Patch 48 - New Player Experience & Atlantic City
Systems Designer
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This update is my second major contribution to Fallout 76.
For this update, I worked on developing starter and classic load-outs for new players who want to experience what the game offers in a “plug ‘n play” style while introducing players to our S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system in a different way. I also developed 2 new Perk Cards abilities, designed a few rewards for Atlantic City Expeditions & New Player Experience cosmetics, renamed over 600+ C.A.M.P. Items, updated current perk cards, and enhanced the way players gain rewards from Daily Ops and other QoL Fixes.
This was the first feature I worked on from concept to finish in a AAA space.
Loadout Selection Screen!
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Loadouts are a streamlined introduction approach for new players to experience different playstyles Fallout 76 has to offer. These 5 playstyles were based on the most common builds our concurrent players interact with.
The selection of Perk Cards distributed is based on a mixture of effective item consumption, ability enhancements, and survivability.
We also provided a few extra cards and packs for players who may want to experiment by themselves with what they consider an optimal build, as well as a buff that will provide players with an experience bonus for the first two hours of the game.
Players can also now interact with a vendor that offers cosmetic looks for their loadout weapons.
New Perk Cards!
Alongside the New Player Experience, I developed 2 new perks with the UI team, Arms Keeper & Stable Tools. These perks were made due to the reintroduction of chainsaws in the Pitt update, & a QoL perk for rifle players since other playstyles offer similar options.
Better Daily Ops Rewards!
For a major QoL for this update, I implemented a system that rewards players who ace the Daily Ops game mode, with plans that they haven’t gathered/learned. If a recipe is untradable/unsellable to NPCs or other players, that recipe will only drop to players now if they haven’t learned its contents as well.
Post-mortem - New Player Experience
This was kind of tough to do as there were some limitations and had to go through many pitching processes to provide the best options possible for the loadouts. I think they are the best they can be at this point since the core design was to give them serviceable but not min-maxed options 🙂
It felt really great seeing feedback from the community and the Public Testing Server. I have learned a lot in this!
I feel greatly honored to tackle a feature that will be right at the start of the game. It feels great that the first things a player might see will be something I worked on :’)