Unlike previous games, in which the player had a random chance to inflict a critical hit, they are now performed manually through V.A.T.S. At the beginning of the game, players are given points to spend on a character progression system called S.P.E.C.I.A.L.. The system represents seven statistics, namely strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck. When the player earns enough experience points to gain a new level, they unlock an ability. When the player allocates more points to a statistic, more abilities can be unlocked. These perks can be upgraded to improve the protagonist's efficiency and to further unlock abilities. There are about 275 perks available for the player to unlock. There is no level cap and the game does not end once the main story is complete. The player may travel with only one companion at a time, although other characters also accompany the player in certain quests. For the first time in the series, these companions can interact with the environment on the player character's behalf. For example, if the player character does not have required skills to hack a terminal or pick a lock, they can order the companion to do it for them. Any companion present besides Dogmeat will react to certain player actions in one of four ways (love, like, dislike, or hate), which either raises or lowers their "affinity". Raising a companion's affinity to 1,000 points will result in them "idolizing" the player and granting a specific perk. The companion will leave if affinity drops low enough, and some actions can turn them hostile on sight. "Fallout 4" takes place in the year 2287, ten years after the events of "Fallout 3" and 210 years after the Great War, a war between the United States and China over natural resources that ended in a nuclear holocaust in 2077. The setting is a post-apocalyptic retro-future, covering a region that includes Boston and other parts of New England known as "The Commonwealth". Unlike the previous titles, "Fallout 4"s story begins on the day the bombs dropped: October 23, 2077. The game takes place in an alternate version of history that sees the 1940s and 1950s aesthetics such as diners and a drive-in theater. The design and technology advance in the directions imagined at the time. The resulting universe is thus a retro-futuristic one, where the technology has evolved enough to produce laser weapons, manipulate genes and create nearly-autonomous artificial intelligence, but all within the confines of 1950s solutions such as the widespread use of atomic power and vacuum tubes, as well as having the integrated circuitry of the digital age.