Fallout 3 - I have just discovered Fallout 3

[ArlEammon]

Well. Skyrim looks a lot weirder now.

This is Skyrim/America.

[Sharoth]

Welcome to the Captial Wasteland. Enjoy your stay.

[Krug]

Don't feed the yao guai

[Balmas]

It is an excellent game. May I point you to our General Fallout discussion thread? And if you'll allow a non-zero amount of vanity, I'll link my Fallout 3 let's play.

[Winthur]

1 and 2 are better

[dirtytricks]

Don't feed the yao guai

Sage advise, but who are we kidding. We all fed 'em at some point or another. Have fun man, its a gem

People of the playground, suggest what mods for him to use. (If its on a PC that is, I'd do it but.... I'm on PlayStation.... *sigh*

[Alex Knight]

Fallout Wanderer's Edition and Mart's Mutant Mod are both interesting.

Although I coulda done without the Fallen Brother and the Browning Automatic Rifle outside the Super-Duper Mart.

[Kesnit]

Mods I use
Unofficial Patch: Self-explanatory.

Portable Storage System: Allows you to open up to (I believe) 6 storage units from your Pip-Boy. Makes wandering the Wasteland easier (especially when you're crawling through a Metro tunnel).

Dragonskin Tactical Outfit: OK, I admit, I use it because I think it looks cool.

MME Save-a-Tron: Automatically creates saves of your game on a regular basis. You can set how often it saves.

More Map Markers: Exactly what it says. Adds more markers to your map for fast travel. You still have to find the location, though.

Alternate Mysterious Strangers for Child Characters: Re-textures the Mysterious Stranger to appear as your choice of a number of child-themed figures. I used the Teddy Bear.

Dynamic Crosshair: CHanges size to represent accuracy of your equipped gun.

EVE: Adds a lot of dynamic effects to energy weapons.

Glowing items: Changes the color of collectables to make them a lot easier to see.

5X Faster Waiting: Self-explanatory.

Hacking Terminals is Easier: Three different options to simplify the computer hacking mini-game. (1. Terminals will show 5-8 words possibilities instead 5-20 in original game.2. Only 5 words possibilities. 3. Only 1 word possibilities). You still have to have the Science skill to start the hack.

Ultimate Perk Pack: Adds more perks.

MME Relentless Warrior: Gives bonuses to combat skills are you use them. (i.e. more damage with Guns as you make kills with Guns)


I left off the quest-type mods I have.

[ArlEammon]

I downloaded the patch. ^_^

Time will tell if it works.

[Mando Knight]

Hacking Terminals is Easier: Three different options to simplify the computer hacking mini-game. (1. Terminals will show 5-8 words possibilities instead 5-20 in original game.2. Only 5 words possibilities. 3. Only 1 word possibilities). You still have to have the Science skill to start the hack.

I find that this is wholly unnecessary. Terminals get easier to hack as your Science improves (fewer and more discrete given solutions), there's built-in hints if you look for them, you can retry indefinitely, and the minigame is pretty easy when you get the hang of it (oddly, it seems to tend to have passwords related to the terminal's function?).

[Gnome Alone]

Well. Skyrim looks a lot weirder now.

This is Skyrim/America.

Once my friend/roommate/coworker (god, my life is weird) told me something to the effect that Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas can basically be thought of as: "Fallout: Middle Earth" and "Elder Scrolls: Detroit."

[Avilan the Grey]

1 and 2 are better

Actually I used to think that, until I started playing FO1 again and realized I can't stand the game play. The interface is HORRIBLE, the slowness of play is annoying...
(Oddly enough I have NO problem replaying BG (EE). I am halfway through that game now and I really enjoy it).

[Winthur]

Actually I used to think that, until I started playing FO1 again and realized I can't stand the game play. The interface is HORRIBLE, the slowness of play is annoying...

The interface is something you get used to. When I replay Fallout I know where everything is and I never have that problem. Shortcuts help - I for Inventory, 2->LPM for Lockpick, 3->LPM for Steal (with '1' as Sneak beforehand). I also crank up the game speed to the max and turn on always run. Plays smoothly with hiccups being occassional. It also doesn't crash on me, has a better storyline and makes more sense.

With that 'tude you'd be unable to play Wasteland, homie.

[Avilan the Grey]

With that 'tude you'd be unable to play Wasteland, homie.

Never played the first one...

[Mordokai]

The interface is something you get used to. When I replay Fallout I know where everything is and I never have that problem. Shortcuts help - I for Inventory, 2->LPM for Lockpick, 3->LPM for Steal (with '1' as Sneak beforehand). I also crank up the game speed to the max and turn on always run. Plays smoothly with hiccups being occassional. It also doesn't crash on me, has a better storyline and makes more sense.

With that 'tude you'd be unable to play Wasteland, homie.

Heh, this topic got me to re-install the first game, just yesterday. Should be fun.

Now I'm wondering. I've finished the game, once, long ago. I took a pregen, the tough guy, Max Stone? And it wasn't really hard and rather amusing game, I admit. But I'd like something different this time. You seem to have some experience. If I'm to generate my own character, how viable would a charisma/dexterity build be? A smooth talker that's also a reasonably good shot? Perhaps with some points in intelligence, but not too good on brawny side.

Or would that be too hard? I imagine I'd be having some problems, at least right after getting out of the Vault.

[Winthur]

Heh, this topic got me to re-install the first game, just yesterday. Should be fun.

Now I'm wondering. I've finished the game, once, long ago. I took a pregen, the tough guy, Max Stone? And it wasn't really hard and rather amusing game, I admit. But I'd like something different this time. You seem to have some experience. If I'm to generate my own character, how viable would a charisma/dexterity build be? A smooth talker that's also a reasonably good shot? Perhaps with some points in intelligence, but not too good on brawny side.

Or would that be too hard? I imagine I'd be having some problems, at least right after getting out of the Vault.

Well, with that concept, you just accidentally stumbled into the best build in the game that can do pretty much 100% of Fallout content in both the original games while having the ability to ace every combat encounter - the Diplosniper.
There are no problems - you start Fallout 1 with a gun, for which ammo is quite common, and soon you progress towards shotguns and light submachine guns, and then, as you level up, you can start cross-investing skill points into a late game weapon (FO1 is dominated by Energy Weapons).
Tag Small Guns and Speech (Lockpick would be my third tag but it doesn't matter what you pick as your third, it's up to you, just don't get something like Throwing or First Aid I guess) and have Intelligence equal to 7 at least. It is the number that unlocks most of the "smart" quest resolutions. Prioritize Agility for Action Points. For more intricate details about what's good and what isn't here's the spoiler tag (in case you don't want to minmax, don't open it - the guidelines I posted up to this point are enough for you).

Friendly tip: Having 100% in a gun proficiency doesn't necessarily mean highest chance to hit. Having 95% in Small Guns, for instance translates to "being able to hit an unarmored person almost point blank 95% of the time". If you want to be able to snipe from afar, hit specific body parts (eyes for massive damage, legs/groin for immobilization etc), take on armored enemies, shoot better in the dark, etc. then you'd do well with around 110-130% in a chosen gun skill at least. This doesn't translate to non-combat skills - most of them are perfectly okay around 100% but there are a few exceptions. To be safe, I'd get Speech to around 121%-130% by the final area, or so, if you want to make Speech your primary schtick.

Spoiler

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Gifted is by far the best trait in the game because 7 additional SPECIAL points outstrip the lost skill points because there are books on the wasteland. For the other trait choice, there's a few:
-Small Frame (a free Agility point, which is perhaps the most important combat stat, at a meager cost - your followers, should you choose to have any, have infinite carrying capacity in FO1 due to a bit of a loophole/bug, and in FO2, you have a car.)
-Finesse (more crits, which you will be going for)
-Fast Shot is a good trait if you prefer burst weapons but our diplosniper will probably want to aim people to score more crits, especially since this is FO1 and the ultimate Sniper perk is hardly obtainable. Big Guns users and martial artists (only in FO1) want this one.
Basically, pick anything that's not Bruiser for your second trait - doesn't really matter what, but Small Frame and Finesse would be the most optimal.

Strength can stay at 5 or be bumped to 6. You don't need a lot of it because the Power Armor bumps this up heavily.
Perception - from 6 to 8. Perception affects your shooting capability at range (basically, if you shoot from afar, the distance modifier is reduced by Perception. The math on all this is complex but this is one tidbit I remember).
Endurance - I've once beaten this game with a character with Endurance 3. Having hit points is, however, a good thing - it takes heat off of you. Note that taking Buffout (and thus increasing Endurance) doesn't give you "temporary HP" like you'd think it would. 5-6 points is a good level.
Charisma - in FO1, this is a dump stat. It affects very little, you can even say it doesn't affect anything - the designers kinda dropped the bomb here. If your Speech is high enough (like, around 130%), your Charisma is rendered irrelevant. You don't need it for Bartering either because, like in every RPG, you will soon have more money than you'll know what to do with. Also, Charisma, unlike in FO2, doesn't affect how many followers you can take. So, only use Charisma for flavor purposes. You can drop it to 1 (or 2 with Gifted) without batting an eye.
Intelligence - as I said, you want this to be equal or above 7. More skill points is good, and >=7 unlocks pretty much all the content you'd ever want.
Agility - This can easily go to 10. Anywhere from 8 upwards is good. It's all about Action Points, baby.
Luck - depending on taste this can be a dumpstat or not. For a sniper I like to have 5-6 points here. FO1 lets you have a free point in Luck, two free points if you utilize a loophole, if you want to play around that. Luck equal to 6 or higher lets you get a few cool perks like Toughness and Better Criticals. Luck equal to 9 or higher makes you Gladstone Gander. Luck also affects how easy it is for you to find Special Random Encounters.

We tagged Small Guns because this is what we will be using for majority of the game, Lockpick because it's not easily raisable and it yields good rewards, and Speech because we want to be a diplomat. As we progress we will want to quit skill points on Small Guns after a while in favor of Energy Weapons to get our hands on that sweet Turbo Plasma Rifle.

Skills that are unnecessary duds and you should never worry about them:
Throwing, First Aid, Traps, Barter, Gambling.

[Mordokai]

That's been very helpful, thanks for all the info. It has been long since I played(what, ten years, maybe more), so these tips are really helpful.

I'll resist from looking into spoiler and hope I don't screw the build too much.

One more question. How much does gender play into everything? I seem to remember there were rumors on saying it plays some difference, but I'm interested in knowing just how much.

[Mx.Silver]

1 and 2 are better

As is New Vegas, but if the guy's enjoying 3 then more power to him.

[Winthur]

One more question. How much does gender play into everything? I seem to remember there were rumors on saying it plays some difference, but I'm interested in knowing just how much.

In Fallout? It's negligible.
Males can have sex with two female NPCs (Junktown and Hub; the latter encounter is rather cryptic (only shows up if you have the proper stats for it and talk to the right person who isn't labeled and doesn't stand out much) and both yield little to no benefit, so it's all just flavor, really).

So, in general, it doesn't matter what you pick. The situation in FO2 has a few more gender-specific things, but still not much to write home about. Pick whatever gender, it doesn't make a difference.

EDIT: The above is, of course, side-quest/content wise. People react to you a little differently overall depending on gender. I believe there's one case in FO1 where a female gets thrown a Charisma check when haggling for a piece of quest-related equipment but my memory is blanking on that.

[Kesnit]

I played FO3 and NV on the 360 before getting them on the PC. I got my fill of the blasted hacking mini-game there.

I find that this is wholly unnecessary. Terminals get easier to hack as your Science improves (fewer and more discrete given solutions),

But you have to get your Science up. When I first got NV on the PC, I thought there was a glitch because when I went to hack the console in the Goodsprings Schoolhouse, I got (I think) 7 letter passwords. I was used to having 3-5 letter ones for "Easy" terminals (from having a high Science on my console characters).

you can retry indefinitely,

Yes, you can. But it gets tiring after a while.


I just don't find the hacking mini-game fun. I play video games to have fun, and when something isn't fun (and it is easy to get rid of), I'd rather get rid of it than get frustrated.

[DigoDragon]

I only recently began FO3 as well. Didn't get far, but that's okay because as I stood inside Megaton, I was thinking "You know, I made a bunch of fun followers for Skyrim, I should do that here as well."

So yeah, I got the GECK and have begun the process.
Wandering a sandboxy world is more fun with a screwy AI friend.

[Triaxx]

Have you learned the open/close partheneses/brackets/squiggly things trick? That makes hacking a lot easier.

Fallout 3 is a great game. I prefer NV because I like the cowboy/western feeling better than the city-dweller survivalist feeling of 3. Which doesn't stop it from being an awesome game.

Never could get into 1 either, but 2 was amazing.

[GungHo]

The interface is something you get used to. When I replay Fallout I know where everything is and I never have that problem. Shortcuts help - I for Inventory, 2->LPM for Lockpick, 3->LPM for Steal (with '1' as Sneak beforehand). I also crank up the game speed to the max and turn on always run. Plays smoothly with hiccups being occassional. It also doesn't crash on me, has a better storyline and makes more sense.

With that 'tude you'd be unable to play Wasteland, homie.

My only regret about FO1, FO2, & Tactics is that they never adapted SPECIAL into a proper fantasy game.

[BladeofObliviom]

My only regret about FO1, FO2, & Tactics is that they never adapted SPECIAL into a proper fantasy game.

Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader

It may be kind of a "meh" fantasy game, but hey.

[Winthur]

Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader

It may be kind of a "meh" fantasy game, but hey.

It's actually only "meh" before you get out of Barcelona.

Then it becomes utter crap.

[Eldan]

It's actually only "meh" before you get out of Barcelona.

Then it becomes utter crap.

Yuuup. Barcelona was actually kind of interesting. But later in the game, at least on my character, a lot of the progress went "One combat, go to the toilet, get the newspaper, water the plants until mana is restored, next combat" and not much interesting was actually happening.

[ArlEammon]

Can you tell someone immune to radiation to turn on the water purifier for you?

[Winthur]

Can you tell someone immune to radiation to turn on the water purifier for you?

With the Broken Steel DLC, yes, though the way it's handled leaves a lot to be desired.

Spoiler

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I'm irked by how the narrator chews you out for doing a logical, rational thing and not wanting to be a stupid martyr hero.

[Triaxx]

I always get this image of Marcus stood there buffing his nails until everyone else has succumbed to radiation, then hauling the bodies out to the Brotherhood. Because seriously, when I come to, he's standing there beside me.

[DigoDragon]

Have you learned the open/close partheneses/brackets/squiggly things trick? That makes hacking a lot easier.

The what now? I'm going to say... no.