This thread is so that we can keep all the discussion, rumors and speculation in one place.
This topic is for a friendly discussion of ideas and suggestions for Fallout 4.

We all have opinions about what the next game should have and should not have. Each of us may express that opinion freely. There are points we agree on and points we do not agree on. This means that people are going to disagree with you on some things. Accept that and move on. No need to beat your point so far into the ground that no one wants to look at it any more.

At moderator discretion, threads about specific and distinct topics as they relate to FO4 and the rest of the Fallout series may be acceptable in the Fallout Series forum. General idea/suggestion topics for a future Fallout game will either be closed, or moved to this one.
This thread should be used to discuss items you'd like to see in a future game, gameplay tweaks, quest ideas, things you hope are not in the next game and so on. If you want to discuss major issues, use a separate topic - such as the discussion about adding multi-player or co-op play, which already has a thread. Please search first to see if there is an active/recent thread on a particular topic.

Something to note. Discussions of Child Killing is not allowed on these boards. Don't even bring it up in this thread. It won't happen in any future game from Bethesda, so there is no reason to even discuss it. If you post about this subject, you may be Warned and or Banned from the boards for doing so.

This is also not a thread to discuss current or past Fallout Games, other than to mention an aspect of the game you want to see included, or not included, in a future Fallout game.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1515531-fallout-4-speculation-ideas-and-suggestions-248/

I thought a part of the reason for mutation was the release of Limit 115, "The New Plague", and subsequently what lead to development of the FEV as well.

Regardless, I'm hopeful that, if we do return to the East Coast, the presence of FEV there means a chance for Bethesda to expand the bestiary a bit. I was honestly disappointed at how "Stock Standard" Fallout 3's creatures were - one would think even in something as densely populated as DC was, there'd be some unique critters to tangle with. I certainly hope we don't see Cazadors and Nightstalkers turning up East.

If FO4 takes place in Boston, I think we will see certain charcaters from FO3 again including Marie(baby from the Pitt) and Arthur Maxson. I'm sure Three Dog will at least a small part in the game. Besides the Institute, other locations will include settlements like the Colony, Dunwich, Salem, Kingsport and Cambridge along with Abbey of the Road.

No.

There was initially some debate amongst the Fallout 1/2 devs about if ghouls and mutant animals were just radiation based, or radiation AND FEV based, but ultimately they went with radiation only, which is what was supported in Fallout 3. FEV being part of the cause makes no sense, as FEV sterilizes everything it changes, and all the mutant animals can clearly breed.

And there is no more FEV left, even on the east coast. That is why the super mutants are in the D.C. ruins, they are looking for more FEV because they are basically out. This is observable in Fallout 3, when one goes into Vault 87, you can check the status of all the FEV gassing chambers, and they all read as being out.

No FEV left at the two locations we know it was stored at. If they had enough of the stuff for the Enclave to turn a Vault into a test lab, then easy money is on there's still plenty of the stuff left out there, doing God knows what.

And that's only the stuff the United States had. Again, going by what we've seen...China probably got the stuff as well.

Deathclaws are sure as hell not sterile and caused by FEV.

However, I overall agree that the mutations should be exclusively from crazy radiation and that we need more, different creatures for different regions of the post-war US instead of the same old ones all of the time. There is a massive amount of animal and plant diversity in the parts of the US with similar climates, the whole thing should be crawling with post-war genetic diversity.

Using FEV again would be a cop-out IMO. It really wasn't even supposed to be on the east coast, but the explanation of another test site makes some sense. However, just making up MORE and more test sites is boring, and defies any sort of logic.

Whats more, is that it was shown in The Pitt that the common people of The Pitt have no idea what super mutants are, and the Pitt's influence stretches all across the north east in some way or another. If there is more FEV on the east coast, humans havent found it, and it's unlikely to be in the north-eastern part of America. The super mutant/FEV threat in the east is confined to the C.W.

Also, given that FEV was made by an American company, it's unlikely China got it. Just like China wouldn't have GECKS or Power armor.

Do people still actually believe they were?

Agreed.

Deathclaws were the result of a pre-war US Military gene splicing experiment.

Fair enough reasoning.

The Chinese didn't develop Power Armor, no but that's because they were more oriented on stealth technology. Saying that lacked GECKs or potentially even a FEV sample is...less certain. They smuggled an entire combat troop into DC before the Bombs fell (maybe), after all.

I know West Tek developed FEV, but you also have Livermore/Broansoun Laboratories that were also credited in the creation of FEV. If Bethesda wanted to use an L/B lab and set in Boston, I wouldnt have a problem with it.

Last time I checked, The "green goo" in Fallout means radiation, as in toxic caves in Fallout 2, with you getting a sixth toe....LOL and with Tactics. Isn't that the reason the "Glow" got it's name??

The Talking Deathclaws were wiped out utterly by the Enclave. The sole survivor likely lives in New Arroyo, or was killed long ago.

Honestly, when we go back to the East Coast, I'm honestly hopeful we see some new factions and legitimate resurgent communities, rather then the ruined communities of the Capital Wasteland. I liked the settlements in New Vegas and would love to see more in their vein, then the likes of Megaton and Rivet City.

The settlements of the Mojave were only what they were because House deflected most of the nukes, which spared the pre-war buildings everyone currently lives in.

I'm glad to see some actual suggestions for FO4. I think there could be a few places on the East Coast that have prospered. I even think we will hear the capital wasteland has improved drastically.

According to the afterward in the original print of the Fallout 3 game guide, the C.W. gets a lot better. Apparently a lot of people have moved there, or at least go there, as Moria mentions having to redraw the map of the area "about a million times" in the last 20 years, and states she now has a constant stream of assistants to help her out. Though part of the draw is also becuase of the legenday "wasteland survival guide" which apparently "put Megaton on the map". there is also a mention of agriculture.

I would suspect The Pitt would be doing better in 20 years or so, assuming they find the cure, and are able to end thier raider/slaver ways to sustain their population.

I would suspect The Commonwealth and Ronto maybe the setting of the next games, or game + DLC, and we will get to "save" them in some way also, making the north-east a lot better place. Maybe we will then move south to places like The Broken Banks, and whatever is in the post-war deep south, and get to help them in a future game.

Thanks AP, I've never seen this before. I looked for it in my game guide but according to wiki it's only found in the first edition collectors game guide for some reason. Nice to read. Wish I knew someone that actually had a guide it could be found in. I'm very curious about Ronto, I hope we learn more in 4.

EDIT: I just ordered it on amazon. I need a new guide anyway, mine is falling to pieces.

Anyone want to speculate on NY? I know many people would love to see a Fallout game in New York. We should at least get some info in 4 about NY but I think Bethesda will eventually keep NY for an MMO. I dont want an MMO but I think it's coming.

While a Fallout MMO would follow lore to a certain extent, it would not be canon. More of an alternate of the alternate universe. As such it could be set just about anywhere.

As for speculation on NY, it is just as likely as any other location in the area of from the Mississippi River valley to the East Coast.

As for Moira Brown's journal entry that is 20 years after the events of Fallout 3, I would take it with a grain of salt since it cannot be directly attributed to BGS.

No, the settlements in the Mojave were better because Obsidian were aware that it had been two centuries and it would be better to not make everything look like the Great War was decades ago.

The Mojave should be close to the worst that the world looks like at this point if countries like the NCR exist.

That's not what I was saying at all. I was saying that because of how bad the Mojave is, nuked or not, it should be one of the worse off parts of the world if factions like the NCR can spring up out of California, a place hit very hard by nukes.

The nukes themselves don't really seem to be what caused most of the long term damage to people and society. Sure it's easier to move into and fix up a pre-existing home than to build a new one but you also still have wildlife, raiders, and various other issues to constantly deal with.

I just think it's really, really stupid to think that the only reason that people weren't living in shacks huddled in a crater is because the region wasn't nuked two centuries ago instead of because the writers took the two centuries into account and decided that people did stuff besides scavenge local grocery stores the whole time.

The Mojave isn't bad though, the only real problems it has are from outside forces such as the NCR and Legion trying to invade it. The Mojave, just by itself, is a post-war paradise by comparison to most places. It isn't bad at all due to House knocking out most of the nukes, and it SHOULD have been one of the first places that rebuilt into a functional society, even before any place in Cali did.

That Vegas wasn't the heart of early post-war civilization is only due to the plot-related functional retardation of its people, who were apparently too idiotic to use anything around them, including a massive water pipe system that could transport clean water from Lake Mead into the heart of the city, to build farms and the like, before the NCR came and caused House to built civilization for them as a defensive measure against the NCR.

And that is really only due to the orignal Fallout 1's team inability to know everything they were going to do with the plot before they did, and drop dialog in Fallout 1/2 that Vegas was great even back then.

Also, have you played Honest Hearts, or talked to Caesar about how his lands were before he conquered them? Most of the people in the Legion's lands were even more primitive then the C.W. was, despite being far more well off. The C.W. at least has managed to build new towns, have functional trade routes both within the local region, and as far as the Commonwealth, which is over 400 miles away. They have also tried to overcome their problems by growing plants in artificial environments, and have managed to build water purification machines to purify water for them so they don't have to walk 30+ miles to the lake, or sift their water through dirt every time they need a drink, something the people south of Vegas have apparently been unable to manage.

For all the problems the C.W. has development wise, they managed to beat the snot out of the Mojave and the Legion's lands before Caesar took over.

It seems that some of you were intent on derailing this thread with a personal discussion on FEV. A lot of posts have gone away, now stick to the topic please.

My Fallout 4 wishlist

1. DR + DT armor system, with DR being the primary means of damage negation. However, if they absolutely HAVE to use only one, a DR only system, because DT doesn't work by itself.
2. A faction reputation system combined with Skyrim's bounty removal system, so we don't lose/gain rep for things no one is left alive to report.
3. No forced leveling up upon reaching the XP requirement, and no having to spend skill points, and pick perks/traits, before one can exit the level up screen.
4. No more of this "you can't even attempt to do X until you have Y skill level" level lock out stuff, this applies to both hacking and lockpicking, as well as dialog checks.
5. Means of transportation beyond walking and pipboy fast travel, such as caravans/brahmin led carriages.
6. A crafting system that isn't filled with stuff I can just find in the game world in large numbers already, and that actually rewards me with useful, unique, items for investing in it.
7. A faction armor system that requires both armor AND a helmet, for the disguise to work.
8. I don't really care about where the game is set, or what the environment is like, so long as there is an internal consistency in that region, and that region's differences are either explained, or at least able to be guessed via basic reasoning.
9. A general non-use of factions from previous games, except in a tangential way like The Pitt used the BoS in its backstory.

10.

Things I don't want to see in Fallout 4
1. hardcoe mode/temperature effects. Look, devs, and this is to ALL devs, you will NEVER get this right, stop wasting time on it.
2. Becoming king of the wastes/town/settlement/faction. Just no, not even the Dragonborn had a divine right to rule, and he was literally a divine incarnate.
3. None of this "everyone svcks hardcoe" grey morality stuff. If you are going to do grey morality, make every faction enjoyable, and not utter crap, or else just go black/white morality to better fit the factions you created.

I don't think I can agree with this at all. I am so in love with my primary needs in New Vegas. Travelling across the breadth of the wasteland and living off the excess of the land. I would love for temperature effects to be added in, especially with seasons. Long-term roleplaying in Fallout and TES is exactly what I am about, and im about to reach 100 hours in Alexander with new years 2282 just a few days behind him. It adds to the immersion when I need to worry about where my next meal is coming from, and I would love it if travelling in the blazing hot of the day actually meant that I needed more water.

Also, I think that greyness is here to stay. It was in New Vegas, and it was in Skyrim. I enjoy not having a 100% "right" answer to a problem, although most often the central conflicts in those two games are based on whatever evil faction is threatening it, being the Legion and the Thalmor, respectively. There is some morality stuff that can be 100% black, but rarely is something 100% white. I like the dynamic between having a obviously evil faction that then has shades of grey trying to fight it, with which one you truly believe in coming down to the thoughts and experiences of whoever is interpreting it, be it yourself or the characters that you play. Imperials versus Stormcloaks against the Thalmor problem, NCR and House both trying to deal with the Legion problem, while being competitors to eachother but not quite in outright war, there's a pattern emerging. I wonder if it will stay the same for Fallout 4, but I am certain that there will be greyness in at the very least a fair bit of the factions.

I don't mind greyness, nor was I advocating it going away.

I was saying I don't want greyness that is only grey because every faction is so terrible that they all become entirely unlikeable, like NV's faction were. If grey morality is in the game, all the factions should be likeable, and you should want to join all of them, because you can see the positives in every sides arguments/position. The faction you choose should be based more on "what is the greater good" then it is "what is the lesser evil".

While not a particularly great example itself, the Pitt conflict was closer to something I want to see in a grey morality game.

Yes Ashur was a slave driver, but he was only because the Pitt was a toxic environment, filled with a systemic disease that rendered them unable to reproduce, and he WAS working on a cure to solve that problem, and while Wernher was really only trying to overthrow Ashur for personal power, he WAS still trying to free the slaves, to allow them to rule themselves, and find the cure on their own. Both sides are crappy, but I could understand and agree with both of their means.

Well, I can't argue with that. I don't think that the NCR/House are as unlikeable as some people say, although there certianly is a lot to not like about them, they still feel a lot more white than the absolute black of the Legion. The entire game seems to be against the Legion, since you get locked out of so much content by siding with them. If there is to be another wholly joinable evil faction, I would like there to be a lot more content for them, and maybe have a chance to show some more positive aspects to them rather than "They are so brutal and murdering there aren't any raiders"

I hope we see more of the Legion someday, I think if we get a chance to see civilian lands it would flesh out their character more. I just can't say no to anything Roman-influenced, even if the Legion behave more like Mongols.