How Bethesda should solve Fallout 4’s settlement construction capacity problem

It’s that time of day again, let’s complain about the Fallout 4 settlement system. Today’s column is a little on the shorter side as it will focus on a smaller subject within the system itself.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the series, check out these articles:

• Games like Fallout 4 take crafting too far for the average player
• Fallout 4 Settlement Crafting: a step-by-step guide for beginners
• Why I restarted Fallout 4 and began completely ignoring settlements
• Fallout 4‘s Home Plate: the perfect, hassle-free one-man settlement
• Will Fallout 4‘s settlement system carry into The Elder Scrolls VI?

Without further ado, let’s talk about capacity.

Capacity, or size, dictates how much junk you can pile into the confines of a certain settlement. I believe different settlements have different limits based on their overall size, but I could be wrong. 

To easily see the amount of capacity you have left in a specific area, open the workshop and look to the far right of the utility tab at the top of the screen. At the end you’ll find a large bar labelled “size” that will fill up with each item you place.

What fills up the bar? EVERYTHING. Although it doesn’t seem like much of a hassle and most simple settlement users will never fill the bar in any area, the bar will fill extremely fast when you place more decorations and try to spiff up your settlement.

At the drive-in settlement I attempted to create a large junk fence spanning the perimeter, and a couple bunk houses on the interior. Once this was completed I had room for a few defenses, a water purifier and 4 chairs. Why should my fence dictate how many chairs I can have?

Solution? Here’s the best I can do.

Resize the “size” bar, or eliminate it completely.

I know what you might say. “If there was no limit then people will put thousands of ‘whatevers’ in their settlements and break the game.” 

If Bethesda was to eliminate the size bar (which I’m sure there are mods out there to make this possible anyways), they would have to put some handrails in place. By which I mean item limits. Rather than a total limit on everything, have individual limits on decorations, furniture, buildings, and utilities. 

Allow a high number of useless items such as decorations and furniture and disallow a high number of defenses, generators, and buildings. As far as fences go, I should be able to surround my camp threefold. 

Do you have anything to say about the capacity of settlements in Fallout 4? Have you ever reached the maximum capacity while in the middle of a project? Let me know in the comments.