Update: A Bethesda representative replied to Polygon. While they initially stated “a small number of players with a large quantity of scrap are experiencing a display issue causing their Scrap Box to appear empty,” they later provided another statement:
“Our initial investigation indicated that this was a display issue, and that no items had gone missing. However, we have since found that a small number of players have in fact experienced a loss of scrap items after placing them into the Scrap Box and then loading into a world. Resolving this issue is currently our top priority. We are also exploring ways to restore the missing items.”
Regarding the claims that private servers were “recycled”, Bethesda denied it, stating it was due to either glitches or that they had already looted that container on another server.
“When a Fallout 1st member starts a Private World, a dedicated world is launched on an [Amazon Web Services] server. Players who have seen looted containers upon login may be experiencing the expected behavior upon log out and log in. Loot is instanced for each player in containers. As Fallout 76 players know, if you loot a container on one server, and then log out and log back in to another server, the container remains in a ‘looted’ state for a period of time.”
Regarding private worlds being not-so private, the Bethesda representative stated “We understand this is not what players expected for their Private Worlds. We are looking to provide an option in an upcoming patch that will allow Fallout 1st members to restrict access to their servers more completely.”
Original Story:
On top of the collective shock and awe at the cost of Fallout 76’s premium membership- Fallout 1st– it seems the private servers of the premium membership are not private, and the infinite storage Scrapbox deletes all a players scrap instead.
Forbes reports that players logging into a brand-new “private” world are finding dead NPCs and that areas have already been looted. This may imply new worlds are actually older ones, or duplicates of existing ones. Players are also reporting they cannot prevent players entering their worlds. Worlds are listed on the server list, and anyone can walk in.
In addition, the unlimited storage Scrap Box from the Fallout 1st membership is reportedly deleting Scrap (items used for crafting) rather than storing it. As one user explains on the Fallout 76 subreddit:
my buddy was telling me how the scrapbox works so i place one on my own private server & fill with all but my bulks & junk for sale, 400lbs free in my stash & all junk & flux in the scrapbox. I hop to his private server & hang out at his camp while i wait to help a trade. Noticing it couldnt hold bulks he tells me he just broke them down. So i do the same & put them in his scrapbox.
I leave to go help the trade, then in that adventure world notice i have no scrap to mod a weapon. I figure i have to pull out the scrap & put in actual stash first but scrapbox is empty. Head to my own private server & same, its all gone.. adhesive, ballistic fiber, flux, acid, oh the vault steel.. Even head back to his & try his box..empty.
Customer service replied to the user. While developers are reportedly looking into the issue, they advised the user try “Traveling to a public world and opening a Scrapbox crafted by another player”, “Traveling to another player’s private world and opening a Scrapbox crafted by another player”, “Restarting the game client”, and “Uninstalling and reinstalling the game.”
Players are warning each other not to use Scrapboxes until the issue is resolved. While the subreddit’s unofficial bug-thread has narrowed down some instances of when this occurs, they can only replicate the effect “about 1 / 20’ish times.” It should also be noted another bug discovered was that “Scrap Boxes from one Fallout 1st Member cannot be accessed by another”, making some of the customer service’s earlier advice unviable.
The Fallout 1st membership costs $12.99 for one month, or $99.99 for one year. Having two of the memberships major selling features fail in this manner could not be worse for Bethesda, or players. The service also offers 1,650 Atoms a month and monthly Atomic Shop sales, a survival tent, ranger armor outfit, and exclusive icons and emotes.
Fallout 76 has been plagued with issues both in-game and in real life. While Bethesda Director and Executive Producer Todd Howard stated he “knew we were gonna have a lot of bumps,” the issues have been numerous and serious.
When the game was launched, it was discovered to be heavily buggy (as documented by Internet Historian and Joseph Anderson (Editor’s Note: Niche Gamer is not affiliated with either of these YouTube accounts, nor it support any allegations made in these videos). This resulted in extremely low reviewer and user scores. In addition, several special edition items were not as advertised, or had to be recalled.
In case you missed it, our story on the Fallout 76 power helmets that had to be recalled has been updated with new information.
Fallout 76 is now available for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In case you missed it – you can find our very thorough review for the game here.
