Fallout 3 discussion

**Sarmatian** · 12-11-2008, 18:35

Originally Posted by Magraev

I'm a bit surprised I didn't love this game more.

Somehow they've managed to remove the magic from Fallout 1 and 2. Those two games are favorites of mine even though they crashed all the time. This one got put on the shelf after a couple of weeks.

Sad really. Let's hope some of the downloadable content gets it running again. We really need a bigger world and less of a railroad plot.

Silly that you have to be very far in the storyline before you can use powerarmor too. There should be an alternative way to get acces to that (maybe from the outcasts).

Power Armour here isn't really that powerful, so you're not missing out much. I've found Reilly's Rangers armour good enough for the entire game. Light, good protection, raises your skills, can be repaired with ordinary combat armour... No need for bulky PA...

**TinCow** · 12-12-2008, 14:33

The GECK (Fallout 3 modding kit) has been released.

http://geck.bethsoft.com/

**Magraev** · 12-15-2008, 09:06

Originally Posted by Sarmatian

Power Armour here isn't really that powerful, so you're not missing out much. I've found Reilly's Rangers armour good enough for the entire game. Light, good protection, raises your skills, can be repaired with ordinary combat armour... No need for bulky PA...

Yeah I ended up going that way too. But In the other games power armor was so much better that the other types that I wanted to use on in this game too. As it turned out I only wore it for a few missions before swapping back to Reillys superior gear.

**Kekvit Irae** · 12-15-2008, 14:54

The only problems I see with power armor is that is comes too late in the game to wear (unless you powergame through the main quest up to that point), and that it gives minuses to AGI (not really a bad thing if you are a melee character). For a Energy Weapons character, power armor is VITAL, at least the Tesla Armor is. Otherwise, you can get a 50 DR, +1 CHA power armor with no minuses to AGI by doing the Shoot Them In The Head quest and using the keys yourself instead of turning them in. Because said armor cannot be repaired with other armors, it's best to give it to a companion (companion weapons and armor don't degrade).

**Zenicetus** · 12-15-2008, 20:08

Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

The only problems I see with power armor is that is comes too late in the game to wear (unless you powergame through the main quest up to that point), and that it gives minuses to AGI (not really a bad thing if you are a melee character). For a Energy Weapons character, power armor is VITAL, at least the Tesla Armor is. Otherwise, you can get a 50 DR, +1 CHA power armor with no minuses to AGI by doing the Shoot Them In The Head quest and using the keys yourself instead of turning them in. Because said armor cannot be repaired with other armors, it's best to give it to a companion (companion weapons and armor don't degrade).

It was probably a mistake to include power armor training in the main quest line. They could have done it as a side quest tied to character level (i.e. you have to be strong enough to survive a mid-level enemy encounter to get the training), or just make it a perk you can select somewhere around level 10 or 12. I ended up using the Ranger armor until the last part of the game, when I switched to Tesla (when I had access) and finally the Shoot-em-in-the-head armor at the endgame. I wore that myself because by that time I was taking very little damage, and didn't need repairs.

It was a little disappointing that all the weapon and armor "styles" weren't that strongly differentiated. By the endgame, you have enough character advancement points (with the right perk selection) to max out two weapon types, and you can wear any armor. You're not forced to specialize as a "tank" (power armor with heavy weapons), "rogue" (sneak attack with lighter armor and small arms), or "wizard" (energy weapon specialist?). I know that games shouldn't all have to conform to holy trinity types like that, but I was expecting at least some ability to specialize, with hard choices between styles, and significant rewards for choosing a specific combat style. Instead, you can basically choose the best of everything for your character, which feels too much like powergaming. If you pay attention to the better perks and skills, you unavoidably become an invincible, uber death machine in the entire second half of the game.

All that aside, and agreeing with Froggie's points about the weak writing and quest design....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

... I still enjoyed playing the game. I think it was mainly the environment. Too many dungeon crawls, yeah, but Bethesda did a good job with downtown D.C. and the Wasteland. I was continually amazed at how many unique static models were in the game. I was always stumbling across things I hadn't seen before. It was fun just running around in that world.

**tibilicus** · 12-26-2008, 16:30

recently got this game for the 360 and can some one tell me who also has the 360 version if they found it incredibly unstable at time?

Normally 360's aren't renowned for build quality and I occasionally get the odd disk read error or system freeze but this has been amplified by Fallout. My 360 just doesn't sound healthy when running it sometimes, especially for a much longer duration.

**rajpoot** · 12-27-2008, 04:28

I don't own a 360 myself, but my cousin does, and while someone else suggests something, I can tell you this, that according to him, his 360 always makes a noise like an old motorbike trying to go up a steep hill........but it's working fine. Just noisy.

**frogbeastegg** · 12-27-2008, 13:05

Originally Posted by tibilicus

recently got this game for the 360 and can some one tell me who also has the 360 version if they found it incredibly unstable at time?

Normally 360's aren't renowned for build quality and I occasionally get the odd disk read error or system freeze but this has been amplified by Fallout. My 360 just doesn't sound healthy when running it sometimes, especially for a much longer duration.

It crashed a couple of times on me, hung up, and had some nasty glitches. I didn't have a single disc error, and the console sounded the same as it always does while playing.

If you have a hard drive and the NXE update I suggest you install it. That will remove the strain on your disc drive and make the machine quieter, if nothing else. It could make it more stable if the disc or disc drive are involved in your problems.

**tibilicus** · 12-27-2008, 19:10

Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

It crashed a couple of times on me, hung up, and had some nasty glitches. I didn't have a single disc error, and the console sounded the same as it always does while playing.

If you have a hard drive and the NXE update I suggest you install it. That will remove the strain on your disc drive and make the machine quieter, if nothing else. It could make it more stable if the disc or disc drive are involved in your problems.

Think I'll probably try that. I guess if that doesn't work I will have to face the impending truth that my 360 could be nearing that tunnel of light

Edit: That seems to of maybe done the trick.