The release of Fallout 76 was rocky to say the least. Many retailers saw drastic drops in pre-orders heading into the game’s launch, and gamers have struggled to stably play the game, let alone enjoy it. A variety of bugs, glitches, and server issues have littered the game post-launch, and while fans have tried to make the best of the broken mess the game is currently said to be in, many have started filing for returns and have shaken the associated sunk cost fallacy associated with the game. During this time though, Bethesda Games Studios has remained relatively quiet in terms of addressing fans to the issues they are facing, much to said consumers’ collective displeasure.
Yesterday, Bethesda finally started to end their silence and began addressing fans via Fallout 76‘s subreddit page. Bethesda’s official reddit account began commenting on several threads with the following general statement:
Hello! Thank you for your post, and for your feedback. We want you to know that we’re always looking through posts, tweets, and comments for any and all feedback on the game. We truly appreciate you reaching out to us, and letting us know your thoughts, concerns, ideas, and giving us an idea of what you’re looking for.
We will have new information to share soon, so keep an eye out this week!
On the thread linked above, the comment had amassed over 11.3 thousand downvotes in 22 hours. To say the response was taken negatively is quite an understatement.
That brings us to today. Bethesda, who acknowledged the error in the approach to communication yesterday, released a statement detailing the approach that the company was planning on taking addressing issues with their newest version of the Wasteland. In the statement, released in the same manner as the previous day’s via the r/fo76 subreddit, the company said:
Hi r/fo76,
We know you’re frustrated and angry at the state of things right now, whether it’s the issues you’re running into in the game, or the lack of communication about fixes, updates, or news. To be clear, this account is run by us, Bethesda Game Studios community team. Yesterday we posted to let you know that we’re still here gathering your feedback and, more importantly, working to get info from the team we can share. We didn’t want you to think the silence meant nothing was happening. We’re sorry and understand this was not the right approach, and we’ll work to make a better bridge between you and the dev team at BGS.
We’re posting an article today that has further information about the upcoming updates that were mentioned a few weeks ago. In addition, we’re aiming to get you the patch notes for these updates quicker and will have them available for December 4th’s update later this week. Probably Thursday or Friday. We’d like to make these articles weekly to make sure you know what the studio is working on as it relates to issues you may be experiencing, quality of life requests you have, or new features they’re excited to share.
Please take a look at the below to see what we’re posting today on Fallout.com, and as always, let us know if you have any thoughts or feedback. This article covers high-level issues being worked on as the patch notes will go at length into what’s being fixed with each update.
December 4, 2018 – Next week’s update will bring an increase to the Stash limit, as well as a variety of performance and stability improvements, balance changes, and multiple bug fixes to the game. We’ll have full patch notes available later this week ahead of Tuesday’s update. Some notable issues being addressed in this update include:
- Stash Limit Increased: We know many of you have been asking for an adjustment to the Stash storage limit, and we’re happy to share that we’re increasing it from 400 to 600. While this is somewhat conservative, we plan to increase the storage cap further once we verify that this change will not negatively impact the stability of the game.
- Boss Loot: Players should correctly receive two to three items after taking down a boss, depending on the creature’s difficulty and level.
- Cryolator Effects: Players hit with the Cryolator are now Chilled, Frosted, or Frozen depending on how many times they are hit. The duration of movement speed reductions applied by these effects have also been decreased from 2 hours to 30 seconds.
- Respawning When Overencumbered: We’ve resolved an issue affecting players who die while overencumbered that only allowed them to Respawn at Vault 76. Now, overencumbered players will be able to respawn at the nearest discovered Map Marker.
- Stuck in Power Armor: We’ve addressed an issue in this patch that could cause players to become stuck inside Power Armor. We’re also aware that there are some additional cases where this can occur, and we are actively investigating them.
December 11, 2018 – The next update after December 4 is currently planned for the following week. Like previous patches, it will include a variety of bug fixes, but we’re also planning to bring some more notable changes and features to the game. You can catch a preview of these improvements below, and a full list of changes will be included in the December 11 patch notes.
- PC Additions: A Push-to-Talk setting for Voice Chat, 21:9 resolution support, and a Field of View setting are all being implemented on PC with this update.
- SPECIAL Respec: After level 50, you’ll be able to choose between a new Perk Card, or moving a SPECIAL point you had previously allocated.
- C.A.M.P. Placement on Login: Your C.A.M.P. will no longer be automatically blueprinted and stored if someone is occupying your location when you log into a server. Instead, you’ll receive a notification that your space is occupied. If you decide to find a new home for your C.A.M.P. on that server, it will be free to do so. However, if you don’t attempt to place down your C.A.M.P., you will be able to switch to a new server where that spot is vacant and your C.A.M.P. will be fully assembled and waiting for you.
- Bulldozer: This is a new C.A.M.P. feature that will allow you to remove small trees, rocks, and other obstructions so it’s easier to create and place your C.A.M.P. when and where you want it. You can also use the Bulldozer to clear these items from the surrounding area to make your C.A.M.P. feel more like home!
Thank you, and please don’t stop letting us know how we can improve our communication and what else needs to be addressed in the game. Once we finalize the patch notes for the December 4 update, we’ll be sure to post them here and all patch notes and weekly updates going forward.
While the company has begun a dialogue between themselves and the player base, many fans are hoping this is a turning point for not only the game, but the studio with future entries as well. Since news first spread on Bethesda Games Studios deciding to stay with the dated Gamebryo/Creation engine for the upcoming Starfield and the Elder Scrolls 6 instead of creating a new engine, fans have continued to question the company’s mission and ideology for games moving forward. With studio director Todd Howard on record saying that they team wants to stick to the current engine due to how fast the team can produce games, media members and fans alike are starting to second guess the level of detail and polish Bethesda has been know to have applied to their games for years, and even into the future.
For now, fans can look forward to what appears to be more of a transparent relationship with the development team in regards to Fallout 76, and hope that with time, Bethesda can turn the tide and improve user experience across the board on the game.
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