The beta for upcoming Fallout 4 update 4.1 is out now on Steam, allowing players to get a test run for what the new fixes and adjustments for the game will entail upon its official release. Today I took a look at all the new Workshop items that will be added with this patch. To get a feel for the new stuff you can use to decorate and design your settlements, read on.
Signs
To test out some of the new signs, I revisited one of my more recent settlement creations, a Applebee’s-like sports bar on the ground floor of Starlight Bazaar, a massive market-like building I’ve been establishing at Starlight Drive-In. I’ve fenced off this area, literally, with picket fences, in part to emphasize the sports theme but also to give it a feel of middle class exclusivity. Inside there is both a food and drink stand and a clinic that sells chems, so visitors can get relax in a variety of ways with a doctor nearby in case things go awry. For that, the new LIQUOR and DRUGS signs are a perfect addition to the environment. Other signs added to the atmosphere as well, notably the Hot Dog, Nuka Cola Float, and Waffles signs. I threw in some of the smaller ones as well to get the tchotchke, “tacky shit all over the walls” feeling of a chain restaurant. Note that I also hung the bright yellow orb lights from basketball hoops, to make them resemble basketballs and really drive the sports bar theme home. I wasn’t able to use all the signs, as many of them are recycled from in-game stores like bakeries and book stores, but I will probably use them in the Bazaar at a later date, to really reinforce the feel of an open market. You can see the full range of usable signs, as well as my elaborate bar design, in the pictures below.
Paintings
The amount of new paintings is truly staggering. If you’re struggling to decorate your settlements and thought it was kind of weird that so many of the games portraits and paintings weren’t included in the Workshop, then you’ll be glad to hear that not only have many of them been added but there are tons of completely new ones as well. You should be able to come up with many new themes.
The portraits I thought were best suited to the fancy lounge and dining hall I built for my settlers, so I built a few extra walls to accommodate a few more paintings. The dining tables now have imposing images of long-dead government men over them so my settlers feel the upmost discomfort while eating their meals. All of the art is posted up in my dormitory and in a few sitting areas, but I plan to completely overhaul the sleeping area now that I have so many paintings to work with. For now the presentation is bare bones but in a future update I will show off what I’ve done with all the beds, tables, and hanging art.
Doors
The new metal and wood door textures are probably the least exciting update of all the new Workshop content but they can be used to create atmosphere nonetheless. To test mine out I added a much needed feature that I had yet to build at Starlight Bazaar: a bathroom. I used one of the pre-fab units to set it up, slapping a half-wall in the middle of the room to act as a stall partition. Next to that I added bathtubs, and at the end, big TVs, because I like my settlers to be entertained as they defecate and bathe. I also added paintings and plants for aesthetic and strobe lights because I like to bring a little party to each bathroom I design. Some of the older signs that the Workshop already had in the base game also helped, though admittedly I can’t really enforce the “men’s side” and “women’s side” part of the deal. My settlers are on the honor system.
You can see all the doors in the thumbnail images from the Workshop below.
Super Mutant And Raider Items
If you want your settlement to have a bit more edge and intimidation factor then you’ll like the new Super Mutant and Raider decorating items. They consist of new variations of spiked poles, bags of gore and meat, disheveled blood splattered shopping carts, and crates and tarp cover. I used these at the entrance of Starlight Bazaar to create something of a fence, with guard posts for settlers to keep a look out.
If you’re wondering how to make yourself a massive Starlight Bazaar from the base settlement of Starlight Drive-In, be sure to check out my how-to guide! No mods were used in the making of Starlight Bazaar, just the gun scrapping exploit to make room for more items on the land. You can also see a full gallery of photos documenting the process in our gallery below. Not only can you get an idea of how the settlement was built but you can also use the photos to get some design and decorating ideas to use in your own settlements. Enjoy!
