The very decorated Todd Howard took to the stage near the end of Bethesda’s showcase and he had a lot to say about Fallout 76, after a brief turn as a stand-up comedian reminiscing about the history of the convention.
After retreading over the news we knew, such as the game’s setting and timing in the series, we were treated to a taste of the game’s gameplay.
The world looks gorgeous featuring new lighting, rendering features. The West Virginia setting is four times the size of Fallout 4 and features six distinct regions inhabited by a number of traditional Fallout creatures and even some based on Virginian folklore.
Howard then addressed the elephant in the room. The game is, in fact, an online title where all of your fellow vault dwellers from Vault 76 are real people. That doesn’t mean you can’t play the game solo, but if you choose to delve into the online world you won’t be confronted with servers, you’ll instead just be placed into a world with other people. That said, you’re not tied to that world, if you choose to join your friends, your progression goes with you.
Howard also elaborated on the game’s “survival” branding, declaring it more as “softcore survival”. Death doesn’t mean you lose your progression, and it seems as though it’ll be rather forgiving.
The game features a large amount of the staples of the Fallout series. It has crafting, building and scavenging. Though this time around, you can build anywhere and move it anywhere once it is done. It’s a twist on the original bolt-on to Fallout 4 that adds a bit of intrigue to the online aspect of the game should bandits come knocking.
The presentation kept rolling along as Todd revealed that the map has a number of nuclear missile silos tucked away for players to do with as they please. It isn’t as simple as flicking a switch, however. A launch code is required and it’s not often easy to acquire alone, so by banding together with a squad you’ll be able to acquire the full code and then level some poor townsfolk’s settlement. It’s brutal.
Fallout 76 will feature dedicated servers that’ll support the game for years to come, and the game will even host a beta.
The game is expected to release November 14, 2018.