Fallout 76 Needs a Next Gen Update: This is What I Want To See

The Fallout Show's Fallout

One month after the release of Amazon's Fallout show, hype around the post-apocalyptic RPG has hit a nuclear high, with hundreds of thousands of players returning to all of the games across the franchise - including the IP's most recent entry, the previously controversial Fallout 76 - which Bethesda has announced achieved one million active players within one day.

On top of this, Fallout 4 was finally blessed (Or cursed, given the state it released in) with a brand new next-generation patch which added new performance and visual enhancements, new quests, and a variety of quality-of-life features. Unfortunately, Fallout 76 is still being held back by hardware released in 2013, which I honestly believe is only a detriment to the game now we're approaching it's sixth year.

Fallout 76 released in such a poor state that the game became a meme overnight, with bugs and a lack of human NPCs or RPG mechanics leading to the game being lambasted by gamers across all communities. In the following half-decade, the game has seen several updates which have introduced new human NPCs, quests, and RPG mechanics which are honestly more in-depth than Fallout 4 - making the game worthy of the Fallout title.

Next month, Fallout 76 will even be getting a new map expansion: Skyline Valley, which takes players to a new region down South in an expansion which has been described as "Uniquely Fallout 76" by Bethesda, and highly praised by players who have already been able to delve into the new content active in the public-test servers.

As an avid player of 76, with near 260 levels and over 500 hours in the game, I feel as if I've come to get to know the game rather well to the point I know what I would like to improve. Here, I've compiled a list of several features I'd love to see upgraded, enhanced, or completely overhauled in order to bring 76 up to modern standards.

The Meat and Tatos

This is your reminder that EVERYTHING in this article is a CONCEPT - What I'd like to see! I have built a reputation making concept articles for mostly Rockstar Games such as GTA Online and (Most famously) Red Dead Online, but have dipped my toes in elsewhere such as Destiny 2, and yes, Fallout 76.

WORKSHOP UPGRADES:

The first area I wanted to touch on was Workshops. They're such a fun feature in Fallout 76, allowing players to gather resources and build structures which wouldn't usually be possible at CAMPs. However, once you leave the game - it's all gone. To me, this is really puts me off building any meaningful fortifications or structures which passing players would enjoy looking at. Of course, having workshops being permanently owned would lead to several conflicts when loading into worlds, so I came up with a way to help them have the same feeling of establishing a base of operations as the CAMP:

• Workshop fortifications will persist on the character, being placed automatically when the workshop is claimed. This adds a sense of continuity to the workshops and helps them feel more worthwhile, as well as giving players more chance for expression and customisation as they reclaim Appalachia.

Of course, with this upgrade, I wanted to create some new workshop-exclusive features which help them feel more like an established location within the player's own canon. That's why I think we should have "Ally posts" - Separate from CAMP allies, I believe we should be able to put down an item which will summon five allies of a chosen faction to help defend the workshop, and give it a little more life. These allies could be from factions such as:

• QUEST REWARDS:
  • Settlers
  • Raiders
  • Brotherhood of Steel
  • Responders
• ATOMIC SHOP:
  
  • The Pitt Union
  • Atlantic City Showmen
  • Atlantic City Mob
  • Atlantic City Municipal Workers
  • Free States Survivors
  • Rust Eagle Bots

I believe having Atomic Shop options for these allies allows for Bethesda to justify releasing this as a feature and helps them release further packs and options down the line.

But with new allies, we need new enemies. Since the release of Fallout 76, we have had various new factions added to the game - but none of them attack our workshops! That's why I'd like to see the following enemies attempt to make raids on our new established homes:

• Blood Eagles
• Rust Eagles
• Aliens (More likely during Invaders from Beyond events)
• Mothman Cultists (More likely during Mothman Equinox events)
• The Lost

And to finish off creating a new base within the Wasteland, I think an important addition would be the ability to place Vending Machines in our workshops, letting passing players purchase whatever goods they need for their own adventures across the Wasteland.

With all of these new features for workshops, there are a couple of generic enhancements I believe would also fit in with this update:

• 75% increased budget space.
• Double slots for defensive items.
• Double slots for lighting.

CAMP UPGRADES:

Of course, this wouldn't be a Fallout 76 concept without some (much needed) improvements for the player camp. Thankfully, being exclusive to new generation consoles and PCs - We have a huge upgrade in processing power to allow this! So first, we'll dive into the technical upgrades!

UPGRADES:

• 75% increased budget space.
• Second ally slot.
• The option to automatically fast travel to a CAMP's shelters.
• Double slots for defensive items.
• Double slots for lighting.
• Doubled slots for Vending Machines.
• Doubled slots for Collectrons.
• New parameters for Collectrons:
  • Food Ingredients
  • Currencies
• Quadrupled range for the Artillery Canon.
  • The current range for Artillery is ridiculously short and makes it borderline unusable.
• The ability to change the skin on the CAMP item by interacting with it.
  • It currently requires moving the CAMP which is very frustrating.
• CAMP name displayed publicly under the owner's username.
• Player custom item names displayed in Vending Machines, but with the item's original name displayed below.
• Crops and water pumps / sinks placeable in shelters.
  • I don't think this will impact balance too much. Of course, we shouldn't have other resource generators in Shelters, but these would be acceptable.
• Ability to give shelters custom names visible to players when interacting with the entrance.

The majority of these features are based on quality-of-life upgrades which allow for improved self expression and allow the game to flow better. This also applies to my next category, which is items to be added to the CAMP creator:

ITEMS:

• A fast travel target, which will only work for the CAMP's owner in order to prevent Kill-CAMP griefing.
• Buildable Gold Bullion Press and Legendary Scrip machines.
  • The fact the only place we can get both of these Vendors together is the Whitespring Mall is more than frustrating.
• Donation box, in which all players can place or take items.
• Shipping Container Stash Box.
  • We can keep so much stuff within our STASH now, we need large containers to ACTUALLY keep it all inside.
• Pile of crates decoration or Stash Box.
• Dinner Plate display item.
• Weapon box display, showcasing several weapons piled inside.
• New Shelter options:
  • Skyscraper penthouse
  • Drive-in movie theatre
  • Space station

CAMPs allow us to also farm some resources with different extractors and items, so I thought I'd introduce some of my own to continue the trend and allow players to build up their resource pool and improve defensive capabilities.

RESOURCES:

• Robotics Workbench, allowing players to create their own defensive Robot to help protect their CAMP - With all of the features available from Fallout 4's Automatron! For budget reasons, only one Robot will be available.
• New placeable crops to be farmed:
  • Pumpkin
  • Cranberry
  • Ginseng
  • Tarberry
  • Silt Bean
  • Thistle
  • Firecap
  • Blight
  • Glowing Resin
  • Firecracker Berry
  • Starlight Berry
• New resource generators:
  • Archaeology Kit, generating bones.
  • Sheepsquatch Lamb, generating wool.
  • Pottery Table, generating ceramic.

CUSTOMISATION UPGRADES:

With upgrades to our CAMPs and Workshops, we should also receive new customisation updates:

• The ability to rename our characters.
• Underwear reskins:
  • This could be as simple as basic colour retextures and some basic designs, such as leopard print.
• Colour customisation for the player heads-up-display.
• Separate colour options for head hair, beards and eyebrows.
• A "Ghoulish" nose type, which removes the player nose.

NEW LEGENDARY PERKS:

Fallout 76's Legendary Perks are an incredible addition which allow player characters to have a sense of progression beyond the max level. I think a few new perks would help build out this suite, however:

• Wandering Trader - Fast travel when overencumbered for extra caps:
  • One star: 100% extra fee
  • Two stars: 75% extra fee
  • Three stars: 50% extra fee
  • Four stars: 25% extra fee
• Bags and Pockets - Gain extra carry weight:
  • One star: + 20 lbs
  • Two stars: + 40 lbs
  • Three stars: + 60 lbs
  • Four stars: + 80 lbs
• Cheetah Legs - Increased movement and reload speed:
  • One star: +5%
  • Two stars: +10%
  • Three stars: +15%
  • Four stars: +20%

QUEST / EVENT UPGRADES:

Fallout 76's events have been one of the game's best elements for community and collaboration, but some haven't had any changes since their additions, so I felt as if some could be updated a little bit.

• “Eviction Notice” outpost completed, event moved to a new location further North.
• “Test Your Metal” given new allied teams, with random ones spawning at the start of each event:
  • Raiders
  • Settlers
  • Responders
•  “Line in the Sand” has new allies available at Fort Defiance, and the enemies have been swapped out for Rust Eagle bots and Blood Eagles in order to increase difficulty. This event can also take place at Fort Atlas now, too.
• “Riding Shotgun” given new routes outside in The Mire, attacked by cultists, and a new dug-out tunnel leading to Shenandoah National Park and the old Trading Post, attacked by Lost.
• “Photo Opportunity” now adds Brotherhood, Responders, and Blue Ridge into the mix of being photographed and the ability to sell images to.
• “Vital Equipment” Settler faction quest now interchangeable with “Pack Mule” where players must carry a heavy shipment to the Settler Outpost just North of Foundation.
• “A Recipe For Success” now has more meals than the Venison and Tato Stew.
• “Invaders From Beyond” given new locations at claimable workshops, allowing players to build fortifications to help with the alien attack.
• Enemy scaling across all public events, meaning they will be weaker if there are fewer players and stronger the more full the event is.

GENERAL UPGRADES:

Here, I have a few more features which will just improve quality-of-life for day-to-day players or improve the overall state of the game which didn't fit into any of the other categories. Some of these features are the most important within the entire concept!

• Less bullet spongey enemies for high-level players
  • This is one of the first notes here, because it's one of the issues that really put me off playing.
• 6 player teams
  • Some of us have more than three friends, so let us build up the teams even further!
• Text chat on console and PC
• Option to display team leader’s quest objectives
• Skins for Power Armour Frames
  • The white and silver needs more options, let us have a black frame!
• Over 100 new voice lines for the general population of each faction, some acknowledging new events
  • "Soon all kinds of folks will be setting up more places like Foundation!"
• Fast travel map icons for Foundation, Crater, Whitespring, Nuka-World on Tour, The Rusty Pick, and Fort Atlas made yellow to showcase that they’re free and important locations.
• An option to “Inspect” players and their loadouts
• New lines on Appalachia radio referencing the Brotherhood of Steel, the Storm, the Responders, and certain cryptids around the world. Also changed the line where she mentions being 23 to having just been born in 2080, in order to prevent her from never aging since the release of Wastelanders
• Brotherhood of Steel Quartermaster vendor selling the same gear as the Whitespring bot with some updated items from the Steel Dawn and Steel Reign updates
• Brotherhood of Steel Gold vendor in Fort ATLAS selling the Brotherhood related plans instead of Vault 94.
• Gold Bullion vending machines at train stations and Nuka World on Tour.
• “Vaccinated” Nuka Cola variants at Nuka World on Tour.
  • My Blood's In It!
• Purchase Perk Coins for Gold Bullion.
  • 100 Bullion giving 5 Perk Coins feels acceptable.
• Removed instancing on interior public events such as A Colossal Problem and Lode Bearing, allowing all players to be at the same instance.
  • The 8-player cap can lead to one or two people missing out on completing the event, which really sucks.
• Tripled STASH space.
• Lines added to pre-Wastelanders quest givers such as Biv E. Ridge and the Pioneer Scount Camp leaders.
• Double photo gallery space.
• Updated loot tables for Vertibot supply drops, mine hauls, Wastelanders ally quests, etc.
• Removed some lines insinuating people only recently returned to Appalachia.
  • It's been years, we don't need to hear that anymore!
• Crashed Vertibird survival tent.
• Doubled daily available Gold Bullion and Legendary Scrip at vendors, and tripled Caps across regular vendors.
• Unique Atlantic City themed items given to the vendors in each of the three city districts.
• Custom maps for each of the Atlantic City districts, which can be swiped to when on the regular map.
  • Trying to work out where I am is... difficult.
• Season pass rewards pages rebalanced to every 5 levels.
  • Less items on each page is an acceptable trade-off.
• Player seasonal rank displayed alongside ingame level.
• Keys and keycards given their own “Keyring” inventory separate from other Misc. items.
  • This is already a feature in the Pip-Boy, but keys still clutter the 'Misc' category in containers.
• Updated creature board in Whitespring Bunker to display new creatures and cryptids.
• Cross-platform play between Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and PC.
  • SO MANY games have this now, so let us have it on Fallout! I want to play with my friends!
• The ability to progress through previous scoreboards and seasons.
  • Other Microsoft IPs allow this, so it should be possible!
• 15 more perk slots unlocked from rank 15 - 75.
  • Enemies are getting tougher, so we should too
• Separate “PTS” game download for Fallout FIRST members on console allowing them to try out upcoming features.
  • After all, consoles have exclusive bugs!
• Armour transmog.
  • The ability to make secret service look like metal, etc would go so hard. Some armours look so good and give specific vibes players may or may not want to express with their characters!
• Dynamic depth of field effects.
  • Objects should fade in and out of focus if they get too close. The game's static depth of field is jarring and sore on the eyes, so I turn it off entirely.
• Longer render distance for players and CAMP items.
  • Fallout 76's pop-in for players and their structures is one of the things that dates the visuals the most.
• Decreased weapon sway on scopes.
• New Public Team types:
  • Nuke Launching
  • Questing
  • Workshop Building
  • PVP
• Public Team Join Conditions:
  • Minimum level
  • Maximum level
  • Story progression
• “Reputation” tab updated with new Reputation for Responders, Brotherhood and Blue Ridge available. Completing events and daily quests related to each of these factions will improve standing:
  • Brotherhood:
    • Daily Ops
    • Line in the Sand
    • Test Your Metal
    • Steel Reign and Steel Dawn questlines
    • Deliver Technical Data
    • Surface to Air
    • Distant Thunder
  • Responders:
    • Refuge missions
    • Fertile Soil
    • Expeditions
    • Scorched Earth
    • Feed the People
    • Completing main quests related to the Scorched Plague
  • Blue Ridge Caravan Company:
    • Riding Shotgun
    • Safe and Sound
    • Beasts of Burden
    • Costa Business Daily Quests
    • Encryptid
• New NPC occupied locations:
  • Settlers in Garrahan Penthouse
  • Brotherhood outside Fort Defiance
  • Responders patrolling Watoga
  • Raiders return to the Top of the World
  • Blue Ridge Caravan Co at Wavy Willards

^{I just want to add, all of these screenshots were taken by me. This was a CAMP I randomly came across that left me... disturbed.}

Conclusion

Ultimately, Fallout 76 has seen such an influx in players, so a new-generation patch is nearly inevitable. Will we get some, or all of these features? Who knows! But if you want to see them, be sure to share this article on Twitter and tag me @YangyYoung and our page @GamesAtlasCom to tell us what you think of these features, and let Bethesda know too!