so, what have I missed, I go to level up, and I'm greeted with what looks like the poster the game came with. I select one of the dudes, let's say - perception- and then it goes up by one star...???...???

How the he)) do I figure out where lock picking lives or how to be better with explosives? I know they've overhauled the perk system but I can't even find the darned thing!!!

anyone have a link with a step by step guide for complete idiots like me who don't do well in unintuitive game interfaces?

so, the perk tree is both horizontal and vertical (up and down and left and right). You can increase a SPECIAL (like intelligence) by one point every level by highlighting the INTELLIGENCE in "row one" and confirming it OR you can obtain a perk (each perk is underneath each of the S P E C I A L s and can be unlocked multiple times). You can ONLY unlock a perk up to the level of the S P E C I A L you have, so, if you have 3 points in Strength, you can unlock perks up to ROW 3 within the STRENGTH column. You can also unlock ANY of the perks that are in the STRENGTH column between row 1 and row 3- you don't have to go in order.

The 10 images below each SPECIAL stat are the perks, highlight one of them and the game shows what it does. You can select the ones that are visible (instead of just outlines).
The ones that are shown as outlines can be reached by spending the perk point to increase the SPECIAL stat it belongs to.

Those 7 attributes are your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Underneath each of those main attributes are your perks. It's not just those 7. For each star in your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes, you can select a perk. S, means Strength. If you go down underneath strength, you'll see perks that pertain to your Strength attribute. Such as melee damage, fist damage, things like that. That stays true to all the other ones. That whole chart is a perk system.

Are you confused by the process of ordering food at McDonald's, too? THESE PHOTOS AND NUMBERS ARE SO UNINTUITIVE

thank you to those who gave a serious reply, I did click down but nothing happens.

It's an either/or, got it! I'll have another look Chip!

Also, instead of raising a special, or getting a perk, you can raise the level of a perk you already have

I'm with OP about confusion. I just got the game today and have gotten myself out of 111. I thought I'd take the time and go through the Pipboy. I got to the perks and started messing with those. I'm still level 1, but it seems I'm able to add and subtract the number of stars under each of the individual SPECIALs. What's up with the stars? How many to play with here at the start? I don't want to dike things up at the very beginning.

The stars are the level of the special or perk. Like other FO games, tocan make changes up till you leave the vault.

lockpicking is effected by locksmith perk (4th perk in the perception column)

Explosives are effected by the Demolition Expert perk (5th perk in perception)

each of the perks tell you what level the governing S.P.E.C.I.A.L attribute needs to be at and what character level you need to be at before you can unlock it.

i.e locksmith perk requires perception level 4 (4 stars) and demolition expert requires perception level 5 (5 stars)

Also if you highlight a perk it tells you what is needed for the next level of that perk as well.

the perks that shows a weapon tells you what weapon type it effects, other perk images give a general idea of their effects.

you can also gain additional bonuses from picking up skill magazines

You are level 1, so you have no points- while you can "add stars" in order to read what the various levels do, you can't actually CONFIRM them as perks- that is a seperate option that you get once you level up.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_4_SPECIAL

Doh! I think I finally got it puzzled out. The Perk Chart is just showing me the potentials, the stars showing the level of the perk. Just because I can change the level of stars doesn't mean I have stars to increase the perks/SPECIALS. Now I can drive on!

Yes. As you level up you gain perk points. Unlike past FO games, you have a lot more choices on what to do with them. You can raise a special which will not only raise it, but unlock more perks. You can also purchase a new perk, or you can raise the level of a perk you really have. It's definitely more complicated, but I love it. It breaks the old mold of starting off with basic, crap perks/skill and getting better ones as you go along. Now, you can get the best perks ( if you choose to invest that way) early on. 100 times the choices for leveling and character building as in the past