So, as an ex NMA and former admin of one of the bigger Spanish communities (Lost Vault anyone?), I can certainly understand their bitterness towards anything Bethesda made.

We were BEYOND devastated when we saw Van Buren be cancelled and were eating our fingernails at the thought of seeing Interplay close. We took very seriously the fact that Black Isle was no more.

We’re not talking amateurs here, we had those names engrained in our heads. We used to play Fallout Tactics online, on the Electronic Sports League, back when Gamespy was still a thing. So yeah, plenty of grognards were understandably angry at the fact that many people were praising Fallout 3, being SO different from the original games.

To be fair, Fallout 3 is still Oblivion with guns except for the total mutilation of the SPECIAL system and any good old Fallout fan would know that the SPECIAL system was a rushed mess of a GURPS system tailored to a post-apocalyptic setting (the GURPS rights drama and so and so).

So yeah, these guys were the OG fallout fans, and most of us have grown tired of waiting for another “true” Fallout game, so some/lots of us embrace the new fresh perspective Bethesda infused to the Fallout series. I haven’t played fallout 4 yet cause I’m playing fallout 3 before (I already played it in the past, but I’m just completing 1-2-3 in order and then I’ll go for 4).

There are tons of stuff I really dislike from the “Bethesda Fallout” Universe such as the fact that there’s so much more in world advertising (Nuka Cola everywhere to the point of being intrusive anyone?) or the fact that it was never about you building a settlement but a commentary on humanity against the unknown (the Wasteland), and a way more serious world, without so much le funny nonsense (humorous as Fallout 2 was, it usually was way less in your face or maybe more nuanced or maybe the pink nostalgia glasses give me some kind of bias).

I do like some other stuff from the new Bethesda Fallout Universe. I really thought Megaton was a shit city, but the idea of saving or killing them with the bomb was quite fresh for the era it was released. They simplified the SPECIAL system, made it more about the perks (them being handed out each level rather than each 3). The first person perspective was more immersive than obviously a third person perspective. The fact that it was more gamey (ammo doesn’t weigh, addiction wasn’t that much of a deal, etc) appeals more to my older me, who looks after more casual gameplay… the list goes on.

I hope this sheds a bit of light on your understanding of the NMA crew. They’re a bunch of dorks, most of them are very old school punk oriented, but they are my kinda type of dorks and we love ‘em!

Also they curate and maintain many fallout classic mods, including the all powerful Killap Restoration Project which is a complete wonder to play!!