Fallout 4 Mini Forum, Tips, Tricks & Codes

Fallout 4 is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the Fallout series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is set within an open world post-apocalyptic environment that encompasses the townof Boston and the surrounding Massachusetts region known as "The Commonwealth". It makes utilizeof a number of local landmarks, including Bunker Hill, Fort Independence, and Old North Bridge near Concord, as the bridge out of Sanctuary Hills.

The main story takes territoryin the year 2287, ten years after the happening of Fallout 3 and 210 years after "The AmazingWar", which caused catastrophic nuclear devastation across the United States. The player assumes control of a heroreferred to as the "Sole Survivor", who emerges from a long-term cryogenic stasis in Vault 111, an underground nuclear fallout shelter. After witnessing the murder of their spouse and kidnapping of their son, the Sole Survivor ventures out into the Commonwealth to findfor their missing child. The player explores the game's dilapidated world, completes various quests, assist out factions, and acquires experience points to level up and increase the abilities of their character. Freshfeatures to the series containthe ability to develop and manage settlements and an extensive crafting system where content scavenged from the environment shouldbe utilize to craft drugs and explosives, modernizeweapons and armor, and construct, furnish and improve settlements. Fallout 4 also marks the first game in the series to feature full voice acting for the protagonist.

Fallout 4 get positive reviews from critics, with many praising the globedepth, player freedom, overall amount of content, crafting, and soundtrack, while criticism was mainly directed at the game's visuals and techproblem. The game was a commercial and critical success, generating $750 million within the first 24 hours of its launch, and get numerous accolades from various gaming post and award happening, including the respective awards for Game of the Year and Best Game at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and British Academy Games Awards. Bethesda has released six downloadable content add-ons, including the expansions Far Harbor and Nuka-World.

Gameplay

Fallout 4 is an action role-playing game set in an open world environment. Gameplay is similar to that of Fallout 3 and Fallout: FreshVegas, the two previous basiciterations in the series. But unlike the previous two titles, the gun-gameplay was handled by id Software. Returning features containa camera that shouldswitch between a first-person and third-person perspective. Fallout 4 introduces features including a layered armor system, base-building, a dialogue system featuring 111,000 lines of dialogue, and a crafting system which implements every lootable object in the game. Opponentssuch as Mole Rats, Raiders, Super Mutants, Deathclaws, and Feral Ghouls return along with the companion Dogmeat.

The player has the ability to freely roam in the game's globeand leave a conversation at any time. If the player has discovered a certain areathey may quicktravel to it. Weapons shouldbe customized too; the game contain over 50 guns, which shouldbe crafted with a variety of modifications, such as barrel kind and laser focus, with over 700 modifications available. Power Armor has been redesigned to be more like a carthan an equipable suit of armor, requiring fusion cores and being essentially dead weight without it and shouldbe modified, allowing the player to add stuffsuch as a jetpack or selecting separate kind of armor for each part of the suit.

A freshfeature to the series is the ability to craft and deconstruct settlements and buildings. The player shouldchooseand break down many in-game objects and structures, and utilizethe resultant raw content to freely build their own structures. In addition, the city shouldbe powered with working electricity, using a power line system. Merchants and non-player hero shouldinhabit the player's settlements, for which the player must provide sustenance by growing mealin makeshift patches and building water pumps. The player shouldbuild various defenses around their settlements, such as tower and traps and bombs, to defend versusrandom attacks.

The Pip-Boy, a privatecomputing device strapped to the player heros wrist, let the player to admissiona menu with statistics, maps, data, and stuffthe player has acquired. The player shouldsearchgame cartridges, called Holotapes, which shouldbe played on the Pip-Boy or a terminal. A freshfeature for the Pip-Boy interface is a downloadable appfor iOS, Android, and Windows smartphones and tablets. This optional applicationlet players to admissionthe Pip-Boy interface on a separate screen, and play the collected game cartridges when not playing the main game. Another returning gameplay feature is the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.). While using V.A.T.S., real-time combat is slowed down (instead of stopped entirely as in previous entries), and action is played out from varying camera angles in a computer graphics version of "bullet time". Various actions cost points, limiting the actions of each combatant during a period of time, and the player shouldtarget specific body parts for attacks to inflict specific injuries; headshots shouldbe utilize for fastslay or to blind, legs shouldbe targeted to slow opponentmovement, and enemy shouldbe disarmed by shooting at their weapons. Unlike previous games, in which the player had a random possibilityto inflict a critical hit, they are now performed manually through V.A.T.S.

At the beginning of the game, players are given points to spend on a heroprogression system called S.P.E.C.I.A.L.. The system represents seven statistics, namely strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck. When the player earns enough experience points to gain a freshlevel, they unblockan ability. When the player allocates more points to a statistic, more abilities shouldbe unlocked. These perks shouldbe modernize to improve the protagonist's efficiency and to further unblockabilities. There are about 275 perks accessiblefor the player to unlock. There is no level cap and the game does not end once the main story is complete.

The player may travel with only one companion at a time, although other hero also accompany the player in certain quests. For the first time in the series, these companions shouldinteract with the environment on the player heros behalf. For example, if the player herodoes not have neededskills to cheata terminal or pick a lock, they shouldorder the companion to do it for them. Any companion showbesides Dogmeat will react to certain player actions in one of four method (love, like, dislike, or hate), which either raises or lowers their "affinity". Raising a companion's affinity to 1,000 points will effectin them "idolizing" the player and granting a specific perk. The companion will leave if affinity drops low enough, and some actions shouldturn them hostile on sight. The player shouldalso have sex with some human companions.

Plot

Setting

Fallout 4 takes territoryin the year 2287, ten years after the happening of Fallout 3 and 210 years after the AmazingWar, a war between the United States and China over natural resources that ended in a nuclear holocaust in 2077. The setting is a post-apocalyptic retro-future, covering a region that contain Boston and other parts of FreshEngland known as "The Commonwealth". Unlike the previous titles, Fallout 4's story launch on the day the bombs dropped: October 23, 2077.

The game takes territoryin an alternate version of history that include 1940s' and 1950s' aesthetics such as diners and a drive-in theater and design and technology advance in the directions imagined at that time. The resulting universe is thus a retro-futuristic one, where the technology has evolved enough to produce laser weapons, manipulate genes and create nearly-autonomous artificial intelligence, but all within the confines of 1950s' technology such as the widespread utilizeof atomic power and vacuum tubes, as well as having the integrated circuitry of the digital age. The architecture, adsand general living styles are also depicted to be largely unchanged since the 1950s, while including contemporary products, such as a robotic rocking horse for kidsin one advertisement, or posters for the underground Vaults that play a central role in the storyline of the game.^{[citation needed]}

There are four main factions that the player shouldselectto assistancethroughout the story; the Brotherhood of Steel, an anti-synth faction hoping to preserve technology in the Commonwealth; the Institute, a secretive companythat specializes in the creation of synths; the Minutemen, a faction that aims to drive out raiders and other threats to the Commonwealth; and the Railroad, a secretive companydedicated to rescuing synths from the Institute.

Hero

The player's character (voiced by either Brian T. Delaney or Courtenay Taylor) takes shelter in Vault 111, emerging exactly 210 years later on October 23, 2287, and assuming the name of the "Sole Survivor". There are thirteen possible companions in the story. Dogmeat, a loyal German Shepherd, is the only mandatory companion, but six others must at least be encountered; Codsworth (Stephen Russell), the Sole Survivor's robot butler; Deacon (Ryan Alosio), a Railroad agent; John Hancock (Danny Shorago), the mayor of Goodneighbor; Nick Valentine (Stephen Russell), a synth detective; Piper Wright (Courtney Ford), an intrepid reporter; and Preston Garvey (Jon Gentry), the reluctant leader of the Minutemen. The other six possible companions are Cait (Katy Townsend), an Irish-accented cage fighter; Curie (Sophie Simone Cortina), a robot scientist turned Synth; Danse (Peter Jessop), a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin; MacCready (Matthew Mercer), a mercenary; Strong (Sean Schemmel), a human-sympathetic Super Mutant; and X6-88 (David Paluck), an Institute Courser.

Seven of the companions become romance options once they idolize the Sole Survivor, regardless of the gender of the player character: Cait, Curie, Danse, Hancock, MacCready, Piper, and Preston.

Story

The story launch in 2077 in Sanctuary Hills, located near Concord, Massachusetts. The player herois at home with their spouse (Nate or Nora depending on the player heros gender), their son Shaun, and Codsworth, a robotic butler. A Vault-Tec representative admits the family into Vault 111, the local fallout shelter. Moments later, a fresh bulletin warns of an incoming nuclear attack. As the detonation occurs, the family evacuates to the Vault, where they are tricked into entering cryogenic tubes and frozen alive. After an unknown number of years, they are reawakened by two strangers, who murder the player's spouse and kidnap Shaun. The player is put back into cryogenic sleep and awakens again when the life assistancesystem malfunctions. The player, nicknamed the "Sole Survivor" of Vault 111, vows to avenge their spouse's death and searchShaun.

The Sole Survivor heads home to searchSanctuary Hills in ruins. They reunite with Codsworth, revealing that 210 years have passed since the war. Codsworth recommend that the Survivor go to Concord for help. The Survivor search and befriends Dogmeat, and help the Minutemen faction in evacuating to Sanctuary Hills. The Sole Survivor travels to Diamond City, a fortified settlement based in the ruins of Fenway Park, where they meet Piper. There, they learn about a secretive companycalled the Institute that has been terrifying the Commonwealth by kidnapping people and replacing them with "synths", synthetic humans indistinguishable from real humans.

After locating and rescuing Nick Valentine, the Sole Survivor discover the identity of their spouse's killer: Conrad Kellogg (Keythe Farley). After learning from Kellogg that Shaun is being held in the Institute, the Sole Survivor slay him and retrieves a cybernetic implant from his brain to admissionhis memories. During this time, the Brotherhood of Steel arrives in the Commonwealth on the Prydwen, an airship. The Sole Survivor learns from Brian Virgil (Matthew Waterson), an ex-Institute scientist, that teleportation is the only methodto enter the Institute. After the Survivor retrieves a chip and decodes it with the assistof the Railroad, Virgil provides the blueprints for a teleportation device, which the Sole Survivor constructs by allying with the Brotherhood, Minutemen, or Railroad.

The Sole Survivor successfully enters the Institute and uncover that Shaun is the Institute's director. Shaun, now an old man calling himself Father (Tony Amendola), reveals that he was kidnapped by Kellogg to become a specimen for synth experiments due to his pure pre-war DNA, and that the Sole Survivor remained in stasis for a further sixty years before being reawakened. He invites the Sole Survivor to join the Institute. If accepted, Shaun reveals that he is dying of cancer and wishes for the Survivor to become his successor. After initiating a purge in the Commonwealth, wiping out the Brotherhood and Railroad, the Survivor assumes control of the Institute after Shaun's death. Otherwise, the Sole Survivor devises a plan with their faction to battlethe Institute. Siding with the Brotherhood or Railroad will force the Sole Survivor to destroy the other faction. The Sole Survivor detonates a nuclear reactor, destroying the Institute. After this feat, if the Survivor sided with the Minutemen, they must lastly wipe out any remaining hostile faction. Otherwise, they will remain neutral.

Development

The initial plans for Fallout 4 were formed in 2009, when director Todd Howard wanted to explore the globeof Fallout before the bombs fell. Thus, a squadbegan production on the game that year, including Istvan Pely, lead artist of Fallout 3, after finishing that game's downloadable content (DLC). Meanwhile, development on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim had Bethesda's full attention, and after that game released in 2011, the studio continued to regularly assistanceit until 2013 with updates and DLC. After that materialwas finished, Fallout 4 entered full production from mid-2013 to mid-2015.

Design

Unlike the previous two titles—Fallout 3 and Fallout: FreshVegas—which utilize the Gamebryo engine, Fallout 4 utilize the Creation Engine, which was utilize in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Modified for Fallout 4, the Creation Engine contain a revamped heroeditor system that let freeform creation of faces without the utilizeof sliders seen in previous games. Instead, the player shouldclick and drag each feature of the face to accurately customize their character, which shouldeither be a man or woman as the previous Fallout titles have featured. Bethesda announced that the game would run at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Bethesda revealed that mobile devices would be integrated into the game as a form of second screen, acting as a secondary display for the Pip-Boy.

For the first time in the Fallout series, the player's character, the Sole Survivor, is fully voice acted, including all decision-based dialogue options. Brian T. Delaney and Courtenay Taylor are the two player herovoice actors.^[repetition]

Todd Howard revealed that mods for the PC versions of the game would be usable on the Xbox One version and that the squadhoped to bring them to the PlayStation 4 version eventually. When asked about the failed effort to add a paid mod system to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Howard stated there were no plans for a similar effort with Fallout 4. The mods madeby PC players through The Creation Kit, which include the official modding tools, were released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in May 2016 and November 2016 respectively.

Engine

Fallout 4 utilize Bethesda's Creation Engine, which was madefor The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Just after Fallout 3's release, the squaddevised numerous design objectives to meet for Skyrim—which were updated for Fallout 4's hardware requirements. The updated Creation Engine let for graphical improvements over Bethesda's previous efforts. For instance, the draw distance renders much farther than in previous Fallout games.^{[citation needed]}

Dynamic lighting let shadows to be madeby any structure or item in the game world. Howard stated in the E3 Press Symposiumsup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-zonenowrap;">[when?] that the updated Creation Engine let for next-generation god rays and advanced volumetric lighting.^[vague] The engine features a variety of visual result not showin previous Bethesda games such as motion blur, temporal anti-aliasing, height fog, dynamic dismemberment, screen zonereflections, filmic tone mapping, an updated contentsystem—for wet textures—among numerous others. The engine let the Bethesda squadto add more dynamic lighting to every scene as well as "paint surfaces with realistic content". Bethesda released an example on how the engine works: "When a rain storm rolls in, our freshcontentsystem let the surfaces of the globeto receivewet, and a freshcloth simulation system makes cloth, hair, and vegetation blow in the victory."

The updated Creation Engine let for a more advanced herocreation system, which utilize sculpting—forgoing the series of sliders showin previous games. In detail, the freshherocreation system introduces a new, freeform, slider-free facial editor controlled via dynamic, real-time modeling interface.

With regards to the aforementioned fluid animations, the updated engine also let a much more open approach to conversations with NPCs—wherein the camera views shouldmodifydepending on the player's preference from a first-person view to a cinematic third-person view—compared to Fallout 3's rigid and instanced conversation system. The protagonist features dynamic dialogue, which is context sensitive and let players to back out of a conversation. In Howard's words, "you are free to walk away anytime if you want, or you shouldeven shoot him in the face."

Marketing and release

On June 2, 2015, Bethesda published a countdown timer scheduled to expire on June 3, 2015, at 14:00 UTC. The game's domainwent live slightly ahead of schedule, revealing the game along with its box art and platforms. The pagewas taken down later but was put back up again at the scheduled time. The trailer was released when the countdown timer expired, and the game was confirmed to take territoryin Boston and its surrounding Massachusetts countryside, as recommendedby earlier rumors. More details were given during Bethesda's E3 2015 press symposiumon June 14, 2015.

Fallout 4 became accessiblefor pre-order following the product announcement. In addition to the standard edition of the game, there is a collector's edition which contain a wearable replica of the Pip-Boy. This is able to house a smartphone device, which shouldrun the second screen functionality of the game. As a pre-order giftfor the Windows version of the game, an announcer packagefeaturing the voice of Mister Handy was released for the multiplayer online fightarena game, Dota 2, developed by Valve. Bethesda announced that Fallout 4 had gone gold on October 23, 2015. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 10, 2015.

Updates

After Fallout 4's release, Bethesda has released several patches to address some of the problemsthat were showat the game's beginalong with presenting features that improve general gameplay. The first patch—coded as patch 1.2—fine-tuned the game by improving the frame rate. Patch 1.2 fixed a few bugs and errors showat the beginof the game but interfered with unofficial mod support. Patch 1.3 improved the game's graphics on all platforms, along with presenting the game with freshfeatures such as an added status menu for settlers in settlements. With regard to the graphical updates introduced in this patch, the PC platform was given a freshweapon debris resultand a freshambient occlusion setting. The patch fixed several bugs and glitches showin the game. Patch 1.4 was plannedto ready the game for the upcoming Creation Kit and downloadable content. Patch 1.4 brought a variety of additions to the settlement building mechanic of the game by adding a symbol to freshmaterialterritory in by the modding community along with adding a variety of items, such as Raider and Super Mutant decors. The patch also brought general improvements to the game's stability. The 1.5 patch added a revamped survival mode along with assistancefor the downloadable and contain bug fixes. Similar to the previous Bethesda games, Fallout 4's fan community-created unofficial patches to address problemsand bugs unaddressed by the official patches.

During E3 2016, a virtual reality mode for the game was announced, to be released in 2017. Fallout 4 VR was released as a stand-alone game on December 4, 2017, for PC on the HTC Vive platform.

Downloadable content

On February 16, 2016, Bethesda announced details, prices, and release dates for the first three add-ons for Fallout 4. The first add-on, Automatron, which let the player to build their custom robot companion by using robot parts while adding additional quests, was released to the European and North American markets on March 22, 2016. This was followed by Wasteland Workshop on April 12, 2016, which introduces freshbuild options for settlements and the ability for the player to put captured monster or humans in a cage, and adds freshdecorations like neon lights and lettering. The third add-on, titled Far Harbor, is a story expansion set in the post-war townof Far Harbor, Maine, and was released on May 19, 2016. On June 12, 2016, at E3 2016, Bethesda revealed three freshadd-on pack for the game; the first two, Contraptions Workshop, released on June 21, 2016, and Vault-Tec Workshop, released on July 26, 2016, are structured similarly to the Wasteland Workshop add-on, offering the player more build options and decorations; the Vault-Tec Workshop also adds a brief narrative. Fallout 4's third add-on, Nuka-World, which was released on August 30, 2016, adds an amusement park-based locationfor the player to explore, in which the player shouldeither side with or put an end to various raider groups residing in the park. If the player decides to do the former, they shouldassistone of the raider groups take control of various settlements in the Commonwealth from the base game.

Creation Club

At E3 2017, Bethesda announced that Fallout 4 would assistanceCreation Club, an in-game assistancesystem to purchase and download custom content. Creation Club went live in August 2017.

Reception

Fallout 4 get "generally favorable" reviews on all three platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic.

GameSpot's Peter Brown awarded it a score of 9 out of 10, saying "Fallout 4 is an argument for substance over style, and an perfectaddition to the revered open-globeseries." Brown praised the "thought-provoking" narrative, "intuitive" creation tools, the hugeamount of content, the overall combat, and the overall freedom the player is given. Game Informer's Andrew Reiner scored the game a 9 out of 10 and said: "Bethesda has madeanother game you shouldlose your life in. Freshexperiences just holdcoming, and you always have another perk to unlock." Reiner praised the "vastly improved" combat, the "denser" world, and the "brilliant" score, but had mixed feelings about the visuals. Dan Stapleton of IGN scored the game a 9.5 out of 10 and wrote: "The world, exploration, crafting, atmosphere, and story of Fallout 4 are all key parts of this hugely successful sandbox role-playing game. (It is) an journeyI'll definitely replay and revisit. Even the techshakiness that crops up here and there shouldt even launchto slow down its momentum."

Phil Savage of PC Gamer mentioned that Fallout 4 is "a loving production. It's filled with vehicle and attention to detail" and that it was "a pleasure to pick through the world". He concluded his review stating "many of Fallout 4's issue, like every Bethesda RPG before it, are a consequence of what makes them unforgettable". Polygon awarded it a score of 9.5 out of 10, saying "Fallout 4 brings amazinggameplay to match its globeand ambiance". Destructoid gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, writing "a lot of the franchise's signature issueshave carried over directly into Fallout 4".

Sales

Fallout 4 sold 1.2 million copies on Steam in its first 24 hours of release. The game also sold more digital than physical copies on day one of launch. With almost 470,000 concurrent Steam players on beginday, Fallout 4 broke Grand Theft Auto V's record for having the most concurrent online players in a Steam game not developed by Valve. Bethesda shipped 12 million units to retailers within the first 24 hours, grossing $750 million.

In early 2017, Pete Hines announced that Fallout 4 had sold more copies over the same time period than Skyrim, though he did not provide an official number.

Awards

Fallout 4 get numerous awards and nominations from gaming post such as GameSpot, GamesRadar, EGM, Game Revolution, IGN, and many more. The game get a "Game of the Year" award from the 19th ceremony of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences—also known as the D.I.C.E. Awards—among numerous nominations for the award from The Game Awards, The EverydayTelegraph, PC Gamer, IGN and more. It was also territory on various lists of the best games of 2015 in which GameSpot put it at sixth, GamesRadar at fourth, among others top lists. The game also get awards and nominations for Role-playing game of the year with it winning the award from Game Critics and D.I.C.E. with nominations from various other gaming post.^{[weasel words]}

Legal problem

A class-action lawsuit was filed versusBethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Media in 2019 over its DLC pack. The suit asserted that the Season Pass was sold as offering "all of the Fallout 4 DLC we ever do" for a single price, but later with the introduction of the Creation Club in 2017, those that purchased the Season Pass would be forced to purchase the Creation Club materialto gain admissionto the additional Bethesda-angry content, going versustheir earlier promise. During the suit's litigation in court, ZeniMax and Microsoft had announced plans for ZeniMax to be acquired into Xbox Game Studios which was anticipated to close by June 2021. The plaintiffs in the case sought a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition as to prevent Microsoft from shielding ZeniMax's assets canthey be found liable in the case, which is expected to be heard in 2022.

Notes

• at IMDb
• at MobyGames