Fallout 4 is a post-nuclear apocalypticaction role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth major installment 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 worldpost-apocalyptic environment that encompasses the city of Boston and the surrounding Massachusetts region known as 'The Commonwealth'. The main story takes place in the year 2287, ten years after the events of Fallout 3 and 210 years after 'The Great War', which caused catastrophic nuclear devastation across the United States.
The player assumes control of a character referred 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 search for their missing child. The player explores the game's dilapidated world, completes various quests, helps out factions, and acquires experience points to level up and increase the abilities of their character. New features to the series include the ability to develop and manage settlements and an extensive crafting system where materials scavenged from the environment can be used to craft drugs and explosives, upgrade weapons 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 received positive reviews from critics with many praising the world depth, player freedom, overall amount of content, crafting, and soundtrack, while criticism was mainly directed at the game's visuals and technical issues. The game was a commercial and critical success, generating US$750 million within the first 24 hours of its launch, and received numerous accolades from various gaming publications and award events, 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: New Vegas, the two previous primary iterations in the series. Returning features include a camera that can switch 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,[1] and a crafting system which implements every lootable object in the game. Enemies such as Mole Rats, Raiders, Super Mutants, Deathclaws, and Feral Ghouls return, along with the companion Dogmeat.[2]
The player has the ability to freely roam in the game's world and leave a conversation at any time. If the player has discovered a certain location they may fast travel to it. They have the ability to customize weapons; the game includes over 50 base guns, which can be crafted with a variety of modifications, such as barrel types and laser focus, with over 700 modifications available. Power Armor has been redesigned to be more like a vehicle than an equipable suit of armor, requiring energy cores and being essentially dead weight without it[3] and can be modified, allowing the player to add items such as a jetpack or selecting separate types of armor for each part of the suit.[4]
A new feature to the series is the ability to craft and deconstruct settlements and buildings. The player can select many in-game objects and structures, and use them to freely build their own structures. In addition, the towns can be powered with working electricity, using a power line system. Merchants and non-player characters can inhabit the player's settlements, for which the player must provide sustenance by growing food in makeshift patches and building water pumps. The player can build various defenses around their settlements, such as turrets and traps, to defend against random attacks.[5]
When using V.A.T.S., real-time action is slowed down, and players can see the probability of hitting each body part of the enemies through a percentage ratio displayed here on the PlayStation 4 version
The Pip-Boy, a personal computing device strapped to the player character's wrist, allows the player to access a menu with statistics, maps, data, and items the player has acquired. The player can find game cartridges, which can be played on the Pip-Boy or a terminal. A new feature for the Pip-Boy interface is a downloadable application for iOS, Android, and Windows smartphones and tablets. This optional app allows players to access the 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 can target specific body parts for attacks to inflict specific injuries; headshots can be used for quick kills or to blind, legs can be targeted to slow enemy movement, and opponents can be disarmed by shooting at their weapons. Unlike previous games, in which the player had a random chance to inflict a critical hit, they are now performed manually through V.A.T.S.[6]
At the beginning of the game, players are given points to spend on a character progression 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 new level, they unlock an ability. When the player allocates more points to a statistic, more abilities can be unlocked. These perks can also be upgraded to improve the protagonist's efficiency and to further unlock abilities.[7] There are about 275 perks available for the player to unlock. There is no level cap and the game does not end once the main story is complete.[8]
The player may travel with only one companion at a time, although other characters also accompany the player in certain quests. For the first time in the series, these companions can interact with the environment on the player character's behalf. For example, if the player character does not have required skills to hack a terminal or pick a lock, they can order the companion to do it for them. Any companion present besides Dogmeat will react to certain player actions in one of four ways (love, like, dislike, or hate), which either raises or lowers their 'affinity'. Raising a companion's affinity to 1,000 points will result in them 'idolizing' the player and granting a specific perk. For example, Codsworth will provide bonus Energy Resistance. The companion will leave if affinity drops low enough, and some actions can even turn them hostile on sight.
PlotSetting
Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287, ten years after the events of Fallout 3 and 210 years after the Great War, a war between the United States and China over natural resources that ended in a nuclear holocaust in 2077. The setting is a post-apocalypticretro-future, covering a region that includes Boston and other parts of New England known as 'The Commonwealth'. Unlike the previous titles, Fallout 4's story begins on the day the bombs dropped: October 23, 2077.
The game takes place in an alternate version of history that sees the 1940s and 1950s aesthetics such as diners and a drive-in theater. The design and technology advance in the directions imagined at the 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 solutions such as the widespread use of atomic power and vacuum tubes, as well as having the integrated circuitry of the digital age. The architecture, advertisements and general living styles are also depicted to be largely unchanged since the 1950s, while including contemporary products, such as a robotic rocking horse for children in 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 can choose to support throughout the story; the Brotherhood of Steel, an anti-synth faction hoping to preserve technology in the Commonwealth; the Institute, a secretive organization that 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 organization dedicated to rescuing synths from the Institute.
Characters
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'.[9] 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 companions become romance options once they idolize the Sole Survivor: Cait, Curie, Danse, Hancock, MacCready, Piper, and Preston.[10]
Story
The story begins in 2077 in Sanctuary Hills, located near Concord, Massachusetts. The player character is at home with their spouse (Nate or Nora depending on the player character's gender), their son Shaun, and Codsworth. A Vault-Tec representative admits the family into Vault 111, the local fallout shelter. Moments later, a news 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 but awakens again when the life support system malfunctions. The player, now known as the 'Sole Survivor' of Vault 111, vows to avenge their spouse's death and find Shaun.
The Sole Survivor heads home to find Sanctuary Hills in ruins. They reunite with Codsworth, revealing that 210 years have passed since the war. Codsworth suggests that the Survivor goes to Concord for help. The Survivor finds and befriends Dogmeat, and assists the Minutemen faction in evacuating to Sanctuary Hills. The Sole Survivor then travels to Diamond City, a fortified settlement based in the ruins of Fenway Park, where they meet Piper. There, they learn about a secretive organization called the Institute that has been terrifying the Commonwealth by kidnapping people and replacing them with 'synths', synthetic humans indistinguishable from real humans.
With the help of Nick Valentine, the Sole Survivor uncovers 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 kills him and retrieves a cybernetic implant from his brain to access his 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 only way to enter the Institute. After the Survivor retrieves a chip and decodes it with the help of 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 discovers 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 fight the 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
Todd Howard, game director of both Fallout 4 and Fallout 3, in 2010
The initial plans for Fallout 4 were formed in 2009, when director Todd Howard wanted to explore the world of Fallout before the bombs fell. Thus, a team began 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 support it until 2013 with updates and DLC. After that content was finished, Fallout 4 entered full production from mid-2013 to mid-2015.[11]
Design
Unlike the previous two titles--Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas—which used the Gamebryoengine, Fallout 4 uses the Creation Engine, which was used in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Modified for Fallout 4, the Creation Engine includes a revamped character editor system that allows freeform creation of faces without the use of sliders seen in previous games. Instead, the player can click and drag each feature of the face to accurately customize their character, which can either be a man or woman as the previous Fallout titles have featured.[12] Bethesda announced that the game would run at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[13] 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.[14]
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.[15]Brian T. Delaney and Courtenay Taylor are the two player character voice actors.[16][repetition]
Todd Howard revealed that mods for the PC versions of the game would be usable on the Xbox One version and that the team hoped to bring them to the PlayStation 4 version eventually.[17][18] 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.[19] The mods created by PC players through The Creation Kit, which contains the official modding tools, were released for Xbox One players and PlayStation 4 in May 2016 and June 2016 respectively.[20]Fallout 4 mods were released to Xbox One in May 2016. PlayStation 4 mods were shot down by Sony in September 2016, but Bethesda announced a month later that mod support would still happen. As of November 2016, mod support for the PlayStation 4 version is present with the introduction of the 1.8 update.[21][22][23]
Engine
Fallout 4 uses Bethesda's Creation Engine, which was created for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.[24] Just after Fallout 3's release, the team devised numerous design objectives to meet for Skyrim—which were updated for Fallout 4's hardware requirements. The updated Creation Engine allows 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 allows shadows to be created by any structure or item in the game world. Howard stated in the E3 Press Conference[when?] that the updated Creation Engine allows for next-generation god rays and advanced volumetric lighting.[vague] The engine features a variety of visual effects not present in previous Bethesda games such as motion blur, temporal anti-aliasing, height fog, dynamic dismemberment, screen space reflections, filmic tone mapping, an updated material system—for wet textures—among numerous others.[25] The engine allows the Bethesda team to add more dynamic lighting to every scene as well as 'paint surfaces with realistic materials'.[26] Bethesda released an example on how the engine works: 'When a rain storm rolls in, our new material system allows the surfaces of the world to get wet, and a new cloth simulation system makes cloth, hair, and vegetation blow in the wind.'[27]
The updated Creation Engine allows for a more advanced character creation system, which uses sculpting—forgoing the series of sliders present in previous games. In detail, the new character creation system introduces a new, freeform, slider-free facial editor controlled via dynamic, real-time modeling interface.[28]
With regards to the aforementioned fluid animations, the updated engine also allows a much more open approach to conversations with NPCs—wherein the camera views can change depending 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 allows players to back out of a conversation. In Howard's words, 'you are free to walk away anytime if you want, or you can even shoot him in the face.'[29]
Marketing and release
A custom Volkswagen Type 2 promoting Fallout 4 at gamescom 2015
On June 2, 2015, Bethesda published a countdown timer scheduled to expire on June 3, 2015, at 14:00 UTC.[30] The game's website went live slightly ahead of schedule, revealing the game along with its box art and platforms.[31][32] The site was taken down later but was put back up again at the scheduled time. The trailer was released when the countdown timer expired,[3] and the game was confirmed to take place in Boston and its surrounding Massachusetts countryside, as suggested by earlier rumors.[33][34] More details were given during Bethesda's E3 2015 press conference on June 14, 2015.[35][36]
'Welcome Home' display of Mister Handy at PAX Prime 2015
Fallout 4 became available for pre-order following the product announcement. In addition to the standard edition of the game, there is a collector's edition which includes a wearable replica of the Pip-Boy. This is able to house a smartphone device, which can run the second screen functionality of the game.[37] As a pre-order bonus for the Windows version of the game, an announcer pack featuring the voice of Mister Handy was released for the multiplayer online battle arena game, Dota 2, developed by Valve Corporation.[38] Bethesda announced that Fallout 4 had gone gold on October 23, 2015.[39] The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 10, 2015.[40]
Updates
After Fallout 4's release, Bethesda has released several patches to address some of the issues that were present at the game's launch along 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 present at the launch of the game but interfered with unofficial mod support.[41][42] Patch 1.3 improved the game's graphics on all platforms, along with presenting the game with new features 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 new weapon debris effect and a new ambient occlusion setting. The patch fixed several bugs and glitches present in the game.[43] Patch 1.4 was designed to 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 new content placed 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.[44] The 1.5 patch added a revamped survival mode along with support for the downloadable and included bug fixes.[45] Similar to the previous Bethesda games, Fallout 4's fan community-created unofficial patches to address issues and bugs unaddressed by the official patches.[46][47][48]
During E3 2016, a virtual reality mode for the game was announced, to be released in 2017.[49]Fallout 4 VR was released as a stand-alone game on December 4, 2017, for PC on the HTC Vive platform.[50]
Downloadable content
On February 16, 2016, Bethesda announced details, prices, and release dates for the first three add-ons for Fallout 4.[51][52] The first add-on, Automatron, which allows 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.[53] This was followed by Wasteland Workshop on April 12, 2016, which introduces new build options for settlements and the ability for the player to put captured creatures or humans in a cage, and adds new decorations like neon lights and lettering.[54][55] The third add-on, titled Far Harbor, is a story expansion set in the post-war city of Far Harbor, Maine, and was released on May 19, 2016.[56][57][58] On June 12, 2016, at E3 2016, Bethesda revealed three new add-on packages 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 area for the player to explore, in which the player can either side with or put an end to various raider groups residing in the park. If the player decides to do the former, they can help one of the raider groups take control of various settlements in the Commonwealth from the base game.[59][60]
Creation Club
At E3 2017, Bethesda announced that Fallout 4 would support Creation Club, an in-game support system to purchase and download custom content.[61] Creation Club went live in August 2017.[62]
Reception
Fallout 4 received 'generally favorable' reviews on all three platforms according to review aggregatorMetacritic.
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 excellent addition to the revered open-world series.' Brown praised the 'thought-provoking' narrative, 'intuitive' creation tools, the large amount of content, the overall combat, and the overall freedom the player is given.[67]Game Informer's Andrew Reiner scored the game a 9 out of 10 and said: 'Bethesda has created another game you can lose your life in. New experiences just keep coming, 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.[65] 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. Great new reasons to obsessively gather and hoard relics of happier times, strong companions, and sympathetic villains driving tough decisions make it an adventure I'll definitely replay and revisit. Even the technical shakiness that crops up here and there can't even begin to slow down its momentum.'[72]
Phil Savage of PC Gamer mentioned that Fallout 4 is 'a loving production. It's filled with care 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 problems, like every Bethesda RPG before it, are a consequence of what makes them unforgettable'.[73]Polygon awarded it a score of 9.5 out of 10, saying 'Fallout 4 brings great gameplay to match its world and ambiance'.[74] Destructoid gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, writing 'a lot of the franchise's signature problems have carried over directly into Fallout 4'.[79]
Sales
Creeper world 4 download. Fallout 4 sold 1.2 million copies on Steam in its first 24 hours of release.[80] The game also sold more digital than physical copies on day one of launch.[81] With almost 470,000 concurrent Steam players on launch day, Fallout 4 broke Grand Theft Auto V's record for having the most concurrent online players in a Steam game not developed by Valve Corporation.[82] Bethesda shipped 12 million units to retailers within the first 24 hours.[83]
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.[84]
Awards
Fallout 4 received numerous awards and nominations from gaming publications such as GameSpot,[85]GamesRadar,[86]EGM,[87]Game Revolution,[88]IGN,[89][90] and many more. The game received a game of the year award from the 19th ceremony of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences—also known as D.I.C.E.—among numerous nominations for the award from The Game Awards, The Daily Telegraph,[91]PC Gamer,[92] IGN and more.[93] It was also placed on various lists of the best games of 2015 in which GameSpot put it at sixth,[85] GamesRadar at fourth,[94] among others top lists. The game also received 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 publications.[93][weasel words]
References
External links
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fallout_4&oldid=904249713'
Hello,
This mod re-textures the Army Uniform, into a Two-Tone World War 2 inspired uniform. I also added the Massachusetts Militia patch to the arm, as well as a Private patch.
When the Creation Kit comes out, I will ensure that the mod is further expanded and more uniforms are added.
I would consider this Semi-Lore Friendly.
Installation Instructions
Fallout 4 German Uniform Pictures
Go to:
C:Users”YourUserName”DocumentsMy GamesFallout4
Edit:
Fallout4.ini Find: “sResourceDataDirsFinal=STRINGS” Change it to: “sResourceDataDirsFinal=STRINGS, TEXTURES” Then drag and drop the “Textures” folder into your “Fallout4/Data” folder.
To Uninstall:
Go to Textures/Armor Delete the “Fatigues” folder
Please leave feedback on how I can improve my mods, or how much you enjoyed it, I’d love to hear from you guys!
Thanks, CelsiuZ
Must Try It
I really would like to see a german stahlhelm mod, sorry if It's been asked before, and think it might make for an interesting mod to add to the game, with the german uniform mods and whatnot. The mods like this for fallout 3 were great fun to play with and I enjoyed them a whole lot, using them for every playthrough. However with fallout 4 that aspect is all but gone and I'd like to see a mod to bring it all back. I don't have the resources for model making or even photoshop, and have only very basic knowledge of the creation kit, so I'd just like to make a request here.
Cheers!
Bethesda is well known for creating quality short stories in their games, and we’ve compiled 6 of what we believe are the saddest stories hidden around the commonwealth in Fallout 4.
Bethesda is a company with many years of great storytelling experience, and the company has become quite adept at crafting many touching short stories that populate both the Elder Scrolls and the Fallout series. Whether it’s a tragic family story at a lighthouse or even a tree-based moral dilemma, the company is certainly capable of scripting some touching stories and putting them in unexpected places, and such is certainly the case in Fallout 4.
We’ve compiled six of what we believe are the saddest stories in Fallout 4, and are absolutely worth exploring the Commonwealth to experience. We’ve helped you find things like power armor and even hairstyles, but now it’s time to turn on the sappy music and listen to the sadder side of the wasteland:
The Norwegian Shipmates
South of the Castle lies the Wreck of the FMS Northern Star, which hosts a crew different from any other characters in Fallout 4. If the player boards the ship, a group of ghouls will begin to defend it – but they’ll be shouting Norwegian phrases at the player, unlike the rest of the game’s english-based characters. Translating their shouts actually reveals they’re saying things like “You shouldn’t be here!”, “Go away from our ship!”, and “Leave us alone!”. Though the game calls them raiders, it’s clear this isn’t the case.
As it turns out, the Norwegian crew look to have been trapped in the Boston port when the bombs fell. Unable to communicate with any of the english-speaking survivors, they have defended their ship from raiders and mirelurks for the last 200 years, which explains why they would open fire when the player jumps aboard. When any of the crew die, they say “Jeg kommer hjem”, which translate into “I’m coming home”. After 200 years, the poor crew were unable to see the ports of Norway or find out what happened to their families, and are destined to either stay on the ship forever, or be killed by The Wanderer.
The tip of the ship plays host to the Agility Bobblehead, so it’s likely most players will slaughter the luckless crew to get that sweet, sweet, stat boost.
The Yangtze Chinese Submarine
Off the coast near southeast of the Shamrock Taphouse, a beached Chinese nuclear submarine called the Yangtze has spent the last 200 years sealed from the outside world. As it turns out, the Yangtze dispatched a nuclear payload at the start of the Great War, and is the entire reason behind the existence of The Glowing Sea. The submarine struck a mine on its way out, forcing it to seek refuge in the port of Boston. Due to the damage, the nuclear reactor of the submarine experienced a leak, turning the crew into feral ghouls – that is, except for one.
For the last 200 years, the ship’s captain, Zao, has been stuck in the submarine, stewing in guilt for his part in the nuclear apocalypse. Despite the fact that his crew have turned into feral ghouls, he is unwilling to escape because it means he would have to leave them alone to get parts, and he refuses to leave the remnants of the men he considers family, and can’t bear to put them out of their misery. Unable to cope with the tragic situation, he has spent 200 years in complete isolation, and asks The Wanderer to do what he doesn’t have the strength to do to his feral friends in order to get the submarine moving and return to a home he isn’t sure is even still standing.
Zao’s intact submarine uniform is a unique piece of clothing, and it seems many gamers are apt to kill the lone Chinese survivor after all of his years of suffering and guilt. While he followed orders that led to a nuclear apocalypse, we can’t help but feel bad for the guilt-ridden soldier who spent 200 years staring at the faces of the men he calls his family.
The Separated Family
If players find their way to the The West Everett Estates, they’ll discover the remains of a formerly nice community that has been turned into a post-apocalyptic fortress, protected by walls of piled vehicles. The estate has long been under Super Mutant control, and the player can fight their way to a cellar shelter called The Backyard Bunker, which reveals a tragic story in its own.
A terminal in the bunker reveals a father named Wayne and his two children had been holed up in the shelter for months after the bombs dropped, but the father never gave up that his wife, who was in the city when the bombs fell, may still be alive. A series of terminal journal entries show that as the months went by, he still spends most his time thinking of her, and even had his kids try and make a cake on what would have been her 30th birthday. Eventually, the Estates compound is overrun by raiders, and the children recorded a holotape directed to their Mom during the commotion as their father attempts to tell them to run. The holotape is the last thing ever seen from the separated family. We assume the worst for all of them.
Annika’s Locket
In the Chestnut Hillock Reservoir lies a tattered farmhouse with a flickering bug light, a dead brahmin, and a sad story on a terminal. It turns out that a man named Edwin had stumbled upon the house many years ago and was nearly killed by Annika, the women who lived there and had mistaken him for a raider. The pair fell in love, and lived happily well into their elder years. Annika passed on, and as Edwin’s journal entry makes clear, he struggled to find warmth in a world without her.
One day, a bloatfly swarm came close while he was fishing. He was able to get some shots off at them, but upset his boat in the process. Soon after, he realized that he has lost his locket with Annika’s photo in it, his last material possession that ties himself to her. Edwin is devastated at the loss of the locket, and plans to brave the radiation-filled waters to get it back. Refusing to abandon her memory, he went through with his plan and dove back into the lake in a desperate attempt to retrieve the locket. The Wanderer can dive underwater next to the boat and will find the locket, clutched firmly in the long-dead hands of Edwin. He died holding the last part of the world that reminded him of Annika, and in some small way, a tragic story had closure.
The Runaway’s Story
South of Sanctuary lies a Ranger Cabin, left in shambles from the Great War but virtually untouched after that. On a mattress lies the skeleton of a long deceased girl, curled up near a suitcase with a dress and a holotape. Playing the tape reveals that the girl had gotten into a massive fight with her father after telling her parents that was she pregnant. Her father had told her that she should be ashamed and had to leave the house, and her mother sad nothing and simply cried- which she states hurt worse than anything else. She didn’t tell the baby’s father, a teenager named John, and opted to run away to the Ranger Cabin she had played in as a young girl.
It’s clear that when the bombs dropped, The Runaway Girl died feeling more alone than potentially anyone else in the commonwealth. She didn’t have enough faith to tell John he was to be father. Her parents had forced her out of her home. She died in a cabin in the woods, with an unborn child, and her story would remain completely unknown until the Wanderer simply happened to come on by.
Fallout 4 Hitler ModThe Love Of Two Sisters
Early in the game, many players may have stumbled upon the quest to give Diamond City radio personality Travis some confidence. This takes them to the Beantown Brewery, where a raider named Tower Tom can be found and killed. Hacking his terminal reveals that he had kidnapped a rival gang member named Lily, the little sister of the rival outfit’s leader, Red. Tom had been extorting food supplies from the other group, threatening harm on Red’s little sister if the food supply stopped. At some point, Tower Tom accidentally killed Lily, and hid her body in one of the vats in the brewery so no one would know. He began forging the notes to Red, hoping that the big sister would keep sending food supplies for as long as possible.
For many, the story ended there. However, if players stumble onto the Federal Ration Stockpile near the southeast corner of the commonwealth, they will find Red and her gang. Inside Red’s room is the letters that Tom sent, and Red’s terminal reveals a distraught big sister desperate to rescue her little sister. She is suspicious about a potential forgery in the letters, but doesn’t let that stop her search for her little sister. If the player has already killed Tower Tom, Red’s terminal reflect that the Beantown Brewery was cleared out, but there were no signs of her sister. She has sent her gang members throughout the commonwealth to look for her, absolutely refusing to give up.
The player knows that Lily has been dead for months, and it’s tragic to see Red had desperately continued a search that would never yield any fruit. Since she fights the player on sight, it’s safe to say that if she encounters the player, she dies never knowing what became of her sister. Perhaps it was for the better.
What do you think about the sad tales in Fallout 4, Ranters? Are there any you think deserved to be on the list?
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