The Official Fallout 3 thread of post-apocalyptic proportions!

I picked this up Friday afternoon and have already put 10 hours into it.
Holy. Shit. I love. This game.

That being said, I do have a few questions. I'm only at level 6 right now, and just passed 'Following in his Footsteps' (more on that in a bit) - I find myself constantly running low on caps and ammo, having to switch to whatever weapon I have a few bullets for all the time. Is there any way to amass some cash, or will that just come with time? I don't have enough to repair some of my best weapons...

Is the finding the android mission worth my time?
I had some chick in Megaton try to talk me into letting it go and lying to the android's owner in order to spare the droid's life, but she didn't really offer any reason...should I go tell the guy in Rivet City that his android is dead, try to actually find the android, or is it not even worth my time at all?

Also, the achievement for 'Following in his Footsteps' didn't unlock. I think this may be because
I never actually went to the Galaxy Radio plaza - I happened upon some lady at Rivet City who knew about my dad while there for Moira and that advanced the mission. But on my Pip-Boy it still has the 'go to GNR' part checked as if I did it...should I just go there and see what happens?

I also haven't robbed anyone/broken into any houses. Is it worth it?

Aside from that, any tips on what stats I should build / perks I should choose is appreciated. So far I chose the two perks that increase the XP I earn by 20%, the one that gives me 3 extra ability points per level, and got Bloody Mess and something else. I haven't really known so far what abilities to build up aside from ones I've found myself needing (lockpicking, and more agility? so I have more action points). Are any of them just not worth it at all?

Thanks for tips. And goddamn, I love this game - I bought 5 games with my Christmas money and this is the only one I've played so far :lol

EDIT: Oh and when the hell am I going to get new radio stations? I've listened all the way through GNR and Enclave several times already...
 
TheEastonator said:
I picked this up Friday afternoon and have already put 10 hours into it.
Holy. Shit. I love. This game.

That being said, I do have a few questions. I'm only at level 6 right now, and just passed 'Following in his Footsteps' (more on that in a bit) - I find myself constantly running low on caps and ammo, having to switch to whatever weapon I have a few bullets for all the time. Is there any way to amass some cash, or will that just come with time? I don't have enough to repair some of my best weapons...

Is the finding the android mission worth my time?
I had some chick in Megaton try to talk me into letting it go and lying to the android's owner in order to spare the droid's life, but she didn't really offer any reason...should I go tell the guy in Rivet City that his android is dead, try to actually find the android, or is it not even worth my time at all?

Also, the achievement for 'Following in his Footsteps' didn't unlock. I think this may be because
I never actually went to the Galaxy Radio plaza - I happened upon some lady at Rivet City who knew about my dad while there for Moira and that advanced the mission. But on my Pip-Boy it still has the 'go to GNR' part checked as if I did it...should I just go there and see what happens?

I also haven't robbed anyone/broken into any houses. Is it worth it?

Aside from that, any tips on what stats I should build / perks I should choose is appreciated. So far I chose the two perks that increase the XP I earn by 20%, the one that gives me 3 extra ability points per level, and got Bloody Mess and something else. I haven't really known so far what abilities to build up aside from ones I've found myself needing (lockpicking, and more agility? so I have more action points). Are any of them just not worth it at all?

Thanks for tips. And goddamn, I love this game - I bought 5 games with my Christmas money and this is the only one I've played so far :lol

The Swift Learner perk is useless since its so easy to get experience in this game and the level cap is only 20. I've never used Bloody Mess but I'd imagine I'd get tired of it and its not worth using up a perk.
 
Jamesfrom818 said:
The Swift Learner perk is useless since its so easy to get experience in this game and the level cap is only 20. I've never used Bloody Mess but I'd imagine I'd get tired of it and its not worth using up a perk.

It also gives you five percent extra damage on all weapons. Usually its between that and another Int Training
 
Jamesfrom818 said:
The Swift Learner perk is useless since its so easy to get experience in this game and the level cap is only 20.

Yeah, I'd never use that or the "Here and now" perk.
 
No, I haven't read a post of this War and Peace-ish thread.

Is there a gameplay demo of Fallout 3 for PC? I'm curious if Bethesda have finally fired their UI Designer. Oblivion was literally unplayable for me (and Morrowind was borderline), so if they still haven't figured out how to make a PC interface that isn't hopelessly broken, I'll go ahead and skip this one.
 
TheEastonator said:
Is the finding the android mission worth my time?
I had some chick in Megaton try to talk me into letting it go and lying to the android's owner in order to spare the droid's life, but she didn't really offer any reason...should I go tell the guy in Rivet City that his android is dead, try to actually find the android, or is it not even worth my time at all?

Yes, big time... you can get a really nice weapon and a perk that improves your accuracy in VATS if you pimp the quest like I did. Telling Zimmer the android is dead will be a quick way to complete the mission and get the achievement, you will only get a 50 bottlecap reward.

What I did was:

Find Pinkerton in the hull of the ship, this was annoying since I HATE swimming in 3d games and you get such little oxygen.
Talk to him and learn about Harkness being the robot. Then go to Harkness, tell him that he's really a droid by using the reset code Pinkerton gives you. Then tell him you will kill Zimmer, and he will give you a really SWEET plasma rifle, which I used for most of the game. Then go to Zimmer, turn Harkness in, get the VATS reward, but before Zimmer leaves, kill him and his bodyguard.
 
Bulla564 said:
To reveal everything on the map, press ~ to open up the console, and just type tmm 1.

If that's what you mean, that should do the trick.

Anyone know how to open the console if I am playing on a 360 pad?
 
TheEastonator said:
I picked this up Friday afternoon and have already put 10 hours into it.
Holy. Shit. I love. This game.

That being said, I do have a few questions. I'm only at level 6 right now, and just passed 'Following in his Footsteps' (more on that in a bit) - I find myself constantly running low on caps and ammo, having to switch to whatever weapon I have a few bullets for all the time. Is there any way to amass some cash, or will that just come with time? I don't have enough to repair some of my best weapons...

Is the finding the android mission worth my time?
I had some chick in Megaton try to talk me into letting it go and lying to the android's owner in order to spare the droid's life, but she didn't really offer any reason...should I go tell the guy in Rivet City that his android is dead, try to actually find the android, or is it not even worth my time at all?

Also, the achievement for 'Following in his Footsteps' didn't unlock. I think this may be because
I never actually went to the Galaxy Radio plaza - I happened upon some lady at Rivet City who knew about my dad while there for Moira and that advanced the mission. But on my Pip-Boy it still has the 'go to GNR' part checked as if I did it...should I just go there and see what happens?

I also haven't robbed anyone/broken into any houses. Is it worth it?

Aside from that, any tips on what stats I should build / perks I should choose is appreciated. So far I chose the two perks that increase the XP I earn by 20%, the one that gives me 3 extra ability points per level, and got Bloody Mess and something else. I haven't really known so far what abilities to build up aside from ones I've found myself needing (lockpicking, and more agility? so I have more action points). Are any of them just not worth it at all?

Thanks for tips. And goddamn, I love this game - I bought 5 games with my Christmas money and this is the only one I've played so far :lol

EDIT: Oh and when the hell am I going to get new radio stations? I've listened all the way through GNR and Enclave several times already...

Android mission is worth it, listen to DJtiesto's tips to the letter.

Learn to melee well during your early levels, you'll build up a nice cache of ammo for later.

You should probably restart if you picked the experience boost perks; they're arguably the most worthless in the game.

Check this for perk advice http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/918428/54828

You can still finish up follow in his footsteps even after you've hit Rivet City. Go to GNR.
 
I hate myself for getting the Swift Learner perk.

If I had known the leveling would be so quick in this game when I first got it I would not have picked that perk. Big waste of a perk.

On another note, Fallout 3 = Jesus. What a crazy fun game.
 
I finished Fallout 3 today. I did all the quests and logged around 65 hours. Retrospectively, I think doing all the quests in the first playthrough was a mistake. The first 30 hours everything was wonderful, but after that, every metro station, depot, office building, shack or hill started to look exactly the same.

Since I reached level 20 after finishing half of the quests, the rest of the game lost most of its freshness. Every time I killed a mutant, or finished a quest, I felt like I wasn't gaining anything. I really believe that the level cap was a mistake. There's probably some good sound reason behind it, but they should have tailored the game to permit more character growth.

I wonder if it wouldn't be better to make a smaller world, but one with more unique elements. As I say, after a while, everything started to look the same.
 
About to start this, two quick questions:

1. Is there anything in particular i should know before starting? For example, in other PC RPG's along these lines, putting stats into intelligence was useful and gave extra conversation options.

2. Is buying the strategy guide worth it?

thx
 
aries_71 said:
I wonder if it wouldn't be better to make a smaller world, but one with more unique elements. As I say, after a while, everything started to look the same.


Well in a way it makes sense since it takes place within a relatively small county wide area, it's not like you could have jungles on one side of the map and ice mountains or something on the other. This is meant to be a representation of the actual DC area.
 
quick question, pretty sure I know the answer though, I'm overencumbered and would like to keep all the stuff I have. In Rivet City, was there a guy who said he would store equipment for me? I vaguely remember it, or maybe it was in another place? I'm about 6 hours in or so. and I can leave equipment in things in a dungeon somewhere and if I leave and come back it will still be there, right?
 
dralla said:
quick question, pretty sure I know the answer though, I'm overencumbered and would like to keep all the stuff I have. In Rivet City, was there a guy who said he would store equipment for me? I vaguely remember it, or maybe it was in another place? I'm about 6 hours in or so. and I can leave equipment in things in a dungeon somewhere and if I leave and come back it will still be there, right?

I would say if you want to keep you equipment if you haven't destroyed Megaton do disarm the bomb for them. You will get your own apartment there and then you can store as much stuff as you need there.
 
Im pretty sure I've heard Fallout has a point of no return before the finale. Can someone let me know when this part is with as few spoilers as possible?
 
Scarecrow said:
Im pretty sure I've heard Fallout has a point of no return before the finale. Can someone let me know when this part is with as few spoilers as possible?
I did the rest of the game after
raven rock
. That's about as close as you're gonna get I think, maybe a bit later.
 
Scarecrow said:
Im pretty sure I've heard Fallout has a point of no return before the finale. Can someone let me know when this part is with as few spoilers as possible?

When you go the Citadel and talk to Sentinel Lyons, she will give you the option to go "get ready for battle." At that point you can still go around the world and do whatever you want. The point of no return is when you return to her and tell her you're ready.

I don't think there are any real spoilers there.
 
SuperEnemyCrab said:
Well in a way it makes sense since it takes place within a relatively small county wide area, it's not like you could have jungles on one side of the map and ice mountains or something on the other. This is meant to be a representation of the actual DC area.

Well, I was not thinking about making a smaller area with different environments (snow, jungle, etc.). I was really think of having a smaller area with different textures for the current environment. That is: having different textures and shapes for doors, windows, ceilings, posters, cars, enemies.

After 20 hours of gameplay you start to realize that everything is the same. All vaults are the same. All office building are the same. All depots are the same. All car wrecks are the same...

Maybe, a tighter, smaller game, but with less repeating artifacts and textures could have been better.
 
commish said:
About to start this, two quick questions:

1. Is there anything in particular i should know before starting? For example, in other PC RPG's along these lines, putting stats into intelligence was useful and gave extra conversation options.

2. Is buying the strategy guide worth it?

thx

Buying the guide is fully recommended. I have the hardcover version(cheap on amazon), and it's amazing. My Mass Effect guide looks worn out, but I've used the F3 guide more and it still looks brand new. Props to the prima guide guys for deciding to hardcover it. Hopefully they'll hardcover future editions of major games.

But in terms of content, it's very much worth it. You get stats on building weapons, wep/armor stats, karma breakdowns, perk/xp/skills breakdowns, recommended builds, maps of everything well organized, all bobblehead/skillbook locations, etc.. On quests they point out multiple ways of doing things as you progress, giving you choices in what karma and outcome you would really like. for the parts that it barely covers though, the fallout wiki is great, but nothing beats having the book next to you and quickly skimming to the part that you want. For long games like this, especially exploration based, i would recommend it.
 
Wow I just fucked a lot of shit up. First, Moriarty never appeared again, much like Walter, I guess he got bugged too. Then I was at Rivet city and got some new stuff about my dad, which finished "Following in his Footsteps" with no achievement, skipped the entire "Galaxy News Radio" quest, obviously no acheivement, and I am now on "Scientific Pursuits".

In addition to that, on "The Replicated Man", I decided to give Dr. Zimmer. that part and say the android was dead, for which I got a measly 50 caps. Look at a FAQ I see that wasn't worth it at all. I couldv'e gotten a kickass plasma rifle or a 10% increase in VATS accuracy. :( Damn.
 
NameGenerated said:
Wow I just fucked a lot of shit up. First, Moriarty never appeared again, much like Walter, I guess he got bugged too. Then I was at Rivet city and got some new stuff about my dad, which finished "Following in his Footsteps" with no achievement, skipped the entire "Galaxy News Radio" quest, obviously no acheivement, and I am now on "Scientific Pursuits".

In addition to that, on "The Replicated Man", I decided to give Dr. Zimmer. that part and say the android was dead, for which I got a measly 50 caps. Look at a FAQ I see that wasn't worth it at all. I couldv'e gotten a kickass plasma rifle or a 10% increase in VATS accuracy. :( Damn.

You can still do Galaxy News if you go back and find Three Dog. I actually got the Following achievement after Rivet City just by talking to him.

:D
 
God I hate that they used the same shitty save system as morrowind and oblivion. Every character you make should have its own unique profile like in Mass Effect, not have all the saves clumped together

Overwrote my best save by accident :/
 
Dosia said:
Is making barter one of your tag skills wise or a waste?

waste. At some point of the game you'll be really rich and nothing to spend money on, it'll be useless at that point. You can increase it normally through leveling to a full 100 points, so I would recommend to build it up later. I had a low barter rating and still had lots of money and weapons, so yeah, something else would be better.

In the beginning with my low barter rating, an item with a 1 cap buy value I could sell for .5.
With a 100 barter, i'm able to sell that item for .9, for almost the full value.

But .5 was fine. you accumulate so much stuff that you'll be selling and repairing left and right. by the time i had a 100 barter, i already had everything there was to buy without really trying.
 
Two questions:
-I keep giving my fresh water to some homeless dude outside of Megaton. Does this lead to something, or is it just a way to pump up good karma?

-I reset the dish so GNR is fixed. 3Dog gave me a not saying there's coordinates to a weapon cache, and the note says it's in Hamilton's Hidaway, but I can't find it. I also can't find any other marker on my map that says 'weapon cache'. Where is it?
 
Coverly said:
waste. At some point of the game you'll be really rich and nothing to spend money on, it'll be useless at that point. You can increase it normally through leveling to a full 100 points, so I would recommend to build it up later. I had a low barter rating and still had lots of money and weapons, so yeah, something else would be better.

In the beginning with my low barter rating, an item with a 1 cap buy value I could sell for .5.
With a 100 barter, i'm able to sell that item for .9, for almost the full value.

But .5 was fine. you accumulate so much stuff that you'll be selling and repairing left and right. by the time i had a 100 barter, i already had everything there was to buy without really trying.

So would energy weapons, science, and repair be a good start?
 
Coverly said:
Buying the guide is fully recommended. I have the hardcover version(cheap on amazon), and it's amazing. My Mass Effect guide looks worn out, but I've used the F3 guide more and it still looks brand new. Props to the prima guide guys for deciding to hardcover it. Hopefully they'll hardcover future editions of major games.

But in terms of content, it's very much worth it. You get stats on building weapons, wep/armor stats, karma breakdowns, perk/xp/skills breakdowns, recommended builds, maps of everything well organized, all bobblehead/skillbook locations, etc.. On quests they point out multiple ways of doing things as you progress, giving you choices in what karma and outcome you would really like. for the parts that it barely covers though, the fallout wiki is great, but nothing beats having the book next to you and quickly skimming to the part that you want. For long games like this, especially exploration based, i would recommend it.

Thx for the comments
 
Scarecrow said:
Two questions:
-I keep giving my fresh water to some homeless dude outside of Megaton. Does this lead to something, or is it just a way to pump up good karma?
From what I can tell, yes, just good karma.
 
Dosia said:
So would energy weapons, science, and repair be a good start?

Repair would be best, science would be 2nd, energy weps you can build up unless you want to use energy weapons from the start.

The better repair you have, the better your weapon is and the less you depend on npcs to fix them. You want to build this up fast because it benefits all armor and weapons. Don't max it though. Once you put around 80-85 points in it, stop. bobbleheads + skill books will bring that up to a 100, saving you skill points.

Science is good to hack computers but your need varies. i've found lockpick more useful because of the loot. I would say stop at 75 for science so you could unlock most of the computers out there. keep science at 50+ at least.

Energy weapons is good but small guns is better. regular guns are found more often and it's better to specialize in one in the beginning and then build your stats for the others. I started out with small guns but i've almost maxed my energy weapons and heavy guns now so you can max them out no problem. I haven't used them much but energy weapons also have a chance to pulverize your enemy, i don't know if it diminishes your loot or not, but i've read that it does.

If you guys have pure water save them. Those npcs will keep asking for water forever, it's a karma sink. Save it for the special times, like if you're really evil and you need to be good for some reason. 15 waters to the homeless will do it. There is a random instance where there is a special npc not near a town that requests for water only once, so for that person, you should give one.
 
Scarecrow said:
Two questions:
-I keep giving my fresh water to some homeless dude outside of Megaton. Does this lead to something, or is it just a way to pump up good karma?

-I reset the dish so GNR is fixed. 3Dog gave me a not saying there's coordinates to a weapon cache, and the note says it's in Hamilton's Hidaway, but I can't find it. I also can't find any other marker on my map that says 'weapon cache'. Where is it?
1- Those guys are there to bump up your good karma, they may have had another purpose but for now they just give good karma or die if you give them Dirty Water.

2 - Hamilton's Hideaway is close to
Arefu
, you'll need to search around the pool/lake underneath. It's close to the
jetty with the skeleton at the end of it
, fishing apparently. There's a
clump of rocks and it's in there
it should appear on the pipboy when you're close enough.
 
Davidion said:
Android mission is worth it, listen to DJtiesto's tips to the letter.

Learn to melee well during your early levels, you'll build up a nice cache of ammo for later.

You should probably restart if you picked the experience boost perks; they're arguably the most worthless in the game.

Check this for perk advice http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/918428/54828

You can still finish up follow in his footsteps even after you've hit Rivet City. Go to GNR.
Thanks for the tips (and the instructions, DJtiesto). Oh well - I'm not going to restart at this point, I'll just pick less useless perks for the rest of my levels.

So which ability governs action points?
And where can I go to get some good armor?
 
EdwardTivrusky said:
1- Those guys are there to bump up your good karma, they may have had another purpose but for now they just give good karma or die if you give them Dirty Water.

2 - Hamilton's Hideaway is close to
Arefu
, you'll need to search around the pool/lake underneath. It's close to the
jetty with the skeleton at the end of it
, fishing apparently. There's a
clump of rocks and it's in there
it should appear on the pipboy when you're close enough.
Oh, yeah. I had searched HH, but I couldn't find anything. So I'm looking for some kind of pool? I don't remember any water in there, just a buch of narrow hallways of rock.
 
TheEastonator said:
Thanks for the tips (and the instructions, DJtiesto). Oh well - I'm not going to restart at this point, I'll just pick less useless perks for the rest of my levels.

So which ability governs action points?
And where can I go to get some good armor?
Action Points are governed by Agility according to the wiki.

The best Non-Power Armour can be gained by doing the
Reilly's Rangers
quest. Go and have a look around the doctor's place in
Underworld
or go for a wander around the
National Archives
area and you may pick up a radio signal.

Scarecrow, those were just directions to help you find HH. Once inside do you remember a locked cagedoor? That's where the key is for :)
 
EdwardTivrusky said:
Action Points are governed by Agility according to the wiki.

The best Non-Power Armour can be gained by doing the
Reilly's Rangers
quest. Go and have a look around the doctor's place in
Underworld
or go for a wander around the
National Archives
area and you may pick up a radio signal.

Yeah that quest was awesome, but I found it way way too easy. Hell the only challenge I get get now are those freaking death claws. Man those things are fucking savage, oh and Super Mutant Behemoths but it seems I have kill all of them now 5.
 
EdwardTivrusky said:
Action Points are governed by Agility according to the wiki.

The best Non-Power Armour can be gained by doing the
Reilly's Rangers
quest. Go and have a look around the doctor's place in
Underworld
or go for a wander around the
National Archives
area and you may pick up a radio signal.

Scarecrow, those were just directions to help you find HH. Once inside do you remember a locked cagedoor? That's where the key is for :)
What's power armor?
Maybe I should've read the manual...
 
Is there a good place to level up at the very beginning of the game? I am level 2 and all I come across is the mole rats and dogs every now and then. Played for an hour and a half and still didn't reach level 3...
 
Dosia said:
Is there a good place to level up at the very beginning of the game? I am level 2 and all I come across is the mole rats and dogs every now and then. Played for an hour and a half and still didn't reach level 3...

I usually go to the Springvale School and Super Duper Mart right away.
 
Dosia said:
Is there a good place to level up at the very beginning of the game? I am level 2 and all I come across is the mole rats and dogs every now and then. Played for an hour and a half and still didn't reach level 3...

If megaton is still intact for you, do Moria's survival guide quest. she's in the supply store. she'll give you a couple of quests, tell you were to go, and those places are good for xp, loot, and she'll give you rewards too. Do the optional sections of her quests for stat boosts in the end.
 
Am I doing something wrong; I am 40 hours into the game but still find myself dying a lot. I am off of the main quest and am trying to do side quests, but my equipment is constantly running down, I never have enough money, and the sidequests are killing me. I should have upgraded my repair skill early on, it is money-sink. Other than that, though, I feel like my character should be more powerful at this point. I hate wandering on my way to a new quest only to get killed and realizing I haven't saved in 40 minutes. >_<
 
lawblob said:
Am I doing something wrong; I am 40 hours into the game but still find myself dying a lot. I am off of the main quest and am trying to do side quests, but my equipment is constantly running down, I never have enough money, and the sidequests are killing me. I should have upgraded my repair skill early on, it is money-sink. Other than that, though, I feel like my character should be more powerful at this point. I hate wandering on my way to a new quest only to get killed and realizing I haven't saved in 40 minutes. >_<
I turned it down to easy. Made it much more enjoyable for me, although it's really easy :lol
 
This might seem weird, as I know very little about this game, but I think I want to get it. However, I have one question. I'm not a very big fan of the whole first person perspective, but I've seen screens and videos of characters running in third person.

How does this work? Can you play the whole game, fighting and all, in third person?
 
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