On Nov. 14, 2018, “Fallout 76″ was released. Release day was met with excitement, fear and bated breath. Fans of the franchise were excited for a new game but were also unsure and afraid of what the changes would be like.
This was the first time that Bethesda would be introducing the aspect of multiplayer to a game that was notorious for being single player.
While there was still some fear and apprehension, the B.E.T.A or ‘Break-it Early Test Application’ as Bethesda called it, had relieved some of it. Select Xbox players who had pre-ordered “Fallout 76” were able to participate in a stress test of the game on Oct. 13.
However, this was under an NDA, or Non-Disclosure Agreement, and wasn’t allowed to be discussed. The Beta actually began on Oct. 23 for Xbox, and then the following week on Oct. 30 for PlayStation and PC. It ran in sessions, ranging from four to seven hours, with the shortest coming in at two hours.
During the stress test, several Xbox players noted that they had trouble logging in, and many were unable to log in for the entire duration of the time. When the beta finally opened for PC and PS4 players, PC players noted that their game had completely uninstalled due to a patch released by Bethesda prior to the play time.
There’s no denying that the game is beautiful. The textures and colors were brighter than previous Fallout games, but it still had a sense of nostalgia that everyone was used to.
The game was created using the same graphics engine that “Fallout 4” was created on, so many of the movements and features of the game felt familiar to previous players.
That’s not to say that “Fallout 76” isn’t rife with bugs. From the launch of the stress test, it was clear there were bugs galore. During the stress test, many of the ground textures weren’t complete, and it was possible to see through some structures as well as almost ‘fall’ out of the world.
In one instance, it was possible to slip underneath a house due to texture issues. A questline step was bugged from the first day and wasn’t fixed until the first major patch on Nov. 14. The servers crash continuously, or, if it isn’t the server, individual player’s games will crash at random intervals.
One of the big lures of the game is the ability to launch nukes, but when this happens, it can lead to a lot of latency lag or crashes if a player is in the blast zone. Another major bug is that if a player is carrying too many items and is, therefore, ‘overencumbered’ and dies, they can’t respawn at any location other than Vault 76.
When Todd Howard announced that the map was bigger, he was serious. “Fallout 4” was traversable in roughly an hour or an hour and a half, while 76’s map would take about four or five hours. The game feels fuller and richer despite the lack of human NPC’s.
A major worry was that with other players you would run into people too often, or that you wouldn’t be able to complete quests if someone had already done it. The game map is so large and open that it’s nearly impossible to run into other players unless you try.
Items that other players pick up don’t affect what you can pick up or can’t pick up, so it doesn’t matter who gets there first.
Launching nuclear bombs is one of the biggest draws of the game, and can have benefits for leveling up your character fairly quickly. However, the path to being able to launch one is long and tedious, and can leave some players fizzled out halfway through.
To start, you have to find a hidden bunker owned by the ‘Enclave,’ one of the factions in the game, and complete the quest. The quest first takes you to a military training camp where you have to do a series of tests to become a member of the army.
Once that’s completed, you then have to do a series of little activities to become a general in the army, which grants you access to the silos. Once launched, the nuke creates a blast zone, full of high level, very dangerous irradiated enemies.
In terms of creatures, anyone who enjoys cryptids and the supernatural will enjoy quite a few of the holotapes in the game as well as many of the creatures. From the Snallygaster to the Wendigo, there’s something for every cryptid lover.
With the lack of ammo and weapons readily available, as well as your character’s hunger and thirst depleting over time, it truly feels like a survival game. Previous Fallout games felt ‘safe’ in a way; there were established towns with safe havens where you could relax and resupply without the threat of being murdered.
“Fallout 76” doesn’t have safe havens. There are certain locations where you can trade items, and you can build a base with traps around it to protect yourself, but you truly are on your own in the wastelands of Appalachia.
On Nov. 27, it was announced that Migliaccio and Rathod LLP was suing Bethesda for a potential class action lawsuit due to lack of refunds issued on their part to customers for “Fallout 76” as well as other unfair trade practices.
The main issue has been lack of refunds on PC, but upon further investigation, it seems that Steam may actually be the problem.
Another issue is that customers who ordered the $200 power armor collector’s edition of the game did not receive the promised bag. The bag was supposed to have been made of canvas but was instead made of nylon due to costs. The only fix that seems to have been offered by Bethesda as of this writing is a $5 in-game credit.
“Fallout 76” no doubt is a work in progress, but hopefully, Bethesda sticks with it long enough to complete their vision and bring players a better game. If there’s anything to be learned though, it’s that sometimes it’s too little, too late.
Jeri Hensley
Graphic Designer