Fallout 4 Survival Mode is Now in Steam Beta

[ffronw]

Fallout 4 Survival Mode is Now in Steam Beta

The beta build of the Fallout 4 Survival mode is now available on Steam.

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1304/1304546.jpgAlthough Fallout 4 was already a wildly popular game, there are a lot of gamers who wanted something more. Specifically, they were looking for a hardcore survival mode, something akin to the hardcore mode in Fallout: New Vegas. As of yesterday, Bethesda has answered the call, as the game's Survival Mode entered Steam beta. What began as a project in an internal game jam ended up as a full project that every Fallout 4 owner can play. Here's what you need to know:

First off, here's how you get the beta:

Log into Steam
Right Click on Fallout 4 in your Library
Select Settings
Select Betas
A drop down menu will appear. Select Survival Beta Update
Select OK
Wait a few minutes and Fallout 4 should update
When done, Fallout 4 should appear as Fallout 4 [Beta] in your Library

There are a number of changes the Survival Mode brings to the game. For example, the only way to save your game is by sleeping in a bed for at least an hour. That's a major change for lots of gamers, and it should really affect decision making.

That's a big change. Here are a few others:

No fast travel
Everything, including you, does more damage
Threats don't show up on the compass
Hunger, Thirst, and Fatigue are all effects that can hinder you now
Illnesses can adversely affect you

That's just a sampling of the dangers that await you in Survival Mode. If you want to read more about the mode and learn about the philosophy behind the changes, you can do that on Bethesda's official site [https://bethesda.net/#en/events/game/fallout-4s-all-new-survival-mode/2016/03/29/96].

If you've tried out Survival Mode already, let us know what you think in the forums!

Permalink

 

[Xyebane]

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Those changes look pretty damn amazing, can't wait for them to roll this out next month(?). The Hardcore mode in F:NV added so much more depth and strategy to the game I was totally nonplussed as to why Bethesda didn't implement similar modes in Skyrim and (initially) Fallout 4. Bring on the Wasteland Survival!

 

[Makabriel]

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

So you want to be able to cheat in a Hardcore mode? Got it.

 

[Maxtro]

IMO the key change for Survival Mode is that you can only save the game when you sleep. And that is the reason why I'm not going to bother with it. The game can be extremely cheap and instantly kill you at full health. I lost track how many times I died in the Mechanist lair and against the boss due to a random explosion.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'm torn about this. On the one hand, it's too easy to steamroll through Fallout 4. On the other hand, Survival Mode in Fallout: New Vegas was mainly a boring chore that didn't add any actual difficulty. So I don't know yet whether I'm going to use it.

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

So you want to be able to cheat in a Hardcore mode? Got it.

I think it's more about being able to unstuck yourself when the game bugs out again. At least I can imagine it's that.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

So you want to be able to cheat in a Hardcore mode? Got it.

And you lose the ability to adjust your FOV and resurrect NPCs when the game engine wigs out and suddenly Danse is on the far side of the map.

 

[Imre Csete]

Yeah, sure, after experiencing Fallout: Crash Vegas, all I want is a restriction on saving my games. Even roguelikes have a Save & Exit option, otherwise it's just pure bollocks, please tell me when can I quit a singleplayer game.

 

[Makabriel]

I think it's more about being able to unstuck yourself when the game bugs out again. At least I can imagine it's that.

Understandable reason. I'm sure it's to remove all ability to make it less hardcore, though.

 

[pookie101]

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

it is for me as well. sometimes you simply need no clipping for instance when you get stuck on terrain, or when a companion up and vanishes, not to mention being able to delete permanent corpses and skeletons in settlements is frustrating.

also the no manual saving is an issue as well considering im running no mods and just crashed to desktop.

ideally they need a check box or something in the options menu to add or delete things to survival mode which would satisfy everyone

 

[ivarsa15]

What? Bethesda removed the console? Well bugger this then! Unless...
Nah, nexusmods did not seem to have a fix.
What's even worse, you cannot use mods while opted into the beta...
I will just have to wait then.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

...is it just me or are the text-boxes changing color...?

OT: Do you mean to tell me that Fallout 4 didn't ship with Hardcore mode? Wasn't that one of the most loved features of Fallout: New Vegas? I personally played through the main quest in Hardcore specifically for the trophy which wasn't as much as a pain in the ass for me as say, healing X-HP using only food but on the whole, I really didn't like that mode as much as the regular experience. I probably wouldn't play Fallout 4 with Hardcore on when/if I wind up getting the game for myself but it's cool that the option is there.

 

[FogHornG36]

The cripple system is pointless still

 

[Tiamat666]

IMO the key change for Survival Mode is that you can only save the game when you sleep. And that is the reason why I'm not going to bother with it. The game can be extremely cheap and instantly kill you at full health. I lost track how many times I died in the Mechanist lair and against the boss due to a random explosion.

My thought exactly. I love survival modes. I played NV completely on survival with JSawyer's mod. But limiting the ability to save is not -in game survival-, that is simply a -hardcore mode-. Seems the developers mixed these two up.

Survival mode is about roleplaying. Yes, making the game harder, but by making it more believable and realistic. I don't want to have to lose hours of gaming because I wasn't able to save when I wanted to. This has nothing to do with roleplaying and simply adds frustration.

 

[Xyebane]

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

So you want to be able to cheat in a Hardcore mode? Got it.

No, but i want to be able to fix the bugged quests that pop up (like synth infiltration attacks). I want to be able to disable/markfordelete permanent corpses that just lay about and attract flies. I want to be able to modpos so that i can make my settlements not look like complete crap.

I use console at least once everytime i play FO4, and not once has it been to cheat. I don't know how console players manage to play bethesda games without it when they are so riddled with bugs and broken scripts. I guess you just get used to putting up with them, but I'm not.

 

[MHR]

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

I don't know how console players manage to play bethesda games without it when they are so riddled with bugs and broken scripts. I guess you just get used to putting up with them, but I'm not.

Peasants of yore withstood back-breaking labor every day and died before they were 30.

 

[Tiamat666]

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

So you want to be able to cheat in a Hardcore mode? Got it.

Survival mode is not (or rather, should not be) Hardcore mode! See my post above.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Wow, this sounds like enough to get me back into the game again ...

The Console is disabled, which for me is a deal breaker.

... this is not so awesome. I get that the idea is to stop people from cheating, but that's rather stupid. I'm fine with them putting their foot down and disabling fast travel, since the temptation to just teleport everywhere would just be too great, but I'm not about use console commands to make things easier. Since it's still in beta there's a chance they might change that, but at the moment it kind of baffles me that Bugthesda would risk disabling a vital method of glitch recovery.

 

[mavkiel]

Yep the console commands killed it for me as well. But to be brutally honest, just the save system being disabled would be enough to ruin it. Die from bumping into a car? Get stuck someplace? A quest bug out? Those would no longer be roll back 5 minutes to last save affairs.

 

[Morti]

No fast travel is what ruins it for me, serious, sod having 90% of my playtime just being running from A to B. I could maybe appreciate it if they just limited it to fast travel between settlements, but none at all? Hell no.