Fortnite Battle Royale

[Blue Jam]

As the title suggests, this is another Battle Royale game in the same vein as Playerunkown's Battlegrounds, but with some key differences- before we even get to discussing the gameplay, it's available for for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One & Mac. It's also free:

https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/buy-now/battle-royale

It's supposedly more fast-paced, with shorter matches and simpler controls better suited to console gamers and anyone looking for a more casual experience. There's an element of crafting, possibly harking back to the Battle Royale Minecraft mod. It also looks more cartoonish- and it may be more fun. Comparison here:

https://www.techradar.com/news/fortnite-vs-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-which-is-the-game-for-you

I've just been given a recommendation for this, now I can't wait to get home and have a go. Anyone else?

[Timothy]

Look out if you have a backlog: This game is hugely addictive.

[Blue Jam]

I haven't played PUBG in weeks- I got bored of it for reasons I have discussed in the relevant thread, but really I'm just not very good at it. This sounds like it could be more my thing.

[Timothy]

Ít's relatively easy, great fun. You basically enter the map (no vehicles etc) and the map gets smaller and smaller while you try to survive. That means no camping (since the map is getting smaller due to a storm you get killed) and more action.

And if you land on a good spot, and nearly everybody does, you end up with a good weapon within a few seconds.

[Barry Admin]

I can never quite get into it. I think the crafting meta is dumb as shit. It does have better features, like being able to spectate after you die, but it totally lacks the thrill and sense of foreboding of PUBG.

[Cuellar]

Didn't realise this was free! Gonna give it a go maybe tonight, if it downloads quickly enough.

[Thursday]

Had 2 games, first I died before I could even get a weapon, 2nd game I got to 3rd place and got taken out by someone who clearly knew the mechanics inside out and sniped me from a massive tower.

[Cuellar]

7th or 8th game - almost killed someone there!

Pretty good fun - although I always get tooled up to the nines then die very cheaply. Don't really understand the building side of things. Why would you do that?

[Barry Admin]

That's the meta. Last guys alive seem to build crazy towers. I don't like it.

[Blue Jam]

This is fun. Only played two games, first I died at #59, second I got my first kill in a close-quarters firefight then died at #20 after another fight.

I like the way the gunfights tend to be two people bouncing up and down, more like kids with water pistols than the gritty realism of PUBG. The guns feel better too and the whole thing runs a lot more smoothly on the Xbone. I appreciate the killcam and the fact that you can spectate until the end of a match, those are things that PUBG sorely needs.

I also like the fact that there's a Boogie Bomb and you get to choose your own signature dance.

I'm not so sure about the crafting yet- from spectating on those two matches I can see that some players go mad for the crafting while others don't bother until endgame. It looks like a bit of a faff to me, though I do like the rocket launchers- they're a bit like the anti-Titan weapons in Titanfall.

I like both this and PUBG, then. It's nice to have two different takes on the Battle Royal genre to flit between.

[Blue Jam]

E3 2018 is going to be all about the Battle Royale, innit? Not that I'd mind.

[Barry Admin]

Regarding the smoothness of how this runs, PUBG has made great strides there on Xbox lately. I haven't been able to keep up with it, but when I've dropped in I've been amazed at how much more solid the frame rate now feels. I think I read that these optimisations might have backfired on the Xbox One X, but on the standard it is so much nicer now.

[itsfredtitmus]

Too hard. Might try PUBG

[Barry Admin]

PUBG is hard in a different way, I guess, but you can get far by being stealthy and avoiding conflict, and really thinking "is it worth giving up my position to engage in a firefight?" It's also by far and away the most tense and exciting game I've played outside of horror titles. Playing in first person also evens the play fields a bit, third person doesn't really appeal to me as you can use it to see round corners and over walls and such.

[Natnar]

Been playing this for a couple of months now, it's not really that hard to get into the top 20 if you land in the less populated areas of the map and just wait around for a bit. There's only usually 30-40 people left after the first circle has closed anyway.

[Cuellar]

Yeah I've finished quite high a few times.

Still haven't killed anyone mind. It's basically a walking around collecting stuff before getting inexplicably gunned down simulator.

[StewartLeehaslethimselfgo]

If you're bored and want a fight land in Tilted Towers, 20-30 people go there guaranteed

[Bhazor]

Spent an afternoon with this and the takeaway was frustration. Same as PUBG its such a great idea but in practice it just leaves me annoyed. It replaces PUBG's sniped from two miles away with being one shotted by an ambush shotgun which is a massive improvement certainly.  At least such deaths feel like carelessness rather than just peeking your head out a window in the 180 degree viewing radius of an aim botter. But fights still feel sloppy and anticlimatic. Most of the time it's just bumping into each other rather than any exciting cat and mouse games. Deep down I want a Battle Royale game that has combat like classic Unreal Tournament.

At least as a F2P game down time is nonexistant. 3 second matchmaking, 10 seconds in the airstrip and then it's into the plane ready to go.

[Paul Calf]

I fucking hate this game. I tried playing it but My stepson played it on my PS4 and I can't unlink it from my account without his Epic login details. That's appalling data security and possibly even illegal.

[The Boston Crab]

Bump for the Switch release. I've never seen so many people on my friends list at one time. It's no PUBG, granted, it's a lot less stressful and tense but I'm finding it a lot of fun. The 50v50 mode is pretty inspired. The building stuff I don't bother with yet so solo victory will be out of my reach but I've had a few top tens playing quite dumb and aggressive. Anyone else?

[Kelvin]

I tried it this morning, but found it a bit overwealming. Could do with a quick training mode, or at the very least, a few screens explaining the basics.

Is there any benefit to signing up to their official account, or am I fine just playing without one?

[The Boston Crab]

Probably not but I did anyway.

I'm used to most of the controls and mechanics from PUBG but the basic loop is to get loot, get tooled the fuck up and stay in the circle killing fools.

Weapons have levels of rarity and therefore damage, etc.

There are bombs and traps, too.

You can only hold like five items and you will swap your equipped item/weapon if you try to pick something else up. I think you can carry infinite ammo but not sure. L/R to switch weapons and items. X defaults to your axe. A gives building options.

Buildings are likely to contain more gear and chests but will attract more players obviously.

You can break down buildings and trees with your axe and get materials to build more stuff.

I don't really know how the building stuff works

[Kelvin]

I can definitely see the appeal. Its a good game to just dip into for 20 minutes, and there's a palpable tension as a match reaches the last few minutes. I don't really like 50 vs 50, though. If you drop anywhere other than the middle, you effectively have to spend ages running towards the middle with one or two teammates. It would make more sense with a smaller map from the start in that mode.   

Can you choose your characters in this, without spending money? I've played as a woman yesterday and a bloke today, but I assume they were randomly selected. I can't see any way to change them beyond paid skins.

[popcorn]

Is the PS4 version of this free too? I can't seem to find a clear answer without being forced to sign up for some guff.

[itsfredtitmus]

Is the PS4 version of this free too? I can't seem to find a clear answer without being forced to sign up for some guff.

ya you don't need ps pro or whatever to play online either

[popcorn]

ya you don't need ps pro or whatever to play online either

Cheers for the info! Might give it a go.

Bet it's not as good as TF2.

[Emotional Support Peacock]

Finding this a bit of a weird game. Most of the time I can't find anyone and wander around for a while, then end up in the last 10 or so people by default, eventually getting bumped off by someone clearly far better at the game than me.

[Beagle 2]

Surprised how much I hate this, I was really looking forward to it. I really don't think there is any tension when you're just counting down to inevitable jumping around like a dick while people construct ridiculous big log towers. I can't even imagine it being fun to win.

Just bring out Quake III Arena, it's all been downhill from there.

[bgmnts]

It has its moments, I have actually won games myself and that can be quite an achievement after a 15-20 minute slog.

I don't play it anymore though its just a bit boring.

[canted_angle_again]

Am I playing this with people from here are the moment? Loads of blue names are popping up who I can't recall.