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Fallout 4 is now approaching the 6th anniversary of its release. While some fans may have played the game to death at this point, it looks as though they’ll have to make do for some time longer. The release of Fallout 5 seems as though it is still quite some way off, leaving fans with the option of finding other games similar to Fallout, or making do with what they already have.
Fallout 4 may be a 6 year old title, but it still holds up pretty well when compared to more modern games. But still, fans may be looking for a fresh experience having explored all that there is to explore in Fallout 4. This is where mods can make a huge difference to Fallout 4, changing up elements of the game to make it feel like a much-improved experience.
Fallout 4 Silent Protagonist Mod
One of the major ways in which Fallout 4 departed from its predecessor was through the game’s main protagonist. While, as ever, players were able to design their character, choosing a name and crafting an appearance of their own choosing, players felt a detachment from their character in Fallout 4. In previous Fallout games, when the player would choose a dialogue option, the game would simply cut to the NPC response, allowing the player’s imagination to fill in the blanks. However, in Fallout 4, the player’s character is fully voiced, removing the imagination element from the equation, and the kind of nuance that fans may have grown used to in a Bethesda game’s dialogue system. Another issue with Fallout 4’s dialogue was that players were given very vague options to choose from, which often would result in dialogue not representative of the option chosen.
Fallout 4’s Silent Protagonist mod helps to place the control back into the player’s hands. As the name suggests, the Silent Protagonist mod makes Fallout 4’s protagonist silent, removing the immersion-breaking elements from the dialogue system and allowing the player to fill in the blanks. This is largely down to preference as many enjoyed the voiced dialogue of Fallout 4, however, for fans looking to transform Fallout 4 into a classic Fallout experience, this is a great place to start. But for these players looking for a more authentic Fallout experience, there are many other mods that help to transform the game into something closer resembling earlier Fallout games.
Fallout 4 Full Dialogue Interface
One such mod that further helps to transform the experience of Fallout 4 arrives in Fallout 4’s Full Dialogue Interface mod. Fallout 4, in its vanilla state gives the player a dialogue wheel with 4 options, which often amount to negative, friendly, neutral, or interested. This allows the player to reflect their own feelings in the game, however, the dialogue options in Fallout 4 are paraphrased. This often leads to the player feeling as though their feelings have been misrepresented.
This is where Full Dialogue Interface can help, by showing the player the full voice line before they select it. This mod helps the player to feel as though they have some control over how their character speaks to the NPCs around them. Dialogue is a key element to Fallout games, with players previously managing to beat Fallout New Vegas without killing anyone by using their speech skill. While this may be more difficult in Fallout 4, it will be made easier by players having the ability to know what they’re going to say before they say it.
Realistic Conversations in Fallout 4
The main premise of Fallout 4 is that synths are taking over the wasteland one android at a time. Upon entering Diamond City it becomes apparent the effect the synth scare is having on residents as two NPCs engage in a shouting contest over who is the synth in disguise. It may sound like a ridiculous premise to the uninitiated that synthetic technology could ever become so advanced to a point that synths could be indistinguishable from humans. However, it becomes slightly more understandable as the player begins to interact and witness NPCs interacting with one another, as these interactions are often far from human.
Realistic Conversations overhauls Fallout 4’s NPC interactions, resulting in a more realistic feel to the game’s NPCs. Players will no longer be greeted by NPCs from long distances, and the frequency with which the player will be greeted is also decreased. These changes can help to make the player feel as though they’re merely existing within the world, rather than being the center of it. But the changes don’t end here, as the way NPCs interact with each other has also been modified. The mod removes the awkward break in Fallout 4's NPC conversations, making them run a little smoother. NPCs will recognize when they’ve already interacted with one another, preferring to speak to another nearby NPC, and they will also talk more often.
Fallout 4 Craftable Ammo
Many may have encountered a time while playing Fallout 4 where their ammo supplies have begun to run low during a boss fight. It’s a common complaint among Fallout 4 players who may be looking for a slightly more relaxed playthrough. Ammo scarcity adds an element of challenge to the game, but it isn’t for everyone. That’s why the Fallout 4 Craftable Ammo mod may be of interest. Everything from weapons to armor can be crafted in Fallout 4 vanilla, so it makes sense that the player should be able to craft ammunition. This mod doesn’t remove the need for looting completely, as the ammo will still need to be crafted and the player will need to gather resources in order to do so. This mod is just for players who want to be able to not have to worry about ammo without feeling as though they’ve cheated the game by dipping into the console commands.
Fallout 4 Everyone’s Best Friend Mod
Dogmeat is undoubtedly many Fallout 4 fans’ favorite companion in the game, but taking him along for an adventure comes with its drawbacks. Unfortunately, Dogmeat isn’t the strongest fighter and has a significantly reduced DPS when compared with other companions the player can have. Dogmeat also doesn’t have hands so he can’t carry as much loot as the standard human companion. One of the benefits of taking Dogmeat along on adventures in Fallout 4 is that the lone ranger perk is still active when joined by Dogmeat, however, this goes to show that Dogmeat may have never been intended to be classed as a full companion.
The Everyone’s Best Friend mod finds a solution to this problem, allowing the player to not have to settle for being joined solely by one of Fallout 4’s worst companions. The mod allows players to be joined by Dogmeat and one other companion. This is a great mod for the dog-loving Fallout fans out there, as even for the most ardent of Dogmeat fans, questions may begin to be raised over the companion's viability as the player approaches Fallout 4’s end-game. Finally, players will be able to be joined by everyone's favorite fluffy friend without feeling as though they’re sacrificing their playthrough.
Fallout 4 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.