Another settlement and crafting expansion, the Contractions Workshop DLC is meant to be a little more zany than the Wasteland Workshop while expanding your building repertoire.

I'll admit at first I thought the whole thing was sort of pointless... until I realized how addicting building a Willy Wonka style factory in the heart of Sanctuary was going to become. For those who avoid cheating, it's officially time to pull up those console commands and give yourself a couple of hundred thousand lead, asbestos, steel, etc. and absolutely go to town on creating contraptions.

Will your factory look this good?

As with the base settlement building system, Bethesda didn't feel the need to put any sort of tutorial in there for any of this, and the settlement screen doesn't in any way mark what objects are new to the DLC, so you pretty well have to figure it out yourself by trial and error.

For a full run down of the new additions, what crafting materials are required to make them, and the three new Contraptions Workshop achievements, head over here.

Become An Industrial Giant

Builders, Forges, Auto-Looms, Pyrotechnics Plants, and Explosives Mills now allow the opportunity (without mods) to mass produce pretty much anything you want.

You can create your own ready supply of ammo using all that junk found out in the Commonwealth (with enough lead and fertilizer, you'll never run out of ammunition for that minigun), put together nearly any weapon you've never found on enemies, or even ensure all your settlers are properly armed and armored.

1st bowling pin fresh off the factory line!

Of course, there's more than just weaponry that the Forges let you create, as the Builder offers up a host of non-combat options, either just for hijinks' sake, or for filling up your pitching machine to constantly send a stream of objects at whoever you have incarcerated in the stocks.

 I'm not sure if I have enough bowling pins yet...

After you've created your giant factory of Forges, you can use a maze of sorters, hoppers, and conveyer belts to automatically distribute the needed items to each factory... but honestly it doesn't save any time over just putting the crafting materials in the appropriate places yourself.

There is something to be said for building a fully functioning gigantic factory in your settlement that works all by itself with no human labor necessary though (other than throwing all the ingredients in and changing the settings at a terminal).

Storing 5MM ammo with conveyer belts

What the conveyer belts are most useful for (other than looking awesome) is moving all your items either to an area away from everything else, or even into a storage facility you can easily access.

Thankfully you don't have to guess as to the ingredients for each type of ammo or item, as building a terminal gives you info on what to put into any factory that is connected to the same power supply,

Using a terminal to select ammo build options

Fireworks Displays

You can file this one under “useless, but fun.” Haven't you ever wanted a fireworks display to celebrate your many victories over the enemies of the Commonwealth? How about fireworks that somehow magically change the weather in your area?

Now both are available to you. If you build a Firework Mortar and either craft the appropriate shells at chemistry lab or make them using a Pyrotechnics Plant and an attached terminal.

Necessary? No. Fun? Oh yeah.

Crime And Punishment... And Annoying Your Settlers

The Pillory was perhaps a long-overdue addition to the Fallout 4 settlement building options. Can you never find your settlers? Is there one who is just always annoying the ever loving nuka-cola out of you like Preston Garvey or Marcy Long?

Build yourself some stocks (referred to as the “Pillory” here) and assign a settler to it! No fuss (and no trial) – they'll just meekly walk there and remain incarcerated until you say otherwise.

But that alone isn't nearly all the fun to be had. Why just leave them to sit in their own filth when you could also pitch a host of inanimate objects at them?

That's where the Pitching Machine and Junk Mortar come into play. The Pitching Machine is super simple – just plop some items in and they will automatically fire at regular intervals in whatever direction you've chosen.

Yes... I am pitching bowling pins at that settler's head. What of it?

The Junk Mortar on the other hand takes a little bit more work, and you can set the firing angle and force with a connected terminal. Unlike with the Pitching Machine where you can bring up the item menu, you have to manually set something inside the junk mortar each time (by holding “E” in the PC edition).

And yes, somebody immediately realized you can in fact launch YOURSELF out of the junk mortar.

What did you think of what we came up with using these wacky new settlement tools? Let us know what crazy designs you've created using the Fallout 4 Contraptions Workshop DLC in the comments below!

It seems like the Fallout 4 DLC train just got out of the station, but sadly we're already almost at the end. The latest offering is the Contraptions Workshop, which is a sort of companion to the Wasteland Workshop, offering more options for settlement building.

While that might not be as exciting as the huge land mass from Far Harbor or the ability to create new robots in Automatron, the total number of settlement options now on display has finally reached a critical mass. With so many different variations, its now possible to get truly unique structures and settlements to match your preferred post-apocalyptic Feng Shui.

While some of the additions in the Contraptions Workshop are sort of baffling and pointless (did we really need to build rolling steel ball parks?), others are incredibly necessary (yes, we absolutely needed cool powered cases to show off our legendary weaponry).

Some of them even negate the fan-made mods and offer up similar items, so you can probably get on un-installing a few of those. For the most part these new additions only require regular components like steel or circuitry to build, but several of the automated manufacturing plants require different skills, which are all noted below.

Contraption Workshop Achievements

All the Fallout 4 DLC provides new opportunities to boost your gamer score, and this time around you get three new achievements to unlock:

• Mass Production Achievement – Have your builders produce 100 objects (note you have to actually stay at the settlement near the builders and can't leave the area)
• Time Out Achievement – Punish any settler in your pillory (AKA the “make Preston shut up device”)
• Show Off Achievement – Display a weapon, armor, and suit of power armor in their respective displays

New Settlement Objects

This huge update rivals the Wasteland Workshop DLC offerings and adds in some entertaining new things to do with your settlements.

Note that even when there's only one entry listed (like with the walls and roof segments of the warehouse object), there's usually still at least a dozen different styles to choose from that all have the same component requirements. The end result is hundreds of extra parts to use to build any sort of structure you like.

Structures - Warehouse - Prefabs

• Warehouse – Wood 20, Steel 40, Glass 8
• Wall (Corner) – Wood 4, Steel 12 (some also require Glass 4)
• Roof – Wood 4, Steel 12

 Warehouse

Structures – Warehouse

• Floor – Wood 6 to Steel 12, Concrete 8
• Wall – Wood 3, Steel 8 (some also require Glass 2)
• Roof – Wood 2, Glass 2 to Wood 6
• Stairs – Steel 5
• Door – Wood 4 to Steel 4, Glass 2
• Rolling Metal Door – Wood 6, Steel 12

Structures – Warehouse – Miscellaneous

• Post – Steel 2 to Steel 4
• Roof Cupola – Steel 4, Glass 2, Wood 2

Roof Cupola

Structures – Scaffolding

• Scaffolding Tower – Wood 8, Steel 20
• Scaffolding Floor – Wood 5, Steel 2
• Scaffolding Frame – Steel 6
• Scaffolding Ramp – Wood 2, Steel 4
• Scaffolding Stairs – Steel 5
• Scaffolding Railing – Steel 4

Structures – Boxcars (Red, Blue, and Orange)

• Boxcar Door – Steel 6
• Boxcar – Steel 16, Wood 4

Structures – Elevators

• 2 Floor Elevator – Steel 16, Copper 2, Wood 4, Gear 3, Circuitry 2
• 3 Floor Elevator – Steel 24, Copper 3, Wood 6, Gear 4, Circuitry 2
• 4 Floor Elevator – Steel 32, Copper 4, Wood 8, Gear 6, Circuitry 2

2 Floor Elevator

Structures – Ball Track

• Straight Ramp High (Normal, Double, or Supported) – Wood 3
• Straight Ramp Medium (Normal or Double) – Wood 3
• Straight Ramp Low (Normal or Supported) - Wood 3
• Curve Left - Steel 3
• Curve Right – Steel 3
• Funnel Edge – Wood 3
• Funnel Floor – Wood 3
• Merge – Wood 3
• Steel Ball – Steel 1
• Ball Drop – Wood 3
• Ball Drop Powered – Wood 3 (requires 1 electricity)
• Ball Track Supports – Wood 3
• Ball Track Split – Wood 3

Curving Ball Track

Decorations – Display

• Armor Rack – Wood 4, Cloth 1
• Display Case – Wood 4, Glass 2, Screw 2 (powered version requires 1 electricity as well)
• Power Armor Display – Gear 6, Oil 4, Screw 4, Plastic 4, Aluminum 12, Fiberglass 6, Circuitry 1 (requires 1 electricity)
• Weapon Rack – Wood 3, Steel 2 to Steel 4
• Pistol Rack – Wood 3, Steel 2

Power Armor Display

Decorations – Statues

• Statue – Copper 10

Decorations – Wall Decorations

• Poster – Steel 2, Cloth 1, Copper 1, Glass 1

 Nuka Cola Poster

Power – Conduit

• Conduit Junction – Steel 2, Rubber 1, Copper 1
• Conduit Wall Pass Through – Steel 2, Rubber 1, Copper 1

Power – Manufacturing – Conveyer Belts

• Elevated Power Junction – Steel 10, Rubber 4, Gear 4
• Conveyer Belt (Straight, Left, and Right) – Steel 10, Rubber 4, Gear 4
• Rollers – Steel 8, Gear 4
• Diverter – Steel 6, Spring 2
• Conveyer Belt Lift – Steel 8, Screw 2, Rubber 2, Gear 4

Power – Manufacturing – Machinery

• Builder – Circuitry 2, Gear 3, Rubber 4, Steel 10 (requires 8 electricity)
• Armor Forge – Steel 10, Rubber 4, Gear 3, Circuitry 2 (requires Armorer 1 and 12 electricity)
• Weapon Forge – Circuitry 2, Gear 3, Rubber 4, Steel 10 (requires Gun Nut 1 and 12 electricity)
• Auto Loom – Steel 10, Rubber 4, Gear 3, Circuitry 2 (requires 4 electricity)
• Ammunition Plant – Circuitry 2, Gear 3, Rubber 4, Steel 10 (requires Gun Nut 1, Science 1, and 8 electricity)
• Energy Weapon Forge – Circuitry 2, Gear 3, Rubber 4, Steel 10 (requires Science 2 and 15 electricity)
• Explosives Mill – Circuitry 2, Gear 3, Rubber 4, Steel 10 (requires Demolition Expert 2)

  Ammunitions Plant

Power – Miscellaneous

• Pitching Machine (launches objects) – Steel 3, Rubber 2, Wood 1, Copper 1, Spring 1 (requires 3 electricity)
• Junk Mortar (launches objects) – Steel 8 (requires 1 electricity)
• Firework Mortar (shells crafted at chemistry station) – Wood 2, Steel 2, Asbestos 1 (requires 1 electricity)
• Hoop Switch – Steel 10, Copper 2
• Powered Speaker – Copper 1, Wood 1, Steel 2, Circuitry 1

Power – Advanced Switches

• Logic Gate – Copper 2, Steel 2, Circuitry 1 (requires 1 electricity)

Power – Marquee

• Marquee Arrow – Steel 3, Copper 2, Glass 2 (requires 1 electricity)

 Power Marquee Arrow

Defense – Traps

• Stationary Gun – Copper 2, Wood 1, Ceramic 1, Steel 3, Circuitry 1
• Stationary Paintball Gun – Copper 2, Wood 1, Ceramic 1, Steel 3, Circuitry 1

Resources – Miscellaneous

• Pillory (assign a settler here to put them in the stocks!) – Wood 4, Concrete 1

 Pillory

That's all the new items you can construct utilizing the Contraptions Workshop update! Let us know what kind of settlement you built up using these items, and stay tuned as we show you step-by-step how to build the craziest combinations possible!