What Game Should I Play Next?

I always seem to postpone the MQ in all open game world RPGs.

Well if anyone cares, my exercise in Fallout 3, the OCD nightmare, after 216 hours of playtime, has brought me to level 19 WITH Arwen's levelling mod after finishing Mothership Zeta. I read that MZ becomes nearly impossible at level 20, so I thought I should get it out of the way.

I really liked the new alien goodies; glad that I had leveled energy weapons up to about 60. It did get too repetitive near the end, but for the most part I enjoyed the exploration.

Now I'm going back to some of the MQ stuff I've skipped over. Geeze, the path to GNR is a real bitch with the leveled enemies.



Oh, and I have 21K caps now…

I thought Mothership Zeta was "ok". I liked the concept, but it could have been done a lot better imo. The new art assets were sort of cool at first, but I thought the DLC was too long for its own good. By the time I was nearing the end, I couldn't wait to get back to the wasteland.

It was better than Operation Anchorage (which was *terrible*), but not as well done as The Pitt, imo.

Well said. I agree with that assessment of MZ.

OA, well, let's just say the soldier squad you could form was pathetic. And the ending… well, kind of a letdown, even with the goodies.

OK, 5 weeks into FO3, 263 in-game hours, level 22 with Arwen's XP mod.

I've almost done all misc quests, OA, and MZ DLCs, the MQ to the start of Waters of Life.

My key skills are maxed (small guns, sneak, repair, lockpick, and science). Most other are nearly maxed, barter being the least.

I'm on my way to The Pitt but keep getting distracted by new locations to explore and falling into new misc quests. That's what I love about this game… Hopefully I won't be killing myself at the Pitt, Point Lookout and the rest of Main Quest by being overlevelled.



I had to give up on the ironsights mod. It broke that weapon that fell from the sky. Then I tried the patch, and it required Fallout Script Extender. Well, that, with FOMM, broke Darnified UI, and I couldn't go back to the ironsights mod after disabling FSE to fix Darnified UI. What a f***ing mess. So I had to carry on without the ironsights mod.

This is why I dislike the Bethesda mod community… More trouble than it's worth, most of the time…

You don't have the FO3 Mod Manager installed?

Regarding quest, you don't have to finish every misc quest and DLC prior to finishing the main quest. The MQ isn't the end of the game.

Sorry for the confusing post. Yes, I have the FO3 Mod Manager installed. I had to uninstall FOSE after it broke the Darnified UI. Its interaction with FOMM may have been the cause. It looks like if you need to use FOSE ever, you should install it first, and since I installed it later that may have broken things? This is just a guess though. I didn't originallly need FOSE, so I didn't try it until I needed to patch ironsights…

Yeah, regarding the MQ, I am just putting it off knowing it won't end the game, but WILL change the "landscape" somewhat. Wondering if that is OK…

Isn't FOSE built into FOMM? I don't quite remember…

Are you sure FOSE was the problem? I never had any conflicts between FOSE and DUI. Try uninstalling DUI and Iron Sights, then reinstalling them after reinstalling FOSE.

There's no way I could play FO3 without the Iron Sights mod. That was definitely a necessity for me.

Finishing the MQ doesn't really change much. There will be some new minor misc quests that appear, but that's about it.

I had to install FOSE separately, but FOMM recognizes it, and is smart enough to start up FO3 with FOSE enabled. It may be trying too hard, though, since SOMETHING in FOSE/FMOD broke DUI.

BTW, I couldn't instal DUI using FMOD. I had to install it manually. Just one more irritant in a frustrating mod experience. This is why I try to stay clear of them. Surprisingly, the NWN/2 mods I've used to date are more stable, reliable, and less finicky. They also are better documented usually so that may have something to do with it. It seems like a more mature modding community.

I got the Reservist's Rifle recently, and strangely, it has iron sights down the barrel even though the mod is disabled in FOMM.

Fixing this would probably require me to spin off my save games, and do a complete reinstall. Too much trouble for too little payback…

UPDATE: I've completely explored all areas in the wasteland (except for some main quest areas). Finished all DLC except Broken Steel and Point Lookout. I am at the Waters of Life point in the main quest, and looking forward to ending this!

Although I still have Point Lookout to explore… This game seems endless…

342 hours, Level 25, all skills maxed at 100, 61.7K caps

Originally Posted by Thrasher
342 hours, Level 25, all skills maxed at 100, 61.7K caps

I think that might be some kind of record.

I finished around level 25 or 26, but I didn't have any of my skills maxed. I'm guessing you took that perk that doubles the points you get from skill books, right? I also didn't get the +10 points from the Bobbleheads because I used a mod that removed those bonuses.

I never did play Point Lookout. It was the only thing I didn't do…

Originally Posted by JDR13
I think that might be some kind of record.

Terrible isn't it?

Originally Posted by JDR13
I finished around level 25 or 26, but I didn't have any of my skills maxed. I'm guessing you took that perk that doubles the points you get from skill books, right? I also didn't get the +10 points from the Bobbleheads because I used a mod that removed those bonuses.

Yep. I took the Comprehension perk. And I have collected all the Bobbleheads, but the one for energy weapons. Plus I took the Daddy's Boy perk to help with hacking early on, Gun Nut to help with small guns early on, and Educated to get 3 extra skill points per level. Not optimal for end game, but I was feeling frustrated at the beginning.

OK, I am on the homestretch.

376 hours, Level 29, 82K Caps

I have finished the MQ, and on the last stage of Broken Steel after finishing all its misc quests. I decided to relent, and not revisit everywhere in the wasteland to find all the changes (in particular Enclave camps)… Is their hope for me?

Up next, Point Lookout.

Can I take my companions with me? Is there a place to store loot?

I actually didn't do Point Lookout, although I was actually thinking of going back and doing it soon. I recall reading that you can't bring companions with you. Loot should work the same as anywhere else.. you can just toss it wherever, it's not going anywhere.

Yeah, I read that it's safe to put junk in the ferry locker.

Encumbrance is such a pain. I may just cheat my carry weight up ao I don't have to worry about it.

I'm tempted to start playing Point Lookout now. I've still got my save game sitting and waiting for me. Plus it might be cool to play it simultaneously, and compare our experience.

Don't know if I want to get further backlogged on my other games though. I was about to start Bulletstorm, and Crysis 2 is out tomorrow.

That would be fun! Either way!

I'm smacking myself for not downloading Crysis from GamersGate for $10.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
That would be fun! Either way!

I'm smacking myself for not downloading Crysis from GamersGate for $10.

The great thing about sales … they just don't stop at this point! Every week GamersGate has >100 items for 50% off or more, and Direct2Drive, Impulse, Steam, GreenManGaming, BeamDog, Amazon GetGames, GoodOldGames, etc etc etc also have huge sales.

Thanks for the pointers to other sites to check!