It hasn't been very long since Bethesda revealed Fallout 4's first major gameplay footage at E3, but that hasn't stopped gamers from yearning for more. While the video and details answered a lot of questions, it also created just as many, with Bethesda keeping the story tightly under wraps.

While the game's release date is still a few months away, Bethesda took the opportunity of Quakecon to reveal a little more about their upcoming post-apocalyptic wasteland game. Though it doesn't come close to answering all of the questions fans undoubtedly have, it does shed some new light on certain details fans have been wondering about.

A great deal of what Bethesda wanted to discuss about Fallout 4 had to do with the main character's companions. Other than the presence of Dog Meat as an unkillable companion, Bethesda previously didn't supply much information about other potential companions. Bethesda explained today that in addition to Dog Meat, Preston Garvey, the head of the Commonwealth Minutemen, Piper, a newly revealed character, and Mr. Handy are all potential companions in the game.

Some fans were anxious that the player would have to play with companions or be unable to send them away; thankfully, Bethesda has explained that the player can choose to play with or without companions, and there are actually some added perks for those who play without them. Additionally, romance options will apparently be available with some of the player's companions, regardless of their gender.

Though the information on perks is limited, Bethesda explained that there are 70 perks, and each perk has a rank, adding up to a total of 275 ranks. This upgrade system is in addition to the original S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skill system present in prior Fallout games, and regardless of the player's decision to travel with companions, one perk will be awarded every time the player levels up.

While gamers have had mixed feelings about Fallout 4's visual appearance, Bethesda has put in a lot of effort to make characters look as realistic as possible. Dog Meat's appearance and behavior is based off the lead developer's pet dog, and Bethesda has attempted to make his movements and behaviors match real dogs as closely as possible.

Human facial movement during conversations is sometimes based off of motion capture, but is often animated in real-time, with certain mouth movements programmed to match specific syllables or vowels. This was undoubtedly a necessity, given that Fallout 4's lead actors recorded over 13,000 lines of dialog, and manually lip-syncing each would have taken years.

Finally, in addition to visiting a post-apocalyptic version of Concord, Massachusetts, the player character will also be able to travel to Lexington and Quincy.

Bethesda has shed a lot of new light, but has still left many questions unanswered, like how the player character survives two-hundred years in a vault. However, it's entirely possible that they may simply refrain from giving away any answers on the story, thus allowing players to find out for themselves. Eager Fallout fans can expect more information during Gamescom in August, but until then, they have Fallout Shelter and updates like these to tide them by in the meanwhile.

Fallout 4 can't come soon enough, but it does come as a relief to know that Bethesda is allowing gamers to play without restrictions. Companions can be a lot of fun, but it's good to know that they're not necessary, and the idea of a bonus for not using them is a pretty exciting incentive.

Fallout 4 is scheduled for release on November 10, 2015, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Gamespot