The weather is much nicer by Fort Hagan... good spouse-avenging weather. I also bagged 3 radstag with my hunting rifle here. I just picked this up... it has the "violent" legendary perk. Very good - +25% damage and limb damage. Massive boost. One of the best, and great on a powerful single shot. This with the .50 attachment will be mean. But the recoil is also at least double. I mean, it really flies up. So it's a stinger, just obliterating whatever it hits, whether it's a shoulder, kneecap, whatever. I don't keep a compensator or anything. The way range works, it starts decreasing damage very early, so a higher number really impacts damage. Especially when I'm capitalizing on a limb damage boost in order to fire faster. I'm not coming down for a second hit. It's got a 8-shot clip. So if you get within a good range to pick at a couple of closer ones and get them coming for you, you can pluck 8 enemies back to back. Just one canon shot. Body parts explode. They have to though, because if you miss more than say, 3 times and the encroach, you're done with that - I don't have the VATS capabilities and really close range is almost impossible. So it does have some limitations. It's a weapons that really rewards confidence and mastery in spades, but still quite unforgiving of the impatient.
I keep the Overseer's Guardian with two shots per bullet for closer encounters. Also just kind of hilariously aggressive. It excels at popping around corners and essentially chopping heads open... which is what you'd have to be pulling off to consistently succeed and survive using that tactic. It's realistic in that way
It is really fun and exciting to come in like a texas sharpshooter, only with an automatic rifle. A lot more fun than the clunky slog they try to put you through normally. With the auto attachments, it really does kind of just cut, though. With a 40 round clip, it does rip through ammo. Cruel, but I'm selling a ton of hoarded stuff to keep using it at this level. Not much luck stat or investment in scrounger.
And the best way to use it is to come in shooting, try to paint lead on everything that moves before it can pop out and shoot you or bear on you. I've walked casually into the middle of shuffling ghoul crowds, just taking each one out as it detects me. You have to be quick, stick ~4 rounds and move on. After you drop a few, ones who've had their backs turned get confused by the beacons from the others and become temporarily unable to find you, even 3 feet in front of you. Just keep popping them. I've managed to clear spaces of all but one this way and had the straggler get the jump on me. I killed all of his friends so fast he never caught on! I never noticed him tucked over yonder. Tactical crowd control, without ever needing to reload. As many as 10 kills per clip.
I'm really abusing them, since getting the fast reload perk. That aspect usually caps out these particular guns. You have the chambering and reload with the hunting rifle. That actually stops you from progressing at all in combat. And the combat rifle just is slower... especially with heavier stuff on it. The Oversee's Guardian is one of the heaviest normal guns in the game. It's slow. Once you basically halve the time those things take, the amount of kills you get in a given time just shoots up. It's far up the perk chain. I invest a lot to get it quick.
Still loving these interiors. It's amazing what having different light sources with different light and dark parts can do.
I recently saw some recorded gameplay of 76 and to me, it sort of confirmed my theory that this is more what they wanted originally, but just couldn't or chose not to work it in for FO4. They leaned into it more for 76's interior spaces. There are actual light and dark spots in that game, which in itself just contributes to a palpable sense of depth and the illusion of space. Set off more of that HBAO, which is a tad strong, but actually good. It also creates a dynamic with materials that can both mask flaws and accentuate detail. Bethesda games have such a stark, video-gamey vibe with really oldschool colors and lighting. I hope they continue to dial in sensibilities there because it can count for a lot in exploration based games. Like, I can't explain how much this does for the experience of exploration and combat in these spaces. It adds layers of complexity to the whole thing. Such a simple thing. Subtle, yet big. Much more immersive. It is easier to be curious and cautious.
They still don't understand how light works in shooters... not with that omni pip-boy light. Like, that aspect of the environment still has little impact on the combat in 76. I guess they try to keep it easygoing for everyone, not wanting to strain eyes. But to me, if you don't use light as a combat dynamic in this day and age... and you want to have shooting mechanics? What are you doing guys?
I have that in my game, between heavy fog, glarey highlights and silhouetting shadows... true darkness at night (though not total blackness.) Also a lot of trees with actual leaves on the overworld map. All of this stuff factors into exchanges. Even knowing where you're going, you kind of plan, because different lighting situations will be more or less favorable to you depending on your approach and options. It just makes the moment a little more worth digging into. At least enjoying that.
I mean honestly... FO4 doesn't have much depth as either a shooter or an RPG, but if you're able to freak it a little and suspend your usual gameplay standards, you can find your way into your own fun. The shooting can be fun if you play with stats/recoil, up your speed (and fix that wierd ground magnetism you have that makes the screen jump horribly when shuffling around.) It's got some seriously satisfying gore mechanics... the weapons were all just terribly balanced from a satisfaction perpsective. Each one is nerfed in some punishing way. Again, I stress quicker, more chaotic situations where the light and environment matter a little more. You work the area more, and when you solve the puzzle of that fight area, at least one part of the fight is over. Shorter, but more engaging this way. Couple this with me going to a lot of extra areas as a result. I find the bonus stuff that boosts my character so I can continue quickly getting on top of things. Equipment can also add up for a lot. Instead of leveling, I can stop and work towards that without leveling much to gain an advantage. Try to find something good. My game rewards being more thorough. You're either fully sealing the deal or you're losing.
Keeps what I guess you could call that Fallout charm, but now the transition between spaces is accentuated. With that dynamic comes a sense of progression. And there really is so much built into these spaces that is perfectly set up for it. It's only as effective as it is because these spaces are already so well-suited to more dynamic lighting. I can't say it enough. I think the lighting was meant to be more like this. They clearly thought about it. Literally all that I have done is turn off a lot of the 'fake' lights and tone down the backlighing, and then turn on the light sources already placed. Do that, and it actually works the majority of the time. So they worked towards it when they were designing the levels in what are pretty nontrivial ways. They had to have something like this in mind. Maybe not the colors, or this intensity. But definitely the dynamic. The give and take in these spaces just comes through so strongly. Right on the nose.
See, I'm sneaking around, and it's like I'm *really* sneaking... in the shadows. I can see those lit areas clearly and yet my character is nearly blacked out, letting me know I'm out of the light and truly hidden in my shadowed gear. Seems like a minuscule dynamic but psychologically speaking, I find that it really isn't. Not for me. It's something that my brain pings on regularly. I catch myself looking at my gun as I traverse. This is another thing plugging me into the game environment - putting me there. It's not all about fancy tech. Just fundamentals and sensibilities will take you far. A chief complaint I've always had with Bethesda is how in the clouds their heads can be. They *forget* about these things. They're servin up burgers with nothin on em!
'I can thank Diablo 2 for that I guess'
. Good game though
