I've watched a lot of videos on Fallout 4, and one common thread I've noticed is that there are many people that really enjoy the settlement system and see it as a good addition to the series. I have a different opinion and wanted to see what this community thought on the whole of the settlement system in Fallout 4.

The next section of the post will be my contentions with the settlement system, If any of these points are wrong then please point them out as I don't wish to mislead anyone or hold a problem with a game that is factually false. With that out of the way:

1) The addition of the settlement system negatively impacted DLC for Fallout 4. Comparing the DLC for Fallout 4 to the DLC of Fallout 3 or New Vegas is almost a not comparable. Fallout 4 has 2 DLC that can hold a candle to that of the old Fallout Games being Nuka World and Far Harbor, and in my opinion, these are both stellar additions to Fallout 4 they add new parts of the world to explore, new weapons enemies and stories for the Player to pursue. I'd put Automatron on the same par as Broken Steel for Fallout 3 and above GRA for New Vegas. But the others in my opinions don't share this level of quality. Wasteland Workshop and Contraption Workshop are both subpar excuses for DLC and Vault 81 is a mixed bag.

2) Bethesda adding settlement locations gave them an excuse to put less content in the game world. If you look up towns in Fallout 4 5 towns are listed in the base game with another 5 added in DLC. This is compared to the 10 in the base game of fallout new vegas and the 13 in the base game of Fallout 3 (Though these lists aren't 100% accurate they are still representative of the difference in friendly settlements the games provide.) This is because Bethesda planned on the player creating their own friendly settlements, which can work on paper, however usually the most interesting parts of the settlements found in these games are the people inside them and the generic settler can't really compare to that.

3) This is the most point is mostly based on personal preference but I dislike how the settlements can in no way advance on their own and you have to micromanage everything the settlement does and how it progresses, I am completely aware that many people prefer this while people like me just use Sim settlements which does make this somewhat of a moot point, however, I felt it should be listed.

So What do you think? Am I just being silly? Do I not know what I'm talking about? I'd love to hear what you think of the settlement systems and possibly be converted to a pro-settlement mindset.

For me the settlement system is defininitively a good thing, but only because it permits modders to be incredibly creative ( see what has been done with " transfer settlement blueprints, castle in the sky, functionable devices…."). I don't take the settlement thing for what it is, I just see the few doors it opens, just my opinion.

Absolutely No, they focused too much in that minecraft simulator, and because of that there's not enough settlements with npcs and lore to them like the previous entries, instead we got a barren land to play god and saviour of the wasteland, i would prefer 100000000 times places with history, lore, great characters and quests over this crappy system, heck! they even made this thing based on a NV mod.

Of course there's people that likes to build settlements(which does not matter of much defenses or people you put there, Preston will always be insufferable with you and give you more and more radiant quests), but guess what, this is Fallout, not a "Bob the Builder" simulator nor a Call of Duty.

I like the intentions behind the settlements, but as stated before, it just felt so empty. Like some afterthought they forced onto you. I like building and decorating just fine, but I don't feel like what I'm doing really matters storywise. I could completely neglect my settlements and the settlers within and it would be the same outcome to the end story as if I had pampered them.

Sure, keep the settlements...but give me some neat mission or backstory behind each one, and make it to were I feel like I'm doing something. Maybe make the care and fortification of each settlement change the outcome of your game.

@kazeem I agree with you that it does open a lot of doors for modders and that what they've done with the system is incredible especially compared with what Bethesda originally left us with. However, I'm not very warm to the idea of Bethesda wanting modders to fix their problems for them, and I know Bethesda probably didn't intend for that to happen but some of these mods do seem that way. But that was something I originally hadn't considered when developing my argument so thank you for bringing that up.

I was not a big fan of the settlement system, most of my issues have already been brought up here, but another thing about it is that it seems entirely pointless, I can't for the life of me remember what you get out if it except from the horrendously broken level 4 traders which I'm don't know if they fixed.

The only thing I can say about it was it was a fun little time waster for about 20 minutes but I can see how some people enjoy it.

Needless to say I won't lose any sleep if it doesn't return.

If they must bring it back for tes6 or fo5, I think instead of like 30 settlements all populated with "settler" maybe a handful with actual characters who are also self sufficient, maybe opening up side quests/alternative quest outcomes.

It is a decent feature but I probably would not give it any notice if they did not include it in their future Fallout game.

Settlement mode could have worked if it was limited to a single settlement then flesh out the Minutemen quest line that actually helps them become an organization that can affect the Commonwealth.

I like the concept but the fact that settlers did nothing but whine about things they should be able to do was frustrating. Sim Settlements, however, has changed that. I like a mix of the settlement cities and those of my own because I don't have to wipe rear end for the lazy bums in the SIM settlements and control the population in my own settlements. I do admit to using mods to shut up Preston and cut way back on settlement attacks because I hated being in Far Harbor and finding out a settlement on the Nuka World Red Rocket was under attack and required immediate assistance.

to be honest i thought it was dumb at first, and i never liked minecraft but i dumped dozens of hours into my main settlement. Unfortunately i played FO4 on PS4 so settlement size was severely limited and the system as a whole needed more options to manage the settlements when populations got large.

i liked it more than i expected, but it lacked some polish and more options.

as a completionist with everything in games, i personally HATE the settlement system. i don't hate it entirely, since it's good in theory i guess, but i hate how it's basically forced on the player. i prefer to have 0 workshops in my Pip-Boy, with a maximum of 1 (if using a Home Plate settlement mod in a playthrough).

almost every playthrough i tell Presto Gravy to piss off* and use console commands to "finish" the quest of meeting him in Sanctuary so that i don't unlock it as a settlement and don't get roped into endless Minutemen grinding. i even hate getting settlements for Far Harbor/Nuka World forced on me, so i have no choice but to slaughter Far Harbor's town and the raiders in Nuka World if i want my workshops nice and clean and empty on my list....

fun at first but it could have and should have been implemented way better; if i wanted to play The Sims i'd boot up Origin for the thousandth time this week instead of Steam </Opinion>

*odd, since he's the first character i romanced in FO4 and he was originally my favorite: now he's an overused meme and i hate his face

I think it is a fun (for someone) but unnecessary feature. I know I already said it a thousand time but the dumbest mistake that Bethesda made in Fallout 4 is that they tried so hard on making the gameplay more fun than the previous ones. Did they make the gameplay more interesting? Sure they did, but those improvement to me are just so small and unnecessary.

@ElMaldito post pretty much sums up my opinion on settlement buildings system.

Considering it's the only reason I play the game, yeah. Of course, mods are needed though. Base game settlement building is atrocious.

In my opinion, absolutely not. Bethesda spent way too much time on the settlement aspect of Fallout 4 and it ruined the game. The story, rpg elements, characters, etc were lacking compared to FO3 and FNV and I see the settlement building as the culprit. The entire game is built around settlement building. Everywhere you go, its set up a settlement, get more settlers, build a strong base... Instead of meeting interesting npcs with stories and interestin quests, its just hey were getting attacked or a settlement nearby needs help. There is a reason why people including me still play the older Fallout games and that is because the story, atmosphere, rpg is so good in these games even if the combat isn't as polished. I can understand that a lot of people do like the settlement building but as a big Fallout fan, I think it was a mistake and should not be present in the next Fallout. Just my two cents

rooxcz wrote:

In my opinion, absolutely not. Bethesda spent way too much time on the settlement aspect of Fallout 4 and it ruined the game. The story, rpg elements, characters, etc were lacking compared to FO3 and FNV and I see the settlement building as the culprit. The entire game is built around settlement building. Everywhere you go, its set up a settlement, get more settlers, build a strong base... Instead of meeting interesting npcs with stories and interestin quests, its just hey were getting attacked or a settlement nearby needs help. There is a reason why people including me still play the older Fallout games and that is because the story, atmosphere, rpg is so good in these games even if the combat isn't as polished. I can understand that a lot of people do like the settlement building but as a big Fallout fan, I think it was a mistake and should not be present in the next Fallout. Just my two cents

while i did like it, its pretty clear that it was the reason the rest of the game felt lacking.
it would have been much better to have 1 settlement, and npcs you helped or rescued out in the wasteland could be sent back there. the whole thing of practically every small town you came across being an optional settlement was dumb IMO.

@rooxcz Couldn't said it better

Well, personally I love the settlement system. I'm a sucker for customisation in games, and being able to make your own town in the wasteland is like crack for me. I think you can be incredibly creative and make some pretty amazing things with the settlement system if you have a few mods. However, I agree that because Bethesda were lazy it negatively impacted the rest of the game.

The obvious one is the DLC; the settlement DLCs were nice, but way overpriced. Wasteland Workshop and Contraptions Workshop should have been maybe £2 each at most. Vault-Tec Workshop can get away with it because it had a decent amount of content and was surprisingly comprehensive. However, the fact that these three made up half the DLC for Fallout 4, meaning we only got three DLCs with 'actual content' and as you say, only "2 that can hold a candle to the old Fallout games" is a huge shame in my opinion.

Also, you're spot on that the game world is less interesting because of it. Bethesda should've given the player only a handful of towns to build from scratch, and put actual towns everywhere else they give you one. They could've had a quest for each town with different ways to take it over if you really wanted it, while keeping everything interesting that was already there.

Having read a few of these posts had me really think about settlements before actually posting so...

I think settlements are nice, but yeah they shouldn't be detrimental to the rest of the game. I liked the skill checks and stuff in FNV, and I really disliked how... Stupidly simple, I guess? FO4 is. Not to mention my gripes with the animations and other gunplay shit, and disappointment that you couldn't dual wield like Skyrim, yadda yadda. And yeah, I hate it when they get attacked, and fail even with a defensive strength of over 999 (mod it till it breaks amirite).

Yes, I do believe there is great potential in the system, especially considering the awesome settlement mods like sim settlements. But the stupid shit in vanilla where pretty much you alone seem to be the one collecting resources to build stuff up and building the stuff yourself is tiring.

I believe they were a good addition, however, they went n' overdid them; let them detract from th' overall meat o' the game. Had somethin' like 30 vanilla ones, really only wanted four, five at the most. Expected one -- test concept, an' all that jazz. Instead, they sat us all on the Castin' Couch an' sprayed Settlement Love all over us.

I really like it, it gives People like me, who are not good at building via the CK, a chance to build the structures they want.
But like the Fallout Games since 3, the system only became really viable through and because of modders, who took a system with a small selection of items, that was only halfheartedly implemented and turned it into a huge creative playground, with almost limitless options, to build almost whatever you want.

As often with the Fallout Games, Bethesda had a nice idea, implemented the possibility and potential and counted on modders to bring it to fruition.

rooxcz wrote:

In my opinion, absolutely not. Bethesda spent way too much time on the settlement aspect of Fallout 4 and it ruined the game. The story, rpg elements, characters, etc were lacking compared to FO3 and FNV and I see the settlement building as the culprit. The entire game is built around settlement building. Everywhere you go, its set up a settlement, get more settlers, build a strong base... Instead of meeting interesting npcs with stories and interestin quests, its just hey were getting attacked or a settlement nearby needs help. There is a reason why people including me still play the older Fallout games and that is because the story, atmosphere, rpg is so good in these games even if the combat isn't as polished. I can understand that a lot of people do like the settlement building but as a big Fallout fan, I think it was a mistake and should not be present in the next Fallout. Just my two cents

I'd be alright if it was implemented in another game seriers or a new ip. Fallout should remain fallout though.