Next Week Tonight · 9:51am Jun 15th, 2015
art by TheOmegaRidley
I try to do a new blog nearly every week. I posted last week's blog -- a celebration of the amazing 100th episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- last night. Normally, I would wait at least the better part of a week, but the great news that Fallout fans have just been given cannot wait. So I'm putting up this next week's blog tonight!
Hours ago, Todd Howard (Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios) gave a half-hour presentation at E3 that was packed with information about Fallout 4!
A few highlights:
Voiced protagonist? Yes. And done pretty much exactly as I had hoped.
Customizable character? Yes! Including gender choice (which I know some fans had worried about).
Playing a character who lived prior to the apocalypse? Confirmed!
Crafting? Luna's moaning moonheat, yes!
Collector's Edition? A must have!
Vehicles? No. But we do get to ride in a vertibird while hosing down enemies with a minigun.
Release date? Late this year, far sooner than I had expected! 
art by Viwrastupr
The presentation was, of course, full of eye candy for those of us who have been waiting for this game for ages, starting with a showcase of concept art for the game and ending with a montage of combat gameplay. And every bit of it is calibrated to make us eager to dive into the wastelands of the east coast once again.
The crafting system got special attention during the presentation, and it's better than most of us have dreamed of. Every weapon is fully customizable. And so is your armor! Armor now comes in layers, and each section can be customized as you desire. (Power armor with a flaming paint job FTW! 
)
But what impressed me the most was that they integrated the concept of one of my favorite Fallout mods: Real Time Settler! Now, you will be able to leave your mark on the wasteland with more than just violence and destruction: you can build communities! You can forge your own settlements, build defenses and even establish trade routes between them. I spent hundreds of hours in Fallout 3 crafting my own communities. Now with Fallout 4, that becomes an optional part of the basic game. Words cannot express my excitement.
art by AviatorGriffin
Beyond just thrilling us with Fallout 4 design and gameplay goodness, Todd Howard revealed some extras that every Fallout fan will want to get ahold of. First, he showed off something from the Collector's Edition. Bethesda has officially created what Fallout fans have been making for themselves since cell phones became a thing:
Yep, definitely going for the collector's edition. I may have to buy a phone just to justify getting this.
In addition, while Fallout 4 is coming out in November ( 
), some of us don't have to wait that long to get our Fallout fix. Bethesda has created a 2D game called Fallout Shelter which puts you in the Overseer's chair, micromanaging your own Vault. The game was inspired by games such as X-Com, SimCity and FTL. This game was released exclusively to iOS immediately after the presentation.
Sadly, there is currently no release date or expectations for this game on Android, much less the PC. 
Below is a video of Bethesda's showcase at the beginning of E3. The segment on Fallout 4 is at the end, beginning forty-two and a half minutes into the video. But I suspect you will find something else worth watching the entire video for. 
art by TheOmegaRidley
Happy! This all makes me so happy! Happyhappyhappyhappyhappy!
And yeah, I don't own a phone but just might if I get to wear a Pipboy. Crafting looks SO GOOD. I wanna build a weed-whacker covered in shaving razors. I will be disappointed if that cannot be a thing.
You don't talk about the combat though. How'd that look?
Oh, and it's awesome that you like Dishonored 2... too? Point is you can only get more awesome, KKat. Never ever stop, yeah?
I fangasmed so hard while watching that last night.
Is there any chance that this may inspire a Fallout: Equestria 2? Luna knows you have enough head canon for your own story to make a similar follow-up. I know it's probably just wishful thinking, but it would be so awesome. 
Talking from inside the Fo:E fandom, I wonder if Fo4 could inspire a new tranche of stories. Maybe ones based around a background pony who had been a soldier and was put in suspended animation in Stable-111, just outside Bostallion just as a megaspell hit. You could have a lot of fun by having him one of the Crusaders' childhood friends like Button Mash, Pipsqueak or Rumble.
YEAAAAAH!
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This.
Ayy lmao
They've gone really far to make the game as customisable as possible. I LOVE the whole "build your own house" and even town options! It kinda makes the game you play a lot more personal.
I'm probably gonna spend hours just building and rearranging
...I sincerely hate that I don't have a next gen right now (y u not be on PS3?!).
Though I'm getting that freaking app for my phone. Cause why not? (Also dammit! A phone game I would really wanna play and of course it's only on the iOS.)
I can already tell I'm going to be spending hours on the weapon/armor crafting. Those RPG OCD skills come in handy with this kind of thing. I wonder what made them go all in with the crafting system and settlement building. Me thinks Bethesda spent some time wandering (
) the internet looking at all the Fallout mods. 
I'm very excited for all this, but I'm worried. They said not that long ago that a release date wouldn't be for a long while. So unless they were flat-out lying to cull the hype (Which is a possibility), there's a chance they're rushing the game to meet demand.
But worries aside, I've installed Real Time Settler on my games before, but never bothered using it since I usually install large amounts of mods at any given time. I'm still really hyped for that feature, and the collector's edition, which is weird, cause I've never bought any special edition of a game before.
Speaking of special editions, I'm getting The Secret World Ultimate Edition thanks to you.
I own not a PC or Next Gen console, but I intend to buy the collectors addition regardless. Why? Because I may or may not have a rather ridiculously sized cell phone that I really only use for browsing FiMFiction and watching YouTube.
And this pot post confirms something I'd heard once: y'all don't have a cell phone. You learn new things about your favorite fanfiction authors every day.
(>mfw when people suggest a sequel to Fallout: Equestria even though you've stated you aren't doing that)
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Pipboy phone case! Oh my god, I must have one!
Oh, yeah, everything else is cool, I guess.
Oh jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, I always wanted my own PipBoy. I don't usually buy collector's editions, but if it's not 200+ dollars, I may be whipping out my credit card...
I will not make an Iron Man armor, I will not make an Iron man Armor. Ok, I will...and Little Mac. Just to have an Iron man wielding the Lightbringer's gun.
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he funny thing is, that plot is similar to my "Sins of an Alicorn" story.
What I also love is the fact that,not only are they customizable, but if you pick a common name (there are 1000 in there, I think chances are high) they will actually say it! How cool is that! Think about it, what if you pick Pip as a name and its in there. You could have people call out Little Pip's name all over the place.
The real Pip
bucboy is a real treat. I mean, I have my own,but that almost makes it worth it to get the collector's edition. I wonder if it is any phone, not just one size.I freaked out when I beheld the crafting. No word of a lie.
T
see this is what makes bethesda a good gaming company, they listen to their fans ideas for what they want to see, they always bring their A game.
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That's good marketing. Pure and simple.
The E3 show case video pleases me greatly.
I know, I'm horribly excited beyond words.
Also:
Kkat confirmed for actually being LittlePip.
Can I order the collector's edition now or do I have to wait?
Come on, Bethesda, I'm throwing my money at you, don't be a bunch of dicks and take it already!
Personally, I'm most excited for the jetpack. Even assuming it can only be used for a few short bursts, it adds a whole new level of depth to the combat, because now there's this added element of spatial thinking. Altitude will be a factor in who has the advantage in a fight, the added mobility allows the player to move quickly around the battlefield, and it could completely the change the way we deal with flying enemies. It may not be a huge part of the game (going by the context it was used in during the trailer, I expect it to be an optional upgrade once you get power armour, whenever that may be), but even with that limited a use, it's still the biggest game-changer on display here.
Thanks for sharing all this news with us who weren't able to see Bethesda's panel (like myself), Kkat. I have a feeling this is the only game ever that I'll be both pre-ordering and getting the collector's edition of.
November can't come soon enough! 
Rush and Pony on!
T4E
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I don't really think they're rushing to release a game that was in production for about 7 years.
Started rereading FO:E last week.
Pre-ordered the hell out of the FO4 Pipboy Edition today.
Thinking that I'll revive my alien Holocaust survivor RPG next week.
I like where this is going.
3151808 Production starts the moment some dude in a board room goes "Ey, Fallout 4, amirite guiz?". I'm not worried that they have 7 years of production time under their belts, I'm worried that they're taking off future production time just to release it earlier rather than taking their time. I'm afraid of another Skyrim. It wasn't a bad game, but it was disappointing and not what I'd come to expect. It's no easy task for a game to live up to it's hype, and Fallout 4 is fucking hyped man.
Thanks for posting the vid. I missed Bethesda's conference because, ironically, I was trying to sneak a Fallout easter egg into the game prototype I'm working on before it's due in class today. You saved me a search for it.
If Pearlman returns as narrator I'm going to release the most unmanly sqee ever.
Good thing i already had it pre-ordered, even before knowing what it would have, now me and my friends want it MOAR!
Honestly the only disappointment I have with FO4 right now is that they seem to have axed skills entirely. Watch here, as the Pipboy boots up and kicks over to the stats screen. There's tabs for status, special and perks. Nothing for skills.
I love literally everything else I've seen(so hoping I can build a vault and/or Tenpony Tower type settlements), so hopefully the inevitable F4SE and modder ingenuity will eventually be able to fix this, but having build differences limited to stats and perks just doesn't feel right.
Write a new story
Thoughts on writing more Fallout Equestria stuff after completing Fallout 4?
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$120 according to Bethesda's website
Wow, the world just wants me to get this game, I hyped up on reading FOE for the first time, completed Vegas, borrowed Fallout 3 from a friend, and now it's Fallout 4. Wow... Thanks Kkat for the news, and the story, just... Do you know what console it's for?
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i.imgur.com/5Tz5bRm.jpg
Let's be honest- anyone fretting over gender being an option wasn't a real fallout fan. It's a decades old series that hasn't broken from customizable male/female protagonists from the start, from Bethesda, the company whose most reliable IP is The Elder Scrolls, which has always had customizable male/female protagonists. That'd be like worrying if Britain is going to make it for tea time- of course it's gonna bloody well happen!
I want to get that damn Pip-Boy, but I don.'the have anything to play Fallout 4 on!
(My mind keeps trying to say PipBuck. I blame you.)
kkat why not write fallout equestria 2 but make it uncanon to the original that way no one's story is step on. or make a prequel.
If you can name the settlements you can build.....
I am SO naming one "Junction R-7"....
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That (At least, a pre-war character waking up after the war) is pretty similar to an idea I had for a Fallout: Equestria story that I'll probably never actually write. Except my idea involved a changeling instead of a pony...
So... Much... HYPE!
Just, so much win in that presentation. One thing I'm still curious to see is how the whole pre-war waste lander works. How they react, how they survived. But, so much customization.... I can already tell I'm going to be spending days just on that.
Now, hopefully the options are there to build a real version of Li'l Macintosh. If not, I'm sure it'll be added by a mod soon after it's released.
When I watched the e3 announcment for fallout 4 on youtube they made be sooo hyped for fallout 4. I cant wait to get it
And there was much rejoycing in the land of the Equestrian Wasteland.
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Someone noticed on the weapon mods that it lists skill "rank" requirements to make certain mods. They were all single-digits, too. The Laser Pistol "Improved Short Barrel" requires Rank 1 Science!, for example. Some of the rifles required Rank 4 Gun Nut! They may be turning Skills into a perk-like system, where you just pick ranks in a skill as you level.
I wish I could get a collector's edition, sadly, no any kind of game shop in the area, a computer that do be able to run it or the money I would need to spend to get everything.
*Sigh*
At least I can wait for the app...
Also confirmed that mods made on the Pc will be transferable to the XBone for free! So much hype!
After looking at all Fallout 4 had, any septicemic I had for the game vanished. Pre-ordered it already.
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Oooh. That's a brilliant idea. Changeling pods would be a perfect way to explain a wartime character emerging so long post-apocalypse. I had... other ideas, but I'm really loving this one.
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LOL~!
I had to force myself not to say PipBuck like five times in front of people when talking about Fallout.
"Oh, yeah, my favorite piece of tech is the Pipbuc-boy ..."
Ooh. This gives me ideas for my own FO: E story. My main springboard was Van Buren, but I plan to use some ideas from Fallout 4 as well.
I just felt nerd-vana for the first time. 0_0
Must go for that Collector's Eddition, it'll bring endless joy for me. Hopefully the bloody thing will be here well worth the extra dollars, but inside I know it will
Oddly, I'm actually really excited for the layered Armor system, which is because I'll finally get that much closer to becoming a Stable-born Raider or a real Little Pip :3 now if only Bethesda made a horse-like player model, and then I can die happy.
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Why? If anything, there is plenty of room for Kkat to work in a sequel. Possibly more room now that we've got stuff like Dimensional mirrors. A big part of the plot of Fallout 4 seems to be that everyone wants you as a pre-war survivor in order to use your existence as a legitimacy booster.
So, what if Princess Sparkle accidentally sends herself to the FO:E universe somewhere just after the last epilogue? A nice pre-defined narrative (get home) that could end up getting vastly more complicated because, well, ponies didn't quite learn as well as they thought they did, and the prospect of a 'gen-u-ine' princess is simply too good to resist. Boom, instant plot along the themes that Fallout 4 seems to be going down, while not rolling back the kinda-good ending of FO:E and doing its own thing.
Update; seems Gamestop decided to pull a short stop and a sudden turn on any potential pre-orderers. All pre-orders for the Collector's is Online only. If you already put money down, go into a store, and get it moved to a online order and it will be delivered directly to your door. It is suggested you move quickly, they do not expect it to stay available (the guy I talked to said he doesn't think it will make it to tomorrow)