Breaking Fallout - An Obsidian Story

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:26 pm

How much is 60$ worth to you? I would be willing to bet in the current economic climate that it is a difficult financial decision to spend 60$ on any video game. You could just as easily pay your electric or fill up your gas tank with that money, but instead, people like you and me decide to show our love for video games and purchase titles such as Fallout: New Vegas. Anyone that has played a Bethesda title knows that little bugs and crashes are usually just the price you pay for a great gaming experience. Regardless of the errors, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was one of my most anticipated titles of the current console generation and I sunk countless hours into Fallout 3. Through all these hours of play I watched as my character got stuck in fences, enemies appeared and vanished in front of my eyes, and my characters geometry warped into abnormal shapes. I watched trees, buildings, cars, and enemies appear ten yards in front of me. Strolled through wastelands, forests, and more as my character did his best ice skating impersonation over muddy, graphically aging terrain. I said nothing because the overall gameplay still managed to remain unique enough to make all these annoying missteps bearable. I don't think I am alone in saying there are not very many games that can come close to the experience that Fallout 3 or Elder Scrolls has offered. However, my opinion has become somewhat soured toward Bethesda and the Fallout series in the wake of the release of Fallout: New Vegas.
While one reviewer from IGN called the numerous glitches, bugs, and crashes "charming" I found them to be nothing more than a perfect example of a developer mishandling one of the gaming communities most beloved franchises. After purchasing Fallout: New Vegas, I booted the game up excited to start the Fallout experience in a new setting. Within 10 minutes the game had crashed. I rebooted my brand new, error free, Xbox 360 and chocked it up to a fluke. Within fifteen minutes I had seen hordes of enemies meld into rocks and cliffs. I attempted to open containers and doors that refused to act as they should. My characters' arms disappeared for entire game sessions, the fire trigger would cease to work, and the frame rate would devolve into a slideshow. Shortly after numerous other crashes hit, wiping out saves and hours of game time.
My question is this. How on earth is this acceptable for such a high profile franchise to be released in a completely broken state? And make no mistake, it is broken. I have had to reboot my system due to this game crashing more times than I ever have with any number of games combined. It came out ugly, broken, and with no significant improvements to the engine. Even the draw distance was far worse than in other Bethesda titles and the frame rate still slows to a crawl. I am speaking to the developers and gaming community as a frustrated individual. I feel like I have paid my hard earned money for a beta test. I am not a Quality Assurance tester. I am not the one that is supposed to be hassled and annoyed by these things so you can put out patches later down the road in an attempt to duct tape over the tears in your unfinished product. This is not even including those who have no internet connection or access to these promised patches.
In summary, I find it hard to believe that Bethesda would even trust their fabled franchise to the likes of Obsidian. The studio responsible for a lackluster Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic sequel and the bug strewn disaster that was Alpha Protocol. You will never see Nintendo hand off Mario or Zelda to an unskilled, unproven studio. Microsoft cut Bungie loose to keep the Halo franchise in their hands for as long as possible. Again, this is not someone furiously raging against a company just because I spent money on a game I did not enjoy. This is someone who hates to see such a beloved franchise so terribly represented and mishandled. This is someone who is not simply disappointed in a game, but a publisher who could care so little for one of its most valuable properties and give gamers such a sub-par product.
When the next Fallout and Elder Scrolls is announced, I will be just as excited as anyone else to welcome its arrival. The only difference is this time it will be with a rental and then, possibly, a purchase.

With warm regards to the gaming community and Bethesda,
Benjamin W. Kautz
User avatar
JERMAINE VIDAURRI
 
Posts: 3382
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:06 am

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:49 am

How much is 60$ worth to you? I would be willing to bet in the current economic climate that it is a difficult financial decision to spend 60$ on any video game. You could just as easily pay your electric or fill up your gas tank with that money, but instead, people like you and me decide to show our love for video games and purchase titles such as Fallout: New Vegas. Anyone that has played a Bethesda title knows that little bugs and crashes are usually just the price you pay for a great gaming experience. Regardless of the errors, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was one of my most anticipated titles of the current console generation and I sunk countless hours into Fallout 3. Through all these hours of play I watched as my character got stuck in fences, enemies appeared and vanished in front of my eyes, and my characters geometry warped into abnormal shapes. I watched trees, buildings, cars, and enemies appear ten yards in front of me. Strolled through wastelands, forests, and more as my character did his best ice skating impersonation over muddy, graphically aging terrain. I said nothing because the overall gameplay still managed to remain unique enough to make all these annoying missteps bearable. I don't think I am alone in saying there are not very many games that can come close to the experience that Fallout 3 or Elder Scrolls has offered. However, my opinion has become somewhat soured toward Bethesda and the Fallout series in the wake of the release of Fallout: New Vegas.
While one reviewer from IGN called the numerous glitches, bugs, and crashes "charming" I found them to be nothing more than a perfect example of a developer mishandling one of the gaming communities most beloved franchises. After purchasing Fallout: New Vegas, I booted the game up excited to start the Fallout experience in a new setting. Within 10 minutes the game had crashed. I rebooted my brand new, error free, Xbox 360 and chocked it up to a fluke. Within fifteen minutes I had seen hordes of enemies meld into rocks and cliffs. I attempted to open containers and doors that refused to act as they should. My characters' arms disappeared for entire game sessions, the fire trigger would cease to work, and the frame rate would devolve into a slideshow. Shortly after numerous other crashes hit, wiping out saves and hours of game time.
My question is this. How on earth is this acceptable for such a high profile franchise to be released in a completely broken state? And make no mistake, it is broken. I have had to reboot my system due to this game crashing more times than I ever have with any number of games combined. It came out ugly, broken, and with no significant improvements to the engine. Even the draw distance was far worse than in other Bethesda titles and the frame rate still slows to a crawl. I am speaking to the developers and gaming community as a frustrated individual. I feel like I have paid my hard earned money for a beta test. I am not a Quality Assurance tester. I am not the one that is supposed to be hassled and annoyed by these things so you can put out patches later down the road in an attempt to duct tape over the tears in your unfinished product. This is not even including those who have no internet connection or access to these promised patches.
In summary, I find it hard to believe that Bethesda would even trust their fabled franchise to the likes of Obsidian. The studio responsible for a lackluster Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic sequel and the bug strewn disaster that was Alpha Protocol. You will never see Nintendo hand off Mario or Zelda to an unskilled, unproven studio. Microsoft cut Bungie loose to keep the Halo franchise in their hands for as long as possible. Again, this is not someone furiously raging against a company just because I spent money on a game I did not enjoy. This is someone who hates to see such a beloved franchise so terribly represented and mishandled. This is someone who is not simply disappointed in a game, but a publisher who could care so little for one of its most valuable properties and give gamers such a sub-par product.
When the next Fallout and Elder Scrolls is announced, I will be just as excited as anyone else to welcome its arrival. The only difference is this time it will be with a rental and then, possibly, a purchase.

With warm regards to the gaming community and Bethesda,
Benjamin W. Kautz


BETHESDA WAS IN CHARGE OF BUG TESTING YOU MORON

IT'S THEIR FAULT NOT OBSIDIANS

/THREAD
User avatar
Josh Dagreat
 
Posts: 3438
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 3:07 am

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:16 am

[quote name='Switch296' date='22 October 2010 - 03:39 AM' timestamp='1287740380' post='16534318']
BETHESDA WAS IN CHARGE OF BUG TESTING YOU MORON

IT'S THEIR FAULT NOT OBSIDIANS

Obsidian made it. And I mentioned Bethesda being the quality testers.
But thank you. : )
User avatar
Bellismydesi
 
Posts: 3360
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 7:25 am

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:31 am

you woulda moaned if they kept it in for another month to fix bugs

So Please continue, my good sir. u idiot
User avatar
Lucky Girl
 
Posts: 3486
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2007 4:14 pm

Post » Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:37 pm

It's Bethesda engine why is this a surprise that there are bugs :spotted owl:
User avatar
Farrah Barry
 
Posts: 3523
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:00 pm

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:19 am

It's Bethesda engine why is this a surprise that there are bugs :spotted owl:

That's true, yes. But as nearly half the article states, most of these weren't every fifteen minutes and most Bethesda games could actually be played closer to 30 minutes without experiencing a failure that caused the system to need to be rebooted.
User avatar
cutiecute
 
Posts: 3432
Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:51 am

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:59 am

Take a time machine back to the 1980s where if you bought a buggy game there were no patches or message boards to complain on. As for me, I am happier than hell I spent over $80 plus $10 overnight shipping to get my pre-order Collector Edition on the street date.
User avatar
Kirsty Collins
 
Posts: 3441
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:54 pm

Post » Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:02 pm

Take a time machine back to the 1980s where if you bought a buggy game there were no patches or message boards to complain on. As for me, I am happier than hell I spent over $80 plus $10 overnight shipping to get my pre-order Collector Edition on the street date.

Yes, it sounds like you're the kind of person who would be... Well, signing off for good.
User avatar
Emerald Dreams
 
Posts: 3376
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:52 pm

Post » Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:52 pm

I'll take that as a compliment. No need to be insulting just because i disagreed with you.
User avatar
Kelsey Hall
 
Posts: 3355
Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2006 8:10 pm

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:52 am

I play 360 as well and have encountered one bug which was a minor texture issue. Now It's unrealistic to believe that will last but I'm enjoying the game quite well and to ensure no shennaigans I've backed up my saves as well. Bug fixes will come soon I hope to fix these problems for those having them.
User avatar
Lovingly
 
Posts: 3414
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:36 am

Post » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:06 pm

Enough of the flaming - topic closed.
User avatar
Stephanie Nieves
 
Posts: 3407
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:52 pm


Return to Fallout: New Vegas