Fallout 76’s Irradiated Wasteland Is Full Of Spectacular Bugs
Bethesda warned of "spectacular issues" and they were right.
Happy Reclamation Day! The much-anticipated post-apocalyptic video game Fallout 76 is out now, and fans of the series are cheerfully strapping on their Power Armor, venturing into the irradiated wasteland, and running headlong into some spectacular issues.
Fallout 76 is the latest game in the Fallout series, in which the aftermath of a nuclear bombing meets cheerful 50’s-style Americana. The series has built up a loyal and enthusiastic fan base since the first game was released in 1997, so the announcement of a new addition to the series in May was met with much anticipation. Further, in a departure from the previous Fallout games, Fallout 76 is an online multiplayer game — the first such game developer Bethesda has made.
A few quirks and issues are to be expected when anyone embarks on an unfamiliar endeavour. However, Bethesda games are already notorious for their bugs, so much so that Bethesda bugs are a meme and players practically accept issues as features. Trying out an entirely new format for the first time in a big budget game was bound to cause problems.
Well aware of its reputation, Bethesda tried to mitigate expectation and head complaints off at the pass. The day before the launch of the Fallout 76 beta, it shared a letter to the fans warning of “unforeseen bugs” and “spectacular issues”.
A Note to Our Fans https://t.co/STRzjzv7gt pic.twitter.com/3wlGpnLKKp
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) October 22, 2018
“We all know with the scale of our games, and the the systems we let you use, that unforeseen bugs and issues always come up. Given what we’re doing with 76, we know we’re opening everyone up to all new spectacular issues none of us have encountered,” wrote Bethesda. “Some we’re aware of, such as areas where performance needs to improve with lots of players. Others, we surely don’t. We need your help finding them, and advice on what’s important to fix. We’ll address all of it, now and after launch.”
True to Bethesda’s word, the issues were indeed spectacular. Perhaps the most spectacular was an issue that deleted the entire Fallout 76 beta from some players’ computers, forcing them to start the ~50GB download all over again.
Now that Fallout 76 has launched, players are still finding numerous bugs despite launch day arriving with an update larger than the game itself. In a popular Reddit thread, redditor IzaakGoldbaum complains, “People were saying ‘ITS A BETA of course there are bugs’. Too bad released version is the same as beta.”
Some players who took part in the Fallout 76 beta have reported being unable to uninstall the beta because they “do not have access to this game”. Others who purchased the game have found their transaction history wiped and the game unavailable. A thread for players to share their spectacular issues is currently stuck to the top of the Fallout Reddit, and has over 300 comments at time of writing. These issues include players being given different in-game items to the ones their character purchased, being able to stand inside vending machines, and having their weapons emptied of ammo by some presumably pacifist computer terminals.
Fortunately, a Bethesda representative who must be having a very busy day is responding to complaints and assuring fans that the development team is on it, so you might want to pipe up there if you’re experiencing bugs as well. But a few spectacular issues aren’t going to stop most fans from venturing out into the wasteland. To many, it’s all part of the post-apocalyptic charm.