‘Fallout 76’ Turns Griefers Into Wanted Murderers and ‘Interesting Content’

Since its debut at E3 2018 in June, “Fallout 76” has mystified some fans of Bethesda Game Studios’ post-apocalyptic role-playing series. It’s not a purely single-player affair like past entries, but also not an online game that’s solely focused on aggressive player vs. player combat. In Bethesda’s view, “Fallout 76” finds an ideal middle ground between them.

Players may not fully understand the scope or moment-to-moment feel of the action until the pre-release beta test launches in October, but the game’s creators continue to try and set the stage as best they can—and assuage any fears in the meantime.

That was true once again this weekend at Bethesda’s QuakeCon convention outside of Dallas, Texas, in which “Fallout 76” development leads discussed new elements of this fall’s survival-centric adventure and tried to answer some of the community’s top questions.

“People who come to the office and play it, at first they’re like, ‘This is the “Fallout” I know and love,'” said Todd Howard, game director and Bethesda Game Studios head. “I’d say 80% of it probably is the ‘Fallout’ that everyone is used to, and the other 20% is really different.”

The 80% of that equation may be comforting to longtime aficionados. The post-apocalyptic setting is still richly detailed and compelling, plus “Fallout 76” provides ample character customization to let players concoct their own unique adventures. Furthermore, the game’s trademark sense of humor remains intact, with cartoonish cinematics filled with over-the-top violence, plus little jokes and sly writing along the way.

It’s the other 20% that may take some getting used to from fans. The key difference is that instead of having non-playable characters in the world to further the story, every other character is now controlled by another living human. That shift will be deeply felt in almost every imaginable respect, from narrative to combat, interactions, and the newfound element of cooperation—including the C.A.M.P. settlement-building component.

While that change will undoubtedly bring surprises for players, it has also required the creators to rethink so much of the core “Fallout” experience from past games. What works in a closed-off, single-player experience doesn’t necessarily hold up once online servers and potentially millions of other players are introduced.

For example, the team showcased the new player progression system. As before, you’ll have seven “S.P.E.C.I.A.L.” attributes for your player, including Endurance or Charisma, and then there are various perks that you can equip that bring in unique abilities. Hundreds of perk cards are available and more unlock over time, with players able to carry more as they level up and swap cards in and out to shift gears a bit.

However, while the Charisma attribute could help a player manipulate computer-controlled characters in past games, that doesn’t work in a multiplayer setting. Finding a new direction “was a very interesting discussion amongst the team,” said development director Chris Meyer. Now, in “Fallout 76,” Charisma has more of a team-centric focus, with abilities that help allies or even benefit you when working with teammates.
Source: https://variety.com

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