Unlike the previous two titles�Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas�which used the Gamebryo engine, Fallout 4 uses the Creation Engine, which was previously used in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Modified for Fallout 4, the Creation Engine includes a revamped character editor system that allows freeform creation of faces without the use of sliders seen in previous games. Instead, the player can click and drag each feature of the face to accurately customize their character, which can either be a man or woman as the previous Fallout titles have featured. Bethesda announced that the game would run at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Bethesda revealed that mobile devices would be integrated into the game as a form of second screen, acting as a secondary display for the Pip-Boy. For the first time, the player's character, the Sole Survivor, is fully voice acted and is able to have dynamic conversations akin to that of Mass Effect. Brian T. Delaney and Courtenay Taylor are the two player character voice actors. Todd Howard revealed that mods for the PC versions of the game would be usable on the Xbox One version, and that the team hoped to bring them to the PlayStation 4 version eventually. When asked about the failed effort to add a paid mod system to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Howard stated there were no plans for a similar effort with Fallout 4.
Fallout 4 is powered by Bethesda's Creation Engine, which was created originally for Skyrim. Just after Fallout 3's release, the team devised numerous design objectives to meet for Skyrim - which was later updated for Fallout 4's next-gen hardware requirements. The updated Creation Engine allows for numerous improvements in graphical fidelity over Bethesda's previous efforts. For instance, the draw distance renders much further than previous Fallout games; and � in an interview on the engine for Skyrim � Howard provided an example where the player can stare at a small object such as a fork in detail, and then look up at a mountain and run to the top of it. Dynamic lighting allows shadows to be created by any structure or item in the game world. In fact, Howard revealed in the E3 Press Conference that the updated Creation Engine allows for next-generation god rays and advanced volumetric lighting. The updated engine also features a variety of visual effects not present in previous Bethesda games such as motion blur, temporal anti-aliasing, height fog, dynamic dismemberment, screen space reflections, filmic tone mapping, an updated material system � for wet textures � among numerous others. In fact, the updated engine allows the Bethesda team to add more dynamic lighting to every scene as well as �paint surfaces with realistic materials.� In detail, Bethesda released an example on how the updated engine works: "When a rain storm rolls in, our new material system allows the surfaces of the world to get wet, and a new cloth simulation system makes cloth, hair, and vegetation blow in the wind." The updated Creation Engine also allows for a more advanced character creation system, which utilizes sculpting � forgoing the series of sliders present in previous games. In detail, the new character creation system introduces a new, freeform, entirely slider-free facial editor controlled via dynamic, real-time modeling interface. The updated engine also allows for more fluid animations designed for next-generation hardware. With regards to the aforementioned fluid animations, the updated engine also allows a much more open approach to conversations with NPCs � wherein the camera views can change depending on the player's preference from a first person view to a cinematic third person view � compared to Fallout 3's rigid and instanced conversation system. In fact, the protagonist features dynamic dialog, which is context sensitive, and allows players to back out of a conversation. In Howard�s words, �you are free to walk away any time, if you want, or punch him in the face.�
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