Wargamers. Wargamers never change.
Since 2009, at any given time, you could find at least 80 people online playing FOnline, the fan-made Fallout 2 MMO sequel. Dozens of FOnline servers have cropped up over the years. Few survive long. The longest running is FOnline2 (currently in its 3rd season), followed by Fallout Reloaded. And it is Reloaded that has attracted the most players recently… and with it, has become a masterclass in how not to design a game.
“The devs read all the feedback, sat down, and did the opposite of what players wanted.” a player by the handle of Butcher told me. “It’s a shitshow.”
Butcher isn’t the only one decrying the current state of affairs; a number of regulars have posted long essays ripping into the revamped combat system (which removed the high-skill based character classes), the encounter system, the loot system, and of course, the removal of PvP rewards.
FOnline Reloaded, in past iterations, treated every player like an NPC. Every player could be looted or stolen from. The primary draw in the past Season was 10-man squad impromptu team deathmatches in the several in-game cities. Gone, now, are the loot-related reward aspects of player killing - now the only reason to PK is because you can.
Gear drops from NPCs in a near-broken state. Weapons break after being used a handful of times. Horde mode is locked behind a gear wall.
But hey, this is the same game community that demanded a server wipe (and new content) on FOnline Reloaded. One can never be too cautious of what they wish for.
FOnline is a hell of a drug. You can find the FOnline Reloaded server here: fonline-reloaded.net
EscapeRoom is a sporadically-written column by tinoesroho. Usually it covers videogames.