Fallout 76

Fallout 76 is a new game in the Fallout universe and serves as a prequel to all previous entries in the series. The events begin with Vault 76, the first of its kind built. According to Vault-Tec specialists, it is also intended to be the first to open after nuclear bombs fall on America. The setting of Fallout 76 is West Virginia, devoid of surviving settlements and factions; all this and much more will have to be created independently. Fallout 76 is a multiplayer game built on dedicated server architecture. Most of the inhabitants of the wasteland are real people.

A multiplayer first-person shooter with RPG elements in a large, open world, Fallout 76 is devoted to the survival of the player or a group of players after a nuclear apocalypse. Players need to feed their character, provide them with weapons and armor, gather resources, build a base, fend off dangerous mutants, and go on raids.

At the time of release, the game had many repetitive quests, made hastily or generated automatically by script. The maximum character level is not limited; some equipment requires level 120, and the higher the current level, the longer it takes to reach the next. Up to level 50, playing in a team of four players takes about an hour per level, and twice as long if playing without friends.

Fallout 76 uses an improved Creation engine, refined after Fallout 4 in terms of graphics quality and model detailing, with Quake's network code. Development took over 7 years and was initially planned as a multiplayer mode for Fallout 4. It was created by Bethesda employees who were formed into a team after the cancellation of the free-to-play shooter Battlecry.

The action of Fallout 76 takes place in West Virginia, and the game world is four times larger than Fallout 4. It features all landscapes—forests and hills, meadows and valleys, rivers, lakes and swamps, nuclear wasteland, as well as various types of terrain—from military bases to cities. Up to 24 players can be in the game world simultaneously, making Fallout 76 an extremely sparsely populated MMOFPS.

New monsters were created for the project, primarily mutated bats that turned into various grotesque creatures resembling dragons after the war. They live in huge caves underground, come out, and destroy everything in their path. To stop their spread, players must launch nuclear missiles.

The area affected by the explosion changes completely, with rare materials, dangerous mutants, and plants appearing. It creates a farming zone for advanced characters, and the more players, the better.

Among other new beasts are a strong and huge sloth; a wasp carrying a hive on its back; a giant skeleton, and others. Familiar creatures include various types of robots, feral ghouls, and super mutants.

At the beginning of the game, players need to create their character using the improved editor from Fallout 4. Then, the player finds themselves in Vault 76, after which they set out to conquer the world. Upon exiting the Vault, they receive the main quest, which cannot be completed without exploring all 6 zones of the game world.

Playing Fallout 76 is impossible without connecting to a server and cooperating with other players, but after release, a private server function was added, where you can play alone or with trusted friends.

Despite the game being a prequel to all previous games in the series, it features well-known factions (the Brotherhood of Steel as a reference) and enemies (super mutants), and Bethesda has opened up new possibilities for developing the game universe. However, Fallout 76 lacks a story mode and any NPCs to interact with. Everything boils down to completing repetitive quests and player interactions.

The game mechanics of Fallout 76 combine ideas from Fallout 4, Rust , and Destiny — players complete various missions, gather resources, and level up their character. The combat system is based on shooter mechanics with a large arsenal of weapons and many options for regular and power armor.

The character is still equipped with a Pip-Boy, but the RPG system and S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes are presented differently. Instead of the usual leveling up, the player unlocks card packs. Each card (which is a perk) can only be placed in a specific S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute slot. As the attribute increases, the number of slots for cards also increases.

Cards can also be upgraded by combining two identical cards into one. Each perk card has three levels of upgrades.

As the player explores the game world, completes quests, kills enemies, levels up equipment, and performs other actions, they earn experience, which accumulates into levels. During their travels, players also find components for quality equipment. The higher the level, the better the weapons and armor that can be worn, the more confident the player feels in the world, and the more dangerous enemies they can encounter.

The workshop mode remains, allowing players to create a cozy base where they can rest, craft equipment, and upgrade weapons and armor. It is tied to a specific character, appears when they log into the game, and disappears when they log out, easily restored or moved to any location on the map.

The main tasks of players in Fallout 76 are related to survival against the environment (PvE) — they need to form teams, help each other, trade, destroy mobs, and go on joint raids. A player can create their own faction, like the Brotherhood of Steel or Minutemen, and recruit members, be a trader, or live as a hermit.

As for the player versus player (PvP) mode, to participate, one must accept a thrown challenge or find someone who has illegally killed another player. There are no safe zones in the game world, and one can be attacked anywhere.

The killed player loses nothing in their progress: weapons and equipment remain at the place of death (they must be picked up immediately), and the base is saved on the account. Additionally, one can respawn anywhere on the map.

Разработчики придумали несколько защитных систем, не позволяющих создавать конфликт или перестрелку на пустом месте, вредить другим игрокам, преследовать или постоянно убивать кого-то. Так, незаконный убийца тут же помечается красным цветом и становится виден всем честным игрокам на карте — вычислить бедолагу не составит труда.