The recent 1.03 patch for PS4 and Xbox One versions of Fallout 4 has brought a whole bunch of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, but it’s the improvement to the visuals that’s the most obvious improvement by far.
Digital Foundry have been examining the game following the release of the patch, and have discovered “surprising improvements to draw distance settings for geometry and foliage”. Take a look at the comparison below.
Fallout 4's 1.3 consoles update dramatically increases object fading distances. Have a look… pic.twitter.com/9I728wSpm2
— BethesdaGameStudios (@BethesdaStudios) February 9, 2016
For the unaware, a better draw distance basically means you can see objects further away, which leads to less cars, trees, and various other bits and pieces suddenly popping into existence before your eyes. It definitely helps in terms of immersion if random bits of hedge don’t suddenly spring to life while you’re out and about.
The patch also includes general memory and stability improvements, and a series of welcome fixes to some of the more irksome gameplay bugs.
In the unlikely event that you needed an excuse to go back and play a shit ton more Fallout 4, just tell everyone you’re “testing” the new patch. Valentine’s day be damned.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.