Gopher posted a link with his take on the skills being converted to perks at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOOz_fHHt0o.

He makes some good points about the skills still being there just hidden and modified by what perks you take.

His point was that converting perks to skills wasn't dumbing down the Fallout skill system but actually improving it by offering more choice.

By using perk skills you can create a better defined character since the perks show what the character is good at better than just having a single skill rating covering everything and it was cleaner to boot.

For example in F3 and FONV, a scientific courier with an 80 in the Science skill is equally good with producing chems, hacking a terminal, working on energy weapons, or discussing quantum string theory.

In Fallout 4 depending on if you take the Computer Wiz or Science perk, you can be an expert in software but useless with the hardware.

A Bounty Hunter with the Cowboy, Gun Nut, Gunslinger, and Commando perks would be better with lever action guns and pistols but not as good with automatic weapons like a grease gun or mini gun.

And since there were a lot of perks that had major impact your character's combat abilities already, moving the skill system to perks just put it all in one place.

Man. His game runs smooth as butter!!!

This actually sounds really promising!

I completely agree.

Also, this allows more specialized characters = your character is more unique. + it adds replay value.

No more "I can make one single uber-god powergaming munchkin that can handle everything".

yeah hated fallout 3 nv basicly become god with INT of 8 or higher

Yeah I'm looking forward to this.

I know some people want 10s in every thing and I figure if you keep at it you can get there using Intensive Training (You would have to take the Intensive Training perk 42 times to max your stats.)

But you will have a lot less other perks.

But there will be other ways like possibly bobbleheads and cyberware.

I think if you can refrain from using Intensive Training and there are so many other perks to get, it won't be too bad.

Most of us will have started another play through with a very different Sole Survivor long before we get close to maxing our stats and getting all the perks.

May I agree to. The more I think about it, the better it sounds

This is the flaw of thresholds and merged skills. Once you have one skill cover two disciplines, you cannot make a PC that is not equally skilled in both. Merge melee with unarmed, and you cannot have a boxer and a fencer ~you have two each skilled in both. The skilled fencer will be just as capable without their weapon; they are just as skilled in HtH because of the merged skill.

Perks don't seem to be perks anymore; they've become electives in an ersatz skill system [presumably ranked].

^

You can still min-max though? I always thought min-maxing in a gaming context always relied on the amount of resources you have. You could still min-max, however - this time around you also have to sacrifice more.

We shall see if his theory is true, I dont mind either way, I suspect the combat aspect of his theory will be wrong tho, perks like commando will most likely only affect vats, one of the reason (in my mind) why our character has a pre defiend background as a militay vet is to allow beth to handwave weapon skills away completely.

I don't hope they will make VATS-only perks... that would be annoying for all the non-VATS players... Especially since they go away from a too powerful VATS

he is 100% right at one point , any systemdumber than the old one isn't possible

and like gopher said it is all still speculatiuon

To be fair in 3 and NV there where always other perks at the same level as any of the vats affecting perks, so you could always pick one of those.

Yeah, I hope some of those VATS-only perks like Commando and Sniper will be reworked to have some effect on the relevant gun skill in general. Also the new Critical Hits system, I hope it is not VATS-only. I don't typically use VATS in FO3 and NV.

I watched Gopher's video the other day, and I liked his take on how the new system could benefit more specialized character builds. I'm keen to here more from BGS about how things will actually work in FO4.

The merging of Bullet Time in to VATS is a vast improvement.

There is a big difference between slowing things down and freezing the action.

I used a Bullet Time mod and it was a lot of fun and more immersive than VATS.

Project Nevada even set up the VATS only perks to also apply to Bullet Time.

Be nice to see perk 'skills' for light/heavy armor and vehicles like power armor and vertibirds too.

Beneficial perks perhaps, but I doubt we will see PA training or such, the military background is clearly meant to justify our PC knowing how to handle one straight of the bat.

It makes leveling kinda boring though, like out of an action game. "Just pick a perk!"

Assigning skill point wasn't really that exciting, though. The most interesting part of leveling was already the perk selection.

You're going to choose a perk based on the type of character you want to make, and the perks available to you will be based on SPECIAL and current perk ranks. Doesn't seem any more or less boring than incrementing numbers.

^ This

Im not sure about this...i just cannot grasp at this time how it will effect my personal playstyle in the long run...it just seems like such an out-of-place change. I like Fallout's perk system but i always enjoy more complexity in my games (which gamesas is terrified of) so im not sure how to feel

Gopher points out in his vid, that you really can't dumb down Fallout any more than it already is.

Guns covers everything.

Perks let you be good with pistols but not as good with longarms and heavy weapons.

With perks you can be a brilliant Scientist inventor that can't code his way out of a wet paper bag.

Special Stats are taking center stage and taking over a lot of the things Skills once did like barter, persuasion, and stealth.

Fallout fans have been asking for this for years.

The rest of skills were just combined with Perks.

And you have to admit that many perks are absolutely critical to using skills and in combat.

but perks were more than just stat-enhancements or weapon-boosters. They were also part of the odd-stuff, like Nuka-Chemist, Eye for an Eye, Lady Killer, etc. Not every perk was intended to be min-max supporting, but rather gave you something odd or extra to do