Embark on an odyssey through the rejuvenated wastelands of Fallout 76 as we recount our first escapades into this 2018 game, where base building and post-apocalyptic chaos still reign supreme in 2024. Our dialogue traverses the varied terrains of Appalachia, contrasting it with our past Fallout stomping grounds, while speculating on future locations for the franchise. As we reminisce about the game's rocky inception and commend its flourishing community spirit, our tales extend an invitation to experience the camaraderie that makes Fallout 76 a unique online gaming adventure.
Navigating the gameplay loop of Fallout 76, we chat animatedly about mission repetition and the thrill of unexpected challenges that ignite our sense of adventure. We delve into the potential of collaborative bases to refresh online play and express our concerns over whether the game can maintain its intrigue for seasoned vault dwellers. Our guest Jordan, a connoisseur of Fallout's legacy, enriches the discussion, pondering with us the franchise's direction and the tantalizing possibilities of remaking classic titles with today's tech.
Interested in watching us play games? Follow us on Twitch where we stream every Thursday! Want to hear more about how we got into gaming? Listen to the interview we did with Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers!
🔻You can find all important links for the podcast over at https://linktr.ee/waitforitpodcast (which includes our brand new Patreon site!)🔺
🔻BACKGROUND MUSIC PROVIDED BY:
Prod. Riddiman: optimistic
🔺
Enjoyed the episode? Have something to tell us? Text us here!
Embark on an odyssey through the rejuvenated wastelands of Fallout 76 as we recount our first escapades into this 2018 game, where base building and post-apocalyptic chaos still reign supreme in 2024. Our dialogue traverses the varied terrains of Appalachia, contrasting it with our past Fallout stomping grounds, while speculating on future locations for the franchise. As we reminisce about the game's rocky inception and commend its flourishing community spirit, our tales extend an invitation to experience the camaraderie that makes Fallout 76 a unique online gaming adventure.
Navigating the gameplay loop of Fallout 76, we chat animatedly about mission repetition and the thrill of unexpected challenges that ignite our sense of adventure. We delve into the potential of collaborative bases to refresh online play and express our concerns over whether the game can maintain its intrigue for seasoned vault dwellers. Our guest Jordan, a connoisseur of Fallout's legacy, enriches the discussion, pondering with us the franchise's direction and the tantalizing possibilities of remaking classic titles with today's tech.
Interested in watching us play games? Follow us on Twitch where we stream every Thursday! Want to hear more about how we got into gaming? Listen to the interview we did with Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers!
🔻You can find all important links for the podcast over at https://linktr.ee/waitforitpodcast (which includes our brand new Patreon site!)🔺
🔻BACKGROUND MUSIC PROVIDED BY:
Prod. Riddiman: optimistic
🔺
Enjoyed the episode? Have something to tell us? Text us here!
Welcome to your go-to source for entertainment. Wait for it Gaming, wait for it Anime PLUS, ultra, mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino. Yeah, they've got you covered, and all you gotta do is wait for it.
Speaker 3:This is the Wait For it Podcast. Hey, everyone, welcome back to the Wait For it Podcast. I am your co-host, phil Smith, aka Phil the Filipino, and joining me, as always, is your other co-host, mr Eric Almighty. And Eric, we are here with the May edition of the Game Room when it Happens and what a ride to get here. Honestly, this is definitely not a game that I thought would pop up on this list.
Speaker 3:If you want to know a little bit more about Eric's history with the Fallout franchise, make sure you go check out an older episode of the Game Room with Fallout 3, with friend of the show Trey, who very recently joined us on what Did I Miss.
Speaker 3:They went into a deep dive on that. But, eric, I mean, given the success, the overwhelming success of the show, we were actually talking about that in our Patreon pre-show. So if you'd like to hear our thoughts about the show, make sure you sign up for our Patreon. Eric will tell you a little bit about that at the end of the episode. But because of the immense popularity and the new people that are being introduced to this very lore, heavy and and beloved franchise, we're going to dive into Fallout 76, which is something one, not an episode I thought we would ever would ever happen here and never a game that I thought I was going to dive into either. So excited to talk about our experience with the game as well as the franchise, with not only yourself but our returning guest and consistent friend of the show here on the podcast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's what's going to make it fun is because we've been actively playing this game together and obviously with our guest. The two of you are actively streaming. So in the gaming sphere, it just kind of made sense to put it all together, promote that, but also discuss the game that we've been having quite a bit of a blast with and, as you mentioned, has had a resurgence with the popularity of the Fallout TV show. So, before we get too far into it, Jordan, are you ready to talk a little bit about Fallout 76 and jump into what you guys are doing over on Twitch?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm definitely excited, especially because Phil has been putting off Fallout for a while, so I'm glad that we got to bring him in there. But I'm also excited to talk about our Twitch journey here. It's going to be a pretty good time for us whoa twitch has been uh an experience.
Speaker 3:Uh, for those of you that have gotten to jump into streams, uh, something goes wrong every time, whether it be uh sharing the screen or cropping or all these things, all these things we are just so good at twitching not knowing how to crop for a solid 20 minutes was an experience. I couldn't Okay. It was more like three to five minutes. I'm telling you it felt like forever.
Speaker 2:Literally. I had enough time to make an account that I said I'd never make, just so I could comment and bitch about the crop you had the time to hit.
Speaker 3:Continue with Google. No, dude, no.
Speaker 2:No dude, I had to do like several verifications then I tried to just verify with my email and it said I couldn't leave a comment until I did my phone.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it was a, I haven't said so that anybody with an account can't comment for the, just for the sake of our, uh, of the discussion that makes sense why I had like 20 hoops to go through. Yeah, but, jordan, talk about a little bit about how Twitch has been going so far. We've played a different game every single time and it's been a lot of fun, and then, most recently, plank. So you know, talk about how much fun that has been.
Speaker 1:We're playing Raft to correct that. But no, I think that's been a lot of fun. I mean, obviously as well, in that same stream where we struggled to crop a video, we also struggled to build our raft, um, but I think like that was a good introduction for us to like get to know the game, because it's a game that we've been playing, wanting to play, for a while, and I think this, um the twitch channel has also just helped us like dive into games that we haven't yet like introduced into our like gaming library. So, like, walking dead is something that we've been trying to put off, but now we've gotten to it, so it's cool to like kind of like live stream it, and then I feel like we also have the pressure of a live audience. So we we kind of do a lot better, especially, um, during like overcooked, where we actually did three stars we were cooking it over.
Speaker 3:We were, we were cooking and then we obviously did um try to build, were cooking and over a cook.
Speaker 1:We were cooking, and then we obviously did try to build a raft the week after. So I mean, I guess that's where we fall down from there.
Speaker 3:You know, eric, I actually meant to send this video to you. I sent it to Jordan and Felina Joyanne. I saw some people Filipino people specifically playing Overcooked, where it was four people, the four players in the kitchen and one person was the actual kitchen manager pointing stuff out. So there was a fifth person telling everybody where to go. I feel like you would thrive as the fifth person for Overcooked.
Speaker 2:I would probably do really well if you guys fucking listened, that would be.
Speaker 3:Well, you gotta be more clear with your instructions. So I don't know what to tell you, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, you got to be more clear with your instructions.
Speaker 3:So I don't know what to tell you, man, yeah, I know, I don't know, some of us speak different languages.
Speaker 2:It's like a true kitchen. Some of us are Hispanic, some of us are Filipino. I feel like I would just go straight Gordon Ramsay, it's raw.
Speaker 1:He just starts verbally abusing us. He's actually like screaming, like profanity.
Speaker 2:Oh, come on you donut. Oh, come on, you donut.
Speaker 3:I think, specifically Joanne would get the brunt of that. Maybe it's best that we don't do that. We leave Eric out for a little bit?
Speaker 2:Probably not, but I think it's interesting how you guys are just getting into all of these games and in the middle of all of that we then jump into Fallout 76. So really excited to kind of talk a little bit about our experience with the game. And, Phil, I don't know how much you had prepared to talk about the history of it, but I think it's been pretty noted by the gaming community how it all went down. This game man, rough, rough launch to see. This resurgence is for this and for Fallout 4. Very surprising in 2024.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean. Fallout 76 came out in 2018 and, of course, was developed by bethesda and published by bethesda as well. Um, it's an installment in the fallout series and a prequel to previous entries. Set in the year 2102, players control a resident of vault 76, who must venture out into the dilapidated open world known as Appalachia in order to recolonize the region and uncover a mysterious plague that has killed off its inhabitants. The big thing about you know, vault 76, it is fully multiplayer, you can play with your friends, and it is also an open world in which there are other players walking around, doing their own thing, building their camps, completing missions, side quests, all of that around doing their own thing, building their camps, completing missions, side quests, all of that.
Speaker 3:And, yeah, like you said, eric, the launch for this probably as bad as anybody could, as it could possibly have gone for, especially a developer like Bethesda who has such a high reputation. The two of you are huge fans of you know multiple entries of their franchises, and to see this game come out and it lack everything that people love about Fallout was like what in the world are they doing? So, jordan, I'm going to throw this to you first Did you play Fallout 76 when it initially came out in 2018?.
Speaker 1:I will say when it first came out I had the excitement about Fallout 76, but it also was one of those where it like immediately came out. I had the excitement about Fallout 76, but it also was one of those where it like immediately came out after Fallout 4 had announced. So I think I was just riding that high of like really enjoying Fallout 4. And then one of my friends actually got into Fallout 76 and then started telling me about how it's literally just PvP, so I didn't really notice that. It was like there was no npcs, there's no missions, which I like that aspect about fallout. So I kind of avoided that because as much as I want to get the full vault dweller experience and be by myself, I do want to have the experience of running into characters that aren't controlled by other people yeah, eric, and this was a time in the gaming landscape where games such as um anthem were coming out.
Speaker 3:Destiny was kind of trying to find its way. Uh, what was the game where it was like four on one, where four people were a hunter and then there was one monster. Um, I'm trying to remember the name of it, but it was. It was a valve title, if I remember correctly. Um, it's gonna bother me. Um, we'll remember it later. And then evolve, evolve. Yeah, so this is a time where, like, studios were pivoting to these multiplayer experiences, but then not filling the worlds with anything interesting to do, and that's what happened and that's why, six years later, we're now talking about a game that is in a playable space. So, eric, I can't remember like I think you dove into Fallout 4, but never finished it. When 76 came out, bringing us back to that time, was it something that you were interested in? Because you know that I wasn't going to play this back in 2018 when it came out, so did you have any interest in jumping in?
Speaker 2:A little bit, but you know it was more for the nostalgia purpose of what I still loved about Fallout because Fallout 3 is one of my like knowledge or purpose of what I still loved about Fallout because Fallout 3 is one of my, like, all time favorite games. I love that game very much. It was very, in my formative gaming years, a very important game. When Fallout 4 came out though I didn't finish it because it was just it just wasn't as compelling or interesting. There were elements of the game that didn't quite work, especially around, like the base building and like maintaining. That felt like it became a chore and as a single player experience around that time Phil, you know this I just wasn't interested in really playing single player games unless they were like can't miss games. So that's kind of what ended up happening.
Speaker 2:Fallout 76 comes out and it's a multiplayer game. And who do I play multiplayer games with you? So if you're not going to play it again, this isn't 2024 hell divers, eric, where I'm just jumping into public lobbies. This is definitely at a different time in my life where, if I had the time, we were playing something else together. We're playing Titanfall and Fallout enough.
Speaker 3:And Fortnite, Fortnite. The early days of Fortnite, yeah.
Speaker 2:You know. So it's just, it's unfortunate. And then, despite the interest you know, I still think if the interest was there and the game had enough popularity, I would have checked it out. But then you hear about the launch and that it's basically bland, it's empty, it's just kind of there and you're just not interested to jump into that world. And honestly, phil, I knew it was being kept up with, but this many enhancements like that, the game is basically completely different. I'm going to be honest, I didn't know that until we had jumped into it and I had heard about people playing this game again after the show.
Speaker 3:That is one of the beauties of a game that is constantly online. You know, there are obviously a lot of downfalls with that, specifically when you're talking about microtransactions, which Fallout 76 does have, and Jordan and I have already spent money in this game just to kind of get that out of the way. But that's the beauty of how games do work now is that it does give you the opportunity to update a game over time. We've we've seen that obviously with. Destiny is a really good example of that. A game that is there what's the most like? Oh, cyberpunk 2077, you know, right there, even though it's obviously a totally different experience than this.
Speaker 3:But you know, a game can have a troubled launch and, honestly, one of the worst launches probably in Bethesda's history, especially given you know their track record, the fact that they have been able to stay at a no Man's Sky, another game that has now come total a total 180 from where it once was. So that's great. It would also just be nice for developers to put out games that work upon launch and games that you know are what we expect of them. But you know that's unfortunately where we are now. So, jordan, you know we have been, we've spent probably a good, I would say, approaching a month in 76.
Speaker 3:So I'm going to ask both you and Eric this as far as the world goes, appalachia, I think, is a really cool area to explore. We haven't even dove into Atlantic City, which was an update that came out later, so we haven't even explored that. So, comparatively speaking to Boston, to Las Vegas and to I can't remember where Fallout 4 was, you guys would have to remind me but comparatively speaking worldwide, as far as the environments, how does it compare to the other Fallout games? How are you enjoying or not enjoying Appalachia?
Speaker 1:I really like Appalachia and I think what really like sets it apart and this is just for all the Fallout games is like the wastelands, for each game is so different and it's got like these unique aspects to it that really like make them like. Apart from the other Fallout games, like I think Fallout 4 had like a little bit more of like the city life. I think it was. I think Fallout 4 was in Boston actually, but um, like the New Vegas one is like in Las Vegas and Nevada, where it's like more desert like.
Speaker 1:And then this is West Virginia, as like the song is constantly playing in our ear in the radio but, like you see, like more of like the West Virginia, as like the song is constantly playing in our ear in the radio but like you see, like more of like the West Virginia parks and like all the different like mountain ranges. So it's it's really interesting. I think um, all the characters you meet too are really interesting too. And then something that I think I don't know if Eric's seen it, but like Phil and I have seen it in the game is that they have like a university which is there that's like based, it's called like the vault tech university and that's like a good hint to like how west virginia in general has, like all the northern, like ivy league universities, I believe. So I think that was like a really cool touch to it yeah, west virginia is pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Um, washington dc is where fallout 3 took place, I think, jordan is right about boston for, uh, fallout 4.
Speaker 2:But the cool thing is that fallout has always had like those extra dlcs of other areas, like pittsburgh, I know was a big one uh back in the day. So there's stuff like that that they can always do and I think is exciting for the future. I think this is just a good place that they picked and I think it has enough elements historical elements too that make it a fun playthrough. I really feel like this game has the ability fallout as a series in general, to pick anywhere in the country and make it interesting when they add that post-apocalyptic flair to it. So I think that alone kind of gives it the ability to scatter across the us, although I will say a hawaii based fallout game would be a little weird. Maybe that's the only one that I can think of.
Speaker 3:Maybe I don't know, I'd like it. I think it does remind me a little bit too much of like dead island, though, or like something like this so that's what I was saying.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it'd be very dead island like. What about like florida?
Speaker 3:like a yeah, like a swampy fallout. I would imagine like a radiated alligator, like a huge, just alligator, or something like that swamp we have. We have cryptids down here. I think that would work. Just a giant flamingo I. I want to see it. I want to see it.
Speaker 2:I want to see it, those things work. But yeah, they could do Georgia easily. Yeah, stuff like.
Speaker 3:Jacksonville.
Speaker 2:Jacksonville, again, largest, largest city in the world, largest landmass.
Speaker 3:Largest county. I think I would like to see them go to other countries too. We're getting ahead of ourselves in terms of the future of the game. But imagine, like a France or London, you know, or london, uh, paris, something along those lines. I think that would be really cool. And then, heading east, go into you know somewhere in japan, something along those lines. But yeah, the world has been cool. I I really think appalachia is just because, like you guys, really enjoy you know kind of the like the desert areas or at least you know kind of the more wasteland areas. I've really enjoyed the scene, just like all the lush greenery in Appalachia, and I think that was, yeah, I think they made a good choice. As far as switching it up for 76. Do you have something you want to add, jordan?
Speaker 1:Oh, no, oh OK.
Speaker 3:You unmuted so I was going to give you the floor, but never mind. But yeah, eric, I do want to ask you this part. So again, you mentioned you uh touched on it just a little bit because 76 does have the base building element in the game and earlier this year we saw a game, we covered a game, uh, that also has a base building element and pal world haven't touched it in months and probably don't have any intention. All three of us don't have any intention going back to it. So you haven't really gotten into like building a camp and Jordan has done that way more than we have. I've built like a base structure in my area. I don't think you really got into that at any point quite yet, but does the base building in Fallout 76, because it is a world and franchise that you do enjoy and you're more familiar with, as opposed to Power World you know when you do go back and play 76, is that something you want to?
Speaker 2:explore a little bit more as far as the base building and and you know, upgrading that in any way, not really.
Speaker 2:And I and I think it doesn't help that this goes against the argument that like I don't necessarily hate these type of games, because I did enjoy pal world and I can at least understand in pal world what the point of it was.
Speaker 2:But I think with fallout there's so much stuff to do and so many things to be able to leverage in that game. Maybe I just don't see the point of building a camp, uh, and it's something I just am not interested in other than oh cool, look at this and like as an aesthetic thing, that's fine. But like I have been just fine doing stuff and stashing it and going to workshops and benches and being able to do things like that. Like if there are perks only in a camp, I guess I just haven't noticed that those perks are there and that I really need to be doing that. It hasn't really hampered my experience and maybe that's because I am playing with friends. If it was just me, maybe it would be a little bit different, maybe I'd be more invested, but I just haven't felt like it enhances or kind of hampers my gameplay and because of that that just kind of devalues the importance of doing it in my eyes.
Speaker 3:And he makes a good point too, jordan because you can go to other people's camps or there are pre-made camps all over the world, so all over the the map.
Speaker 3:I should say so, if you don't necessarily want to dive into that, you don't have to, because there is plenty to do in terms of the main quest, the side quest, the daily quest, the monthly quest, all that stuff and then joining events. You know you can join an event with another community member which I want to touch on the community here in just a moment, but I totally get that joint, especially again, like he's not as invested as upgrading his camp like you have been. So, like, talk about just the base building in general, because that is something I mean dating all the way back to like animal crossing, which was like the first game we ever played together. You and I, like you've always been very invested in the upgrading and the kind of the visual aesthetic of like whether it be a base building or a neighborhood or anything like that yeah, I mean, I've grown up liking like these type of sim games, you know.
Speaker 1:So I obviously liked pal for like building, I like animal crossing. I dove right into like lego fortnite.
Speaker 3:It started building through there oh yeah, yeah, another one, that's all right.
Speaker 1:Another one that we aren't going to be touching anytime soon but, um, I think, like what I like about the base building which is strange that I like it so much in 76 but I didn't really like it that much in fallout 4 because it just felt pointless and fallout 4 because you're doing so much already. But I guess, like I guess it contradicts like what I feel about 76. Because the reason I like it so much in 76 is because I kind of see it as like my base, you know, and I feel like that's like my safe area, so I can like fast travel to it and then I can save there or like I'll know I'll respawn there at all times and then I just keep my stuff there. Because, like that's a huge thing is like you get over encumbered very easily, especially with the events and the missions that you're doing. You're constantly looting, so you can get those stash boxes that can, just you can access them like in any stash box across the world at other people's camps. So I like utilizing that and then to go on like the perks which, like it only really comes up if you do really build up your perks a lot.
Speaker 1:But there is a perk where you like heal gradually at your camp. So like I think that's a nice plus if you do like build up your camp. But I do also like the aesthetic and getting to see other people's camps. Using other people's camps as a fast travel point too is like the go-to for me, because then it's like I can take a mission far away because someone's built there, but I I just always enjoy like getting to show off the things I collect I love how you say it's a safe space, but, like every time I go to your base, I'm attacked by mongrels and scorchers and then my base is next to the super mutants, because that's the only place I could do it next to you guys, like I moved mine I was gonna say no, that's definitely just you, eric, because every time I go to my base it's like safe, like no one's attacking me.
Speaker 3:No, and I always had the freaking jellyfish pop up all every single time. So that's why, again, it's still look. It's still looking over the lake, but I moved it I was like I'm not.
Speaker 2:You guys put us in hell and you keep pretending like we're not getting attacked, but every time I spawn, spawn there.
Speaker 3:I'm attacked instantly. We are getting attacked it's on site.
Speaker 1:It's like crazy because it's like you guys are getting attacked. I just go in and I keep like building my shit and no one touches me.
Speaker 3:Ridiculous being gaslit, eric, as we're being shot at by mutants. So, but I do want to transition to the community of Fallout 76, because obviously a game like this does not stick around for as long as it has and you don't see people that are the level that they are without having a consistent community. And I got to say, you know, especially at a time where you can dive into, when you talk about games such as like a what's the like just throwing out there there, like a rust, or some of these other consistently online games. I've talked in the past about my terrible experience with arc. You know, in that PvE community, fallout 76 is community, is incredibly welcoming.
Speaker 3:And, jordan, I'm gonna throw this to you first, because you and Joanne had a situation where like a level like 800 guy came up and just gave you a whole bunch of stuff, which is something you just don't see. And obviously it helps that you can turn on a passive mode and even if you like we weren't in a passive mode, I don't think we would really have a problem with people attacking low level characters, because the community itself is just very happy to see new people joining the game because of the show. So talk about this. You know those interactions you've had with the other community members within the, within this game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll be honest, like I honestly didn't even realize I had passive mode off for a moment.
Speaker 1:So like knowing that people just didn't purposely attack me was like really like comforting, because it's like I'm still like a level 15 at the time and all these people are like almost level 1000 because this game has existed for so long.
Speaker 1:But yeah, like you mentioned, um, we ran into situations where older players, like they just want to welcome you and they again, they're constantly looting. They are the level they are because they've done so many of these events and so many of the missions that they have these extra items so they'll just like donate them to you. There's donation boxes across the map that you can access that people drop off food or ammo or other weapons, or how we had and it's happened in multiple cases where people will come and see us and see that we're newer, they'll help us with a mission. Um, some of them will just tell us to like follow them to their camp. They'll like drop some items for us that we'll be able to use, because they just had extras and it was just really helpful because it's like we're still building up but like they understand that we're building up too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's something you I mean. When you jumped in for the first time, you had immediately went to the donations box. You know you pull stuff out of there. That is incredibly helpful. So I think it's just really cool that there is, you know, a gaming community where it's like yeah, we, we're super happy that you're here. How can we help? You know we're gonna do whatever we can to help you and and familiarize yourself with this game, no matter what your level of fallout expertise is. I think that's a great positive when it comes to a game that's been around this long.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100%. And the game is a lot of fun with people and I think that's ultimately what makes it so appealing today. Like I'm definitely hearing a lot of people bringing up like that they're jumping into Fallout 4 after watching the TV series. I definitely think Fallout 76 is the way to go. If you're friends with someone who loves the franchise, the gaming franchise, I think that's an easy way to get into it. And, again, because the community is so welcoming, I think you get enough of the world and enough of what makes Fallout so great. You know, you still got the Pip-Boy, you still got the VAT system. So I think there's a lot of elements there that would be gentler for people to get into. And there's nothing crazy about the game for the most part. Like the events are cool, but there's nothing like extremely difficult or challenging about the game. I think it's more just about having fun. So I think it's more of a casual experience for people to jump in for the first time with, again, a couple of pals, a couple of friends.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because I'm not going to play this by myself. And that was the whole thing with the other Fallout games is, I think the one that I probably played the most was Fallout 3. I got the farthest in Fallout 3 than any of them and again I just eventually got a little tired of that gameplay loop. You know, the Bethesda games have never really been my bag and I've tried them multiple times. But that kind of game with maybe even too much freedom, which seems like a weird thing to complain about, but it just wasn't in my wheelhouse. But again, fault jumping into a game like this where you could in theory, you know, walk away from it for a while and then come back in and it's totally different. It's not like a fortnight where all of a sudden the meta is totally different and the, the loadouts and the, the weapon cache is totally different. So it's something you can kind of walk away from and jump right back into it, because, like if fallout 4, if new vegas, if uh, you know fall 3, if those were multiplayer, and I can go and play those games with you guys. Now I definitely do it. But you're right, 76 is a great casual experience and I think it definitely is the way to go if you have other people that can guide you through the game that you have never played before.
Speaker 3:For those of you that have been thinking about making the jump after watching the show, but with any game such as this and we're certainly praising the leaps and bounds the game has made in a six year time period that always comes with its problems, especially with a game that is consistently online. So I'm just going to throw it out right now. I mean, the amount of crashes that a game has. You know, a six year old game at this point in its life cycle is pretty crazy. You know, the recent example that I can think of is early on. We ran into those issues, eric, with Helldivers, but it's pretty much non existent now and obviously you play a lot more than I do, so I you know. Let me know if you're still having that issue, but the fact that a game such as PAL World, which is new in a much smaller studio, and Fallout 76 have about the same amount of crashes probably shouldn't be happening at this point in its life cycle.
Speaker 2:So, eric, what are some things that would maybe hinder your experience, that have hindered your experience or would prevent you from continuing to come back to 76 that they maybe need to work on yeah, I, I mean, ultimately I'm not gonna play this game without people like, like phil, um, if you guys tell me you're on and I'm not playing helldivers, which I think I have been neglecting for just a bunch of stuff going on. Just went to Disney, all that stuff playing Baldur's Gate with Jordan and Stefan.
Speaker 3:Going to a Simple Plan concert, which was obviously an intentional move.
Speaker 2:It was very intentional. Also, they're great live Just going to mention it again. But I think that the experience I've had with fallout 76 has been positive, but it doesn't really offer like much for me, like what I'm looking to spend my time in a game. There's a lot to do, but I don't know if you guys will agree. Already the events are kind of seeming a little one note like they're.
Speaker 2:They're very just go do this at this location, like it's, it's I don't know, it's just not. You have stuff to do. How much fun it is without people, I don't know. So if you guys tell me to jump on for an event or you want to just chill, that's fine, but I'll find I'll find us. If we're not doing events, figuring out what do we do here at a certain point and I think that definitely shows in the game that there's a lot to do, but also at times feels like there's not much to do and I feel like that's a weird kind of balance that this game is still struggling to figure out in its identity.
Speaker 3:And I think what it is, cause Jordan, you and I have, and Joanne as well, we have a fun time in the game with a lot of downtime, whereas, comparatively speaking, when you and I have, and Joanne as well, we have a fun time in the game with a lot of downtime, whereas, comparatively speaking, when Eric is jumping into Helldivers, yes, there are things to do within the base mission itself, but it is constantly go, go, go. Yes, there is downtime in between running into a swarm, running into a group, running into an objective, but it is let's go to the next, it is let's go to the next spot, let's go to the next spot. You know there is a consistent, obviously overall world objective always going on within helldivers where, within fallout 76 like, yeah, there can be there's a lot of fun in the mundane, but that is not for everybody. So what are some of the things within the game that you would like to see them improve? Areas of, you know, of opportunity for 76 as we continue to navigate through it.
Speaker 1:I will say that, like the crashes and the bugs are, it's just a classic Bethesda thing. I mean, eric, you probably know like any Bethesda game is constantly going through these situations, but I feel like they should be past that by now, especially with how long it's been out. So that's definitely something they can improve on. Um, something that, phil, you've especially experienced it too, is that like there's times where our guns just won't work and like register damage which kind of just alters like how we play the game, because we're constantly getting attacked by a ghoul or a scorched like being. So it's like we're going to die essentially because our guns are just not working.
Speaker 1:I think that I do agree on about the missions and the events is that it does kind of get repetitive and like there are some missions that are fun, like that are very different, like you guys haven't seen it yet, but there is a spin that wheel mission where you spin a wheel and there's just like fun things.
Speaker 1:You get like really cool stuff and everyone plays it. Like there's like different levels. It's like I think it's like an easy um difficulty but like it's a fun thing. It's like a wild card, but like then there's the like clear and breach or event I breach and clear, I think, is the one that, like you're constantly seeing where you're just clearing area and it's so repetitive. And then I realized the buggy thing too is like there's times where we can't even get the items that you get at the end of those events anymore because we've already done them, so they just continuously pop up for us but there's no point in doing them again. So I think that's like what kind of ruins the playability for that too, and maybe also because we haven't seen atlantic city, it just feels repetitive.
Speaker 3:But um, that's like what I'm seeing so far I just want everybody to know, for those of you that are not watching the video version of this, uh, of this episode, whenever you think that maybe eric and I have any kind of inkling of being you know, know these mature content creators.
Speaker 2:Eric and I lit up at the same time when we heard there was a spin that wheel. Like Jordan, we're 30 minutes into this. Lead with that, by the way.
Speaker 1:It's literally so fun because, like, it tells each player to like, walk up to the wheel and you like press a button and it's like a huge wheel.
Speaker 3:that like spins, and everyone stares at it, like all the players. What is the first thing we did every day in GTA 5?
Speaker 1:What's the?
Speaker 3:first thing we went to. We went to the casino.
Speaker 1:The casino to spin the wheel.
Speaker 2:The signs have been there forever Jordan, Come on now.
Speaker 3:The spin the wheel, lore, why don't you text us?
Speaker 2:immediately? Why don't you text us like hey guys, you got to get on, there's a wheel here.
Speaker 3:The spin the wheel. Lore within the way for a podcast runs deep. So if there's no wheel in Grand Theft Auto 6, I don't want it, I'm just going to put it out there.
Speaker 1:I don't want the game. We're trading it in immediately.
Speaker 2:And each wheel story gets worse because there's the Ikea wheel that I've been looking for for two years, that I finally got randomly it's. And I finally got like randomly, like it's, it's wild.
Speaker 3:One of our patrons shout out to Briar is going to make us a wheel, which is awesome, so we're just going to have so many like. Eventually, our backgrounds are going to be just wheels, actually, and we're not even going to tell you what the episode is going to be about. We're just going to spin a wheel.
Speaker 2:And Phil, I'll make a commitment.
Speaker 3:Maybe not the first one, but one of our first official T-shirt designs. That's not a just logo will be a wheel. It'll be.
Speaker 2:It'll be spin that it'll have all of our different episodes on it. Oh okay, hold on, I'm starting to get some ideas, all right yeah.
Speaker 3:So, uh, obviously, you know, with any game that is consistently online, uh, there are going to be its issues, but the core fallout gameplay loop I think is there and you guys can tell me differently if you don't believe that that is the case but I think it has quite a bit of longevity because you know you're seeing games now that have these long life cycles and, obviously, when you see the players that are in the in the game that are such high level, that have been around for the longest time, I think one thing for me is like, is the game still going to be compelling one? Because, like you said, eric, the the events are very repetitive, but, like, jordan will see people jumping into these events and they have this power armor and they're one-shotting enemies. Like, is that still fun 30, 40 hours from now? And it's really easy to level up.
Speaker 3:Like I'm almost I think I'm in the in the mid to high 30s now, jordan, you probably I don't know if you've hit the 40s yet, but level 50 is when you can start wearing that power armor and that's considered like the the next game. You know, the next part of the game is when you get above level 50. But, like, is the game still gonna be fun when I have those incredibly overpowered weapons and I'm just breezing through events like what is keeping me around after I've gotten the base to where I want it to be collected, all the plans and all that stuff? And listen, we've barely touched the surface when it comes to story side story, daily quests and all that kind of stuff. But, like, do you have any concern there, jordan, that maybe it just won't be able to hold your attention, you know, once we do get those higher level items I think that is like a kind of a concern.
Speaker 1:But then again I do see people who are at that high level that still play it. So I don't know, like what's keeping them around. Maybe there's something that we just don't see yet because we're not that level. Maybe they're seeing like better missions or there's like a better, like things that they're fighting or at a higher difficulty. So it does still present that challenge. But I do agree that, like, if it doesn't really give us that challenge anymore, it still stays pretty stagnant. It will kind of lose our interest once we hit a certain point eric, would you be more interested in?
Speaker 3:like the base building aspect and this is something we actually talked about while we were playing is if you could do, instead of individualized bases, I would love it if you could build a community or a neighborhood with your team and you know, kind of procedurally build that as you kind of go on, as opposed to having an individualized base. I think that would be more fun oh yeah, that would.
Speaker 2:That would be a lot of fun. Uh, obviously, how much someone can tamper with that, I think, would be the only concern.
Speaker 3:But so you mean how much you could tamper with. It is what you're saying with a snarky grin on your face.
Speaker 2:I'm just speaking out loud Phil.
Speaker 3:Could you imagine? It's just like okay, here is our saloon, here is our drugstore, Eric's like I built a dick sporting goods.
Speaker 2:That's about how it would go, and then I'd like steal your your shop, so like something like that in your shop, yeah so I, uh, I think that would be a cool idea. Yeah, I think it would make it more interesting if it was more community or even group based. Uh, I definitely think that would be interesting, but that's again, I don't think something that's gonna happen based off of the way bethesda makes their games.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just don't see it happening. But they have a good loop and I think the best thing that Fallout 76 can hope is that this is the biggest surge they're ever going to get more than likely, I think that's safe to say. How much of that are they going to retain? And I think if they were pretty satisfied with the player base, they had already considering how old the game is. If they could just keep a little portion of the retaining people that want to stick around from this big surge, I think that's a win for the game and a win for the community. So I say, have at it. But unless you guys hit me up and again, if you don't hit me up in a while this is going to come off, because it does take a lot of space. It does take a lot of space on the console.
Speaker 3:We haven't even touched on that yet that is.
Speaker 2:another negative is that if I'm not going to play this game consistently, at some point I am going to have to give up the space to something else.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and we've talked about jumping into Sea of Thieves here shortly, so that's going to take up quite a bit of space and uh, yeah, um, that is a a very good point. And also, I will just say this jordan is again as I alluded to earlier. You and I have spent money on this recently. The fact that a solo, like a non-pve player world, is locked behind a paywall is complete bullshit and it's something that I know it's not unique to bethesda, because other companies, especially ea, will lock basic things that should be available just for free. You know, when you're talking about buying, listen, we didn't really buy fallout 76, but the fact that they're charging you to play in a world with no other people in it and putting that behind a paywall is absolute nonsense. So you know, those are definitely some of those gaming practices that are just really shitty in modern day gaming. That's really unfortunate, but you know, is there anything else that you guys want to mention? I guess I'll bring up really quick, because the launch was so bad. You guys could probably imagine the Metascore for Fallout 76 is not very good, sitting at a 52 for the Metacritic score and then a 2.9 user score rating. I've always wondered that about Metacritic, why their scores are different, like one is a 1 to 100 and the other is a 1 to 10. That doesn't make any sense to me, but I would be interested to see what it was like now. I think on Steam it is still mixed as well, but it's definitely better than when it came out, you know, when it was like all negative.
Speaker 3:So it's really tough to put a, a number on a game. You know that it like like this. As far as a score, uh, do you guys want to like throw one on there? I mean, with a game that's procedurally updating and one that we have only gotten to really scratch the surface on, like, if I were to throw something out right now, it would probably be a cop-out. Because it's, I'd give it a three, with the possibility of it being with within the moments when it's really really fun, like an event that is unique and really good with your friends. It goes up to like a four and a four and a half experience. But the game itself I think, because of all the issues, I couldn't give it more than a three out of five. I don't know if you guys have any quarrels with that, but that's where I would land Jordan. What do you think?
Speaker 1:I agree with that. Honestly, like the experience, especially with friends, is like much higher, if you wanted to rate it off that. But the issues itself, I put it more like a 3.5, just because, like they have improved on it since the launch. So there, 3.5, just because, like they have improved on it since the launch, so there's some effort there. But, like we've mentioned, is like the size of the game but like the little quality that it's really like putting out there. Um, and the issues that you're still seeing. It's kind of useless to see how big that file size is when like there's not much that like is new, if you know what I mean. But I think it's like a 3.5. Maybe it'll improve, like as people are still like getting into it and playing it and it's like still updating slightly, but I wouldn't put it any higher than that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what do you think?
Speaker 2:Eric, I'd agree, a three and a half seems right, and that's just simply because of the things that Jordan mentioned the improvements, the community, we have had fun with it. I mean, this is a game again. If it's on my console and you guys call me up to play it, I'll play it, I'll have a good time. I'm not gonna be like, oh yeah, I guess I'll get on, like I'll have a good time with it, and I think that that's kind of the definition of where a three and a half in media in general, on this type of five star rating that we're giving it, that's where it falls for movies and things like that.
Speaker 2:So if I apply that to gaming logic, I think a three and a half makes sense, with the potential of it being a four. If you really just love the lore of Fallout, like if that's just your jam, you might give it some extra brownie points. But yeah, no, this is not a perfect game uh, far from it, even today. But I'm glad that it's getting some much deserved love after all these years. I did again feel very bad about that launch. So the fact that it had the resurgence, uh, nothing but good things the fact that this happened and also the another gripe I have.
Speaker 3:The fact that there's no cross play in 2024 on a multiplayer game is again another unacceptable thing, like there's no reason that you shouldn't be able to play with people on other consoles, on pc, uh, whatever it is that you want, so something else that is um, a little, a little frustrating for sure. The last question I'll ask, the two of you being the the fallout fans that you are, because obviously elder scrolls is in development. Who knows when we're gonna get it, elder scrolls or gta6, which one are we going to get first? Well, it'll be a race against time. Do you guys have any concern that, because you know fallout 76, obviously it's a game that's consistently getting updates do you guys have any concern that we won't see a single player fallout entry for a while? Jordan, I'll throw it to you first.
Speaker 1:I think it's like as expected that we might not see a single player Fallout in a while, because when I think about it, I think like the separation between Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 was like about 10 years. I think maybe a New Vegas might have been the last one before Fallout 4 that made that 10 year split. But I think it's expected at this point is like, if we do wait, but it would be competing against a lot of games that are in development, that have already been announced. You know that are coming out, like GTA 6 has been like long time running, like everyone has been waiting for that, especially because that's also a multiplayer game that came out a while ago, that's constantly being updated, that's constantly having something new added to it. Um, and then I mean, I don't know where sky. I feel like skyrim would come first, like elder scrolls would come, come first if they do anything on that realm.
Speaker 3:But, um, I think it's expected to wait a little bit on that side yeah, eric, fallout 4 came out in 2015, so we're coming up on the 10 year anniversary of that game. Like you said, it's gotten a new, new life because of the show, uh. So you know what? What is your level of of want? And also, again, like I said, the uh, your your level of concern that you maybe won't see that single player fall experience that you guys really love yeah, I mean, do I want it?
Speaker 2:yes, uh, I don't want it more than the next elder scrolls game. Uh, I am on the record. Skyrim is a top top three game, probably for me, uh, it's right up there with bioshock. I think that fallout has the better story, but bethesda's gameplay, I think, is shine's best in elder scrolls, at least in skyrim that I have played. I'm not going to say I've played the other Elder Scrolls games, but I would want to see that, I would want to play that.
Speaker 2:I'm worried that development for any Fallout property will affect that project because I don't think that they are interested in giving it back to Obsidian, I think is the company name that did New Vegas. I don't think they're wanting to venture outwards again for the fallout franchise, which is a little bit of a disappointment because I think people have been clamoring for something a little different and I think, uh, that's just not in the cards. But I know there is a push because of the popularity of the show. I think we might get something, and I just don't want a re-skinned fallout 4 and that's what I'm a little worried about. Considering there was a new gen update to that game, I'm a little worried that that's what we would get in the next couple of years if they were to develop that game. So I'd rather them take their time, but it's been a while, so if they haven't been cooking something, I'm thinking we might get something half-baked, and I'm not thrilled about that yeah, you've heard, you know, people wanting new vegas to be remastered.
Speaker 3:Um, and you know, we've seen it with the g, with the gtas, with some of these other titles. Like that usually just doesn't go very well, especially when you are remastered. Now, remaster, remake depending on which way they would go, that could be a conversation to be had. If you want to completely remake fallout new vegas, then sure we can have a conversation. But if you're just going to remaster it a la grand theft auto 3, vice city, uh, san andreas, we don't, we don't want it.
Speaker 2:I think that is the consensus there has been talks about them remaking fallout 2. Um, and doing that because prior to fallout 3, it's my understanding fallout 2, the original Fallout games were much different.
Speaker 3:Very much like Not point and click, but it's a top down Basically like. Like an original GTA kind of viewpoint, yeah, or like Totally different.
Speaker 2:A much different experience from Helldivers 1 to Helldivers 2. Exactly.
Speaker 3:That's the type of difference. That's the perfect way to put it, yep.
Speaker 2:So would I be interested in that? Yeah, sure, like if you want to give us an excuse if you don't want to do new vegas, although people are begging for that fallout 2 underneath the current skin. Um, I had heard a content creator talk about the possibility of that and I and I was like, yeah, that's kind of interesting. I never got to play that game. So if the story is there I've heard good things about it yeah, maybe, why not? Let's have some fun there. But again, I think it would be the same thing we're doing now. I'd have a little bit of fun with it and then I'd be like, all right, I think I'm done and I think that if I went back into Fallout 4, I would feel that way. We went into Fallout 76, and we kind of feel that way. I just think it would inevitably be the same thing if it's just a reskin.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we'll see what happens. Um, as for for now, I'm pretty committed to continuing to play this game because, again, I do have a lot of fun in the kind of quieter moments, uh, of fallout 76. But, um, again, the fact that we are talking about it, you know, all this time later, one because of the show and because of the work they put into it. You know you got to give credit where credit is due, with with Bethesda, but, again, the game probably should have been that to begin with, and who knows what it would look like now if you had just gotten it right upon release. But, eric Jordan, anything else you want to mention when it comes to this franchise, when it comes to the game that you'd like to discuss before we wrap it up, I think this was a great conversation about a game that obviously, even though all the three of us have different histories when it comes to it, you know obviously there's a lot of passion here and a lot of love for a game that you know they put a lot of work into.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, nothing on my end. I really enjoyed playing this. I hope we get a little bit more life out of it together. And yeah, I'm out of it together and yeah, I'm just excited. I got to kind of check that off my bucket list, since I do enjoy this franchise so much, I can at least speak to it now, where when I recorded with trey uh, we talked about fallout as a series. I didn't really have much to offer on that front, so glad I got that now. What about you, jordan?
Speaker 1:I honestly agree. I'm like excited to see how like the fallout series is going, especially with like the introduction of the TV show and Prime. Like I love Fallout, I'm glad to be like back into it, you know, and it's kind of just revived my love for the franchise, so really excited about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a lot to look forward to, hopefully, within the universe of anything, again, the excellent TV show. At least we've gotten that and we'll see what happens next, but I think that's a good place to wrap it up. This was a lot of fun and if you want to hear any other episodes that we discuss all of our favorite gaming franchises, make sure you check the Linktree link in the show notes. You'll find all the rest of our content. You also find our social media pages, such as the most important ones being Instagram, our growing Discord page, tiktok, as well as Twitch, which Jordan and I briefly spoke on before we started. We stream every Thursday night. Jordan will be out of town this week, so I'll be going it solo. I'll probably bring in one other person and we'll do something casual like Fortnite or something like that, but every Thursday night, 8pm, eastern is where you can typically find Jordan and I over on our Twitch channel. It's been a whole lot of fun and, yeah, come hang out with us over there.
Speaker 3:If you want to support the show, you can do a couple of things. You can head on over to Apple Podcasts, spotify, leave us those five star reviews, leave comments, let people know that you're enjoying the podcast. It helps immensely with the algorithm. You can also head on over to YouTube, leave a like, leave a comment, subscribe that will be very helpful as well and share content. Let us know that you're listening, tag us, let other people know that you're listening. All of that is incredibly helpful, but if you want to join a very special community that is continuing to grow, eric will let you know a little bit more about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so all of the support options are appreciated and of course, we are building a lot of free community options for you. But if you want to go that extra mile, you can support us directly through our Buzzsprout site or you can take those funds and move them to Patreon, where patrons like Stefan and Briar are helping to support the show and in return, they're getting access to things like behind the scenes and early access to episodes like this one. If you could go the extra mile, we truly appreciate it. We'd love to build our community even further on that platform, but the likes, the comments, the shares, the listens and just the engagement in general is truly appreciated. We can't do this without you. We appreciate what you can support and it definitely doesn't go unnoticed. But with that being said, my name is Mr Eric Almighty, that is my co-host, phil the Filipino and our guest, Jordan. Please don't forget that we release new episodes for the podcast every Wednesday with bonus content on platforms like TikTok, and all you got to do is wait for it.
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