General Fallout 4 rant thread (Spoilers aplenty)

[Frankster]

once i stop trolling around for parts to sup up my powerarmor i will be heading in to see this institute and their shenanigans... they're supposed to be worse then the 'Kill the Mutant, Burn the Heretic, Purge the Unclean' BoS right? i suddenly really miss Lyons :.(

wonder what Buzz will think of me noming on people/ghouls/supermutants... you'd figure that'd just make the BoS shoot you on sight right?

Worst is in the eye of the beholder I guess, depending on your values. The main problem with the institute is they basically have their fingers in all sorts of potentially very nasty and dangerous pies, all of it pretty much for their own curiosity and the lulz, under a vague pretense that this is all for the benefit of "humanity" even though every time they talk about those living topside, it's always with a sneer or utter repulsion.

Basically the institute is exactly who the BoS warn about when they say that tech in the wrong hands can not be allowed to doom humanity all over again. But to Beth's credit, they made it so the institute isn't totally irredeemable and indeed after hearing nothing but horror stories about them, its weird when you actually walk around and talk to the random scientists and inhabitants and find out they ain't monsters after all, heck they reminded me a lot of vault dwellers due to their isolation. Anyways you'll see when you get there, maybe you'll disagree with me and find an angle I didnt think of

As for Buzz and cannibalism, sadly the space man will think you are a sad, strange little man and he shall pity you :/

Also related, it turns out that Danse/Buzz is actually the most meme friendly of the companions despite (or maybe because of) having next to little sense of humor and being very much a lost space man.

You can Danse if you want to. You can leave the synths behind.
Cause those synths don't Danse and if they don't Danse then they aint no friends of mine.

Edit: just found this one!

Plus there was one mission that was super fun:

Them BoS final missions were kickass weren't they? Well when you weren't forced to build parts for Liberty prime..
Flushing the sewers of those guerilla rats certainly was thematic.

That said, storming the institute was super fun too, they were like the opposite of the railroad, rather then fighting viciously like cornered animals most folk of the institute cower and hide amongst their pristine surroundings , leaving the fighting to their synth protectors.

But yeah when compared to previous fallout games, feel fo4 had far better final missions.

You would think a faction of scientists would be delighted at the possibility of true AI.

But no, they literally go out of their way to be dicks about it. I mean, if you strove to make machines as life like as possible, why is self awareness a bad thing?

This is where I feel the lack of in game rping really works against the story. You really can't argue with any institute scientist or Shaun over this and are forced to meekly accept their views if you roll with them.
This should been an [INT] test where you could either make some scientists wonder if there isn't a ghost in the machine/synth, or merely point that their treatment of synths will inevitably cause problems later down the line.

There's that one institute scientist who is pleased to meet you exactly because you're a source of fresh ideas that would challenge the status quo...Yet you're never given the option to do so, only to follow Shauns directives.

 

[sXeth]

There is a bell that will summon them all if that makes it easier.

And where is this bell? Somewhere near the default workshop in each settlement I wager. Would certainly make things a little more convenient even if I'd still prefer a menu or an rts style overhead view.

Its under misc items to build can place it anywhere. There is also a door mat that changes the fast travel location.

Is there a trick to getting the bell to work?

I built it, but I'm lucky if it gets maybe 2 of the settlers to actually come over. There's often some "ghost" people that I can never find despite the settlement number saying they're present.

Unrelated - Whats with the Xbox ad spam in the captchas, yeesh. It even tells you you're wrong if oyu say it has no appeal.

 

[DEAD34345]

The Institute is the only faction that has accomplished... Well... Anything in the 200 years since the bombs fell, so they're the obvious choice for best faction to me. The Brotherhood of Steel just wants to hoard and destroy technology out of fear, and while I kind of like the Railroad, they admit themselves that they don't have any particular long term goals or strategies other than blowing up The Institute.

As for companions, I stuck with Cait for the first half of the game mainly so that she could open the locks I couldn't yet, and X6-88 for the rest, for obvious reasons. My favourite gun was just an upgraded combat rifle that served me well through the entire game. I wanted to switch to the institute laser rifles later, but they're so huge and unwieldy that they block half the screen while you're using them, which just pissed me off.

Edit: Oh... And the Minutemen are just... There, I guess. They coexist with the Institute perfectly well apparently, so whatever. I might someday build them up if I can be bothered to do all those boring radiant quests. They work for me, and therefore the Institute, so they're alright I suppose.

 

[DEAD34345]

-snip-

They don't coexist as well as you think. The Minutemen, being the boyscouts of the wasteland, also fight for synths rights which puts them at a moral crossing to the Institute. There's also the thing about the Institute treating the wasteland above like the homeless surrounding a Whole Foods, and that they're pretty much going to get rid of everyone when "the time comes"

Do they actually fight for Synth rights, though? That does sound like the kind of thing they'd do, but the leader of the Railroad wanted me to stop working with the Minutemen specifically because they would apparently destroy any synths they came across out of fear or hatred[footnote]This was moments before she found out that it wasn't the Minutemen I was working for after all, of course...[/footnote].

Either way, the Minutemen in my game seem to just match my relationship with the factions. When I turned on the Brotherhood and the Railroad they started getting into huge battles with both of them on my behalf, but I've yet to see them come into conflict with the Institute at all.

Also I think the Institute position on the people of the commonwealth is simply one of extreme indifference, they're happy to simply ignore them as long as they don't get in the way. Trying to wipe them all out would just be a pointless waste of effort, especially since they believe that they'll probably die off eventually anyway.

 

[WolfThomas]

There is a bell that will summon them all if that makes it easier.

And where is this bell? Somewhere near the default workshop in each settlement I wager. Would certainly make things a little more convenient even if I'd still prefer a menu or an rts style overhead view.

Its under misc items to build can place it anywhere. There is also a door mat that changes the fast travel location.

Is there a trick to getting the bell to work?

I built it, but I'm lucky if it gets maybe 2 of the settlers to actually come over. There's often some "ghost" people that I can never find despite the settlement number saying they're present.

Unrelated - Whats with the Xbox ad spam in the captchas, yeesh. It even tells you you're wrong if oyu say it has no appeal.

I don't know. I've only got ~12 people and it seems to work fine. I put it in an open area. Not sure if that helps.

 

[DEAD34345]

-snip-

Wait really? I was General of the Minutemen and working for the Railroad, and when the time came for the final assault on the Institute Desdemona specifically requested that I go round up the Minutemen to fight them. Something like "if you want to defeat the Institute you need an army, and the Minutemen are our best bet."

And yeah, I suppose it is extreme indifference. Though their repeated synth infiltration into the leaderships of all the governments kind puts them in a nefarious light if they just want to ignore them. But maybe it's just self preservation.

I wasn't sure if I'd remembered it wrong so I went back to an old save to make sure, the conversation about the Minutemen goes like this:

Spoiler

Des: Please, work with us instead of the Minutemen.

Me: You think the Minutemen won't help the synths?

Des: The Minutemen are a reflection of the character of the Commonwealth people. And time and time again, that character has proven to be rotten. The synths are tangible receptacles of their hatred of the Institute. Order them to help, and they'd mutiny.

I thought it was odd at the time myself. Maybe she changes her mind later if you side with her, considering they're used in the attack on the Institute? I don't really know, she wasn't in much of a condition to talk to me after that... >.>

Anyway, the thing you have to bear in mind with the Institute's motives is that their original plan was to reach out and help the people of the Commonwealth. It ended poorly, apparently due to "mutual mistrust", and only then did they decide to retreat from the surface altogether. Ever since then they've been hated and feared by the outside world, and yet despite this they've not really retaliated against it in any significant way, preferring to stay in their own private utopia and build for the future. When they do have to interact with the surface at all, they do so with the utmost secrecy, attempting to not let their presence be known at all.

It's only when whole factions gear up to try and destroy them that they respond in kind, and even then the common people are mostly left alone.

The Institute is the only faction that actually desires to improve the world, and advance technology not just back to pre-war levels, but beyond it. They want to turn the world into a utopia for mankind, and more importantly they're perfectly capable of doing it, as evidenced by the technological utopia they've already built for themselves underground.

The Brotherhood on the other hand actively opposes any kind of technological advancement at all, apparently preferring to keep the world in the hellish state it's already in. The Railroad has some nice ideals, and I actually agree that the synths are deserving of autonomy, but in practice all they're going to do is destroy the one group who has made any kind of progress towards improving the world in over 200 years.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

I say to hell with the future of humanity, do whats right now. I dont really care about whether its Ghouls, synths or humans in charge in a thousand years. There are still people around despite everything and If even a nuclear appcalypse cant wipe us out we will be fine and rebuild the world eventually. Heck look at NCR and Caesars Legion. Did a pretty good job securing the future of humanity.

Basing your morality on such theoretical and lofty things as the future of the human race leads to fucked up shit like the Brotherhoods genocide and the institutes'for the greater good' willingness to kill wastelanders and kidnap them for experiments (the FEV subjects in the institute were wastelanders, and one of the dead supermants even has a teddy bear with it indicating to me it was a child)

So instead of longthinking morality I would rather do the right thing now and help the railroad. I still felt like a piece of shit for all the institute civilian casualties and betraying my son though. but it was the best choice of a bad situation I think. That moment where you had to secure the teleporter room by killing the helpless technicians...

Bethesda did so much better than the black and white choices of Fallout 3 though! Its not just evil enclave vs good brotherhood this time!

 

[truckspond]

Faction: First playthrough: Institute - unlike the BoS that is entirely dependent of pre-war technology, The Institute is actively creating new post-war technology to provide a better life for all, not just a specific unmutated species. Sure, their FEV experimentation was unethical, but that's been stopped for a long time before you built your way in.

Second playthrough: BoS - Despite Elder Hitler, I wanted to see how they planned to breach the Institute. Seeing LP make a devastating return to form was the best moment of the whole game. Not even the Behemoths between the airport and CIT were even able to make a scratch on that thing.

Favorite companion: Nick (I always think "Riviera" when I hear that name). He is easily the most likable person in the whole Commonwealth.

Most hated companion: Codsworth. "Look, this thing can say your name!" - it got annoying after the first 20 times

Favorite Gun: Gatling Laser. Who needs power armor when a few seconds is all it takes for your enemy to be reduced to a conveniently lootable pile of ash.

Settlement building: Meh. I've got some things going at Sanctuary and the Red Rocket stop. But not much beyond that.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

- Initially sided with the Railroad, but once I got the chance to side with the Institute I did so. Their base was way cooler and more luxurious than anything you could find in the wasteland, plus the idea of siding with evil seemed the more interesting route. Although, once I actually got there I found they weren't really what I would call evil. Their treatment of the synths is rather questionable, but then again, which other faction that has any power in the wasteland doesn't have questionable views/practices of their own? Plus, humanity and the Earth itself is completely fucked at this point, and it isn't going to magically become un-fucked by having various factions squabble over the irradiated ground. While the Institute may not be the best short term solution to humanities problems, their advancements are a far better long term solution than anything the other factions could hope for.

- As for companions, I didn't really have a favourite, but I stuck with Dogmeat most of the time.

- I mainly used a highly modified combat rifle chambered for .308 rounds. Very lethal and accurate, plus the ammo was fairly plentiful. When I eventually did begin to run low I simply switched back to .45 rounds, of which I had over a thousand, giving my my stocks of .308 rounds time to replenish.
A laser sniper rifle was also good.

- As for settlement building, not very. I fixed up Sanctuary hills to my liking, but most of the stuff I actually wanted was gated behind Charisma perks, and most of the rest of it served no real purpose. I tried building a house only to be shocked by the lack of useful pieces. Seriously Bethedsa? You use modular level design anyway, so how hard could it really be to throw in more of your kits?

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Most hated companion: Codsworth. "Look, this thing can say your name!" - it got annoying after the first 20 times

This is something I never really understood about this game and its hype. Why did the world seem to collectively piss their pants with joy when they found out one of the NPCs has a gimmicky list of pre-recorded names? It was even mentioned in many of the reviews as if it was a selling point, for some reason. I'm not sure why this was supposed to excite me. You pick one of the names on the list, or roll the dice and hope yours in on the list, then you talk to Codsworth and clap your hands when it picks the correct audio file. "He he, it say the name what which I picked, yay!"

 

[DefunctTheory]

-Which faction did you side with and why?

Brotherhood of Steel, for several reasons.

1. The have the coolest stuff.
2. Danse is pretty neat.
3. It quickly became obvious that they were zealots who wanted me to kill everyone else. And since I loathed everyone, that worked for me.

-Favorite companion? Most hated companion?

Curie. I just liked her. She was also the first companion I used that seemed to understand personal space, so she rarely got in my way, unlike Dogmeat.

Most hated: Dogmeat. Get out of my way, you furry bastard.

-Favorite gun?

The Deliverer (Special 10mm pistol). Absolute murder fest with that thing. Gauss Rifle after that - One hit and their down.

-How involved were you with the settlement building process?

I built what I needed to make the quest go away. Easily the worst part of this game.

-snip-

They don't coexist as well as you think. The Minutemen, being the boyscouts of the wasteland, also fight for synths rights which puts them at a moral crossing to the Institute. There's also the thing about the Institute treating the wasteland above like the homeless surrounding a Whole Foods, and that they're pretty much going to get rid of everyone when "the time comes"

Do they actually fight for Synth rights, though? That does sound like the kind of thing they'd do, but the leader of the Railroad wanted me to stop working with the Minutemen specifically because they would apparently destroy any synths they came across out of fear or hatred[footnote]This was moments before she found out that it wasn't the Minutemen I was working for after all, of course...[/footnote].

Either way, the Minutemen in my game seem to just match my relationship with the factions. When I turned on the Brotherhood and the Railroad they started getting into huge battles with both of them on my behalf, but I've yet to see them come into conflict with the Institute at all.

Also I think the Institute position on the people of the commonwealth is simply one of extreme indifference, they're happy to simply ignore them as long as they don't get in the way. Trying to wipe them all out would just be a pointless waste of effort, especially since they believe that they'll probably die off eventually anyway.

The Minutemen just roll with whatever you choose to do. If you go BoS, they fight the Institute and will try to help out the Vertibird troops if their in the vicinity, and they'll fight the Synths.

Also, the Institute views the people above as practically subhumans. They openly admit to replacing people when you first go down, without batting an eye, and they will take any resources they need from the Wasteland without asking for permission (Its just luck that theres not much they need from the surface).

 

[Kevlar Eater]

Faction: Kinda in a tight spot between the BoS and Railroad; already decided that the Institute needs to go. In an attempt to better humanity, the scientists have apparently sacrificed theirs. Plus, I'm not a fan of treating sentient life as property, especially if it involves humanoids. Kinda leads to the whole "created will turn on their creators" trope that's being played out harder than the top 40 songs on any radio frequency one would tune in to. But that's just my thoughts on the Institute.

Favorite companion: Between Piper and Curie I have a hard time choosing.
- Least favorite: Dogmeat. As unquestioning as his loyalty is, more often than not, he has gotten in my way and gotten me killed on numerous occasions.

Favorite gun: I typically carried 3-4 guns on me at all times:
- Silenced violent .308 combat rifle (+25% damage and limb damage, but has more recoil). Recoil's irrelevant with all the best mods decreasing it, plus I usually prefer to go stealthy. I call it "Silent Violent".

- Explosive combat shotgun (bullets explode on impact doing 15 points of AoE damage). The first legendary weapon I got early in the game Silenced it later on. Survival difficulty is nothing since I could effectively shoot in the general direction of the enemy and they would be giblets. Kinda like this:

Spoiler

One more thing. Explosive shotguns/auto weapons are pretty good at stripping power armor and crippling limbs to uselessness. I hate seeing how pathetic a deathclaw looks crawling on the ground from a broken leg, but I prefer its claws to not rake my insides out.

- Automatic bleeding laser rifle. It also burns, so it does some wicked damage over time when enough shots land. Great for reducing the health of large targets with high resistances.

Most settlements I've built are like superfortresses, with tons of heavy laser turrets lining whatever battlements I've set up, alongside outfitting the settlers with heavy combat armor and automatic laser rifles (kinda cheated on arming the settlers), giving the settlements a Warhammer 40k vibe to it. Totally wish the guards were able to wear power armor, I'd most definitely have them wielding either explosive miniguns or extended rippers.

 

[Elvis1835]

*****WARNING THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS ON THIS POST******* -I chose the Brotherhood of Steel because I felt like they were the only solution to the Commonwealth's problems. Most Civilians hate Synths and are paranoid of the Institute, I also think that as Elder Maxson said it is technology gone too far. And people say why Maxson wanted Danse killed without question is wrong but the truth is he WAS a threat. The Institute could at any time relay to him and say his Synth code which could EASILY make him snap and go crazy on the Brotherhood. The Railroad say they care about helping Synths have new lives and escaping the Institute but listen to this: If they destroy the Institute in the quest then there won't be ANY synths left to help because there wont be any production of them, their group would become helpless after that and to the people of the commonwealth. Atleast the Brotherhood have aims after it's destroyed such as wiping out Ferals and Mutants. Things that help the commonwealth and not stupid Synths. Minutemen are out of the question because they are pretty annoying.


-I usually roll with MacCready because he's got a really good shot. He's a nice guy and his special perk gives maximum VATS headshot accuracy from any range. Whether this is a glitch or not it's OP. He can also give you Fusion Cores and Mini Nukes. Nick is exceptionally ok and so is Codsworth. Everyone else is pretty boring.

-At the moment I'm running melee weapons and it's REALLY FUN but I like to run revolvers because they are pretty sweet, especially with Kellogg's Pistol and MacCready's headshot perk.

I don't really care for settlement building I just think it's a lot of effort and time wasting and I don't care for the Minutemen much. I have one little area setup in Graygarden. Mostly because it is all run by Mr. Handys and I love them but if you don't want to build a lot Covenant is the place for you.

 

[JamesStone]

Faction- First play-through is currently with the Brotherhood of Steel, which I'm starting to regret. Bethesda decided to drop the goody-goody-two-shoes thing from Fallout 3 and make them pretty damn repulsive at times. Their pure, utter hatred of Synths and without even questioning why, having you kill one of their best soldiers because he happens to be one. Not to mention, they now have two stashes of nuclear weapons and they've rebuilt their ultimate weapon once again. I'm starting to get worried.

Yeah, I'm kinda glad I gave the BoS the big middle finger in this game. The BoS are actually supposed to be assholes, it's just that Bethesda screwed up their portrayal in FO3, (the Outcasts in that game are a lot closer to what the 'true' Brotherhood is like, or indeed also the way they're portrayed in FONV too).

They didn't "screw up" shit, the fact the Brotherhood is so different in 3 is explained very well through terminals and talking to the Elder and his main scribe. It's a major faction plot point in 4 the reshift to their standard MO, and it's heavily implied through terminals scattered around the Prydwen that it had to do with Sarah Lyons' death affecting young Maxson.

The Outcast's mere existance should have been the hint that Bethesda was deliberate and calculating in their portrayal of the BoS (and if that doesn't do it, several of Broken Steel's random encounters with some less than Lyons-esque members of the Brotherhood might have clued in), and not a mistake or an error like "screwing up" implies.


OT:

Faction: Sided with the Minutemen because none of the factions seems to be capable of providing the citizens of the Commonwealth a good future. The Brotherhood is downright feudal with its treatment of the inhabitants of the lands it controls, not giving a solitary shit about the state of the people as long as they aren't juggling neutrino bombs. Some may value the "independance" they provide, but for me, when you combine it with the strip-mining and hoarding of useful technology for the people and their violent hatred of non-humans makes it a no-go for me. I don't want to kill them, much less the children on board, but I sure as hell don't want them in charge.
The Institute is too shifty for my tastes. Straight up murdering people and replacing them with Synths (at least too confirmed reports with the Warwick Homestead, with the planned assassination of the family, including kids, and Art) for no discernible gain, singlehandely unleashing the super mutants to the Commonwealth (and these seem to be able to reproduce on their own somehow, considering the FEV project was discontinued a while ago and there are almost more Mutants than humans in Boston. No way The Institute kidnapped half the population), and subhuman treatment of the beings they create and continue creating even though they appear to be developing sapience (The discussion if they do or don't is irrelevant, the existence of the possibility should be enough for a more in-depth study, it's not like they're needing these many Gen 3) makes me completely unable to cooperate with them. I know in the end you become director, but it's like being the president of the USA. You're technically in charge, but if the hypothetical congress (here represented by the Head Researchers) have a bone to pick with your ideas, tough luck. And yes, you could assassinate them and replace them, but that sort of shit tends to lead to civil war, and that means no stability for Boston.

The Railroad is made by good people, who unfortunately have almost no leadership and economical management experience and zero interest in doing so. There's no point going Railroad if going Minutemen leads to the same results without the afforementioned dead children the Railroad path entails (seriously, you can choose to evacuate the Institute, but have no choice in crashing that airship, woth no survivors?).

The Minutemen have good chances of evolving into a government like the NCR, and have the people's safety in mind, which makes them my choice.


Favorite Weapon: Plasma Flamer. That thing kills everything foolish enough to get close, with awesome visual effects to booth.

Settlements: With Alternate Settlements, SSeX, Homemaker and OCDecorator, plus a few mods to increase settlement population cap and size, and I've been making some pre-war like settlements. The Castle has a 5 story tower installed plus robot guards and a total of 782 defense from all the turrets I spread across the walls, powered by Fusion Reactors at the top floor of the Tower. Sanctuary Hills was scrapped of most pre-war houses and rebuilt from the ground up, with Flak Towers guarding from possible air assaults. Starlight Drive-In is the center of commerce and provisions of the Commonwealth, and as such it's 100% trade based, with actual stores instead of those barracks (mod to add counters that act like stores themselves). And most other settlements are optimized as either farms or water mines, with a few acting as cities.

I haven't even finished the goddamned game. The modded settlement expriwnce is too fun.

 

[IceForce]

No one in the game comes close though, than Preston Garvey [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Preston_Garvey] when it comes to hatred. Stop giving me quests when I simply want to talk to you. No, STOP trying to cram me with pointless "fetch this" missions when I want to trade you lazy, ignorant piece of trash. Can't even help yourself against a small group of raiders but you send me to kill off 50+ raiders at a base just to get some farmers to join your group. No wonder everyone working under you has died, you failure of a Minutemen wannabe.

Oh god. I hate Preston Garvey.

> "I've just received word that a settlement needs our help."
HOW!? HOW DID YOU "RECEIVE WORD"?? YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING TWO STEPS BEHIND ME THE ENTIRE TIME.

>turns in billionth bullshit Minuteman quest
> "As usual, I've got something else for you to do."
No. No more. Enough of this. Fuck you Preston Garvey, if you didn't have plot armor I'd be putting a bullet in your head right about now.

I agree with you completely about Curie, though.

>loots dead body
> "Shouldn't we be putting those items in evidence bags for the police?"

Never change, Curie. Never change.

 

[Frankster]

Yey nice to see this thread still kickin'.

Have been doing a quick new playthrough of FO4 with some mods (nothing too fancy yet alas), mostly focusing on rushing the main storyline on the institute side to get their perspective aswell as making Red Rocket Garage into my own personal doom fortress (challenge being the build area is kinda small, but that was no problem, just ended up making a badass tower of Babel stretching all the way to the sky, with its floors brimming with turrets for the poor random mutant patrols that somehow make their way up here every now and then).

I said I'd stick to the institute and so I did but bloody hell it was hard... I was barely aware of half the crap they got up to in the game in my last playthrough mainly due to sticking close to the BoS after discovering the FEV lab but turns out they are just even more messed up then I realized.

Highlights of new game included:
-Discovering to my horror that them tales of institute replacing people with synths is actually true and normal.
I honestly thought the stories were exaggeration and the shock of people discovering friends they have know their entire lives were synths from the start but nope, turns out they really do take people (for an undisclosed fate since no one from the institute would explain this to me, sorely making me miss the old skol RPG conversation systems where you had to type words in and npcs would react to it if it was in their library) and replace them.

my decision to leave came after finding a terminal with the experiment where they kidnapped a farmer, tortured him for information, put a synth in his place, planted some strange shit on his farm, then killed everyone when the experiment was finished.

o0 The rabbit hole goes ever deeper. Bloody hell how can anyone side with these guys once you've sifted through their history? They have 0 redeeming qualities and EVERY horror story told about the institute was 100% true it seems.

So they don't just take people but outright torture them too? Friggin sick bastards, and they have the nerve to keep justifying their actions with BS statements like "its for humanity" or "think of how many lives we are saving".

-Discovering the Institute is actually a lot like the BoS when it comes to tech hoarding... Heck even worst.
Institute sees tech it wants, it goes in and KILLS EVERYONE in epic bloodbath leaving nothing but horror in their wake, all to prevent technological advancement for surface dwellers and prevent them from being a united force.
In order words, the institute actively works to keeping the wasteland lawless and in anarchy.

TLDR there's an area called University Point that seemed to be the HQ of a previous attempt of common wealth goverment, it also housed super reactor tech from before the war, which scientists were in the process of uncovering.
Institute gets a wind of it, and well TLDR end up butchering the entire community.

-Despite all this, stuck with the institute since that was the point of this playthrough, my companions got epically pissed at me after the end of game in a way that they certainly weren't when I went the BoS route.

So yeah in conclusion, I gave it a try, but I'm now convinced more then ever Institute are irredeemable as an entity even if you have individually good scientists in the lot.

Next playthrough I'll go the railroad route.

 

[IceForce]

Highlights of new game included:
-Discovering to my horror that them tales of institute replacing people with synths is actually true and normal.
I honestly thought the stories were exaggeration and the shock of people discovering friends they have know their entire lives were synths from the start but nope, turns out they really do take people (for an undisclosed fate since no one from the institute would explain this to me, sorely making me miss the old skol RPG conversation systems where you had to type words in and npcs would react to it if it was in their library) and replace them.

Oh yeah, they send you on a mission (Warwick Homestead, I believe) where the Institute guy (who gives you the quest) is completely open about the fact that they replaced a HUSBAND and FATHER of two kids, with a synth replacement.
To complete the quest 'the Institute way', one has to talk down some other guy brandishing a gun who has figured out the truth behind this particular synth replacement, and you tell him he's wrong (even though he's 100% right).

o0 The rabbit hole goes ever deeper. Bloody hell how can anyone side with these guys once you've sifted through their history? They have 0 redeeming qualities and EVERY horror story told about the institute was 100% true it seems.

There's possibly just one redeeming quality, (depending on how you want to regard it), and that is at the end of the Institute quest line you actually get to LEAD the Institute. So at least you MIGHT have the ability to change the Institute's ways from within (although this isn't reflected in-game, obviously).

You mentioned companions hating you for siding with the Institute, but I feel I should mention something that gets written by Piper after you beat the game for the Institute, because it plays nicely into my 'lead the Institute' point above.

But perhaps the most compelling reason not to give up hope just yet is the fact that, if my sources are correct - and I know they are - the Institute is now under direct influence of someone many of us have already met - the Vault Dweller. That lonely figure who came into our settlement searching for a missing child, and clearly found something else entirely. And maybe, just maybe, the Institute is all the better for it.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fear_the_Future%3F

So yeah, make of that what you will. At least it's not entirely doom and gloom.

Next playthrough I'll go the railroad route.

The Railroad questline is my favorite. The thing I would suggest though is NOT joining the BoS when doing a Railroad playthough.
You can do Danse's first mission (to ArcJet Systems) but afterwards when he returns to the Cambridge police station and asks you to join the BoS properly ("No more mercenary work." etc, etc) turn him down.

Without spoilering too much, joining the BoS makes the Railroad questline a LOT harder later on.
To put it another way, the Railroad likes to use undercover/guerilla tactics (which is why I like them so much), so it's better that the BoS doesn't know you and doesn't know your face.

 

[Nicha11]

I was a little conflicted between factions until I learnt that I would inherit leadership of the Institute as soon as my (elderly and sickly son) passed away, well that was easy.

The Minutemen are a non faction. My only affection for the BOS stemmed from them giving me power armour, the insane genocidal crusade was fairly off putting (no, you don't get to kill Nick Valentine). The railroad were alright, but had no endgame plan. The fact that they couldn't wait for me to reform the institute after becoming its leader was frustrating, so it's either or is it?
30+ landmines sorted out that hippie colony right quick.

I'm fairly sure my character will now be able to lead and reform the Institute as its undisputed leader, restoring tech and progress to the world above (as opposed to building giant death blimps).

 

[WolfThomas]

I am with james on this. bethesda didnt screw up on the BoS in FO3.

it was stated in previous games that elders who try to do things differently, or have "radical ideas" are sent away, most likely to die or at least exist far enough away to not effect the rest of the BoS.

tactics had several elders being sent off into the midwest.

The Midwest brotherhood was made up of Exiles and did institute some pretty radical changes in recruiting tribals and non-humans. But in many ways they kept the BoS party line and were pretty unpleasant. General Barnaky is very anti-non-human and could get along well with Arthur Maxxon. After some criminals at Quincy poisoned Brotherhood members and stole their gear, the BoS after killing them crucified their bodies outside Quincy along with local guards who failed in their duties and interned families of the criminals.

Really the only reason they even recruited non-humans was out of necessity and they had the good fortune that the Midwest Mutants, Ghouls and Deathclaws could even be recruited. West coast super mutants are smarter than east and able to follow orders, there were no feral ghouls in Fallout 1 2 and tactics and the Deathclaws were intelligent enough to speak and ally with the order.

I think if Maxson encountered them, he'd be leery at first but actually jump at the army being handed to him.

The East Coast Brotherthood comes off as Xenophobic but really on the East Coast any Deathclaw, Mutant, Ghouls or obvious Synth is 9 out of 10 times going to try and kill you. People like Fawkes and Nick Valentine are rare exceptions.

But I agree heaps. This BoS is not OOC at all.

 

[sXeth]

-Which faction did you side with and why?

The Minutemen/Railroad combo. I'd already joined the Minutemen, as most first runs do I reckon. The BOS was offputting, and my guy was agiility based, so power armor was kind of meh anyways. Railroad also gives you the armored clothing mod, for some diversity in character look.

-Favorite companion? Most hated companion?
Hancock, who tended not to engage targets from ten million miles away, drawing everyone down on my sneaky ways. He also had one of the more interesting moralities, for the "good" guys. Nick was fun too, though a bit of a nuisance to keep alive due to equipment restrictions.

Strong, for all that I love his gusto, was just frustratingly annoying in terms of likes/dislikes. I still don't know what he actually does like, but finally maxed him just by time together. Piper seemed jarringly out of place if I took her as an actual companion, as she seems to just readily abandon her career, home, and sister to go adventuring around the Wasteland, and is one of the worst in a fight when it comes down to it. Her aid of giving you irradiated candy was just utterly garbage too.

-Favorite gun?
A modded Pipe Bolt-Action Pistol with exploding bullets. So a .50 cal one-handed sniper rocket launcher, prettymuch.

For more general utility, Righteous Authority modded to a pistol form for VATS spamming, or a 10mm that had Staggering bullets.


-How involved were you with the settlement building process?
-I did up Sanctuary, Red Rocket, and Starlight (where I put the Relay), and the Castle to some extent (less then was advisable for the assault on it). Other then that, I mostly kept basic farms/artillery placements. And a few specialty setups to store companions in (like putting Strong in Hangman's Alley)