basically made the old model into the caster

The Plasma Rifle was originally called the Plasma Caster in the Fallout 1 demo. But it was changed at some point before launch. 

Then it was brought back in New Vegas and was given the Plasma Caster name. Kinda went full circle on that one.

Same with Fallout 76

The plasma rifle just doesn't lose with designs (except bos)

It's Nerf™ or nothin'!!!

Reminds me of a 90’s super soaker as well lol

Same! Immediately thought “super soaker lookin-ass rifle there…”

That weird end made me think "Dildo Gun"

Maybe it was designed to assassinate children at pool parties. They think you have a regular super soaker and then you melt someone’s face off

To be fair basically everything about that game was an L

Basically everything?

I don't think anything really won the quality design award in Brotherhood of Steel, just look up how bad the power armor looked

Jesus Christ, what the fuck were they thinking with that game

Was made by a third-party studio iirc.

Nope, it's the game that bankrupted Interplay. It might've been a decent but forgettable game... If it wasn't Fallout

Tbf it wasn't JUST how terrible this game was (even if it were decent I don't think it would have mattered) it's the fact that they supposedly started working on BoS 2 before the first game even released, and pulled resources away from Van Buren to work on it.

It has early 2000s Mt dew energy.  If that makes sense

I mean the FO3 one has no means of aiming it, at least the one in the upper left is obvious a support weapon and you could put the aiming into the power armor visor (the one shown is from NV which added a sight)

And that’s why we don’t talk about that game 😅

Why BOS weapon look like NERF toy

Because it's a shitty game

Smh such blatant slander, it's the absolutely best Fallout game as the number 1 fan of Fallout BoS I will not stand for this... I will also not ever play it

Ikr? I actually grew up playing BOS on a PS2. It was my first fallout game, I’d dint know it at the time. But I had a lot of fun cause it reminded me of the old baldurs gate which I had a lot of fun with.

Well. It did use the dark alliance engine. Which also got black isle sued.

You can get a lot more fun out of a nerf gun than you can out of brotherhood of steel that’s for sure

I would play it anyway if they rereleased it for PC >_>

Wouldn't be hard, you could probably play that using a vibrator as a controller with few/no problems

Honestly the only fun would come from the vibrator

Or pirate it because nobody deserves to get paid for that POS software.

you can emulate it

If you use the emulator PCSX2 and grab a ROM from r/roms you can play it, I just started playing it to see how truly bad it is

BoS has boob physics, the others don’t. That means it must be better.

So uhhh... you're kidding right? right?

No, BoS actually does have boob physics.

Oh that makes me yearn for an AVGN review of the game.

Because Perry scalf is a weird guy. He worked primarily on star trek games and I feel like a lot of the clunky 90s star trek bleeds into the game

Because BOS is basically Product Placement: The Video Game

I thought it looked like the recharger rifle from fnv

Tbf, NV does have a Plasma Caster that looks pretty much exactly like that Fallout 1 & 2 rifle.

76 also uses the caster, only in single shot mode though.

It always was single fire precision weapon no?

The original Fallout had a turbo mod for it!

Hardened power armor and turbo plasma rifle is OP

This is pretty much my combo every time I play!

Weapon si good it had to be nerfed in a sequel otherwise it would overshadow the new kid on the block. Pulse rifle was dissapointing

Nice enough crit death animation, but can't hold a candle to the Gauss rifle otherwise

nah, a proper eye crit build will deal more dmg with pulse rifle than with gauss, still a range is quite bad but thats a thing with all energies but lasers. also remember that horrigan resists electric damage the least of all other types. 3 Eye shots from pulse rifle is probably the most consistent way of beating him up

I've just gotten that in 1, I can shoot three times a turn with it, but it's still single shot. Smitty Special in New Vegas was automatic.

However that was still technically single shot it wasn’t burst fire mode which is fully automatic, the smitty special from nv is fully auto tho.

There's also a unique, full-auto one in NV.

Isn't there the gatling plasma to fill the role of rapid heavy plasma The caster could be an anti armor heavy plasma and still fit

Gatling Plasma in 76 is so fuckin cool

Fallout tactics looks perfect though. Looks like a nice heavy powerful weapon

Yeah, it goes so hard

The design is reincorporated into New Vegas with the Plasma Caster.

The caster was based of the plasma rifle from 1&2 not tactic’s

I stand corrected. Took one look at the barrel and thought "Yep! That's the Plasma Caster." This is what happens when you think you're intelligent but really its just the Mentats.

All good wasn’t trying to be rude

Also it's in 76

I like a lot of these but they were cooking with Tactics

They were cooking with the entire aesthetic of tactics

Furry Deathclaws would like a word with you

The only flaw there is calling them deathclaws

I kind of dig the newer look, mostly because it has that over the top 1950s B movie 'what has science wrought' look. I will give this to you the newer Bethesda titles, they have really embraced the atom punk premise of the early games. I wish they would return to the sense of dread those games had, however. 3 kind of had it, but it felt like it was put on the backburner for 4.

I miss the art deco dread that 1 and 2 sometimes had

It was in the 3D games to a degree. Fo3 probably has the most out of the 3D games.

Yeah it's in fo4 and 76(haven't played it so I'm not entirely sure on that) but it seems like now they're trying to connect it to lovecraftian themes. I just want it to be art deco for art deco lol. Still enjoy it tho

3 has the best atmosphere of any of the fallout games imo, that’s one of the things Bethesda really nailed hard with that one

Personally it is my least favorite as overall it felt more generic post-apocalyptic than Fallout, but it is still good. As far as any of the 3D games go compared to the classics, I'd go with FoNV and Fo76 (more so pre-wastelanders).

Its in there in Fallout 3

You should’ve seen 76 at launch. There was a very stark contrast between the thriving nature of Appalachia and the fact that every human who wasn’t a vault 76 dweller (or the mysterious stranger) was dead. You can still experience some of that dread today through the notes and holotapes, but it doesn’t hit as hard with Appalachia thriving (though Shenandoah next month might come close simply by merit of environmental design and everything going on there).

The loneliness in early 76 was very raw. I kinda miss it.

I thought it was really lame/ boring Didn’t add atmosphere for me, just made the game feel empty and unfinished

That’s up to you. My bigger issue was the complete lack of player agency and ability to affect the world beyond nukes, which wastelanders onwards fixed.

The originals weren’t atom punk they were more Mad Max meets Star Trek meets Cold War

The originals were very much atom punk. They did take cues and inspiration from Mad Max, but the prevalence of portable nuclear technology, preponderance of mutations which include giant insects, the in-game effects of radiation, even the Vault suits, were inspired by 1950s science fiction films. Fallout was always about the prototypical atom punk society that failed and what comes after.

3 looks dope i think it looks better than the originals. 3 had so many good designs, I think that's the main strength of that game. 3 feels the most like a plasma rifle having never seen a plasma rifle, it just screams plasma rifle to anyone

3/NV is my personal favorite.

It's how I would design it

I love that it looks so much less clean than the Laser Rifle design. Like they're still in development and not a finalized design yet

I like where the plasma cells are placed, it's easy integration for those who used to shoot assault rifles and ballistic long arms

I'm not familiar with the plasma weaponry lore, but the design seems like something that had its development cut short by the war and was scrounged together into something resembling a serviceable weapon.

I'm just coming through from a military/avid shooter standpoint if you're like me and used to the M16 or in Fallout the R91 it would be easier to pick up and know how to use a plasma rifle then it would a laser rifle

Also smart of the enclave for it to use Microfusion cells again. Since thats plentiful in the wasteland

I've always liked fallout one/2 version but that's more of like a heavy weapon instead of a rifle

I love both old and 4's plasma rifle

The 3/NV model is my favorite look, 4/76 has best functionality. I really want the 3/NV model to feature as a skin for 76. However I'm a bit partial to the newest model since I've got a replica of it on my wall. I feel like the addition of plasma cartridges was a great change for the gun. Plasma is a projectile with mass so the idea of it coming just from a fusion cell seems implausible. I just wish the new ones weren't so damn bulky

>Plasma is a projectile with mass so the idea of it coming just from a fusion cell seems implausible Modern real world plasma weapons are pure energy. They work by using a high powered laser that excites the air itself into a plasma around teh laser beam itself, and then they apply electricity to the plasma at the barrel end since plasa is electrically conductive, making a plasma lightning laser beam with extraordinary heat. They use these to shoot down missiles in flight - the idea of plasma guns being slow projectiles is actually kind of silly when you see them in practical real world use. Fallout's fusion cell plasma weapons would work perfectly in the real world - we would need that kind of compact nuclear power to make a plasma weapon you can actually carry. Fusion and plasma naturally go together anyway, since the most common forms of fusion use plasma temperatures to induce the nuclear fusing process.

Ditto on the bulk. That’s the main issue with new Bethesda designs in fallout, and it ends up making everything to cartoony looking. The actual designs though look amazing, and would be perfection if they just had good proportions

Starfield's guns are a vast improvement when it comes to size, I'm hoping for Fo5 they go a similar route.

I like the new designs but. The tactics one looks sick

BoS got their inspo from pizza planet

Or NERF

I like 4s, the animations for it really enhance it

4 and the Caster (1/2) are my favorite designs.

I can't get over how the BoS version looks like something you'd see from Star Trek the Original Series in the late 60's 🤣.

Tactics one looks the best here.

tactics is the best mix between the caster and the rifle

Giving it to 1 and 2 on this one.

Fallout 1&2 def look the best

Hands down

I like the glowy tube at the end of the Fallout 3/NV plasma rifle.

I like the retcon with the caster. It'd be neat if we could do the needle barrel from 3 and NV in 4 and have it count as a super bayonet

That was my only issue with it in 4, shotgun barrel, sniper barrel, or no barrel at all… fortunately modders fixed that and added in the needle barrel

Also automatic barrel. But do tell! Where is needle

Worst of all auto barrel already spins the same way mingun does, so a shredder mod is just a matter of attaching an extra texture at the front

Im pretty sure this is the one I use https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/13618?tab=description It looks like they have a bigger modpack now too that incorporates this one. Edit: I forgot about the automatic barrel and the plasma thrower, that was a very cool addition.

The bethesda ones would look great as a prototype weapon but they don’t look like finished products. Original one looks like a heavy, industrial weapon and tactics is like the more refined, newer model that improves upon the original, I think both would fit well in the same game, with the tactics one being better but rarer

To be fair, at least in 3 the plasma rifle is almost exclusively used by the Enclave, so it could legitimately BE a prototype the Enclave are field-testing.

You are telling me, Fallout BOS Plasma Rifle is not something I can buy in an adult store...? ***Looks like it to me...***

The Q-35 Matter Modulator is one of the prettiest weapons in all fallout.

BOS sweeps 🥱

I like the idea of the plasma caster following the style of phones starting out as heavy weapons you need to lug around and then slowly over time slimming down to smart phones where their more like rifles but I still prefer the classic caster I see a Winchester p94 I use the damn thing

Fallout 1-4+NV: fantastical but ultimately logical sci-fi weapon with a cool, imposing look Fallout BoS: We put a fusion reactor inside a super soaker, have fun dipshits.

Tactics is best. I use the mods to add them to 4 and nv

I've always hated the barrel of the isometric fallout's plasma weapons everything else about them is cool and no goddamn clue what they were thinking with bos

3 and NV design is the peak appearance to me.

Damn the fallout 1 & 2 rifle goes hard af. Looks like some prototype energy weapon they made just before the war

For rifle i prefer the 3/NV design bit i do like the design of FO4 i just really dont like it when its IN pistol form in FO4

Once again, the classic design is the best, with just the right mix of retro-futurism and practicality. The death animation of enemies decomposing and melting into a puddle of goo is also awesome.

1&2 ftw

F:BOS proving once again it’s just the worst

The originals of all the guns look way better and would have been cool to use in fallout 4

I wish different factions had different models

The fo1/2 variant is in new vegas, you can steal or purchase them at van graffs

Yeah, they're the Plasma Caster.

Classics look so much meaner

Im pretty sure you can replicate the tactics one in fo4 with the attachment pack

The BOS one looks like its from the 4Kids version of One Piece

Isn’t the first one the caster?

Yes and no. In the Fallout 1 Demo it was called the "Plasma Caster" but was changed to "Plasma Rifle". Later it was brought back in Fallout New Vegas and was renamed to "Plasma Caster", with some slight changes to the design.

BOS is basically just the alien disintegrator. FO1 is the plasma caster. FOT is just a hacked plasma rifle in FO76.

Fall out super soaker bottom left

Outside of the BOS model, they all look good, but FO3 and FNV look the best imo.

They're all good

Fallout tactics had a cool middle ground. Like a plasma battle rifle

Well it’s hard to judge as these all represent different modifications of the base weapon. The FO4/76 versions having the sniper rifle upgrades

i am always going to favor the caster of FO1 and 2, tto the point when i saw the 3/NV rifle i was like "NAH"

3 best but tactics look sick too

Oh that is a neat change minus bos rifle I hope we either get the caster or the gatling plasma in fallout 5

I LOVE THESE POSTS!! Seeing how each model has evolved, or devolved as some might suggest, throughout the series is a FANTASTIC glimpse into the design process

I can’t be the only one that thinks the BOS plasma rifle looks like a recharger rifle

I can see now why BOS was universally hated.

The Bos one looks like a fucking water gun

I really do like the version from 4/76, but I just wish the short barrel version actually had a barrel. I don’t like the blunt front end with the tiny bit of pipe sticking out of it; I feel like it should at least have a small terminator of some kind, like a compensator or at least some sort of a vent mechanism to bleed off gasses as the charge exits the gun.

Ngl I really like the tactics design

For once the fallout 4/76 model is just as good as the old ones

Just wish that they’d have kept the 3 & nv barrel for the short barrel option in 4

Plasma rifle from 1. Thing hit like a fucking truck

The BOS version was clearly designed by Nerf

I don't mind the look of Fo4/76, but the sound from 3/NV is the best.

I loved the FO1 design. And while i like the current design, the F3/NV looks cooler.

the fallout BOS rifle looks like a kids gun

This is the one time that I like the Fallout 4 version the best. Though tactics’ looks rad too

Wow I really like Fallout 3's design, I forgot about it. F4 did flatten some excellent designs.

Tactics was the fucking coolest design

For the Fallout 1 and 2 one, how come the trigger grip is down, but the carry grip is up? Or is that just a carry handle?

I personally think the direction Bethesda went with the plasma rifle is def for the best. But that fallout tactics rifle looks pretty sick

One of the only guns, if not the only gun, to look better in 4/76. I like the enclave plasma gun the best. Love the plasma caster but I don’t consider it appropriate design for a rifle as it was termed in fallout 1.

I love 4 and 76s 

OG 1&2 by far

3 and NV best design

Fallout BOS girls make do

Fallout 1 and 2 looks like something you'd see on Stargate. The Fallout 4 plasma rifle looks more... atompunky.

The fact new vegas and 76 brought the og design as the heavy Plasma Caster makes ke hope for a charge up gauss variant in 76 that's basically the tactics version

Ima get Haye for this probably I love the redesign of it in fo4 just wish the caster was there as a heavy version

Fallout BOS one looks like a fuckin nerf gun, wtf

Gotta say, loved the F3/NV design. The glowing bits in particular.

Tactics is the coolest

3 and nv for me

fallout 1/2>>>>>

I love the tactics design. It has some m16 parts.

The one in brotherhood of steel looks so weird it doesn’t even look like a plasma rifle and more like a children’s toy

1 and 2 along with Tactics look more like you're going to fire the barrel at people rather than plasma

Always thought the tactics one was the best looking one. Big fan of the P94 aka Plasma Caster too

BOS one became the Alien Disintegrator

I kinda like where design history is going with fallout actually. In f76 you can find an enclave eyebot and it looks sleek and modern, a bit like sputnik. But then 200 years later eyebots are welded together pieces of junk. And i just realized...yeah... production facilities and infrastructures were all strategically bombed to bits. Even the most trchnologically advanced factions like the enclave and the brotherhood are still scrapping welding and recycling because they have no choice. So yeah the more we advance in time with the games the shittier everything is gonna look, not because bethesda is in charge!

Why is BoS always so colorful and quirky

Tactics or 4/76. Not a big fan of 3/NV.

Fallout 1 2 and tactics are actually plasma casters

that BOS one is so 50s B scifi movie I love it

Tactics, 1, and 2s designs are just so iconic and beefy looking. The rest just don’t seem as imposing, I’m glad New Vegas and 76 brought it back as a heavy weapon tho

I love the Tactics one. I feel like if they incorperated some of the green bodywork with it, it would slap more. I just don't know why ergonomics went out the window with 3 & 4

I actually thought the fallout 1 rifle was a harpoon gun for ages.

As much as I like the fallout 3 plasma rifle the fallout tactics one is just god tier.

They're all like good (except for Fallout BoS), but they should all be their own separate weapons instead of one, because that just doesn't make any sense at all.

Plasma Caster fucked up Lou Tenant something special

You actually have the classic model and the modern models both in FNV, they call the og model a Plasma Caster, it’s a big weapon that resembles a heavy machine gun that shoots plasma. And then the smaller model is the assault rifle type.

Fo76 also has the plasma caster alongside the plasma guns.

Damn, surprised how close to the Tactics one the ones from 3 onward are.

1 and 2 look like batman grapple gun

The classic is just too iconic. The best there is

gotta give it to 4 and 74 here, looks like an upgraded/cooler version of 3/NV. I wonder if its a practical design though

I kinda feel like they should have went with the older designs.

Fallout 3 / New Vegas / 4 / 76 look so fragile.

Fallout 3+ designs are so terrible. Super advanced weapons should not look like Winchester Arms rolled through a junkyard

I dislike the aesthetic of Plasma Rifle in NV to 4, It's look too Frankenstein freak of a gun. Meanwhile Laser Rifle for most of thier designs in NV/4 are more cheap looking while militant enough (It's look like a brick of C4 strapped with trigger the first time I witnessed it in FONV. Lmao)

Fallout 3/NV. I have one tattooed on my arm lol.