Fallout 3 - Review @ NMA

Originally Posted by JDR13
Are you serious? That's unbelievably stupid imo. So the Pip-Boy just magically knows when stuff is near??

So much for the joys of exploration.

I think it's the same in Oblivion, anything of relevance shows up on the compass within a certain distance. The whole quest system is the same, you highlight a quest and the map will highlight where you need to go.

I suspected as much, but I'm not paying any attention to them. They're small enough that they're easy to file with the bobbleheads as irritating consolized nonsense rather than serious impediments to enjoying the game. There are a whole bunch of those triangles around all the time anyway.

I was just looking through my manual and I noticed there is a Perk you can get at level 20 called "Explorer". It instantly reveals all locations on the map.

That has to win the award for the worst Perk ever in a Fallout game.

You can only choose one of the level 20 perks, and that one is far behind Ninja and the one which grants you full AP after a kill in VATS (in my opinion). Why get worked up about a perk you are not very likely to pick?

Originally Posted by Maylander
You can only choose one of the level 20 perks, and that one is far behind Ninja and the one which grants you full AP after a kill in VATS (in my opinion). Why get worked up about a perk you are not very likely to pick?

Who's worked up? I just think it's moronic to call the Perk "Explorer", when it obviously eliminates the need to explore at all.

Didn't realize you could only pick 1 level 20 perk, it'll be a long time before I'm anywhere near level 20 anyways.

Originally Posted by Prime Junta
I suspected as much, but I'm not paying any attention to them. They're small enough that they're easy to file with the bobbleheads as irritating consolized nonsense rather than serious impediments to enjoying the game. There are a whole bunch of those triangles around all the time anyway.

Hmm, yeah possibly, like I said I'm normally not bothered by it but as exploring is the best part of the game (exaggerated by the lack of communities) I'd rather it wasn't like this. It's something that is becoming/become standard and it's somewhat dull to see it in every game and possibly not really fitting to Fallout or Bethesda's games. In my opinion it lowers the longevity of the game because there's no challenge in finding something and that makes exploration less rewarding. I'm sure plenty of people will disagree but it is my humble opinion.

Level 20 is the maximum level, so when you reach it, you get to pick one more perk (as your level 20 perk), and that's it. After that, you simply don't get anymore experience points.

@woges: Well, I certainly don't disagree. Yet another (if IMO fairly minor) thing to gripe about.

BTW, I turned up the difficulty to "hard," and now the game feels much better balanced -- I do have to watch my ammo, trade actively for spare parts and bullets, use mines and grenades to get myself out of trouble, and what have you. Much more engaging, not only because the combat is more challenging, but because it makes more of the mechanics worthwhile. My enjoyment of the game made a big jump.

Sniper ammo doesn't seem very abundant probably why scavenger perk is recommended for them.

There's no way of being critical of design without it sounding like a gripe to somebody but I'm really not griping. Just opening stuff up for discussion.

Ah…I didn't realize you could change the difficulty mid-game. It makes sense though, Bethesda has included that option in their last few games.

I didn't either, so I started a new game. Oh well…

The game is definitely easy. I thought I would have a problem when I began a game with a character with STR 4 PER 7 END 4 CHA 9 INT 6 & LUC 7, with tags on energy weapons, science and speech. Whenever I leveled up I put points into Energy Weapons, Lockpick, Medicine, Repair, Science, Sneak & Speech. In other words, my character is anything but a grunt.

In the first, I was forced to get by with a mix of small guns (shooting out all the ammo I had). I even used a minigun when I ran out of shotgun shells and bullets for my 10mm and my Chinese Assault Rifle.
Eventually I found my first laser pistol, but lack of ammunition was a problem.

Now I have covered about 20% of the map. I have 1200 microfusion cells, 2150 energy cells, 190 stimpacks, 8900 bottle caps. I have bought every expensive item available in Megaton & Rivet City. Note that my Barter is just 35 and I never placed a single point in it. I am approaching level 15…

My Plasma Rifle kills most things in 1 shot, except for master super mutant that take like 4 shots. I usually run around with 25% hp, more isn't needed to survive. I haven't even bothered getting better armor and if it wasn't for the "strong back" perk, I would have been better off with 1 in Endurance.

Yup, it looks like this is another of those games where Hard is the new Normal.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Who's worked up? I just think it's moronic to call the Perk "Explorer", when it obviously eliminates the need to explore at all.

I think "Revealer" would be the better word, then.

Originally Posted by JemyM
Now I have covered about 20% of the map. I have 1200 microfusion cells, 2150 energy cells, 190 stimpacks, 8900 bottle caps. I have bought every expensive item available in Megaton & Rivet City. Note that my Barter is just 35 and I never placed a single point in it. I am approaching level 15…

How much time have you spent ferrying items to shops for sale? I finished with half that cash and bought few expensive items.

from what i've been hearing, Perks such as Sniper & Commando could clear out most of the enemies with the VATS system.

i wish there was a mod that binds keyboard hotkeys straight to PipBoy's sections such as maps, quests, etc.

The latter should actually be a patch, not a mod. Come on Bethesda, you promised not to screw up the PC interface again…

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
The latter should actually be a patch, not a mod. Come on Bethesda, you promised not to screw up the PC interface again…

Agreed - with so many keys available, the lack of a direct map feels like an insult.

yeah maybe Bethesda could include configurable hotkeys in the next patch.