Fallout 3 discussion

[econ21]

How do you do these focused shots I keep seeing people talking about?

IIRC, on the bottom of your screen, on the central panel with the picture of your current weapon on it, there should be a small dot on lower right corner. Click that and it will increase the AP requirement to fire the gun by one. When you try to fire, you should get a green on black diagram of the target's anatomy and be able to choose which part to target. There is one trait (fast shot?) that prevents you making any such targeted shots - you won't get the option to click the dot on the weapon panel.

Is there something worth slogging on through all the blackscreening and vanishing interfaces, bugs, that interface for? If not I might skip to the second game.

Given your tech problems, I'd be tempted to see if you can play FO2 without those hassles. But then I came to FO after FO2 and always preferred the sequel.

I fear you may not like either game much - you've experienced a fair amount of the game (the second is really just more of the same) and if it has not hooked you yet, it may never do.

[TinCow]

I gave in and reinstalled. There are few things in RPGs more pleasurable than blowing away a rat after you finally get your hands on a gun.

[Bob the Insane]

oh... now you have all done it... First I started checking to see if I still have the disks... I can't find them... Next thing I know I am on Amazon!!! Well I caught myself in time and went back to newer shiny games... Don't know how much longer I can hold out though!

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

After reading this thread I went and ordered the same triple pack that Froggy got of Amazon. I've only watched the intro as of yet-alt-tabbed back to the .Org to look at the character creation tips-but if the rest of the game is as well done as this intro it's going to be pretty bloody good.

[Bob the Insane]

Fine, went to Amazon and ordered it...

Yes I am weak, but it is still your fault... All of you!!

[Whacker]

Fair warning guys. I have that white label myself, and my DVD has some bad spots on it. My critter.dat and master.dat files for FO2 are on bad/unreadable spots on the disc, and I was never able to return the DVD from the place I bought it from or the white label place. I was able to make myself a copy of my dvd by copying over some old good copies of those two files so it's not a total loss. Just beware.

[Phatose]

General FO2 tips:

Tag small guns, invest heavily in it. As in 160% minimum, 200% even better - unlike in the first one, small guns can reliably make you a killing machine through the entire game. Higher stats make precision shots easier, and you should be shooting for the eyes. All the time.

Take the gifted attribute. The skill point loss is more then offset by 6 extra stat points.

It might be a good idea to get 10 agility. 10 AP is an excellent thing to have early on, simply because it lets you make 2 aimed shots with a fast weapon (the .44 revolver -> P90c -> Gauss pistol.

Eventually take the faster ROF perk and switch to a gauss rifle.

Better crits is a definite 'must have' perk for a sharpshooter.




As for FO3....well, considering the wildly innappropriate music on the teaser page for the teaser, and my overall disillussionment with Oblivion and downright disgust with Morrowind, I'm expecting them to butcher it. Could be wrong, sure, but as of now, I'd bet on butchery.

[frogbeastegg]

I'll be trying Fallout 2 tonight.

[econ21]

I gave in and reinstalled. There are few things in RPGs more pleasurable than blowing away a rat after you finally get your hands on a gun.

I'll be trying Fallout 2 tonight.

I've weakened and started playing FO2 again. Just got to level one.

What kind of character are people playing?

Mine is:

St: 5
Pe: 8
En: 4
In: 10
Ag: 10
Ch: 6
Lk: 4

Gifted, good natured.
Tagged small guns, speech and lockpick.

[Heavily influenced by Per Jorner's FAQ, I confess.]

Getting through the Temple of Trials with 22% to hit was painful, but I was pleased to find I could talk my way out of the last stage.

[TinCow]

Getting through the Temple of Trials with 22% to hit was painful, but I was pleased to find I could talk my way out of the last stage.

With high action points (which you have) you can do it almost without getting hurt. Simply do not attack more than once per turn and then use the left over action points to move away. The ants and scorpions will use up all their action points following you, so they won't be able to attack. Then whack them again and move away. Repeat until they're all done. Using this method, I was able to complete it and only got hit twice.

[econ21]

With high action points (which you have) you can do it almost without getting hurt. Simply do not attack more than once per turn and then use the left over action points to move away.

I know: that's why it was painful, it takes so long! (And is such boring, cheesy gameplay).

Fixing the still early was even more agonising. At one stage, I had 10 simultaneously geckos on my tail and 9HPs. I don't know what was worse, watching my 16% to hit a golden gecko attacks fail or waiting for the 10 geckos to move. In the end, I invested all my accumulated skill points into unarmed to get it to 99%, as I could not bear it anymore.

I'm starting to think, like froggy, may be this was great in its day, but times have moved on. If I want a blast of a familiar immersive CRPG, I may be better off with System Shock 2 or Vampire Bloodlines.

[Bob the Insane]

I'm starting to think, like froggy, may be this was great in its day, but times have moved on. If I want a blast of a familiar immersive CRPG, I may be better off with System Shock 2 or Vampire Bloodlines.

It is the reason I am not getting over excited by the concept of Fallout 3 being "different" from the first to outings... So much new stuff has come along in game design that I would't expect it...

Look at Jagged Alliance 2, great game... But when trying to build new 3d versions of the same thing "Brigade E5" it just does not come out right...

Then look at the success moves to 3D, GTA being a glowing example...

I could absolutely live with a game not unlike Stalker but of a large scale and with the whole Fallout mood and theme...

[Whacker]

I'm starting to think, like froggy, may be this was great in its day, but times have moved on. If I want a blast of a familiar immersive CRPG, I may be better off with System Shock 2 or Vampire Bloodlines.

Urg. You've got a great point, sometimes it can be... well, painful to go back and play some of the ancient games, in all their cheesy 320x200 software mode goodness. There's something to be said for if you go back to play an old favorite, and it is more of a burden or pain to play it, then let it go and remember it for being as fun as it was.

On a side note econ, it's possible to get a near full attrib char in FO2. There's a good read on Gamefaqs about this, but my current FO2 char's stats are all 10, except for endurance which is 4 (useless skill).

I could absolutely live with a game not unlike Stalker but of a large scale and with the whole Fallout mood and theme...

Ugh, not first person. I could absolutely live with something like what was implemented in that tech demo for that Doom3 mod I posted earlier, that includes the ability to perhaps do something first-person-ish, but NOT a full first or behind 3rd-person game.

[frogbeastegg]

What kind of character are people playing?

ST 4
PE 6
EN 6
CH 7
IN 9
AG 10
LLK 5

Gifted, Small Guns, Speech, and something else.

I started the game up, got to the first bit where you can control your character, stared at the screen a bit, then cleared off to do some reading. When I finished that book I toyed with the idea of playing, and picked up a second book instead. On completing that book I went to sleep. Maybe tomorrow.

[Spino]

ST 4
PE 6
EN 6
CH 7
IN 9
AG 10
LLK 5

Gifted, Small Guns, Speech, and something else.

I started the game up, got to the first bit where you can control your character, stared at the screen a bit, then cleared off to do some reading. When I finished that book I toyed with the idea of playing, and picked up a second book instead. On completing that book I went to sleep. Maybe tomorrow.

Ooooh, you really should get the Bloody Mess trait. The visual rewards are mind splatteringly good!

[Phatose]

You guys are cranking the combat animation speed to max, yes?

[discovery1]

Ooooh, you really should get the Bloody Mess trait. The visual rewards are mind splatteringly good!

Total waste. You get the messy kills with high enough skills in weapons the appropriate weapons anyway.

[frogbeastegg]

Ooooh, you really should get the Bloody Mess trait. The visual rewards are mind splatteringly good!

I took it in my aborted Fallout 1 game out of curiosity. Its main effect seemed to be scattering dead enemies' inventories all over the landscape so it was hard to find all my loot.

Truth be told, I'm completely apathetic about gore. As long as I can tell when damage is being done that's all I want.

[TinCow]

Despite Fallout's age, I still think it has some of the goriest death animations in any game I've ever played. The sounds that accompany them are also suitably visceral.

[Whacker]

Despite Fallout's age, I still think it has some of the goriest death animations in any game I've ever played. The sounds that accompany them are also suitably visceral.

The Lieutenant's death in FO1 was the best.

[Spino]

Total waste. You get the messy kills with high enough skills in weapons the appropriate weapons anyway.

Meh. The increased likelihood of seeing splattery goodness throughout the entire game makes it worth it. I rather enjoyed the chunky goodness a lowly 9mm SMG on burst mode could bring in the early game. It never failed to make me cackle like a fiend when chunkage occured, especially when the bad guys would talk trash during combat. Anyway taking Bloody Mess should not affect your ability to maximize damage & APs or take/avoid hits. By the end of both FO games my Sniper characters were cranking out 3 (or was it 4?) aimed shots per round into the eyeballs of enemies at long range with spectacular results. The great thing about FO1 & FO2 is that the developers allow for a great deal of wiggle room when it comes to tweaking your character's attributes, skills & traits.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

By going the Sniper route and jacking up Perception & Dexterity, pouring skill points into rifles and energy weapons and taking any and all traits that increase Action Points (i.e. Action Boy) the second half or final third of FO1 and FO2 becomes a cakewalk, especially once you've gotten an uber sniper rifle or the souped up plasma rifle (Turbo Plasma rifle?) and some nice power armor. At the end of FO1 I was able to place aimed shots so effectively I left my 'get out of the way you pain in the a$$!' party behind on the top floor of the Master's bunker and was able to solo the rest of the complex with ease. Just make sure to open combat with max AP points whilst standing in a doorway and snipe away until the room is clear. Wash, rinse, repeat. Occasionally a well placed grenade or rocket directed into a crowded mob makes things interesting but most of the time aimed shots and the insane critical hits that followed did the job. Even if you miss there are always mutants who are more than willing to help your cause by becoming bullet sponges. In any given group of enemies there's always two or three who immediately rush your position to engage you in melee. These guys usually wind up getting chunked by their buddies who think firing a mini-gun at an enemy surrounded by allies is a wise tactical move.

[discovery1]

nyway taking Bloody Mess should not affect your ability to maximize damage & APs or take/avoid hits. By the end of both FO games my Sniper characters were cranking out 3 (or was it 4?) aimed shots per round into the eyeballs of enemies at long range with spectacular results.

And it keeps you from choosing a perk that has more concrete results, and that will happen late game anyway provided you put the xp into the weapon of choice.

Hmm, this is more condensending then I intended. Sorry

[Whacker]

By the end of both FO games my Sniper characters were cranking out 3 (or was it 4?) aimed shots per round into the eyeballs of enemies at long range with spectacular results.

With 10 AGL and 2 in Action Boy, plus Bonus Rate of Fire, you should have been cranking out 3 aimed shots with the Turbo Plasma Rifle each round, or 4 normal shots.

Hardened Power Armor + Turbo Plasma Rifle + Sniper + 10 AGL + 2 Action Boy + Bonus Rate of Fire + deathclaws = lol.

The great thing about FO1 & FO2 is that the developers allow for a great deal of wiggle room when it comes to tweaking your character's attributes, skills & traits.

Agree 100%, this is why I loved the SPECIAL system.


@ Frogness - Did you remember to install both patches for Fallout 2? The 1.02d patch and Killap's patch? If you didn't, be prepared for extremely rude bugs. I know guys like econ said they could enjoy the game at 1.02 alone, but I ended up running into so many script bugs that it aggravated me to the point where I just uninstalled the game, hence my FO1 >>>> FO2 stance for the longest time. YMMV, IANAL, etc etc.

[Sir Moody]

Ahhhh fallout oh how ive missed it. I still remmeber completeing fallout 2 for the first time without ever using a gun unarmed combat was great fun - there was nothing like charging up to a Power Armoured maniac with a chain gun with nothing but your fists and punching a hole in his ribs

[Spino]

And it keeps you from choosing a perk that has more concrete results, and that will happen late game anyway provided you put the xp into the weapon of choice.

Hmm, this is more condensending then I intended. Sorry

No problem. The Bloody Messy trait is a bit like leather bucket seats... for some it's an expensive luxury, for others it's a necessity...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spino
By the end of both FO games my Sniper characters were cranking out 3 (or was it 4?) aimed shots per round into the eyeballs of enemies at long range with spectacular results.


With 10 AGL and 2 in Action Boy, plus Bonus Rate of Fire, you should have been cranking out 3 aimed shots with the Turbo Plasma Rifle each round, or 4 normal shots.

Hardened Power Armor + Turbo Plasma Rifle + Sniper + 10 AGL + 2 Action Boy + Bonus Rate of Fire + deathclaws = lol.


Quote:
The great thing about FO1 & FO2 is that the developers allow for a great deal of wiggle room when it comes to tweaking your character's attributes, skills & traits.


Agree 100%, this is why I loved the SPECIAL system.

Now there's a man who knows his FO! That's pretty much spot on what I had for my characters. Those aimed shots to the eyes and groin were soooo much fun. Thanks for the refresher course!

[discovery1]

Oooo, the offical site changed it's backround. Looks like DC got off with relatively little damage, the capital being standing and all.

[Husar]

Yeah, you just need to place a tent and it's a really nice place to live.

I'm a bit curious now, maybe I'll have a go at the fallout series with Fallout 3, but that depends entirely on what we will be presented of course.

[Crandaeolon]

Oooo, the offical site changed it's backround. Looks like DC got off with relatively little damage, the capital being standing and all.

The music is not Fallout. IMO Bethesda should ditch Soule and hire Morgan for FO3...

[TinCow]

The music is not Fallout. IMO Bethesda should ditch Soule and hire Morgan for FO3...

IMO the Fallout games never had any great stand-out music outside of the intros. The 50s jazz was fabulous and atmospheric, but it was never in-game. The in-game music was ho-hum background music that sounded like they put it in because the game had to have music. By comparison, the Bethesda soundtracks are often sweeping and filled with emotion. They really enhance the atmosphere of the games, while the Fallout music simply 'was.' I'm not saying the Fallout music was bad, since I suspect that was entirely the point of it, it just didn't make an impression on me at all.

I would love if they took the jazz theme of the Fallout intros and put it throughout the game, or at least interspersed for appropriate moments, like in cities and towns. My main concern with Bethesda music is that it's pretty repetitive. When you make 'impact' music, like Bethsoft does, it becomes very apparent when you start hearing it over and over again.

[econ21]

I'm starting to think, like froggy, may be this was great in its day, but times have moved on.

I just want to recant this heresy. I'm now level 12, having taken out the raiders and the game is as satisfying as ever. Varied quests, good dialogue, satisfying combat, great levelling/looting character progression - it's still got it.

The start is rather slow and you do have to save often, but it is rewarding.