Fallout 4 will be a gorgeous game, but it won't be the showpiece some are expecting. Speaking at an E3 roundtable interview today, Bethesda's Pete Hines said that crafting complex and thoroughly interactive environments requires some graphical compromises.

"Everything that we do is a balance," Hines said, via Gamespot. "We could make the best looking game possible, but we dial some of that back in order to allow for all of these other things."

Hines went on to emphasise the role-playing freedom Fallout 4 will offer. "If you want to pick flowers and make potions all day, then that's what you're role-playing," he said. "If you want to go shoot everybody in the head with a laser-musket, then that's what you're role-playing."

Hines' words make sense, especially considering the scale of Fallout 4's Boston wastelands. The game's lead producer has spent 400 hours in the game and is still finding new things. Meanwhile, Imgur user Nukeclears has compiled a series of side-by-side comparisons between Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, and the evolution is clear.

Fallout 4 releases November 10.