Fallout 3 on the PC...

[MinionZombie]

I'm thinking of getting Fallout 3 on the PC, rather than the 360 (a few reasons, can't be arsed to explain), but I've read numerous reviews which bark and moan about a variety of problems - freezing, poor optimisation, save game breaks etc.

Was wondering if any of you fine folks here knew about any of this apparently kerfuffle with Fallout 3 on the PC...

[ProfessorChaos]

just wait a few months and get the GOTY edition on the 360....i think it's gonna have all 5 DLC's included.

[EvilNed]

First off: No, never had any serious problems with Fallout 3 on the PC. If you machine can handle it, then by all means of course YES!

Second off: Agreed with the Professor. Wait for the GOTY. You'll get all the extra stuff thrown in.

[MinionZombie]

Hmmm ... GOTY edition ... sounds like a smart plan.

Perhaps I'll get Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway for the PC (it's only a fiver now) - the main reason, aside from needing something to play right now (due to the vast void of nothingness until the onslaught of Xbox360 games come September/October/November - I've got FOUR pre-ordered for cripe's sake) ...

...but also because I wanted to see about my few-months-old rig, my monster Quad Core, you see when I first got it, it would crash within 5 minutes of loading up Crysis every time, and it would crash (i.e. the whole computer would just freeze, so I'd have to turn it all off by holding down the power button) also when playing STALKER: Clear Sky.

I wanted to test the rig out again with a new game to see if it's still giving me that problem - you see I had the guy who built it take another look at it and it's far improved compared to when I first got it - but I still get the odd freeze-up, usually at some point within every 5 to 10 hours of gaming.

No idea why - clearly whatever he did to it mostly fixed the problem, or rather made it far less frequent and far less certain - but I still get the odd freeze-up (I had one or two while playing Crysis again in February, but since then I've not played any games on it - I've been too busy using the rig to edit an educational DVD, and never had any more freeze-ups until the other day when I had a freeze-up using Sony Vegas to render out a piece of video).

So - put simply - with this current project getting close to completion, and with sod-all games to play right now until October time, I wanted to see if it was still freezing-up so I could then get back in contact and get the computer back in the shop before my year's warranty runs out.

Hence - looking for a game to play, but was worried about Fallout 3 in case the game's stability could confuse itself with my computer's possible problem.

By the way - if anyone has any ideas regarding my computer's problem, do chime in.

...

So, with waiting for the GOTY edition (wise advice lads), perhaps Hell's Highway is an idea as it's only a fiver on PC.

[Tricky]

Go for the PC version chief, it will look better than the 360 & you'll be far more privy to mods,patches,add on packs etc :)
As for brothers in arms hells highway, i bought it with high hopes it would be as good as the first one which was awesome,and in places it is, but a lot of it is pretty linear with blatantly obvious scripts & triggers, and the plot has gone far too over the top & sentimental with all the "i never wanted to be a squad leader" "war is terrible" stuff, while at the same time glorifying it by showing slow-mo close ups of germans heads coming apart when you snipe them,or slow-mo limbs & entrails flying all over when you hit a bunker with a bazooka or grenade :rolleyes:
Also the ghosts of characters killed in the previous games keep showing up in the middle of firefights, I think its meant to be the main character suffering from PTSD, but it just seems a bit weird in a brothers in arms game when the original game set about being a historically accurate portrayal of D.Day & did it well! By all means get it for a fiver & enjoy having a blast, but dont expect the goodness from the first one.
As for your PC crashing, i'm not sure!i'd be inclined to remove all the drivers for your hardware & do a fresh install of all the latest ones, and even a clean install of windows if its not a driver/hardware issue.
What video card do you have? If its an Nvidia one, the 190.38 drivers have been leaked ahead of release, they're only supposed to work with the very latest Nvidia cards, but this site has tweaked them to boost performance on all their cards which is good news for me & my 8800GTX, a lot of people on the ArmA 2 forums are swearing by them for that hardware eating monster of a game!
http://www.guru3d.com/news/geforce-forceware-19015-win-7--vista--xp/

[krakenslayer]

Hmmm ... GOTY edition ... sounds like a smart plan.

Perhaps I'll get Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway for the PC (it's only a fiver now) - the main reason, aside from needing something to play right now (due to the vast void of nothingness until the onslaught of Xbox360 games come September/October/November - I've got FOUR pre-ordered for cripe's sake) ...

...but also because I wanted to see about my few-months-old rig, my monster Quad Core, you see when I first got it, it would crash within 5 minutes of loading up Crysis every time, and it would crash (i.e. the whole computer would just freeze, so I'd have to turn it all off by holding down the power button) also when playing STALKER: Clear Sky.

I wanted to test the rig out again with a new game to see if it's still giving me that problem - you see I had the guy who built it take another look at it and it's far improved compared to when I first got it - but I still get the odd freeze-up, usually at some point within every 5 to 10 hours of gaming.

No idea why - clearly whatever he did to it mostly fixed the problem, or rather made it far less frequent and far less certain - but I still get the odd freeze-up (I had one or two while playing Crysis again in February, but since then I've not played any games on it - I've been too busy using the rig to edit an educational DVD, and never had any more freeze-ups until the other day when I had a freeze-up using Sony Vegas to render out a piece of video).

So - put simply - with this current project getting close to completion, and with sod-all games to play right now until October time, I wanted to see if it was still freezing-up so I could then get back in contact and get the computer back in the shop before my year's warranty runs out.

Hence - looking for a game to play, but was worried about Fallout 3 in case the game's stability could confuse itself with my computer's possible problem.

By the way - if anyone has any ideas regarding my computer's problem, do chime in.

...

So, with waiting for the GOTY edition (wise advice lads), perhaps Hell's Highway is an idea as it's only a fiver on PC.

Honestly mate, if you're only getting one lock-up for every 5-10 hours of gaming, then, in my experience, you're doing better than about 99% of PC owners. I only really play Fallout 3 and Burnout Paradise these days, but in both games I'm lucky to get two hours straight without some kind of crash to desktop or whatever. The only solution I can find is to save often. I'm used to it though, it doesn't really bother me.

By the way - ten straight hours of gaming? Dude, I'm jealous, you must have a lot of time on your hands! :D

[EvilNed]

I couldn't even finish Clear Sky because A) it was too buggy and B) it was too damn hard. It's super hard, compared to STALKER.

[MinionZombie]

Ned - I played Clear Sky with a trainer on, so I had God Mode etc, that's the only way I'd play it. Even playing it I saw how insanely hard it was even on the easiest setting - the constant onslaught of fire that finds you like that *snaps fingers* (kinda like the super accurate enemies in Battlefield Bad Company, but 100 times worse).

Clear Sky wasn't as good as Shadow of Chernobyl, it has some awesome new areas added in, but the last couple of levels are a let down (especially the final level which is just naff). The swamp level added in at the start of the game is the best bit of CS really.

...

Tricky - had a look at Hells Highway on YouTube (just some gameplay footage, rather than reviews which I'd already seen a while back), and it looks a bit boring to be honest. It'd be a rental for me, not that I ever rent games or movies anyway, lol ... so I'd probably rather put the fiver towards Fallout 3.

Speaking of which - anyone know if, along with having the GOTY Edition option, if they're going to release a disc with just the five DLCs on - say for those who already own the original game?

I ask because I really wanna play Fallout 3 on PC now :p - especially considering the vast, yawning chasm of a gaming drought that I've got going on right now (the GOTY edition, unhelpfully, comes out on Oct 30th - the same day that I've already got TWO other games pre-ordered for, which are buffered either side by another game each as well! :eek:)

...

Kraken - hehe - I mean 5 to 10 hours gaming time added together. I think I'd explode if I played a game that long without stopping. I once played GTA IV for 3.5 hours and I was fashed afterwards. Then another time, back at uni, while all my mates had classes on the Friday, I had a day off, so I just sat there and played Need For Speed Underground 2 all day ... needless to say I felt sick, my head ached, and I finally felt what claustrophobia is like (the main part of my room was 6ft by 8ft, you see - a whole day of that is a bit much :p).

Anyway - my main concern is the freeze-ups, which suggests something wrong with the actual computer (nevermind CTD's - that's a game specific issue in my experience, and I've had those with Crysis and STALKER).

Surely one day having to power down with the power button after a freeze-up will fuck the hard-drive, right?

If it's something that can be solved, then I'd really like it to be solved in the next few months before the warranty runs out, you see ... and if I got Fallout 3, then I'd log all my playing time and note down whenever I got a freeze etc.

...

To be honest, I might just get Fallout 3 now ... it's the only game out now that I really quite fancy.

[EvilNed]

As far as I know, the only thing that's really dangerous with powering off by just pressing the button is that all your unsaved work is lost. I have a friend who works with computers and he busts a bunch of myths for me once in awhile. Now I can't remember that exactly, but there's not a huge problem.

Infact, the last time one of my hard-drives went apeshit was when I powered off the computer just as you should. It's more of an overheating problem than anything else. Hard-drives are sensitive to heat and they generate a shitload of it.

As for a little bundle with all the plug-ins in it? Unlikely. I was in the store the other day and saw TWO of the plug-ins in one pack, and it was overpriced as hell. So I just went home and managed to "fix" them all on the internet through magic. I'm all for buying games, but that price tag was just ridiculous.

[MinionZombie]

Yeah they're bundling the expansion packs together - there's "one" and "two", so I assume that'd cover all the DLC.

As for hard drives - my folks' computer had a shutting down problem, as in it would get so far, and then not fully power down - so you'd have to hold the power button till it went off - that eventually caused a hard drive failure, but that's during the shut down process, so I assume that must be a bit different to the computer being on the desktop say, or in a game, and having to force it to power down.

Also, Ned, a question - which version of Fallout 3 are you using, or what patch are you running on - and have you experienced any of the PC problems you hear a bunch of people banging on about online?

And another I just thought of - does the computer need to be online to get the game installed? My rig is strictly an offline rig by choice, and by the simple fact that the wired modem is downstairs.
...

It seems like PC games are becoming buggier and buggier as the years go by - I hear a lot of bad chat about FarCry 2 in that respect, and GTA IV is a classic example of a piss-poor PC version.

*sigh* :p

[EvilNed]

I haven't played the game in maybe six months, but if I had any patches, it was probably just the first one. Infact, I don't know how many of them there are right now. I'm gonna play it again soon, but prob. not until august cause I'm busy til' then.

As for it being activated by internet? No, I doubt it. Since Fallout 3 is primarily a Single-player game, I doubt it. I know I didn't activate my game by internet. I'd actually test it for you right now if it weren't for the fact that I have to go to Stockholm in an hour.

But in any case, me, myself? I had no problems playing Fallout 3 on the PC. The game might have CTDs occasionally, I can't remember, but what I do remember was that I had a fucking blast and there were no bugs that impeded on my fun, like in say, Clear Sky. And no, I can safely say that it's not activated by the internet because I'm holding the package right now and it doesn't say anything of the kind.

[krakenslayer]

No, there isn't any internet activation needed for Fallout 3, I have successfully installed and run the game on a PC with NO internet access whatsoever, so I know it for a fact. Actually, there is little to no DRM in the game at all, you can even run it without the disc in the drive so long as you configure the shortcut to point straight to the fallout3.exe and not the default fallout3launcher.exe (although you'll need to put the disk in if you want to change any settings in the launcher).

[Tricky]

It seems like PC games are becoming buggier and buggier as the years go by - I hear a lot of bad chat about FarCry 2 in that respect, and GTA IV is a classic example of a piss-poor PC version.

*sigh* :p

I cant say I had any problems with FarCry 2 from installation to finishing the game,I didnt suffer from one crash or major bug! Its great fun to play (if somewhat linear at times), and you wont have played in a more beautiful open game world,plus it auto-updates everytime you start it up if your connected online so you dont have to search out all the patches yourself.If you see it going cheap pick it up,its far more worthwhile than brothers in arms hells highway :)
I agree PC games are often very buggy on release though,its like if they dont meet their deadlines they just release the game anyway & fix it later with patches & so forth after the forums get flooded by bug complaints, so you essentially buy an incomplete beta version of the game & dont get to play the finished product for months & by that time you've already given up on it,some developers are better than others,& some should be investigated by trading standards for selling unfinished tripe

[MinionZombie]

Ned & Kraken - good to know about the not needing an internet connection.

Tricky - I almost bought FarCry 2 a few months back for a tenner, but ended up getting Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on the 360 instead (also for a tenner).

I'm thinking I might just go and buy the normal Fallout 3 game - that way I get to play something now, and I've never really been a DLC type person anyway. I've rarely played expansion packs, and I doubt I'd have the time to play Fallout 3 and five DLCs. :p

I could just get the expansion packs somewhere down the line when they're in the bargain bin instead.

...

Tricky - indeed, the trend of releasing buggy games on the PC is a real turn off to me these days, after getting into the ease of mainstream console gaming (prior to which I had a sustained period of PC gaming for about a decade or more).

As for those griping about Fallout 3 problems, I assume they must have hardware that's lower down the requirement list or whatever (or have certain softwares installed that conflict - I did find a list of tips for ensuring a stable playing experience as well).

Anyway, if I can remember correctly, my rig is basically:

Windows XP
4gb RAM
Intel Quad Core 9300
nVidia GeForce GTX260 (896mb)
nForce motherboard (forget the numbers :p)

**EDIT**

Sod it, I've ordered the stand-alone game - I figure there will be an "all DLCs in one" released at some point (looking at the options available currently in the UK), and then that'll come down in price - plus, if I don't like Fallout 3 (although that's unlikely), I'm not as invested as if I had gotten the GOTY edition, it gives me something to play now, and well ... there we are. :cool:

Will let you chaps know what I make of it once I get it, which should be by the end of the week.

[ProfessorChaos]

trust me dude, you're gonna love fallout 3. hours upon hours of fun.

[MinionZombie]

trust me dude, you're gonna love fallout 3. hours upon hours of fun.
I was certainly keen on it when I first saw the trailer, and since it was released I've been looking at videos of it on YouTube, so I think I should enjoy it - especially as I'm such a big STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl fan. :)

[AcesandEights]

Sod it, I've ordered the stand-alone game...

That's our boy :thumbsup:

I love Fallout 3 for the 360. You'll have to let me know if you try any mods for the PC version. I'm still playing the game with one of the DLC (Broken Steel), which I chose to up my level cap whilst going through the gads and gads of material from the vanilla version I hadn't gotten to yet.

It really is quite the game and damned immense. As long as its style matches your temperament/gaming preferences you should enjoy it (assuming your PC is up to it *Crosses fingers for you*).

Enjoy, MZ.

[MinionZombie]

It really is quite the game and damned immense. As long as its style matches your temperament/gaming preferences you should enjoy it (assuming your PC is up to it *Crosses fingers for you*).

Well, this is the rig I'll be playing it on:
Windows XP
4gb RAM
Intel Quad Core 9300
nVidia GeForce GTX260 (896mb)
nForce motherboard (790, or maybe 780 ... one of those)

As for game style, I've really enjoyed the likes of STALKER, so I think I'll dig this - although Fallout 3 does seem to have more about managing stats and such, compared to STALKER, which doesn't really have that - just managing your inventory.

I like different types of games, sometimes you just want to barge around blowing shit up, other times you want to invest time and explore away (e.g. STALKER - which I loved).

...

Speaking of which, I've seen The Simpson's Game for 360 is a tenner today - anyone know if that's worth getting? I made a separate post about it earlier today.

[MinionZombie]

It arrived in the post today - haven't installed it yet, but will do soon - was too busy putting together my Flickr album and getting it embedded correctly in my blog, as well as doing some editing work today.

[MinionZombie]

I got off my arse this afternoon and installed it - I've started playing, and I'm digging it.

I decided to stop my session just after getting out of Vault 101, I'll save my first real foray into the wastelands for my next session, but my first impressions are good.

There are some elements that are a bit rough around the edges (lip synch - or lack thereof - some iffy coding, mainly in characters walking around getting stuck on things, or not really knowing what they should do - some graphical roughness) ... but overall so far I'm digging it.

I did spend a good hour or so before I left the Vault though, so I haven't seen much action yet ... just getting used to it in general.

Me likey likey though - and nice to have a game to play too. :)

Dizaaaamn ... after my first playing sesh I got all 'crack addicty' and simply had to play another 45 minutes before bed ... gonna go deliver some message for some fitty who hangs out in Megaton.

I had a look around those houses (Springvale I think), and spotted the school ... didn't venture inside, because I wanted to get some progress made into the main story - although I'm making very slow progress as I'm just gawping at things and conversing with the characters so much. :p

[AcesandEights]

gonna go deliver some message for some fitty who hangs out in Megaton.

Hope you enjoyed Arefu! I need to get back to Fallout 3, I took a break the last 5-6 days and am feeling the need to push the content envelope again. :)

[ProfessorChaos]

after my xbox was returned, i finally got around to finding the last few bobbleheads, hit the level 30 xp max, took a boat ride to point lookout, and helped that ghoul dude defend the mansion from tribals...this game is still sofa king awesome...

and mothership zeta comes out next week, so time to meet interesting creatures from another planet....then kill them and take their weapons and technology.:D

[MinionZombie]

Been playing more of late, I found Arefu, then found The Family, talked all nice with them, convinced the cannibal kid to go back to Megaton or wherever and be with his sister, then on my way to the GNR radio station some kid runs out and I can't just leave him there, so I follow him to find his father - but the father's dead, then I say I'll kill the fire ants for him, but that then turns into a huge underground saga of it's own, I kill the guard ants, come back up, tell the kid I killed them, then I need to find the l'il bastard a place to stay so I have to make the epic journey to Rivet City and find his Aunt or whoever, then go back and tell him, then I head over to Super Duper Mart as it looks interested, pwn the head hunters, kill the raiders inside, then head off in search of GNR at last ... and that's where I'm up to so far.

I'm on level 5 or 6 in experience points so far, and I've got plenty of good karma. Try as I might, I just naturally play these games by being the good guy ... even BioShock, I was gonna harvest all the little sisters for their Adam, but I couldnay do it and rescued them all again instead.

I guess I'm just a nice guy. :D

I've now levelled up to 7 or 8, and I've just gotten to the DC Mall area - I spied the silhouette of the Capitol building, and had a gander at the giant dildo in the pond thing ... you know, the Washington Monument, that's the hammer ... anyway, just gone into that Museum place to get some dish for GNR so they can broadcast better.

Rather enjoying this game, I'm finding myself quite sucked into the world - it almost feels like real people in a way, conversing with them, finding out bits of information, seeing the various little societies out there in the wasteland.

Interesting stuff, I think I'll get a lot of hours of this game, I've already had about 9 hours so far infact.

[MinionZombie]

I've just gotten to Vault 112 - very cool, and a little bit creepy - the simulation I've just gone into as well is hella cool. Pitch perfect, dude, pitch perfect.

But why does Betty want to make Timmy cry? What a bitch. :D

I've invested about 12 hours into Fallout 3 so far, and my Karma is very good ... my favourite weapon is the sniper rifle - blowing up Raider heads is just so much fun. Oh yeah - I'm on level 9 now.

Obviously, no spoilers if you're gonna respond to anything. :p

[krakenslayer]

I've just gotten to Vault 112 - very cool, and a little bit creepy - the simulation I've just gone into as well is hella cool. Pitch perfect, dude, pitch perfect.

But why does Betty want to make Timmy cry? What a bitch. :D

I've invested about 12 hours into Fallout 3 so far, and my Karma is very good ... my favourite weapon is the sniper rifle - blowing up Raider heads is just so much fun.

Obviously, no spoilers if you're gonna respond to anything. :p

Not a spoiler, but just a heads up, when you're in the simulation... there is more than one way to get what you want from "Betty"...



maybe you don't HAVE to make Billy cry...

[Danny]

if youve finished everything bar the new dlc like i have i can reommend restarting the game on the hardest setting, it goes from a fun shooter to proper survival game, i HAD to kill the first trader i found because i had nothing and i got his flame thrower and then took a good ten minutes to clear super duper mart.

needlesss to say its way more fun on hard.

[MinionZombie]

Not a spoiler, but just a heads up, when you're in the simulation... there is more than one way to get what you want from "Betty"...



maybe you don't HAVE to make Billy cry...
hehe, I had already spoken to the old woman who said about the abandoned house - so I figured that would be the way forward - checked on YouTube, and got a certain combination I would need to know just now. :)

When I replay Fallout 3 from the start sometime in the future I'll do the whole game as an evil bastard ... but right now I'm being a saintly saint. :)

[krakenslayer]

hehe, I had already spoken to the old woman who said about the abandoned house - so I figured that would be the way forward - checked on YouTube, and got a certain combination I would need to know. :)

When I replay Fallout 3 from the start sometime in the future I'll do the whole game as an evil bastard ... but right now I'm being a saintly saint. :)

I personally find it almost impossible to be a "bad guy" in these games. I mean, sometime in GTA I'll go radge and start mowing down civilians, but I find it very difficult to be cruel to innocent interactable characters in a game as deep as Fallout 3. That said, I have killed a few characters of my own volition because I thought they were assholes - including Tenpenny, Moriarty and the guy who wants you to nuke Megaton - which got me some negative karma here and there.

[MinionZombie]

I personally find it almost impossible to be a "bad guy" in these games. I mean, sometime in GTA I'll go radge and start mowing down civilians, but I find it very difficult to be cruel to innocent interactable characters in a game as deep as Fallout 3. That said, I have killed a few characters of my own volition because I thought they were assholes - including Tenpenny, Moriarty and the guy who wants you to nuke Megaton - which got me some negative karma here and there.
hehe - exactly the same here dude - I just can't be evil to these characters. I'm nice, and they're nice to me, so I just can't justify being evil - I guess I'm just naturally a good guy in real life, eh? :)

With anyone who's a bit 'off colour', I just ignore them mostly, or steer the convo elsewhere - Mr Burke is the dude that wants you to nuke Megaton (which I'll do when I replay the game in an 'evil mindset'), and I did actually rat him out to Lucas Sims (the Megaton Mayor type dude who looks like a cowboy), but Sims got killed ... so I Quick Loaded back and didn't take that action again just so Sims wouldn't die, hehe ... kinda lame I know, but the game world is just so involving, as are the various characters - it's like being nice to the ghouls, they're so appreciative of you being nice.

GTA IV as well, when you had to take someone out, I always picked the asshole.

[krakenslayer]

hehe - exactly the same here dude - I just can't be evil to these characters. I'm nice, and they're nice to me, so I just can't justify being evil - I guess I'm just naturally a good guy in real life, eh? :)

With anyone who's a bit 'off colour', I just ignore them mostly, or steer the convo elsewhere - Mr Burke is the dude that wants you to nuke Megaton (which I'll do when I replay the game in an 'evil mindset'), and I did actually rat him out to Lucas Sims (the Megaton Mayor type dude who looks like a cowboy), but Sims got killed ... so I Quick Loaded back and didn't take that action again just so Sims wouldn't die, hehe ... kinda lame I know, but the game world is just so involving, as are the various characters - it's like being nice to the ghouls, they're so appreciative of you being nice.

GTA IV as well, when you had to take someone out, I always picked the asshole.

The actions I took regarding Tenpenny and Mister Burke kind of messed up the game a little for me. When Burke asked me to prime the bomb for him, I did so (just to play along and gain his trust), then when I was granted access to Tenpenny's suite to view the fireworks I looked at the button... looked at Tenpenny... looked at Burke... then whipped out my combat shotgun and blew them both over the ledge. I left without hitting the switch. However, now I don't get any reward from either Tenpenny (obviously) or the Sheriff (the bomb cannot be defused after you've added the detonator), so I never did get given a "home base" either in Megaton or the Tower.

[MinionZombie]

Ah yes, I saw you could defuse it, but I knew I wouldn't have the required skills yet ... do you know what you need to do that?

Also - picking locks - how on earth is that done? I've only done two and I was just randomly turning the lock and wiggling my mouse. I assume there's a technique, but I couldn't figure it out from the manual.

[mista_mo]

I think you just need explosives at 40 or something like that. it should say when you go up and attempt to diffuse the bomb.

With lockpicking, all I ever do is leave the bobby pin in place, turn screw driver. If it doesn't work, I move the pin to one of the lock corners, turn screw driver. If you don't get the lock unpicked in 2 tries, simply exit the lock pick screen, and then repick the lock. Each bobby pin only lasts for 3 attempts, and leaving and re entering the lock pick screen resets that counter.

If I get fed up with beign unable to pick the locks, I just enter the console (~) and type in unlock, the click the thing i want unlocked, then enter.

Cheating yea, but it makes you feel better when you get frustrated.

Also, I blew up Megaton...it was..just way too cool to pass up.

[krakenslayer]

Ah yes, I saw you could defuse it, but I knew I wouldn't have the required skills yet ... do you know what you need to do that?

If you don't have the required skills, try chowing down of a shitload of Mentats and trying it again. It might not work, but sometimes you'll get lucky.



Also - picking locks - how on earth is that done? I've only done two and I was just randomly turning the lock and wiggling my mouse. I assume there's a technique, but I couldn't figure it out from the manual.

Yeah, there's a knack to it. Nowadays I play the game on my PC with an Xbox 360 controller which makes lockpicking a little simpler, but basically the technique is the same - you move the bobby pin a little to the right or left, then gently turn the barrel of the lock and see how far it goes, if it barely moves then try moving the pin around further to the left or back to the right and gently try again. When you have the pin at an angle that seems to be letting the barrel of the lock move more, then you know you're in about the right place, just gingerly move the pin around very slightly to find the sweet spot. Whenever the pin meets resistance, immediately release the pressure on it, as the more resistance it meets, the more likely it will snap.

[slickwilly13]

I received a lot of experience and positive karma for defusing the nuke in Megaton. It seems Sims is hard to keep alive, but you still get all the same rewards if he lives or not. The deed to his house was a good reward and you even get a robot butler. I also gave it a science theme, since my guy was very high in science. Btw, a very high science level will pay off inside the spaceship.

[ProfessorChaos]

i've still not got around to nuking megaton yet...right now my character is a level 30 with almost all skills maxed out at 100, so starting all over seems like such a chore, but i think i'm going to start a new character just to set off the nuke, as soon as i finish the last mission of broken steel and experience the mothership zeta add-on.

[MikePizzoff]

i've still not got around to nuking megaton yet...right now my character is a level 30 with almost all skills maxed out at 100, so starting all over seems like such a chore, but i think i'm going to start a new character just to set off the nuke, as soon as i finish the last mission of broken steel and experience the mothership zeta add-on.

Shoulda done what I did...

I saved my game, then I nuked Megaton and enjoyed the display of power and destruction. Then, because I wanted to have GOOD karma, I loaded my saved game from just before nuking Megaton and continued the game, defusing the nuke. I still have the pre-nuke save, too, for any time I want to enjoy it again (trust me, it's REALLY cool).

[EvilNed]

Word of the wise, don't rush the main quest. You'll regret it.

[ProfessorChaos]

yeah, mike, i probably should've done that...i wish i had also done that with the achievements for karmic balances on levels 8, 14, and 20, too...after i complete mothership zeta, the neutral karma achievements are the only ones i'm gonna be missing.

[MinionZombie]

Mike - good idea actually, I might just do that. Even though I've seen it on YouTube, or on TV videogame shows, it's not the same as doing it yourself. :D

Ned - indeed, I think it was hellsing (or maybe someone else) who was amped about Fallout 3, bashed through the main story, and was pissed at the length. They they went back to the game and started doing side quests and it was a whole new experience.

That's what I'm doing - I think I've now just passed the half-way point of the main story, so I'm leaving that be for a while now and I'm just going around doing side quests - like I finally had enough Medicine skill to revive that Riley's Rangers chick and went off and did that whole thing.

I'm now in Andale - which seems to be a really creepy, fucked up town - have only just gotten there, but already from talking to one of the kids there, it sounds like Chainsaw Massacre, or Hills Have Eyes or something, haha. Will see how that pans out.

I'm also on the trail of an android who has had facial surgery and a mind wipe - my intention is to not bring it back to Zimmerman, who seems like an asshole slave driver ... but I'm unsure where to get my next clues. I got a tape from Doctor whatever at Rivet City, but that didn't tell me much at all.

Might go and have a look at the IGN Walkthrough for some hints on that one. :p

Mike - I ended up doing as you said, made another save and nuked Megaton just to see it - hella fun.

...

Oh yeah, finished up in Andale - creepy as fuck - as I suspected, they were killin' folk and eating them - I stole the shed key and snuck in there - really creepy in there - then exited and leapt out of my seat in fright as I saw I was confronted by the four adults, hehe - a few shots later and the old dude is now the foster father of two kiddies. Went into that house's basement too - goddamn that was even MORE creepy.

An excellent little aside in this great open world game.

I'm now doing the quest "Tenpenny Tower" - trying to resolve it through non violent confrontation and speaking, but both sides seem to be really pissed at each other, I don't know what to do (will have to seek out that IGN guide for assistance before I make any mistakes by accident) - it seems you either let the ghouls in, or you take out Roy and his followers. Hmmm...

...

Also, some chick ran up to me and I got a special part so I can lie to Zimmer and say the android is dead, thus letting me let the poor bugger go on in his new life.

LOVING this game, so I am.