Bethesda started off E3 2015 with a bang, announcing a bunch of news and showing off footage of its upcoming games.
Bethesda demoed . It is a free-to-play Vault management and strategy game without paywall timers, and it will not require an internet connection. It is available right now.
Other News:
Bethesda announced Bethesda Net, a headquarters for all of the company's games and the community-created content from editors like Doom's Snapmap.
Battlecry Studios announced that the global beta of Battlecry is now live for signups, just in time for E3 2015. You can sign up at https://www.battlecrythegame.com/ .
This announcement coincides with the new Battlecry trailer revealed during the Bethesda's inaugural E3 press conference. The trailer also revealed the Han Republic, an Asian squad featuring some previously-announced classes including a monk character. No word yet if the monk is a new class or if it's one of the five known classes. New combat gameplay also featured Asian-themed arenas befitting the early 20th century setting, mostly with industrial backgrounds. The trailer also provided a refresher of the five announced classes, the hammer-swinging Brawler, the far-reaching Enforcer, the agile, dual wielding Infiltrator, the ranged bow and arrow prowess of the Ranger, and the gun-wielding Gadgeteer.
Bethesda is bringing the iconic Pip-Boy to life by realising an actual version of the post-apocalyptic smart device that works with iPhones.
The physical version of the Pip-Boy will be included with a special edition of Fallout 4, and owners can slide in their iPhone to work as the screen for the device.
To go with it, Bethesda has created a custom app that functions as a second screen experience. Offering his own thoughts on gimmick second-screen apps, Todd Howard "as far as stupid gimmicks go, this is the best fucking one i've seen."
The Fallout 4 companion app will be available to download to everyone on iOS and Android. It will communicate with Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It will be available alongside the game.
As for the in-game Pip-Boy, Bethesda has re-designed the interface to be more entertaining. During the Fallout 4 demo at its press conference, the little on-screen Vault Boy is shown animating as the player navigates around the device.
Also included in the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy are mini-games. During the demo we're shown one that looks to be inspired by Nintendo's arcade classic Donkey Kong.
Tonight at Bethesda's E3 briefing, the company, Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard not only
The game launches tonight on iTunes as a free download. The game will offer some microtransactions for purchase, but Howard stresses there are no paywall times and you don't need an Internet connection.
Fallout Shelter lets you build your own vault and act as its "overseer." Basically, you control all the people inside the vault and must keep them productive and happy.
This includes sending couples into the bedroom, which "increases happiness," Howard said. As overseer, you are also charged with naming babies in your vault that are the result of this "increased happiness."
Howard went on to explain that Fallout Shelter was inspired by games like XCOM, SimCity, and FTL.
We'll have more on Fallout Shelter as it becomes available.
id Software has announced a new mode for its upcoming Doom title that leverages the creativity of its player base to deliver "an endless stream of content."
The mode, called Snapmap, was revealed during Bethesda's E3 press conference, where id Software's new Doom was shown at length.
Following a meaty single-player demo, executive producer Marty Stratton said Snapmap would mean Doom players would "never run out of fun or imaginative gameplay."
The mode is designed to be "easy-to-use" but also offer "uncompromising depth." In action, the mode looked very reminiscent of Halo's forge mode, allowing users to drop in objects in new creations, or modify existing ones.
Snapmap will also allow users to create or edit game logic, offering scope for entirely new gameplay modes. During the demo, Stratton showcased a Horde Mode, where players must fight of waves of demons.
With a single button press, Doom players will be able to enjoy and share content "instantly with friends around the world."
"For more than 20 years the Doom community has been the most active and creative," said Stratton, "with doom Snapmap we're putting that creativity at the heart of Doom."
Stratton also said that Bethesda and id Software want to bring together the Doom community regardless of what platform a person plays on. The Snapmap demo showed button configurations for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Although it was not confirmed, this seemingly suggest Snapmap users will be contributing to a single content pool that can be enjoyed by everyone.
From the little we saw, it certainly seems like id Software are taking a page from Bungie's book and drawing inspiration from Forge mode. Given the success of Halo's Forge Mode, and the fact that creations from this mode contributed significantly to the longevity of Halo 3, this is a smart decision.
Bethesda also announced Bethesda.net, a new online platform that is powering Snapmap and "will be at the hear of [all Bethesda games] going forward. During the announcement, game logos for Battlecry and The Evil Within were shown on screen.
In addition to powering the online aspects of its games, Bethesda.net will also be used for forums, exclusive articles, and unique features that will create "one seamless experience."
Bethesda has confirmed the .
"As a result, id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise. When we're ready to talk about the Doom 4 id is making, we will let folks know."
Keep up with all the latest news from Bethesda's E3 2015 press conference in the video stream below. You can also scroll down for our liveblog of the event.
Fallout Shelter is available now on mobile! Check out the demo and overview from the 2015 press conference.
Fallout 4's special edition comes with a Pip-Boy that you can connect your phone to.
Check out the E3 2015 trailer for The Elder Scrolls Legends, Bethesda's new strategy card game.
Watch the latest Battlecry gameplay trailer shown during the Bethesda E3 2015 press conference.
