Upon its release in 2015, Fallout 4 was met with positive reviews, but many longtime fans of the series feel that Bethesda removed many beloved mechanics of previous games in the franchise. Many were upset to find that the previously complex dialogue system had been dramatically simplified, and other features like karma and perks had been axed altogether. These changes have lit a fire underneath the passionate modders of the Fallout community and in turn given birth to projects like Fallout: Cascadia and Fallout: Miami, both projects with the goal is to reinvigorate gameplay and bring back some historically loved mechanics.
In an interview with The Best War Games, Fallout: Cascadia lead level designer Victhor and lead writer Jonathan share what features of Fallout 4 the team believes fell short upon release, the mechanics they hope to remedy as development progresses, and share some that have already been released publicly for free.
Starfield Gets Popular Fallout 4 Mod
A popular Fallout 4 mod that improves the transparency of some of its more obscure mechanics is now also available for Starfield.
Fallout: Cascadia Devs Have Already Brought Back Classic Dialogue, Perks
With Fallout 4, instead of finding their favorite systems polished and improved upon, fans instead found that many of those franchise-defining mechanics were drastically changed or nowhere to be found at all. Fallout 4' s dialogue system had been reduced to a few simple options with no real influence on the game, perks and skills had been conflated from two distinct systems into one, and perhaps these were more limited by the voiced protagonists.
While many classic fans weren't happy with the changes, it didn't take long for Bethesda's passionate mod community to spring into action. Many volunteer Fallout 4 mod projects have sprung up over the years, including Fallout: Cascadia. This project has been there since the beginning, with one goal being to overhaul some of these systems.
"When the Far Harbor DLC was released, we noticed that Bethesda themselves tried to bypass their own limitations on dialogue. We all of a sudden saw that there was a 'next' option where they actually danced around their own system they built."
One of the first mechanics to get revamped was the simplistic dialogue system. The franchise is widely known for its involved dialogue system, but Fallout 4 featured solely four dialogue options per interaction, severely limiting interaction with NPCs and lowering the player's immersion in the world. With their mod, The Fallout: Cascadia team returned to the franchise's roots and created their Extended Dialogue Interface wherein the rigid 4-option limit was removed and full support for numerous options was added in.
This was a feature the team noted even Bethesda tried to work around in their own design, citing the Far Harbor DLC in which the studio added a "next" option to the dialogue screen to bypass the limit on NPC interactions. In addition to implementing a complex dialogue system, the team also added back skill checks in which players can only succeed at certain interactions if they have the correct skill level or perks to do so. And while the team's full overhaul of Fallout 4 isn't yet complete, this feature has already been released for free for the mod community.
"And of course, our skill system is tied into our dialogue. So, you can try and bribe someone in Cascadia, but if your barter skill isn't high enough you're not going to do it."
In addition to the reworked dialogue system, Fallout: Cascadia will showcase its improved Fallout 4 perk and skill system. Skills (e.g. Sneak, speech, lockpick) affected the player's ability and success when performing certain in-game actions, while perks helped to enhance the player's experience with certain actions (e.g. Fallout 3's "Child At Heart" which unlocks special dialogue options with kids). Fallout: Cascadia aims to bring back this classic distinction and has created a mod that allows for adding new skills and perks. And like the dialogue mod, this feature has already been released publicly, as well.
While these might be some of the most anticipated features the team is cooking up, they aren't the only improvements players can anticipate in the release of Fallout: Cascadia. The team is hard at work on features like weapon and armor conditions, as well as the return of ammo switching. Fans can anticipate all of these improvements and more sometime in the future.
Fallout 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 89%
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, invite you to the ambitious open world of Fallout 4. Do whatever you want in a massive Commonwealth with hundreds of locations, characters and quests.
As the sole survivor of Vault 111, only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone - the choices are yours.
From a Power Armor-toting soldier to the charismatic smooth-talker, be whoever you want with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Character system and develop your own playstyle from hundreds of Perks.
Experience exciting first- or third-person combat with the dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S., targeting enemies for maximum tactical advantage (and cinematic carnage!) Collect, upgrade and build thousands of items with Fallout 4's crafting system. Weapons, armor, food and with the right materials, even entire settlements are possible. Welcome home.
- Franchise
- Fallout
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- How Long To Beat
- 27 Hours
