Fallout 76: The Big Surprise in Bethesda's Updated Appalachia Map - April 14, 2020 at 08:38AM

One of the most innovative things that Bethesda gave fans in Fallout 4 was the town building mechanics. This was so popular that this feature became a staple for the next game, Fallout 76. So then why has Bethesda, one of the most leading gaming companies, recently limited one of the best things about their game to make it even better?

Given the change is coming hot on the heels of Wastelanders release, Bethesda may have given players the biggest hints as to where NPCs and major story elements will be. The latest Inside The Vault update has introduced “No C.A.M.Ping Zones” to the game. Players were previously able to build their C.A.M.P. pretty much anywhere on the map through the C.A.M.P construction feature. Now, with the newest update, multiple locations no longer support C.A.M.P. building.

The Wastelanders DLC will be focusing on bringing two significant factions to the game, the Settlers and the Raiders, as well as a few smaller settlements. The two primary locations that are “No C.A.M.Ping Zones” are the Spruce Knob in the Savage Divide and the Crashed Space Station in the Toxic Valley. These two locations are such visually interesting and compelling locations for players and have been poorly utilized. The Spruce Knob has been turned into Foundation. This settlement is led by Paige, head of the Construction Workers Union from Washington, who are looking to build a new home in the relativity radioactive free Appalachia wilderness.

On the other hand, Crater in the Crashed Space Station has been taken up by a group of raiders led by Meg. Both of these factions have very opposing ideals. Meg is leading a group who had lived in Appalachia before and believe they are the rightful owners of the land.

These new additions will allow Fallout 76 to reintroduce something that fans found sorely missing from the game: characters and factions. Characters have been used to drive the plots of Fallout games since the very beginning of the franchise. They push the player into making hard choices that have effects on the rest of the game. Many times, a player has to choose between one faction or another, and this affects the entire plot. In Fallout 3, the player has the option to destroy the settlement of Megaton or not. If they do, then their reputation throughout the DC Wasteland changes. In a multiplayer game like Fallout 76, this type of drastic change was not possible. Now that there are settlers in Foundation and the Raiders in The Crater, players may finally feel more of an impact on the world at large.

Visual storytelling is something that Fallout games are known for. These games expect their players to understand plotlines and don’t feel the need to hold your hand through the whole thing. Through the use of notes, terminals, and voice recorders the player is able to experience the stories of a character who is no longer alive. The game then contrasts those characters with ones who are still alive and how their impact shaped the way people live now. One of the best examples of this is from Fallout New Vegas’ DLC Honest Hearts. The player can learn the story of the tribes from talking to them, but also learn the history of the tribes from messages left behind. By merely using set pieces, the developers were able to link multiple storylines together. One of the best things about Fallout is the way it uses dialog to create a plot and visual storytelling to deepen the plot, but without NPC’s, the entire game of Fallout 76 becomes only visual storytelling.

While visual storytelling can help deepen the lore of a game and make it a more immersive experience for the player, it isn’t enough to build an entire game off of, especially a Fallout game. Thankfully, Bethesda is working on remedying this misfire with its Wastelanders DLC.

Keep Reading: Fallout 76: The Settlers and Raiders Are at War in Wastelanders Trailer