OFFICIAL Fallout 4 (Discussion)

[lilhasselhoffer]

Starting to wish you could send any settler to any settlement. I don't see the point in having all these small locations dotted around, when they know that most people will use Sanctuary as the main. And even though I wanted to be different and have the MinuteMen headquarters be elsewhere from Sanctuary, I haven't found any where that's suitable. West Everett Estates or Fort Hagen would have been nice, though you can't use those.

So far Abernathy Farms is my secondary, because of all the pre plotted vegetation and the soil plots on both sides of the house (which is cool as well). It's the lack of additional space or buildings that make it unsuitable as any thing other than a farm.

Which means I can't stop using Sanctuary as a primary location for GMO food manufacturing. This is particularly good since I get that plant/food bug a lot where you can't harvest or select/move a plant in the workshop. All of the ones in places like Abernathy and Crossing, are working 100%.

The boathouse was fun to setup as some type of big defense check point along the road, though with the infrequency of raiders and the realization that there probably won't be many mutant caravans passing by, it's kinda wasted.

At this point when I unlock a new settlement, I check to see if the native inhabitants can be moved at which point I send them to Abernathy, Boathouse or Sanctuary. If they cannot be moved then I lay down a small generator, a spot light, a recruitment radio beacon, three wooden defensive posts, a water pump, five mutfruit trees and five sleeping bags. I assign one of the workers to the food, one to the three defense posts and then send a spare person from Sanctuary to act as the supply line. Then I check every several days on how they are doing, though otherwise I forget about them intentionally.

Settlements just seem futile to me and the never ending grind of amending, moving, rebuilding and spending hours playing Fallout Minecraft, is leading me into nothing tangible.

So, a few comments.

Sanctuary is too far away from everything to truly be a central settlement. To get something like Somerset to trade with them would get your provisioner killed almost every other trip. What I've setup is three central points, with the surrounding settlements feeding them. I found that Starlight, the Boathouse, and Hangman's Alley allowed enough coverage to get all the other settlements. The only two settlements that I don't have connected to anything are Spectacle Island and Egret Marina (the former because provisioners die during the swim, the later to get 100% happiness).

Starlight can actually support 80 water and plenty of food. Once you've removed the three nuclear barrels the water source is clean. The entire area can then become farming and shops, which will lead to an amazing place for everything from the shops to the *item name extracted because it ruins the story*.

The initial cost for settlements is insane. Once you've dumped the money in though, settlements prove their use. Between providing huge amounts of materials, bottlecaps, and trading opportunities they're the only way to make your resources mean anything. Heck, the only way to get cannonballs and cryo rounds is through vendors. The catch is that the insane cost is multiplied several times over, and the higher your charisma the more effort you need to put into settlements. I've sunk maybe 30% of my time into settlements, and more often than not I waddle out of dungeons over encumbered with crap to build more at the settlements.

I've also had an opportunity to deal with the plants a bit more. It seems as though damaged plants sometimes don't despawn. This is why you can't move these plants, but they also don't produce food. It seems to be more prevalent with Tatos and Corn. Again, a half realized and poorly implemented mechanic. This seems to be the case with tons of items, as I've waited two in-game months to have certain enemies and weapons never despawn.


I think settlements are a great idea, but poorly realized. They are a huge resource sink, which does eventually pay off. Bethesda has, as usual, implemented a new feature that only half works and has no documentation.



I speak from some experience here. The only settlement I don't have in the Airport (not far enough in the story). I've currently got just shy of 50,000 caps, and about 90% of that is from settlements. The only weapon I don't have 1000-10000 ammo for is the mini-nuke. All of this is because after settlements are built they're annoying cash cows. As long as you've got two minute men quests pending no more generate, so you can leave them hanging at the "talk to Preston" phase without any negative consequences.

Welcome to every Bethesda game. Half done, and waiting for the community to make it better. Sigh...


Edit:
Side note, purified water is money. It increases at about the same rate as caps, but is worth about 10 times as much. 4000 units of purified water at Diamond City will allow you to buy everything out, and still have extra to spare.

Between the Boathouse, Egret, Starlight, Spectacle, and Murkwater I've been able to have water in such surplus that it isn't funny.

 

[NightOfChrist]

Um, the exact opposite is what made this game stand out...the fact that the side quests were fully realized, some taking many hours to complete, with branching story lines. Also, they all complemented and fell right in line with the lore/backstory/main story. That's what sets their stupendous sidequests off as miles better than any side quest Bethesda has ever been able to create.

You were talking about Witcher 3, right? Or Fallout 4?
Both main and side quests of Witcher 3 are enjoyable and immersive. Many even have amusing surprises.

But personally I think Fallout 4 side quests can be repetitive. Preston Garvey successfully made me believe that I am a Wasteland Sheriff. Or Apocalyptic Police Officer, whichever is the saddest experience. And, unfortunately, after completed the main quest I must honestly admit the game does not leave impression the same level New Vegas did for me. The ending is... not satisfying enough for me. DLC required to enjoy the game at full capacity? Personally I think so.

Some things I found during my gameplay:

• Bodies disappeared quite fast. The most annoying thing for me is sometimes, if not most of the time, it was the bodies of unique or legendary enemies with unique items that disappeared first and the common or regular bodies lasted for almost an in-game day. I remember approaching the boss of a Raider group in Saugus Ironworks after I killed him, only to find his body disappeared just a few meter before I could reach it. Fortunately I made his head exploded so I could pick his power armor parts from his head meat pieces which, strangely, did not disappear from the area. Hello, Bethesda? What happened here?
  
• Disabling iPresentInterval will not make clutters and furnitures flying all over the place like in Skyrim, but without frame cap or v-sync enabled, the physics will run at ridiculous level. I successfully launched a mole rat into open sky using a Deliverer pistol through VATS.
• Texture loading problems. Having the game installed on SSD did not help. Some parts of buildings or roads can have grey textureless box around them. Loading a save game usually helps fixing the problem.
• Settlement residents can be stupid during settlement attack. In this game for the first time in my life I witnessed the bravery of a settler charging towards a super mutant with laser rifle... with only a baseball bat and a pipe pistol. Surprisingly, even to me, he survived the attack while two of my machine gun turrets were destroyed and needed to be repaired.
• Raiders and super mutants can be equally stupid. I saw a Raider fell from the top of Corvega factory railings around the chimneys to the ground and died when he tried to shoot me. A super mutant in Mass Relay also fell from one of the stairs or railings near one of the satellite dish and suffered the same fate. Is this a game's new feature?
• Many things I saw in the game convince me that mods and patches are needed more than a season pass or DLC.

 

[rtwjunkie]

You were talking about Witcher 3, right? Or Fallout 4?

Yes, because Rooivalk said (in response I think to lilhasselhoffer, because he had said basically that is how you prepare a game and gameworld) that TW3 had boring side quests compared to...I guess FO4.

 

[rooivalk]

Yes, because Rooivalk said (in response I think to lilhasselhoffer, because he had said basically that is how your prepare a game and gameworld) that TW3 had boring side quests compared to...I guess FO4.

I'm trying to refrain to reply that post after mod warning because I think it's directed to me (?) - still not sure what mailman is.

But let's make this clear. I won't mention/reply about this again after this. Basically I'm (subtly and seems failed) trying to say: everyone has different point of view and different definition of immersion.
So using lilhasselhoffer post, I gave my opinion on other games, a clash of idea hopefully to make us understand there's whole other point of view other than ours. Not about who's right or wrong but simply respect each other (refer to erocker vs lilhasselhoffer posts).
Another example we have different opinion on TW3 and FarCry 4 has fair share of problem and reusable gameplay for me, but doesn't stop lilhasselhoffer to like and satisfied by it for decent amount of time right?

I'm simply trying to make this thread more on positive side.

Starting to wish you could send any settler to any settlement.

I think you could move most of them by selecting them and press 'Move' button when under workshop mode?

Settlements just seem futile to me and the never ending grind of amending, moving, rebuilding and spending hours playing Fallout Minecraft, is leading me into nothing tangible.

Yea, not really big fan of that gameplay, but it's pretty popular out there.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

I'm trying to refrain to reply that post after mod warning because I think it's directed to me (?) - still not sure what mailman is.

But let's make this clear. I won't mention/reply about this again after this. Basically I'm (subtly and seems failed) trying to say: everyone has different point of view and different definition of immersion.
So using lilhasselhoffer post, I gave my opinion on other games, a clash of idea hopefully to make us understand there's whole other point of view other than ours. Not about who's right or wrong but simply respect each other (refer to erocker vs lilhasselhoffer posts).
Another example we have different opinion on TW3 and FarCry 4 has fair share of problem and reusable gameplay for me, but doesn't stop lilhasselhoffer to like and satisfied by it for decent amount of time right?

I'm simply trying to make this thread more on positive side.


I think you could move most of them by selecting them and press 'Move' button when under workshop mode?


Yea, not really big fan of that gameplay, but it's pretty popular out there.

You probably missed it. A user, by the name of The Mailman began to troll. The moderators stopped it.



As far as disposable gameplay...I think we'll never see eye to eye on that.

My point is that a good game is designed such that content consumption matches how much unique game play there is. In Fallout 3 I played through everything, and I hit the level cap with about 4-6 more hours of game play left. The finished game made it so that content inclusion was very well linked to game length. The Witcher 3 did that well, despite there really being a limited number of mechanics (read: slash and magic).

You respond to this by saying "all shooter have only one mechanic, and thus get boring after the first couple of hours." Whether you meant to say that or not, this is what you're implying. While an interesting point, it's useless. By that definition there shouldn't be a single game that lasts more than 2 hours. The reason I'm willing to give so many other games a pass is that the mechanics aren't the game. Heck, the mechanics in Zelda, Mario, and Metroid haven't changed in decades and those games are still fun and engaging. Mechanics are a base by which an experience is rendered. Bethesda seems to be unable to reconcile this, because their mechanics can't support the story they create.


Allow me to elaborate. In previous games you'd get to a high level, and the enemies would get tougher. This would balance increased skill and talents with increased difficulty. You had a level cap, so you could balance weapons, player experience, and enemy difficulty against one another. The result was that by level cap enemies were still tough, but you could get weapons and skills which made them challenging without being unfair. This makes sense, and means every player has challenges metered to their ability. Now Fallout 4 breaks that. Bethesda heard from players that the level cap was frustrating, so they removed it. Interesting idea, but bot thought out very well. Enemies constantly get stronger, but the perks are stationary benefits. You get an extra 20% damage, on a weapon that does a constant amount of damage. This means that eventually the constant increase in enemy difficulty massively outstrips the available weapon content, leading to "bullet sponges."

Even if the enemies never become bullet sponges, eventually the rewards for leveling up are useless. A character focused on explosives really only has about 10 perks they need to maximize. That means that eventually you'll get to the point where an increase in level requires you to take a perk that is useless to you. This game starts getting into that territory around level 90 (really around the 70's, but fringe perks and increasing SPECIAL isn't a bad use of resources). I'm not sure about everyone else, but experiencing everything in the vanilla game basically requires you get there. Yes, the main campaign can be completed much earlier, but by doing so you cut off several factions from ever being fully realized. That option isn't really what open worlds incentivize. Bethesda effectively cripples their game from the word go by placing completion at odds with content.


I'm sorry, but that's the root of my problem here. I can take a huge amount of grind if it's packaged well. This is likely a relic of JRPGs past, but Bethesda is asking too much. Instead of making the mechanics harmonize (if not 100% correctly, at least not crippling one another) they release a game where grind isn't hidden by content. That's just sloppy design. Again, Bethesda worked on this for the better part of a decade and couldn't do what Undertale managed to do with a small fraction of the budget. That's insane, and we should take them to task on it.



Side note:
I was wrong earlier. I said Bethesda made power armor feel powerful. That's crap. At high levels the power armor might as well be made out of expensive tissue paper. Enemies could destroy my chest piece in 3-4 hits, and repairing the thing was insanely expensive. I tried the mysterious serum, and suddenly the deathclaws were a joke again. This, sadly, is content again not matching up to the unlimited leveling. I wish Bethesda kept the level cap, at least then we wouldn't be stuck with a progression system which starts to penalize players who want to do absolutely everything the game has to offer.

 

[newconroer]

So, a few comments.

Sanctuary is too far away from everything to truly be a central settlement. To get something like Somerset to trade with them would get your provisioner killed almost every other trip.

Have yet to lose any supply line personnel - I was curious if it was possible.

What I've setup is three central points, with the surrounding settlements feeding them. I found that Starlight, the Boathouse, and Hangman's Alley allowed enough coverage to get all the other settlements. The only two settlements that I don't have connected to anything are Spectacle Island and Egret Marina (the former because provisioners die during the swim, the later to get 100% happiness).

Starlight can actually support 80 water and plenty of food. Once you've removed the three nuclear barrels the water source is clean. The entire area can then become farming and shops, which will lead to an amazing place for everything from the shops to the *item name extracted because it ruins the story*.

Can I daisy chain settlement links?

The initial cost for settlements is insane. Once you've dumped the money in though, settlements prove their use. Between providing huge amounts of materials, bottlecaps, and trading opportunities they're the only way to make your resources mean anything. Heck, the only way to get cannonballs and cryo rounds is through vendors. The catch is that the insane cost is multiplied several times over, and the higher your charisma the more effort you need to put into settlements. I've sunk maybe 30% of my time into settlements, and more often than not I waddle out of dungeons over encumbered with crap to build more at the settlements.

One of the things I didn't mention as an added drawback to settlements and Fallout 4 as a whole, is the micro managing - particularly of inventory. Yes in other Bethesda games this is no different however you don't need or the feel the need to horde everything in those games because a lot of it really is junk.
Here, every thing can have a use and you inevitably end up grabbing any items you find, and then constantly making trips back to a settlement to offload the items, because you're often encumbered.
I'd preferred they designed the game so not every item was potentially useful.

I've also had an opportunity to deal with the plants a bit more. It seems as though damaged plants sometimes don't despawn. This is why you can't move these plants, but they also don't produce food. It seems to be more prevalent with Tatos and Corn. Again, a half realized and poorly implemented mechanic. This seems to be the case with tons of items, as I've waited two in-game months to have certain enemies and weapons never despawn.

S
Edit:
Side note, purified water is money. It increases at about the same rate as caps, but is worth about 10 times as much. 4000 units of purified water at Diamond City will allow you to buy everything out, and still have extra to spare.

Between the Boathouse, Egret, Starlight, Spectacle, and Murkwater I've been able to have water in such surplus that it isn't funny.

I need to setup more shops, the only thing I've ever opened is the second level bar stand. A surgery center and a restaurant sounds like the next step, though was holding off till I found a way to abandon Sanctuary.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Have yet to lose any supply line personnel - I was curious if it was possible.

Unfortunately, yes. I had a provisioner walk by the mall/medical center complex where supermutants congregate. Two suiciders managed to murder them. Additionally, swimming from Spectacle to Warrick farm has killed some.

Can I daisy chain settlement links?

No. I link the three mains, and have settlers from the outliers come in. It doesn't give you access to everything, but it does give you a lot if you don't want to fast travel to your hoard.

One of the things I didn't mention as an added drawback to settlements and Fallout 4 as a whole, is the micro managing - particularly of inventory. Yes in other Bethesda games this is no different however you don't need or the feel the need to horde everything in those games because a lot of it really is junk.
Here, every thing can have a use and you inevitably end up grabbing any items you find, and then constantly making trips back to a settlement to offload the items, because you're often encumbered.
I'd preferred they designed the game so not every item was potentially useful.

Agreed. I'd perhaps prefer the ability to break things down in the field though. Carrying around a 2 pound fan for 0.3 pounds in material is just idiotic. At the same time, I see why Bethesda did this, because their economy redesign wouldn't work if you could just buy your way out of it.

I need to setup more shops, the only thing I've ever opened is the second level bar stand. A surgery center and a restaurant sounds like the next step, though was holding off till I found a way to abandon Sanctuary.

I open a bar, then a medical, followed by a weapons carrier, trader, armorer, then clothier. The first two raise happiness and are convenience items. The third provides a means to spend caps. Everything else is just meh. Unless you've got a unique NPC running the stand inventory is usually crap. I've only found a handful of NPCs capable of a tier 4 shop.

Also, tier 4 shops are a thing. They allow access to much better items. No tutorial ever shows that, but we're expected to know it. Yay...

 

[Devon68]

So how many locations have you discovered and what level did you all reach?
I'm currently level 61 and discovered 333 locations. Cant find an exact answer how many are there.

 

[AlwaysHope]

Having a ball with this game, especially with my new R9 Nano & 27" IPS monitor, only at lvl 18 though...

Lots of bitch'in around the place about how old the game engine is and crappy visuals.. heck, to me, its the gameplay that wins out, and it is a Bethesda game! imo, its not how pretty and perfect everything has to be ALL the time..

 

[TheMailMan78]

You probably missed it. A user, by the name of The Mailman began to troll. The moderators stopped it..

If you say so. I stated my opinion and people began to cry because I didn't agree with them. So they reported me as a "troll" and the mods deleted my posts so some users wouldnt drown in their own tears.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

If you say so. I stated my opinion and people began to cry because I didn't agree with them. So they reported me as a "troll" and the mods deleted my posts so some users wouldnt drown in their own tears.

You sound pretty butt-hurt.

To be clear, because you seem to like focusing on me, I was in no way responsible for your comments being reported. I was surprised when they were cleansed, and was trying to make that clear to another user who seemed to not understand that. Whomever did report you, if that was the case and it wasn't a moderator simply moderating, is unknown to me.

 

[alucasa]

Does the game feature functional vehicles that a player can ride & control ?

 

[jboydgolfer]

why is it that when on the loading screen's, You can hit the "Q" button and it turns the image green? , and your able to move it up, and down, and manipulate it with the mouse? anyone know?

also, after watching MANY utube video's on fallout 4, and in my own gameplay, ive discovered that there are a bunch of references, and "easter egg " type things that mostly people who live in massachusetts will get....kind of weird i suppose.

 

[Delta6326]

Currently 17% off on steam, though sounds like you all have it already. http://store.steampowered.com/app/377160/

 

[Devon68]

Does the game feature functional vehicles that a player can ride & control ?

No, unfortunately no. You can call a vertibird to pick you up and choose where to take you but you have to join the brotherhood of steel

 

[erocker]

why is it that when on the loading screen's, You can hit the "Q" button and it turns the image green? , and your able to move it up, and down, and manipulate it with the mouse? anyone know?

I think it's just a novelty thing for VATS.

 

[rooivalk]

Which faction do you pick for the end game?

Minutemen - the only good guys here, but simply a bunch of scattered clueless people.
Brotherhood of Steel - I think the Commonwealth BoS better than previous BoS chapters. Capable to restoring order (important first step for better wasteland), but has high-handed attitude and rigid codex.
Railroad - cool guys, but their goal is too narrow. I don't think they care about Wasteland.
Institute - the only one with advancement/improvement in mind and initially has goal to help people, but nowadays they're basically making second doomsday scenario for mankind, supermankind and ghoulkind.

also,

Spoiler

Since you're appointed as leader of institute at the end of the game, in theory your character could redirect their plan for something more peaceful, right?

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Which faction do you pick for the end game?

Minutemen - the only good guys here, but simply a bunch of scattered clueless people.
Brotherhood of Steel - I think the Commonwealth BoS better than previous BoS chapters. Capable to restoring order (important first step for better wasteland), but has high-handed attitude and rigid codex.
Railroad - cool guys, but their goal is too narrow. I don't think they care about Wasteland.
Institute - the only one with advancement/improvement in mind and initially has goal to help people, but nowadays they're basically making second doomsday scenario for mankind, supermankind and ghoulkind.

also,

Spoiler

Since you're appointed as leader of institute at the end of the game, in theory your character could redirect their plan for something more peaceful, right?

You failed to choose option 5. There is scripting to allow you to have everyone but the institute on your side at the end. It requires quite a bit of finesse, but can be done. Heck, there's even dialogue that proves this is an intended option that Bethesda just did a really crappy job of realizing.

 

[Devon68]

You failed to choose option 5. There is scripting to allow you to have everyone but the institute on your side at the end. It requires quite a bit of finesse, but can be done. Heck, there's even dialogue that proves this is an intended option that Bethesda just did a really crappy job of realizing.

I wish I knew that before. I choose BOS, the minuteman are on my side also since I'm their general but unfortunately I had to kill everyone at the railroad as well as destroy the institute.

EDIT I have about 150+ hours in the game and I cant find anything new to do so today at midnight I'm uninstalling it.

 

[rooivalk]

You failed to choose option 5. There is scripting to allow you to have everyone but the institute on your side at the end. It requires quite a bit of finesse, but can be done. Heck, there's even dialogue that proves this is an intended option that Bethesda just did a really crappy job of realizing.

Actually I'm talking about role-playing not about dodging script, but if it's what you prefer (co-exist for everyone), that's ok.

I prefer to have single vision (therefore single organization since they're quite different) for better wasteland and can't choose for either of them.

 

[the54thvoid]

After 160 hours, with Minutemen and Railroad ending, at level 68 I'm getting a bit jaded but not bored. Still looking for new places but struggling. Will persevere then consider finished....

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Actually I'm talking about role-playing not about dodging script, but if it's what you prefer (co-exist for everyone), that's ok.

I prefer to have single vision (therefore single organization since they're quite different) for better wasteland and can't choose for either of them.

You seem to not get what I was saying. Maybe this will do a better job: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3511/?

By selecting specific factions to perform the main story missions you can have 3/4 factions on your side. Bethesda has recorded dialogue for these three factions (the spoken kind, not just typing that could be added post-facto), such that after the closing event all three groups play well together in an uneasy peace. That's role playing, and choosing that murdering 50-75% of the opposing factions makes you more of a monster than a hero. It's not using crappy script, it's finding the hard method to an uneasy peace amidst the easy mass murdering solutions.

 

[newconroer]

I am really disappointed that the sneak mechanic is still a 'state' based system where you enter sneak and leave sneak. I was hoping that they'd have enabled real time stealth based off your physical movements e.g. if you walk, you're less likely heard than if you run - obviously, however based on how fast you walk makes a significant difference. When playing with the game pad, I often find myself varying the speed at which I move - much like you might in real life based on a situation. And that's what I wish sneak was based around(stats/perks can help as a supplement - however much like life, the physical sound you make is a direct result of the energy your body produces while in motion).

Plus, I am tired of playing these games, wandering the lands crouched all the time, looking like I am taking a perma-shit in the wilderness.
Also, it's really cheesy to be able to see if you're hidden by crouching and then looking at the UI.

The system seems really archaic these days. Here's to hoping more people use Alien Isolation's movement/stealth system - if nothing else as a baseline.

 

[rooivalk]

You seem to not get what I was saying. Maybe this will do a better job: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3511/?

By selecting specific factions to perform the main story missions you can have 3/4 factions on your side. Bethesda has recorded dialogue for these three factions (the spoken kind, not just typing that could be added post-facto), such that after the closing event all three groups play well together in an uneasy peace. That's role playing, and choosing that murdering 50-75% of the opposing factions makes you more of a monster than a hero. It's not using crappy script, it's finding the hard method to an uneasy peace amidst the easy mass murdering solutions.

No I know what you mean, that's why I said it's ok to have that thought, why not.

By 'dodging script' ('hard method' like you said) I'm trying to define our difference in scope, but I didn't brush your actual preference of co-exist.
Your role-play is limited to what's available in the game, but I mean to discuss about the story at the end the game and the implication after that.
Hope this makes the situation clear.

What I don't like with status quo (uneasy peace like you said) is because it's just a recipe for another conflict. For example, with its tech salvage addict, BoS would certainly at odds with Railroad or with it's authoratian thinking, someday they would clash with Minutemen.

Our main character is certainly very influental and capable to turn the tide for each faction. I'd like to using that capability to drive a single faction as dominant power in the region.
Partly to settle conflict between factions (reduce it to minor skirmish at least) and also because with stability comes growth.

It doesn't have to be all-murder (but I prefer that lol). For example, majority Minutemen could be absolved into BoS, Minutemen and Railroad isn't at odds (some probably do though due to gen3 impostor) and drive out just BoS.

After 160 hours, with Minutemen and Railroad ending, at level 68 I'm getting a bit jaded but not bored. Still looking for new places but struggling. Will persevere then consider finished....

At least it has 350+ locations if you want to be completionist.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

No I know what you mean, that's why I said it's ok to have that thought, why not.

By 'dodging script' ('hard method' like you said) I'm trying to define our difference in scope, but I didn't brush your actual preference of co-exist.
Your role-play is limited to what's available in the game, but I mean to discuss about the story at the end the game and the implication after that.
Hope this makes the situation clear.

What I don't like with status quo (uneasy peace like you said) is because it's just a recipe for another conflict. For example, with its tech salvage addict, BoS would certainly at odds with Railroad or with it's authoratian thinking, someday they would clash with Minutemen.

Our main character is certainly very influental and capable to turn the tide for each faction. I'd like to using that capability to drive a single faction as dominant power in the region.
Partly to settle conflict between factions (reduce it to minor skirmish at least) and also because with stability comes growth.

It doesn't have to be all-murder (but I prefer that lol). For example, majority Minutemen could be absolved into BoS, Minutemen and Railroad isn't at odds (some probably do though due to gen3 impostor) and drive out just BoS.


At least it has 350+ locations if you want to be completionist.

Fair, but I'm having a problem seeing where exactly the factions are at odds.

The BoS is looking for old world technology, to remove it from circulation and make sure humanity is protected. Their beef with the Institute is that they are replacing people (that's my reading on their motivations, perhaps you've got another). As such, I don't read them as at odds with the Railroad's goal of freeing synths without replacing humans. To an extent, I could even see the BoS using synths (gen 1/2) as their shock troopers in taking over the wasteland and pacifying their opponents. Heck, the BoS already proved they were willing to use technology to get other technologies in New Vegas with the solar array and even specifically use robots with Liberty Prime and their Protectrons/Securitrons in Fallout 3.

The Railroad is a stupid faction, that is doomed to die. For them to continue to exist would require either a goal change (let's make our own synths) or a perpetual institute. The former option is demonstrably impossible given their resources, and the later is also impossible. The later situation assumes that the Institute never develops a way to stop the Railroad, it's never destroyed due to player action, and that no third party intervenes (raiders, scavengers, the BoS, etc...). The Railroad is only going to exist as long as its heads do, and as long as the Institute sees them as functionally not a threat. The fact that the BoS is a bunch of authoritarian dicks is the only reason that you actively might pursue killing them. If the BoS gets their way, and synths disappear, the Railroad would be outmoded (without any deaths) over night.

The Minutemen are entirely unconcerned with the BoS and Railroad. They're just people trying to get by. While I can see why they might fear the Railroad (the incident at Diamond City, and the general methodology synth introduction is creepy), there's no reason for them to have to murder the Railroad. Likewise, the BoS is a bunch of authoritarian dicks, if there's no advanced technology (and why would agrarian farmers have any) then they could give a crap less about humanity. The BoS doesn't hunt down threats, like Fallout 3, they don't help settlers, and they don't even setup a base of operation like a peacekeeping force needs to. The Minutemen thus don't interact with the BoS. Likewise, prejudice against synths is huge, so the Railroad doesn't interact with the Minutemen for fear of being caught protecting synths. As the Railroad only wants to move people out of the Commonwealth, the Minutemen actually agree with their goals (one less potential risk is present if synths aren't here).


Now as to the...pitiful...choices that Bethesda offers, I can't really say that any of them are satisfying. I think that none of these factions offer a satisfactory post-completion option. I've played with 3 of the 5 ending options, and the only worthwhile option was the 3/4 factions are happy one. If you do the single faction option all you have left is constantly repeating quests. I'd like to reserve judgement here, and hope that the forthcoming DLC will make our choices have meaning because right now I'm getting ME3 ending flash-backs. Chose which color you want, knowing that no matter what the ending you'll be ending a lot of playable options without any sense to it, because the game requires you to choose. At least you can save this game at the story split point (post glowing sea) and not have to do another complete play through to see the different endings. If it isn't clear, Bethesda did a sloppy job making their endings match faction motivations. Being asked to murder some of the other factions seems against character for a lot of your friends, but makes perfect sense to force a second or third play through to "experience" the different endings.



On a personal note, my apologies. I had assumed earlier that the short response was a crappy job on my part of explaining what I meant. I was apparently far off base on your meaning, but believe I get it now.