Topic: Fallout 3

[MysterD]

Well, this can't be good.
Some people are having some issues with FO3: The Pitt DLC on X360 and PC.

Latest Fallout 3 DLC Full of Glitches and Floating Exclamation Marks, Developer Responds (Updated)
by Chris Faylor Mar 24, 2009 10:39am CST tags: Fallout 3, Screenshots, DLC, Windows Live Marketplace,

Update: Fallout 3 developer Bethesda has issued a statement on the reported issues.

"As of now it looks like the file for the English version on Xbox Live was somehow corrupted," marketing VP Pete Hines told Shacknews.

"We are continuing to look into the issues people are experiencing with The Pitt for Xbox 360," he added. "We are currently working with Microsoft to remove the existing file off of Live to prevent any further downloads. Our plan is to replace it with a new file as soon as possible."

Original: Following today's release of the downloadable Fallout 3 expansion "The Pitt" on PC and Xbox 360, reports are popping up of severe issues with the Xbox 360 edition.

"It's completely broken," AuXoIs wrote over on Major Nelson, as noticed by VG247. "There are these box exclamation points all over...It's like not playable after the bridge because it freezes. If you manage to get past the bridge part you're pretty much in glitch city."

Developer Bethesda is looking into the issue, according to a post from a community manager in a thread full of similar complaints on the official Bethesda forums.

However, the issues aren't apparently universal, as some say they've experienced no problems. Forumites suggest re-downloading the file and ensuring that the entire 682MB are acquired, as some claim that they only downloaded some 492MB or so.

Priced at $10, The Pitt is meant to add a new area, quest and items to the action-RPG.

EDIT:
The Pitt DLC Review
7.0 from IncGamers

[MysterD]

Expect lots more FO3 DLC coming from BethSoft.
They're already working on "a lot more", according to Emil Pagliarulo of BethSoft.

Fallout 3 Developer 'Working on Lots of DLC'
by Chris Faylor Mar 27, 2009 11:05am CST tags: Fallout 3, GDC 09, DLC
Fallout 3

In an apparently overlooked tidbit from a GDC panel earlier this week, Fallout 3 lead designer Emil Pagliarulo revealed that the team at Bethesda is hard at work on more downloadable content for the post-apocalyptic action-RPG.

"I can say we're working on lots of DLC," he said. "Lots of stuff brewing up here. God only knows where that may go. What famous landmarks can we destroy next?"

Bethesda has currently released two pieces of Fallout 3 DLC on Xbox 360 and PC. Each download is priced at $10 and each adds new quests, items and weapons. A third, "Broken Steel," arrives next month and picks up where the main game ended.

Thus far, the DLC has not made its way to the PS3 edition of the acclaimed game due to Microsoft's long-known PC and Xbox 360 exclusivity on "substantial" Fallout 3 DLC.

EDIT:
GameSpot has a big ordeal on Emil's keynote speech at GDC 2009 that talks about everything -- such as his history in gaming, stuff that was thrown on the cutting room floor of Fallout 3, how to get into the gaming industry, modding, etc etc.

Here's some stuff about the FO3 stuff left on the cutting room floor...

Unfortunately, the iterative development process can lead to parts of a game being left on the cutting-room floor because they required too much work. In Fallout 3, the urban ruins of central D.C. were supposed to be twice as large as they were in the final version. "These maps were done and polished, but Todd thought they had to go," recalled the designer. "You just have to be honest with yourself and admit when something isn't working."

Howard also vetoed a Fallout 3 level that would've been among the most ambitious of the game. It would've seen Enclave forces launch an all-out assault on Rivet City, the settlement inside of a rusting aircraft carrier anchored in the Potomac. Players would've been tasked with escorting its inhabitants to the Citadel, the nearby Brotherhood of Steel stronghold in what used to be the Pentagon.

Pagliarulo was eager to include the combat-intensive level, but Howard said that the mission was just too big. Now, the designer retroactively agreed with his boss, saying, "In the end he was right, we couldn't do it."

[scottws]

I picked this game back up again after losing interest after I hit the level max.  I saw that patch 1.4 was available so I installed that.  I don't know if it was the patch or what but I can't play for 5 minutes without the game locking up.  It locked up a lot for me before, but this is ridiculous.  About 50% of the time I go through a door and experience a level load it locks up.  About 25% of the time it locks up after loading a save.

This sucks.

[Quemaqua]

Ah, Bethesda.  You make amazing games that make us happy, then kick us in the unmentionables by not letting us play them.

Sucks, man.  Lurked around any forums to see if others are having similar problems?

[scottws]

Ah, Bethesda.  You make amazing games that make us happy, then kick us in the unmentionables by not letting us play them.

Sucks, man.  Lurked around any forums to see if others are having similar problems?

Yeah.  I've found tons of others with similar crashing problems.  ffdshow is supposedly incompatible with Bethesda engines and you have to make exclusions for fallout3.exe so the game doesn't try to use ffdshow.  When you ffdshow-tryouts, morrowind.exe and oblivion.exe are already set up as exclusions.

Trouble is, I did that a long time ago and it never really solved the issue.  I found new information to dumb down the sound config of the OS, turning off any advanced processing features but this too had no effect.

[scottws]

Gah.  They got back to me and requested a dxdiag.txt.  I sent that to them, along with a more detailed description of my symptoms and they responded saying to upgrade my sound card drivers and turn of all my startup programs, and disable anti-virus realtime scanning.

My sound card drivers are already on the newest version, according to Asus (onboard Realtek sound).  I suppose it is possible that there are newer drivers for this Realtek chip someplace else, but I have no idea if they'd truly be compatible with my system.

As far as turning off startup programs, that reminds me of all the games back in the early and mid-90's that would ask you to make sure there aren't any TSRs running.  This is 2009!  I shouldn't have to do this!  All of my other games work fine (except Gears of War, but that's another story)!

I'll do what they ask just to say I did, but I am certain it won't correct the problem.

[Cobra951]

There's what I don't miss at all about PC gaming.  It may be 2009, but the core issue of a gazillion different gotchas across just as many possible configurations hasn't been solved.

Plus it's Bethesda.  I stopped playing Oblivion on the X360 because of random lockups.

[scottws]

I really haven't had much trouble at all getting games to work since the DOS/Windows 3.1/Windows 95 days.

Gears of War on the PC stutters a lot (not like a low framerate... it's something else), but it's playable.

[Pugnate]

I've heard a ton of complaints about GoW, but it ran absolutely brilliantly for me.

Now Morrowind... that game just never ran at anything close to an acceptable level... ever.

[Quemaqua]

Bethesda are brilliant designers of fantastic games that they utterly botch on a technical level.  For me, Fallout 3 has been far and away the most stable and bug-free game from them, ever.  But then they patch it and fuck it up, which is just delicious irony.  As much a fan of Bethesda as I am, I have always been in complete agreement that they just can't get their shit together on a technical level.  Usually I manage to work around the problems without a lot of issues, but I know some people run into problems they just can't get around.  It may happen to me one day if they don't figure out how to do better.

[Xessive]

Yeah, I've lost a few save files in Fallout 3 due to update incompatibility. Had to restart my character a couple of times. It was frustrating but in replaying I've experienced very diverse aspects of the game so I'm not very miffed about it.

Like Que ssaid, Fo3 is definitely the most stable thing I've seen from BethSoft so far.

[PyroMenace]

I'm curious, was The Pitt DLC ever fixed?

[Xessive]

I'm curious, was The Pitt DLC ever fixed?

Was there a major issue with it?

I just finished it like last week, it was pretty good.

[PyroMenace]

Was there a major issue with it?

I just finished it like last week, it was pretty good.

Yea, it was totally unplayable on the 360 due to massive bugs, it was even recalled.

[Xessive]

Yea, it was totally unplayable on the 360 due to massive bugs, it was even recalled.

Oh wow, I had no idea! That's a bitch.

The PC version seems fine. There were few reports of missing NPCs in some circumstances but nothing game-breaking.

[MysterD]

Looks like some of that FO3 DLC -- The Pitt and Operation: Anchorage -- will be coming to retail stores.

Whether the content is all on a disc (I hope so) or the box just contains code in a box so you can DL the content from G4WL or XBox Live (like what was done w/ GTA4: Lost And The Damned on X360), we'll have to wait and see...

[MysterD]

This game has been patched up to Version 1.5 now, so y'all know.

[K-man]

Got back into this game over the weekend.  I'm really having a lot of fun with it.

[Xessive]

This isn't exactly Fallout 3 but I just got a theme for my phone that makes its interface look like the Pipboy 3000!



Kinda cool

[scottws]

Got back into this game over the weekend.  I'm really having a lot of fun with it.

I'm jealous.

[Xessive]

Here's a Watchmen/Fallout bit from VGCats:

[MysterD]

Looks like there will be a 4th DLC called "Point Look" for FO3.

So, BethSoft says they have "no announced plans" for DLC yet.
Translation (to me): BethSoft will talk about it on their terms, when they're ready.

[May 01, 2009, 1:52 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments
A listing on eStarland.com seems to indicate an unannounced fourth DLC pack for Fallout 3 called "Point Look" is in the works (thanks No Mutants Allowed), accompanied by the vague non-explanation: "Information Not Available Yet for This Expansion." We contacted Bethesda Softworks about this, and while they don't deny the story outright, they repeat they have "no announced plans" for DLC for their action/RPG sequel beyond the three already announced packs. Here's what Pete Hines had to day: "We have said there will be three DLCs for Fallout 3, for PC and 360. We've released two, and the third, Broken Steel, is scheduled for release Tuesday, May 5th. Beyond that we have no announced plans for additional DLC."

[K-man]

I finished the main quest tonight.  It was ok, but it felt a little short.

I can't very well sum up the game as a whole as I have yet to experience 50% of it.  So far it's been great fun though!

[Xessive]

I'm playing through aain, trying things a little differently, now that I've finished Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt. Got some really good equipment from both!

[PyroMenace]

I finished the main quest tonight.  It was ok, but it felt a little short.

I can't very well sum up the game as a whole as I have yet to experience 50% of it.  So far it's been great fun though!

Yea the ending left me a little underwelmed too, but seeing how the main quest is really just a small part of the game I can't really be to miffed about it.

[MysterD]

I'm playing through aain, trying things a little differently, now that I've finished Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt. Got some really good equipment from both!

How did you like them two DLC's?

[Xessive]

They're not bad. A lot more content than any of the Oblivion DLCs. Operation: Anchorage was not bad; definitely more action-oriented than Fallout 3 is normally. It did feel somewhat restrictive though. Nonetheless it was a pretty creative detour from the regular Fallout adventure.

The Pitt was quite good, my favourite of the two, it was notably larger in terms of content and plot.

Just to compare and contrast the two O:A was baically an added quest but The Pitt was like a complete episode added in the game. The latter is definitely more value for your buck but O:A is still not bad, plus you get some decent equipment from it like the Chinese Stealth Armor and the Gauss rifle (railgun)!

[K-man]

Yea the ending left me a little underwelmed too, but seeing how the main quest is really just a small part of the game I can't really be to miffed about it.

Absolutely.  I'm actually having a lot more fun now that I'm not tied down or worried with the main quest.  I found the experimental MIRV this morning, which is pretty awesome.  Shoots 8 mini nukes at a time.  Course on the flip side of things I discovered that I accidentally used the terrible shotgun (the "named" combat shotgun) to repair a combat shotgun rather than the other way around.

Sucks, but I've definitely made too much progress now to go back to the earlier save where I still had it.

[Quemaqua]

Bummer.  I love that shotgun.

I'm just going to wait until there's a nice big retail release of a bunch of DLC in one pack, hopefully with a physical CD and not some bullshit code for GFWL (which is still so broken I can't even buy the DLC through it).  But I'm looking forward to getting back into the game at that point.  Like you guys have said, the main quest isn't the end, really.  I'd say it's probably not even a third of the game.  There's so much to see and do, and so much of it is crazy and interesting.  I really look forward to going back.  Hopefully the newer patches don't fuck things up for me like they did for scott (wish there was something I could do to help, man).

[K-man]

I hit level 20 last night.  I toyed with picking up the explorer perk and opening up everything, but I think that would have basically killed the element of discovery for me, so I went with the Reaper one instead.

I had only put about ten hours into this game prior to last week.  I was very surprised how much it took hold of me recently.  I don't want to put the game down.  I downloaded Anchorage and played through it last night.  Will probably do the same for Pitt sometime this week.  Anchorage was a little bit of a letdown, considering it stripped away just about everything that made the game fun.  But some of the fights were cool and the equipment at the end is almost enough to justify the price tag.

[K-man]

Trailer for new DLC is up at Bethesda's site.  Wouldn't watch it if you haven't finished the game

[MysterD]

New interview with Pete Hines talking about Broken Steel DLC.

SPOnG: Will there be enough quest experience to be had in Broken Steel for players to level up to 30 without having to grind on pre-DLC quests/enemies?

Pete Hines: No, probably not, and that wasn't the intention. The intention was to remove the level cap so that if you have Broken Steel, regardless of whether you want to play that quest or not, or you want to start a new game from scratch, you can continue playing beyond level 20. Again, fans wanted to be able to take their characters to higher levels, so we included it. But it is not specific to the length of Broken Steel, at all. It is a very long climb to get from 20 to 30 and you'll need to do a LOT to get there.

[K-man]

I'm ok with that.

[Quemaqua]

I much prefer it that way.  Gives you even more reason to go explore the 8 bajillion gigatons of stuff to do in the stock game.

[K-man]

That knowledge has prompted me to wait on Pitt until I can download this expansion.  No sense in letting all that xp go to waste.

[Quemaqua]

What's nice is I completely stopped caring about XP before I even hit 20.  It was far more about seeing and doing rather than any statistical encouragement.  I've put over 90 hours into the game, and my lust for seeing new sights hadn't even remotely abated after even probably 20 hours of being at the level cap.

[MysterD]

I wish BethSoft would just do some FO3 Expansion the size of say Shiv Isles or something and sell it on disc....

[K-man]

They're packaging anchorage and pitt on disc and selling it at the end of the month, if that hasn't already been discussed.

As far as something with the scope of Shivering Isles, I'd much rather see that effort put toward Vegas.

[MysterD]

They're packaging anchorage and pitt on disc and selling it at the end of the month, if that hasn't already been discussed.

And supposedly, Broken Steel and Point Look are gonna be put together.

As far as something with the scope of Shivering Isles, I'd much rather see that effort put toward Vegas.

Obsidian's developing New Vegas, not BethSoft.

Which lets us wonder what BethSoft will be up to.
I have a feeling Obsidian's doing New Vegas b/c BethSoft's gonna be working on Elder Scrolls 5.

[K-man]

Ah, I was under the impression it was a joint venture