It may have been out for almost three months now, but, thanks to the sheer number of things there are to do in the game, a lot of people are still playing Fallout 4. For those who are continuing to explore post-apocalyptic Boston, a new update has been just been released which brings such a large number of improvements it may tempt lapsed players to return to Bethesda's world.

Patch 1.3's biggest feature for PC gamers is the introduction of a new ambient occlusion setting (HBAO+), which should add some richer, more detailed and realistic effects to the game.

Owners of Nvidia GPUs, meanwhile, will now see new weapon debris effects. There's also improved "ESDF" remapping support in Workshop mode.

In addition to the visual improvements, the patch will add a status menu for your settlers and fixes a number of bugs, including one that stopped players from progressing in the game's story by locking off the Railroad resistance group's headquarters if certain tasks were completed in the 'wrong' order. It'll also stop your companions from being permanently stuck with radiation poisoning and fixes "an issue where Vault 81 residents would not dismember correctly," which is something everyone will surely appreciate.

Fallout 4 should run a lot smoother once the update is installed, and structures in the workshop mode will snap together a lot easier - an issue many people found annoying.

If, like me, you recently left Fallout 4 to move onto new titles, then you may want to boot it up once again to see how much effect this patch has. It could add quite a few more hours of life to the game before the DLCs start to arrive.

Here are the full patch notes:

New Features

  • New ambient occlusion setting, HBAO+ (PC)
  • New weapon debris effects (PC NVIDIA cards)
  • Added status menu for settlers in your settlements
  • Added ability to rotate an object you are holding with left/right triggers and pressing down on left thumbstick lets you switch the rotating axis
  • Improved "ESDF" keys remapping support while in Workshop mode (PC)

Gameplay Fixes

  • General memory and stability improvements
  • Improved performance when looking through a scope
  • Fixed issue where player could warp to a different location when aiming
 Companions can no longer get stuck with radiation poisoning
  • Fixed an issue where Vault 81 residents would not dismember correctly
  • Big Leagues perk now displays calculated damage correctly
  • Fixed issue with third person camera not displaying properly after exiting certain crafting stations
  • Fixed an issue where subtitles would occasionally not update properly
  • Effects will properly be removed on companions when items are unequipped
  • MacReady's Killshot perk now calculates headshot percentages properly
  • Fixed an issue with NPCs getting stuck in Power Armor
  • Fixed a rare issue with companions getting stuck in down state
  • Second rank of Aquaboy now calculates properly
  • Fixed an issue with resistance not always lowering the damage correctly when added by mods
  • Enabled number of characters available when renaming an item (XB1)
  • Fixed issue with player becoming dismembered while still alive
  • Robotics expert is now usable in combat
  • Stimpaks can now be used on Curie after the transformation
  • Playing a holotape found in wilderness while switching point of view no longer causes the screen to blur or controls to be locked

Quest Fixes

  • Fixed an issue with "Taking Independence" where the minutemen remaining from the battle against the Mirelurk Queen would not gather in the Castle
  • Fixed an issue where invulnerable characters would get stuck in combat
  • Fixed an issue where Preston would send player to a settlement instead of a dungeon as part of a Minutemen quest
  • Fixed an issue where Synths could attack the Castle while the player was friends with the Institute
  • Fixed an issue where killing a caravan would leave a quest open
  • Fixed an issue where Dogmeat would stay at Fort Hagen after "Reunions" was completed
  • Fixed an issue where the player couldn't talk to Desdemona to complete "Underground Undercover"
  • Fixed an issue where the player could get stuck exiting the cryopod
  • Fixed an issue where the player could no longer get Preston as a companion
  • In "The End of the Line," fixed an issue that would prevent the player from killing the leaders of the Railroad
  • Fixed an issue with Minutemen quests repeating improperly
  • Fixed an issue where the player couldn't get back into the Railroad headquarters after being kicked out of the Brotherhood of Steel
  • After finishing "The Big Dig," fixed an issue where Hancock would no longer offer to be a companion or help with the "Silver Shroud" quest
  • Fixed an issue with obtaining the Dampening Coils from Saugus Ironworks before going to Yangtze
  • During "Unlikely Valentine," fixed an issue where the player could be blocked from entering Vault 114
  • In "Confidence Man," Bull and Gouger can now be killed
  • During "Taking Independence," fixed an issue that would prevent the radio transmitter from powering up
  • In "Human Error," fixed an issue where killing Dan would cause the quest to not complete properly
  • Fixed an issue with "Tactical Thinking" where leaving dialogue early with Captain Kells to reprogram P.A.M. could cause quest to not completely properly

Workshop Fixes

  • Fixed a bug that would cause settler counts to appear incorrectly
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent the player from setting up a supply line in settlements with a high population
  • Improvements to snapping pieces together while in Workshop mode
  • Fixed an issue that caused powered items to stop functioning permanently if its power source was ever removed
  • Player can now build workbenches in their Diamond City house
  • Building wires no longer uses up copper
  • Fixed issue with certain settlement attacks not generating properly
  • Fixed an issue with settlement happiness calculations
  • Settlers assigned to weapons stand will now stand next to it
  • Diamond City house now shows provided power
  • Repairing items will now correctly consume resources
  • Fixed an issue where companion would ignore commands at workshop locations
  • Fixed an issue with crops appearing destroyed after saving and reloading