I played Thief and Thief 2 fan missions for a great many years thanks to TTLG and the modders there. Some of them were epic, with multiple episodes and long story lines.

Starting up Baldur's Gate III again since the production release. WOW! What a beautiful game!

Larian continues to impress, already two patches since the original release containing both bug fixes and content suggested by the gaming community.

I loved the Thief games and am about ready to start one again. I am playing Subnautica now. It is great game for exploring the ocean and crafting items like the seamoth, which zips around and under the ocean like a sports car. Great fun.

Hi Pokey...long time no see. How are you doing?

Gerry

Good to see you here, Pokey.

I was thinking the other day about all the great discussions we used to have here in the Darkside forum about the Might and Magic games among others, and the group playthroughs. I miss those days. It was so much fun!

I actually took two days off from working on gardens and canning and did a little gaming in Assassin's Creed Unity. I got this game for free a long time ago and it's been installed, but I've hardly played it. I got far enough that I'm finally starting to enjoy it!

I'm doing good, Gerry. Getting old but still getting around and playing games. Yes, Marian, those were great days playing games with others. I recently finished up Gothic 2 NOTR for the third time. This latest version was a lot harder than the one I remember. I do check in to Gameboomers pretty often to see what is going on. I've had trouble signing in, so haven't been posting. It did work this time---so I'm back for now.

Hey, Pokey! Great to see you here.

Pokey, you can ask Ana (BrownEyedTigre) about sign-in issues, should it continue to happen. I am glad that it worked this time for you!

The original Gothic is being remastered and should be out one of these days - I mention this in case you don't know that is in the offing.

I absolutely enjoyed the original Gothic - so much indeed that even the jumping etc didn’t deter me

(Liked the ones that came after as well !!)

I am very interested in the re-make 🤞

I loved the Gothic games. Played them each several times.

Hey Pokey, great to see you on the forum again!

So, resurrecting this old thread, I've been playing Fallout 76 for a while now and am really quite enjoying it. I gather that it is much improved since its launch. I've finally plucked up the courage to jump into the public events and that's really made it much more fun. Seems like a nice community as I've only seen a couple of idiots and they get taken care of pretty fast!

It has all of the Fallout silliness, all of the crafting, and all of the monsters you could want. My only critique is that the main map is very small, though I hear a map expansion is coming.

You picked the right moment to play the game. In past years, new content was mostly just new merchandise and recycled gameplay content. But this year, Fallout 76 has got substantial gameplay additions, such as the new main quest and side quests in Atlantic City, which is the first story-based content in this game in almost 3 years. And the Skyline Valley map expansion is also coming June 12th. Maybe the success of the TV show has something to do with it.

Many of the public events are horde fights dressed up in different themes and settings, so are Daily Ops. Only the "Expeditions" try to be not all about horde fights. But Expeditions aren't popular with many players because they often take longer to do. These activities are best played with a melee build, or the enemy hordes will burn through your ammo.

And I'm deep into Fallout 4 GOTY!

I haven't tried any expeditions yet. I play a ranged sneak character, which is working out well now that i have decent weapons and Perks that make sense. My two favourite weapons use up massive amounts of ammo so I've become very good at finding lead.

Draclvr, is this the first time playing Fallout 4 for you? It's a big game, with the excellent expansions. Lots to do.

Yes, it's my first time! Guess I've got about 175 hours into it now and am at a Level 47 - can't stay away! Totally staying away from mods of any kind.

One way to conserve ammo is to carry several weapons that use several ammo types, so that each type of ammo would run out less often. When I was at low levels, I carried 5 rifles: pipe rifle that used .38, hunting rifle that used .308, gauss rifle that used 2mm EC, lever action rifle that used .45, and black powder rifle that used .50 caliber ball. I used them in rotation, and I was rarely without ammo. Also, events and quests usually give you an assortment of ammo as rewards.

Also, I have one of those ammo converters in my C.A.M.P. so I just trade in the stuff I don't need. I usually carry an Enclave Plasma Rifle, A Marksman's Sniper Rifle, a Legendary Gauss Rifle (I have three that I crafted) and a Plasma Sniper Rifle. The Marksman's .308 Sniper Rifle is surprisingly good for all but bosses.

Draclvr, Fallout 4 is pretty addictive. I love 3 as well, but 4 is the one that really hooked me.

The ammo converter is nice, not only for getting useful ammo, but also for getting rid of heavy ammo that weighs you down. Some ammo weighs a ton, unlike in Fallout 4, where ammo weighs zero. There is also a machine that creates ammo, called "ArmCo ammunition construction appliance." But you need max reputation with the Core to buy it.

You notice that enemies you killed drop the type of ammo you use. That makes it easy to conserve ammo too. This feature didn't exist when the game first launched, and certainly doesn't exist in Fallout 4.

Fallout 76 has a powerful ammo type called "ultracite," which deals extra damage. As you level up and face tougher and tougher enemies, you'll have to incorporate these into your arsenal. Every ammo type has an ultracite version: ultracite .308, ultracite 2mm EC, ultracite plasma cartridge, etc. The only way to use ultracite ammo is to install a "prime receiver" mod onto your gun. And the only way to get prime receivers is by killing the scorchbeast queen in the public event Scorched Earth, which requires a large group of players. In other words, this feature is created just for boosting multiplayer gameplay.

On the downside, you notice that suitcases, dressers, cabinets, etc. almost always don't contain outfits like in Fallout 4. That's because Bethesda wants you to grind for or buy them, because they know outfits are highly desired by players.

Many places in Fallout 76 also don't have nearly as much clutter as you see in Fallout 4, because the game doesn't want players to get free easy loot. This is often a bummer for exploration, as you often see plenty of empty shelves in stores, bars, etc.

It fascinates me to see all these differences, subtle or otherwise, between a single-player game like Fallout 4 and a multiplayer one like Fallout 76.

In order to get the really good stuff you do need to participate in events. I haven't done the Scorchbeast Queen event yet simply because I keep missing it. One of these days...

Some of the nicest items are also limited-time seasonal rewards, such as Cremator, a legendary flamer that was on last season (yesterday) 's scoreboard. Nuka-Launcher was from a few seasons ago, now also gone completely. Both are considered among the most overpowered weapons in the game. Occasionally, Minerva sells past-season plans at discounts, but not everything. Not to mention, tons of cosmetic items (outfits, camp items, etc.) were given in past seasons, past atom shop sales, and other special occasions, but all gone. Occasionally, they come back to the atom store for a limited time. Many never do. One of the most sought after item is the vintage water cooler that produces purified water in your camp.

I watch daily for cool stuff to buy. I planted my camp where people see it and I like that everyone can just come in and use the equipment and help themselves to food and water. It's an aspect of the game I really appreciate. And I love the ability to sell stuff to other players.

I had a good laugh yesterday. One of the many notes you can pick up in the wasteland is one that reads, "You're the dumba**." One wag had it for sale at 30,000 caps. Literally laughed out loud.

I enjoy that aspect of the game too. I can build a camp wherever I want (with some restrictions), and visit other players' camps and see them in person. Some players build fantastic-looking camps too. With Fallout 4, I could only see Internet screenshots of other players' settlements.

Whenever there is a major update like today's, I always look at the update notes, especially the ones about gameplay fixes and modifications. Some of those changes only make sense to those who've played the games a lot, or those who use certain builds. I mainly look for whether anything has been nerfed. Sometimes, changes don't appear on the notes.

The most major nerf this game has ever had was explosive bullet damage. Fallout 4 players know that explosive rounds are incredibly OP. Bethesda carried it over to Fallout 76, and quickly noticed the resulting gameplay imbalance was bad for a multiplayer game. Now, explosive rounds only exist in ballistic ammo, not energy ammo. And it only adds 25% extra damage.

Bethesda is giving free in-game items to Fallout 76. You need to agree to receiving email ads from them to claim the rewards here: https://freebundle.bethesda.net , which include a pinball machine and a miniature bowling machine for your camp, and a couple of outfits. This offer will expire August 10, 2024.