Something that really stands out to me with Fallout 4, especially in comparison with previous versions, is that until you get to Diamond City, it's almost entirely combat, other than the workshop quests. There are only a few characters with whom you can actually initiate dialogue (The Minutemen, settlers, Codsworth, and the rare wandering trader) and few of them have much to say. Once you get to Diamond City things change a bit and there's more quest variety and considerably more vivid characters but frankly my first impression of the game was a weird hybrid between a shooter and Sim City with very little roleplaying. Having got up to level 21 and gone a ways through the main story quest, things change quite a bit later on (though I still miss the flexible quest approaches of FONV), but I think the game's opening could have been made a lot more engaging for players who are more fond of conversation than action.

It seems an odd design decision. The more conventional approach to RPG's is to have a game's opening be exposition-heavy with a lot of fetch and fed-ex quests to earn experience until you have enough weapons and skills to strike out into the wild. And even with Bethesda being more action-oriented than Obsidian, FO3 and the TES games start you in or near a town where you can buy and sell stuff, meet people and get a bunch of easy low-level quests.

Diamond City is early game? it took me like 30 hours to get there :/

it's in the middle of the map ^^

Same here. I just got to Diamond City this past weekend and i have been playing Fallout 4 since release day. The world is so rich and diverse i actually had to focus on getting there. It was a fun action packed dangerous journey to say the least.

I think the early design of the game is really well done. After all what is there to say considering the reason Vault 111 was built for. It would have been nice to see more of the town and talk to some of the neighbors before things go crazy but seeing how they behaved when things went bad still created a sense of oneness and empathy.

If you play on harder Difficult Level you will need much more Ammo for your Gun. Atleast 4 or 5 Merchants to get your Ammo Amount stable. So you have to rush to Diamond City and Good Neighbor

They Way to Diamond City takes less than 10 Minutes. It isnt that big, even with walking

Nothing, its just a way to start a game with open world RPG elements. They (the devs) have to decide on a plan or nothing will get released... doesn't matter what the plan is, as long as there is one... and no plan will satisfy everyone..

Haven't really thought about it. But I could see why people not used to open world games could feel a little lost, when they more or less is just thrown into the deep end of the pool.

There is the Drumlin Diner as already mentioned and of course Carla.

Well, I guess it's a matter of taste. As far as I'm concerned the real game starts in Diamond City and almost everything before that is boring, repetitive trash fights.

It's fine except I'd like the option of skipping all the prewar and vault stuff and just starting as the SS first exits the vault. Trying DiD and having a few mishaps, it's really annoying to have to waste 40 minutes on that every time.

ETA: Actually after having gone through the beginning for the fourth time on Sunday I think I've got a plan to never have to do it again. I've made a hard save point in Sanctuary after the talk with Codsworth and the fly fight. Everything in Sanctuary is scrapped and I've built nothing but one bed. No perks assigned and the SPECIAL book unopened. Now if I get killed I'll just go back to that save. I can use console to change my appearance (or even stats, I suppose) if I want. The only downside is that the random clothes I got in the suitcases aren't the best, but that's a small price to pay for not having to do that whole, scripted beginning again. Anybody know if you can change your character's name?

And this is the next Reason to rush for Diamond City. So far i know is Myrna and her Mr. Handy the only Person who sells 4 Pieces Steel Shipments? I use much Steel for my Settlements, so when i start with Building i also need many Materials. Shipments between 25 and 50 are fast gone.

Welcome to the club. It was discussed so much, that most likely you will not get many answers from the same RPG players, but they said quite the same before.

Sadly it is not just a start - it is the same in the whole game - a bit extreme almost - a few centres with interesting stories/RPG and a lot of combat only around.

I don't miss the slow start - it is wasteland after all, but I miss more of interactions even later in the game.

Some reviewers said they don't like that early wasteland, but I love it - I could just roam around, speaking with nobody with occasional interactions with another wastelander - there I miss questions like - what is dangerous around, what is better to avoid, what should I visit around (not on the other side of the map), but I will wait for more mods that would support that.

And Diamond city is awesome.

I really like the way this is structured. The wasteland is for the most part, just that...a wasteland. There aren't many friendly people out there because it is such an incredibly hostile environment. It's not until you get into the larger and more heavily populated areas that you see any real semblance of civilization. I think that fits the theme really well.

I'm playing on Survival in my current (second) play through, and I haven't had many issues with ammo. I'm about 50 hours into this play through and at level 38. I just went to Diamond City for the first time in this play through last night. There are a lot of ways to get ammo before going there. Drumlin Diner, Cricket, and Trashcan Carla are vendors you can meet really early in the game. You can also build vendor stands and just buy it right there at your settlement once every 24 hours.

Well, I can see that point of view. I just find it boring from a gameplay standpoint.

The influx of new forum members who all post these exact observations is staggering and really says it all. You're not wrong, mate.

It depends on which Weapon you use. The Settlement Vendors are avaible with the High Rank Perk? And the Merchants have what? Between 20 and 40 Bullets? This means Ammo for maybe one Legendary Mob?

Buy what? I'm on my fourth play-through and have yet to really need to buy anything. Seriously don't know what to do with all the caps I've accumulated. I just loot and craft everything I need.

The early game, say pre-Diamond City, is awkward from a RP POV. I mean we are supposed to be all upset about what happened in Vault 111. Running to Diamond City as soon as you get word that it's the place to go should be a no brainer. But, you get so distracted with everything else that honestly the rush for justice is very short lived. About the time I'm setting up defenses on my third settlement my PC starts to get this nagging feeling that they were supposed to be doing something ...

Ofcourse TGM

But what about Console Players? This is the Way they have to do.

My gun vendors usually have about 100 rounds of .308 and a comparable amount of basically every other ammo type at any given time. I have two level 3 weapons vendors at Sanctuary, so every day I can get around 200 rounds of .308 from them. Add in the ammo I can get at the Drumlin Diner and from Trashcan Carla, as well as the ammo I find from scavenging, and I've never really had issues with running out of ammo.