Building settlements instead of completing the Main Quest in Fallout 4 

I can only imagine Preston's face after waiting in-game months for me to help Oberland Station just to see me build a literal skyscraper with 9 sets of power armor in the front lawn.

Nick: Shouldn’t we be out looking for your son? Sole Survivor: [rearranging chairs overlooking a fighting pit] My what?

Even though settlement building in F04 was janky as hell, it was always a moment of pure solace and satisfaction when every piece finally just, clicked together

I once Played Fallout 4 like this: Start main story, stop before tracking down Kellogg, complete all sidequests, find every settlement, Complete the Vault DLC, Complete Nuka World, connect every settlement via provisioners, fit the provisioners with decent weapons and armor so that they act like real patroling Minutemen, build up every single settlement until they have max happiness and max population, complete Far Harbor, and then FINALLY continue the main story. At this point I've essentially rebuilt the Commonwealth and have a pseudo police force (decked out provisioners patrolling the wasteland for any threats). Whenever I completed the battle of Bunker Hill and heard Shawn say "The Commonwealth is dead, there is no future here." I created a save and killed his ass.

Player: "I'm gonna farm some exp." Preston: "By completing quests, right?" Player: [ Opens settlement menu. ]

My dad dressed everyone in every settlement with tuxedos and fancy dresses when he got off work, took him like two years. He's a slow paced gamer. Everyone else was on DS3 already by then.

When you're on your 10th uncompleted run you gotta find ways to spice things up.

Yeah, this is me in a nutshell, combined with finishing every side quest I can and looting as much as I can. I plan to turn Starlight Drive-In into a resort hotel.

"Why are you naked in my settlement?" "Why aren't you?" "You're alright Griffin."

The best part is the SRB is seeing all of this since the birds are synths with built in cameras.

Building impenetrable fortresses is honestly my favorite part of that game. Especially with mods so that you don't have to worry about building limits. Also concrete is such an underrated addition to the game. I have literally created so many straight up citadels.

My first settlement consisted of building a large metal box on top of the red rocket truck stop, then covering every nook and cranny with turrets Because if everyone else wants to cram turrets up my ass every time I come five inches too close to a raiders camp, I have the right to do the same to them when they raid me.

“downloading FO4 only to download gun mods, max them out, and then not pick up FO4 up for 6 months”

When you underestimate how good of a person your father really is, because he recognizes that the needs of the many in creating a stable, secure and prosperous commonwealth outweigh the needs of the few, finding your son.

Ok, but we have to appreciate how well made this is, he literally dances, walked and rearranges furniture in the correct angle and with the window in front of him, on the way

This was honestly me for a good while after launch. Seeking out new settlements to consume and integrate into my new Minute Men empire. Preston (and some convenient settlement attackers) can be very persuasive.

Perfect timing as I finished my ammunition plant at Echo Lake Lumber last night

this is me, 80% of my mods are for settlement building even play with sim settlements. i've also installed real time settler in fallout 3/nv. i might have a problem.

I still remember the early days after the release where everyone was trying to build the Great Wall of Sanctuary using the concrete foundation blocks.

The rhythmic banging of hammers on walls at the end…very immersive

Have 2 days and 3 hours of playtrough and i have half map completely explored, sanctuary hills fully build into a fortress and just visited diamond city to deliver a deathclaw _egg_ . If it wasn't for the intro scene of the city i would have forgot that i used to have a son lmao.

Am I the only one that think that the base building is one thousand times better than the entire fallout 4 story? Holy fuck this comment got a lot of attention. 1) I'm exaggerating with the base building being "one thousand times better" 2) I play with sim settlement 2 and some other nase building mods. 3) First time I finished the main story was with the railroad and they're lame as fuck. The shaun twist was meh because the mc is so dull. Companions were okay but not memorable except for Caitlyn. 4) Far Harbour pretty good, never play Nuka world even though I have it. 5) How do you go from Caesar, Mr. House, Joshua Graham, Ulysses, to fuck knows who are the villains in Fallout 4?

I turned sanctuary hills into a nuclear power plant... then starlight drive thu into a fully fledged army repair yard...1 day to lay the foundations, Took me 2days to decorate the interior and another day the exterior. It was worth it though.

Oh my gosh, this. I love Fallout 4 and managed to play through it once. Every time I go back, I get so caught up in settlement building that I exhaust my enthusiasm for the game by constantly building the most uselessly big settlements...

Did you know: There's a Joshua Graham speech AI. Some small RU-vidrs are making vids about it. One even made a whole Book of Revelations where Graham is preaching about it.

i always listen to virtual insanity as i turn settlements into luxurious paradise

Love the AI voice, I sort of hope they never get it to stop sounding janky lol

It's actually me. No irony here, I do this

To anyone reading this, I really recommend watching the music video that this is based on. Its called "Virtual insanity" and its a spectacle

Some of my favorite mods were the one that lets you clean more stuff off the ground like weeds and dirt, and one that gives you infinite building materials so I can build cool settlements with excellent defenses. Only to find out they will still get attacked because enemies will just spawn within the walls.

Gotta get Dogmeat first though.

It all went downhill after learning I could set automatons as provisioners so now I need to search every square inch for scrap so I can expand my robot army.

Normally I use the cheat room mod to get unlimited supplies to build fortresses, but for once (in a very long time) I decided to only build settlements from scrap, my first was at the Drive in, I was so proud over my all scrap castle, it turned out looking awesome, and as cool as my other builds, the only difference is that I cared about it more.

pretty much thats what happened to me, I didnt do the main quest because I thought the Minutemen Was the main quest-line.

"You hear that?" *Cue Rows of Mortars Being Fired* "That is the sound of progress"

It’s crazy how much better ai audio has gotten since this video was made

preston: “do you think it’s time to retake the castle?” me, walking past him fully decked out in customized gear so i can build sheffield a house:

I just love settlement building, especially for the settlement ambush kit alone, I love having to arm my settlers + set up turrets then quick saving and watching the invasion begin

I quite literally unlocked every single settlement and built a bunch of stuff in all of them before doing the main story lol

Literally my current play-through right now 😂 I find it funny/crazy this vid was just made, I commented to myself last night about how I have built more settlements this time, whenever I go to main quest a Side Quest pops up to take advantage of my short attention span lmao

Also the 40 hours I spent downloading mods for my settlements.

That is exactly like me, when Preston wants me to go help settlement again again and again or when there is nothing to do I just turn on Diamond City Radio and build and place random things around Sanctuary.

You know what I call a good day? One that ends without an empty stomach

That’s why it took me 4 years to finally finish the story of Fallout 4

Me (at The Castle): "Okay...Minutemen? Anyone awake?" Minuteman #1: "It's high noon, General. I'm listening." Me: "Right, pardon. Fast travel disorients me sometimes. We nearly have Quincy surrounded. But The Castle is probably a better resupply stronghold than a staging point, for that purpose." Minuteman #2: "So what do you propose, General?" Me: "I'm glad you asked. You know that construction site that we secured in the Southern salt marshes?" Minuteman #1: "Um... Minuteman #2: "I don't like where this is going, sir." Me: "Relax, you'll both be fine there. I've rigged the entire perimeter with missile turrets and built two sniper towers near the center. All of the structures are also above water, and the generator isn't exposed. Not many luxuries, but it's still comfortable and safe once you get inside." Minuteman #2: "We'll be protected from animals, yeah, but what about other people or Synths? Eventually someone will be smart enough to penetrate those defenses." Minuteman #1: "And there's nowhere to retreat to, out there." Me: "It also has another artillery point. After Quincy is cleared, we're going to blow that eyesore of an airship halfway to the Moon." Minuteman #1: "Sweet! We'll head out to the site now." Minuteman #2: "I'll pack some beers."

lets see. Sanctuary is looking good. I'm level 27 and I've only just joined the minutemen. What was I supposed to be doing again?

I do the same, building bases is fun as hell especially with mods like place-anywhere and other simple quality of life mods for the workshop I ended up building this absolutely enormous fortress at outpost zimonja that had a watchtower wrapped around the antenna and all kinds of walls and buildings around it and I even went as far as placing individual planks and plywood in some areas I technically never finished it because I didn’t furnish it but I still like it

By Fallout logic he’s already extended Shaun’s life by a year. 😂

My first playthrough of Fallout 4 was of a women that had lost her husband and son, but upon ascending from the vault, saw an America that had been destroyed. She then singlehandedly set about rebuilding America, as best she could. Shame there was no more of those Minutemen fellows, the last of those died in the Museum of Freedom. Then she came across the greatest evil of all... Forced linear story progression. Even entering Diamond City to trade, presented her with pressure to "search for her son". America was her son now! It might not have been mentally healthy, but she had filled that void with the work of rebuilding the world she knew.

Your editing is incredible. I'm blown away every damn time.

I don't know why but settlement building, organizing and re-arranging is just one of the best things in the game imo. Rebuilding the Commonwealth in the name of the Minutemen is not just a hobby, it's passion typa thing.

I spent like a week trying to understand how electricity works and then other gathering materials and forgot the story for a year.

I always did the settlement building after I beat the main story and DLC. That way I had plenty of resources to use once I’m finished with everything. It’s a lot more fun that way. Plus you get a large amount of experience from the main story and DLC(Great opportunity to get all the settlement perks). My favorite settlements are sanctuary, the Castle, starlight drive-in, and Vault 88. I think the story and settlement building is pretty fun. 😎👍🏼

The biggest problem with settlement building is that the first spot you get is Sanctuary. This is not the best idea, because it is a far too large environment for a new player, which makes those unaccostumed to base building feel a bit overwhelmed. My personal opinion would be to make the Red Rocket Gas Station that is also found very closely to the start of the game, the first one the player has access to. This makes it so the player has his own little base, and a place to hunker down in the night, maybe build some defences too. In retrospect, if I could change some of Fallout 4 it would be to make it so that Sanctuary is overtaken by raiders, and so you have this emotional response to clear it, and retake your home. But because you aren't fully equipped just yet, you look for ways to become better and stronger, learn a bit about the mechanics, AND THEN, you go there. Maybe we could have a basement where our Mr. Handy has locked a door to protect himself from Raiders, since maybe there were too many, and so you get this pleasant surprise. Hell, maybe we could've had a settlement there already, which was enslaved by raiders, so we also get some people to recruit, and have access to some resources.

This is unforgettable I was not feeling well today and this made my day thank you 🙏

In one playthrough I didn't even leave Sanctuary until about level 78 because I spent all that time just building stuff. Used a mod that got rid of the height/settlement budget and made a replica of the Eiffel Tower. Still have that save somewhere now that I think about it.🤣🤣🤣

Literally me, I've played probably well over 10 characters and only once have I ever actually made it to the Super Mutant guy in the Glowing Sea. Which was also the furthest I've gotten in the story (I only did that because I wanted to unlock a few specific buildable objects)

I've played Fallout 4 probably a dozen or more times, and I think I've completed the main story twice, both times with the Minutemen. I tried doing a Brotherhood run once but I got annoyed with their superiority complex, honestly one of my least favorite factions in the series personally. Anyway, base building is definitely the better side of Fallout 4, my favorite being the Castle, but oddly enough Hangman's Alley runs a close second for me, I love the tight space and the encouragement to build upward.

General Dave's story 😆

I do it in my second playthrough All settlement turn into slave plantation, making vegetables starch for adhesive, harvesting water, build up the Minuteman to act as security force to protect my business, setting them up with artillery to cover the entire state, Then i start setting up Nuka world raider (the Op) in central location and leave the middle of nowhere sh*thole for the animals (the Pack) My Empire is massive, i got the egghead making science for me while i control the surface with an iron grip Best evil playthrough ever

Desk fans, wonderglue and cameras hold more value to me than my kid

Edits like these are some of the most peak comedy in existence lmao.

I'm about 15 hours into a new heavily modded playthrough and I've yet to even go close to diamond city. I have artillery set up at every settlement though, so that's funny.

Kind of my first playthrough before I started running into the plot. It honestly felt like a shanty, Warsaw ghetto Sims. And then I ran into the vault with Nick Valentine inside just looking for supplies, and the game got me back on track.

The singing to go with it😂

Does anyone else think Starlight Drive-in is the best settlement? One of the earliest settlements you get, within artillery range of a good portion of the map, plenty of space, flat, a little bit of water in the middle for purifiers (be sure to scrap the radioactive barrels), and a movie projector included if you do want to have some sort of theme? Abernathy Farm is similar, except that it's located in a "crowded" area of the map so that if I build up Abernathy, Red Rocket AND Sanctuary, I get performance issues.

Honestly, i only engaged in the settlement system to use the supply line system to send off a massive patrolling army to fight everything in the Commonwealth for my amusement. Made a crapton of upgraded gear just to arm my giant spiderweb of supply lines to the point where there were barely any actual residents of any settlement over most of the populations just being armed supply liners. What i didn't foresee was the hilarious overpopulation of brahmin since each supply liner has a pack brahmin.

Codworth will love how you clean the entire settlement with him

I jeep getting your stuff in my recommended. Always makes me chuckle

When I first played Fallout 4, I thought, "Who wants to mess with settlements, I wanna KILL stuff!" Well, after playing through some very underwhelming quest lines, I realized the funnest thing about the game is building settlements. It's like The Sims with guns, and you can drop a mini-nuke on someone if you're in a bad mood (and let's not forget the explosive mini-gun). Reality is, I've spent WAY too much of my life building Fallout 4 settlements. With that said, I'm .. uh.. (cough) gonna go build some settlements....

I love how you can just here the hammers i sometimes try to put a fence around the house

This was one of my favorite Carter moments, VERY accurate too!

I love how jamiri carter has become a meme staple.

I have something like 600 hours between the XB1 and PC versions of this game. I have never gotten to the Institute.

Best Settlements in the game: 5. Red Rocket. A staple of Fallout 4, everyone builds something here. It's usually a good place to build a base of operations. 4. Starlight Drive-in. The sprawling area and the massive amount of resources means it can be used for a massive fortification. Or you can make free-floating trade centers, like I did my first time. 3. The Castle. The motherfucking Castle. Even if you don't intend to side with the Minutemen, this place is STILL really good. A literal fort, you get a good home nestled in the thick of the Commonwealth. Plus, if you DO go Minutemen, you get access to the armory and the best final showdowns in the game. 2. Mechanist's Lair (Automatron). You're telling me I get to build in the underground citadel of the modern Mechanist? Aight, bet. This robotic lair makes for an amazing place to keep your metal machines. At least, until you need to defend the Castle for a Minutemen run, in which sending them all to The Castle is usually the way to go. Alternatively, you can mass-produce "Runners" to connect all your settlements to the Lair. 1. Sanctuary. The best in the game. Nothing compares! Everyone uses it, whether to jam it full of turrets, or to torture the Minutemen because you fucking love the raiders and you want to see Preston suffer. Like me!

A built an airship for the Minutemen over The Castle just to piss off the Brotherhood made of wood planks, cardboard, some twigs, a megaphone, a squirrel, and some tape

Me building the PERFECT base only for 5 level 2 Raiders and a level 3 dog to get obliterated trying to take it and literally nothing else

This literally had me rolling around my bed giggling. It’s the most god damn accurate meme.

That was too perfect

Honestly this was me the minute i download the vault tec dlc and finished vault 88 on the altruistic path, i basically made vault 88 the main water source for the commonwealth and safe heaven for anyone, who was willing to put up with my mandatory dress code

I love making my own head cannon based around settlement building. For one run I made an alliance between the BoS and the minutemen and focused my settlements around that.

This made my day. Thanks 😆

lol nice, and also kinda funny your vid info. there is a mod that makes the building part have a story, the sim settlements mods

100% me!! Settlement building is just too fun lol!!

When you just exploring the world, doing a side quests and bulding settlements. It's a lot interesting then main story

This is scary relatable

I love base building as a mechanic.

I leave Preston on the balcony for months. Every time I run by he's still yelling.

I max out ever settlement as much as possible. With Homemaker, every settlement is a fortress now, and with the console command to reset settlement size, each one is massive. My Red Rocket base looks like it belongs in Junkertown. Cars laying everywhere, power armor strewn about, random junk everywhere, it looks nice. With Scrap Everything and another mod that makes RRTS look super nice, I made it into a proper apocalypse scrapper's retreat. A bit small, but it's nice. I utilized every space possible.

It took me over six months in-game to get to Diamond City because I just kept dicking around with all the side quests. This game may be fun, but it is poorly designed even for Bethesda and I maintain that the story was written by a child...

The constant fucking hammering made this real

This is exactly what I thought of when I saw this and the song just buildingbfor days it's been years since I last saw Kellogg alive

I legit did the main quest to level up my guy to build more things. I forgot who I helped or what I did but you know we got all the shops 😎

Shaun grew ancient waiting for his dad naturally

When forgetting your child's existence is part of the experience

To be honest I had a lot more fun doing all the side quest and roaming around discovering places and killing everything figuring out the secrets of the places than doing the actual story. My favorite quest ever is the grandchester mansion

Now this is a video worthy of my settlement

I was playing once. Out of curiosity looked to see how many in-game days had passed. Was at 347 and the Pryd hadn't even shown up yet.

Me After 4 In-Game Years of just Settlement Building and Side Quests(Both Vanilla and Mods): "Oh yeah, I was supposed to be doing something about that Institute thingy... anyways this settlement could use a remodel"

The only reason I've ever even bothered to enter the Institute was to loot some of those sweet glass vases with the purple flowers. They fit the color scheme of some rooms better than the type found at Cabot House.