This topic is for ideas and suggestions for Fallout 4 so that we can keep all the discussion in one thread. 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.

http://www.gamesas.com/user/15304-ccna/: 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/1465253-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-137/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1464955-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-136/http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1464955-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-136/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1464382-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-135/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1463999-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-134/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1463720-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-133/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1463405-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-132/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1463124-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-131/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1462851-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-130/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1462625-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-129/
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1462430-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-128/
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1462225-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-127/
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1461991-fallout-4-speculation-suggestions-and-ideas-126/

Fallout 4 wishlist.
-Being able to hack computers/lockpick, regardless of skill level, but having both mini-games re-worked to be far harder without a high skill as a result. Not being able to hack/lockpick because your skill isn't X level is dumb, and [censored] just doesn't work that way.
-Related to the above, have a safe's lockpick level be the same as the hacking level of the computer that unlocks it. I found it nice that that pretty much every locked item has some computer you can use to unlock it, to give science players their fair shot, but the lockpick skill needed to unlock the safe, and the hacking skill needed for the computer, while normally the same, often were radically different for no apparent reason.
-Significantly more reactive NPCs. Dragonborn was a good step in the right direction, with Raven Rock, Neloth, and the Skall, actually reacting to stuff you did in a noticeable way. Keep going on that path.
-More active NPCs/companions. Fo3/NV suffered a lot from "NPCs just stand around and do nothing" syndrome, and Skyrim's inclusion of many activities for NPCs to do made the world feel tons more alive. In addition to this, give companions Serana's sandbox package, so they can do something other then just stand in one place while they wait for you.
-Better boss fights. I know Fallout isn't exactly a good setting for boss fights, but things like the Lanius/Ulysses/Elijah boss fight were really crap, and just amounted to "shoot em till they are dead". Dawnguard and Dragonborn added in several multi-stage boss fights that were far more fun, and while I am not 100% sure how to do the same in Fallout, an attempt would be nice.
-Make alternate speech checks, that actually use the speech skill, for every speech check that doesn't use speech. it's kinda dumb that you can't use the speech skill to BS people into thinking you know about dynamite, yet you can make the most dedicated zealot of any cause stand down from the fight his entire order is depending on.
-Less generic, no-name, NPCs. I don't want to see 30 "megaton settlers" or "freeside thugs" in Fo4. Making tons of generic, no-name, NPCs does not make cities feel more real, It doesn't work in GTA, and it especially doesn't work in Fallout.
-If you're gonna do faction armor, at least have it make some sense. Make to where if you have a high rep with a faction, wearing an armor of their enemy won't cause them to shoot on sight, because your famous enough that they recognize you.
-Same as faction armor, if you are going to have faction reputation, at least make it work in a logical way. Killing three guys in the middle of the wasteland shouldn't cause me to lose rep with a faction, because no one was around to see me do it. On top of that, most quests shouldn't just automatically alter faction rep for simply beating them, unless someone actually saw you do what you did.
-Less +% damage perks. Really, way too many perks in NV were just crappy +% perks, and were pointless because you already did way to much damage anyways.
-Less railroading. Both Fo3, and NV, had tons of railroading, Fo3 in its MQ design, and NV in its world design, and neither of them were beneficial to the game.
-Have stuff make more sense. Really Bethesda, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, had tons of stuff in them that made the world believable/realistic, with farms, mines, mills, etc. etc., to support the world economy, why Fallout 3 lacked these in large numbers, though I don't think its anywhere near as bad as many people try to make it out to be, is beyond me.
-Have some sort of jail. Seriously, the whole "you stole a burnt book from me, so now I am gonna try to murder your face" type of wasteland justice is stupid.
-Clean up ash piles, seriously, it's so annoying.
-NPCs that actually surrender when they say they are.
-% based speech checks to more accurately represent the dynamics of speech.
-Fix the "protected" NPC status from Skyrim, and use it instead of the "essential" status, so that we can actually kill every NPC if we want.
-Merge barter and speech. As it stands now, both skills kinda svck, and considering being able to convince people to buy something at X price, is a part of speech, merging the two makes more sense, and makes the new combined skill far more valuable.
-More interaction between towns, both Fallout 3 and NV didn't really have town to town interaction, beyond NPCs in one town saying "yep thar be a town over yonder". Even if it's something just like "yeah, we need to get a group together to go over to X town in order to trade the stuff we have here, but they dont have over there, for stuff they have, that we dont". Even if it's just some superficial acknowledgement that towns need each other for stuff to survive would be nice.
-As everyone can agree, no more giant Enclave/Super Mutant forces. They are dead, or largely dead, let them stay as remnants, or Jacobstown. It's not something I am too worried about, since Bethesda effectively killed both factions off in Fo3 already, but still.
-More enemies with alternate means of dealing with them/weak points. Robots have their combat inhibitor, and ants have their antenna, both of which causes them to go crazy when shot, and Mirelurks have a hard shell that reduces damage to anywhere but their small face. More enemies like these with special gimmick would make combat more exciting.
-Ability to shoot more types of explosives when enemy NPCs are holding them. Its cool that we can shoot grenades in peoples hand, causing them to explode, expand that to flamers, missile launchers, and fatmans.

I would also like to see Bethesda get Jeremy Soule to try his hand at atmospheric tracks for Fallout 4. That man is the god-king of video game music, and they already have him on speed dial for TES, so why not?

-Skyrim level (at least) character customization: better hair options and better facial construction, the ability to choose how heavy or light they are, and face paint/dirt (it would be nice if this was extended to body art too if possible). In addition to that, it would be nice to shape individual body parts, such as how big their arms/legs are, how muscly or fat they are, etc.

-Activity dependent leveling. Level the skill based on doing the activity. Basically what Altadoon Ghartok Padhome's first item says.

-As was suggested in another thread-damage modeling (pre-death damage, like bullet wounds, bleeding; also show visible damage or wear in apparel to coincide with PIPBoy's indication of condition)

-More variety of mutated animals, hostile and non-hostile (horses, giant snakes, birds of prey, more mutated insects, etc.)

-More refined VATS targeting (eyes, groin, hands, kneecaps, in addition to previous targeting options); smaller body parts should not kill the enemy when their condition runs out (a missing arm/eyes/knee etc. shouldn't necessarily be instant death). Give us the ability to keep them alive if we choose-just have them run away or surrender or something. Also, a similar idea that's been mentioned by others: non-lethal dispatching, such as knocking someone out or tranquilizing them.

-Possible idea for VATS: pick body part targets before engaging in combat and have sticky aim to those body parts while in combat, so VATS does not have to stop time. Perhaps have a VATS menu on the PIPBoy that would be a real-time camera that the player could look through to target the enemy before engaging them.

-Maybe not duel-wielding guns, as some here have suggested that may make it too much like an FPS-but make use of both arms like Skyrim did by having the non-gun arm be a melee weapon or fist, and if holding a two handed gun, using the non-trigger button to bash.

-Armor customization. We currently have armored vault suits. It would be cool to be able to create armored businesswear or armored casualwear, etc. or increase the DT of actual armor. Maybe a more superfluous idea but possibly fun would be to be able to create our own makeshift armor from miscellaneous items (such as pans, plates, or scrap metal) or by mixing pieces from other armors.

-More variety in pre-war clothes. More patterns/colors, leather jackets, t-shirts, poodle skirts (to fit with the 50s style), swimsuits (maybe), etc. Separate armor/apparel sets into pieces as in Skyrim-Businesswear could be separated into Suit Jacket, slacks, belt or suspenders, vest, dress shirt, and tie which could all be collected and equipped separately. It would also be cool to have jewelry, such as rings, earrings, chains/necklaces, watches, etc. (I realize this isn't as important as aspects of the gameplay, but it is an RPG element which I enjoy)

-Weather: rainstorms, thunder, lighting, fog

-More stealth options. Make use of shadows and cover; more refined visibility indicator than just 'hidden,' 'detected,' 'caution,' or 'danger.' Stealth kills such as breaking necks or choking.

-More action animations: picking up something, working at a workbench/reloading bench/campfire/lab, lockpicking, hacking (such as a typing animation)

-Not an essential add, but one that may be kind of cool: give our character a voice.