a big name game set in my home state that wasn't just "LOL REDNECKS Y'ALL", I could explore real areas around where I grew up and worked for a while, and just enjoy the Fallout experience. Then, it ended up being the biggest turd of a game released in years.
 

tuxfool

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,858
I didn't even know about this, which I'm not sure whether to take as a counterpoint to my statement, or a self-demonstrating example of it. I guess it depends on how much the public perception of TESO aligns with my own.
I don't know either.

Though I'm convinced it is doomed, more because the developers don't really understand what they wanted out of this game and BGS seems absolutely wedded to their game design "stack", instead those other developers were seriously introspective about what they made and what they *should* make.
 

TheFireman

Banned
Dec 22, 2017
3,918
Fallout 76 would require FFXIV levels of reworking to be good. Basically a remake given out for free to owners of the game. Final Fantasy XIV needed that because it was a main, numbered entry. Fallout 76 can be written off as a spin-off and completely ignored.
 

Tetrinski

Banned
May 17, 2018
2,915
It came with my One X and less than a month after launch I sold it, sealed. One store offered me $10 CAD and another one $20 CAD, both in store credit.

Player count must be tiny at this point, which I don't think will motivate Bethesda to do more than the bare minimum. Also, Microsoft can't be happy that they bundled this disaster with their console one year after release. I'd have taken any other game before this one with my console and I only bought it because I got a great deal that didn't apply to any other bundles, that's how hard this game has bombed.

Bethesda's problem now is that they might have to rethink their approach to other games that are already deep into development, and change some decisions. Fans seem fed up with some stuff and they've gone from being a beloved company for which everything works out and has great press to... another EA, Activision, Ubisoft. They also have the problem that the studios that share their market have become more prolific and talented, such as CD Project Red, or are about to grow exponentially like Obsidian.

It'll be interesting to see what they do.
 

litebrite

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,832
Wait, TESO is actually good now? Since when? I guess I've missed all the work that's been done to it after it's initial reception.
 

impact

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,380
Tampa
They really should just abandon it. There was enough about the game known pre-release that you only have yourself to blame if you bought this pile of shit.
 

Danzflor

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,710
To be honest, even if they turn it Free-to-Play I won't be interested on it. Too much bad PR and having better free options to enjoy already.
 

DrROBschiz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,450
Shame

Love the base concept of multiplayer falliut and it did have good ideas and an arguably well designed map

I wouldn't go as far as paint the developers as "low effort" as some have done in the thread. They likely made due with what they were given and considering they were trying to make an online game from Fallout 4s skeleton I dont envy the mountain of work that was hoisted on a likely small team

It turned out better than I was expecting but its falls horribly short and years behind its competition and was essentially broken more often than not

Tragic and I almost expest Bethesda to learn the wrong lessons from it.

Here is hoping the good ideas are still on the table for future games since the co-op and the environment were literally the highlights of Fallout 76