Fallout 4: Then and Now

Remember when Fallout 4 was leaked out on Reddit by an alleged former Bethesda employee about 2 years ago? The original post has since been removed (well, edited out), but I was able to find a copy of it elsewhere. I wanted to read it and compare it to the current version of the game.

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"I worked at Bethesda Game Studios in Maryland up until last month before I was fired for releasing confidential information (but it was an accident!) and so here I am, sitting unemployed with my 2 kids thanks to those fools. So, I wanted to say: I worked on, and played, Fallout 4. Yes, I did.

I want to confirm that the recent leaks about Fallout 4 are true. In Fallout 4, you are in Boston, and it takes place in the year 2287, exactly 10 years after Fallout 3. In Fallout 4, mixing things up, we are making the game more "Story Based" and the player character will finally talk, and narrate his storyline."

So far, it has been completely been true (about the game, don't know anything about this employee other than what's been said here).

"At the beginning of the game, you create your character (You can only be a male in the main story), and afterward, you start the game with a blast. After the blast, you awake to see the building you are standing inside blown apart and your wife, Lydia, dead. Robots and Androids are storming the place, killing and kidnapping the people inside. You, known as "The Officer", must escape and get revenge."

Nope. The only thing right is that there was a huge explosion. But it's not uncommon for developers to change the story line a bit to help make the game easier to play.

"LOCATION: Fallout 4 is set in and around Boston and the surrounding countryside. The downtown area is entirely controlled by "The Institute", a group of techies and scholars, as well as researchers, who devote their lives to technology. The countryside area is a "Wasteland" with small towns and settlements, as well as vaults here and there. Logan International Airport is taken over by the Brotherhood of steel, who are there trying to control the technology, and are currently waging a war against the institute, as they both have disagreements as to who should be in control of the technology in the area."

Mostly true. The scholars and techies turn out to be Synths, aka androids.

"Meanwhile, Vault 79, located outside of Boston, is under the control by "The Railroad", a group of people dedicated to helping Androids escape the institute. The map of Fallout 4 is about 3 times the size of Skyrim. The reason for this is to make a much more realistic and interactive world, that players can always find new things, even if they have played it for years after release."

The Railroad is real but not a part of any Vault. Possibly has been edited out, but does make some sense since it is underground. As for game's map being "three times larger than Skyrim"... I don't know about that but there is a LOT going on in this game. The map is definitely bigger than Fallout 3's map (some say at least twice the size) and there is a lot going on inside buildings and underground.

"FACTIONS: The Railroad returns from Fallout 3, where you only had a small glimpse of it during the "Replicated man" quest. In this game, they are a full faction and are much larger."

Yep.

"The Brotherhood Of Steel returns and control Logan Airport. This BOS is not the same as seen in Fallout 3. Instead, a similar BOS to the ones seen in the classic Fallout games as well as Fallout New Vegas make an appearance, only caring about technology, and will obtain it by force if they have to."

Pretty much.

"The Institute returns from Fallout 3, and is headed by a man named Thomas Littleton. They are the primary antagonists of the game, and control most of Boston Downtown. Their patrols in Downtown Boston are the counterpart in this game to the Super Mutants in Downtown DC in Fallout 3."

Meh... Thomas Littleton is not in the game (from my memory anyway) and is actually a much larger part of the story than this made it out to be.

"Talon Company also returns, but in a much smaller force. They base operations outside of a bunker located in Downtown Boston."

If you remember what Talon Company mainly did in Fo3, they were basically mercenaries who did random jobs around the Wasteland in order to protect it. They are not in Fo4, as stated here. But the idea has been extended to the Minutemen and such.

"Raiders return too."

Yeah... And are a huge pain!

"CREATURES: Super Mutants return, in the same form as the ones from Fallout 3, keeping in line with the "East Coast" mutants. Feral Ghouls return as well. Vicious Dogs return. Feral Cats are new, and exclusively located in one of the vaults. Spore Carriers return from Fallout New Vegas, and are located in sewers."

Super mutants, ghouls, vicious dogs-- yes. Feral cats... nope. BUT I can see where they could have easily incorporated them. I know they are trying to have radium rabbits in the Far Harbor DLC (haven't caught one but I did see one!). Spore hunters are not in the game, as of right now anyway.

"RETURNING CHARACTERS: Madison Li returns from Fallout 3. 10 years prior to Fallout 4, she left D.C after the Loss of James and having thought she lost the lone wanderer as well. Having had enough, she left to Boston, as it is home to one of the biggest Scientific facilities. Madison will once again be voiced by Jennifer Massey."

Yep.

"Three Dog returns as well, although he is only heard on the radio, and not seen in person. People believe the radio is not actually live, and that it is simply a looped recording. (Based on the fact that you CAN kill him in Fallout 3.) He is voiced by Erik Todd Dellums."

As awesome as this would have been, it didn't happen. But it can be argued that he could have been killed in Fo3, so there wouldn't be any guarantee to be still living 10 years later. What they ended up doing in Fo4 actually wasn't that bad of an idea after all.

"Bryan Wilks returns from Fallout 3. Yes, the little boy you saved from Grayditch. He is now 19 years old and is a mercenary, working with Talon Company. He bases his reason as to working with them on "Once someone saved me, and I wanted to be just like them!" He is voiced by Jerry Jewell."

Nope. It ends up being another character from Fo3, MacReady, instead who does this. As mentioned before, there is no Talon Company in Fo4.

"Other Fallout 3 characters return as well, but only through save transfer (Detailed below)."

As awesome of an idea as this would be, I can see possible issues steaming from it being the issue of why it is not part of the game. Might also explain why Fo3 was given away with the purchase of most Fo4 games.

"PLATFORMS: Fallout 4 will be available for a wide range of platforms after launch. The first version that will be released is being developed for Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. This version uses a brand new engine built from the ground up to take advantage of the power of next gen systems. Absolutely everything is new, and no assets or scrips are being used from Fallout 3/NV or Skyrim."

Bethesda has stated that they used the next generation of the Creation Engine for Fo4.

"Fallout 4 will also be available on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. This version is also being developed by Bethesda Game Studios, but will release a year after the advanced version. This version runs on the Creation Engine, the same engine that powered Skyrim. This is being done so that PS3/360 users can play the game without problem. Everything will be the same in this version as the advanced version, except for the graphics, gameplay and some additional features.

Also, Fallout 4 on PS3 and Xbox 360, last I knew, was around 20GB+. This means that it will most definitely require install. Also, players of the PS3/360 version will be pleased to know that Fallout 4 will be able to import your Fallout 3 save, and adapt choices you made from that game for Fallout 4. This means that some additional characters could pop up, depending on if you killed them or not in Fallout 3. Also, some story references from Fallout 3 will be mentioned. Did the BOS save the capitol wasteland? Or did it fall? Did Sarah turn on the purifier and die? Or did the lone wanderer do it? It might get mentioned depending on your choices!"

This didn't happen and was most likely scrapped.

"DEVELOPERS: Fallout 4 is being developed by Bethesda Game Studios, the same developer behind Fallout 3."

Yep.

"GAMEPLAY: Fallout 4 plays similar to Fallout 3 and New Vegas. You can play in Third Person or First Person, or on the PC version, a new "Classic Mode" that will put the game into birds eye view and play similar to the classic Fallout Games. (Although by my experience, it actually looked and played more like the PS2/Xbox Fallout: Brotherhood of steel.)"

There is no "classic mode" but it would be cool to see!

"Unlike Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, you can only play as a man. This is due to the storyline requiring it. However, after the main story is over, you can have a gender change. BGS did not rule out Females for possible standalone DLC, however. Additionally, full support for Trophies/Achievements are present on all console versions, and full steamworks support is present for the PC version."

You can pick male or female from the very beginning and will do slight changes to the storyline. But generally speaking, it doesn't change much at all. Personally, I think this was their smartest move with the game as it gave the player more control over who their character is to start with.

"PROGRESS: By my estimate, Fallout 4's PS4/XboxOne/PC version is about 40% complete, while the PS3/Xbox360 version is about 15% complete. Both versions are being developed by BGS."

This explains why some things were not completely accurate, since things can easily change throughout production.

"RELEASE DATE: BGS has a "Roadmap" already planned out for Fallout 4 and a spinoff. I already was informed about it from the studio when I worked there, and I read it. Basically, the roadmap is this: June 2015 - Fallout 4 reveal at E3, trailer only July 2015 - First gameplay trailers August 2015 - More information October 2015 - PS4/Xbox One/PC release November 2015 - First DLC December 2015 - Second DLC, as well as PS3/360 version release January 2016 - Third DLC March 2016 - Forth DLC April 2016 - Fifth and Final DLC June 2016 - Fallout Spinoff revealed, in development by Behaviour Interactive. October 2016 - Fallout Spinoff released for PS4/Xbox One/PC"

Up until the DLC, I do believe it was accurate. So far, only 3 DLCs have been announced and are officially out now. They seem to have trade off the PS3/360 idea into just working with the PS4/XB1 games and making them able to do as much as the PC game can (I'm referring to ability to mod). As for a spinoff, only the future will tell us that. If you're interested in the Fallout 4 game and it's DLCs, click here.

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