November 10th is not far away at this point, and fans of the Fallout franchise are surely anticipating the date as each day passes. Fallout 4 promises to be a massive game, with a greater in-game script than that of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim combined. Past titles, including Fallout 3 and New Vegas, were given fresh life and replayability by a hardcore and dedicated modding community. Through these mods, existing content would be tweaked and re-imagined, and new items, characters and areas were envisioned and created.
Fallout 4 and Bethesda plan to follow in these footsteps and perhaps even improve upon them. The company announced a plan to implement cross-platform functionally between PC and Xbox created mods, suggesting that installing and perhaps even creating modifications for the game will be an easier task than before. Players will be able to load their save game files into the modified universe they have set up for themselves, or they can play the same game as the original developers intended. Much like the current Steam Workshop, Bethesda plans to have little say in what mods are released or downloaded; they will instead let the community
Combining an in-game mod manager and new features like player crafting and construction, the possibilities for modifications in Fallout 4 should be endless. With the player community able to focus solely on creating quality mods rather than platforms to install and update the modifications, there are many reasons why we should expect Fallout 4 to be the strongest release of the franchise yet.
Mods will be an integral part of the game thanks to Bethesda’s dedication towards the modification community moving forward. For example, players will be able to tweak their gaming experience between vanilla and modified versions much easier if Bethesda is successful in their implementation of a supported mod-manager. Some modification packs in current Fallout and Elder Scrolls games involve convoluted install and uninstall processes, and possible complications and compatibility issues between mods: this hopefully will not be an issue moving forward with Fallout 4.
Games in the Fallout series have been exclusively single-player, much to the dismay of certain fans looking for a more inclusive experience. There is a potential for Fallout 4 to eventually feature some type of multiplayer or co-operative mod. Attempts have been made with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and players have long salivated over the concept of exploring the wastelands with a friend. With the added support from Bethesda, there is no reason why attempts at a multiplayer mod shouldn’t be made.
Although Bethesda representatives admitted shortly after the E3 2015 presser that the tools and development kits required for modding in Fallout 4 do not yet exist, mods are certain to become an essential part of the game after its release. Certainly there will be groups and individuals planning the concept and details of their mods before more information is released. This is a solid plan by the Maryland based publisher; players will have a chance to sink their teeth into the full story without any modification whatsoever – and then (hopefully) a short time later, they will be able to replay the entire game from a completely modified standpoint.
The company claims that they would like to dedicate all available time prior to release working on the standalone game to ensure there are no bugs or game-breaking elements. An early 2016 date is the expected estimate for when a development kit with modification support will be released.
More on Fallout 4
- Why Fallout 4 Will Be This Years Game Of The Year
- Fallout 4 Mod Compatibility Confirmed For Xbox One
Written by @JonTPaterson
