Fallout 4’s Graphics Scaled Down to Make Way for More Features

Fallout 4’s Graphics Scaled Down to Make Way for More Features

43
Lee Bradley

Fallout 4’s graphics were dialled down to allow the expansive RPG to pack in so many features, says Bethesda’s Pete Hines.

Speaking during a round-table interview at E3 2015 attended by Gamespot, Hines explained that the decision was taken to reduce the detail in the visuals in order to allow space for features like Fallout 4’s deep crafting, customisation and building systems.

"Everything that we do is a balance," said Hines. "We could make the best looking game possible, but we dial some of that back in order to allow for all of these other things."

Hines also said that no other RPG allows players to interact with objects in the world in the way that Fallout does.

To take a closer look at some of Fallout 4 features check out the video through this link. We’ve also got info on the RPG’s bonkers Pip-Boy Edition here and there’s a screenshot gallery here.

Fallout 4 comes to Xbox One, PS4 and PC on November 10th, 2015.

Comments
43
  • Hey, it still looks beautiful. It's gonna be fun. That's all that matters.
  • If scaling down the graphics lessens the issues of previous Fallout games like frame rate slowdown, freezing, crashing, and long load times, then I am 100% for it. I was afraid that they might try to go crazy with the graphics, which would've just made the actual game a misery by causing said problems.
  • The Order: 1886 showed us that beautiful graphics don't make a good game. It all comes down to gameplay and story combined :)!!!!
  • Even if it looks like it did in the video that's cool. If they have to scale it down anymore than that, than it's not too big a deal, it will still look decent. Gameplay>Graphics
  • I personally didnt see what was so wrong with the way it looked. I didnt expect it to be super beautiful and also be such a huge game. I thought it was a gorgeous sight to behold...
  • I would prefer seeing a great game over great graphics. Gameplay>Graphics
  • I feel a great disturbance in the force...As if millions of PC elitists cried out in terror and suddenly silenced....i feel something awesome has happened.
  • I still wonder how many gigabytes this game will be. :o
  • So basically its not a system limitation that they have to downgrade graphics. Or issss it a limitation of disc space that they are cutting graphics to put in more features? Cause if its not disc space, I dont see why they cant do it all and have a complete Fallout experience. In other words, they just don't want to spend too much time on it.
  • @1 Well said
  • Hell with the graphics, give me my Fallout!
  • @9 It sounds like you're saying that Bethesda rushes with games that they publish?
  • @3 - What was wrong with The Order? I thought it was quite a good single player game, considering we're at the 'online only' and multiplayer centric age of gaming, I thought it was nice to have something that was just a fairly good campaign/story.
  • Behemoths are back, sweet, it was so much fun tracking them down in Fallout 3
  • Anyone who's not okay with it isn't a gamer and should fuck right off from our hobby.
  • @13 I liked the fact that it was a single-player only. The story was good, although the final third act was disappointing. The characters were not unique since they did not really develop during the story. I would rate the game 2.5 or 3/5 stars. I still would buy the sequel:)
  • @2: Agreed. If having not so great graphics means we get more content and less problems then I'm all for it :).
  • Scaled down for consoles they mean. PCs are going to get 100% of the beauty. It's a shame really. I wanted to see photorealistic graphics by this point already, but lots of console games are still held back by hardware.
  • quick question DOES IT WORK? [for an entire 200 hour playthrough, previous Bethesda titles have all developed issues randomly after 80 hours of gameplay] secondary question WILL IT CONTINUE TO WORK [PROPERLY] WHEN YOU ADD DLC ?
  • @19: That my friend, is the million dollar question but I doubt we'll learn anything until November when the reviews start coming in.
  • The graphics look good to me anyay. Floaty hair and extra blades of grass mean nothing when im clobbering raiders, boot stomping ghouls and ripping super mutants apart with my machine gun :D
  • True, also maybe by then I will have enough money to buy a game, and aside from the proposed bloodborne expansion [which comes sometime after now and before the end of time, and maybe not even this year as there was no information given at E3] there is only batman which I'm interested in this year. I'll probably have to wait for the GOTY edition of this, I'm not a fallout fan, but with the lack of actual new good looking games [meaning games I think I will like] and the next game I actually want being Dark Souls 3 next year, FO4 may be the timewaster that I require to get me by until then, I may not like it much, but it will at least enable me to disengage my brain [as if its ever engaged] for just about long enough to get through those boring months with no motorsport and having to watch those sissies falling down like they've been shot when fellow players go near them - like the neymar incident kicked a ball at someone, who then acted like he'd been shot by a cannon [yet the female players can actually take a punch] anyways, off to watch a bit of grid penalty lottery...er, I mean F1 practice
  • @#3, I've been preaching the same. The Order was a visual masterpiece, but failed in so many other areas. This works for me. I prefer a great story and features over graphics. I would be happy with New Vegas level of graphics if the gameplay is good. I've been a fan of the Fallout (elder scrolls) game mechanics and always felt that it fit the style of the game. This is going to be the 2nd game of the year on my list. PS - It sucks that the Pipboy edition sold out on the first day.
  • Hey guys. I have never played fallout before( I know so stupid). But, when I saw the e3 gameplay and fallout 4 trailer, I literally had tears in my eyes. It was so good. My question is, before f4 comes out, do I need to play the first 3 games and nv or just 3 and nv to get an elementary understanding of the fallout series?
  • As long as the game doesn't look atrocious it doesn't matter. That's what we have indies for LOL Seriously though, I would mind if this went back to isometric turn based combat either, so this doesn't bother me as much. I bet PC players will get the best out of 2 worlds though, as they always have. Doubt my machine will run this in full settings anyway, so will gladly settle for less=)
  • @#24 Thing is, you don't have to play any of them. But if you want to I would recommend starting with Fallout 1. It's shortest and has best story. You can actually fail in that one as have I couple times before finally beating it (due to time constraints in very first main mission without spoiling too much). If you can't do that, get Fallout 3 GOTY edition and I bet it will tie you over for a very long time with all of it's DLC's. To be honest only 2 games that I think are actually connected with one another would beF1 and F2=)
  • I thought it looked brilliant anyways.
  • I dont mind as long as I get a great game thats all I care about. I just hope its better then New Vegas.
  • I just want a balance of both.
  • What's this? Honesty from developers? Wow. Usually they are so busy hyping their games and talking about how amazingly mind blowing it will be only to have the game come out and fall short. I'm glad I pre-ordered this. It's nice of them to level with us and let us know what to really expect.
  • @3 The Order was amazing for what it was
  • I'm completely fine with it, too. Fallout 3 was, by no means, of the best looking games of its time but it was one of the most played and memorable of shooters. Graphics don't define a game... GAMEplay does. Just look at Dark Souls versus Dark Souls II... prime example of gameplay versus graphics, good versus mediocre.
  • I truly wonder if this their version of the UNITY parity crap, that the XBONE can't cut it so all suffer...time will tell
  • If they already need to scale down on graphics to add features on the new consoles, it doesn't say much for them does it. Hope we're not going to get 7 years of scaled down games now because this gens consoles aren't powerful enough to handle games coming out 5 months from now nvm 5 years from now.
  • @25 didn't I see you arguing the toss yesterday about buying remastered games for the graphics, but now you're saying graphics don't matter. Honestly I think you say the opposite things on these threads depending what side of the bed you get out of.
  • @34 And the graphics make the game right? Its not like Fallout are not huge games or anything and there is no exploration *rolls eyes*
  • @36 did I say I was bothered about graphics ? I've been saying I hate remasters because it doesn't change gameplay and they want to charge full price for an old game because they cleaned it up a bit. So don't roll your eyes at me. All I was saying is it doesn't look good for this gen that has just started and developers already have to scale back graphics to add gameplay. I've been disappointed in this generations consoles since the start I knew they wouldn't be able to keep up with PC, considering the consoles last around 7 years they should have been more powerful from the start, wouldn't be surprised if we end up with two discs for each game near the end of this generations console lifespan.
  • @37 or they could upscale the graphics and all the new features and have the game take up 128 gigs on your hard drive...
  • dialed down? it still looks fantastic a lot better than it used to anyway, i mean everything looked...rustic (for lack of a better word), but now it looks ps4-worthy hearing that somehow less is more (and to have it be true) just astounds me ^~^
  • @38 yeah they could. Funny though if this was playstation vs Xbox it will all be about my consoles better than yours 1080p 60fps but now a new games out you don't mind that it's scaled back.
  • @37 So complaining that they are scaling back graphics is not talking about graphics then? I dont care either way good graphics or scaled down graphics, as long as the game is good thats all that matters. But whatever got better things to do. Bye
  • @3 The Orders gameplay didn't take enough chances but the story was brilliant!
  • @41 I'm not talking about the game I don't even like fallout, I'm saying the console is already being maxed out, even though I'm not bothered that much about graphics it's still disappointing that the console can't handle what was in mind for the games. You only seen the PS3 at it's best near the end of it's lifespan. I've got better things to do than explan to you what I mean because you don't understand.
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