Among some gripes surrounding the Fallout 76 beta, one of the loudest concerns its graphics engine. Like many prior Bethesda games, ranging from The Elder Scrolls and the Fallout series, Fallout 76 uses the same outdated engine, warts and all. And recently, some have found a rather familiar wart: an exploit to speed up your movement.
All it takes is a small modification to one of the .ini files for Fallout 76. The game doesn’t offer any method to change frame rate settings in-game. So, some gamers decided to tool around and fix the issue themselves. But just like in Skyrim, removing v-sync on faster computers allows you to zip around the game world like a ghoul on a jet. The video below shows you what it can look like:
By changing the file and looking at the ground to raise frame rate, players move much faster than they should. It’s unlikely this will give you any sort of edge over other players, though. For instance, we doubt you can hop around like Nightcrawler to win any PvP matches. You would need some outstanding reflexes to look up and aim after running around like a squirrel with its tail on fire, after all.
Still, it’s maddening that the exploit exists at all. Bethesda has been using the same aged graphics engine for many years. Its refusal to build something new has affected its games, filling them with the same bugs, glitches, and exploits. If Fallout 76 was offline, then this exploit would exist as a simple gimmick, one used by bored gamers desperate to leave their 80th draugr-infested dungeon in a row. But for an online title, it’s disappointing to see this same issue hasn’t yet been fixed.
Thankfully, Bethesda is fully aware of the exploit. Replying to a request by Polygon, the company has acknowledged its existence and ensured that it will be fixed before the official launch of the game. Until then, watch for bored travelers running across the Fallout map while staring at the ground. You’ll know what they’re doing.
