Fallout is Still Riddled with Bugs and That’s a Problem - The RPG Files at MMORPG.com

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Fallout is Still Riddled with Bugs and That’s a Problem - The RPG Files at MMORPG.com

Gamers everywhere are returning to the wasteland. You’ll hear a lot in the coming weeks about how much there is to love in Bethesda’s new RPG -- and also about bugs. Like every Bethesda game before it, Fallout 4 has its fair share of glitches. Join us as we explore why this is a bigger problem than gamers make it out to be.

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Panserbjorne39

I remember the huge issue Skyrim had running on the PS3. After a while, it was almost unplayable. I submitted a ticket to Bethesda and they said there was nothing wrong with their game.

flizzer

This is Bugfesda ,par for the course.  Most players know what to expect at this point. 

Sirmatthias

ive been playing fallout 4 and i have about 15houts into it so far. bugs are bugs, they don't ruin the overall game. the only thing they they do is take a small amount of immersion out of me when i shoot a guy in the head and his head rockets off to some corner of the map or why that skeleton keeps shaking in the cage at the water plant is a little unsettling.

alkarionlog

bethesda games are not bugged, its they very own features.

btw the text have a typo, you put RPG the right thing is FPS

Talmien

I'm not much of a Bethesda fan, but I really wanted to give Fallout 4 a try. The bugs with the graphic engine, and lack of true 4:3 support for the UI made the game unplayable for me. I requested a refund from steam, the first game I've ever done that for in the 10 years I've been purchasing games on steam.

svandy

I havent encountered a single "game breaking bug," yet, and I am almost 20 hours in, so I don't know what people are on about. The way people are complaining about Fallout 4 is bewildering to me. I have to wonder if people are playing the same game as me. And yes, I have played and loved every single Fallout, and 4 is an absolutely welcome addition to the franchise and pretty much improves on it in every single way. Oh well, back to Fallout for me!

Iselin

So what's the solution? Make it smaller and simpler and easier to debug? Expand the QA pool and get even more leaks?

Releasing any ambitious complex game is always a balancing act - there will be bugs in ALL of them. It's perfectly legit to be more bothered or less bothered by them depending on how we feel about the whole experience. Are we having a great time? well then it's "bugs schmugs." Are we having a meh time? "Those damn bugs!" That's just human nature.

It's not making excuses when you know damn well, for a fact, that, especially at release, there will be many bugs in any complex game you play and you find yourself having fun anyway. People who are hypersensitive to bugs should really just never play anything until several weeks/months later

Ikeda

I'd rather a game I can spent 150+ hours in (Skyrim), than something that is mostly completely bug free and only worth 4-5 (TFUII). I'd rather a game where the company listens to gamers (changing the end of FO3) than a game where the ending sucks and is just a couple of different colors (ME3). Will their QA be able to put in 100-200-300 hours? Then play the game again in a completely different manner? Then play it again to simulate a different style? No. It is what it is. But Bethesda fixes (for the most part) their games. And crying about the PS3/XBox is ridiculous because the limitations by the hardware/manufacturers/DLC Store BS is just as much of a problem causing those issues as the game itself.

Pangscar

20 hours in and only bugs I've noticed are some NPC pathing issues and the occasional corpse acting odd. Nothing game breaking or worthy of writing a strongly worded letter to the Dev demanding justice and liberty from bugs for all. Besides when you say its not ok and not acceptable, what do you actually mean by that? Are you going to stop buying their games going to start a social justice crusade? What. Yes they need to do better no ones saying the game isn't bugged and has issue but bottom line its either put up or shut up.

Octagon7711

Good article. Mods make their game. Bugs are part of the game, it's the ones that actually stop you from playing that are the worst. But with all the pc hardware combinations out there it's incredible that games play so well on most machines.

rojoArcueid

Ive never been a fan of Fallout so this is one of the few cases where i wait for a GotY edition that comes with all the DLCs before i buy it, and the best mods are already done out there.

Jakik

The only bug that had any effect on gameplay for me in 20hours of play was when one of my settlers ended up on the roof of a house... The Brahmin also ended up on top of the same house which was very annoying because it kept mooing and making foot steps as it walked in place on the roof.

This became a mini game in its own though trying to figure out how to get them down without using console commands. This was my introduction into the building system since I had to make a wooden ladder to get them down.

laserit

My only complaint is the bug where you get stuck at a computer terminal and have to reload the game. You hack back in and find you are stuck again.

I hope this one gets fixed soon.

Iselin

Jakik said:

The only bug that had any effect on gameplay for me in 20hours of play was when one of my settlers ended up on the roof of a house... The Brahmin also ended up on top of the same house which was very annoying because it kept mooing and making foot steps as it walked in place on the roof.

This became a mini game in its own though trying to figure out how to get them down without using console commands. This was my introduction into the building system since I had to make a wooden ladder to get them down.

Good solution! I would have been tempted to just shoot them both or recycle the roof and let them fall.

Iselin

laserit said:

My only complaint is the bug where you get stuck at a computer terminal and have to reload the game. You hack back in and find you are stuck again.

I hope this one gets fixed soon.

That's a common one. I've gotten used to quicksaving just before any terminal use. Probably a top priority fix for them.

Jakik

Iselin said:

Jakik said:

The only bug that had any effect on gameplay for me in 20hours of play was when one of my settlers ended up on the roof of a house... The Brahmin also ended up on top of the same house which was very annoying because it kept mooing and making foot steps as it walked in place on the roof.

This became a mini game in its own though trying to figure out how to get them down without using console commands. This was my introduction into the building system since I had to make a wooden ladder to get them down.

Good solution! I would have been tempted to just shoot them both or recycle the roof and let them fall.

Haha, that was my first solution. Originally the Brahmin got stuck up there so I decided to blow him up... The rest of my settlers were not so happy about this and started attacking me -.-

Muke

Octagon7711 said:

Good article. Mods make their game. Bugs are part of the game, it's the ones that actually stop you from playing that are the worst. But with all the pc hardware combinations out there it's incredible that games play so well on most machines.

Can't expect all games to run perfect on all (incl outdated) platforms/hardware. We had a guy at the office complaining he could not run the game properly and was utterly complaining about the poor quality. He is running a <4GB ram machine and a poor graphics card. You can't expect the game to run fluent on that hardware. Personally I have not encountered any bug on the PC version, I only regret they used a updated Skyrim engine for the game. But that's where I love Bethesda for allowing mods to be made to upgrade the game.

Slorg

Unfortunately had to get a refund of this game. Purchased it for the Xbox One and my performance was horrendous. Even on the easiest difficulties I would die because it was so choppy that I couldn't even move. Pile that up with some crashes and falling through the world, my first two days weren't the best. That being said I will probably pick it back up again at some point when the game of the year edition releases with all of the DLC and most of the bugs are either ironed out or fixed with mods.

CrazKanuk

Hmmmmm, Chris, are you suggesting that gamers have a double standard? I'd love to agree with you, but I've see ZERO evidence of that at all....

Distopia

"Making excuses" the most over used line on gaming forums, which basically means facing reality...

Braindome

I guess that pic proves that white men can jump.

Distopia

Jakik said:

The only bug that had any effect on gameplay for me in 20hours of play was when one of my settlers ended up on the roof of a house... The Brahmin also ended up on top of the same house which was very annoying because it kept mooing and making foot steps as it walked in place on the roof.

This became a mini game in its own though trying to figure out how to get them down without using console commands. This was my introduction into the building system since I had to make a wooden ladder to get them down.

Had the same issue lol, built steps and he came down.

barasawa

I sent them a nastygram on day 0 due to it only being accessible with a gamepad, apparently it's default, something I don't even have, which was only made worse, because to change the setting, I'd have to use the gamepad to navigate the menus as mouse and keyboard were completely ignored! 
I solved it by manually hacking the ini. Sure it worked, but it shouldn't have been necessary, and the average use won't ever try that. 
There were a few other glitches in game, like twice during combat, I got knocked into an object on the ground and couldn't move or even fast travel to get out of it. I had to use the console command to turn off clipping. Again, should never happen, and if that occurs to console users, I suspect they are totally screwed since I've been told they can't access the console commands. (No idea if that limitation is true, it's just what I've been told.)
There were a few other minor things, and though it is disturbing, it is funny as well, have dogmeat fetch a plate. You'll see. 
Despite those problems, it's been a very enjoyable game with a tolerable (at the moment) bug level, especially when compared to some games. I can easily say this because I started playing, and a bit later realized it was 5am! Even then, I'd have continued playing except I had to get up in 4 hours so I absolutely needed 'some' sleep. (Then I unintentionally did the same thing the next day!)

Arglebargle

Learned my lesson with Oblivion. I don't EVER buy Bethesda games at release any more. I wait for modders to fix UI, graphics, bugs, and other egregious errors left in. Also given the PC/Console sales split from Skyrim (said to be 20/80), Bethesda is now obviously aiming at the console market, and the interface shows it. I'll pay $10-20 for a Goaty version somewhere down the line. Won't get fooled again! (Well, this time, anyway.)

Razeekster

Iselin said:

So what's the solution? Make it smaller and simpler and easier to debug? Expand the QA pool and get even more leaks?

Releasing any ambitious complex game is always a balancing act - there will be bugs in ALL of them. It's perfectly legit to be more bothered or less bothered by them depending on how we feel about the whole experience. Are we having a great time? well then it's "bugs schmugs." Are we having a meh time? "Those damn bugs!" That's just human nature.

It's not making excuses when you know damn well, for a fact, that, especially at release, there will be many bugs in any complex game you play and you find yourself having fun anyway. People who are hypersensitive to bugs should really just never play anything until several weeks/months later

Horrible excuse considering other open world titles don't have anywhere near the bugs Bethesda games have. For freaking sake the Witcher 3 was WAY bigger in scope and world size than Fallout 4 and even it had less bugs at launch (not to mention CD Projekt was quick to patch most of the bugs while Bethesda leans back on modders and expects them to fix their game). The author of this article is sadly correct-there are way too many apologists when it comes to Bethesda titles. Really quite sad.