Fallout 76’s latest patch is following up the addition of fishing in the only way that’s natural. Bethesda have opted to revamp its base building mechanics in an effort to make thing easier for newbies and offer veterans some extra freedom to stick huge shacks full of stuff together in different ways.
For Patch 62, dubbed ‘C.A.M.P revamp’, menus have been rejigged and placement restrictions relaxed in an effort to have you spend 60 more hours slapping bits of wood into accomodation, rather than going off and ruining some super mutant’s day. Then again, I can’t imagine the green folks are too happy about the wasteland being turned into a showroom of properties that’d probably cost several million quid despite the fact they can barely keep the radiation out, such are modern house prices.
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The aspect of the patch – which drops today, September 2nd – that’s most caught my eye is the restriction loosening that the devs say will allow players to stick a number of items anywhere, “even in the air”. While this doesn’t apply to everything, with some stuff still demanding you set it down on the ground, the patch’s trailer shows off a number of houses built atop rocky outcrops that’d usually turn everything red outside of modded Fallout 4.
To paraphrase a British TV show, when it comes to houses it’s the whereabouts, whereabouts, whereabouts that can be key, and this looks to be making killer views much more accessible. Is it wise to build your house up high and out in the open if there are nukes flying around? Probably not, but hey, video game.
In line with that general restriction loosening, the need to snap home components directly together has also been relaxed. “Walls can also be built beneath the floor, and upper floors can be attached to walls without the need for a staircase,” Bethesda say. Yep, just get rid of your stairs and use a power armour jetpack to get upstairs. I’m sure that’ll end well if your fusion core runs dry and you’re bursting for the loo. Actually, I’m forgetting, this is a video game house. The very swanky and totally unnecessary downstairs commode was the second thing you built.
Finally, there’s the building menu revamp, which aims to make it easier to find the thing you’re looking for without as much rummaging through interface drawers. “We’ve arranged our thousands of items into main categories and subcategories. For example, our lighting main category now has multiple subcategories such as freestanding lights and wall-mounted lights.” There’s a quote you’d just as likely find in an email from your flat-pack furniture retailer of choice.
As you’d expect, Bethesda’s got a bunch of community building competitions planned for the rest of the year, with the first set to run from the revamp’s release to September 29th. Good luck beating out the loose collection of floor-walls with random clutter slapped onto it that I might submit.