Quote Originally Posted by TinCow
This is very true. I still find myself reading NMA a couple times a week for the 'gawk-factor.' Why is that? What is so compelling about that group that draws people to watch it even when they don't really care about what the people are arguing about?
Because some of us actually agree with some or all of what they are saying. The hard truth and reality of it is that the Fallout franchise and games have survived only because of the hardcore fans like them, not through other developer's attempts at actively destroying the game. Witness FOB(P)OS.

The problem is twofold as I see it, and neither trumps the other.

First, you have the 'hardcore' Fallout types, of which a few vocal minority ruin it for the rest of us. These few are extremely rude, condescending, and do nothing but flame and complain loudly and the most extravagant manner possible. You want to see a real jerk? Look up some posts by a guy named "Roshambo" on the NMA and RPGcodex forums. He epitomizes everything that is wrong with us self-identified 'old school' types.

Second, you have the hideous amounts of incredibly ignorant and equally as obnoxious and loud Bethesda Fanboys©. If anything these guys annoy me more, because Fanboyism in any shape or form is the bane of my gaming existence. The deal is there seems to be far more of these people, and when you get these guys going with a good head of steam, it can often tend to draw the FPS crowd types that Beth has hooked with Oblivion right along with them, thus creating this hellish synergy. Combine this with the NMA rude types, and you've got a seething mass of sheer hatred and angst that can really destroy braincells of people who suffer through reading those posts. "Bethesda can do no wrong, You guys need to get with the times, Turn-based is old and busted, These are definitely RPGs and you guys have no clue even though you've been playing real RPGs since before quite a few of us were born", etc etc etc. It's all just one big mass of .

My opinion hasn't changed one bit on this game since we finally started getting info. I was hopefully skeptical, then disgusted when my fears were realized. No turn-based combat, SPECIAL appears to have been gutted contrary to what many say, just like what Beth did with Arena to Daggerfall to Morrowind to Oblivion, and instead of super mutants we have something that resembles The Hulk Meets A Cave Troll, coupled with the super mega awesome Nukuler Warhead Launcher. As I still say, more power to the folks who look forward to this game and can possibly enjoy it. It's definitely off my radar though.