Topic: Fallout 3

[Cobra951]

Is there some interface for managing companions? The only way I can do anything with mine is to look at him and talk to him. Though he's a dog, so I'm not expecting many options rofl.

Haha!  You can have the dog plus another companion with better communication skills.  You still have to use dialog choices, but they will be more helpful with 2-legged companions.

[W7RE]

Actually I just realized that this power armor does have stats on it, including +2 str. Anyway, what's the chance I'll come across more of this armor, or something equivalent or better? I really want to vendor this stuff, but I don't want to miss out on something good. I picked it up by chance when I was wandering somewhere I probably shouldn't have been, and a mutant killed a brotherhood of steel guy, who I then looted the armor off of. Some other brotherhood guys had armor, but not as good as this.

[Xessive]

I've played through the game twice and I've never come across a dog I can keep! Even with the "Animal Friend" perk. Damn this game is big!

[Cobra951]

(click to show/hide)

You never found or explored the big scrapyard?

Are you still carrying everything you find?  Poke around some in Megaton.  See who wants you to do what.  You'll be much happier later.  That's one path you can follow anyway.  As Xessive said, the game is very big.

There are several kinds of power armor.  The best imho comes from Broken Steel, an essential addon.

[Xessive]

(click to show/hide)

Big scrapyard? Damn it, now I have to reinstall the game. I found the damn alien mothership and I can't find the scrapyard?!

[Cobra951]

Don't look at this if you want to find the dog without any help.

(click to show/hide)

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Dogmeat_%28Fallout_3%29

[Xessive]

Thanks Cobra

This will be an opportunity for me to properly explore the game. This time I'll probably get the Explorer perk just to have all the places marked.

[W7RE]

About getting the dog...

(click to show/hide)

I didn't even realize here were raiders to fight off to get Dogmeat, haha. I saw some red on my compass and snuck around to see the dog. I thought he was going to attack me, but he ran, I chased, and my Xbox locked up. When I reset and reloaded and came back, the raiders were all dead and Dogmeat was standing there alone.

The Dog is a beast btw. Maybe I'm just leveled up a bit more than my previous partial playthrough, but while doing the mirelurk part of the Wasteland Survival Guide, the dog is tearing shit up. Every once in a while a stimpack option becomes available from his chat dialogue (as in, I've given him 2 stimpacks over the course of 3 or so levels), but for the most part he seems pretty durable.

[Cobra951]

If you have Broken Steel installed, the dog is nearly invincible.  Apparently, he levels up 5X as much as he should, based on your level.  You need to install BS before you get him for him to be such a tank.

Don't worry too much about lockups.  I got many, many of those in this game.  Just save very often, and rotate save slots, because you will get an unusable save once in a while too.

[W7RE]

Yea, I'm playing the GOTY Xbox version, so I had all the DLC installed before I started.

As far as the lockups, yea I've just been saving often. Not sure how it works on other systems, but I'm up to save #114 and the only saves that are gone are ones where I intentionally overwrote another save because it hadn't been long between the two. I just skimmed through and I could go all the way back to when I first came out of the vault if I wanted. Basically every time I am about to hack/lockpick I save, and if I'm going to steal some stuff with someone nearby, I save, make sure I'm hidden, then steal. That way if I get caught I can reload. (you do NOT want to piss off the whole town of Megaton, at least not early in the game)

[K-man]

Fawkes is the real beast.  He never even came close to dying once, and I used him for the entire game.

[scottws]

I need to get this game back from my brother and get at least Broken Steel.  This time I think I will focus more on the main quest since I hit the level cap early in my last game and lost my motivation to keep playing.

[Cobra951]

You'll get 10 more levels with BS installed too.

I used Fawkes during my first playthrough.  As you said, never even came close to dying.  His problem is that he is so big he doesn't fit through everywhere you do, which can lead to some frustration.  I tried every living companion at one time or another.  I think overall I liked Charon best.

W7re, it's fun to save the game, then pick a big, hairy fight with all of Megaton.  Doesn't take much effort either.  Reload your save after you've had enough.

How do you fit all those saves?  They get up to about 12 MB apiece eventually.  I kept it down to about 10 saves per character I played.  Oh, I know, you have one of those big-ass HDDs.  Damn my 13.6GB weakling.

[W7RE]

I bought a 250GB HDD when they released them. Fallout 3 is 8GB on my drive, game install, 5 DLC packs, and 85 save files.

I've still yet to see any companions other than the dog and Jericho. Of course, I haven't been following the main quest line at all yet. I'm on chapter 3 (I think) of the Wasteland Survival Guide and haven't really done much else. I'm not sure how I have 40 hours of playtime already haha. I'm level 7. Though I guess Jericho would fit, since I'm playing as a murderous thief, but he wants 1000 caps do come with me and I don't want to pay him.

[Cobra951]

Caps will become less of an issue as you play on.  You really need to handle some of the other quests in Megaton if you haven't already.

[W7RE]

Well other than the survival guide, I've talked to Moriarty and gotten the info on my dad, but haven't followed up on it. I think I also fixed the leaks in the water system, I have Lucy West's quest, and I got the quest from the guy in the suit who wants me to meet him at Tenpenny. I haven't followed up on that last one yet because I'm still using Megaton as my buy/sell/repair spot and I want to finish the other quests I have from there first.

I think I have about 1600 caps and haven't been dipping below 1000, I just don't want to part with that many caps until I have a little more to spare.

[K-man]

Caps were hard to come by for me in the first 10 or so hours of the game.  Eventually though with perks and exploration you'll eventually not have to worry about it.

[K-man]

Oh, and if this is your first playthrough I'd suggest not messing with Tenpenny Towers.  Completing that quest will make it harder on you, as it will essentially become your "main" town.  Megaton is much more centered in the map and just makes things easier.

[W7RE]

Would that really make it harder though? I fast travel everywhere already. I just find the location closest to where I'm going and walk the rest of the way.

Maybe I've been going about this the wrong way though. My idea was to do all the Megaton quests I could, and then finish that one up. But now I'm thinking I'll get to pretty much the end of the game and go "oh yea, I never did that. I guess I should have just done the other quest instead and had a home in Megaton." (which I thought I had done already, but when I loaded my save up to start playing after a couple month break, I hadn't done the quest.)

[W7RE]

I do sort of wish the DLC was a little more obviously seperated from the other quests. I just accidentally wandered into the outcast base for Operation Anchorage. Not that it really matters, but I was planning on finishing up the main game before working on the DLC.

Should I be any certain level before doing any of the DLC, or does stuff scale to your level?

[Xessive]

The game does scale to a certain extent. You should be fine with the Operation Anchorage mission since it's action oriented and it's predominantly in a virtual battlefield.

All the DLCs are incorporated into the core game, so you can come across them haphazardly and they don't really affect the main quest. Before Broken Steel you would have had to go through them before you finish the game (or load an older save) since the game stops; Broken Steel adds a new mission and free-roam right after the "ending."

[K-man]

Yeah, Operation Anchorage should just be titled "badass weapon/armor pack".  Because in the end that's exactly what it is.  You just have to jump through hoops to get it.

[Cobra951]

Well other than the survival guide, I've talked to Moriarty and gotten the info on my dad, but haven't followed up on it. I think I also fixed the leaks in the water system, I have Lucy West's quest, and I got the quest from the guy in the suit who wants me to meet him at Tenpenny. I haven't followed up on that last one yet because I'm still using Megaton as my buy/sell/repair spot and I want to finish the other quests I have from there first.

I think I have about 1600 caps and haven't been dipping below 1000, I just don't want to part with that many caps until I have a little more to spare.

I agree with K-man, for your first playthrough.  Following the evil path through Tenpenny is better for an experienced player.  (I mean real game experience, not the XP stat.)

Completely OT, isn't this old movie great?

[W7RE]

Hahahahahahahahaha... I'm at a loss for words, I don't even know how to respond to what I'm hearing right now. I guess this is what happens when you give a CoD/WoW gamer something a little deeper. An online friend of mine was asking me for a game recommendation, and I'm currently spending a lot of time with Fallout 3. I thought it would be a good suggestion, since I've spent so much time exploring and clearing dungeons and killing stuff and very little time on story (which he finds boring).

So he just logged onto vent and started ranting about how Fallout 3 is the worst game he's ever played, and he can't believe he just wasted $20 because of me. He complains about the character creation and how it takes too long, and he couldn't make his character not look like a girl. Then he bitches about wandering about as a baby for 10 minutes with nothing to do, then the "boring ass 10th birthday" that he thinks is pointless and shouldn't be in the game. Then he complains that the game puts him up against security guards with guns and all he has is his fists. I tell him there was a baseball bat in like the first room, and he says he grabbed it, but he still just had his fists (he didn't realize he had to open his Pipboy and equip it).

Before I could give any suggestions, he tells me that he took the game disc out and broke it in half already.

I really can't think of anything to say. All I can do is laugh, and wonder about the kind of company I keep.

[idolminds]

Tell your friend he is whats wrong with gaming.

[W7RE]

I can't remember the context, but yesterday I told him he doesn't play games, he just plays Call of Duty and WoW.

[Quemaqua]

I wish I could punch that guy in the balls.  With an angry goat.

[Xessive]

I wish I could record Que punching him in the balls with an angry goat.

[Cobra951]

Tell your friend he is whats wrong with gaming.

That pretty much nails it.  I weep for its future.

[MysterD]

Hahahahahahahahaha... I'm at a loss for words, I don't even know how to respond to what I'm hearing right now. I guess this is what happens when you give a CoD/WoW gamer something a little deeper. An online friend of mine was asking me for a game recommendation, and I'm currently spending a lot of time with Fallout 3. I thought it would be a good suggestion, since I've spent so much time exploring and clearing dungeons and killing stuff and very little time on story (which he finds boring).

So he just logged onto vent and started ranting about how Fallout 3 is the worst game he's ever played, and he can't believe he just wasted $20 because of me. He complains about the character creation and how it takes too long, and he couldn't make his character not look like a girl. Then he bitches about wandering about as a baby for 10 minutes with nothing to do, then the "boring ass 10th birthday" that he thinks is pointless and shouldn't be in the game. Then he complains that the game puts him up against security guards with guns and all he has is his fists. I tell him there was a baseball bat in like the first room, and he says he grabbed it, but he still just had his fists (he didn't realize he had to open his Pipboy and equip it).

Actually, I think that's one of the better character creation and tutorials put forth in a RPG - as it basically teaches you how to play the game and all of the mechanics the game will give you, as you're going along.

Seriously, though - once you leave The Vault, the game gets amazing - as it basically becomes your playground. I hope he at least got out of The Vault - though it doesn't sound like it.

Some RPG's - like say The Witcher and FO3 - they do take a while in the Tutorial section to show you all the mechanics early on to the game b/c there's so many to them. They basically show them all at once, in the VERY beginning hours.

Hmmm...Has your friend ever even played a RPG like this before?
I dunno - but if he hasn't, I'd probably give him something like Mass Effect 2 before say Fallout 3.

Before I could give any suggestions, he tells me that he took the game disc out and broke it in half already.

I really can't think of anything to say. All I can do is laugh, and wonder about the kind of company I keep.

Great RPG's like this are not for everyone, unfortunately...

[W7RE]

Hmmm...Has your friend ever even played a RPG like this before?
I dunno - but if he hasn't, I'd probably give him something like Mass Effect 2 before say Fallout 3.
Great RPG's like this are not for everyone, unfortunately...

Actually, I probably should have known better. He played ME1 and managed to get through a couple planets of the main story, but then he got bored and quit. I just asked him about it and he says he liked the game, but it had way too much story.

He's spent a lot of time with CoD4 and MW2. He bought Borderlands and Bad Company 2 when they came out. He sold Borderlands as soon as we beat the story, and sold BC2 after about 2 weeks. Other than that he pretty much just plays MMO's, and he started with WoW. He played Warhammer with me for a couple months, as well as Allods Online (free to play game).

To be honest he and his other close friends are weird to talk to games about. I mention id Software or Duke Nukem 3D and they have no idea what I'm talking about. I mention Final Fantasy and it's not even "yea, I started with FF7", it's "I started with FF10, and that's the best one". I don't know if it's that they're all in their early twenties, or that they just never played many games before WoW and MW.

[Xessive]

Are they gaming savants?

[W7RE]

Are they gaming savants?

They're just idiots I guess, typical non gamers that were pulled in by a friend that probably showed them WoW. In WoW they're all clickers and keyboard turners, and in CoD at least the one guy (the one who hated fallout 3) camps in a corner aiming down the sights, hoping for someone to walk in front of him. When they're not playing WoW or CoD, they're watching sports or playing beer pong. I'm really not sure how I ended up with these guys as friends rofl.

[MysterD]

Actually, I probably should have known better. He played ME1 and managed to get through a couple planets of the main story, but then he got bored and quit. I just asked him about it and he says he liked the game, but it had way too much story.

Then normal-style RPG's probably just ain't for him - I do know people who are like that and just don't really want story and long-winded dialogue sequences in their games. They just really like controlling the action and action-orientated stuff.

He might like ME2 over ME1 b/c there's a lack of inventory and its action/combat is a lot more satisfying in comparison to the original. Though, ME2 does have plenty of dialogue and decision-making stuff - and that stuff sounds like it might NOT be up his alley.

If you want to give him some sort of RPG - I'd probably suggest ARPG's. Diablo II is one of the best, when it comes to that genre - and even if he got an old rig, chances are he could probably run it; especially since he runs WOW.

He's spent a lot of time with CoD4 and MW2. He bought Borderlands and Bad Company 2 when they came out. He sold Borderlands as soon as we beat the story, and sold BC2 after about 2 weeks. Other than that he pretty much just plays MMO's, and he started with WoW. He played Warhammer with me for a couple months, as well as Allods Online (free to play game).

Borderlands isn't dialogue-heavy - so I bet that's why he dug that. It's a blast just to play.

To be honest he and his other close friends are weird to talk to games about. I mention id Software or Duke Nukem 3D and they have no idea what I'm talking about. I mention Final Fantasy and it's not even "yea, I started with FF7", it's "I started with FF10, and that's the best one". I don't know if it's that they're all in their early twenties, or that they just never played many games before WoW and MW.

I'm in the "Yeah, I dropped off from FF after I finished FF9" group - hehe.

About DN3D - that's a freaking classic FPS. I bet your friend might like that game - "balls-to-the-wall" non-stop action. Though, if he's anal about the fact it might look very dated graphically - he'd probably be better off looking at DNF, if and when they really comes around - since that looks much-more graphically modern.

[idolminds]

I mention id Software or Duke Nukem 3D and they have no idea what I'm talking about.

The enemy, we have found them.

[MysterD]

The enemy, we have found them.

I'm 1996, DN3D and Quake ruled the PC. Anybody who doesn't know Id Software or 3DRealms - do your homework now. They're the reasons FPS's are so damn popular today.

EDIT:
If only Shadow Warrior would come to GOG...

[W7RE]

I really do want to educate these guys, especially the one who broke the Fallout disc since he's only really into FPS. But he's just got no patience at all. I gave him a .rar file with the nQuake installer, and both of the .PAK files from Quake. I tried to talk him through the extremely simple installation, and he wouldn't even run the executable. I'm not even sure if he unpacked the rar. I think he said, "ok fine I'll installer it later, but I'm not gonna play that old ass game."

BTW, what's the best way to install and run Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior these days?

[idolminds]

EDuke32 is the best engine for playing Duke 3D and I think it supports Shadow Warrior. Or at least there is a fork that does, because I know I played SW updated.

[W7RE]

Oh, apparently I already had DN3D installed with eDuke32, and SW with JFSW (JonoF's Shadow Warrior Port).

[MysterD]

Oh, apparently I already had DN3D installed with eDuke32, and SW with JFSW (JonoF's Shadow Warrior Port).

Sweet! Sounds like you're all set to me.