[ACTIVE]
Dedicated Multiplayer Servers
External dedicated server connects players and relays multiplayer data. Supports multiple clients, unique player IDs, world-state sync, JSON configuration, CLI management, and local or remote hosting.
PROJECT STATUS // IN DEVELOPMENT
Commonwealth Online
Fallout 4 multiplayer, built from the ground up — connect to a dedicated server and share the Commonwealth.
Each player runs their own copy of Fallout 4 while Commonwealth Online synchronises movement, appearance, equipment, world time, weather, and session data between games. The core multiplayer foundation is functional, but the project remains in active development and is not yet ready for normal playthroughs. Independent fan project. Not affiliated with Bethesda or Microsoft.
BRIEFING // PROJECT OVERVIEW
Building shared-world Fallout experiences, one system at a time.
Commonwealth Online is an experimental multiplayer framework for Fallout 4 that allows multiple players to connect to a dedicated server and share the Commonwealth. Rather than running the entire game simulation on one machine, each player continues to run their own copy of Fallout 4 while the framework synchronises important information between those games.
The project has moved beyond initial research and now has a functioning client-to-server networking path, dedicated server software, remote player representation, appearance and equipment replication, world-state synchronisation, server profiles, a custom server browser, and an integrated main menu. Current builds are intended for development, controlled multiplayer tests, and technical demonstrations rather than complete Fallout 4 playthroughs.
SYSTEMS // FEATURE TRACKING
Current, active, and planned systems
Current Features
[ACTIVE]
Visible Remote Players
Runtime proxy actors represent connected players with synchronised position, rotation, cell and worldspace transitions, smoothing between updates, and held/reappear states when players move apart.
[ACTIVE]
Movement & Animation
Synchronises idle and movement state, walking, jogging, running, sprinting, sneaking, jumping, weapon-drawn state, cell changes, worldspace changes, and teleports.
[ACTIVE]
Character Appearance
Remote proxies reproduce body morphs, height, skin and facial tints, hair and facial hair colours, head parts, facial sliders, bone morphs, and makeup — with versioned, optional data for safe fallback.
[ACTIVE]
Clothing & Equipment
Mirrors equipped apparel across body clothing, armour, hats, helmets, eyewear, and other tracked slots. Equipment changes sync even while standing still.
[ACTIVE]
Ranged Weapon Sync
Transmits equipped right-hand weapons with local form resolution, proxy equipping, model attachment, and drawn/holstered state tracking. Combat actions are not yet implemented.
[ACTIVE]
Shared Time & Weather
Connected clients share in-game time, days passed, exterior weather, and time corrections after menus, loading, waiting, and sleeping. Host reassignment on disconnect is supported.
[ACTIVE]
Server Browser
In-game browser with direct connect, browsable entries, LAN discovery, favourites, recent servers, player counts, ping display, and keyboard, mouse, and controller navigation.
[ACTIVE]
Custom Main Menu
HTML-based menu rendered inside Fallout 4 through PrismaUI with multiplayer access, embedded server browser, settings, Creations, help, quit confirmation, and full input capture.
[ACTIVE]
Server-Based Characters
Each multiplayer server gets its own associated save. First connection creates a profile, loads Vault 109, runs character creation, and binds the save. Reconnecting loads the existing profile.
[ACTIVE]
Vault 109
Private starting area for new characters and appearance customisation. Multiplayer sync is suppressed inside the vault so other players cannot appear during character setup.
[ACTIVE]
Development & Hosting Tools
CLI server interface, graphical dev server, fake clients, weather and time controls, automated plugin builds, Papyrus compilation, and one-command deployment scripts.
In Active Development
[IN DEV]
Expanded Player Capacity
Architecture targets approximately 16 players long-term. Proxy allocation, actor isolation, performance, and appearance ownership must improve before that target is reliable.
[IN DEV]
Animation Refinement
Improving armed locomotion, weapon draw/holster transitions, firing and reload animations, melee, directional movement, strafing, jump transitions, and state recovery after proxy reloads.
[IN DEV]
Weapon & Combat Actions
Planned discrete action capture for firing, reloading, melee, grenades, weapon bashes, aiming states, hit reactions, damage events, and death/revival — with careful gameplay authority separation.
[IN DEV]
Multiplayer Settings
Data-driven settings interface designed for profile, voice chat, map/social, network, and keybind options. Most settings still need persistent plugin configuration connections.
[IN DEV]
Fallout 4 Settings Bridge
Game Settings section intended to open Fallout 4's original Scaleform settings over the Commonwealth Online UI. Visual flow and C++ bridge exist; reliable access is still being researched.
[IN DEV]
Custom Pause Menu & Map
Prototype with zoom, pan, inertia, player markers, controller prompts, and settings panels. Not yet fully connected to live game data, remote players, teams, or quests.
[IN DEV]
Server Administration
Building toward remote administration, persistent status access, performance testing, logs, moderation, player management, permissions, and password-protected private servers.
Planned Features
[PLANNED]
Multiplayer Map & Markers
Show local and remote players, friends, discovered locations, quest objectives, custom markers, server events, and fast-travel availability on the Commonwealth map.
[PLANNED]
Player Profiles & Gamertags
Multiplayer identity separate from local saves with display names, player icons, profile settings, per-server character info, friends, and optional platform account integration.
[PLANNED]
Voice & Text Chat
Proximity voice, party channels, server-wide text chat, direct messages, push-to-talk, volume controls, and muting/blocking.
[PLANNED]
Teams & Social Features
Parties, shared map markers, invitations, friends and recent-player lists, team status, and group voice and text channels for cooperative play.
[PLANNED]
Interaction Sync
Explore synchronising doors, containers, terminals, workbenches, furniture, pickups, activators, and dialogue interactions with shared vs. client-local behaviour safeguards.
[PLANNED]
Enemy & NPC Sync
Long-term work on shared enemy positions, combat state, health, death, respawning, loot ownership, and basic AI coordination using a hybrid approach.
[PLANNED]
Quest & World Progression
Selected synchronisation of quest stages, objectives, location discovery, cleared locations, workshops, and important world-state changes with quest-script safeguards.
[PLANNED]
Settlement Building
Cooperative construction with shared placed objects, resource changes, ownership, build permissions, and server-side settlement persistence.
[PLANNED]
Power Armour
Entering and exiting frames, equipped pieces, frame position, fusion core state, movement, and damage and repair synchronisation.
[PLANNED]
Trading & Inventory
Player-to-player trading, item transfers, dropped items, shared containers, server-controlled rewards, and item validation.
[PLANNED]
Mod Compatibility
Defensive packet parsing and local form resolution with mod/load-order checks, required mod lists, version negotiation, missing-content warnings, and compatibility profiles.
[PLANNED]
Public Server Infrastructure
Master server listings, public registration, filtering, version and mod compatibility info, latency, server descriptions, region selection, and moderation tools.
ROADMAP // TIMELINE
Current progression
- COMPLETEResearch & Networking Foundation
- COMPLETEDedicated Server Software
- COMPLETERemote Player Proxies & Movement
- COMPLETEAppearance & Equipment Replication
- COMPLETEWorld-State & Time/Weather Sync
- COMPLETEServer Profiles & Vault 109
- COMPLETECustom Main Menu & Server Browser
- ACTIVEAnimation & Combat Systems
- ACTIVEExpanded Player Capacity
- NEXTMultiplayer Settings & Pause Menu
- NEXTServer Administration Tools
- FUTURENPCs, Quests & Settlements
- FUTUREVoice Chat & Social Systems
- FUTUREPublic Testing & Server Infrastructure
VISUALS // IN-GAME SCREENSHOTS
Gameplay and multiplayer demonstrations
SPEC // TECHNICAL SNAPSHOT
Runtime stack
- CLIENTF4SE Plugin (Per-Player Simulation)
- SERVERDedicated Server (JSON Config, CLI)
- UIPrismaUI / HTML / CSS / JS
- SYNCMovement, Appearance, Equipment, World State
- HOSTINGLocal / LAN / Remote VPS
- STATUSFunctional Foundation — Early Development
COMMS // COMMUNITY + CONTRIBUTE
Follow development and contribute feedback
Commonwealth Online has a functioning multiplayer foundation but remains an early development project. Combat, quests, NPCs, settlements, voice chat, interaction synchronisation, and large-server performance are still under development. Current builds are best suited for development, controlled multiplayer tests, and technical demonstrations. Community feedback and testing interest help shape priorities as systems mature.