Fallout 3 OUT NOW!!! (Official Thread)

[exit]

I picked this up last night and I swore to myself that I won't start playing until I finish Dead Space, so now I'm currently trying to rush through Dead Space so I can get some Fallout lovin'.

[heybtbm]

How long of beards can your character have?


I also was disappointed that I couldn't put a beard on my character in ESIV. All I could make was some blue fuzz.

You sure love your beards, don't you? LOL

Seriously though...the beard options in Fallout 3 are impressive. I spent more time messing with the different facial hair looks than I did the entire rest of my character.

[chicnstu]

You sure love your beards, don't you? LOL

Seriously though...the beard options in Fallout 3 are impressive. I spent more time messing with the different facial hair looks than I did the entire rest of my character.

lol, yeah. I think it's an important feature to have when customizing a character. I loved my long white beard on my old man in Fable.

[misfits859]

I'm not using it until I play through the game for a while but I picked up the collector's edition strategy guide. It's hardcover like the Zelda:TP one :)

I saw the hardcover guide at Gamestop tonite. Is there any bonus features with the HC edition? I didn't appear to offer any features beyond the regular guide just on glancing at it.

[geneshifter]

I saw the hardcover guide at Gamestop tonite. Is there any bonus features with the HC edition? I didn't appear to offer any features beyond the regular guide just on glancing at it.

Not sure what the regular guide has in it but this one comes with a big map of all zones and also a map of the DC metro system. I'm also not using it until I finish 1 playthrough.

[Trumpman]

I FOUND DOGMEAT!!!

He's awesome, but I think there's a weird glitch - sometimes he vanishes.

[Nikademus1969]

If you preordered the game from Amazon, today they emailed a link to some exclusive wallpapers.

If anyone is interested...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=H30WOOD3TQQS&C=2F7FEFCWO8L0H&H=zB5wyQtcZabIULzHOJlwSOmPRg8A&T=C&U=http%3A%2F%2Fg-ecx.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FG%2F01%2Fvideogames%2Fpromo% 2FFallout3Wallpapers.zip%3Frw_html_to_wsrp%3D1%26% 2Fref%3Dpe_13910_10663830_fallout_3_wallpaper2

[Daltone]

After a lot of self-convincing I caved and bought Fallout on Saturday (£40 is a lot to spend on a game!)

So far, I'm really glad that I did.

Yes, I know that it's not perfect, but on the whole I'm really impressed. I'm not terribly far through the main quest - I've been doing an awful lot of messing about with side missions. I've just met up with [ the Brotherhood of Steel and got to use a mini nuke. ] I started by trying to play it evil, but so far there doesn't seem to have been too much scope for double crossing or playing one side off against another, which is a real shame. I seem to be drifting off towards the realm of the goody goody ( but saying that [ I just couldn't resist blowing Megaton into a pile of ash. ]

Anyway, I'm just wondering what kind of Perks or skill areas people would recommend upgrading? I seem to be at level 6 already and I don't feel like I'm terribly far through the main quest. Also - does anyone know of a good way of killing those bloody Radscorpions? It always seems like such a waste of ammo shooting them.

Also - [ in the trainyard by the enterence to The Family's lair I found some Alien Power Cells, which are listed under 'ammo' in the inventory. Anyone know what's going on there? ]

[Trebuken]

I'm up to Level 13 and the Sledgehammer is still the best weapon in the game unless you score a perfect hit with the Missle Launcher...

I find I am gettinf into this game as much as I did Oblivion, but Oblivion was much bigger, it seems. I suspect they held back more content for expansions this time around.

[carlcarlson]

This may be a dumb question, but do you ever find "unique" items? Or is one shotgun like every other shotgun?

[Nesmaster]

This may be a dumb question, but do you ever find "unique" items? Or is one shotgun like every other shotgun?

I'm wondering about this too. I've heard one character mention their "special" 10mm Uzi, but I haven't found any unique items/guns on my own. I didn't kill her either to see if it was something special.

EDIT: Okay, there's a FAQ on Gamespot that has the weapons listed, and there are some "special" guns, but they seem to belong to certain characters judging by the names. So "finding" them is probably out of the question. :(

[Daria]

This may be a dumb question, but do you ever find "unique" items? Or is one shotgun like every other shotgun?

Wouldn't unique weapons kind of suck in the fact that everything deteriorates. At least when using raider weapons you know there's a plethora of duplicates for repair material. I find myself constantly over-encumbered because I'll carry both a kickass chinese weapon, and the crappier regular version for backup when it ultimately breaks. And of course I can't settle for one type of gun, I have to be a walking armory because I don't have a house yet. And of course because ammo runs out.

[Nesmaster]

Wouldn't unique weapons kind of suck in the fact that everything deteriorates. At least when using raider weapons you know there's a plethora of duplicates for repair material. I find myself constantly over-encumbered because I'll carry both a kickass chinese weapon, and the crappier regular version for backup when it ultimately breaks. And of course I can't settle for one type of gun, I have to be a walking armory because I don't have a house yet. And of course because ammo runs out.

Well, you can get people to repair weapons for caps, but maybe it's possible to fix the special guns with the same, crappier weapon? (ex: fix the ultra SMG with a regular SMG). That would be nice, and ideal, but I doubt it. Probably forced to pay caps at a merchant.

This is the reason I Got my Repair skill to 100 asap, so I could repair my guns to 100% thus, doing the most damage. :)

[SpasticFuctard]

so I finished it this weekend, despite having veered sharply away from the main quests and wandering the desert aimlessly. And I have this to say: I did want to start back uup and immediately go back through is as a souless bastard, and then a simple giant (ala Grapes of Wrath).


Spoiler below.


Though, I have to say that I am VERY disappointed by the lack of the epilouge.

[Daria]

Well, you can get people to repair weapons for caps, but maybe it's possible to fix the special guns with the same, crappier weapon? (ex: fix the ultra SMG with a regular SMG). That would be nice, and ideal, but I doubt it. Probably forced to pay caps at a merchant.

This is the reason I Got my Repair skill to 100 asap, so I could repair my guns to 100% thus, doing the most damage. :)

All the people I've found that repair weapons have a really shitty skill at it. Like 12% shitty. Although it's propably just a matter of finding the right NPC.

[mailman187666]

ok I'm feeling kind of slow here, whats the trick to hacking the computers here? I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

[Daria]

ok I'm feeling kind of slow here, whats the trick to hacking the computers here? I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

They're mini-logic puzzles. You click on a word in the garbled text and it'll display on the right side of the monitor along with a number. Ex. "setting" 3/7. That tells you that setting is a 7 letter word with three letters in common with the computer's password.

You get 4 chances, but if you're feeling lazy you can just select 3 random words, and exit the computer before your 4th and final attempt. Eventually dumb luck will prevail and you'll hack the terminal.

[Trumpman]

Hey, does anyone know if you can repair weapons even if you don't have a duplicate of that weapon?

Daltone:

warning: major spoilers ahead

There is an Alien Blaster you can find in the game. It is possibly the best weapon in the game. I stumbled upon it randomly and it does ridiculous amounts of damage. You find it by a crashed UFO. Actually, thanks for mentioning the ammo - I had run out of my initial supply and had no clue where to find more.

[Trebuken]

Hey, does anyone know if you can repair weapons even if you don't have a duplicate of that weapon?

Daltone:

warning: major spoilers ahead

There is an Alien Blaster you can find in the game. It is possibly the best weapon in the game. I stumbled upon it randomly and it does ridiculous amounts of damage. You find it by a crashed UFO. Actually, thanks for mentioning the ammo - I had run out of my initial supply and had no clue where to find more.

I don't think so.

Got to the ending today. A little disappointed, it was a bit too easy at the end. Loved the game but was hoping for more, I think it was about 22 hours and that is with a number of sidequests. Did not explore much at random, only when quests lead me somewhere.

[fuchikoma]

You can fix 'unique' weapons with their non-unique counterparts. I have both a chinese assault rifle and a 10mm SMG with enhanced damage and capacity that I found via side-missions and both can be repaired with regular weapons that I loot off raiders. And get your repair skill up! Fixing weapons yourself is far cheaper than paying for someone to do it. And most NPC's cant get above the 50% range. Plus, fixing one low-condition weapon with another one and getting one high-condition weapon usually nets you more caps if you sell.

[Trebuken]

Aren't you able to make your own weapons at some point? I never dabbled with the workbenches but I thought that you could 'enhance' weapons if your skill was high enough and you had the parts.

[mailman187666]

They're mini-logic puzzles. You click on a word in the garbled text and it'll display on the right side of the monitor along with a number. Ex. "setting" 3/7. That tells you that setting is a 7 letter word with three letters in common with the computer's password.

You get 4 chances, but if you're feeling lazy you can just select 3 random words, and exit the computer before your 4th and final attempt. Eventually dumb luck will prevail and you'll hack the terminal.

I have a couple terminals that I got locked out of, is there any way to get back into them eventually?

[Daria]

I have a couple terminals that I got locked out of, is there any way to get back into them eventually?

I don't know, but I don't think so.

[SpasticFuctard]

at lvl 16 or so you can take a computer whiz perk which unlocks em for you

[Daria]

at lvl 16 or so you can take a computer whiz perk which unlocks em for you

I stand corrected. :P

[Slate]

I bought Fallout 3 two days ago. I'm enjoying it a lot, But I have a question about the bounty hunters. It is a spoiler, So only read it if you've run into them yourself.

The "bounty hunters" I'm talking about are Talos Company Mercenaries. (Or whatever their name is) They want to kill me because I have a bounty on my head of 1000 caps, Which I apparently achieved from doing GOOD things. Can someone explain why the company issued a bounty on me? Do they want to control the land so badly they will kill good people?

[heybtbm]

I bought Fallout 3 two days ago. I'm enjoying it a lot, But I have a question about the bounty hunters. It is a spoiler, So only read it if you've run into them yourself.

Spoilers...blah blah...

They're after you because you defused the bomb in Megaton.

They'll be after you the whole game. This is actually a positive IMO because you can get some nice EXP for free (they always go down so easy) when they pop up time to time.

[Slate]

Spoilers...blah blah...

They're after you because you the in.

They'll be after you the whole game. This is actually a positive IMO because you can get some nice EXP for free (they always go down so easy) when they pop up time to time.

I haven't defused the bomb in megaton. What else could I have done? I did say to the guy in the Megaton hotel/bar/whorehouse who suggested megaton be blown away I wasn't interested.

[heybtbm]

I haven't the in . What else could I have done? I did say to the .

That's all it takes.

[Sudo]

That's all it takes.

I had to deal with them as well, and I (spoilers) blew up Megaton.
I also had the "Regulators" after me as well because of my character being so evil.

[Slate]

Have any of you been to Vault 106? It is almost directly northwest of Vault 101 and isn't too far away from there. Anyone who has been to Vault 106, I'd like to talk with you.

[Skelix]

Slate I Believe its because you're character is so "good", once you're karma hits a certain goodness evil squads are after you. And this is true if you go the opposite way as well.

People are saying its after a quest because the quest made them so good (or so evil etc)

[Slate]

Makes sense, I suppose. Anyone been to Vault 106?

[8bitCaged]

Makes sense, I suppose. Anyone been to Vault 106?

yea I have been to Vault 106 I found a bobble head and that's about it. I need to get my lock picking up to see more. (lock door) but other than that all I saw was crazy 106ers with no guns.

[Slate]

Wait a second. I haven't found the bobble head yet, I thought it was behind that locked door?

[Nesmaster]

Wait a second. I haven't found the bobble head yet, I thought it was behind that locked door?

Nope, it was in the very last area of the vault on a table or something. I need to go back for that door, my lockpick was only at 70 and I need 75. :(

[Daria]

Have any of you been to Vault 106? It is almost directly northwest of Vault 101 and isn't too far away from there. Anyone who has been to Vault 106, I'd like to talk with you.

Vault 106 was seriously a fucked up place. o.O

[walrusmonger]

I just started playing the game since I wanted to run through Fable 2 first (which was great btw) and wow- it's the real deal.

Sure, Fallout 3 is Oblivion with a different coat on, but things change so much with the different story/everything... anyway, end the rant since you all know this already.

I have played over 2 hours so far and haven't even touched the "main" story I guess, these side quests are just too much fun!

The only thing I can think of is that right now the game is too easy- I can drop enemies without much of an issue, but these are just raiders- I'm sure later on I'll face beefy guys that can drop me in a few shots (I hope)

[Daria]

The only thing I can think of is that right now the game is too easy- I can drop enemies without much of an issue, but these are just raiders- I'm sure later on I'll face beefy guys that can drop me in a few shots (I hope)

Oh you will. Prepare to chug stim packs like candy.

[Slate]

walrusmonger, You can change the difficulty when you're playing, That is what I did since I was being overwhelmed by raiders in the start of the game.

[fuchikoma]

You will soon discover that the most dangerous enemies in the Wasteland don't carry guns...

[Daltone]

You will soon discover that the most dangerous enemies in the Wasteland don't carry guns...

I have to say that the things I've had most trouble with were those fire ants and the scorpions and centaurs. Huge groups of super-mutants? Behmoths? No trouble at all. Annoyingly tough little creatures are both boring and frustrating.

[Slate]

I found two Bobbleheads so far. I didn't know that they did this for you: *spoiler, unless you've found one do not read* Gave you 10 points to a particular skill *spoiler end* Now I want to get more of them!

[evil_genius]

This game completely consumed me for a week. I am really glad I only rented it, at least until school is done.

[geneshifter]

Slate I Believe its because you're character is so "good", once you're karma hits a certain goodness evil squads are after you. And this is true if you go the opposite way as well.

People are saying its after a quest because the quest made them so good (or so evil etc)

yup, I got some mercs on my case for being too good . LOL

[carlcarlson]

Has the level cap proved to be a problem for anyone?

[Nesmaster]

I found two Bobbleheads so far. I didn't know that they did this for you: *spoiler, unless you've found one do not read* *spoiler end* Now I want to get more of them!

I'm actually hunting them down right now, putting all quests on hold. Of course I get side tracked easily so while looking for a bobblehead I detoured to get some special guns... and before you know it half the day is gone! LOL

I think I've found 14 or 15? They're totally worth the time, and you get to explore some cool areas looking for them.


Has the level cap proved to be a problem for anyone?

The only problem I can see with the level cap is that you can never have all of the cool perks... bummer.

[spoon]

Just made the rail gun the other day. Thing is pretty awesome. Take down a Super Mutant in a shot or two. Also cool when you pin an enemies head to the wall.

[Slate]

Have any of you made the custom weapon that uses a lawnmower blade? I think it is one of the best weapons in the game!

[FrakAttack]

Has the level cap proved to be a problem for anyone?

I understand why they made the level cap so low. This, like previous Fallouts, is a game designed for re-playability. By the time I got to level 20 in my first game, as a "very good" character, I was ready for it to end so I could start a "very evil" one. The game becomes much easier when you're evil BTW, even on a higher difficulty.

Question: Is there a higher rank than "Last, Best Hope for Humanity?"

Edit: Don't bother downloading the Fallout theme, it's very ugly.

[heybtbm]

Have any of you made the custom weapon that uses a lawnmower blade? I think it is one of the best weapons in the game!

It's called the Shishkabob and yes, it's awesome. You'll need a lawnmower blade, pilot light, motorcycle gas tank, and motorcycle hand brake. I've made 4 of them and "repaired" them into one Shishkabob at almost 99%. Anyway...nice "Oblivion-esqe" weapon to be sure.

[Trumpman]

This game is just so much fun. I haven't really been able to play as much since I got back to school, but I value the time when I can. Has anyone else found the Republic of Dave yet? I'm trying to do all of the sidequests before I finish off the main quest. Even just exploring is fun - there are some really funny places to find.

[Slate]

Looks like if you have multiple copies of schematics for a custom weapon it improves the weapon. Hey, I'm doing the tenpenny tower mission and can't seem to convince a resident to let the ghouls in. Someone told me "Just kill her" But how would I go about doing that? I heard she could become a slaver, too. How?

[Sotenga]

Question: How does Fallout 3 stack up to the other two main games? I've only played the first briefly, but I did like what I tried, so I may be interested in immersing myself into the series entirely. I wish to know if F3 carries the tradition of awesome found in its predecessors.

[mnbren05]

Found this thread late, I've been enjoying Fall Out 3 for quite awhile. Initially I was less than thrilled with the game I thought that it played like Oblivion with guns. Overall great game and lots of fun that I really enjoy now. However I don't believe you should lose karma for stealing when you are hidden or not in the view of other NPC's. (As I dug myself into a karma hole that was way too deep) The only other disapointing part of the game took place when I began playing the father story line and ended the game (which I though would have longer to go) very quickly. (I guess my complaint could be summed up as too much freedom to skip quests although that is a good thing in some ways)

My favorite part has to be the Rail Way Gun, nothing like a hidden critical strike VATS rail road spike to a Raider followed by a train whistle. Classic.

[mezrabad]

Anyone else having problems with crashing on the 360 version? I'm fine and dandy up until a certain point, then (without giving any plot away) I try to leave the Rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial and the game freezes while loading.

46 hours into the game! :(

I think it may be because I explored there too early and must've set off an egg or something. I haven't been this disappointed since that bug in Ultima VII kept me from finishing the game. (though I have no idea how far from finishing F3 I am at this point)

[spoon]

Looks like if you have multiple copies of schematics for a custom weapon it improves the weapon. Hey, I'm doing the tenpenny tower mission and can't seem to convince a resident to let the ghouls in. Someone told me "Just kill her" But how would I go about doing that? I heard she could become a slaver, too. How?

*Spoilers*

I killed Tenpenny before doing this mission. I needed his key/head for the "Shoot 'em in the Head" mission. So, my only choice was to side with the Ghouls or the residents. I sided with the residents and killed the Ghouls. Seemed to get a better reward from the new leader. And, you can still visit and shop there. The Ghouls just fuck the place up if you sided with them. I dunno how it will work if they live together.

I used my power of speech to convince the lady to leave the settlement if she did not want the Ghouls to live there. I then followed her outside and killed her. Took her stuff and ransacked her store.

I dunno how she would become a slaver. You can also find a letter about a cheating husband and give it to his wife and watch her kill her husband and the other lady who happens to be an escaped slave you have to capture later. If she is killed, you can still complete the mission.


Also, does anyone else have there own servant named Charon? I picked up his contract from a bartender in The Underworld. I have yet to find Dogmeat, but, a personal servant will do. He can go into battle with you and act as a treasure trunk while exploring if you wish. I just leave him in my house.

Has anyone purchased any of the upgrade for their Megaton house? I bought everything the chick had so far except the Laboratory. Each item has it;s own little perks. Worth the money if you can buy 'em.

[Trumpman]

Yeah I have bought all of the things except for the Infirmary. The lab is good because it makes drugs for you, which you can sell. But the best is the Nuka-Cola machine. Besides looking extremely badass, it also doubles the medical power of your Nuka-Cola if you make it Ice Cold. Too bad it can't make Ice Cold Nuka-Cola Quantum.

[Darren870]

Anyone else having problems with crashing on the 360 version? I'm fine and dandy up until a certain point, then (without giving any plot away) I try to leave the Rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial and the game freezes while loading.

46 hours into the game! :(

I think it may be because I explored there too early and must've set off an egg or something. I haven't been this disappointed since that bug in Ultima VII kept me from finishing the game. (though I have no idea how far from finishing F3 I am at this point)

Spoilers related to your spot in the game, not the glitching:

I heard when your at the Jefferson Memorial your VERY close to the end of the game

[FrakAttack]

Anyone else having problems with crashing on the 360 version?

I'm having fewer crashes since I installed the game. It's a dual-layered disc so it's about a 6 gig install, but I'm guessing the dual-layer thing is one reason it freezes up so much, just like Oblivion does.

Plus, it's much quieter without the disc spinning.

[G-Boobie]

Anyone else having problems with crashing on the 360 version? I'm fine and dandy up until a certain point, then (without giving any plot away) I try to leave the Rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial and the game freezes while loading.

46 hours into the game! :(


It's just a Bethesda game, dude. They've never actually produced a game that didn't crash, leak memory, or corrupt your save data at some point. There will be a patch, and hopefully that'll take care of it.

[CreamSoda]

I'm a little behind the times, seeing as I am just now finally getting MGS4. Fallout 3 is next on my "PS3 list", after reading this thread, I can say it looks like I'm in for one awesome game.

[Poofta!]

been playing it... a lot. good game, makes me want to replay the old fallouts soooo much (ill throw them on my laptop when im done).

i get a lot of crashed to desktop, but the quicksave is so quick that i dont mind, i never lost more than maybe 5 minutes of games time.

there are a lot of quest bugs, which make you use cheats to get over a part (happened to me once in lamplight) and bugged quest for which i never got an achievement for because i found the path accidently before following the story properly.

for those of you who have played the first two, there is a pretty sweet throwback to a character in them (Harold) who you may meet in the game if you find a certain [very well hidden] spot!

[Trumpman]

been playing it... a lot. good game, makes me want to replay the old fallouts soooo much (ill throw them on my laptop when im done).

i get a lot of crashed to desktop, but the quicksave is so quick that i dont mind, i never lost more than maybe 5 minutes of games time.

there are a lot of quest bugs, which make you use cheats to get over a part (happened to me once in lamplight) and bugged quest for which i never got an achievement for because i found the path accidently before following the story properly.

for those of you who have played the first two, there is a pretty sweet throwback to a character in them (Harold) who you may meet in the game if you find a certain [very well hidden] spot!

I know - I loved that quest. Harold is the man!

[Poofta!]

okay so i just beat the game, after 65 hours (i was very thorough, completed probably 85-95% of the game and all in it). and i have to say this: WOW does the main story SUCK! the ending is horrible. hell the first 2 had ending without any cinema or anything (they described what happened down the road to each town and each point/person of interest due to your actions) and that was awesome. this was so bad... so very very bad. left such a bad taste in my mouth after an overall good game. i restarted the game to rush through it doing missions i couldnt before and be evil this time. muahahhaha

[G-Boobie]

Bethesda strikes again!

I've done a pretty significant chunk of the sidequests and figured it was time to get back to the story. I still hadn't done the very first mission for Moriarity(the one where you talk to Silver[or not]), so I went and talked to her. When I went back to the bar in Megaton, Moriarity was gone. After an hour of trying to get the fucker to reappear/respawn/whatever, I've come to the conclusion that I'm screwed. He is nowhere to be found. Ladies and gentleman, Moriarity has left the building. Therefore, I can't talk to him to figure out where daddy went. Therefore, I can't advance the story.

I'm level seventeen. I have a science skill of seventeen, too. My science skill is way too low to hack his terminal. I'd have to level twice more to get enough skill points to hack it and get the info I need to advance the story, assuming that everyone else is where they're supposed to be. I guess I have no choice, huh?

Has anyone else had this problem, and is there a trick to get the swine to reappear? Otherwise it's back to farming super mutants for a week real time.

[youruglyclone]

which system are you playing it on? if it is PC you can revive and move moriarity back to the saloon.

and if you know where to go next, you can advance the plot without doing the hacking, it just means you might miss an achievement or 2.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Well I beat the fucker tonight. I didn't read any walkthroughs or FAQs, and was surprised how short the main story seemed. The ending just snuck up on me, and wasn't expecting it to end where it did. I agree with Poofta about the ending too, it's very underwhelming. Although, I'm glad I didn't read any walkthroughs or FAQs as it's really cool to uncover all the secrets in the game.

I think I'm gonna go to an earlier save, and explore some of those other vaults. Anyway though, great game. On a side note, I was really hoping I was going to get to use that kickass plasma pistol the end bad guy dropped. Oh well.

[Poofta!]

G-Boobie: you can also talk the hooker in the saloon into giving you the password to the terminal. however to get him back try sleeping or waiting for a few days **somewhere else** (ie not megaton). i can tell you however [not a spoiler] that your father went to see three-dog (the radio guy) so just go there to advance the story line, you *may* not receive the "following in his footsteps" achievement.

also if you are playing on pc, just hit the `/~ button, click the console, make sure it says what you clicked on at the top of the screen (console etc) and type 'unlock' hit enter and voila!


either way, good luck! however i strongly recommend you get science in this game, it is by far one of the most useful skills to help you advance throughout the missions as well as most locations. plus you can uncover a lot of funny stuff by reading terminals.

[jcalder8]

I've had this game since about a week after it came out, I can't believe it has taken me so long to post in here.

I love this game, I didn't like Morrowind but I like the changes that they made to it. It really feels like you have a purpose which I never got in Morrowind.

[mnbren05]

Dog meat is in the scrap yard, you must save him from raiders.

[Daria]

Bethesda strikes again!

I've done a pretty significant chunk of the sidequests and figured it was time to get back to the story. I still hadn't done the very first mission for Moriarity(the one where you talk to Silver[or not]), so I went and talked to her. When I went back to the bar in Megaton, Moriarity was gone. After an hour of trying to get the fucker to reappear/respawn/whatever, I've come to the conclusion that I'm screwed. He is nowhere to be found. Ladies and gentleman, Moriarity has left the building. Therefore, I can't talk to him to figure out where daddy went. Therefore, I can't advance the story.

I'm level seventeen. I have a science skill of seventeen, too. My science skill is way too low to hack his terminal. I'd have to level twice more to get enough skill points to hack it and get the info I need to advance the story, assuming that everyone else is where they're supposed to be. I guess I have no choice, huh?

Has anyone else had this problem, and is there a trick to get the swine to reappear? Otherwise it's back to farming super mutants for a week real time.

I found his password in the locker next to his terminal. No science skill required.

[FrakAttack]

Has anyone else had this problem, and is there a trick to get the swine to reappear? Otherwise it's back to farming super mutants for a week real time.

People have a habit of disappearing in the wasteland. :beaten: Seriously, there are so many ways to advance the story that very few glitches become game-breakers. Hell, if nothing else, just follow the riverbank down to the Jefferson Memorial/Rivet City and pick up the story from there.

I'm finding that the game only becomes a challenge on Very Hard with self-imposed stat gimping, like putting all of your SPECIAL points into Luck and tagging non-combat skills. There seems to be some sort of adaptive difficulty built into the game after all.

[G-Boobie]

Thanks everyone, I got it going. Science skills are indeed important.

Basically, Bethesda is the only studio that gets a 'pass' from me for releasing shady, bugged software. Every time they release a new game I post a thread like this: then, I figure out a way around it and never look back.

Has anyone been following the eventual PC/360 DLC for this game? The Anchorage and Pittsburgh releases for January and February look great, but the Brotherhood of Steel one releasing in March seems sort of lame. I already have power armor, thanks.

[Trumpman]

Huh, I think the Brotherhood of Steel one sounds the coolest. It lets you continue the plot after the ending of the main quest, which would be really neat. I wonder if it will raise the level cap.