newbies guide for Fallout 4

[MarkB]

You know me. I don't care about spoilers. I still don't see how letting the Institute win is the best ending morally. It might be the best one from a practical recovery standpoint, but I think their methods are too Machiavellian to be morally good. They've also got a holier-than-thou attitude that grates almost as much as the "F*ck you, civilian" attitude the BOS soldiers always give me.

It's "better" basically because the Institute is so badly written. They don't have grand, machiavellian schemes for the Commonwealth, they just think it's a convenient test-bed.

They don't even have grand schemes for their amazing creations the Synths, they're just making completely realistic humans to prove that they can make completely realistic humans - while at the same time acting all surprised that their completely realistic humans would have realistically human wants and needs.

It's utterly frustrating because if you scratch more than skin-deep there's really nothing there. It's true to some extent of almost all the factions, but none more than the Institute.

 

[pukunui]

It's "better" basically because the Institute is so badly written. They don't have grand, machiavellian schemes for the Commonwealth, they just think it's a convenient test-bed.

They don't even have grand schemes for their amazing creations the Synths, they're just making completely realistic humans to prove that they can make completely realistic humans - while at the same time acting all surprised that their completely realistic humans would have realistically human wants and needs.

It's utterly frustrating because if you scratch more than skin-deep there's really nothing there. It's true to some extent of almost all the factions, but none more than the Institute.

What I don't like is how they kidnap innocent people and replace them with synth spies. They were also responsible for the presence of super mutants in the Commonwealth (at least) due to experimentation with FEV. And they refuse to see that their Gen-3 synths are living beings and continue to treat them like slaves. There's a strong WestWorld vibe there.

So yeah - maybe they don't have grand long-term diabolical schemes, but they have done some bad things and are continuing to do some dubious / bad things.

 

[Zardnaar]

What I don't like is how they kidnap innocent people and replace them with synth spies. They were also responsible for the presence of super mutants in the Commonwealth (at least) due to experimentation with FEV. And they refuse to see that their Gen-3 synths are living beings and continue to treat them like slaves. There's a strong WestWorld vibe there.

So yeah - maybe they don't have grand long-term diabolical schemes, but they have done some bad things and are continuing to do some dubious / bad things.

They're one if the baddies as such. Probably the main ones.

BoS depends but they're kinda a parody.

 

[pukunui]

They're one if the baddies as such. Probably the main ones.

They're the main baddies but they have the morally best ending? Does not compute.

BoS depends but they're kinda a parody.

They're just a bunch of jerks really.

 

[Zardnaar]

They're the main baddies but they have the morally best ending? Does not compute.


They're just a bunch of jerks really.

They're not the best ending morally. That's the Minuteman.

One could argue they're better than the Railroad.

 

[pukunui]

They're not the best ending morally. That's the Minuteman.

One could argue they're better than the Railroad.

You said upthread that the Institute was the best ending morally. Maybe I misunderstood.

 

[Zardnaar]

You said upthread that the Institute was the best ending morally. Maybe I misunderstood.

I thought I said you could argue its food/ ambiguous.

It's not the best ending morally or story wise. Best equipment maybe.

 

[MarkB]

What I don't like is how they kidnap innocent people and replace them with synth spies.

That's the thing, though - mostly they're not even replacing them to be spies. That would require a degree of interest in the populace of the Commonwealth that the Institute simply doesn't possess. Mostly they replace them just to prove that they can replace them - that their synths can be that realistic.

Case in point the mayor of Diamond City. He's a synth, but going by some of the institute's internal memos he's basically a joke to them. He hates his job, asks about becoming a Courser instead, and the commentary in the memos is utterly derisory. He's not there because they have any grand plans for Diamond City, he's just a proof of concept.

 

[pukunui]

So I went and recorded the speech. I got to change a few words. Enough that Shaun said it was interesting and possibly not what he'd intended but still got the point across. Now I have to go upgrade Travis' radio set.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It's utterly frustrating because if you scratch more than skin-deep there's really nothing there. It's true to some extent of almost all the factions, but none more than the Institute.

Yeah this is the key issue with most of Fallout 4's writing - it's entirely superficial. The writers seem unable or unwilling to write from, like, inside the characters or organisations, rather focusing entirely on the external, which leads to them having absolutely no depth whatsoever. The one character they do try to give an internal story, it's utterly clunky and built solely from the yawnsome tropes possible (Kellogg). This ties in to a lot of other issues FO4 has (and which Starfield also has, I note), a lot of which ultimately relate to wanting to railroad the player down a fairly narrow and specific (and frankly bad and badly managed) story, whilst also feeling like because it's BGS game, they have to let you do whatever you want, and side with whoever you want, and they're unwilling to make you feel particularly bad about siding with evil (unlike, say, Obsidian or Larian).