I've been a long time Bethesda gamer. I've played all their games since Morrowind and there has always been an aspect to the rain, and weather in general, that has persisted in all their games even up into Skyrim. What I'm refering to is the fact the rain and other weather effects ignore objects in the world and go straight through them. If it's raining or snowing you can get under a cover, look up, and it'll still be there as if you're out in the open. Now as seen in a lot of the new gameplay vids, Bethesda seem to have added a lot of open air structures, building that have interiors that exist in the world without the need of a load door and seperate space. I think this is great, and with the addition of rain and radioactive dust storms to the game, I'm really hoping this means they've fixed it where weather can recongize objects in the world without passing through them. What are your guys thoughts on it?

Oh yeah, I wonder if they've fixed this, or if there'll be any rain at all...

Rain's already been confirmed just from the release trailer, let alone E3 where it was raining and we could actually see wetness on our power armor.

Would be nice if rain had collision, though, and didn't rain through the ceiling. To my understanding, it requires a complete overhaul of how precipitation works in these games.

It kinda needs to be done. Its been around since 2002. Particularly since they've added the new building system to the game, it would just look really bad if you built this awesome base and structure all the sudden it's raining inside : P Well here's to hoping anyway.

Don't quote me on this, but I *think* its due to the rain being treated as a shader rather than an in-world effect. That's why mods that fix this basically had to create invisible areas that block the shader graphics.

With all their emphasis on dynamic lighting and volumetric effects, I hope they managed to fix this.

Also, speaking of visual annoyances, I hope they fixed the shadow-stepping issue from Skyrim, where the shadows didn't move constantly with the sun, they moved in steps. Very annoying and immersion-breaking to see one happen.

I'm waiting for this fix since morrowind and if it's still in I'll seriously go ape[censored]. I don't mind that the game is not the prettiest looking out there, that's not what I'm playing B's games for, but rain and snow falling through objects is the single most immersion breaking thing of all time.

It's present in their games for 13... thirteen years, that's absolutely nonsense.

- They claim that they rewrote the whole engine for Skyrim back then, yet there was no fix

- This time around they say they've upgraded the engine to be "next gen creation engine, ver 2.0"

They were able to implement a whole new lighting system (finally... my second biggest gripe), it's really due that they switched to real particle weather effects too.

I watched the sections of the video where it rained over and over again frame by frame, but unfortunately as there is no uncrompessed non-youtube version yet, it's impossible to make out if it's still there.

I have no doubt it'll be in because it's tradition.

That would be awful to the point of disabling the weather. But if they get it to work, it could be quite atmospheric watching the rain through your doorway from the comfort of your house. Hell if they're doing exterior-celled houses then maybe we could even have functioning windows.

They rewrote the engine, however create rain as something else than shader took resources. As 360/ ps3 was pushed to the limit and something past it they would had to cut other stuff.

This is no longer the problem.

Far more open areas like the houses we can build require that this is solved.

You're totally right.

That one aspect - the open world home building - what makes me somewhat optimistic.

They just cannot be that undemanding to let that happen in 2015.

The problem with Bethesda and weather sytems is that it's static and isn't dynamic. Skyrim was going to have dynamic snow that actually builded up over time, and even have seasonal changes if I'm not mistaken, Morrowind at one point was going to have a more realistic ashstorms that would impare vision / health and that you needed to have a mask or helmet covering your face to traverse in it without problems. When it comes down to it it's time constraints that they got with the game and their decsion whether or not to do it. Because we can see mods that add dynamic weather into their past games. Time will tell if it's in or not; neverless I'm happy that some semblance of a weather system is the game, makes the world feel more alive.

It's been fixed. http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52612

He's referring to vanilla Fallout, not modded.

Anyway, I believe it has. Notice how few interiors we've seen? I think Bethesda is trying to make this one continuous game world.

Yep, it seems that there are definitely a lot more open structures, but inerior/exterior mechanics certainly remain.

However, just as others have said earlier the very fact that you are actually encouraged to construct houses outside, plus the amount of exterior buildings hopefully suggest that it indeed has been fixed.

Also, am I seeing right that while it rains, it seems that the surfaces actually get a wet look?

There's rain in the trailer, and rad-storms have been confirmed. And then there's houses in the exterior worldspace both pre-placed and buildable by us. Its pretty much a given that they've managed to solve this. I can't wait to sit in my compound and stare out the windows as rain pours across town.

Just to offer an interesting counter experience, I have seldom had this issue that others claim happens all the time. I've seen it fairly rarely with either rain or snow (I'd say less than 10% of the time that precipitation falls when I go indoors). It certainly isn't a big deal for my games, anyway. I'd like to see it corrected but it isn't major (nowhere near as critical as character visual aesthetics, for example).

Seems like it. Makes me pretty excited!

Largely because Bethesda, aware of this limitation, ensured that many 'open' interiors were clearly ruined, so there was generally at least a large hole through which your mind could (if you wren't too disconnected from the gameplay) perceive the rain/snow as falling. But there were a number of locations where you could easily notice rain (and especially snow) come slanting through solid walls or down through the solid parts of partial ceilings. And, of course, mods had to try and make allowances for this.

Hopefully this is fixed in FO4, and doesn't have any (or too many) restrictions when creating new locations in the GECK To Be

The rain has been changed that is for certain, whether it has been neutered or not is something we haven't been told.

Actually, being a shader makes it easy to calculate where to stop the rain. As long as you don't care about simulating runoff, all you need to do is use the same technique that the engine uses to generate shadows: use ray casting to see where the rain hits something, and then don't use the rain shader beyond that point.

With the new settlement building system it has to be fixed otherwise its going to be really [censored] hard to be oblivious to it.

My hopes for all-dynamic lights/shadows are already shattered, please let this be fixed.

It's interesting to see how most of the people see the outside building mechanic as a reassurance of this. Wish I could be that trusting towards Bethesda.

Speaking of weather. The voice call in skyrim Call storm or what not brings in a storm which strikes lightning at your enemies.

I wonder if they put in an effect for a feat to be lucky enough for your enemies during bad weather suffer those indignities. VIce versa.

If you look at the power armor the player uses in the gameplay demo, the metal appears to be wet and shiny from the rain and has water dripping down it. I have a good feeling the collision has likely been fixed.

Well they already confirmed that your character can be struck by lightning if out in a rad storm but you will have a warning to get inside by seeing lightning in the distance warning you to get indoors before the storm gets close to you (which makes me believe rain would work as it should otherwise what protection would being indoors offer ;D)

Also i wonder if NPCs will react to severe weather like rad storms by getting inside.. or if they will be stupid and wander around outside in the radioactive weather.