For as much as Fallout 4 looks like a thoroughly well-crafted world (and with a more impressive color range than the brown and grays of Fallout 3), Bethesda is giving players the tools to further personalize their post-apocalyptic survival experience.

In practice, that means building a home through a deep multi-phase process that involves collecting resources to craft practical parts. From the foundation to the house’s frame, to reinforcing it with corrugated metal, Fallout 4 will turn its players into amateur architects and interior designers.

A more personal experience than previous games, Fallout 4 pairs players with a trusty canine companion, and it just so happens that you can create a personal home for your dog.

Your home evolves into a homestead when you attract traders to exchange food, water, and even power generators. Generators begets terminals and laser turrets to the point that there was a sense of tower defense when protecting your settlement from raiders. Who needs human allies when you can create a periphery with deadly automated firearms?

“All this crafting makes for an immense time suck, but it’s a fitting match for this next expansive Fallout world.”

Speaking of weapons, customization has been taken to near Borderlands levels of gun variations. From barrels to stocks, beam splitters to focusers, there are over 50 base weapons and hundreds of modifications to suit your specific combat preferences. Want a mahogany bat with a dual saw blade at the end? You can, provided you have the right parts.

The same goes for the power armor, where legs, torso, and other body parts can be bought and fitted individually. All this crafting makes for an immense time suck, but it’s a fitting match for this next expansive Fallout world.

Bethesda has confirmed the Fallout 4 release date as November 10. For all the other news from the event, check out our Bethesda E3 2015 press conference news round-up.

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