{"id":239,"date":"2021-03-17T00:51:12","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T00:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/?p=239"},"modified":"2021-03-17T00:51:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T00:51:12","slug":"the-end-is-nigh-because-of-todd-howard-and-his-sweet-little-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/17\/the-end-is-nigh-because-of-todd-howard-and-his-sweet-little-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"The End is Nigh … because of Todd Howard and his Sweet Little Lies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This article originally ran under a different banner\/website in December of 2018 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HEAR YE!!! HEAR YE !!!\u00a0 Please gather around!!!\u00a0 I have a treat for you today.\u00a0 I am sure it no secret that many lies have been told at E3 press conferences; I recall Gearbox showing fake gameplay for Aliens: Colonial Marines<\/em>.\u00a0 I remember the side-by-side comparison of Ubisoft\u2019s Watch Dogs.\u00a0 <\/em>Sean Murray\u2019s lies about No Man\u2019s Sky <\/em>still ring in my ears to this very day.\u00a0 Well, I think it is finally time to look at Todd Howard\u2019s E3 presentation of Fallout 76 <\/em>and break down all of Howard\u2019s sweet little lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I will give Todd Howard credit where it is due: his charismatic opener does help to create a more relaxed environment.\u00a0 He is no longer trying to sell you a product, but showing off a new project to a friend.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that\u2019s where the honesty ends:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFallout 76<\/em> is a prequel to all the other games and it\u2019s our biggest one yet.  It is four times the size of Fallout 4.<\/em>  Set in the hills of West Virginia, you are one of the first to emerge into an untamed and very different wasteland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right from the start, I take umbrage with this large map statement.  Anytime someone mentions a large open world, I can\u2019t help but think of Sea of Thieves: <\/em>large maps, minimal content, any meaningful content has been copied and pasted all over the map.  Many say Sea of Thieves <\/em>is wide as the ocean but has the depth of a puddle.  So to hear Howard say this and to see Fallout 76<\/em> as bare-bones as it is, just confirms how poisonous it is to point out the vast open map.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe always start with the world and this time it features all-new rendering, lighting, and landscape technology, it allows us to have sixteen times the detail, and even view distant weather systems across the map.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I have heard many people say Fallout 76<\/em> has some moments of good lighting and visual effects.  I heard that some of the light coming through the trees is quite impressive, but with the amount of video footage displaying rays of light emerging from the ground, known as \u201cGod Rays\u201d, shotty texture work, and frequent pop in objects and texture, renders most of those comments moot.  I have wasted hours watching videos of all the graphical glitches plaguing Fallout 76<\/em> and can\u2019t help but feel like the map size, \u201cfour times bigger than Fallout 4<\/em>\u201d does it no favors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow most people don\u2019t know West Virginia that well.  It is an incredible array of natural wonders, cities, and government secrets.  This is where the actual nuclear secrets are and the quest the overseer will send you on will take you through six distinct regions, each with its own style, risk, and rewards.  There\u2019s plenty of cool new Fallout creatures and we even use the folklore of West Virginia to bring our Fallout visions to life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will give him that point.  There is a wide variety of colorful minions and monsters within Fallout 76<\/em>, but I could also take that point away by pointing out the final boss is just a Skyrim <\/em>dragon \u2026 I mean Scorchbeast Queen.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have always wanted to tell that story of what it would be like for you and the other characters who were first to leave the vaults. But there is one big difference with this game, each of those characters is a real person. Fallout 76 is entirely online.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not really a lie, but it is rather concerning that a developer mainly known for offline story-driven games decides to make an MMO.  Now, I know World of Warcraft <\/em>wouldn\u2019t exist if Blizzard stuck to making RTS games, but in the age of the \u201clive service,\u201d it only rings as a move to please shareholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay, I know, there\u2019s a lot of you who have like a thousand questions right now, so I\u2019m gonna go through them in order.  Now, I\u2019ll hit a couple of the big ones first, of course, you can play this solo. All right.  You\u2019ll be who you want, exploring a huge world, doing quests, experiencing a story, and leveling up.  We love those things about our games too, and would not have it any other way, but also like many of you, we have wanted to see what our style of game could be with multiplayer.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I initially wrote off Fallout 76<\/em> as a griefing simulator for anyone playing solo, I was very pleased to hear that people playing solo would not be bullied by grouped players.\u00a0 Unfortunately, those players also say Fallout 76 <\/em>is very boring as a solo experience.\u00a0 Due to design choices, Howard mentions later in the presentation, Fallout 76\u2019s<\/em> world seems so flat, that many report they can\u2019t play it alone.\u00a0 Todd Howard is starting to not look like a lair, but a cruel genie who will grant your wish\u2026 for a price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo many of us talk about experiences in our games, but we\u2019ve never experienced them together.  So about four years ago, we hit upon an idea that is perfect for Fallout: open-world survival, every person and character is real and it was an idea that we couldn\u2019t shake.  We knew we had to do it and do it in a really big way.  Now, I know you may have played survival modes in like some of our previous games or some other online games and we, you know, people wonder if this hardcore survival?  I like to think of it maybe it\u2019s more softcore survival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, I believe, gives a lot of insight into the thought process behind Fallout 76<\/em>.  Four years ago, survival games like Rust <\/em>and DayZ<\/em> were riding high, but the party is over and Bethesda is late to it.  I, initially, was getting a feeling Fallout 76 <\/em>would be more of an EVE: Online <\/em>take on the wasteland apocalyptic series, especially when Howard mentions every person and character are real.  Unfortunately, when he describes Fallout 76 <\/em>as \u201csoftcore survival,\u201d I had a feeling we wouldn\u2019t be getting Eve<\/em>, but a water downed Rust<\/em> in a Fallout jumper.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeath never means the loss of progression or your character. Your character isn\u2019t tied to one server.  As a matter of fact, you\u2019ll never see a server when you play.   You\u2019ll be in a world with dozens, not hundreds, and not thousands of other players.  It\u2019s the apocalypse.  It\u2019s not an amusement park, okay, and you\u2019ll be able to join your friends whenever you want and all of your progression goes with you.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy\u2026 where to begin with this statement?  Let\u2019s start with the statement about seeing a handful of players within the world of Fallout 76<\/em>.  The combination of limited players and no NPC has players describe the post-apocalyptic West Virginia as lifeless.  DOOMSAYER, you carry, it is the apocalypse, shouldn\u2019t there be any survivors?  To that, I say look at the many asset flip games on steam that drop you into empty worlds with little to do.  Sure, it thematically makes sense to have a lower player count, but from a gameplay perspective, it does not create a memorable experience.  Another reason Bethesda might have a low player count per server could be because they knew the servers could not handle a large number of players.  Numerous critics experienced frequent server crashes while attempting the traverse the wasteland.  I am sure many of you hear the hilarious tale of three nukes being dropped at once, causing the server crash.  Todd\u2019s exclamation that you will never see a server, was definitely a lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we think about games, we think about worlds and the choices that you can make.  The stories that you create and tell yourself.  By creating a wide-open world with very few rules, we have a game more than any other game that we\u2019ve done where the choices are yours.  Where you\u2019ll decide what happens.  You will decide the heroes and you\u2019ll decide the villains.  Look this is a whole new world for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know what other game promised no rules:  No Man\u2019s Sky.<\/em>  Enough said right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike previous Fallouts, you can play this game solo and quest, but the easiest way to survive in the wasteland is to team up and build together.  And in this one, you can build wherever you want and you can also then move that to wherever you want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Didn\u2019t most people not really enjoy the building aspect of Fallout 4<\/em>?\u00a0 Or ignore it entirely?\u00a0 We all knew Bethesda was going to just rip out this feature and bolt it onto Fallout 76<\/em>.\u00a0 Honestly, I haven\u2019t heard many people excited about being able to build fortresses in Fallout 76<\/em>.\u00a0 Todd Howard, Bethesda\u2019s cruel genie, strikes again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe love dynamic game systems, so we thought why don\u2019t we put multiple nuclear missile sites on the map and then let all of you do whatever you want with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely, our player base won\u2019t discover that we don\u2019t change the codes for the missiles and post them to Reddit.  Surely, our player base won\u2019t try to launch three missiles at a time and expose that the server isn\u2019t built for these dynamic game systems.  Oh wait, they did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know you\u2019ve played a lot of our games and a lot of online games but this one really is unique.  We have built a platform, a hundred percent dedicated servers that support this game, now and for years to come, and look, look, we know this is new for all of you it\u2019s new for us.  It\u2019s a bit scary and to that end, we\u2019re gonna need your help, because, yes, we are going to have a beta and it is sponsored by our friends at Vaulteq as well.  The Break-it Early Tests Application, because evidently, these online games are hard.  They can have a lot of nasty issues.  I have read on the internet that our games have had few bugs.  I did.  I read it on the internet, so it\u2019s true and that sometimes it doesn\u2019t just work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NO TODD!!! YOU HAVE ZERO RIGHTS TO MAKE THAT JOKE!!!  WHEN SOME OF THE BUGS THAT HAVE EXISTED SINCE FALLOUT 4 <\/em>STILL EXIST IN FALLOUT 76<\/em>, YOU CAN\u2019T JUST LAUGH OFF BUGS.  You have this \u201cBreak-It Early\u201d beta, people tell you the game is broken and boring, and rather than pull it back, you release it anyways.  This screams to me that you wanted a \u201clive service\u201d game now and didn\u2019t care that it was broken.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite my anger at Bethesda, I didn\u2019t do this breakdown to smear Todd Howard\u2019s reputation.  Nor did I write this piece to convince you to hurl rocks or verbal insults at him.  The man had the unenviable task of trying to sell a game that most likely higher-up CEO\u2019s wanted more than him.  A lot of what Todd Howard said, wasn\u2019t necessarily lies, but \u201ccareful what you wish for\u201d statements, which still feels just as bad.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou asked for Fallout 4<\/em> with multiplayer, FALLOUT 76<\/em> SHALL BE WHAT YOU RECEIVE,\u201d looming within his Bethesda branded lamp.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
As I said earlier in the rant, this is not the first time we have been lied to about a game at E3, and could possibly not be the last.\u00a0 With the results of Fallout 76<\/em> and Sony pulling out from E3, I am starting to think we should retire E3 as a whole.\u00a0 While I admit, I do have fun covering E3, I am tired of the lies.\u00a0 I am sick of the hype from promises unmet.\u00a0 I am sick of fanboys defending these uncooked games.\u00a0 Frankly, I am tired of the bullshit that games like Fallout 76<\/em> attract.\u00a0 I don\u2019t dare dream that removing E3 will make all of these issues magically disappear, but maybe it will deflate some of the hype.\u00a0 With how easy information is to get out, companies can still try to tempt players without the grand E3 stage.\u00a0 Nonetheless, I truly believe for the video game industry to survive, we must bring an end to E3, or else the end of the video game industry is nigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n