it really isn't retconned... the poster who pointed that out to you is right... doesnt matter if it wasnt in the mechanics of the older games, it's in their lore, doesn't matter how they 'treated it' at the time

yeah its way different than any GAME yet, but the lore info on power armor actually does describe it basically as a human shaped vehicle/tank, complete with circuitry, mechanized parts, hydraulics and everything

you can dislike the change, that's totally your call, but you're wrong on the retconning bit of it

this is just the first game to implement the more vehicle-like aspects that have always been in the lore, yes lore going back way before FO4 or Beth even having the franchise at all, all the way back into Black Isle's backyard

so... change in game mechanics? yes and you can totally hate it if you want. retcon of the feel/facts of PA? sorry no, just the first time the mechanics better reflect the lore descrip of PA... that just has to happen as games go forward

shouldn't throw around retconning accusations so wildly, save that for big things like if... say... the entire history start of the NCR was rewritten or something

ex. Skyrim getting rid of item degradation shouldn't start the 'OMG retconning! we riot!' spill, it's just a mechanic change... a lame one, but definitely not a retconned behemoth of changiness (unless your definition of retconning is ANY change, but then pretty much EVERYTHING would be retconned... retconned HUD, animations, retconned hair physics, but i don't think that's what you meant)

retcon usually means something like... altering information regarding the back story of a fictional character/world/concept, regardless of whether the change contradicts what was said before.

FO4 does not do that to PA, it's lore is the same, it's just reflecting what's already been stated in the past better... again you can like it or not, just not a retcon of PA

as for the fuel bit... i think some had the need for mf cells? but most had built in power supply so it likely won't be an issue

I'm sure that won't change your mind at all, cause internetz laws say you can't budge from your opinion after stating it, but yeah

i guess you can hope there's something close to the NCR salvaged PA so you can RP that all PA is like that i guess? that's all i can think of to solve your dislike of it. or mods of course i guess

Because it such cool idea or because it just doesn't work?

its a terrible idea because its impossible.. the power armor cannot function without a human controlling it... it can still be dropped off by the vertibird though.

It would be awesome to have a vertibird airdrop your power armor, but that's just it. It's armor. If it could walk they would've developed it as a robot instead of armor

I would wonder about the delivery system, but in all honesty, I'd rather just march out in that thing myself. Make the decision that it's gonna be a Power Armor kind of day.

Is it really that absurd that power armor can have system in place where it can only just walk towards it owner?

No, but it doesn't make a lot of sense unless it's only over unbroken territory. I mean, sure, you could probably roboticize it completely with a little skill, but otherwise it would trip over the first rock.

I know if im in a fire fight and I call for my PA and it starts running at me like tank.............im going to shoot it. You can never be too careful, what if it had become sentient and tried to kill me?

*all sarcasm intended*

Only after my Trip to the Big MT in Fallout 4.

Summoning the PA? Nah.

Loading it onto the Vertibird, which is established as a sort of fast travel system? I'd be okay with that.

As for wearing the armor indefinitely...considering we've seen armor damage, and the HUD reflects various pieces of the Power Armor frame, I'm suspecting that the option will definitely be there...but over time you're going to find yourself in a progressively deteriorating suit badly in need of repairs. And given our suit is going to be relatively piecemeal to begin with...that's going to be likely expensive.

Honestly? Since Fallout 3 I've moved away from Power Armor as the premiere armor. Sure, in Fallout 1 and 2 wearing Power Armor was very much required - it was the best armor in the game and gave massive boosts, including immunity to virtually all conventional weaponry.

In Fallout 3/New Vegas...they took away a lot of the "specialness" of Power Armor and I've never felt the need to be wearing a suit. In Fallout 4, I'll probably continue that trend, even though Power Armor is back to a form akin to what we've seen in previous games. I'll save it as my "Insurance Policy" - especially if I can stow it in the Vertibird for quick deposit. I'll take it out for those areas when extra firepower is required, then keep it in the garage/Vertibird in between.

Given the amount of crafting, even with a world full of clutter we can use...parts are going to get scarce as time wears on. I personally don't want to put on "needless" miles on something that I suspect will be an integral part of both the game and various situations within the world proper.

I'd just like to say, as a nitpicky side-note, that power armor would use Small Energy Cells, not Microfusion Cells. Microfusion Cells and the power armor reactors are based on the same technology, and were developed concurrently. Back on topic, I'm ok with the idea of some of the power armor, up to the A, B, and C models of T-45, requiring energy cells to use, but everything T-45d and beyond has already been shown to require no frequent fuel replenishment. We know that late model T-45 got fusion reactors, and we know that the T-45d never required fueling, so we can logically assume that it was one of the models that did have a fusion reactor. The idea that power armor would be a limited use mech that requires regular refueling, which has been floated by many in this community, is the 'retcon' of which I speak. Lore states that power armor became viable once the power issue was resolved, allowing later model T-45 armor, and soon T-51b armor clad mechanized infantry to carve through Chinese forces. T-45d, T-51 models, the Enclave models, and T-60 power armor should not require refueling. You should have to provide fuel exactly once and be set for the next 200 years.

Because it's not Fallout.

Fallout has a distinct style and feel to it. A style that made it stand out on it's own.

Every time a new "modern" idea is introduced into this retro-futuristic setting, you're chipping away a little of what makes it so distinctive.

You've said it yourself, the idea is very "iron man". It fits there. So why mix it up?

Retro-futurism is what Fallout is based on. Simply put - what a 1950s era person would have imagine the future of the year 2000-somthing to be. Chrome everywhere, house-hold robots, intelligent computers, rocket ships, nuclear-powered toasters... the works. Build on that. There's plenty to go around, just might require digging a bit in the past.

Just keep it distinctive in it's setting, cos that's what made Fallout great and set it apart.

Power armor is a tank-suit. It should be slow, near invincible without some big guns and require skill to use and maintain. It was the height of military engineering before man decided pushing the big red button was a good idea. Since then technology developed for the most part. The enclave, having prepared itself, were one of the very few to actually develop new technologies. Didn't work out in the end tho, considering they've been kicked down twice since and probably won't get up again.

Keep in mind, too, that the Science of Fallout relies on transistors and tubes, not microchips. It's big, clunky and easy to tinker with if your got the smarts. It does not, however, lend itself to a holographic Jarvis controlling everything in the suit - up to walking to the suit to wherever the user may be.

You can read up on this here: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Divergence

Why should it be slow? If anything it should be incredibly fast for its weight considering it's an infantry defense, and infantry combat is based on one thing: fire and maneuver.

Because it's made of metal plate and ceramic armor, employs hydraulics, uses batteries or heavily shielded reactors as power source - making the damn thing weight "a ton".

It's no slap-on gambeson, it's a "modern day" version of plate armor and the only reason you can even walk in it is because it's powered.

It's not made to out-agile, it's made to out-duke it with the other guy and come through stomping because it had the bigger, tougher, armor.

No

What? It's a mobile weapons platform, not a mech designed for fighting other mechs. It is exactly made to out-agile, out-strength, and out-endure everything but actual battle tanks.

Fun fact - Plate Armor is surprisingly nimble and highly maneuverable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm11yAXeegg.

I think the fact our Power Armor will be a bit on the stompy side is the DIY nature of it.

id say PA lets you walk maybe jog but id say running is beyond it, its main benefit id say in a ' out run ' situation is that it could keep it up for hours without tiring the user. it was designed as a close armor support type role with normal infantry working with it to take out faster moving units and mop up stragglers

Unless you have a containment breach on the fuel cell. Handled well it would be an excellent mechanic. Handled wrong just a flat out pain in the ass.

I'm almost certain that fallout 1 days it has nuclear batteries that can run for centuries.

The Fallout 1/2 item descriptions said that PA had enough fuel to last for 100 years.

Yeah, but I strongly suspect MIT/The Institute snapped up all functioning Nuclear Batteries in the Boston area long, long before Vault 111 opened.

The fission batteries we find scavenging may not be capable of holding a permenant charge any longer.

I'm gonna go with no. This aint batman.

I would rather a quest to unlock such an ability. Like you do the quest and then you get a new frequency you can dial into with your Pip Boy and send a signal. Some time goes by, less than a minute depending on where you are the time increases, a countdown would be nice) and then a vertibird zooms by and drops it off near you and you still have to run up and activate it. That way there's still the chance they drop it off in a "hot" zone and you could still take the risk of getting killed just to get to it.

But doing this should have a hefty cooldown... like a few days. Vertibird fuel aint cheap ya know. This would also leave it up to you to REALLY think about if you need that armour now or maybe need it more later.

This is an old, old concept from years back on the forums, and I'd be fine with it ~so long as it was short range. The feature should only be available to trained operators, and it should only really function as a means to take the armor with you; where as without this, the armor should not be stowable in one's pocket, and stays where it's parked.
When activated, the armor should follow the pipboy like a puppy... but not as a feature that sees the armor appear on command, or walk to the PC from their closet at home.

Not so. The armor must first be able to walk, in order to walk on [physical] command of the operator. Unless it's a dumb puppet, which is possible, but not a requirement.
PA suits are a kind of robot that avoids the wearer. The internal system needs to have it's own means of keeping balance under load and action. Once you had such a machine, it should not be hard to automate a simple follow the beacon feature.

I don't think this will happen in the game, because a walking armor would technically count as an NPC companion in terms of poly-budget, but would not (should not) engage in combat, and so would be an albatross on the neck; and I think most players would expect it to help them fight. (As such, it would be a source of confusion and frustration.)