The latest update to the post-apocalyptic role-playing game “Fallout 4,” officially known as Patch 1.3, has just rolled out to the PC ahead of its version in the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
Game developer Bethesda Studios has previously announced that Patch 1.3 will come out also this month but it seems that there is a change of plan as it is reported to come out on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One at a later time.
Patch 1.3 of “Fallout 4” comes with more than just bug fixes and tweaks. It also comes with some new features including a new ambient occlusion setting dubbed as HBAO+, reports Gotta Be Mobile.
HBAO+ is a graphics upgrade to the game which gives it a deeper, richer shadowing around every window and building edges as well as vehicles. It shall also enable gamers to discern tufts of grass and smaller pieces of foliage.
There is also the new shadowing on building interiors as well as the shadows in the crater that enable gamers to see the different height and depth of terrain features. And there are the screen-wide ambient occlusion shadows that are visible even in the very back of the scene, especially visible under the highway.
Two other features of the Patch 1.3
There are two other main features of Patch 1.3 for “Fallout 4.” The first one is the added ability to rotate an object that the gamer is holding with left/right triggers and pressing down on left thumbstick to allow him to switch the rotating axis. The second one is the improved ‘ESDF’ keys remapping support while in the Workshop mode in the PC version of the game.
There have been reports of problems on “Fallout 4” on the PC, the Xbox One, and the PlayStation 4 and the Patch 1.3 aims to quash some of those lingering issues.
Patch 1.3 is regarded as the biggest “Fallout 4” update yet and it includes a laundry list of fixes for gameplay, quests, and workshops.
However, Patch 1.3 is also causing some problems for some PC gamers. Most of them are actually complaining about textures, run time errors, loading screen issues, crashes, among others.
Bethesda Studios are encouraging gamers to report feedbacks about “Fallout 4” Patch 1.3 so that the Bethesda engineers can work on the fixes and possibly include it in the next patches that will come to the game.
However, there are also minor problems that can be fixed manually and Bethesda has provided a website wherein gamers can personally check and troubleshoot those minor issues on their PCs.
An absurd refund requirement
Meanwhile, a “Fallout 4” fan recently had to personally destroy his $125 special edition vinyl soundtrack of the game in order to secure a refund from Bethesda.
Paul Watson contacted Bethesda when he saw that one of his four-disc “Fallout 3” vinyl special edition soundtrack records arrived warped.
He showed Bethesda photographic evidence of the damaged vinyl record. Subsequently, he got a $25 credit to his account. So he asked again the game developer if he could receive a full refund. Bethesda’s condition for a full refund was simple. The developer told Watson that he would have to destroy the three unwarped discs, details IGN.
Bethesda told Watson that he only showed to them one of the records was damaged so the company refunded him for that damaged record. The game development company further stated that if the other records are similarly affected, he can provide them with photos. Bethesda said that if the other discs are not affected, he just needs to destroy them and provide the company with photos.
The representative of Bethesda even assured Paul that when they get the photos of the damaged special edition vinyl records, they will happily refund him for the full order.
Since Watson can no longer purchase a single disc, he was left with no option but heed Bethesda’s instructions. He smashed the remaining records, sent a photo to Bethesda, and secured the full refund to purchase a brand new replacement.