Tuesday March 23, we hosted a developer AMA on the Fallout 76 subreddit with Jeff Gardiner (Project lead) and Mark Tucker (Design Director). You asked a ton of great questions, from Expeditions to Pets and everything in-between! If you missed the AMA, have no fear! Here are some of the most popular questions and answers.
Q: Can you give us any sort of information about Expeditions? Probably not a release date, but where might they take place/how might they function?
A: Mark Tucker: Yes! We still have big plans for Expeditions. We are as bummed as you are about them slipping out of this year’s Roadmap. We are still iterating on the Design for Expeditions, so we will share more details as we get closer to releasing them. The BIG take away here is – yes, these will take you outside of the current map, they are their own new feature, and we are committed (and very excited) to make them.
Q: Does the update to private servers in the fall mean mod support?
A: Jeff Gardiner: We will have a lot more to talk about with this update in the near future as this this will be a huge added benefit to our Fallout 1st members. To give a hint, think server settings… And this is just the beginning, we plan on continuing to build on this feature far into the future.
Q: Are new allies being worked on?
A: Jeff Gardiner: We are working on new allies! No set ETA yet but they’re coming.
Q: Does “legendary crafting” on the roadmap mean the module system will apply to all weapons/armors now?
A: Mark Tucker: Legendary crafting will share some similarities to the current module system and will open it up to all weapons and armor (including Power Armor). We will be introducing new types of components that feed into the recipes. You will be able to roll 1, 2 or 3 Star items on the item type you have selected – you can even re-roll a Legendary item.
Q: Will Mischief Night be fixed for this year? Me and a lot of other players really want to enjoy this event.
A: Jeff Gardiner: The team is re-thinking how we’re approaching Halloween events as we know how exciting they are to fans and in service to the Fallout Lore! Unfortunately, Mischief night caused many server issues and we’re looking to replace it with a new event which we’re are aiming to have out this Halloween.
Q: Any plans for Vault 63?
A: Mark Tucker: We are debuting Vault 96 in our next Daily Ops expansion in Update 26. In addition, we will be featuring that location as part of the Steel Reign release in Update 28. While we are on the topic of Vault 63 – we are also planning to add Vault 63 into the Daily Ops rotation further down the road. – edited to get the Vault numbers correct.
Q: Hello! Can you share any insight into how the upcoming pets are going to work?
A: Mark Tucker: We have some fun things in the works for Pets. Over time, we want to provide a wide variety of different types of pets that you can customize and have both in your CAMPs and Shelters. Initially, we will offer up different dogs, expand to cats, and then go from there. Suggestions for other Pet types are welcome!
Q: On release Fallout 76 had more of a PvP focus and was even marketed with other players being scary or a potential threat. Now of course we have seen this game evolve into having the kindest community in gaming, but are there any parts of that past PvP Fallout 76 you miss at all? Or even any interesting development plans around that style of game that never ended up seeing the light of day?
A: Jeff Gardiner: Great question. I believe the upcoming update to worlds in q3 will give players the functionality you’re asking for as it will allow players to add in some PvP elements, along with hardcore survival elements to their private worlds as well.
Q: Tales From The Stars shows Invaders From Beyond, and a UFO in the sky. Does this imply a return of any alien enemies, such as the Zetan or the large-headed aliens shown in Fallout 1, or even an entirely new race of aliens?
A: Mark Tucker: We’ve been talking (internally) about doing something fun with the Zetans since before we launched the game, so we are excited to finally have the chance to do something with them. We are working on a new feature we call Public Challenges that will be similar to Seasonal Events, but will be global to the World and encourage players to work together to succeed. We will showcase the Zetans in our first one and plan to add more in the future.
Q: Can you please add ceiling “wallpapers”, vertical half-walls and some additional roof pieces (like pointed ones) to C.A.M.P.s?
A: Mark Tucker: Yes this is on our radar but is further out. This also includes more half floor variants and half horizontal wall variants.
Q: Can we PLEASE get shelter styles that aren’t Vault themed? They would allow for greater mini world building opportunities.
A: Mark Tucker: Yes, we are planning to add new Shelter themes moving forward – look for the next new theme in Update 28.
Q: Is there any chance to have now mods for weapons in the future? (Savaged assaultron head for example or many of melee weapons don’t have any) Thanks and keep up the good work
A: Mark Tucker: Yes, as part of the Legendary Crafting update, we are planning to add new mods and make balancing improvements to some of the weaker, less used mods. Also, expect even more new Mods with the release of 4 Star Legendaries in Update 32.
Q: Is there a particular reason we’ve had so very few new character customization options released on the atomic shop so far? Such as Hairstyles, tattoos, beards, etc.
A: Jeff Gardiner: Honestly, yes. They have a largely negative affect on in game performance, and they’re hard to make. That said, I’d still like to add more in the future if we can solve the technical problems related to them.
Q: Can we expect a much needed expansion to 76’s social features in the future? ie. Guilds / Clans, Text chat, Mail system, etc.
A: Jeff Gardiner: Social features are critical to the future of Fallout 76. It’s still too early to discuss details, but yes, we’re going to add new functionality in the future!
Q: What is the goal with “seasons unlimited ranks”? how is that planned to work?
A: Jeff Gardiner: It’s a non-randomized repeating ‘track’ of things like lunchboxes, scrip, gold bullion etc!
Q: Can you share what events in game you like/dislike the most and why? My personal favorite is Radiation Rumble for the sheer chaos and fun 😀
A: Mark Tucker: Hey, I like your taste – I agree, Radiation Rumble is one of my favorites as well. As far as ones I dislike, I think all of our events are fun, but they may not provide the right incentive for participation. So in Update 32, we are going to take on a balancing pass (mostly focused on rewards) to try and get better participation in some the less popular events.
Q: I was wondering what are the chances of allowing allies in shelters? I remember reading it was difficult to implement but since displays and vendors are being added, is this something that might be added in the future too?
A: Jeff Gardiner: We’re adding displays cases in shelters with our next patch and our new mannequins. However, Allies are very tricky so they’re on the back burner for now.
Q: Are you planning any QOL upgrades around legendary enemies and making their drops easier to recover, i.e. marking them on your compass (like you already do the player’s death drop bag) or making the corpse / meat pile have a persistent legendary glow after death?
A: Mark Tucker: Yes! This is the number one thing on my personal list. I don’t even want to think about how many corpses with Legendaries I have lost in high grass, lol. We are investigating different designs to solve this problem, so I can’t give you a release timeframe, but it can’t come soon enough (for me).
For a full list of Questions and Answers be sure to check out the thread on reddit here. We hope you enjoyed this AMA and we’re excited to do more in the future!
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