Fallout 4 was "basically done" before developer Bethesda announced the game back in May.
Pete Hines, Bethesda's vice president of marketing and PR, told GameSpot, "Let's be honest, [right now] it doesn't matter what anybody wants for a feature in Fallout 4. The game is basically done. It was by and large done before we announced it, in terms of the features going in. You're not adding new features in May, June, July in the year you're releasing; you're trying to get everything fixed."
Hines said the development team spent a great deal of time reading forums and reviews of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim in a bid to make a better game.
Game director Todd Howard recently discussed how Skyrim's bugs are making Fallout 4 a better game. In a new interview with the Guardian, Howard spoke about the game's core theme and some of the features players can expect.
Fallout 4 focuses on self-sufficiency and loss, which is partly why the game's crafting mechanic was introduced. As your character knows what life was like before the war, they want to recapture as much of the past as they can.
“We all have bad things that happen in our lives, and a lot of us wonder how we can go back to before the event, whatever it is," Howard said. "Fallout 4 is about realising that your life has a new normal. We want to put you in the shoes of someone who knows what life was like before this.
“For the other people in the world, this is all they know – it’s normal to them. But the player character is coming in with a sense of the world beforehand. That kind of emotion plays heavily in our story. Any time we can connect the character on screen with the player – any time you both feel the same way – that’s great.”
Bethesda wants to support varied playstyles, and means you may be able to avoid violence in many encounters. “You can avoid [killing] a lot,” he commented. “I can’t tell you that you can play the whole game without violence – that’s not necessarily a goal of ours – but we want to support different play styles as much as we can.”
That being said, significant changes are being made to the game's combat system and its assisted targeting program, VATS. In the past, VATS froze time in the game, but now enemies will be slowed to a crawl instead.
“It’s a tricky balance,” Howard noted regarding new system. “We knew it would have to feel as good in your hands as the best first-person shooters. But we also need to get into the efficacy of damage and rates of fire, things like that. We can layer the role playing on top of that, but aiming and shooting should feel really great. Then we have VATS, and there’s where you really get to dig in. I think it appeases both sides pretty well.”
Howard also said the game will use Skyrim's emergent questing system and while he wouldn't share details he said, "we’re doing a better job than we’ve ever done."
He was equally coy on the game's romances but it seems Bethesda is working hard to ensure the numerous options open to players are fulfilling.
It was recently confirmed that Fallout 4's Boston setting was selected even before Skyrim was released in 2011.
Fallout 4 launches on November 10th for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
