Fallout 76 was a bad idea in concept. It should have been scrapped before it was even began. Instead Bethesda kept pushing it and patching it. The modding community couldn't save Bethesda this time even if they wanted to because Fallout 76 was an online game and too difficult to mod. The game was basically soulless and boring. Hopefully Bethesda will learn something from this.
Agreed. I KNOW they have amazing, highly driven and creative people on their teams, who can execute on ideas that make their games like nothing else. Just, the details they put in that they know few will see... the way they layout environments. I know that a lot of thought goes into the actual building of the worlds... the conceiving of them. It's what I most appreciate them for. 76 even shows some of that, though there's a continued decline there as they go further into hitting beats repetitiously with their core assets. I'm looking at FO4 now... going back to 3 I saw the SAME branchy trees. THE SAME ASSETS. And then looked at the rest and so much was the same, exact textures and assets. I can't be convinced they aren't. Way too close for coincidence. They re-use so many with just color changes, maybe paint on some more detail. It's literally a fresh coat. 76 was also more of the same, with some more tweaks and maybe quality improvements.
But yes... the core game concept was an awful one that they had no clue what to do with and clearly little depth for improving on. And yes... you can't mod the shit. Give me 76, let me gut it and freak its mind. I'd play it for sure. They made some changes to the engine that make me think it could look worlds better than the best FO4 mod setup and you could do some fun things with a lot of the weapons and general mechanics. It has potential.
I don't know if they understood how important that is for them. I know not everybody mods, but it's still basically the lifeblood of their franchises. I get the impression from... just all of their decisions, going back, that they've never appreciated it. Or maybe they just don't want to be in that box. The problem is... a lot of growth would need to happen for them to exist without that umbilical. Technical growth. And also just pursuing more modern game design standards. The mechanics and visuals are still terribly dated, and it takes away more and more from each title. You neglect modding at the same time and you just don't have it anymore. Not for me, or a lot of people. It really is a self-inflicted pincer. Year by year, modding becomes harder and at the same time, they do not grow nearly enough to make up for that, especially for how long they spend not releasing anything new. I'm fine if it becomes more restricted... if only they'd pick up the slack with a game that really looks and plays well out of the box.
That was the other thing that got them. It had already been years since a new title, with major ones teased. Ending that streak with fucking 76 was HILARIOUSLY cruel and tone-deaf to everything fans have been begging and later, shouting for. They just really know how to tell their biggest supporters to kick rocks.