With the exception of an Esc menu, of course.

Think about it, though. VATS no longer pauses the game, but slows time. Conversations are "dynamic" and don't stop time or anything. The Pip-Boy app seems to suggest that you can use it on the fly without bringing up the Pip-Boy, so I doubt bringing up the Pip-Boy even pauses the game. Add in the fact that they seem to be putting a heavy emphasis on "fast-paced FPS shootan ackshun" and it seems to all come together.

Thoughts?

Not really a game changer for me, really. So long as I can still hit Esc or Start to pause the game and go drain the lizard, I'm reasonably content with this being the case.

Agreed. It will kind of svck trying to decide between my Combat Shotgun and my Chinese Assault Rifle while crouched behind low cover, under fire from a Mark IV Turret and a Talon Company Merc with a Sniper Rifle all in real time.

Well, that's where having some stuff set to hot-key comes in handy.

Hmm. Well I certainly hope that messing around in the pip-boy menu pauses. Can't stand all these modern games that have gone to "doesn't pause ever", generally due to them being built on an online/multiplayer core (ARPGs like Path Of Exile, for instance). Not having the ability to check out your inventory, read notes, etc, without feeling some kind of pressure to rushrushrush would be really annoying.

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What I wonder is how a phone app will communicate with the game. Will the game itself have some sort of Bluetooth communication code built in? Will there be a need to have your game and phone both logged in to some online service? Something else?

(will I be able to run it on my iPad? Don't have a smartphone....)

edit: actually, aside from messing with it once or twice for novelty's sake, I doubt I'd use it anyway. Waste of battery power.... if I'm playing a game on my computer, why divide my attention to my mobile device, including having to make sure it doesn't go to sleep/etc. Seems like just an opportunity for confusion & inefficiency. The in-game pip-boy is much more convenient.

Ugh I hope not. I can see why bringing up certain menu screens would keep the action going but as somepone who has a disability that causes 'holding it in' to not happen I find games that can't be paused at all to be a big hassle at times. If they decide to do that there needs to be ways to quickly get to a safe zone then.

I am getting old. I am getting slower. Even in my younger days, I couldn't do a lot of games without pausing. I would hope we can pause at least in the Pip Boy. For me, always being on the fly or in constant motion is not fun.

If anything, MAKE IT AN OPTION. For those who love to play on the fly and for people like me, who like to take it easy. Give us options when V.A.T.S. is pause or not. Hell have a speed where you can make V.A.T.S. go as fast or slow as you want.

Yeah but I couldn't decide. I mean, Chinese AR has better range but crazy random spread. Combat SG has a fairly predictable spread but the bullets turn to marshmallows after 5 feet. End of the day, I just played dead behind a pillar and punched him to death with Spiked Knuckles, but that's not the point.

Was thinking about this, and honestly whenever I want to pause I hit tilde.. and I imagine it'll still pause the game in vats, conversations, or whenever.

...we need some marshmallows in-game, so we can fire them out of the junk launcher and take off a raider's head.

That would be awesome. Real-time lockping or hacking so that you can get caught if you are not quick? Yes! Not being able to pause the game, access the inventory and start spamming simpacks? HELL YES!

If this were the case I would love it (at least as an option on hardcoe mode), but I can almost guarantee that this would never happen. Bethesda isn't willing to deliver this sort of experience. These games aren't known for their difficulty or survival elements.

I definitely wouldn't like that. It would less immersive rather than more. A real person would be able to whip out a Stimpak or grab another weapon on their person in the heat of the moment without having to stop and stare at their wrist watch. I'd rather have time unrealistically stop than have my character unrealistically lack the ability to use something that's right there in his pocket without consulting his PDA first. The combat in Dragon Age Inquisition could be rather frustrating due to a similar limitation on how many skills you could have equipped.

Agree, only reason to not allow pausing is multiplayer, no pausing but only bullet time in VAT is to make it less OP with the bonus that you see time is moving so you can wait for an opening inside VAT and predict if enemy will be behind cover for the last shots.

Thank god...You have no idea how OP it was to switch from your crowbar to a fat man instantly when you need it. Or throw some stimpacks on right when you reach 1HP bar. Now you can only do that if you have the companion app and incredible multitasking abillities.

If they really are going to be... several unkind adjectives... enough to make the game not pause in the menu, then they really need to have a better screen for reading notes and memos than they've had in previous games.

Also, I'm really hoping that it does keep the game paused. Those pointless knock off games suddenly stop being a harmless distraction and start being a liability if you can't play them in safety.

i hope pip boy still paises time

Played Skyrim? I wouldn't count on it with conversations; we've already seen in the demo that V.A.T.S. doesn't pause time.

Thanks, but if I wanted to play a shooter I'd actually buy a shooter.

In general, I'm rather concerned with how much they're emphasizing the shoot'em'up aspect in FO4--just like they did in Skyrim. I don't play Fallout to shoot things; shooting things just incidentally happens to be involved in the experience. Would it be nice to make the action part more fun? Sure, but don't compromise the exploration and interaction--like, say, Skyrim did. TES has already ceased to be an RPG and turned into a sword-and-sorcery hack'n'slash with RPG elements; looks like Fallout is following close in its footsteps to become an FPS with RPG elements.

"Fast-paced shooter" sounds like they could lose me, but I guess we'll see. I definitely prefer an opportunity to pause and rummage. I've even hoping for a perk that will actually stop time in Vats for old school RPGers. I've no problem with them supporting a shooter playstyle, but I sure hope that's not the only playstyle they support.

Yup played Skyrim and pressing tilde (opening the console) does pause time (even in conversations). You could do it at anytime in Skyrim, FO3, & FNV.

This is exactly why I'm all for it. Even if the Pipboy menu pauses time, at least have the minigames like lockpicking and hacking happen in real time.

As for Pipboy realtime, as long as there's a favorites menu (which there is) I won't have a problem with it being real-time, but I don't think it will be. There are plenty of moments of safety in these games, and it wouldn't make sense to start playing a minigame in a situation where you'd get attacked anyway. Reading notes or holotapes will be fine too. If they do implement it, though, I'd hope for a dynamic timescale that slows down while we're in the menu, though. That way NPCs and everything can go on business as usual, but the day/night cycle won't happen as quickly.

How would that svck? Sounds awesome

Wait, VATS does not pause?

Damn, I already had problems with my character dramatically standing still while getting punched, shot and, melee'd at while firing.

Honestly, I don't mind the game not pausing for anything but the pause menu (Start or Esc). VATS is already known to slow down time, although I wholly expect perks to increase the slow down effect to almost a standstill. You shouldn't be able to just pull out your pip-boy and read a memo in the middle of a firefight. I know this is meant to be an RPG, but that doesn't mean some elements of common sense are bad. I want an immersive experience over a traditionally RPG one, but the two aren't mutually exclusive. I actually like the idea of having to find somewhere safe to go and play a game or read my diary, from a role-playing perspective it fits; would I stop firing and read a message now? No I wouldn't because I really don't want to get shot.

The only argument I can see is item equipping, but if FO4 has a favourites system that pauses (or at least slows time) similar to Skyrim I really can't see an issue there. Realistically you would only have access to a select few things on your person at any one time. Again, this may be a step away from the RPG styled "everything at your fingertips" but I think it suits Fallout in a post-apocalyptic, the world is dangerous kind of way.

My concern is less not being able to read notes in a firefight and more I'm reading a note when suddenly I get assaulted by a Deathclaw without warning and it gets in three hits before I can reasonably react.