I don't think any longer than what we saw in the demo. We create our character, meet our wife and child, talk to Vault-Tech guy, then haul ass to Vault 111. The rest of the tutorial involves getting out of Vault 111 into the Wasteland.

Though I do hope we'll be able to bond with our spouse and child for a bit longer than in the demo. A few flirty commentary to the spouse and waving my hand in front of an infant's face doesn't exactly give me a feeling that I should start caring about them. And since this is supposed to end in a tragic note, I think the devs would want us to care about the spouse and child.

I don't believe we're going to be exploring pre-War Boston, unfortunately. After all, the tutorial is about us LOSING the world we once knew, so it wouldn't make much narrative sense if they let us tour the suburbs talking to the NPCs, doing minor quests or looting their houses.

Seeing a few flashback segments outside the tutorial would be pretty darn cool. It would also give the wife/husband some more speaking roles, when one of them is not the protagonist. Whatever gender you choose, I think we should hear the talents of both.

For instance, let's say you walk into a the ruined soda shop where you met the love of your life. Then for a few seconds, it flashes back to pre-war, and you see her/him.

Remember, this isn't like FO3 or New Vegas, where the protagonist is in unfamiliar territory.

Boston is the Sole Survivor's home town. And seeing all his favorite places reduced to an atomic wreck would surely trigger some kind of memory.

Eh, to me it looks decadent and artificial. Let babylon fall, I'll be happier in the rustic wasteland of the 23rd century.

I would assume the Pre War thing is close to the amount of time FO3 had you in 101

True, I just hope it's done artistically well. It might get annoying to have unwanted flashbacks in the open-world every time we enter a broken-down shop.

I hope not. As much as I'd love to learn about Sole Survivor's past in the Pre-War world, the actual game has to start at some point. Vault 101's tutorial seemed to take forever and I was getting to the point where I was wondering when the game was going to get interesting.

Like others I'm expecting just the opening and maybe some of the tutorial. But as an Alternative History enthusiast, I would love to see more of the pre-War world in the franchise overall.

I'm not expecting the speech to actually be present in the game. I think that was just like setting the scene for the VA. But I really wouldn't mind seeing some more of the pre-war world outside of the tiny house. Something ridiculously wholesome and All-American to just drive home that we're not in Kansas anymore after we wake up.

Probably about an hour. Will just be a set piece and character creation part

I'm pretty interested as to where the extra part of the script that was leaked goes? I mean what they showed at E3 seemed like pretty much a sealed deal in terms of create your character learn your backstory pre-war then basically escorts you right into Vault 111, there really isn't any space for anything else within the scene. I guess the rest of the script could quite easily be the equivalent of the pre/post-game slide shows they normally do with the narration.

Fallout 3's use of growing up in Vault 101 was probably the only part of the story that I actually enjoyed. Using the character generation sequence and tutorial as a story-telling medium was the smartest move Bethesda made in Fallout 3's design. I found just about everything else in the game lacking in comparison to that moment... including the 'Escape' sequence of said tutorial, which hamfistedly forced the player to run away from home rather than giving us the ability to interact with The Overseer in any meaningful way. The man's not a Monster, he's just an authoritarian trying to keep his people safe from the hellish wasteland.

Fallout 4's introduction of the Pre-War Sequence equally excites me. I want it to be as complete and authentic as can be, perhaps even with choices which later affect the world in unpredictable ways. I want to see more than just a house... I want to do more than just run scared for the Vault and wait out the bombs. If the tiny snippet of the world before the bombs fell from E3 is all we get, then Bethesda is not only grossly overstating the importance of that sequence... but they're also doing themselves a disservice by failing to capitalize on a crucial bit of world building and character development. Fallout 4 isn't a blank-slate game where your character has no past and no presence. The 'Sole Survivor' is a man/woman with history built in. You're clearly an important enough family to be going to/giving a speech at the Veteran's Hall. You're important enough that Vault-Tec has COME TO OFFER YOU SPACE IN THE VAULT, despite the fact that it was incredibly difficult for most people to get ONE spot, much less secure space for their entire family.

I want to learn everything I can about who the 'Sole Survivor' is before the war... and for a lot of folks, that information will help them decide what kind of person the 'Sole Survivor' is once they emerge 200 years later.

He's also a rigid isolationist. The only reason James was allowed in the Vault was because Vault 101 needed a doctor and James had some medical knowledge so he was fortunate but it's clear the Overseer always resented James' presence and by proxy the Wanderer. So James escaping as he did pushed the Overseer on the edge. There was not reasoning with him. Look at what happens when you surrender, he still tries to have you killed. The only solution was to run.

My own take on this is a little different than most. Here's what I think: We begin the game in pre-war, with a tutorial roughly the same length as that of both skyrim and fallout 3. This then culminates in us having to make a difficult decision inside the vault. We then wake up roughly 200 years after the war. Later on during gameplay, there are a number of occasions (at least 2 that would make sense) where we could experience vivid flashbacks of pre-war events or locations. In addition to this, I can think of at least one example where actual memories of pre-war would be critical to the story.

And a message pops up with a little animated vault boy waving his finger at you saying "Turn around your going in the wrong direction!"

I have a feeling that the military would stop us from leaving the immediate area for our own safety. We can already see a tank blocking the road as we run towards the vault, and martial law would make sense given the circumstances.

Sadly, the pre-war bit will only last a very short time and they showed almost all of it during the presentation it seems.

Still, I think it is more than enough to kick the story into gear. Simply by watching just the presentation it already left me with some burning questions. How come the main character has no knowledge of the 200 years he has been inside the vault? How come the main character has no Pip-boy when that seems to be standard issue inside a Vault? Maybe Vault 111 was a facility with stasis pods similar to the ones we saw in Fallout 3 (but without the guy with the god complex)?

To me this is a good thing as it tells me my mind is already getting 'in the game'.

At any rate I am very happy seeing a fully fleshed out set of pre-war models; but more from a modding perspective. I wonder if those pre-fab building blocks for the shanty town can be converted into pre-war blocks so you could actually rebuild the place you had to leave behind (and wake up 200 years later, fresh smell of coffee still lingering in your nostrils).

Yeah I was thinking that. Proper tree variety and everything!

Long enough that players cry after the pre-war world and short enough to guide folks trough tutorial.

I think it more likely that the pre-war world reappears via the Den of Memories.

How much vault time do you think we'll have?

If it's really cyrostasis... not much. Even less than pre-war.