The Damage Problem

[@BraveSirLoin]

sorry this took forever but I went back and forth on this video a lot. more stuff coming way sooner than a month lmao.

[@BoSinnfan54]

ok

[@Alec_Reaper]

Apology not accepted, you'll be hearing from my lawyer

[@Looneyboy]

This was worth it doe

[@redultra4324]

I think you did a good job

[@handsomejack7901]

Arrgh

[@CaelReader]

The solution is obviously to just remove the combat system and use skill checks to resolve conflict situations instead

[@BraveSirLoin]

Disco Elysium 2

[@JJSnake]

Ew, you're both serious, aren't you?

[@JJSnake]

@Dow it only make sense if you see playing a video game a means to an end as opposed to an experience.

[@JJSnake]

but these aren't ttrpg, I don't want to physically be close to those kind of people.

[@reservoirfrogs2177]

@Dow Now on a technical level yes it does fix the issue. But you lose showmanship, you lose the visual nuances that come along with intense fights snd that's one of the biggest reasons people play video games at all. I think you must accept a minimum amount of bullet, spongey-ness(??) In order for the RPG elements to work and matter. If it's too realistic then armor and weapons would be completely redundant since even a few well placed .22's can kill a man.

[@HomemadeSubmarine]

This has been one of my main gripes with the game as well. I don’t want to lose any RPG elements but I also have trouble grasping how a new game character can fire both barrels of a caravan shotgun into a t-shirt wearing viper without dropping them. The attacking while sprinting idea seems to be the most straightforward improvement with the viability of the others in the air. Also if you released the album with New Vegas B roll in the background I’d happily watch it.

[@spellcastingprofessional]

I think a good solution that would definitely improve my immersion as well, as it would be more logical, at least for ranged weapons, is to have skill number effect accuracy instead of damage. It worked like this in fallout 1 and 2, and makes more sense that a master with a gun would be able to hit more shots with a 22 rifle and have it do as much damage, instead of being minimally more accurate but that same 22 can blow someone to pieces.vi think that in melee and unarmed situations, however, if you are more proficient with those, then there should be more focus on damage increasing, as you get better at swinging instead of aiming

[@mdd4296]

@@spellcastingprofessional There is a number of mods that do this for f:nv already. The problem is ironsight become useless because they randomly move around until you reach atleast 60-70 skills. However, with the dynamic crosshair mod in 3rd person, the gameplay become like a tactical shooter. The crosshair indicate your bullet spread, so it help you find out your ideal engagement range. You are also constantly on the lookout for possible flank and withdraw route in worst case. However, here come the deal breaker: the level just arent designed for that kind of gameplay. Terrain is often flat, cover are few and far away and interior have very few routes to move around. You would most often find yourself pin down in one place taking potshot, hoping it hits.

[@viejitaloca]

i think it could be chnged and for the better, instead of skills inceasing your damage or your chance of critical hits, maybe they can make the character "less stupid" when handling these weapons when you start leveling up, giving you less recoil, less weapon sway when aiming, faster reloads, better enemy detection, etc. But in the end, i think every game is an rpg, but the thing is that WE the players are the characters, WE are the ones who lvl up and start getting better (this probably not aplying to heavily focused rpg titles that base solely on character experience)

[@ZeSgtSchultz]

I like the real damage mods. Makes combat actually scary as hell.

[@ghost_1153]

And annoying as hell too

[@kanyeeast1662]

@@ghost_1153 couldn't agree more, getting vaporized as soon as you pop your head out of cover is hardly fun

[@jacobusmarch9524]

@@kanyeeast1662 ‘npcs can miss’ is your friend

[@ZRV01]

Hey, someone just sent me this video. I am the author of Critical Damage Overhaul and yes, a lot of people mention it isn't super modular. I may do something about that. I also have been working on an AI mod believe it or not, but all progress has halted in recent months as I have been working on a mod for Minecraft. Please do get back to me, I would love to get some opinions since you seem to have solid thinking.

[@pablobronstein1247]

Bullet spongeyness could be solved by more utilizing the limb damage system that's already in game. You could have that a limb has x value of health, if it gets hit by something that takes more than a 1/3 in a single hit, your overall health drops dramatically. Getting shot in the head would be devastating for both player and npc. The problem with that is that games aren't tabletop, and abuse of mechanics cannot be solved. In ttrpg both the gm and the players have an agreement on how to play the game.

[@SmolBloof]

Dis idea is a promising start.

[@pablobronstein1247]

@@SmolBloof Way to solve abusing the limb system would be solved by revamping DT/DR. Deathclaws would still pose a threat if you scale down their hp and tweak resistances. Let's say am rifle deals max 50 dmg and deathclaw has 500 hp with head that has 50 hp. If it has DR of 40% and DT 10 you deal 20 dmg, that's still more than 1/3 but I set it as an example. If a limb is crippled max health equal to its value goes temporarily down until limb is restored.

[@killertruth186]

@@pablobronstein1247 The only problem with that is their speed. And Fallout 4 as well Fallout 76 had completely changed that and I do love that idea. Since they're more balanced when it comes to speed and power. Since it is only up to the player to be able to dodge Deathclaw attacks.

[@ROBOHOLIC1]

I think there was a mod called "Crippling Damage Effects" that does this. I remember playing around with it and the Live Dismemberment mod. Spruced up the combat without feeling bullet spongey but it's also kind of OP with how quickly everyone dies including you.

[@pravkdey]

I also think character design has alot to do with it. For example slapping a bunch of armor or whatever. For example I'd totally buy that a headshot didn't instantly kill something if they were wearing a big piece of metal on their head.

[@mopsbantam]

This is a much easier problem to solve in tabletop RPGs or turn-based CRPGs where it's about making good decisions and getting better odds on RNG and not about the player's mechanical skill like in realtime games, where RNG feels like it just invalidates your actions (see: Morrowind). In GURPS for example, which Fallout 1 almost used for a system, getting shot with a gun or your head bashed in with a sword really hurts and it's entirely possible to get dropped down into negative HP from a single hit. However, actually getting a hit to land is hard: unaimed shots, shooting at distant targets, trying to hit while running, trying to hit moving targets, trying to hit someone actively trying not to be hit, etc. are all impediments. Hits hurt, but hitting at all is hard, putting the focus on lining up a couple good hits instead of wearing someone down with half a magazine or twenty swings. The problem is this sucks to directly plug into an action RPG where you'd have to put in the effort of actually aiming and landing a hit for the game to determine if your hit actually was a miss (again, Morrowind, archery especially). The best way to do that approach (assuming it's even possible to script this into New Vegas) would I think be some kind of hybrid of Fistful of Frags's shooting where accuracy worsens the faster you're moving, and the original Deus Ex's gradual increasing accuracy mechanic. Something where actually hitting at all is hard but the player can take time to sit still and aim for a few seconds to tighten up the accuracy. You get accuracy in exchange for having to stand still/move slowly and effectively do nothing in a gunfight for a few seconds, sort of like the intended relationship between regular shooting and VATS. Penalties for not meeting the skill and strength requirement could be more severe and could affect not just innate accuracy but also unaimed accuracy, time for aiming to increase, etc. A higher skill could improve movement penalties and the time it takes to fully increase accuracy, maybe with that, gun/energy weapon damage wouldn't even need to be tied to skill anymore but still preserve progression? Difficulty could also affect this overall, where the closer to Very Easy the more it's just regular run and gun gameplay. Melee has the advantage that you don't need to worry about any of this, and that if someone is rushing you down with a machete you don't have time to repeatedly carefully line up a good shot. Maybe receiving melee damage could also briefly impose a proportional accuracy penalty, to the point where when combined with movement/not aiming, means you might not be able to reliably hit someone right up in your face.

[@BigothyArchibaldBusiness]

Another Brave Banger, king. Was a really neat video that addressed a problem that i feel like not alot of people talk about and most just "put up" with. Keep up the good work

[@nosohryuforyou]

I think in a game that mixes ranged and melee combat, there might not be a way to put those two options on an equal footing. Melee probably should only be viable when you're being stealthy, or at least have the element of surprise. Or, I don't know, what if you only had access to VATS if you were using a melee weapon? The melee specials could all focus on disarming opponents, to give you a chance against gun-toting enemies (at least in limited numbers). You could maybe implement some kind of "adrenaline surge" effect where you get a window of opportunity to recover before damage drops you. I dunno, I also am not a game designer.

[@viejitaloca]

maybe making enemies with guns so deadly that you couldnt aproach them with a gun and come out with full hp from it, kindda like real life, if they are distracted you may get them, if they are not then you are pretty much dead

[@mkarg5012]

Isn't the game giving you perks to take advantage of that already? Like super slam, paralyzing strike and even the special vats attacks have properties that make them useful. If I remember correctly there was one that guarantee a knockdown on the enemy or even inflict certain damage to limbs, wich also make the enemy stutter for a while (and also working outside vats when you hit an enemy and cripple his limb) Considering the fact that enemy placement in new Vegas and fallout 4 survival mode just makes it a little bit fun to play around like that. I've never notice that damage dropped off by difficulty since building a character can make up for a lot of things that the player may find easy to do certain task and not just brute force everything (just like every fps sometimes.)

[@rre9121]

So I think another reason that things get so spongy is that there has to be progression and the damage you do isn't just dependent on the firearm or melee weapon you are using. It seems strange because IRL a weapons "damage" or capacity to wound is mostly independent of the user's skill. If a shotgun falls off a table and goes off while pointed at you, you will be as dead as if a Navy Seal was holding it and shot you with it. So if your "skill" in game effects the damage you do with a weapon it will inevitably lead to game design where enemies will appear spongy. Because you need to be weak at the beginning to feel strong at the end.

[@BraveSirLoin]

for sure. that's why I like the idea of skill requirements being hard requirements for weapons.

[@PS3Fan487]

I tended to understand it as "well the more you train with something the better you use it"; a literal accident has a low low low chance of causing you enough or as much harm, whereas a MACVSOG commando will probably aim with such precision that it's scary, i.e. specific limbs or organs, or aiming a specific way to begin with. When you first start using a gun, you dont really know how exactly to hold it and aim it and fire it. When you become highly skilled with it, these things become trivial. Same goes for any weapon short of the real fancy or stupid simple stuff I guess. ... but yeah, down to the bottom line it still doesnt make sense as far as raw attacks lol

[@corktail7900]

i think this is the main reason i never finish any fallout games despite putting hundred hours in them. the early game is the best, because you have to think a little about how to approach enemy encounters with your limited abilities and weapons, but in the mid game you can go up against anything and its not really a challenge anymore.

[@Boiling_milk]

I mean you literally win a war by your self at the end you should feel a bit over powered late game

[@billyboleson2830]

Almost liek thats how rpgs work lol

[@quatreraberbawinner2628]

Yeah this was one of my biggest gripes with FO4, the enemies scale with you but not in a good way, so you actually end up feeling like your progressing backwards because you have to use broken strategies to take down enemies who have ridiculously massive health pools

[@midgetman4206]

@@billyboleson2830 I thought the point was to pretend that your somebody else. Not the exponential growth to becoming a powerful immortal being

[@billyboleson2830]

@@midgetman4206 RPGS transitioned from being a character in a new world to being mostly about combat and number bloat and OP builds.

[@billythesheep3875]

Fallout's damage problem is easily fixed with real weapon handling. Say you get into a gun fight, and you and the enemy have 25 and 50 guns skill respectively. He shouldn't kill you in less shots, he should have better handling. A faster acquisition time, more "precise shots" (crit rate, percent aim on AI is meme worthy), and maybe a more stable gun. Giving the better gunman the better handling times actually simulates what it's like to learn your firearms over time, especially seeing as how a .45 will kill a veteran soldier just as easily as your regular Joe, difference being how easily you take that shot. The main thing the gun stat effects should've always been the ease of use and not damage. The same can be said for melee, if you have a low melee your blocking posture should collapse more, your speed on swing should be slower, the amount of damage or how "accurate" your cut with a blade is by giving armor ignoration, all of these make it feel like you learn your weapon as you level, not level your weapon.

[@TheBrownestFalcon]

I think this makes sense, but my main concern is how good would that feel to play at early levels, especially with Fallout not having the best shooting to begin with. Still, the general idea you're talking about is a good one IMO.

[@billyboleson2830]

So turn fallout into stalker

[@baker90338]

@@billyboleson2830 fallout into fallout frost. You play it and you will understand. Everyone can drop everyone. Everyone is scary.

[@billyboleson2830]

@@baker90338 Nah I prefer fallout to stay an rpg and not a psuedo tactical fps

[@ElonMuskIsSerbian]

While it may damage some RPG aspects of the game, I really enjoyed DUST's combat overhaul in New Vegas. The fair difficulty and scarce supplies made almost every combat encounter much more satisfying.

[@Maci_cima]

Fallout 4 Survival was the first time Fallout combat made sense, because Survival had a fixed difficulty and Bethesda actually had to semi-balance the game instead of using the difficulty slider as a clutch. Lmao.

[@Inuitman]

It reminds me of "assassins" where it feels like shooting tanks with 9mm, even an anti material rifle is not enough. like why

[@ImGingy]

Honestly never even knew that there were special attacks for vats melee and I've been playing for 10 years lmao

[@CobetcknnKolowski]

I think something that would help melee viability is lowering the amount of ammo in the game and makeing NPCs have limited bullets so you can make them waste their bullets and engage *you* in melee or if you are smart and quick about engagements, you get rewarded by being able to take more of their ammo. Also DT, DR, Health all need to be localized so that yeah someone may be heavily armored but if you get a shot past their armor, it does full damage. Unfortunately, the major problem is that Fallout 3 and New Vegas are really old and on an older engine and so meaningful and good changes might just not be possible.

[@dwarfbard6226]

Stalker, Shadow of Chernobyl had this difficulty figured out by this: Easy: player does less damage, enemies do less damage Hard: player does more damage, enemies do more damage This lead to: Easy: bulletspongy enemies, but you cant really die when you make mistakes Hard: enemies die fast, but so do you if you make mistakes Alot of the "difficulty" in that game comes from fear and overcoming your own fear and in easy, you will overcome it easily since you cant instadie to a scary mutant in the dark. Maybe New Vegas could be scary and dark and deathclawy OR with legion patrols that WILL kill you on hard AND NCR patrols that will kill/tax/confiscate regulated goods on hard. You know, to introduce fear into the mix, so the difficulty goes back to from the mechanics to the brain of the player.

[@softbabymonkey]

music is fantastic, great job!

[@freshlymemed5680]

I'm so glad someone else is talking about this. This is one of the reasons games like the Witcher and even just the triple A trend of making everything more RPG-ish puts me off so bad. Open-world games have it much worse. Especially when those games have enemy scaling.

[@nagger8216]

I love this video and I hope you make more like it in the future. Going in to detail about the New Vegas modding scene and discussing trying to improve the vanilla game is just so cathartic for some reason

[@richardwatson1254]

quality stuff, chief. keep up the good work.

[@D00000T]

Saw a post on the fnv steam discussion page on how you can use mechanics from more realistic shooters to solve this issues. In most realistic shooters, you have to manage a bunch of crap that human beings suck at being good at like cardio, your arms being wobbly when you aim your guns, controlling recoil, being under heavy stress in firefights, dying from anything super easily, being slow as shit when moving or reloading, being basically useless if injured even a bit, etc. the idea is to have something similar to what tarkov is suppose to be where the lower your stats the more your character gets fucked over by human hindrances and the higher your stats the less those hindrances affect your character. This can also fix the bullet sponge issue as you can have everyone die in 1-2 shots with the only difference being that lower level enemies have to deal with the same human hindrances as you while higher level enemies act like they know their way around a weapon. Getting better gear could be you getting an optic, a foregrip, or a different kind of bullet that’s designed against a certain enemy.

[@mfspectacular]

A simple thing that changes f4's combat ALOT is making every enemy legendary. Until i found a mod that does that, i had no idea there were separate effects (like robots nuking themselves after death). Only other thing i'd add to this is with melee. Having every attack be canceled by a simple block goes a long way, moreso for tes than fallout but it's still a good balance change

[@kithmeansfriend]

Long time watcher, first-time commenter. As a Game Designer™, you hit the nail on the head - damage sliders are never a good way to do difficulty because it doesn't create organic experiences where the player uses what they learned to overcome complex challenges. Getting punked in one shot by some low-level gribblies that the difficulty turned into murder machines isn't cool or fun for most people; it's just a pain in the ass. What you want is for the player to feel accomplished, and achieving that is fairly simple: introduce individual enemies in controlled environments and then increase the difficulty by gradually introducing more elements into the mix. In this way, you teach the player how to solve problems, but leave the problem-solving entirely up to them. Damage sliders don't change how problems get solved, they just change what tools are useful (like melee, to use your example).

[@EliteLeEstetique]

Fascinating how a lot of people obsess over FNV but never tried later Obsidian games. Devs are aware of this problem. They did a lot of interesting things with it in later games.

[@BraveSirLoin]

you can just say "Outer Worlds", it's not illegal lmao. and there are many reasons people haven't flocked to that game, #1 on my list being the milquetoast writing and worldbuilding.

[@EliteLeEstetique]

@@BraveSirLoin I was talking more about Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny. Especially PoE2 adds interesting options. Like autoleveling the enemies - critical path or all of them, down or up or both. Most of the difficulty changes affect enemy stats in a linear way, but it's mostly not damage/HP, but enemies become more specialized - tanks with DT have more DT, damage dealers penetrate your armor and so on. PoE2 max difficulty, Path of the Damned, also changes a lot of encounters so that there are more enemies and some are swapped with stronger versions. Finally, PoE2 has optional challenges that do all kinds of things and can be enabled in any combination. Like put a timer on a main quest, enhance every animal with a random enhancement, spoiling food, useless companion you have to keep alive, or a crazy one hiding every number in a game except base character stats. I know those are top-down tactical games and I don't expect Fallout 3+ fans to like them, but they're made by the same people who clearly thought about those problems. Those are still math-heavy real-time games so a lot of stuff can easily be applied to Fallout-style game too. So it's weird to see a well-made video on a subject asking the question that the devs have already answered.

[@BraveSirLoin]

fair. admittedly I only got about 2 hours into PoE before quitting (Disco Elysium is the only CRPG-like game I've ever enjoyed). I think I see the Elder Scrolls & 3D Fallout games as the children of 2 very different parents. when I build a character and explore the world in New Vegas, my brain says "this is an RPG." I think about how the narrative systems work, how characters are built, and how the pieces fit with each other. lots of big picture ideas, lots of slow burning logs in the brain campfire. when combat happens, it's almost like the reptilian brain takes over. everything in front of me is immediate and visceral. maybe because that's just the nature of FPS games, maybe because I've rotted my brain with thousands of hours of CSGO. whatever the reason, the overall "feeling" of combat is something that leaves a big impression on me pretty immediately. when something feels "off" in the balance of a shooter, I instinctively reference the experience to other shooters. obviously the division between the two isn't so clear cut in games like F:NV. basically the writing process of this video was me seeing the current state of combat as "Point A", and creating a "Point B" based on what I understand (via magic reptilian brain rot) to be an appropriate place of improvement without deviating too far from the RPG elements that play into combat. keeping the changes as functionally simple as possible also makes things easier for the modders (scripting, compatibility, updating, etc.), which is a nice bonus for anyone who dares to try any of my silly ideas.

[@obsidiancrow450]

I think limiting the couriers ammo is a really good one. I used to play with dust/npcs use ammo/some mad max mod that made ammo super scarce so most enemies would use their gun for a bit run out then switch to melee. With no stores it kind of worked because while yes guns are still god like you are rewarded for saving your bullets for those tough enemies and melee for as much as possible. Also in a way hardcore kind of helps the balance a tiny bit because the reward for using melee and unarmed is that you don't have to lug around a shit load of ammo like a guns character. Hardcore is honestly underated in that aspect. Alot of people just see the mode as an annoyance and more inventory management (which it is but i need muh immersion) but it does change the way you see ammo. Whats necessary for you to carry for what encounters you will face and whats not just adds a nice flavor of decision making vs. just hoarding as much ammo for free with no draw backs.

[@xezberzs96]

Yeah enemy variants would be a neat idea for Fallout based on difficulty, modding wise I personally use a 3x damage multiplier that goes both ways with Solid Project, and AWOP for some really challenging areas like the Deathclaw Sanctuary (absolute nightmare) and it adds unique mobs like the Tech Raiders. I much prefer highly lethal gameplay compared to bullet sponge combat. Really enjoyed the video, good vibes.

[@hunterthemadman]

High production quality. Looking forward to more video essays. The SovietWomble-esque videos are good, but this is top tier.

[@funguy398]

Just use Call of Cthulhu role playing game system Gun damage: 1d8+2 Big gun damage: 2d6 or 4d4 Humanoid HP range at any level: from 9 to 14

[@Nevadaskiies]

i see that you have the killable children mod in your modlist impressive. very based

[@titanblood8210]

I actually quite enjoy pumping things full of bullets whilst screaming like I'm in an action movie.

[@mattsmith2702]

Good video and really enjoyable score for your jazz, i find tho that fiddling with sliders even just with project Nevada can help a lot even if it doesn’t fix the fundamental problems like you say

[@konradobidoski5415]

Well, my solution was somewhat simple. 5X damage, more limb damage, higher damage treshold for armors and skill only affecting accuracy. Mods like manual reload, less carryweight, less ammo, no pipboy pause, jamming etc. make a big difference as well. Preparation becomes crucial. Combat is engaging and requires good positioning. You can't miss your shots. If you are careless and get jumped, run and reapproach on your own terms or you dead. When that Marked Man with a sword runs up on you, baby you dead. Plant some satchel charges between you and him. It is a different type of engagning. Less Doom more Subnautica. Armor CAN save your life but so can a bottle of water and a doctor's bag. Maybe you're better off in a t-shirt.

[@JohnVicres]

0:33 call Gordon, I found the lamb's sauce

[@beb_9345]

Add shields for melee players, or get a sprint mod with the tackle perk.

[@Lb8068]

A video essay with music written by the man himself can this guy get any more classy

[@edd.5169]

I usually play with a 3x damage multiplier, I just like to shoot things and have them fall down, and also be shot and fall down. But it made certain enemies too easy where it didn't make sense. Like securitrons and power armor. My 9mm shouldn't be doing anything against those guys. Securitrons shoot at each other with automatic guns just as demonstration. So I made it so damage threshold is absolute, and increased DT on power armor to be 80 and DT on robots to be 70, making them immune to damage from anything less than a .308 hunting rifle. Now I need explosives or anti-materiel if I know I'm going to be fighting robots. It makes House relying exclusively on like six securitrons make sense.

[@sadpee7710]

i recall a mod for like uh... age of wonders planetfall which buffs melee, which in that game is underpowered, by making melee users more evasive. basically you get a dodge buff when you have a melee weapon. also there was something else like the enemy loosing accuracy when you engage them cuz you're like right up in their face, making them fumble. also other enemies have a harder time shooting you because you're tumbling around on the ground with their buddy. so 1 buff for running around and another buff for when you're engaged in battle. that's an isometric turn based tactic game tho so might not translate very well to a fps rpg. still. i think evasion for melee could work.

[@TheRedKing247]

Bullet sponginess in terms of not doing enough damage isn't actually the problem - the problem is the game has no feedback to the damage you're doing. One of the other things Doom Eternal does really well is give both the enemies your shooting and the player character themselves a lot of feedback to the damage you're doing, even if sometimes that damage isn't actually a lot compared to the enemies health. Chunks of your enemies will fly off as they stagger backwards from the shotgun shell you just placed in their chest, and meanwhile your gun will kick with some recoil and play a satisfying gunshot sound with extra little animations to back it up. All of those things work together to make the combat feel more visceral and engaging, even though with many of the enemies they take quite a lot of bullets to kill. Fallout New Vegas doesn't have any of this. Enemies will keep running at you like nothing happened when you've take off half their health, and only the bloody mess perk will really give you any visceral feeling that only gets applied when you killed someone. Meanwhile gun firing animations are stiff with little to no recoil or reaction - and while the sounds are distinctive there's usually not too much power behind them with certain exceptions. All this adds up to make a combat loop that feels exceptionally bullet spongey, because there's no feedback.

[@ZeeVolte]

Good video bro, really like the video essay format.

[@Rannos22]

"this script is too long" >Video just under 14 minutes Almost wasn't even long enough for me to bother clicking

[@Rannos22]

I want more MORE

[@landodjango8107]

Eh, in my experience "realistic" damage mods makes melee more fun for me. My melee character ended up being this ninja-juggernaut that flanked the enemy and unleashed absolute hell onto them once he was close. Just because the playstyle is different doesn't mean it becomes unviable.

[@unknowfornow35]

Well the weapon problem in FONV. I think it mostly fixed by perks and the ammo types. And I guess making sure to upgraded your weapons/switch them out when you can. I find it easy enough to do a pure run on one weapon type or 2 weapon types.

[@zantezalighieri]

this is why I'm subscribed to you. you are one of the best content creators on this platform

[@jakeygoatlol]

Highly underrated video

[@DoPeTz]

This is quality content and the same goes for your music!

[@Robert-jq8wr]

I know its like been a year and you probably know this already but download ENB Ceiling fix to stop the holes in the ceiling.

[@resdyne9590]

Wow your game looks great, what end are you using friend?

[@its_shxblvrbs1786]

This channel has quality content that I enjoy. Thank you!

[@oskarsson123]

From what i remember Oblivion spawned different enemies based on your level... so that didn't work:)

[@ArikaStack]

The obvious solution is to shrink the difference between the absolute damage floor and ceiling across all levels. Say, have it be 100-400% like in pso2, versus 100-40000%. It makes it so low level enemies are still relevant. It's not just damage floor and scaling but the curve at which it scales. In PSO the curve is very shallow, but ultimately it will eventually lead to the latter damage scaling. The main issue isn't in games like fallout. It's in games like borderlands, but those games are almost strictly about building well and building relevantly. AI is a different issue. It's important, but it goes hand in hand with scaling. The reason scaling is so bad is because traditionally, RPGs are about the numbers and power fantasy. In PSO it's not the case; it's about skill. You can go against a giga in a primm set with t1 augments at max level. It'll suck but you can kill it. PSO is an example I keep using because my argument is in a game that relies so little on skill in comparison, like fallout, a flat damage scale makes things boring. PSO can do it because the ai and because of all the attack and counter patterns. It's an engaging game to play, and the fantasy comes from overcoming those challenges, not outlevelling the enemy. It also takes effort to play PSO. You get out of it what you put in. I would never play that game under the influence. I'd play fallout 4 with mods instead.

[@dryerofdoom]

i dont think it has a sponge problem but i also play the game with murder in mind and mach my character a murder machine that can only murder and is really good at murder so i never had a big issue

[@Doc_Barnaky]

I’m honestly pleasantly surprised that someone else has thought of this problem. Personally, even as masochistic as it sounds I prefer the spongy enemies on Very Hard because I think it’s silly for a level 3 courier to be able to fight higher level enemies with the many exploits in their AI. For me it’s a necessary evil though I hope someone does try to address this with a mod. Great video once again and I hope you make more!

[@stool8925]

could make melee builds have some kinda tankyness skill that ranged builds cant use idk how it would get implemented into nv with a mod tho, maybe just legit have the Melee weapon skill increase ur tankyness, either health/ armor/ speed

[@bananabuns1369]

great video, but you know whats not great? that mouse, dear god it has more holes than a goddamn modified AR15 thats onwed by an angsty 20 year old femboy

[@BraveSirLoin]

you love it

[@bananabuns1369]

@@BraveSirLoin mr beef man please

[@bunnyonabunwithagunnicepun5689]

Well, different games have different approaches to things like difficulty, and all have different playstyles. Maybe copying the SparkNotes of a variety of games that have objectively good difficulty scaling and working those ideas into NV might work? The way the Metro games restrict the amount of found resources on higher difficulties, for example. Idk I'm not a game designer.

[@nikolaybelousov1070]

Problem: Enemies and player characters are bullet sponges. Solution: -Make them less durable- AI or something.

[@ravensflockmate]

Honestly only owb enemies and lonesome road's deathclaws really stood out to me a spongey in new Vegas

[@raidenstormcrown1041]

Makes my day to see a video!

[@sgtpepper91]

i remember buying Battlefield 4 and realizing I had wasted my money when I found out the game didn't have hardcore mode like 3

[@Boiling_milk]

just add more melee enemies like a group of 7 legion with manchettes that all run at you

[@raidenstormcrown1041]

HAHAHAHAHAH SILT BEAN !!!

[@juliuszacariasvelasco]

I swear Nevada doesn’t look like that

[@ShawnMeira]

So basically i should just go play doom eternal? Okay sounds good.

[@7ylerD]

Geez, I’m glad I’m subbed.

[@ericvcod2133]

i don't think the problem with NV is bullet sponginess, the combat is just unengaging. I liked the VATS suggestion, imagine that normal shooting just does normal damage and the only way to do limb damage is through VATS, but it's always guaranteed to hit(with maybe the effect itself being random) with each limb costing a different amounts to shot, creating tactical considerations on the fly depending on your situation. i'd at least like to see this in a mod.

[@captaincael1308]

its a math problem

[@paulaner37]

the doawg wid de budda

[@chavchihiro5363]

Fallout 3 Vault 87 super mutants.

[@jimmy5712]

It's a 100 year old game give it a break!

[@shellum]

Will someone tell me what mod he uses for the melee weapon animations? I'd appreciate it

[@jrny8922]

Sigma melee animation chapter 1

[@shellum]

@@jrny8922 Could have used that info 10 months ago when I actually could have used it. Thank you, anyway.

[@joannawood7352]

new vegas doesnt have a sponginess problem.....if you know where every gun in the game is and what enemies they're effective against (spoiler, a lot of enemies are weak to That Gun and the police revolver)

[@piratemonkey1035]

What lighting mod or ENB are you using?

[@SweetPeteInTheBackSeat]

That's alotta damage :V

[@killertruth186]

If you had compared Fallout 3 damage system to Fallout New Vegas, you can see a huge difference. Even with the Minigun for an example. But so far Bethesda made it more iffy with Fallout 4 and currently experimenting in Fallout 76. And I do agree that Skyrim is so bad with the combat system as well it is immersion breaking. Since you are rewarded to just hack and slash. And on an off note, I don't like Fallout New Vegas texture overhaul. Because it feels like making a perfectly good HDR video by adding too much saturation. And I actually love Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 artwork design. But others who disagree with texture overhaul and art design. To each their own.

[@eli0uz]

Awesome video ! You should probably change the thumbnail to a more appealing one though

[@BraveSirLoin]

yeah I thought about it, then I kinda just gave up.

[@emel6423]

i'm hoping you at least finish and release the first song, i really like it.

[@BraveSirLoin]

yeah every track in this video will be finished and on the compilation.

[@emel6423]

@@BraveSirLoin Aww hell yeah! Love your easy listening music

[@imhere1232]

a nat 3, shitter get good, hope you have a good modifier

[@gramursowanfaborden5820]

if Fallout 3 didn't exist, Fallout's legacy would have died with Brotherhood Of Steel. respect your elders!

[@robbievulcan9564]

You missed an obvious solution when talking about damage modifiers and guns and melee balance. Have them be different depending what the player does. The great thing about single-player is that you can alter the entire game balance on the fly in response to them. A mix-and-match class system that has varied modifiers based on what you pick would be one way of doing this while retaining role-playing options; kind of like the perk system but MUCH broader, and affecting enemies as well as the player. Is it REALISTIC that an enemy's gun should do less damage if the player is a frontal charging berserker? No, but it is fun and more conducive to role-playing. We see that many players choose to tailor damage and other stats to their own playstyle with mods, so buiilding that playstyle-tailoring into a game already has some evident merit.

[@BraveSirLoin]

I intentionally kept most of my ideas within the sandbox of systems the game gives you (I guess sprint is an exception but let's be real, who doesn't use sprint?), because making a new system from the ground up means more compatibility issues, more troubleshooting, and more work for modders, which results in mods that die faster. even the best ideas can collapse under their own weight.

[@arkoa0000]

Why did you break into my house and steal my report card? We need a serious talk on personal space. Tho to be serious don't feel too bad about yours. Mine is worse...

[@TheLookaas]

idc if its an RPG, guns are always gonna have a range advantage over melee, RPG means roleplaying game so it should be at least a little realistic. if guns are involved then melee should be exclusive to stealth or a last resort when you have no ammo. accommodating for melee users breaks realism and so i disagree with it. to each there own but for real tho, try rushing a dude with a knife when he's pointing a shotgun at your face.

[@TheLookaas]

you could also make ammo more scarce for enemies and the player so when someone comes at you with melee you'll want to switch to melee so you dont waste ammo on an enemy with no ammo to loot. guns vs guns, sticks vs sticks.

[@billyboleson2830]

@@TheLookaas Yeah but the best RPGS are the ones that aren't realistic at all lmao

[@davidlewis3867]

Just make all ranged weapons horrendously inaccurate :)

[@brettgooden3561]

good stuff... make more stuff

[@simonedeiana2696]

If a game is set in a world where guns exist, why would it being an RPG somehow change the fact that guns beat melee most of the time? RPG doesn't mean you can do anything, otherwise the world around you might not as well exist. It's like complaining that you can't learn a spell or craft a gun that levels the terrain permanently and lets you make a whole new map. The game you choose to play dictates the hard rules put in place for you to deal with, RPGs shouldn't be total power fantasies (also because computer games still can't beat pure imagination). If you really love melee you will have to cope with the fact that you will still need to operate guns from time to time, begrudgingly. Nobody complains if a dungeon master puts their character into a tricky situation, that's literally part of the challenge that makes the game fun and engaging.

[@billyboleson2830]

KOTOR and Borderlands would like a word with you lol

[@supertigerroadtrip5193]

Enb 🤢🤮

[@chief-9423]

ESO

[@Deathdoodle]

Destiny should be higher on the good games list

[@highjumpstudios2384]

Second

[@Inuitman]

first