This looks very disturbing to me: http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj125/Gizmojunk/Gizmojunk026/WTH_zps3opyvpva.gif

What do you think it means? To me it appears as though the player has the option of a critical; as in "do I want to do a critical hit?".

The demo shows the player pulls up VATS on a deathclaw, and the menu title is 'Crit__________________", and the options include select, and accept.

Imediately afterwards, the screen appears to show the option to press X to 'execute critical', or press B to abort.



**Edit: mobile browsers might only show the 1st frame of the animated gif.

more like turbo without the byproduct of addiction

So far, the way that Todd described it is that you "charge up" the critical hit meter during combat (Luck charges it faster with higher Luck) and then activate it when you want. After that, it cools down and recharges if combat continues.

It might not be a "guaranteed" critical hit if you activate it, though. He didn't mention that detail yet, as far as I know.

Either way, you only get to use it once until it recharges, so it is certainly not over-powered in any way.

I believe this has already been addressed, but you're essentially correct. You now choose to execute critical attacks. I believe the timer for executing the next critical is governed by luck. If you look at the character creation portion of the E3 demo, you can find brief descriptions for the SPECIAL stats there.

Bethesda took the randomness out of the critical hit, allowing players to build up a crit, and deploy it whenever. Obviously, things like sneak attacks would probably crit anyways.

Oh hell.

Its a meter thing in vats, as you preform actions a critical meter builds up (the rate affected by your luck stat) and once its full you have the option to burn it to make a attack a 100% critical chance.

No one should ever have 100% criticals. It's just more nonsense from them. It's definitely become an action shooter... I expect about as much RPG as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNefri1Dy2M.

(A fantastic game, but by no means an RPG.)

On the plus side, at least AP will be getting more use. It's essentially getting turned into a stamina meter. Kinda weird how Fallout 4 seems like a departure in some ways, and closer to its roots in others.

I think crits now work like shouts in Skyrim. Which is...

Its a optional mechanic, I don't remember where but I vaguely remember hearing normal criticals is still in as well.

Edit: also technically since its progress is derived from a character stat, you know, like RPG mechanics do, its still a RPG mechanic, just unorthodox one.

I think it's a risk vs reward situation.

Do you take the shot NOW, or line up that sweet shot and score a crit with a charged crit?

Remember, things are still moving in VATS this time around. Timing and place and situation may not always allow being able to get the perfect shot.

Wastefield 2077

I noticed this, several mods I use for fallout 3 and fallout los vegas (like sprinting) use the AP as if it was just a green bar. Then when I saw this in the FO4 demos I realized it was likely another concept contribution from modders to the official game.

I saw normal criticals in the demo; and they were fine ~except for that silly pop-up vaultboy icon. But they should never have a guaranteed action to exploit. I do think that it's effectively become Rune with vestigial RPG cruft. I find that a very sad and undeserved fate for a venerable RPG series.

And here I was hoping that it was just my mistake and assumed bias clouding the reality of it.

Still, its a optional mechanic, if ya done like it, don't use it.

Aaaaand from here to devolves further into "Valve ruined Tea---" Wait..."Bethesda ruined Fallout"

@Remmus: You're missing the point. The fact it exists and that there are OTHER PEOPLE possibly using it, is just too much for some, even if they don't. I mean...They could use it in a Team Deathmatch and just roll the whole thing. And would make CTF a nightmare.

That's never an option. It's become core mechanics.

@He-Who-Remains: That's not news, it's been that way since 2007, but the hope was that it wouldn't get worse, and it seems that it has.

@remmus: Once it's core mechanics, not using it, is not playing the game... That's like willfully not landing on white squares with the Queen.

What the F--!!???

That's crazy. Who thought making "crits" like that?
That system should only be used in Fighting games!

Wait wait wait wait wait...Are you saying, Gizmo...that you feel OBLIGATED to use VATS?

I'm saying if the game is designed with those mechanics then that is the game.

Presumably this Charge-O-Meter fills up on it's own whether you use it or not. That will eventually put the player in a position of losing, or using.

Eh you done need to use every mechanic in a game, thats the points of optional stuff, aka folks with something called self control can choose to use a game mechanic or not, if you have a problem not choosing to use a game mechanic or not that's a personal issue, a game dev can't pander to all tastes.

I hope it IS another ~optional~ way to do crits and crits still happen anyways (although that seems odd)... if we DO have to charge-up the crit meter and THEN use it, that's going to be a problem for me, depending on how fast the crit-meter ~decays~.

If it never decays (unlikely) then you could guarantee a crit for your first attack, but a sneak attack used to do that anyway. If it decays at any other rate, then the question becomes "How long do I -hold- my crit attack?" If you are fighting five guys and you have built up a crit-attack then sure you can swap targets and BAM crit on one guy and then go on to build up your next crit charge... but what if you don't have a good shot? You hold it... and hold it... and when does the crit-meter decay to the point you lose the critical execution option?

If this is only in VATS, that'll make using it even more complicated than the slow-down instead of time-stop is going to make using it.

Very much. Being able to turn of a feature means you're losing some of the intended content, whether you like it or not, and that feature will have taken the place of something that is now lost. "Don't use it if you don't like it" doesn't apply to everything.

I like the new system if that is the only way to get a critical hit.

In FO3 and NV the critical hit is way too overpowered and most games that have it that feature is way too overpowered. The only game that I know that got it right was Diablo 2.

If you have to charge it up it will still have an impact but no longer being OP especially if you build a character about getting the chance to 100% or at least in the high 80's.